The visit of Sr. Graciela, Superior General to Tahanan was set on August 2-4, 2023. She was accompanied by her Counselor, Sr. Teresa Pinto. The celebration of her birthday on August 1st was a happy prelude to her visit to our community. The celebration was with much fun, warmth, and simplicity. The Sisters of Metro Manila and of the formation community of Asia Oriental Province were present.

The first two days of the visit were dedicated to individual conferences with Sr. Graciela. Language barriers, physical disabilities like difficulty in walking and standing, and hard of hearing for many of us, did not present a heavy burden during the encounter with Mother General. She was very welcoming, a patient listener, and warmly encouraging. She visited the Sisters who are bedridden in their respective rooms bringing them comfort, solace, encouragement in their pains and discomforts and assuring them of God’s love and the Congregation’s care and love for them.

Sr. Graciela did her service of the canonical visit with grace, much humility, and patience, with an understanding and warm heart. A Sister shared that after the individual conference with Mother General, “It gave me inner joy and I felt strongly a deep sense of belonging to the Congregation and the call to love God more and work for His glory.”

The conference of Mother General was spiritually enriching and richly informative. For us, it was heartwarming to know the present situation of the Congregation with its calls and challenges of the Church in our world today and how we are responding with hope and courage.

Thank you, Sisters Graciela and Teresa!

- Sr. Lourdes Marzoña, FI