2nd PEM Online Pilgrimage Meeting: A Broad Perspective – The Vision

Rome (Italy). On Sunday, 22 March 2026, the second meeting of the online Pilgrimage of the Missionary Spirituality Project (PEM) took place, organized by the Missions Sector of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in collaboration with the PEM Team, focusing on the sites in the Americas where the first FMA arrived in 1877.

The journey, comprising eight stages, is inserted in the Triennium of preparation for the 150th anniversary of the First Missionary Expedition (2024–2027), on the theme, “Now is the Time to Rekindle the Fire—150th Anniversary of FMA Missions,” with the objective of “celebrating with a grateful heart the missionary ardor of the Institute, in order to rekindle in the present day the prophetic impulse of our charism as a gift to the Church and to humanity” (Circular No. 1038).

Following the first gathering held in Villa Colón–Las Piedras, Uruguay, this second stage took place in Almagro–La Boca, serving to underscore the expansive missionary perspective that broadened the horizons of the early missionaries as they dared to cross yet another frontier to live out the Mornese Charism in a new land: Argentina. In the “Nizza of the Americas,” they gave expression to the charism of mothers and educators inherited from Mary Domenica Mazzarello.

The Chronicle of the Almagro Community recounts:

On 26 January 1879, the Second Expedition of the Sisters of Our Lady Help of Christians arrived on these shores. It was led by Sister M. Magdalena Martini, who held the office of Provincial, with her residence in Buenos Aires. This expedition consisted of ten sisters, four of whom remained in Colón, Montevideo, namely: Sister Filomena Balduzzi, Sister Victoria Cantú, Sister Virginia Magone, and Sister Josefa Vergniaud. The other six traveled to Buenos Aires to found the House of Almagro. They were: Sister M. Magdalena Martini, Sister Jacinta Olivieri, Sister Dominga Roletti, Sister Emilia Borgna, Sister María Magdeleine, and Sister Catalina Fino. In Almagro, they had the privilege of residing in a very humble dwelling, which they named “Ranchito” located in close proximity to the Colegio Pío IX de Artes y Oficios. This served as the Novitiate House, where the Spiritual Exercises were held annually.”

Sister Ruth del Pilar Mora, Councilor for the Missions, in her opening greeting, she urged all participants in the Pilgrimage to have, “A broad gaze, one that emerges when we learn to view reality through the eyes of God, who, in Jesus, made Himself accessible to our understanding. In the Gospels, Jesus pauses before people and looks upon them with love. His gaze does not judge, but regenerates; it does not exclude, but includes; it does not stop at appearances, but uncovers potential and hope. To possess a broad gaze means understanding that the mission is not ours, but rather a participation in God’s love for every person, of every time and culture.”

“The first FMA missionaries who set out for the Americas,” Sister Ruth further highlighted, “carried with them this perspective: not merely an educational project, but the capacity to recognize the good already present, to value individuals, and to weave relationships of trust and friendship in the typical family spirit.”

Upon arriving in Argentina, the “Nizza of the Americas,” they embodied the Charism with openness, creativity, and respect, establishing communities that educated through love and presence. Even today, within our educational communities, we are called to adopt a perspective that recognizes the seeds of goodness in young people, values ​​cultural differences, opens spaces for dialogue, and builds bridges. It is a perspective that transforms mission into concrete action, into closeness for those who feel alone, into gestures of gratuitous goodness, and into a presence capable of generating together, both hope and a future.

The event, animated by the Sisters of the Mission Sector, members of the Global Missio Team, Sisters from the Commission for the 150th Anniversary of the First Missionary Expedition, and the PEM Team was marked by the lively and engaged participation of numerous Educating Communities from every continent, who chose this moment of animation to allow their horizons to be broadened and to make Christ the heart of the world and of their own personal identity.

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