On this Rosary Day, the Mother Candida Family looks back to the origin, to that foundational moment when everything began to take shape in the heart of Saint Candida Maria de Jesus.
There, in front of the Rosarillo altarpiece, an intuition clearly emerged that would become an identity and a mission: “I wish to be called Daughters of Jesus”.
A simple and profoundly evangelical expression that captures the core of the charism: to belong to Jesus, to seek to resemble Him, to live from Him and for Him. Today, in a special way, this phrase resonates strongly in our congregational journey, accompanying us in this moment we are living around the Determination of General Congregation XIX, as a call to renew our identity and availability.
An experience that is still alive today
To remember the Rosarillo is to recognize that the origin is not the past, but a source that continues to give life. That is why, on this day, we wanted to gather the experience of young people who participated in the FI Youth Pilgrimage of Hope, held in July last year in Spain, on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Youth.
On their journey, they reached Valladolid, where they contemplated the altarpiece of the Rosarillo, today guarded with special care as a true treasure for the Congregation. In front of it, as Mother Candida did, they were able to stop, pray and let themselves be touched by a dream that continues to beat.
Young voices updating the dream
We asked these young people two questions that connect directly to the heart of Rosarillo:
- What did it mean to you to contemplate this altarpiece live and to get in touch with Mother Candida’s dream?
- If you had to translate that experience for someone who is looking for their path today, what would you tell them?
Her answers, which we now share in these brief videos, show us how the Spirit continues to stir life. In them we discover a certainty: Mother Candida’s dream does not belong only to the past, but becomes present in those who are open to listen and respond.
Return to the origin to renew the path
On this Rosary Day, we return to those founding words:
"I wish to be called Daughters of Jesus".
And we welcome it as an invitation for today. In the midst of our journey, especially in this time marked by Determination XIX, we feel the call to deepen our identity, to allow ourselves to be configured more by Jesus and to continue walking with hope.
May the witness of these young people encourage us.
May the memory of the Rosarillo sustain us.
And, like Mother Candida, may we know how to say yes to God’s dream.
