Macas (Ecuador). From 3 to 6 December 2025, in Macas, Province of Morona Santiago, Sacred Heart Province (ECU) commemorated a century of presence of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in the Ecuadorian Amazon and, together with the Apostolic Vicariate of Méndez and the Ecuadorian Church, expressed gratitude for the Canonization of Sister Maria Troncatti.
The events began on 3 December with the commemorative parade for the centenary of the first FMA Mary Immaculate Community. Civil and ecclesiastical authorities, educational delegations, and the FMA communities of the Region participated in the official opening of the celebration program.
The celebrations were attended by Sister Lupe Erazo, ECU Provincial; the Provincial Councilors; the Community Animator, Sister Odila Calva; and Monsignor Néstor Montesdeoca, Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Méndez. The Educating Community expressed its lively participation in this century-old history characterized by service, educational-evangelizing pastoral care, and missionary holiness.
On 4 December, the Eucharistic Celebration of thanksgiving for the arrival of the FMAs in the city in 1925 was held in the Purísima National Shrine Cathedral in Macas. In his homily Bishop Montesdeoca retraced the fundamental stages of this missionary presence and recalled that the Sisters “were the pioneers of the educating-evangelizing mission in this area.” He emphasized the Marian and historical connection with the image of the “Virgin Purísima of Macas”, returned to the people by this group of Salesian missionaries after the fire of 1891.
At the end of the celebration, Sister Odila expressed the gratitude of the Community and Sister Lupe presented the Bishop with the image of Saint Maria Troncatti, a sign of the spiritual bond that unites the FMA Institute to this Amazonian Church.
On the same day, during the solemn centenary ceremony, the mayor of Macas, Francisco Andramuño Rodríguez, congratulated the Salesians present and emphasized “the Institute’s valuable educational and pastoral contribution to the city’s social development,” highlighting their continued presence and commitment to the Amazonian population. Certificates and awards were presented, and the Sisters who served in the Amazon missions received a tribute for their dedication. Representatives of the Past Pupils testified to the educational legacy they received.
On 5 December, on the eve of the Commemorative Celebration of Canonization, the FMAs, the Bishops of Ecuador, and the people of Sucúa participated in a procession from Quinta Mendoza (the site of the plane crash that killed the Saint) to the Sports Arena of the Fiscomisional Río Upano Educational Unit. Bishops, priests, young people, missionaries, and devotees experienced the pilgrimage that preceded the procession with the urn of relics to Macas, in an atmosphere of recollection and spirituality.
Lastly, on 6 December, at the Palazzetto Luis de Rivadeneira Polo, faithful, priests representing the Salesian Family, religious, and delegations from all over the Country, gathered for the Eucharist of thanksgiving for the canonization of Saint Maria Troncatti. The presider was Cardinal Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, OFM, Archbishop of Guayaquil, along with several Bishops of Ecuador. In his homily, the Cardinal emphasized the human and spiritual depth of the new Saint:
“Isaiah proclaims, ‘How beautiful are the feet of the messenger who announces peace on the mountains’. It is an image that seems to have been written especially for that woman who crossed the ocean driven only by the love of God. In the jungle, she founded a school, an altar, and a house; where others saw walls, she discovered doors.” The celebrant also recalled her “strong tenderness”, capable of combining firmness and sweetness, healing wounds and sowing peace.
The presence of Juwá Juank Bosco, beneficiary of the miracle recognized by the Church, filled this moment with emotion and hope and was a living sign of the grace received through the intercession of Saint Maria Troncatti.
The Celebration was broadcast live around the world through the YouTube channel Salesianas Ecuador, thanks to the joint work of the team of the Salesian Communications Office of the Salesians of Don Bosco and the FMA Social Communication Team.
This century-old celebration in the “Eastern Emerald” – as Macas is called – is a sign of gratitude from the FMA Institute to God and to the Macabean and Shuar people. The Canonization of Saint Maria Troncatti, along with the journey traveled by many Sisters in the various Salesian presences, confirms the educational, evangelizing, and deeply missionary vocation of the FMA Institute in the Amazon. With the same dedication and love as those who took their first steps in 1925, the Salesians of Don Bosco continue to accompany, form, and walk together with the people who have welcomed them for a century.
