AMERICA/BRAZIL - New missionary presence of the Opera Don Orione in the Amazon region

Wednesday, 23 October 2019 missionary animation   missionary institutes   poverty   emigration   local churches  

Boa Vista (Agenzia Fides) - New missionary presence of the Opera Don Orione in the Amazon: in the city of Candeias do Jamari, in the state of Rondonia, and near Boa Vista, capital of the state of Roraima. Furthermore the work of support and solidarity with Venezuelans who pass the border continues, the flow of which has never stopped. This is what Father Josumar Dos Santos, Provincial Superior of the Orionines of North Brazil said in a note sent to Agenzia Fides.
"We sent two of our priests, Fr. Sebastiâo and Fr. Miguel, in the city of Pacaraima to collaborate with the Diocese in the material and spiritual support of the multitude of people who cross the border to seek their fortune in Brazil - says Fr. Dos Santos -. We have taken care of 1500/1600 people who every day cross the border with their few things and need everything. We give a meal and some help, and above all we comfort them".
The flow of Venezuelans who arrive in Brazil still continues. The Bishop has entrusted a missionary area to the Orionines on the outskirts of Boa Vista. "We are now starting in a pastoral area without priests, where there is great religious poverty - explains the religious -. Most of them have emigrated; they have lost their roots and their traditions. There are many evangelical sects and Catholics are a minority. We plan to open an educational work for children and young people, many of whom are on the streets without any care".
In Buritis (Rondonia), in the Amazon region on the border with Bolivia, there are 4 religious who are in charge of a vast pastoral area, with more than 100 Christian communities, even very distant from each other, up to 100 kilometers. "The Bishops themselves hardly have priests who are willing to go to these areas, so our presence is seen as a prophecy and a providence for the poor - emphasizes the Provincial Superior -. A beautiful thing is the involvement in the apostolate of the Orionine Sisters and the laity of the Lay Orionine Movement". (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides, 23/10/2019)


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