Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Quito (Agenzia Fides) – The Laguatasi- León Family of Ecuador: Marco Laguatasi, Maribel León, and their children Naomi, Pauleth, and Mateo Lagautasi León, will set off at the beginning of March, as ad gentes missionaries to their brethren in Guatemala, in the Diocese of Jalapa, in the parish in Jutiapa, where they will be received by Bishop Julio Cabrera Ovalle and pastor Fr. Victor Ruano, according to a report to Agenzia Fides from Osvaldo Fierro Teran, Secretary General of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the country.
“For this family, this has been a long-time missionary dream finally come true,” the Secretary General says. It is one that has come about as a fruit of the recent CAM 3 All-America Congress held this past August 17, 2008.
“The family – Osvaldo says – became a missionary family for love of God, the Church, and the mission.” In fact, the parents have always raised their children in a universal missionary spirit and from the time they were little, they would go as a family to do missionary work in the rural areas of Ecuador. Thanks to these experiences, all the children have felt the strong sense of missionary responsibility as their permanent task as Christians.
Since 2000, Marco has collaborated with the Pontifical Mission Societies, as head of the Youth Without Borders section and the “Youth Missionaries of Ecuador” group. His work has allowed him to closely observe the situation of youth missionary work in the country, attend encounters, meetings, retreats, give formation, talks, organize activities, and plan formation courses which are extremely needed by the youth in Ecuador.
In making this missionary decision to go beyond the borders of their country, the Lagautasi-Leon Family has literally left everything behind. They leave everything in the hands of Divine Providence, to take up this new missionary adventure as a family.
The missionary sending of the family will take place this Friday, February 27, at 5pm in the Quito Cathedral and will be presided by Archbishop Raul Vela Chiriboga of Quito, Primate of Ecuador, and will be attended by special delegations from the schools where Marco and Maribel worked, the Youth Ministry Programs, Youth Without Borders, family, and friends.
“The missionary sending of an Ecuadorian family beyond their borders will become an historical landmark for the Catholic Church in Ecuador, not only because this is the first time a family goes on an ad gentes mission, but because it is a sign of the missionary path that our Church in Ecuador has taken up,” said Osvaldo. He also considered that this special missionary event “will become a point of reference for many lay missionaries who are in preparation, to go beyond borders.” In this manner, “the Churches of Ecuador and Guatemala can see themselves even more as sister-Churches, through the missionary presence and action of the Church.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 25/2/2009)
