On September 12, the Diocese of Salamanca announced the arrival of a community of six nuns from the Servants of the Home of the Mother at the Monastery of Santa María de la Vega, a place that had been inhabited for more than 70 years by the Oblates of Christ the Priest.
According to the diocese, the welcome was celebrated with a Mass presided over by the bishop Msgr. José Luis Retana, who was accompanied by the founder of the Home of the Mother, the priest Rafael Alonso Reymundo, and numerous faithful.
“A grace for Salamanca”
In his homily, Msgr. Retana stated that the presence of the Servants “will be a grace for the city of Salamanca and for our diocese.” The bishop, according to what was published on the diocese’s official website, encouraged the nuns to focus on the evangelization of youth: “You are going to serve such a vast field here in our city and so important and so difficult, on the other hand, as the life of young people is.”
For its part, Aciprensa highlighted that the prelate also asked the sisters to pray for the sanctification of priests and seminarians, in continuity with the mission carried out by the Oblates of Christ the Priest. Retana reminded them that, in addition to the defense of the Eucharist and the virginity of the Virgin Mary, their charism includes “the conquest of young people for Jesus Christ.”
Missionary vocation and closeness to young people
The superior of the new community, Sister Paquita, explained in statements disseminated by the Diocese of Salamanca that their arrival at the Miguel de Unamuno university campus is not casual, but providential: “I imagine that they are God’s plans.”
The nun assured in statements gathered by Aciprensa that they will keep the doors of the monastery open, especially in the mornings, when students pass through the area: “Many people come in to pray, it’s a treasure.” In addition, she announced that the community will organize holy hours, pilgrimages, and pastoral activities with young people so that, “through Mary and the Eucharist, they find the meaning of their lives.”
Continuity with the Oblates and international projection
In its statement, the Diocese of Salamanca recalled that the Oblates of Christ the Priest offered their cloistered life in this monastery for more than seven decades praying for priests. Now, the Servants of the Home of the Mother, of active life, will continue that mission by adding their specific charism of youth evangelization.
The congregation is present in six countries—Spain, Italy, Ecuador, the United States, Ireland, and the Czech Republic—and has ten communities in Spain, including the one in Salamanca. The work is also linked to the memory of God’s servant Claire Crockett, a young nun who died in the Ecuador earthquake in 2016 and whose beatification process is underway.