Belo Horizonte (Brazil). On 2 January 2024, Sister Yvonne Reungoat, Mother General Emeritus of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, invited by the Councilor for Formation, Sister Maria Américo Rolim to preach the annual Exercises, was welcomed in Belo Horizonte by the Provincial of Mother Mazzarello Province (BMM), Sister Teresinha Ambrosim.
Sister Yvonne welcomed with pleasure the request to go to this land that she has visited many times and which she accompanied the journey towards the new configuration of the Provinces.
In order that the greatest number of sisters could participate, two periods were chosen in January: from 8 to 15, at the Sumaré Study Center, in the city of Rio de Janeiro (RJ); from 17 to 24 at the Retiro das Rosas, House of Spiritual Exercises of the FMA, located in the town of Cachoeira do Campo (MG).
“With Mary, generated in Love, because generated by Love” was the theme of the Exercises. Led by the Spirit, under the mediation of the Mother Emeritus, 32 sisters participated in Rio de Janeiro, while the number of participants in the Retiro das Rosas was 50.
Mother Yvonne exhorted on the first day of the Exercises: “We have the grace to live the Spiritual Exercises at the beginning of a new year that we welcome as a free gift of God who in His Love wants us to have life and life in abundance. This new year is a gift that the Lord gives us, so that we can respond more and more to His Love.”
The joy of Mother Yvonne’s presence was even greater for the FMA of the BMM Province, for having been able to share with her some special moments, such as her birthday, celebrated in Rio de Janeiro on 14 January, receiving prayers from the whole Province, especially by the Sisters of the Exercises.
On the evening of 23 January, Mass was celebrated for the Anniversaries of some Sisters: 25 (Sister Jane Maria da Silva), 60 (Sister Maria Caliman), and 70 (Sister Clotildes Zandonadi) years of religious life and fidelity to the Lord in the Salesian Charism.
At the end of the Spiritual Exercises on 24 January, the First Profession of Sister Fabiane was celebrated, who gave her “yes” to the call to follow Christ more closely on the path of Consecrated Life in the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. The Eucharistic Celebration was presided over by Fr. Natale Vitali Forti, Provincial of the Salesians of the Province of St. John Bosco (BBH), in the presence of the Provincial, Sister Teresinha Ambrosim of the FMA, and some family members and friends of Sister Fabiane, who shared the joy of that day. The witnesses were Sister Yvonne Reungoat and Sister Rosângela Maria Clemente.
At the conclusion of the Spiritual Exercises, Mother Yvonne left this message: “Returning to your communities, I invite you to rethink the life of the pioneers of this country, the life of those of you who have been first in other places. If today in the world, the Institute is the beautiful reality that we contemplate with gratitude, it is thanks to the love of all the FMA. Looking at them you will have a living answer that gives meaning to the invitation: ‘Be with Mary, a presence that generates life’.”
