The presentation of the Day of Missionary Childhood, which will be celebrated on Sunday, January 16 in Spain, included the testimony of Sofia Quintans Bouzada, a Franciscan missionary of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd, a missionary in Brazil.
Together with José María Calderón, National Director of OMP Spain, she has given a name to the work that the pontifical work carries out in the most disadvantaged areas of the planet.
Sofia is one of the members of the Franciscan missionary community that settled in 2019 in the north of the country, in the state of Roraima. The area is a border enclave that is one of the most important crossing points for Venezuelan refugees.
Sofia, a Peruvian and a Venezuelan nun, soon to be joined by a Congolese, constitute what he called a "very incarnated, Samaritan and humble ecclesial presence".
Its evangelizing work is focused on caring for refugees from Venezuela who, since 2018 have crossed into the Carioca nation. An estimated 600,000 Venezuelans have crossed into Brazil since 2018. That year, the humanitarian crisis unleashed in this northern border caused the Brazilian government to launch a huge reception operation in which the government itself, the army, NGOs and the different confessions rooted in the country collaborate.
In this complex and varied map of institutions, the Franciscan Missionary Sisters are "a small presence but a strong experience of the poor and small Christ". They collaborate in accompanying, listening to and welcoming thousands of minors, especially girls, who live in particularly harsh conditions.
A process of "welcoming, promoting and integrating these people as if they were Christ himself coming to us," Quintás stressed. A process that makes them feel welcomed through personal and spiritual accompaniment" and always "with a careful respect for the person".
As Sofía Quintás explained, refugees arriving in Brazil begin their lives in "shelters", refugee camps set up by the government. In addition to being smaller, the "shelters" are differentiated by typology -women with children, single men, minors...- in order to meet their needs more effectively.
Three names
This Franciscan missionary has personalized her experience in three different stories of three girls. Jenet, the first, a Pomona girl, came out of an indigenous community in the interior of Venezuela with a tumor in her head. She asked for help, but was without documents. Thanks to various efforts, she was able to be transferred to Sao Paulo for treatment and returned to her indigenous community. "The girl's struggle for life," said Quintás, "was for me a very strong reflection of the living Christ.
The second story has taken the name of Michelle, who for this Franciscan "represents the trafficking of the most vulnerable human beings". She lives in one of these "shelters" and the nun noticed that she stopped attending the integration activities. When asked why she did not attend, the girl replied that she "wanted to go, but she had to work at the traffic lights" begging on the streets.
The third name is that of Íscar, who, "after crossing the border alone at the age of 16," managed to finish her studies and has recently graduated, and every day, she emphasized, thanks God for having been able to get her life back on track and forgive her brother who mistreated her.
2022 a busy year for PMOs
For his part, the National Director of OMP Spain, José María CalderónHe emphasized that this year 2022 has a special accent for the missionary family.
It is not for nothing that this is the first centenary of the institution of Missionary Childhood as a pontifical work, "its placing at the service of the ordinary pastoral work of the Holy Father in the care of children in mission territories".
In addition, on May 22nd she will be proclaimed Blessed Pauline Jaricot, the young Lyonnaise initiator of what would later become the Propagation of the Faith.
Calderon recalled that "missionary childhood is very important. For many children in mission territories, the only place where they find a home, affection, possibilities to grow and study is the church". He also pointed out that this campaign continues the campaign started four years ago in which Missionary Childhood is centered on the life of Jesus as a child. In this edition, "the children of the world are also a light for children without faith, who are ignored, who are not loved".
