MOSTEIRO MATER-DEI – NAMPULA –MOÇAMBIQUE
Brief History
The Contemplative Community of the Servants of Mary in Nampula, in the northern part of Mozambique, started with five sisters from the Monastry of Our Lady of Sorrows in Madrid Spain) in 1983. It is dedicated to Our Lady – Mother of God. Living the real adventures of independence, with the Marxist revolution, religious persecution,… we helped in the formation of Christian communities which were dispersed and praying under the trees because they were not allowed neither to build chapels nor to pray.
Brief History
The Contemplative Community of the Servants of Mary in Nampula, in the northern part of Mozambique, started with five sisters from the Monastry of Our Lady of Sorrows in Madrid Spain) in 1983. It is dedicated to Our Lady – Mother of God. Living the real adventures of independence, with the Marxist revolution, religious persecution,… we helped in the formation of Christian communities which were dispersed and praying under the trees because they were not allowed neither to build chapels nor to pray.
We experienced the civil war with various armed attacks loosing our goods but not our lives. In 1978 the young girls started to approach and join us in order to know and our life and charisma. At the present moment we are 25 nuns: four Spanish and 21 Mozambicans, 16 nuns with solemn vows and 9 with temporary vows; five postulants and thirteen aspirants.
Our daily life is within the prayers – liturgical celebrations about 5, 30 hours per day and in manual work in the fields (garden) and creation of animals for our auto-subsistence. We have got an accommodation house for those who come for spiritual reflexions or retreats. The monastry is more frequented on Sundays by different groups of people from the parishes who come to spend the day praying. Sometimes one of the nuns directs the retreat. And also directs the Diocese or congregational retreat.
Since the Marian Year began the first Fraternity of OSSM with about 100 members dedicated to Our Lady the Mother of God. Later on came the second fraternity dedicated to the Seven Holy Founders.
From the civil war upto now we receive and accommodate orphans from the age of two months. There is a secular woman who takes care of these children in full time and some young girls who come to help her and then go to school. At the present moment there are 52 children.
In 1995 five nuns went Lichinga to start another Monastic Community dedicated to our Lady of Sorrows. At the moment they are 8 nuns and a group of aspirants. In 2006 left other group of five solemn vows to start another monastic community in Chokwe - Xai-Xai Diocese. They are still looking for an appropriate place to build their Monastry.
About the triple seven, it would be beautiful to be celebrated in Nampula.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário