In recent weeks, the community of the Sagrado Coração de Jesus in Araras, in the State of São Paulo, hosted the National Vocational Gathering promoted by the Canossian Province of Brazil. It was an intense time of listening, sharing and discernment, bringing together 32 girls and young women aged between 13 and 25.
The participants came from different regions of the country — Imperatriz (MA), Joinville (SC), Almenara (MG), Piabetá–Magé (RJ), as well as several cities in the State of São Paulo, including Araras, Nova Odessa, Limeira and Pirassununga — areas where the Daughters of Charity Canossian Sisters are present through their educational, pastoral and social ministries. Although diverse in background and life experience, these young women share a living bond with the Canossian communities and a common desire to reflect on the deeper meaning of their lives.
The gathering was prepared and animated by the Provincial Vocational Animation Team, with the involvement of the entire Province, which accompanied the journey through prayer. Also present were Father Alexandre Favretto, parish priest of the Bom Jesus parish, where the Araras community is located, the Provincial Councillors, and Sister Manoela, Provincial Superior.
The theme guiding the entire experience — “Young Women of Hope: Pilgrims of Charity” — offered a spiritual framework that wove together the vitality of youth with the heart of the Canossian charism: charity lived as self-giving, attentiveness to others, and a concrete response to God’s love.
The days were structured around moments of prayer and Eucharistic adoration, formative sessions, group dynamics, recreational activities and spaces for fraternal dialogue. This carefully designed programme aimed to foster integration among the participants, encourage openness of heart, and accompany each young woman in an initial or deeper process of vocational discernment.
Within this atmosphere of trust and attentive listening, the participants were invited to recognise the richness of cultural diversity, to strengthen their faith, and to allow themselves to be questioned by the personal call God addresses to each one.
A particularly meaningful moment was the pilgrimage to the Basilica of Nossa Senhora do Patrocínio, a Marian shrine deeply rooted in the faith of the Brazilian people. The journey, experienced as both a symbolic and spiritual act, was accompanied by the recitation of the Holy Rosary, during which the young women entrusted their intentions, questions, hopes and vulnerabilities to Mary.
Upon arriving at the Basilica, the pilgrimage concluded with an intense moment of thanksgiving, entrusting to the Lord and to the Virgin Mary the fruits of the gathering and the graces received, in a spirit of profound gratitude and trust.
Grateful to God for this time of grace, the Daughters of Charity Canossian Sisters continue to accompany these young women on their path of human and spiritual growth, supporting them in discerning God’s will and their own vocation — a mission that remains an essential and inseparable dimension of the Canossian charism.
