From November 24 to December 1, missions were held in the three parishes of the missionary station in the Vinces canton in the coastal area of Ecuador. This is the first mission of the Andean Caribbean province in Ecuador, where confreres from Colombia and Ecuador participated, and the religious sisters from the María Corredentora Institute, lay missionaries and Redemptorist seminarians. The event was attended by the Provincial Superior Fr. Mauricio Monroy,
The parishes of San Lorenzo, San Antonio and Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro are looked after by the Redemptorists, where third-year theology seminarians from the Province also carry out their Pastoral Year and it is truly a charismatic presence of the Congregation in these places.
The three parishes have complex and worrying realities due to the number of sick and abandoned people, elderly people who live alone and in precarious situations, the presence of criminal groups and drug trafficking, among other psychosocial problems. This reality has generated challenges for the mission, but it makes the mission more fruitful, turning the missionary into a voice of hope for people who desire to know God better.
At the end of the mission, Fr. Mauricio thanked the closeness of Msgr. Skiper Yánez, bishop of the diocese of Babahoyo, who celebrated the closing Eucharist at the mission. He also thanked the Redemptorist priests who are in charge of the three parishes and the missionaries from Colombia and Ecuador. He also invited everyone to continue trusting in the mission as a fertile land of vocations and hope.
Fr. Rider Macas, CSsR.
Formation In charge in Ecuador.