Visit of Mother Chiara Cazzuola to the Province of PAR

Asunción (Paraguay). From 31 August to 6 September 2025 – after the CICSAL-CIB Triennial Verifica, held in San Lorenzo from 26 to 30 August – the Superior General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, made a short visit to Saint Raphael Archangel Province (PAR), which celebrates the 125^th anniversary of the presence of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Paraguay.

“Like Mary, you are a missionary of hope,” is the motto chosen by the Province for this Visit, prepared with prayer and filial love, grasping in the passage of  Mother, the impulse to continue the mission with the same fervor and optimism as the first courageous missionaries, who overcame the unthinkable to arrive in this land to proclaim the Kingdom of God.

On 24 August, Mother, together with the General Councilors participating in the Triennial Verifica: the Vicar General, Sister María del Rosario García Ribas; the Councilor for Formation, Sister Nilza Fátima De Moraes; the Councilor for Missions, Sister Ruth del Pilar Mora; the Councilor for the Salesian Family, Sister Leslie Sándigo; the Councilor for Social Communication, Sister Ausilia De Siena; and the visiting Councilors, Sister Marta Riccioli and Sister Paola Battagliola, were welcomed at the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Luque by the Provincial, Sister Cecilia Camacho Martínez, and by numerous FMA and representatives of different groups .

After the Verifica, from 31 August to 5 September,  Mother stopped at the Provincial House of Asunción, organizing commitments between formation days and personal encounters.

Sunday 31, participated in the Eucharistic Celebration in the Sanctuary of Mary Help of Christians in Asunción, presided over by Fr. Nestor Ledesma, Provincial of Mary Most Holy of the Assumption Province (PAR), and concelebrated by Fr. Ildefonso Talavera and Fr. Dioniso Medina, SDB, in the presence of numerous members of the Salesian Family of Paraguay.

In the morning, Mother then spent time with the Provincial and in the afternoon, she met the Community Animators, dedicating a large space to them to listen to them and briefly learn about the reality of the Communities entrusted to them. Before concluding the meeting, she left them a message, “Cultivate maternity before authority, as did Mother Mazzarello, who was ‘mother’ before being a superior.” She invited them to center their lives in Christ to grow in fraternity, fundamental for a fruitful community life.

Continuing her itinerary, on 1 September she met the Provincial Council and dedicated herself to the Councilors. On 2 September, she went to Villa Palomino, where the students of  Sister Eusebia Palomino School showed her their affection with a beautiful feast. In Villa Palomino there are two communities: Saint Joseph Retirement Home and Sacred Heart Formation House.

In Saint Joseph House, she had an encounter with the elderly sisters, who have dedicated their lives to the growth of the Kingdom in the Province. With them, she participated in the Eucharist and lunch, making them happy with her joy and encouragement. In the afternoon, in the Formation House, she had a brief meeting with the aspirants and postulants, and later with the younger FMA.

Mother Chiara concluded the day by inaugurating, together with the General Councilors, the “House of Memory”, a space intended to preserve and share the memories of the first works of the FMA in this Guarani land.

On 3 September, she experienced a missionary day. Mother, with the Provincial and some FMA, aboard two airplanes, went into the Paraguayan Chaco, where the most distant mission, “Ñu Apu ́a” (Round Field), is surrounded by nothing in the middle of a vast wooded area with special characteristics, mixing savannas, palm groves, thorn bushes, and quebracho trees. The two aircraft landed on a small runway, where  Mother and the FMA were joined and welcomed by the Sisters, students, teachers, and other people.

With great enthusiasm, and aboard a row of pick-ups, they headed to the “Mons. Alejo Obelar Agricultural School”, dedicated to the founding Bishop. It is a boarding school where children and young people aged 6 to 20 reside, covering the entire span of pre-university studies. The Animator, Sister Martina González, in her greeting to  Mother, recounted how God and Mary Help of Christians watched over them and over every inhabitant of that institution, freeing them from  fire, storms, viral diseases, poisonous snakes abundant in the place, and despite the great floods having isolated them for more than three months, in the 39 years since its foundation, they have never suffered any misfortune.

At the end of the greeting, several artistic performances followed one another, which Mother appreciated and underlined in her words, praising the good educational level of the children and young people, the result of the dedication of the missionary Sisters who work in this remote corner of the Country.

Mother Chiara then had a beautiful sharing with the poorest and this moment was sealed by the Eucharist presided over by the Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Paraguayan Chaco, Monsignor Gabriel Escobar, SDB; concelebrated by Monsignor Edmundo Valenzuela, SDB, Archbishop emeritus of the Santissima Asunción, and by the community chaplain, Fr. Duy Nguyen, SDB, with the participation of the entire local population, followed by lunch with the typical Chaco roast.

Mother has imprinted in her eyes and in her memory a reality that can only be understood by seeing it, placing in her heart the life of dedication of her daughters in this corner of Paraguayan land.

On 4 September, she addressed her greeting to the Educating Community of Mary Help of Christians Educational Center, where representatives of the different groups dedicated greetings and gifts to her and a feast with artistic performances. In the afternoon, she dedicated time to the middle-aged Sisters, the largest group, and invited them to create a vocational community, opening the doors to young people to see how the FMA pray, share life, and have recreation. The day ended with the sharing of resonances.

On the same day, in the chapel of the Provincial House, in the presence of the Provincial and some Sisters of the Province, the Councilor of the Municipal Council of Asunción, Mr. César Escobar, awarded Mother Chiara Cazzuola the recognition of Illustrious Visitor of the city,  within the 125 years of presence of the Congregation in Paraguay, highlighting the precious educational and pastoral contribution of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians to the Country.

On 5 September, in the morning, she made a short tour of the Costanera of Asunción to see the place where the first missionaries landed. In the afternoon, to crown the visit to the PAR Province, she met the young people of “Camp Bosco” which brought together 1100 young people, with 80 leaders, from the works of the FMA and SDB throughout the Country, with the joint work of the Salesian Family groups, in communion with the spirit of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello.

The young people presented Mother with a Salesian allegory, as well as a series of interesting and challenging questions, to which she answered with great ease and grace, arousing the applause of the young people, happy to meet the Successor of Mother Mazzarello. It was a special encounter, in which the freshness of the Charism was perceived in the joy, order and festive tone.

On 6 September, with the Eucharistic Celebration, the days of grace for the passage of Mother Chiara Cazzuola to Saint Raphael Archangel Province of Paraguay ended. A good number of Sisters greeted Mother at the airport, all grateful for her messages, her memories, and, above all, her testimony of simplicity and fraternity, truly “Mother, more than Superior”.

Photos: Flickr FMA