Córdoba (Argentina). On 31 January 2023, on the Solemnity of St. John Bosco, in the presence of the Superior General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, and the General Councilors Sr. Leslie Sándigo and Sr. Marta Riccioli, the unified Laura Vicuna Province (ARG) was officially inaugurated.
The whole day, spent at Mother Mazzarello House in Cordóba, was dedicated to sharing with the FMA, lay collaborators, Past Pupils, Directors of the works, young people and families present to continue to be an active part of this path. More than 250 people were present representing various cities of the country in which the Institute is present, while the Educating Communities were connected through direct streaming.
The morning began with a celebration of thanksgiving for the presence of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Argentina since 1879. After a moment of prayer, the representatives of all the Educating Communities of the country brought soil from their place of origin and within the heart, the faces of the people of each Salesian House. “Brotes nuevos en una tierra con historia” – “New shoots in a land rich in history” is in fact the slogan that accompanied these days that mark the re-signification of this land.
The new Provincial of Argentina, Sr. Silvia Boullosa, also brought some soil from her hometown, Villa Colón, in Uruguay, while Mother Chiara placed the soil of Mornese, and then symbolically planted a small vine as a sign of the birth of Laura Vicuña Province.
Sr. Marta Riccioli then introduced Mother Chiara on the stage, describing her with some of the characteristics expressed by all the General Councilors, “A woman full of humility, depth, and self-giving, she spreads God’s contagious love throughout the Institute. With a maternal heart, kindness, and accompaniment, she transmits the experience of God who guides her and, through her, guides others (…) Friend, sister, and mother, with a healthy and upright heart like Mary and Main”.
Mother brought the greetings of Mother Emeritus Sr. Yvonne Reungoat and Sr. Mira Pece, Visiting Councilor in the previous six-year term, who accompanied and encouraged the beginning of this process. “When we planted the first shoot, I was moved thinking about the history of this holy land. Together we celebrate once again the greatness and goodness of God, who continues to call us to incarnate the Charism in this holy land,” she said commenting on the accomplished gesture.
Regarding the process of resignification, she observed, “Today God asks us for a new responsibility and renews the mandate ‘I entrust them to you, I entrust them to you!’, as at the beginning of our history. It is a process which implies the willingness to be His collaborators, in this time and in this place where He has called us.”
Mother Chiara’s invitation for this ‘new beginning’ is to let oneself be guided by the Holy Spirit, “because only together can we be the multiple and colorful face of the Salesian charism and be Educating Communities that generate life and hope in the heart of America”.
To the new Provincial, Sr. Silvia Boullosa, said not to worry “because Mary enters this house with you; she is the true Superior of the Institute. The new Province is dedicated to Laura Vicuña, who is the fruit of a community, of an environment; she is the fruit of the family spirit fully lived by all”.
In the evening, Eucharistic Celebration – presided over by the Archbishop of Córdoba, Msgr. Ángel Sixto Rossi, and concelebrated by Fr. Gabriel Romero, Salesian of Don Bosco, Regional Councilor for America South Cone; by Fr. Horacio Barbieri, Provincial of the North Argentina Province (ARN); and by Fr. Darío Perera, Provincial of the South Argentina Province (ARS), was the seal of this important step taken as part of a larger family which is the Church.
Photo: Flickr FMA
