We continue our series on the Final Probation. We’ve already learned what this stage entails and met Magda Zhang, the instructor guiding this journey. Today it’s time to put names and faces to those who will be experiencing it: the seven junior sisters who, coming from different countries, are preparing together for their perpetual profession. Over the course of these nearly six months, they will share community life, the Spiritual Exercises, and a common desire to respond—with their whole lives—to God’s love.
We’ll start by getting to know Inmaculada Lin, Ma. Crystal Bermejo Samis, and Mónica Celina García Casañas better.
Inmaculada Lin
Province of origin: East Asia
What are you bringing with you—from yourself, your community, and your current mission—to this time of UP? / Is there a person, place, or experience that is “traveling” with you to the Final Probation? I’m bringing personal belongings, my personal experiences, the community’s blessings, and a few gifts.
What do you hope will happen within you over the next few months? I want to get to know Jesus, Saint Candida, and the congregation better.
What would you ask of the Madre Cándida Family? I wish to have a profound experience as a Daughter of Jesus; I ask for prayers from Mother Cándida’s family.
A short phrase: What I wish for this season is… I hope the Lord will help me to be a true Daughter of Jesus.
Ma. Crystal Bermejo Samis
Country: Philippines
Province of origin: Indian-Pacific
What are you bringing with you—from yourself, your community, and your current mission—to this UP time? / Is there a person, place, or experience that travels with you to The Final Approval? In my suitcase, I carry the certainty of my sisters’ affection and support, but above all, the love and assurance of our Loving Father. I also carry with me a grateful heart for the experiences I’ve had in my encounter with God, as well as for the people who have helped me grow as a religious, both in community life and in my apostolate. Along with all of this, I carry the prayers of the people who love me and who accompany me with their affection and closeness.
What do you hope will happen within you over the next few months? Through this experience, I wish to renew my deep commitment to the Lord, who assures me that He will always be with me in the life I have chosen to offer Him, together with Mother Candida. I hope this experience will help me return to the roots of our Congregation, to come to know it more deeply, to love it even more, and to strengthen my desire to dedicate myself to it before making my final consecration through my perpetual vows. I trust that, through the various experiences and the people I meet during this time, He will continue to reveal His presence, His love, and His faithfulness to me.
A short phrase: What I hope for during this time is… “What I hope for this season is to be open and docile as I deepen my understanding of my vocation as a Daughter of Jesus, to embrace it fully, with a renewed heart and an ever more generous surrender to the Lord.”
Monica Celina Garcia Casañas
Province of origin: Andean America – assigned to the community of Monterrico, Jujuy – Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes School, where she teaches Religious Education to 3rd-year students and Philosophy to 5th-year students. I assist with coordinating the parish youth group alongside Sister Ely and Patricia, a layperson. I participate in catechesis at the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes Chapel.
Nationality: Uruguayan
What are you bringing with you—from yourself, your community, and your current mission—to this time of UP? / Is there a person, place, or experience that is “traveling” with you to the Final Probation? In my suitcase, I carry… the faces and shared experiences from these past 10 years in the congregation, at Villa Ocampo, in Córdoba, Brazil, and Jujuy… I carry my family—both by blood and by heart—and my roots, without whom this present moment would not have been possible; and my friends, who have been faithful witnesses on this journey… From my community, I carry their affection, companionship, and prayers—the gift of their lives during these few months since I arrived in Jujuy. From my current mission, I take with me the certainty that dedicating my life to God through education—accompanying adolescents in their human and academic growth—is beautiful; I take with me their affection, their enthusiasm, and the bond that the classroom allowed us to build over these past months… how much of God became present to me through their stories…as well as to the entire educational community at Las Mercedes, who helped me, welcomed me, and supported me during my first months as a teacher—they made me feel like I belonged and felt at home. In a very special place in my heart is the group of young people from the San Isidro Labrador parish, whom we have accompanied together with Sister Ely, Patricia, and Livia; I want to keep them very much in mind at every holy place where I have the opportunity to pray, entrusting to God their lives and their journey of faith, which they are gradually discovering. Another group that also holds a special place in my heart is the catechists at the Our Lady of Las Mercedes Chapel, whose service—week after week—I witnessed as they worked for the human and spiritual growth of the children and teenagers.
What do you hope will happen within you over the next few months? I hope that this experience will further awaken in me the desire to give myself fully, to live with passion the vocation that God has given me, to deepen my relationship with Jesus, to be more closely united to Him, to help me come to know and love this charism of Saint Candida even more, and to desire to devote my life here. May it help me awaken and live out those most authentic desires that I have longed for since my religious vocation. May it allow me to feel united to the entire Body of sisters, laypeople, and young people who are part of this Family.
What would you ask of the Madre Cándida Family? It’s hard for me to ask the Madre Cándida Family for anything, because I find myself wanting to say thank you for being part of this experience. I want to ask you that we never stop walking together—we need each other.
A short sentence: What I hope for during this time is… What I hope for during this time is to grow in my love for Jesus and in the mission He wishes to entrust to me. May I be able to feel and savor deep within myself all that I have experienced these past years, and may that help me to delve deeper into my own vocation.
Thank you, Inma, Crystal, and Celina, for sharing a little bit of your journey with us.
In the coming days, we will continue to get to know the rest of the junior sisters who will be participating in this Final Probation for 2026–2027. We invite you to stay tuned and to accompany them in prayer.
