CANONICAL VISIT TO THE COMMUNITY OF CALAMA (CHILE)

M. General, M. María Joaquina Lozano, together with her counsellor, Br. Cilenia Rojas, are visiting the community of Calama (Chile). It is a community with a great apostolic diversity, but if there is a preponderant missionary feature, it is the accompaniment of human mobility.

Calama is a city on the banks of the Loa River in the Antofagasta region of northern Chile. Located in a mining area, it is known as the gateway to the Atacama Desert. To the north, Chuquicamata is a huge open-pit copper mine. Despite the harsh desert climate, the mining wealth is a source of work for migrant populations from South America.

They are tenacious seekers, confident of a better future, with hands ready for work, but heartbroken at having left behind their cultural roots, their loved ones. The one, marked by the beginning of a new existence; the other, by the monotonous present marked by the routine of work; the one, with the wounded relationships of someone who has been left without roots; and the other, by the legal uncertainty of not knowing if the life she dreams of can be real….. We must accompany their faith, their hope, their solidarity. Encourage their struggles, guide their doubts. The community met with the Superior General and her counsellor to discuss their hopes and difficulties. Sharing the charism with FENI, they met some of their members…. To give thanks for so much missionary dedication and generosity in the response of faith.