Dominicas de la Presentación - Capítulo General 2019

Historical Tour

On July 1978, Monsignor Luis Munive & Escobar, Bishop of the Diocese of Tlaxcala and President of the Commission of Missions CELAM, organized a course on « Missiology» for Latin America in two stages during the years 1978-1979.

It offered scholarships to different Dioceses. This is how the Diocese of Duitama (Colombia) was benefited. Sister Rosa de la Anunciation, from the Province of Bogota, who was working at that moment there, was sent to participate in it. Thanks to this event, Monsignor Munive knew the Congregation and its mission in the world. At this time, the VIII Mexican Missionary Congress and the II Latin American Missionary Congress were being prepared. The venue of this last would be in Tlaxcala, so Monsignor Luis Munive decided to ask the Congregation support to organize this important event. The call was made to Sister Carlos de Jesus, Provincial Superior of Bogota.

The Provincial Chapter of Bogota, that was held on December 1978, decided to respond to this call. Sr. Manuelita Charria Arcienegas (New Provincial Superior) with her Council, sent three sisters: Leonor Avellaneda Navas, Lilia Alcira Vacca Avila, and Beatriz Panqueva Abella. They chose March 19th, 1979 as date of arrival in Mexico. In Tlaxcala, the Sisters were welcomed by the Fr. Valentin Rogelio Mendoza, Director of Catechesis and Evangelization of the Diocese. Soon later, more sisters arrived as well: Sr. Carmen María Sánchez Morales, Sr. Julia de la Presentation, and Sr. Alicia Ayala Cadena.

Very soon, the first community in Mexican land welcomed with joy and gratitude two young women who were attracted to religious life and the charism of Marie Poussepin: Josefina Gracia Meneses and Violeta Tlapale Pavon. On behalf of Bishop Munive & Escobar, the Sisters received the request to accompany seven parishes, particularly for youth ministry and preparation to marriage.

On August 6th, 1979 Sr. Manuelita Charria, Provincial Superior of Bogota, came to Mexico to visit the community. At this time, the contract with Bishop Munive was signed. The agreement was called "Presence of the Sisters".

First Foundations

• On July 1980, it was in Cuautitlán Izcalli, State of Mexico, with a projection in catechesis at Lago de Tepeyac School, with more than 3,000 students in Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle and High School. Sr. Yolanda Pulido Parga, Sr. Beatriz Neira and Sr. Josefina de la Merced were dedicated to coordinate the elementary school catechesis, the secretariat, health care at the school and moral classes in Middle School.
• Friar Francisco Quijano OP, Prior Provincial of the Province of Santiago Mexico, offered to integrate an indigenous pastoral team with the Dominican Friars in Chiapas. Ocosingo would be the site, and the sisters would be living and sharing the mission with the friars. On August 30th, 1981, Sisters Carmen Beatriz Pardo and Yolanda Pulido traveled to Ocosingo with the company of Sr. Manuelita Charria. The foundation of Ocosingo allowed us to insert ourselves among our indigenous brothers from the Tzeltal ethnic group. This kind of presence with the Dominican friars was of great perspectives and great demands.
• On June 14th, 1984 with the presence of the Congregation in Caborca Sonora Mexico, caring for the sick and elderly in the north of the country.
• On 1985 was the opening of the novitiate in Cuautitlan. It began with seven postulants and they had Sr. Maggy Penagos Bojaca as their Mistress. On January 23th, 1987 it was received the decree of erection of the novitiate.

We became Vice Province on August 8th, 1988. It was erected as a new structure for Mexico and Central America. The government was appointed: Vice Provincial Sr. Maggy Penagos Bojaca and her respective counselors. The Provincial house was built and on April 8th, 2001 it was blessed. The house is located at Empresa 45 colonia Insurgentes Mixcoac, Benito Juarez County in Mexico City.
From Vice Province into Province. Sr. Maria Fabiola Velazquez Maya, Superior General with the deliberative vote of her Council erected the Vice Province of Guadalupe into Province during the Vice Provincial Assembly held on November 14 to 21, of 2003 precise date when the decree was read.

The Province today…
We continue in Mexico, Guatemala and el Salvador

Community of Tlaxcala – Central Region of Mexico

As a Community, we have commited ourselves to live and announce Jesus Christ in community while we generate processes in the Diocese of Tlaxcala that enable the awareness of dignity, through our 2 missionary involvements:

• Human promotion and Project of alternative medicine, in the Association for Social Promotion "Presentation" House, (Civil Association) (CAPS).
• Educational Pastoral Care, with a sister’s contribution as a teacher in the Middle school level of the Popular Autonomous University of Puebla (UPAEP); in the municipality of San Pablo Apetatitlan, Tlaxcala.

In these two areas, we accompany processes that make people aware of the dignity of God's children, both their own and of the others. Likewise, we promote interest in caring for the creation. For this:

• We offer service of alternative therapies to improve the integral health of people. In this way we exercise charity in welcoming and caring for the sick through an evangelizing service.
• We develop and promote the natural products elaborated in “Presentation House” for the people’s health and as a means of sustaining financially our projects and programs.

At this moment we are:

• Creating means that help us live our dignity as children of God (groups and communities that we accompany).
• Establishing relationships of fraternity, mutual help and service.
• Walking towards the professionalization and institutionalization of the Civil Association for Social Promotion "Presentation" House.
• Encouraging protection of the environment.
• Involving Dominican Laity of the Presentation in different stages in this process.

The Community of Tlaxcala also welcomes Sisters who live their "Sabbatical experience", time of spiritual renewal and rest. They are accompanied by the Sisters of the Provincial Government.

Colonia Dolores - San Salvador

This community is located in Colonia Dolores to the southeast of San Salvador, in the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows, Archdiocese of San Salvador. It was founded on February 28th, 1984. The reality lived in El Salvador, urges us to make a commintment of building peace and working for the culture of life, proclaming the Gospel and witnessing God’s love.

Missionary Project of the Community:

Renewal of the missionary presence. To be a community called to serve the human being in El Salvador through a Health care ministry. It has to be understood as presence and action that bring the light and grace of the Risen Lord to those who suffer and to those who take care of them. All these is aimed to foster a culture of appreciation for life and health care.

Currently, we contribute with:

• Medical Biomagnetism since 2008. A sister and two laywomen respond to this service, highly valued by the population.
• In the Parish: we visit the sick of the parish bringing them communion. We also respond for the faith, peace and human rights formation at the parochial school.
• We accompany a group of Dominican Laity of the Presentation who collaborate in attending the sick from the parish, as well as a group of lay missionaries with a project of itinerant mission outside the archdiocese.
• We encourage vocation promotion.

Formation Community - Mexico

Cuautitlan has approximately 140,059 inhabitants. Because it has railroads, it is a place of passage for people who emigrate to the United States. The community has an essential mission in accompanying young women. It is a community that searches and reflects constantly in order to respond to each person according to her reality, and thus achieve a comprehensive and personalized formation. There is a strong demand for multiculturalism and inculturation due to the diversity of cultural and family contexts where the candidates come from.

• The integral formation starting from very simple things is an important aspect for the person from the first stages of her formation.
• The integration and participation of the sisters who accompany the formation process is an essential element for the smooth running of the community.
• Extension of the Charism, through a projection in the parish.
• Liturgy, as spiritual means that unites us to one another.
• Education of children in formal school.
• Attending workshops with sisters from the Province helps the formation journey.

Community of Morelia - Mexico

The city of Morelia is the capital of the State of Michoacan, located in the central-western zone of Mexico. The community of Morelia has two missionary presencess:

• Youth Ministry and Marie Poussepin House.
• Youth Ministry in the Archdiocese. The Congregation was called by the Archdiocese on 1987 to collaborate with the Youth Ministry, more specifically with the formation of teenagers and youth leaders. Young people are for Church and society, overflowing life, the reason for joy and hope. But at the same time, they are also the prime target of organized crime, violence and lack of opportunities.

Marie Poussepin House

Morelia is an important university center, where young people come to study. They come from the interior of the State, from other states of Mexico, and even from other countries, mainly from Latin America. In searching for economic sustainment for the Province, we decided to build a place to shelter young university students with limited resources who come to the city to study or work.Encouraged by this reality, we received from the Lord the mission of accompanying university students with immense joy by providing them a dignified space for their integral growth.

The community also offers, biblical reflection to people who want to deepen on the Word of God, lay people who wish to know more about our Charism by being part of the Dominican Laity of the Presentation group. There are monthly Eucharist, and Adoration every Thursday for all those who wish to participate and to have a deeper encounter with Jesus Eucharist. We have visits to the sick as well.

Welcome Community, Mexico

The mission of the Welcome community is multi-purpose: it welcomes the sisters of the Province as a group for Provincial meetings and also personally. It attends to lay people who come to Mexico City and ask for help from the community. It accompanies sick sisters, offers treatment to lay people and sisters with Medical Biomagnetism to reduce their suffering and the limitations of old age and disease. Three sisters work in Educational Pastoral care at the School Mier & Pesado. They live at the facilities offered at the School from Monday to Friday and they come to the community on weekends.

Community of Ciudad Altamirano - Mexico

In a context of inequality, misery, disease, violence, and control of drug trafficking in the municipality of Ciudad Altamirano, Guerrero, the community seeks to collaborate in the construction of the Kingdom of God, from the Diocesan Coordination of Health Care Ministry, according to the Diocesan Pastoral Plan. It seeks to promote and encourage an encounter with the Word of God and the documents of the Church in small communities by developing materials to motivate people and lead them to take preventive actions and commitment related with the protection of the environment and health care, in order to make the Kingdom of God visible.
 
Administration and coordination of the Center of Promotion of Health care and the Family Mons. Juan Navarro Ramirez (Civil Association). It seeks to respond to the lack of access to health care, especially the neediest, by:

• Caring for sick people, with the support of a general physician.
• Two sisters treat people through biomagnetism therapies, to promote physical, emotional and spiritual health.
• Massage therapies (3 alternative health promoters from the community)
• Dental care (a dentist).
• Psychological Attention (a psychologist).
• Pharmacy and clothing bazaar, to support people with limited resources.
• Listening, welcoming and accompaniment to some relatives of disappeared people.
• Counseling for a group of people with disabilities called "Frater".
• Support and accompaniment to 100 children of limited resources through scholarships.
• Radio program twice a week, with the support of the Laity.

From the Parish:

• Accompaniment to two sectors through the formation of communities of life, in the light of the Word of God, to rebuild the social fabric and peace.
• Accompaniment of the Dominican Laity of the Presentation group, who support the mission.

Provincial Community

We are a community that lives in the Provincial House of the Province of Guadalupe a community of perpetual vows: We are located in Mexico City, capital of the Mexico, cosmopolitan city, which has great artistic and cultural wealth. In the colony, Insurgentes Mixcoac, with middle-class people, located in condominiums with all that this implies of ignorance among families. In addition to living the administration as a mission, we accompany a group of Dominican Laity of the Presentation, vocation promotion ministry, and service to the parish.

Community of La Candelaria Chiapas - Mexico

We live in the Community of La Candelaria, located 25 kilometers from the City of San Cristobal de las Casas. We are three perpetual professed and one aspirant at this moment. We came to this community in 2006, to share the parish mission with the Dominican Friars of the Province of Santiago.

Candelaria is a fairly religious community, well located, with a formal community organization. It is governed by itself. It has its own culture, its Tsotsil language and its habits and customs are rooted in their ancestors.

Our mission has four aspects:

1. Pastoral: 

• At the parish level: we accompany the sections of Youth Ministry, Women, Children Catechesis, Believer People, Principals, Eucharist Ministers, and Deacons. And we are in charge of the accompaniment of 4 territorial areas of the Parish: Candelaria, San Antonio las Rosas, San Jose Buenavista, and Manzanillo.
• At the Sector level: Youth Ministry, Women, and Believer People.
• At the Diocesan level: Believer People and Youth Ministry. We participate also in vocation promotion.

2. Formation:

The mission of this community is the accompaniment and formation of the aspirants for the Congregation from April 2017.

3. Itinerant Mission:

Accompaniment to a community from the Parish of San Jacinto, Ocosingo.
As a community, we participate in the integral process of evangelization in the rural community of Las Tazas.

4. Alternative Health:

We offer medical Biomagnetism therapy at the Candelaria house.

Community Residence Guadalupe - Mexico

The Guadalupe Residence is located in the Rancho Tetela neighborhood between Via Lactea and Cielito Lindo Street, in the city of Cuernavaca, Morelos. The Congregation is present there since October 26, of 2015. We were called by the Administrators Angel Gutierrez Garcilaso and Evangelina Gordillo Mata. Its main mission is to accompany the Residents, who are elderly people whose ages range from 73 to 101 years old. They are visited, listened and they are able to talk as well. They are encouraged to participate in the different therapies and activities programmed for the week. We go with them to the doctor, to the laboratory tests, shopping and cultural presentations outside home. We look after groups that come to entertain them time to time such as choirs, dancers, comediens, etc.

There is also spiritual accompaniment through the Eucharist on Sundays, the prayer of the Rosary and the Word of God Service during the week. The liturgical times are celebrated: Christmas and Holy Week. The Patronal Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th. When they enter a period of crisis due to the disease, they are accompanied more closely and prepared for a good death. We get involved in everything in the house that creates a good environment for the Residents and employees.

Community of Santa María Ixhuatan - Guatemala

On December 1st, 2015 we began our missionary experience in the Municipality of Santa Maria Ixhuatan, of Santa Rosa State, from the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima. We belong to the parish of Santa Maria de Todos los Santos, which is made up of 43 villages.

The population of Santa Maria Ixhuatan mostly is dedicated to agriculture being corn and beans the most grown product, as well as coffee, bananas, tomatoes, and papaya. Rice and sesame are cultivated very little in some areas. This municipality has been a town marked by violence between families and peace is a process still to work on. The spirit of revenge remains in many families who are far from God.

From the Educational Pastoral Care at the Parish School Our Lady of Carmen, we seek to facilitate the evangelization with an attitude of listening and dialogue to accompany the educational processes that may lead to a commitment for Christian life, according to the pedagogy of Marie Poussepin. Two sisters work full time there.

The school is mixed. In the morning Pre-KG and Elementary school are attended and in the afternoon Middle school and High school (Technical). They are approximately 300 students in total. In the Parish, we give our spiritual and pastoral contribution to the formation processes for Catechists and Missionary Children leaders. We participate in the Parish Council and we respond to the request in the field of formation according to our community organization. Three sisters of the community are inserted in the pastoral services of the parish.

In Pastoral of Health care, we seek to provide our charity service through medical biomagnetism therapies, to offer integral health for those who seek a better quality of life. There one sister working full-time service in three sectors: Santa María Ixhuatán, Cuilapa (departmental capital of Santa Rosa) and Guatemala City.

Towards Restructuring and Missionary Revitalization of the Province

Formation Community

After having had the experience of initial formation at the inter-Provincial level, we felt the need to have the formation within the Province to encourage becoming rooted in the Province. That is why we made the effort to reopen the Novitiate with a different organization. The Formation community is one, responding to two stages: Postulancy and Novitiate, valuing and respecting the autonomy of each one.

The fusion of Mier and Pesado School and the Welcome Community in July 2018

In 2017, the Mier y Pesado Foundation asked the Congregation to leave the leave the responsibility as principal for internal readjustments, and they asked us to support for the animation of the Pastoral ministry of the School. Three sisters do their mission during the week and they come and stay in the community on weekends.

La Candelaria, itinerant misión

One of the action lines of the Provincial Project is "To strengthen the missionary presence in El Salvador and Chiapas". With this task, we talked to the friars of the Parish in Ocosingo, Chiapas, Mexico, asking them to give us the opportunity to begin this searching, not in the county seat but in the rural communities. We started by being present for missions during the Holy Week. At the same time, we wanted a significant mission place for the Dominican Laity of the Presentation to offer them a different experience. It has been also meaningful for the Province that the first stage of formation is in an insertion community. Accompaniment is offered to the community Las Tazas one week per month: "Itinerant mission."

Missionary search in El Salvador

A sister was assigned to continue searching for a place in view of a possible presence in order to strengthen and expand the mission, as well as looking for closeness to the community in Guatemala.
A place has been identified in the diocese of Zacatecoluca, and an itinerant ecumenical missionary team has been formed, which has designed a project.

News from the Province

Sabbatical Experience
In order to give spaces for internalization and renewal for the sisters, we set out to offer them a space for the human-spiritual and community renewal to continue their consecrated life with a new dynamism. We had this experience in different moments with two groups: six and two months, with sisters of different stages and circumstances. The evaluation of the Province was positive and it was suggested to continue it.

Provincial Diagnosis
This work was a call from the vocation promotion team that sought to energize this main axis of the Province. With the advice of professionals, we began the diagnosis of the Province, finding aspects to work on. As a response to this, we started workshops of human development, which seek to strengthen communion, participation, trust, and reconciliation with all the sisters.

Challenges

• The financial support of the Province.
• The missionary restructuring with the Vice Province of the United States.
• Promoting Provincial identity. To socialize the history of the missionary experience of the Province to get rooted in our identity in this part of the Congregation, and to energize the interior life.
• Vocation Promotion. To search new ways for vocational accompaniment and to give a credible witness.
• Provincial Health Care Project with a holistic view: "The houses of Integral Health Marie Poussepin".
• New forms of presence with the youth.
• Use of the media for Evangelization.
• Open ourselves to a new paradigm with lay people and with the Dominican Laity of the Presentation.

 

 Download PDF newsletter