Bogota (Fides Service) - Organised by the Commission for Missionary Pastoral of the Colombian Bishops’ Conference in collaboration with the National Mission Centre and the Pontifical Mission Societies in Colombia, the 1st National Missionary meeting for Religious was held in Bogota recently on the theme: “Reviving the missionary dimension of our Charisma starting from Prophetic Mystics!”
The aim of the Meeting was to revive the missionary spirit of missionary communities and institutes in Colombia, encourage the activity of the Confederation of Religious in Colombia, CRC, in occasion of its 50th anniversary and celebrate the beatification of Mother Laura and her missionary contribution to the universal Church.
Some 152 religious belonging to 52 different institutes, 40 of women religious and 12 of men religious, attended the meeting chaired by Rev. Héctor Luis Valencia diocesan priest working at the National Mission Centre. Almost 70% of the institutes which took part are involved in mission “ad gentes”: this encouraged the others to include commitment for mission ad gentes in their pastoral plans.
A report on the meeting sent to Fides from the National Mission Centre of the Catholic Bishops, reads as follows: “The participants came away convinced of certain concepts: that missionary dimension should be the transversal axis of all the Church’s activity; that mission consists not in working but in loving, to fully transmit the love of Jesus because mission is a movement of love inspired by the Spirit beyond the frontiers of faith; that new missionary situations demand teams of priests, religious and laity; lastly the urgency of sound formation for the laity ”. (R.Z.) (Agenzia Fides 29/5/2004; Righe 21; Parole 256)