Mother Chiara in Mozambique!

Maputo (Mozambique). On 23 April 2024, the Superior General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, together with the Provincials of the CIAM Conference of Africa and Madagascar, after her Visit to Queen of Peace Pre-province (ANG) and the Spiritual Exercises in Luanda, Angola, landed at the Maputo International Airport, in Mozambique, a land where, on April 26 the World Feast of Gratitude will be celebrated.

She was welcomed with the overwhelming rhythm of the traditional dances Xigubo and galanga, clapping their hands, playing drums, and singing.  Present were FMA, Salesians of Don Bosco, Past-Pupils, students, and Educating Communities of the presences in the south of the country.

At Casa Jardin, see of St. John Bosco Province (MOZ), FMA, awaiting her with songs and dances, were Salesian Cooperators, SDB, members of the Salesian Family, and the young people of the literacy center of Mother Rosetta House. According to tradition, she was offered the capulana, symbol of the Mozambican woman, a jug of water to quench her thirst, the basket, sign of the daily struggle of families to survive, and the sieve, symbol of discernment. Mother expressed her joy and gratitude for the warm welcome.

In the evening, she was welcomed with a song by the Mozambican FMA. In her Good Night, Mother thanked them for their willingness to host and organize the Feast and encouraged them to make the joyful event an encounter with the Lord that can revive the Salesian identity of all.

On 24 April, Mother Chiara began the day by giving the Good Morning at Mother Rosetta Early Childhood School, welcomed with joy and enthusiasm by the boys and girls. She then met with the Provincials of CIAM, who came with her for the Feast of Gratitude, and met with the Community animators.

Late in the morning, to the rhythm of drums, she arrived at Don Bosco Professional Formation Center in Jardim. The students performed for her with songs and dances, with the hymn of the Feast of Gratitude, and the poem, “I am Africa”. Mother and the CIAM Provincials received a pillow as a gift, so that like Don Bosco, they can continue to dream and dream. In conclusion, Mother expressed her gratitude and invited the students to take advantage of the educational environment to continue to live the joy expressed in song and dance.

Afterwards, together with Sister Carolina Ilda Hermínio, Provincial of Mozambique, Sister Marie Dominique Mwema Mukato, Superior of Mary Help of Christians Preprovince (AES), and Sister Yvette Badini, Provincial of Mother of God Province (AFO), Mother Chiara went to the Nunciature in Maputo to meet the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Luís Miguel Munoz Cárdaba. The official visits continued in the afternoon to the Episcope, where Mother Chiara met the Archbishop of Maputo, Msgr. João Carlos Nunes, and the auxiliary Bishops Msgr. Tonito and Msgr. Osório.

On 25 April, after the Eucharistic Celebration, she left for Namaacha, Mozambique, where she visited Mary Help of Christians School Community, welcomed by students, teachers, and members of the Salesian Family, with songs, dances, and speeches. Two children blessed Mother, placing a wreath of flowers on her head and with a prayer in preparation for the Feast of Gratitude. She visited the other works in the complex of Namaacha: the Reception Center for girls at risk, the sewing workshop, the bakery, a small primary school, and the Kindergarten.

She also visited Saint John Bosco Community Formation House, where she was invited to make the significant gesture of planting an evergreen tree, the Jacarandá which, in addition to contributing to the care of the environment, desires to be a blessing, in the hope that the formative work entrusted to the Community will be fruitful and that God will send holy vocations to the Province. Mother then met the Sisters of the two communities and then the formandees, encouraging them to recognize in the silence of their heart, the will of God for each one.

Photos: Flickr FMA

The Educating Communities and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians from all over the world prepared through the four weeks of the journey proposed by the Mozambican Province, sending the Province gesture, and, above all with prayer – to live, on April 26, the long awaited World Feast of Gratitude.

In the Circolare n° 1037 Mother deepens precisely the sense of gratitude, “so that the feast we celebrate may not be just a moment, a parenthesis, but help us to rediscover and live this characteristic virtue of Christian and Salesian life. (…) Gratitude is a precious gift that we can give and receive in the educating community and in the mission.”

Happy Feast!

You can follow the Feast through live streaming: