Costa rica
Founding of the Mothers’ Federation in Costa Rica
First meeting
On Tuesday, October 14, I landed in San Jose, Costa Rica and was finally able to hug Anabelle and Mariana. We had been talking for a couple of months now by zooming in and out. It was a tremendous joy. They belong to the group of fifteen ladies from Costa Rica who are initiating the process of founding the Federation of Mothers in that country.
The beginning
Before the pandemic there began to be a certain restlessness to find our community in “Ticas” lands. There were several exchanges by zoom with Chilean ladies. Time passed and it did not prosper. At the end of 2022 the exchanges were restarted, this time with greater intensity and persistence. More systematic meetings began and interest grew. More and more ladies began to arrive.
At the beginning of 2024, from Costa Rica, they finally made contact with the International Council of the Mothers’ Federation and expressed their serious interest in initiating the process of founding the Federation of Mothers in Costa Rica. (This request arrived just when in Chile we were celebrating the Jubilee of the 75th anniversary of the Mission on May 31).
responsible for the foundationdación
Chile was designated as the responsible country and Father Marcel Mourás and myself, Cecilia Brunner, were directly in charge of the foundation. In this way we were entrusted with the responsibility of the foundation and became advisors of the nascent community. Father Marcel has been living for a year in Costa Rica together with Father Raimundo Costa (both Chilean) and Father José Francisco (the latter from Ecuador). I will travel three times a year.
The six days in Costa Rica passed very quickly. I spoke personally with each one of the parties interested. I wanted to get to know them, to know about their life, their interest in Schoenstatt, their work and that they would also get to know Father Marcel and me well. We had several meetings at the Family of Hope Shrine. It was very good. They also took me to visit the wayside shrine “Villa Hermosa” which is in the East zone of San José and the main house in the same area.
beginning journey
On Thursday, October 17 and Friday, October 18, we had our beginning journey in the grounds of the Family of Hope Shrine. We talked a lot about the importance of our vocation, of knowing how to listen and discover God throughout our lives, discovering what He is calling us to. We talked about the history of the Federation itself and about the vocation to the Ladies Federation. We also had playful dynamics as a way to exchange and get to know each other better. On Thursday afternoon, Thursday 17, at 17:30, we had a beautiful Marian Mass in which we began the founding process. Father Marcel had the brilliant idea of having us draw up a founding document (just as the KP did when he founded the Movement in Chile, on June 27, 1947 in Agua Santa, Viña del Mar). This was signed by each founding lady at the altar as Father called them. It was a moment of great solemnity and joy. Father José Francisco accompanied us with his guitar and beautiful songs.
That night was full of hugs, tears, laughter and blessings. We finished celebrating in a nice restaurant, El Novillero.
El viernes 18
On Friday 18th we continued our day knowing a little about the way we would work. We presented the material we had available to work with: the recently renewed Formation Plan prepared by the Chilean Federation of Ladies, material just released in December 2023. We organized the agenda for the year 2025, we saw possible readings for the summer, we had more playful moments, we shared a delicious lunch between the ladies and the three priests. In the afternoon we joined the Covenant Renewal Mass with the entire St. Joseph’s family.
Father Raimundo Costa, head of the Movement in Costa Rica, presided the mass along with Father Marcel and after the homily he told the news of the founding and introduced the fifteen founding ladies. They were welcomed with a great and very affectionate applause. Father Raimundo told them: “Our family is growing in number and depth”.
The ladies from Costa Rica
The ladies who make up this First Course of the Mothers’ Federation come mostly from the Ladies’ Branch. They are women who are very committed to the Branch, the family, with a great love for Schoenstatt and above all, very apostolic. I was very happy to meet them. They welcomed Father Marcel very well, they adopted him as a father, they even knew his funny side. They also welcomed me very well and opened their hearts to me.
Costa Rica is a very fertile land in nature and in families that are entering Schoenstatt. The Shrine has a lot of life. Young mothers, professionals who work full days away from home, are joining the Ladies’ Branch, which has made it necessary to form groups that meet at night. That is what they call it. They have been very well received.
Gratitude
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who accompanied this process at the beginning: Margarita María Gana, Mónica Arellano, Pilar Celis, Verónica Vergara, Bernardita González, Father Juan Ignacio Pacheco.
Ma. Cecilia Brunner M.
9 Grade, Ladies Federation of Chile