2 March
Saint Lucius, bishop
26/06/2011: Brazil - Photo gallery
Wishing to further the mission of evangelisation and mark the Marial Year in Brazil, the community of Tarauacá, Acre, in Brasilian Amazonia, organized a Marial Missionary Week.
After intense reflection and good organisation, the parish of Tarauacá carried out, from 20 to 30 May, a vast programme to relaunch the missionary dimension of the Catholic Church in the region. Several congregations were involved in this mission: Spiritan Fathers, Sisters of Notre-Dame, Marists (Brothers and lay persons, one Sister and a Father), as well as numerous lay people from the four parish communities affected. The Marist community, through the intermediary of Brothers Carlos Scottà and Braz Lanius, was fully involved in the project, organizing the infrastructure and programming. The communities of Sisters, Fathers and Brothers hosted the missionaries during the mission.
Many had to make a long voyage to reach Tarauacá. From the very first, all tried to become immersed in the local situation. Promenades on foot, on bicycle, crossing large rivers by a bridge or a ferry, in dry times or in the mud, all were able to experience the human, cultural, traditional and physical climate of the interior of Acre.
The Marist community was the work base; it was crowded each day, for board and lodging, as for the many meetings held to co-ordinate and evaluate the work.
We were organised into four teams, each with a topic to develop in the different communities: team 1: Mary, disciple; team 2: Mary in the Bible; team 3: Mary in History; team 4: Mary in the Christian cult.
The communities’ spaces were full each evening and the participation was intense. The children, numerous everywhere, assured a certain « animation » and put the patience and the creativity of the missionaries to the test.
Many groups and institutions requested our presence for the visits, talks and celebrations. Many schools were thus able to be visited. We reached a great number of students in the morning, afternoon and evening sessions. On each of these occasions, it was also possible to speak about the environment, the Brotherhood Campaign and the International Year of Forests (UNO).
On Saturday evening, all the communities took part in the procession in the direction of Praça da Matriz. It was a beautiful walk in the light of candles and to the sound of hymns to Mary. Each of the four communities carried its little multicoloured flag: the missionary colours – green, yellow, blue, white and red. The place was filled with persons presenting a beautiful tapestry of lights and colours. The celebrations closed with prayers, hymns, manifestations of joy and words of thanks to all the collaborators. On Sunday an evaluation was made, looking for ways to continue the activity of evangelisation. The following day, Monday 30 May, everyone went back to their communities, families and work.
Missionary Team - Tarauacá, 30 May 2011.
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