Belo Horizonte (Brazil). On the morning of 28 April 2025, the Collaborators of Mother Mazzarello Province Center (BMM) and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of the Community gathered in the garden of the House for a special gesture in homage to Pope Francis, celebrating his heritage and evangelizing mission throughout the 12 years of his Pontificate.
The moment of prayer was led by the Provincial Secretary, Sister Maria Cassiana da Costa, who invited the participants to reflect on the importance of celebrating the life and mission of the Holy Father.
During the celebration, everyone was encouraged to share in a spontaneous way, the meaning of Pope Francis’ passage in their lives. The interventions highlighted his imprint as an example of faith, humility, simplicity, giving, and service, especially in favor of the poorest and most vulnerable. In each testimony, the deep mark left by his message and example of hope and renewal for the Church and society was perceived.
The symbolic gesture chosen to represent this moment of gratitude and recognition was the planting of a tree in the garden of the Provincial Center. The chosen species is an Ipê, a symbol of resistance, beauty, and renewal, which represents the hope sown by Pope Francis through his actions and words.
The homage also recalled the joy, so characteristic of the Holy Father, and the example he leaves to all of a life marked by the promotion of peace, the defense of human dignity, and the care of the Common Home. The meeting was also a strong invitation to continue cultivating in daily life the values lived and proclaimed by Francis.
Through this gesture, the entire Province reaffirms its admiration for the witness of faith and service offered to the world by the Pontiff. “Thank you from our heart Pope Francis! We continue to pray that the Church will proceed, with wisdom and much hope, in the Conclave which will elect our new Pope.”
“The ecological conversion needed to bring about lasting change is also a community conversion. This conversion calls for a number of attitudes which together foster a spirit of generous care, full of tenderness. First, it entails gratitude and gratuitousness…”. (LS 219, 220)
