Almost as soon as this youth pastoral event was announced, the School set about exploring the possibility of participating, motivating students who met the basic conditions of participation; and of course, their families.
Since last year, we have had meetings with stakeholders and their parents to motivate, meetings of reflection, raising awareness of the motivations to participate, finding some resources to alleviate some expenses, because although Panama is a bordering country with Colombia, the expenses became quite expensive because of the season and event.
We were engaged in continuous dialogues also with the Archdiocese of Bucaramanga and meetings in it, to go as youth part of a local Church. Our Sister Pola Mendoza spared no effort in going and coming, in maintaining dialogues and in opening possibilities.
We emphasized that graduates of the first promotions of the School, which had already celebrated 40 years of graduation, were also invited to collaborate with some financial resources to support the participating group. And several did that with true love and sense of belonging.
On January 23, the Sisters of the Community gathered to watch the arrival of the Pope on TV. Needless to say, we have been accompanying them with prayer and we continue to do so. Undoubtedly, when they return they will share with us such a great experience and the traces that have been left in the young participants, if we focus on it from a “pastoral in a vocational key” as proposed in the past Synod of Bishops.
Sisters of the Community of Colombia
