Brazil. On 8 March 2025, International Women’s Day, the Interprovincial Conference of Brazil (CIB) brought together the religious communities of the four Provinces of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians for an online meeting with Mother Chiara Cazzuola, Superior General of the FMA Institute.
“For a generative animation” was the theme of the meeting organized as part of the Inter-Sector Seminar of the FMA Provinces of Brazil, moderated by Sister Maike Loes, Communication Coordinator of the Our Lady Aparecida Province (BAP). The online broadcast recorded 82 points of connection, uniting sisters from north to south of the country, from major capitals, as well as smaller cities, and even from the missionary and isolated regions of the Rio Negro.
The challenge of this meeting with Mother was in fact to participate in the event in a community way, being the Inter-Sector Seminar in line with the synodality option of the Church. For the Institute of the FMA, missionary synodality is one of the priority choices of the General Chapter XXIV (2021).
The meeting was officially opened by Sister Alaíde Deretti, President of the CIB and Provincial of Our Lady Aparecida Province (BAP) of São Paulo. She greeted Mother Chiara, thanking her for her availability, the time spent on CIB, and the readiness with which she accepted the invitation, among her many other commitments.
Mother then developed the theme, leading the reflection on some documents of the FMA Institute, such as the Constitutions, Plan of Formation, and Guidelines of the Educational Mission, identifying the connection with animation and government. She also helped the participants rediscover the life of Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello and St. John Bosco in the light of generative animation.
She affirmed that government “aims to help people and communities realize their vocation in the educative mission, in fidelity to the charism of foundation” and that “there is no animation without government and there is no government without animation.”
For the Superior General, “the service of animation and government can only be carried out by passionate people who, through faith and hope, make God present in the different and unprecedented situations that challenge us. People who keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, the Lord.”
Indicating moments and daily situations of the life of Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello, Mother Chiara pointed out that in the co-founder of the Institute “we do not find any theorizing on animation, its characteristics, purpose, and method.” However, in her “there is experience, that is a style of presence with people that is not only spontaneous, but the result of a process of formation.”
In relation to Saint John Bosco, she stressed that the Founder of the Salesian Family “was aware that the educative reality cannot be an individual project, but a work with social, political, and religious implications. Therefore, all those who are interested in the future of humanity must contribute to it. He was never alone in the realization of his projects.” Don Bosco therefore combined very well animation and government.
After Mother’s conference, the Provincials, Sister Teresinha Ambrosim (Belo Horizonte – BMM) and Sister Maria Américo Rolim (Recife – BRE) gave some considerations, presenting resonances on the content given and asking some questions to continue to reflect – as CIB – on animation and government.
This opened a space for dialogue, in which Mother reinforced the need to cultivate a stronger sense of belonging to the Institute, the Provinces, and the local communities. “The sense of belonging, the sense of family… I think we have to work a lot so that this grows in each of us,” she underlined.
Mother also reflected on the vocational motivations of each FMA: “to go forward together, it is necessary that we live coherently the vows we have freely professed.”
On behalf of all the FMA of Brazil, Sister Narcisa Berti of Mary Help of Christians Community of Lins, São Paulo (BAP), thanked Mother Chiara, emphasizing her testimony of presence at this initiative of CIB. She then invited all the Sisters to express a “choral thank you” to Mother, seizing the opportunity in view of the World Day of Gratitude that will be celebrated on 26 April 2025.
To conclude the meeting, Sister Maria Carmelita Conceição, vice-president of CIB and Provincial of Our Lady of the Amazon (BRM) of Manaus, expressed gratitude to Mother on behalf of CIB, recalled the commitment of the FMA during the time of Lent, and anticipated wishes for a Happy Easter to Mother and the General Council.
With the projection of the video, Hymn to Mother Mazzarello – “Contempliamo il tuo volto”, (We Contemplate Your Face) ended the meeting with Mother Chiara Cazzuola, who gave the FMA of Brazil the joy of hearing and welcoming the magisterium of the 10th Successor of Mother Mazzarello.
