We are in the time of discernment for the election of the Superior General, so today we only present profiles. The first will be that of Mª Inez Furtado de Mendonça, to whom we are grateful for the 12 years of dedication to the Kingdom through her being sent as the General Superior of the Congregation. And the other two will be the two sisters who are celebrating their birthdays today and tomorrow: Melba del Pilar Neris and Pilar Brufal. Happy Birthday!
Mª INEZ FURTADO DE MENDONÇA
Mª Inez Furtado de Mendonça is from Brazil, from the Brazil-Caribbean Province. She currently resides in Rome and, as she herself says, is in pre-retirement of her current office, Superior General of the Congregation.
In the last twelve years, her apostolic task has been to animate the LIFE of the entire Congregation. And from the election of the new General Superior, she will await new assignment.
She participate for the 6th time in a General Congregation.
Mª Inez likes to live, to enjoy, to be happy, to encounter herself…
Her dream is to see tomorrow born with more hope and so on.
She is passionate about many things: reading, water, our charism, children, joy, nature, silence … but her LOVE is Jesus Christ.
MELBA DEL PILAR NERIS GUZMÁN
Melba Neris is from the Dominican Republic, from the Province of Brazil-Caribbean She is sent to the Cibao community. She animates and accompanies the life of the community. She is in charge of accompanying the postulants and aspirants. She is a member of the Provincial Council. She belongs to the Ignatian Center of Spirituality (CIE-MANRESA) where she accompanies EE and workshops on human growth and spiritual maturity. She accompanies personal psychological or spiritual processes.
She participates for the 2nd time in a General Congregation.
Everything that she likes does not fit in this space! She loves people, nature, struggling with earth, sowing, harvesting, eating from her own garden … sharing the harvest…
Melba likes to listen to birds, contemplate the sea and the sunset. She loves poetry and songs that speak of hope, love and life. And she dances the salsa!
She is fascinated to teach and to help persons to think. She loves to talk about God and existential issues.
She dreams of a simpler life, more united to the earth and respectful of it and that generates more supportive people and open to what is different.
She dreams of a congregation in which being sent to any corner of the world is natural. In short, Melba considers herself a lover of Life, of her vocation and of Ignatian spirituality. She feels and lives very grateful.
PILAR BRUFAL JAÉN
Pilar Brufal is from Spain, from the Province of Spain-Italy. She is currently sent to the Thai-Myianmar community of the East Asia Province. She works at JRS in a camp for displaced persons, boarding house and school for pastoral and psychosocial accompaniment of children, youth and families.
This is her 1st General Congregation.
Pilar’s dream is “the dream of God”: a world without borders, fraternal, human, hospitable, joyful and supportive in harmony with every created thing. And as she says … that’s it! She loves planting trees, sowing, touching the earth and feeling its moist smell. To look and contemplate the sea, to walk barefoot on the beach feeling the sand playing with the waves.
She likes to read and watch films that question and bring her closer to the reality of other cultures, religions, customs … She enjoys eating kachin food with chopsticks with her community and her JRS colleagues, amid laughter, experiences, worries and “dreams”. Finally, she shares that she is passionate about education in all its diversity and the face of amazement and joy of children when they learn, their resilience, welcome and desire to grow. It’s contagious!
