Province of Los Andes
Grateful memories
Contemplatively gazing on yesterday’s rich history is a grace since the history of a charism is a history of salvation; it is a history of the faithful and merciful presence of God.
Various moments of the missionary presence of the Congregation in Peru and Bolivia:
- 1965 marked a period, a stage of vigor and evangelical dynamism in which the Province of Medellin developed.
- 1983 The year of the birth of a new structure: The Vice Province of:” Los Andes”.
- 1995 The continuity of that to which yesterday had given birth and grown into Province of Los Andes.
From France to Colombia, from Colombia to Bolivia and Peru
Moved by the Spirit which renewed the Church through Vatican Council II, sensitive to the different types of increasing poverty and the calls of the Lord to respond with greater consciousness of the Sending Forth Of The Congregation: “They will go there where the Church calls them and their brethren have need of them”, we have travelled the path of history with the peoples of Peru and Bolivia, at first as the regions of the Province of Medellin, then in 1983 as a vice Province and in 1995 as a Province.
On January 24, 1965, the first three Sisters arrived at Charagua in Bolivia and in June of the same year, another three Sisters at Juliaca in Peru. This first group of Sisters had been sent by Mere Therese Dominique, Provincial of Medellin at the time. Through them is Recorded the initiation of the presence of the Congregation in Los Andes. If through the Spirit we discover the history of our Province, we find in our first Sisters, the foundresses, the witness of those who have joyfully left all to go”where the Church called them and where our brethren had need of them”.
In the course of the years, the Congregation in these countries enabled us to organize another type of government: Regions, which were directed by a Sister who facilitated communication with our Province of origin: Medellin. During this time, we were able to open new houses in very poor places thanks to the sending of young Sisters arriving with all their missionary enthusiasm. In spite of the fact that the Congregation is no longer present in many of these places, the seed of the Charism, sown with such renunciation, will continue to produce its harvest.
During the generalate of Sr. Ines Mercedes Mejia Toro and after a long and responsible preparation, the regions of Peru and of Bolivia were united to become the Vice-Province of Los Andes on October 14, 1983 thus reinforcing its missionary service. The welcoming of new Bolivian and Peruvian vocations and the expansion of the number of mission centers favored the acceptance by the general government of the expressed wish of the Sisters to become a Province. On January 22, 1995, we received the affirmative response with joy and in thanksgiving to God during a beautiful celebration. With the psalmist, we sang: “The Lord has been great in kindness to us and we are glad”. (Psalm 125:3)
On the way to Revitalization, Reconfiguration and Restructuration
With the Congregation, we welcome this historic moment that the religious life of the 21st century assumes with serenity, strength, courage, and hope. We live face to face with challenges to which we must face with determination and vision of the future. The various messages of Pope Francis invite us to prepare new outlets and render them capable of conserving the new wine that the Holy Spirit continues to give his Church, in exhorting us to engage in the changes by concrete actions in the short-term and long-term.
In 2015, the celebration of 50 years of missionary presence in the Andes permitted us to thank the Lord for the mystery of his Love, which is revealed, and constantly proven, renewing our missionary zeal and bringing our response up to date.
“Let us try to celebrate these fifty years by confirming our
evangelical vocation, our prophetic vocation and to be preachers of
hope. May the Lord repay our Sisters and all those who work with
you on this day with the grace of preaching the Good News, announcing the Good News,
which is the Good News of grace, of
mercy, and of hope! Amen"
(Juan José Salaverry OP.)
“As Dominican Sisters of Charity of the Presentation, we are called
to announce Jesus Christ (C 82). This announcement gives us a
sense of our mission: To Preach, that is to say, to speak to the world
about the God who we carry within us, who
fills us with joy and who moves us toward the service of Charity".
(Project and Stature, province of Los Andes)
Our Reality Today
We are a structure that has begun with a great missionary thrust and a clear option for the poor, placing us at the periphery. However, our reality is different today. We have eight communities in Peru and four in Bolivia.
Communities in Peru
Provincial House: seat of our government and since 1989 it is also the welcoming community.
The Community was established on July 16, 1981 as the Regional House.
On October 14, 1983, it became the Vice Provincial House and since 1995, it is the Provincial House.
The house of all! It is also the house of our families, the house of meetings and welcome; at this time, it is in the process of readjustment.
The principal mission of this community is welcoming and listening, also the Sisters maintain a missionary presence: in a public school, at the Conference of Religious; and in healthcare: they welcome sick Sisters and many parents of the sisters are also welcomed and cared for. In addition, on the spiritual plane, they accompany several families, in particular their sick members and there are two Sisters who are in communication services: in the Congregation and by the support of a program on Radio Maria.
The community is located in the archdiocese of Lima.
El Callao
The opening of the community took place on January 4, 1993.
The Sisters are involved in the pastoral of education at the parish school “Santa Cruz”. From the beginning, the philosophy and pedagogy of the school was impregnated with the Charism of Marie Poussepin.
The members of the education community try to give life to the counsels that Marie Poussepin gives to the Sisters. The school offers a personalized education. It is a year now since the direction and administration of the school became the responsibility of the diocese of El Callao. However, three Sisters continue the mission there.
Año Nuevo
The opening of the community took place on September 15, 1983.
The community is located in one of the poorest quarters and the most populated area of Lima. It is part of the periphery of the capital with the presence of migrants of numerous regions of the country. It reflects all aspects. The community is responsible for the school “Fe y Alegria N 10”. The Sisters work as teachers and in the pastoral of education.
The community is in the diocese of Carabayllo.
The Community of Formation
The opening of the community took place on October 14, 1984.
It is located in Lima in the district of San Miguel, JironIntisuyo.
The principal mission of the community is initial formation. In reality, the community participates in the mission of the parish: liturgical animation, welcoming and helping Venezuelan migrants, the pastoral of listening and healthcare through: alternative medicine (therapy) and a Sister who works in a hospital in the town. Also, the community is responsible for a group of laity, group of Marie Poussepin.
The community is located in the archdiocese of Lima.
Moyobamba
The opening of the community took place on February 28, 1999.
The community is located in the town of Moyobamba, in the northwest of the Peruvian Amazon, in a vast valley called Alto Mayo in the department of San Martin where the chancery of Mayobamba is located. The missionary work is integrated in the parish of Santiago Apostol: catechesis, pastoral of listening, the pastoral of youth and vocations, and the Marie Poussepin group. The community is responsible for the administration of the health center of the parish.
Community Mère Saint Pierre
The opening of the community took place on October 14, 2006.
The community is situated about 25 km. from the City of Lima in the district of Chaclacayo, Diocese of Chosica. It is a house for the elderly and sick Sisters as well as a place of rest, retreats, and community meetings. In this house, several of our meetings take place. The community is aware that its principal mission is to support the mission of all by prayer.
Camporredondo
The opening of the community took place on May 15, 2016.
The district of Camporredondo is located in the department of Amazonas in the northwest of Peru. The mission of this community is clearly the pastoral of the parish of the district as well as that of the 12 rural communities of which it is composed.
The pastoral administration of the parish is done by the Sisters since the presence of the priests is not constant. They belong to the Diocese of Chachapoyas.
Communities in Bolivia - Chipiriri
The opening of the community took place on February 10, 1071.
It is a rural zone scattered in the tropics of Cochabamba. It belongs to the Province of Chapare in the north of Cochabamba. There is a Sister who directs the hospital, which is dedicated to mothers and their infants. The hospital belongs to the mission of the local Church. Catechism is taught in various places of the parish.
The community is situated in the archdiocese of Cochabamba.
Santa Cruz
The opening of the community took place on January 24, 1976.
Our presence in Santa Cruz was at first at Barrio Lindo where we took over the teaching in a school and were on the Radio with the institute of Fe y Alegria; there was also health care and promotion of woman.
In 1995, the community was installed at Los Chacos, a poor quarter on the periphery of the town, in a house constructed by and for the community. The moving was due to the revision of the missionary presence and in response to the option for the poor. Today, the mission continues in the pastoral of healthcare, the pastoral of education in a school and the service of the parish in the archdiocese of Santa Cruz.
Alto Obrajes
The opening of the community took place on April 28, 1996.
Alto Obrajes is a quarter situated in the south of La Paz, the capital of Bolivia at an altitude of 3, 600 meters. It is a quarter which is principally of the middle class. The opening of this community was the result of the revision of the missionary presence at Viacha, La Paz.
Its mission at the start of the arrival of the Sisters was healthcare at the medical center ”Divino Maestro” at the parish and in the service of the pastoral of the working class . At present, the community works with the committed laity in formation, which is permanent and complete. The Sisters have made an option for the family and they promote catechesis of the family as a method of evangelization.
The Sisters are present in:
- The pastoral of the parish.
- The promotion of women, in seeking to create a network of family economy.
- In this task, they make use of the law No. 1674 of the national government for the psycho-socio-juridical defense of the woman, taking into account the violence generated in the family.
- The pastoral of the aged, family catechesis, and the lay Dominicans.
Casa Marie Poussepin
The opening of the community took place on July 1, 1996.
The house is located in the region of Puntiti Norte, which is 6 ½ kilometers from Cochabamba, capital of the department of Cochabamba in the heart of Bolivia, its altitude culminating at 2560 meters.
The house was built thanks to the efforts of numerous Sisters in solidarity with all, in support of the Congregation and with the economic aid of outside institutions. It is considered as our central house in Bolivia, a retreat house with a social project for the promotion of woman and medical assistance for the poorest.
Today it continues to be for us a place of meeting, of rest, and of spiritual strengthening, a place of development, of contact with our neighbors and at the same time it is a means of financial support for the Province since it offers services to people and institutions for retreats, meetings, and conferences.
It belongs to the Archdiocese of Cochabamba.
Challenges and opportunities
In analyzing the reality of the Province, we saw the necessity of:
- Revitalization of our missionary life in transcending the frontiers in view of Restructuration.
- Promote and support the pastoral.
- Vocational youth ministry.
- Accompany the elderly Sisters.
- Know how to use the mass media for evangelization.
- Greater integration of the laity in our mission.
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