Briel historic review  

The long journey of the Province of Medellin reveals God's Providence at all times in its history. Following the footsteps of the humble, pious and charitable Marie Poussepin, we have been marked and constantly motivated to live charity as our way of preaching.

We do not want to, nor can we forget the missionary fire of the first sisters, who are today for us, a memory of fidelity: Mère Félix Joseph, Mère Marie Agnès, Mère Thérèse des Anges, Mère Thérèse Dominique, Soeur Marie Bernard du Rosaire, H. Margarita de la Encarnación, Sr. Inés Marulanda Villegas, Sr. Ruth María Vallejo Isaza, Sr. Ruth Elena Correa Correa and currently Sr. Ángela María Vélez Restrepo, with whom we continue to build our history under the sign of hope.

• Mère Félix Joseph 1930 - 1936
• Mère Marie Agnès 1936 - 1947
• Mère Thérèse des Anges 1947 - 1957
• Sœur Marie Bernard du Rosaire 1965 - 1974
• Sr. Margaritade la Encarnación 1975 - 1964
• Sr. Inés Marulanda Villegas 1984 - 1994
• Sr. Ruth María Vallejo Isaza 1994 - 2004
• Sr. Ruth Elena Correa Correa 2004 - 2014
• Sr. Ángela María Vélez Restrepo 2014 - 

The Province keeps its identity firm by responding to the requirements of the Church, the Congregation and the people to whom we have been sent, conscious not only of its reality, expressed in its projects, priorities and commitments, but also in the on-going possibility of discovering the events of God in each sister, in each community. With attitudes of availability and openness, we embark on a new path full of demands in the face of the elaboration of our missionary map, the study, deepening and experience of the Constitutions and the strengthening of our charismatic identity. In the Project of the province, we want to make ours the new orientations proposed by the 55th General Chapter and commit ourselves to respond with boldness and creativity. We trace an itinerary that we are determined to follow in fidelity to the past, with clarity in the present and hope for the future, convinced of the love of the Lord, recognizing the vitality of the Charism, the apostolic and missionary dynamism and spiritual growth. We accept the challenge of history so that the Gospel continues to be the stimulus that permanently confirms us and our brothers and sisters in the faith. Cfr. Project and Statute - December 2014

June 21 1873 Arrival of the Sisters to Colombia.

July 16, 1876 Arrival in Medellin to provide charity service at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, today St. Vincent de Paul Hospital. Over time, the communities, the works, the number of Sisters was growing...

On May 11, 1930, the circular letter of Mother General Leon Joseph, stated: "The Council of the Congregation has decided to create a new Province in Medellin, which the Sacred Congregation, responsible for the Affairs of the Religious Societies, ratified by a Rescript dated December 13 to 16, 1929.

"We find ourselves in the need to create a new Province in Colombia ... establishments have multiplied. “After having consulted Rome, we received the fatherly blessing of our Eminence Cardinal Protector for the New Province" and with the approval of the Archbishop of Medellin, Bishop Manuel José Caycedo, he wrote in the page of history the delicate reception of his Excellency. The Decree on the erection of the Novitiate is expressed as follows: “Manuel José Caycedo By the grace of God and of the Holy Apostolic See, Archbishop of Medellin, Assistant to the pontifical council. The Superior General of the Institute of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, founded in Tours, according to their Constitutions and for the multiplicity of their works in Colombia, asks to establish a new Province and the erection of a Novitiate in our Archdiocese; according to our opinion we grant such an erection, which will be convenient for spiritual utility and honor in the Archdiocese, provided that the prescribed license required by Law is obtained from the Apostolic See (Canon 494) ".

July 15, 1930: Mère Félix Joseph, first Provincial, arrived in Medellin. The Province had 51 establishments and a staff of 460 Professed Sisters.

The life of the new Province continued amid lights and shadows. With the dynamism of the Spirit: new vocations, new communities, new insertions, always marking the pace, to the rhythm of the challenges in the Church, the clamor of the world, the incessant calls of the poor, the demands of the new evangelization and the restructuring of the new Missionary Map. Calls, foundations, merges, closures… It highlights the missionary expansion to other countries that today continues to belong to the Province, make up new Structures or Communities that are part of other Structures:

October 17, 1936: Closing of the Province of the Coast, (which had been erected on May 1, 1884). "On this date, the Provincial Council chaired by Mother Thérèse Augusta and with the assistance of all its members, Mother recalled the decisions taken at the Mother House regarding the Province of the Coast. The houses of the Coast: Hospital, College of the Presentation, School of the Rosary and School of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Barranquilla; School of the Presentation and Orphanage in Cartagena; School and Hospital in Santa Marta; School and Hospital in Ciénaga; School and Hospital in Ocaña and School in Convención, insofar as these houses have easy communication with Magdalena river, which facilitates travel, will become part of the Province of Medellin. Total: 13 houses “(The Presentation in Colombia, p. 238).

March 9, 1954. Mère Thérèse Augusta, Superior General, tells the Sisters "the Directives to which we are going religiously to be formed:
The Provinces of Bogota and Medellin will be divided to form Vice Provinces independent of the Province from which it comes. Each one will have its council for administration and a little later will have its Novitiate.

"The Provinces will consist of:

• Bogotá: the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá and the Mission of Casanare.
• Medellín: the departments of Antioquia, Atlántico, Bolívar and Chocó.

The Vice provinces of:

• Bucaramanga: the departments of Santander del Sur, Santander del Norte, Magdalena and the Republic of Venezuela.
• Manizales: the departments of Tolima, Caldas, Huila, Valle.

June 1 1956. University Residence in Washington, D.C. With the authorization of the Reverend Mother General the establishment of a Residence in Washington, D.C was thought to allow the Sisters to live with ease and at the same time for it to serve as a University residence for students who have finished their education in our Schools to continue their University education in the United States.
On June 1 of the same year, was established the Residence with the group of our Sisters pursuing their studies, Religious from other communities and young women students.

August 14, 1962. Foundation in Puerto Rico, today in the Province El Caribe.

January 24, 1965. Foundation in Bolivia.

June 12, 1965. Foundation in Peru. Both countries (Bolivie and Peru) since 1983 constitute the Province of Los Andes.

March 31, 1963. Foundation in Panamá.

1998 – Haiti is received by the Province of Medellin.

Currently in the Province:

• We are Sisters: 368
• Temporal Vows: 4
• Perpetual Vows: 364
• Novices: 2
• Postulants: 1

The 40 communities are located in:

• Panama (4 communities)
• Haiti (1 community)
• Colombia: departments of Antioquia (29 communities), Atlántico (2 communities), Bolívar (1 community), Chocó (3 communities).

Missionary presences

"Missionary irradiation is done through our charismatic orientations: education, health, social works, including in the latter everything that condenses our projections in the different fields of pastoral work." (Report on the life of the Province 2014-2018).

EDUCATION

Currently 47 of our sisters have their mission directly in education as principals, academic coordinators, treasures, teaching, pastoral and other educational services. 31 Sisters in private schools and 16 in public educational institutions, archdiocesan, diocesan or parish school, private non-owned and private subsidized.

HEALTH

“The call of our Mother Foundress’s, Marie Poussepin, is very concrete: 'Provide service to the sick with great testimony of Charity' (RG). This is the essence of what we are in the world of health and the vision of the mission that we can never lose.
Today, 13 of our sisters have their mission at the Clinic El Rosario, in its two locations. We share the mission with 1085 lay people at the administrative level, doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, secretaries, apprentices, general services and other services required by the Clinic.

HOUSES OF ELDERLY SISTERS

47 Sisters with a mission in health and other related, services in the homes of elder sisters: San José, San Bernardo, Santo Domingo, Santa Teresa and Girardota. Total of elderly and sick Sisters, in each community:

• San José 58
• San Bernardo 55
• Santo Domingo 23
• Santa Teresa 30
• Girardota 6

WELLNESS CENTERS FOR THE ELDERLY (WCE)

The Centers for the Well-Being of the Elderly (WCE) are, in the Province of Medellin, works of the Gospel routed in the fertile sap of those who have given everything, every day they have been building a real house, a home, a place of peace that supports the dignity of the human being in respect, affection and appreciation of our seniors.

Currently, 12 Sisters carry out the mission of the WCE in Rionegro, Girardota and Belencito. Their gift of self in these centers shows the vitality of this charismatic option in the world of health.

One of the challenges assumed in the XIII Health Assembly, determines the importance of venturing into new scenarios that favor the care and defense of life. The Province has taken on this responsibility with responsibility, ensuring the formation of some sisters in Alternative Therapies and Bio magnetism, who join those who already have experience and have their mission in this field of health.

PEDIATRIC MEDICAL CENTER - HAITI

The Marie Poussepin Pediatric Center, in operation since June 8, 2015, is a missionary space in Haiti that opens up to the Province multiple possibilities to live the exercise of charity, essentially through the pastoral care of health.

MEDICAL DISPENSARY AND HEALTH IN MISSIONARY PLACES

The Province responds to the call of the Church that insists on addressing the geographical and existential peripheries, in secluded places, such as El Bale del Ñurum, Panama; Riosucio, Chocó; the Dispensary, in Medellin, where our sisters attend directly to the needs of the population of urban and rural areas, indigenous and poor, ethnic minorities, among others, at the level of first aid in health.

Each one of these missionary projections is inserted in the charismatic orientation of health, since they have become a reference of integral human promotion, of evident service of charity and of social commitment with the vulnerable population; they are calls from the Congregation, which have been assumed with responsibility, audacity and courage by our sisters.

SOCIAL WORK

We live in a time marked by great social challenges, by multiple human cries, the straps of misery continue to surround our missionary presences ... We do not have to look to far ... We do not have to undertake extraordinary actions: "The Sainville of today surrounds us everywhere”...

Our social, parochial and reception centers make the Charism visible: Apartadó, Riosucio, San Pedro de Urabá, San Jose Children's Home, Santa Fe de Antioquia Youth Home, Catechetical Center (Quibdó), Marinilla, Girardota-House of Elder Sisters, Campoamor, El Picacho, Sainville Crespo, Santa Inés Pastoral Center, Maison Marie Poussepin.

FORMATION

"Permanent formation implies dedication and constant effort of human, community, spiritual, intellectual, apostolic and missionary renewal, which allows us to grasp and respond to the new realities of a world in constant change ..." Formation Plan p. 38

"The challenge is to form ourselves to form, and this opens us to new possibilities on the horizon of ongoing formation and self-training ...". C. 64

.

Spiritual life in the heart of the mission

The centrality of Jesus Christ in our life and mission is expressed in the coherence of our consecration, in the following of the poor and humble Jesus and in belonging to an apostolic body, dedicated to his mission.The contemplative dimension of our life makes us capable of speaking to God about others and others about of God, turning our testimony into a prophecy of hope. (Project and Statute 2004)

The Mystery of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple is for us an invitation to live the spirituality of the Temple, of Offering and Presentation.

The image of the Virgin that presides over the Chapel of the Provincial House is a faithful witness to our commitments, efforts, sorrows and joys. It keeps Constitution 1 alive in our hearts and in our minds: " Following the example of the Virgin Mary, we answer in love to God, who committed Himself first. In an attitude of deep faith, we must, every day, choose Christ anew; we rely upon Him to ensure our fidelity and to give meaning and plenitude to our life. ".

Vision

The Sisters of Charity, Dominicans of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, in the Province of Medellin, want to strengthen community life, at a fraternal and spiritual level, to live our consecration and guarantee its quality in our missionary outreach, to assume formation as an urgent challenge that is forging in all the seal of our identity, belonging and commitment and, with a government in close proximity, listening and discernment to involve us all in the construction of a province - "house where we can together live the Gospel".

Photo album

 Download PDF newsletter