Quito (Ecuador). On 4 August 2022, in Quito, Sacred Heart Province (ECU) celebrated the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.
The Eucharistic Celebration in the chapel of the Provincial House was presided over by Msgr. Andres Carrascosa Coso, Apostolic Nuncio in Ecuador; and concelebrated by various priests, including Msgr. Afredo Espinoza, Archbishop of Quito and Primate of Ecuador; Fr. Pascual Chávez, Rector Major emeritus of the Salesians of Don Bosco; and Fr. Francisco Sánchez, SDB, Provincial of Sacred Heart of Jesus Province (ECU).
Present were numerous Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, SDB Directors of the Salesian Houses, Delegates, Salesian Family Groups, student representatives, teachers of the Educating Communities, Animators and Provincials of the various Congregations of the Conference of Religious of Ecuador.
In his homily, Msgr. Andrés Carrascosa, referring to the first reading from the book of Exodus, stressed the fidelity of God who, faced with the situation of need of his people, knows which paths to take. He therefore highlighted that, in the 150 years of life of the FMA Institute, it was God’s fidelity that sustained the fidelity of the FMA, founded on the faith of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello, who began a great adventure in the certainty that it was God who led them and that Mary Help of Christians ‘had done everything’.
The Eucharistic Celebration was followed by a presentation in which guests, students, and teachers of some FMA Salesian educational institutions expressed, through words, dances, and songs, the joy of celebrating and thanking God for the wonders He has worked and continues to work in the life of each Daughter of Mary Help of Christians and in the realities of the world in which they are present.
In her greeting, the Provincial, Sr. Cruz María Piña P., took up the story of the origins of the FMA Institute and introduced, “A life given with love”, a performance with choreography and songs prepared by the teachers and students of the Private Educational Unit Mary Help of Christians of Manta. With creativity and enthusiasm, it recounted the life of Mother Mazzarello and the first community of the origins.
Sacred Heart Province lived this day as an anniversary of grace and an event of strong communion with all the FMA of the world.
