They left

In recent years, the Congregation of the Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, the Missionaries of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, and this November, the premature and unexpected departure of Father Hélder Lopes, the Congregation of the Handmaids of Our Lady of Fátima have all left the city of Fundão, and I’ve just received the news that the Paulista Bookshop will be closing at the end of December.
The reasons are possibly diverse, but the main ones are ageing, illness and the lack of young people with a missionary vocation. I felt that the community of Fundão and neighboring parishes became poorer as a result of these people leaving. There are also reasons that reason does not know…
I lived very closely with these pastoral workers, especially the Handmaids of Our Lady of Fatima.
On the eve of their departure, as well as saying goodbye, I had a long chat with Sister Mafalda and Fernanda, who have been linked to the Congregation, founded by the Scalabitan Luiza Andaluz, for many years. The Congregation was born during an anti-clerical period in Portuguese society, with persecution of the Church and religious orders. This is one of the reasons why these sisters have never worn religious clothing, but rather their normal clothes.
At that time, the Portuguese Episcopate was betting on a good religious press, on a daring attitude to counteract these persecutions.
At the beginning of 1933, horizons were already opening up for religious freedom and practice in the country, and the Handmaids of Our Lady of Fatima were also involved in printing work, in the press and in bookshops.
The book “Luiza Andaluz’s ITINERARY” indicates that on June 13, 1933, five sisters and an apostolic (the name given to a candidate for the Congregation) left for Guarda to take over the management of Casa Véritas, which was the birthplace of União Gráfica and is now a branch. A linotype machine was inaugurated there at the service of the Sisters. Their mission extended to the pastoral field, catechesis, liturgy, care for the elderly and the poor. They were also involved in training courses in catechesis and youth ministry.
Every year the Sisters produced a report describing their apostolic work, their sharing and their availability to the family.
The Sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Fatima, after almost a century of service in Guarda, left their charism through a group of lay people from that city, who are very active in their parishes, linked to that religious institution, called the Andalusian Family. Every month they meet to reflect on a theme, pray and share. Some Christians from the Fundanense community have also taken part.
As a young boy, at the end of the 1950s, on the way to the Apostolic School of Christ the King in Gouveia or on the way back to my village, Bismula, I would stop for a while in the city of Guarda with other students who lived in the region, in order to travel by rail or road to our destinations. I remember buying some “santinhos” (little saints) from these Sisters at Casa Véritas, prints depicting various saints of the Church, which we gave to our fellow countrymen.
In 2018, the community of these sisters closed its doors in that city due to their mobility difficulties and the Congregation not having enough young people to replace them.
At the request of the Bishop of the Diocese of Guarda, Manuel Felício, they were transferred to the city of Fundão, where they were provided with housing and better conditions for mobility.
According to Sister Fernanda, who has a long missionary history in Mozambique, in Fundão they are mainly dedicated to catechesis, liturgy, spiritual assistance for the elderly, home care and other services needed in the Fundão parish.
One of the positive aspects was getting to know and sharing life and faith with the community of Fundanense, a very supportive people who received these Sisters with great welcome, consideration and friendship.
With the deterioration of the health of two Sisters, it was not possible to continue their presence and Christian activities in Fundão. They left as pilgrims of love, fraternity and solidarity, Sister Fernanda went to the community of Santana – Sesimbra and the other Sisters to the House in Lisbon.
It’s work….
Almost a century of service to the Diocese of Guarda is a long time of pastoral, missionary, catechetical service, evangelization, sharing community experiences, friendships, solidarity…
They left in November, on the eve of Advent, a sacred time of hope and preparation for the great feast of Christmas.
They set off in a chariot reminiscent of the age of the biblical figure Methuselah from the Old Testament, and in their missionary baggage they took neither gold nor silver, they worked, they dedicated themselves to the service of the Faith, they bore witness with description, with honesty, seriousness, they brought their simplicity, they spread the good at the service of others.
They left with hearts full of sharing, of fraternity, of joy, of serving the children in catechesis, the elderly, the community…
Welcome, Sisters Servants of Our Lady of Fatima.