The 140th anniversary of the first Missionary Expedition

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Rome, 14 January 2017
Dearest Sisters,
I renew my greetings for a Happy “MISSIONARY” Year
on this our first appointment of 2017.
The year 2016 witnessed our effort to live mercy as the visible sign of the Father’s love who, “in
Christ, consecrates us, unites us, and sends us” to proclaim and witness “to the young the Good
News of redemption” (Cf. C 8).
In particular, we recall November 14, when we united all the missionaries of hope and of joy to
inaugurate on the five continents, the 140th
anniversary of the First Missionary Expedition. We
were all involved in the invitation to form a GREAT MISSIONARY EXPEDITION in preparation for
this anniversary so important for the entire Institute. According to Mother Yvonne Reungoat, «it
would be wonderful if with the preparation would come the revival of that “strong missionary
impulse” (Cf. C 1) which characterized the Institute since its beginnings, in the heart of every FMA,
in the young, in all the members of the educating community» (Circular 964). The same missionary
impulse that caused six young FMA to leave decisively, without any special preparation, on
November 14, 1877: Sr. Angela Vallese (23 years), Sr. Giovanna Borgna (17 years), Sr. Angela
Cassulo (25 years), Sr. Angela Denegri (17 years), Sr. Teresa Gedda (24 years), Sr. Teresa
Mazzarello (17 years). Some of them had just made their profession a few weeks before their
departure. None of them had made their perpetual vows, but all of them had a YES forever sealed
in their hearts. It was a YES that was translated into courage, into serene detachment, into joyful
response to the mission ad gentes. It was a faithful YES, maximum expression of the “vado io” (I
will go): «Here I am. Send me!»
Dearest Sisters,
I entrust to our prayers the Sisters who still today feel called to the mission ad gentes; in a special
way, those who are presently in Rome and have had the courage to respond and the generous
support of their Provinces and families:
Ir. Bohórquez Aída Lucía CBN
Ir. Bui thi Thuy Phuong Maria VTN
Ir. Chacko Mary INB
Ir. Cherayath Anna Rani INM
Ir. Cherian Mary INB
Ir. Dauwalter Suzanne SUA
Ir. De la Rosa Theda FIL
Ir. Domínguez Areco Laura E. PAR
Ir. Guillén María Margarita CAM
Ir. Louis Alexandra HAI
Ir. Molina González Cecilia CIL
Ir. Monteiro Franco Tânia Ap. BCG
Ir. Nguyen thi Le My Teresa VTN
Ir. Silva (da) Pereira Mônica BMA
Ir. Yun Hee Kyung Elisabetta KOR
From January 22 to February 1, they will be involved in discernment in view of their destination.
This period is very important, not only for them, but for the entire Institute, rather, for our whole

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mission! A good discernment will lead us to live with hope and to trust the dream of God and His
plan of love. Discernment regards all our Provinces because some of them will have the joy of
receiving the gift of a new missionary with whom to share the mission and their apostolic
fruitfulness. For now, their Province is the world! But after February 1 …
Let us pray, invoking the light of the Spirit on them in this meaningful time of their life and allow
God to guide us in our every journey.
And now, as we promised you some months ago, we present a first proposal for celebrating well
the 140th
anniversary of the first Missionary Expedition in order to get going to form the GREAT
MISSIONARY EXPEDITION. In reality, on the 14th
of every month there will be a proposal that
seeks to be a concrete gesture and that will unite us all as Institute.
For January 14, we will unite in prayer for Mary Help of Christians Province (IPI). All of our
communities are invited to remember this Province in prayer. It is from there that our first six
missionaries left and which through the years, has given many, many missionaries ad gentes for
the whole Institute and to all the continents. They were enterprising women, courageous, full of
great enthusiasm for evangelization, with solid convictions. They were resilient women, full of
God, ardent in the apostolate, ardent in holiness. As a concrete gesture, we are invited to leave on
the altar during the entire day of January 14, Volume I of the Institute Directory, open to pages 70-
71. May our prayers of gratitude and intercession rise to God and to Mary Help of Christians for
the IPI Province.
And to our sisters of the IPI Province who live near the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, in the
measure of your possibility, we ask you for a gift: bring before Our Lady a prayer intention for all
the missionary vocations ad gentes of our Institute: those of the present and those of the future!
From Mary our Help, who has seen depart from the Basilica many missionaries ad gentes, ask for
missionary fruitfulness for the Church, for the Institute, and for our Provinces.
And we say a big thank you in reciprocity because consecrated, gathered, and invited by the Lord,
we proclaim and witness to the young and with the young, the Good News of redemption.
I embrace you warmly, together with a grateful thank you for your involvement and for your
readiness to celebrate well the 140th
Missionary Expedition.
In the missionary heart of Don Bosco and of Mother Mazzarello,
Councilor for the Missions