Historical visit of M. Carla and the OLS General Council
After the positive experience in the USA, M. Carla and the General Council were able to get together in Mexico for a month of council meetings and life with the sisters. The plan was also to go to Brazil for a month of council meetings, but the Covid-19 pandemic did not make it possible. The Council was hosted by the OLS community in Guadalajara for the majority of February, with the exception of a visit to the community in Sicuicho and in Tepatitlan. This community has been very welcoming and attentive to the need of each member of the Council. They put at the disposal of the Council the library and community room which was spacious, well-lit, and almost soundproof allowing M. Carla and the Council to work very comfortably.
The Council arrived on February 27 and 28. The sisters showed their appreciation and joy at having the whole Council among them.
The Council members worked from Monday through Saturday and Sunday was free for rest and visiting the sisters. Unfortunately, they were not able to visit with the communities in the North – Nogales, and Obregon – but they communicated by phone and the internet.
Traveling to the communities, the council members had the opportunity to do some sightseeing of the area’s attractions: Lake Chapala, the Sanctuary of Zamora where there is a sculpture of Bl. Elisabetta Renzi, the lake of Camuecaro, Paracho, a Tequila plant in Arandas, another one in Tequila city, the Cathedral, and some of the magnificent churches in Guadalajara, as well as other churches in the state of Jalisco.
They loved to visit with the sisters and witness their ministry: catechesis and evangelization in a large periphery of Zapopan, Guadalajara; the cultural program in Sicuicho’s school, the liveliness of the children at the Casa Hogar in Tepatitlan.
They were amazed at the very large production of avocado, strawberries, and blackberries, and the extended cultivation of the agave from which Tequila is produced. They enjoyed the variety of Mexican cuisine, though the sisters very graciously limited the use of hot peppers.
The Council had a very productive month in which the members got to know each other better and strengthened the sisters in our Mexican communities are sad to see the General Council members depart, but they feel encouraged to continue their ministries generously.
M. Carla and the Council are grateful for this experience, and for the love and attention shown to them by all the sisters.
