Last Friday, March 28, at 10:30 a.m., Brasilia time (Brazil), an online meeting was held with the Redemptorist confreres representing the institutional communications of the 7 Provinces of Latin America and the Caribbean: Nossa Senhora Aparecida (Brother Orlando, C.Ss.R), Brasilia (Fr. Murilo, C.Ss.R), Curitiba (Brother Leonardo, C.Ss.R), Pedro Donders (Fr. Sérgio, C.Ss.R), Bolivia-Peru (Fr. José, C.Ss.R), Andean-Caribbean (Fr. Oscar, C.Ss.R, Fr. Alexander, C.Ss.R, Fr. Juan, C.Ss.R, and Fr. Carlos, C.Ss.R) and Mother of Perpetual Help (Fr. Javier, C.Ss.R and Luis Daniel). Father Jonas Luiz de Pádua, C.Ss.R., member of the Communications Commission of the General Government, and Father César Edilberto Torres Pantoja, C.Ss.R., coordinator of the Redemptorist Conference on the continent, motivated the meeting.
On this occasion, Father César shared the importance of the Communication Commission in Latin America and the Caribbean to: (1) accompany and support the missionary dynamism of the General Government, as well as the restructuring process, since we are not something separate, but a group of consecrated religious; (2) and to make known the different pastoral options we operate on the continent. In addition, he suggested three actions for the Communication Commission: (1) increasingly share the mission among us, religious, lay people, and professionals/collaborators; (2) promote the Redemptorist vocation of priests and brothers; and (3) update the messages of our Redemptorist saints and blesseds.
Afterwards, Father Jonas and the other confreres gave a brief evaluation of the first joint action, held on St. Clement’s Day, and shared some suggestions for future actions:
a) organize a competition to create a logo for the Redemptorists of Latin America and the Caribbean;
b) create a calendar of actions;
c) articulate a Redemptorist message for Easter Day in Portuguese and Spanish;
d) create a video to be published on Good Shepherd Sunday (fourth Sunday of Easter), promoting Redemptorist vocations for priests and brothers;
Finally, Father Sérgio, from the Pedro Donders Province, shared about a project they are carrying out in his Province to meditate on the Gospel daily and invited the confreres to participate in Spanish. With this, we also had the idea of creating a similar project for our Conference on weekends and on the days of the Redemptorist Saints and Blesseds. We give thanks to God for the gift of the confreres who work in the field of communications and thank them for their support and solidarity, for the good of the Redemptorist mission.
Fr. Jonas Luiz de Pádua, C.Ss.R.
