Bene Mariya Sisters on Mission in Italy
The patron festival, engagement in Italy and meeting with spazio + spadoni
The Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Burundi, called Bene Mariya Sisters, celebrates its patronal feast for the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is celebrated liturgically on the Saturday after the Sacred Heart of Jesus. All communities of Bene Mariya Sisters wherever they are in the world prepare with a novena for this feast day. It is a renewal event for the whole congregation. In fact, the period coincides with the beginning of the annual holy retreats and the renewal of vows for all Sisters.
The importance of the holiday for the Institute
In the days that followed, with God’s grace, the Institute thanked the Lord for the gift of new Sisters who consecrated themselves to Him with the first profession of religious vows while the juniors consecrated themselves forever with perpetual vows. The jubilee celebrations of 25 and 50 years of religious vows of some of them are a seal of the Lord’s faithful love.
The anniversary is also a journey toward the end of the apostolic year and the beginning of the next apostolic year. In short, it is an intense time of growth for the whole congregation, lived in the company of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Heart, Patroness of our Congregation.
This Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a feast especially felt and lived with much gratitude in the memory of our Founder Bishop Joseph Germain Martin. He, together with our first Bene Mariya Sisters, by choosing to entrust the work to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, obtained the richness of so many spiritual graces for each Bene Mariya Sister and for this entire religious family he founded. The celebration of the anniversary is a very meaningful time for Sisters from neighboring communities to come together each year.
In this year 2024, the anniversary was special for the Sisters in mission and studies in Italy. They all gathered in the CUM community in Verona. A Eucharistic celebration was the culmination of this always long-awaited, always unique and new day of great celebration. It was a moment of great joy among the Sisters who were present in Verona that day, lived with so much gratitude to the Lord who blessed again our religious family with the General Chapter concluded with the election of a new Superior Mother General in the person of Sister Dafrosa Kiraniguye and her General Council to govern the Congregation for the next six years according to the Constitutions of the same Congregation. It was an occasion for the renewal of religious vows-a time to remember and to celebrate the Lord’s faithfulness to each Bene Mariya Sister and to the whole Congregation.
The presence of the Bene Mariya Sisters in Italy
The presence of the Bene Mariya Sisters in Italy goes back several years. Their mission in Italy began with the Sisters going there for study and training purposes. In particular, the Sisters attended courses related to religious sciences, medicine and sacred art. Since 2004, the Bene Mariya have been gradually called to various missions in different dioceses of the beautiful Mediterranean country that is very important in the history of Catholicism and mission in the world.
Wherever the Bene Mariya Sister responds to her mission, she brings with her the charism of the Congregation: “Making the Christian spirit flourish in the families of the world.” The Bene Mariya Sister lives evangelical love in the manner of Christ himself who gave his life to his disciples of all times after his resurrection, before leaving this world, this mandate: “Go into all the world, make disciples…” (Mt 28:16-20). Every Sister of the Bene Mariya is called to become the salt of the world wherever she stands. The motto of the Institute is: Joy, Obedience, Charity.
The Sisters’ mission in studies in Italy
The Sisters who went for studies in Italy were first and foremost missionaries, always in the spirit of the Congregation’s charism to devote themselves to spreading the Gospel spirit in the families of the world: to spread the Critian spirit in the families of the world. It is a charism that carries in itself par excellence the Works of Mercy according to the Gospel Mt 25:31. In the various Italian universities where even to this day they are found, they are missionaries in the midst of their colleagues. They are bearers of the Gospel of Christ with their lives and are witnesses of merciful and compassionate love. In parishes, they share the journey with families and their members: children, youth, adults and the elderly.
The Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters Well Mariya, Monsignor Joseph Martin has recommanded his spiritual daughters to visit families, to bring with them the gospel, the word of God that gives comfort to vulnerable people of a special way. In this way, the Bene Mariya Sisters continue this mission even while studying outside their homeland. In fact, the Congregation of Bene Mariya Sisters has been missionary since its foundation and is present in Tanzania, Tchad, Niger, Benin, Italy, Spain, and Germany.
Bene Mariya Sisters and the Works of Mercy
Weekly visits to families, to give comfort, counsel, do catechesis, help vulnerable people, … according to the will of the Founder, Missionary Bishop Mgr Joseph Germain Martinper, constitutes each Bene Mariya Sister at the heart of Evangelisation en profondeur, a missionary strategy of the founder who already in Burundi went to the villages, to the ‘bananeraies’ to reach more of the families there where they lived in their social reality.
The young Sisters engaged in study live so much the works of mercy because they become as a point of reference for other students: sometimes it seems little but it is very important to give a greeting, to have compassion for the other who is next to them, for the neighbor about whom the Gospel tells us. Sometimes, today’s culture especially in society where everyone looks at himself and his problems, the religious presence in the universities changes the atmosphere to make the world more fraternal, a term very dear to our Pope Francis: Brothers All.
The exchange between different Congregations
Thus, the presence of the young Sisters studying in Rome already constitutes a mission as the Bene Mariya Sisters. They are the future missionary of the congregation. The time they spend in Italy becomes a unique opportunity for richness because they are hosted at other Congregations. This exchange between various institutes is in itself a time of growth and reciprocity in the same vineyard of the Lord.
When they return to the Congregation, the culture of encountering other charisms becomes an enrichment for the whole Congregation and a maturing of our mission in the universal Church. In fact, today’s mission requires a reciprocity of the various Religious Institutes. For example, there are Religious Institutes that have known our missionary reality in our country and have opened communities. There are many experiences of brotherhood among Sisters from various different Institutes and charisms, which our Congregation has been experiencing for many years. The experience of our young student Sisters in Italy and they are bridges between various missions, various charisms. These experiences are an opportunity for us Bene Mariya Sisters to live hospitality which is a work of mercy; in fact often other Institutes ask us for hospitality for their Sisters in Burundi or Tanzania.
The meeting with spazio + spadoni
In January a few years ago, through the Missionary Center of the Diocese of Lucca in Italy, the Bene Mariya Congregation of Burundi was able to meet Luigi Spadoni founder of spazio + spadoni. Ties were formed without delay and the General Council of the Congregation adhered to the charism of spazio + spadoni centered on the importance of Works of Mercy.
It was a wonderful experience to participate in the “Missionary Tuesdays” organized by the Lucca Mission Office with spazio + spadoni on Zoom. It was an opportunity to grow in understanding that reciprocity can reach all points where there is a mission. Our missions are gradually becoming missions of works of mercy.
The congregation has joined the HIC SUM projects proposed by spazio + spadoni. Some Bene Mariya Sisters participated in attendance at the first Convention in September 2021, a special event that many of us followed from a distance. The bonds have been enriched, in the mission we are mutually maturing, a path is being solidified throughout our Congregation of Bene Mariya Sisters.
The future is very promising as we walk together for a greater spread of the Works of Mercy in all communities of the congregation, in Burundi, in Tanzania. It is a laboratory of initiatives that represents a fruit of a journey that is maturing with the reEvolution of the Works of Mercy.
With spazio + spadoni in the first place we are living a spiritual journey to spread these Works of Mercy everywhere in our communities, in our missions, in parishes, Catholic action movements. The Bene Mariya Sisters have the opportunity to spread the OPERA M everywhere because they are close to families in a special way.
At the CUM in Verona
For the past fifteen years one of our religious communities has been present in Verona, at the CUM, Centro Unitario Missionario, which carries out in Italy the valuable work of training missionaries, especially in the service of the dioceses.
Indeed, CUM promotes throughout the year numerous training courses both for missionaries leaving Italy and for those from many countries around the world who come to Italy not only for theological studies but also for pastoral service. Rich with sixty years of history, the CUM has gone through many transformations while remaining faithful to its original vocation of being a propulsive place of mission at the service of the dioceses that are in Italy.
The presence of a community of our Bene Mariya sisters has proved to be important both as an aid to the course leadership team and in fostering the integration of the students, for whom a word of advice and encouragement is never lacking. This friendly presence also manifests itself in leading moments of prayer, so important in opening the heart to the Lord who calls and sends. Service to the CUM, which continues, has also helped our congregation to expand its missionary presence in the world.
We, the Bene Mariya, have the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who said, “Not the abundance of knowledge satiates and satisfies the soul, but feeling and tasting things inwardly. Do everything for the Glory of God.”
God’s mercy is in action. Always!
Suor Liliana Ntiranyibagira
Sister Bene Mariya – Burundi