Madrid (Spain). On 4 December 2021, in Madrid, in the chapel of Mary Help of Christians Province (SPA), Cardinal Carlos Osoro, Archbishop of Madrid, presided over the Eucharistic Celebration in the year in which the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Institute of Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, 5 August 1872 is celebrated.
At the Eucharist concelebrated by the Provincial of St. James the Greater Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SSM), Fr. Manuel Fernando García Sánchez, by other SDBs, and representatives of the local Church including Fr. Avelino Revilla, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Madrid; and Fr. Ángel Camino, Augustinian, Episcopal Vicar of Vicariate VIII, in the presence of Sr. María del Rosario García Ribas, newly elected Vicar General of the FMA Institute, the Provincial Council, several FMA of the 54 communities present in Spain, together with lay representatives of the Educating Communities, children, and young people.
In his homily, the Archbishop invited the FMA to reach out with dedication, as Mother Mazzarello did, to the hearts of young people in order to heal them and exhorted them to never forget that the FMA Institute belongs entirely to Mary.
The Mass was followed by a commemorative moment that retraced the significant events in the history of the FMA Institute, through the changes in the headquarters of the Generalate from Mornese to Rome, passing through Nizza and Turin. The historical journey, accompanied by the musical notes of guitar and strings and singing, constituted a simple but intense expression of gratitude and renewed commitment in continuing to make the Salesian charism alive.
The young people were the protagonists of the last event, giving a vocational tone to the day, an evening of art and prayer entitled “The footsteps of my journey”. Through music, images, silence, and words, the journey took place in three moments in which attention was focused on three figures: Mary, at whose feet Maìn placed the keys to the house and the keys to hearts; Jesus who gave His life on the cross; and Mother Mazzarello represented by a vine, her Letters, and a religious habit.
Don Bosco’s words to the first FMA in Nizza still resound today, “Mary walks in this house”. The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of Spain and of the whole world who, with the events of the 150th anniversary celebrate the creative fidelity of the Founders, experience that this is not just a way of saying, but reveals a real Presence: Mary, who guided them. 150 years of history and fruitfulness of the FMA Institute continues and will continue.
