12th Anniversary of Yucatán Chapter
Cecilia Quijano – Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapter, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
2009: Fr. John Martin also attended Our Ladsy of Guadalupe Chapter’s 2nd Anniversary celebration. See his 2019 story: maryknollmagazine.org/2019/05/maryknoll-legacy-alive-yucatan-mexico/.
In June 2019, the Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapter Affiliates celebrated our 12th Anniversary. In 2007, when 12 people signed the covenant, we celebrated with Fred Goddard, Fr. John Martin, and Sr. Terry Maksym, MM. To celebrate our 12th anniversary, the current 15 Affiliates renewed their commitment. We enjoyed the presence and personal advice of Fr. John at the beginning of our walk as a chapter. However, seven years ago, the Maryknoll Fathers handed over their work to the local diocese, and since then we have continued as a group of lay people discovering new leaders, inspirations, and difficulties. We continue to enjoy the constant support of Fr. John, who now connects with us from Maryknoll, NY, and during his twice-yearly visits.
Our Mass of celebration of commitment was officiated by Fr. Raúl Lugo, who commented that the church is enriched by diversity; indeed, our group can be characterized as diversite—in ages, formation, and apostolates. After the Mass, at our convivial dinner we read together the covenant to renew our commitment and some messages that had been sent on the occasion of the event from Fr. John Martin; our sister Rosa Beatriz de Larios, Guatemala Chapter; and Rich Lessard, President of the Affiliate Board. This reminds us that we are part of a larger movement.
On this special day, we also celebrated the founding of Maryknoll in 1912, and that, as specific as our actions may seem, they join the many others inspired by the objectives we agreed to uphold. Then, Affiliate Carmen Aké, who was in China for a few weeks, communicated by video call.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapter at our recent retreat.
This year, we have many aspirations, and we see clearly a greater opportunity to promote the missionary spirit in the local church. Through our diocesan Father Lorenzo Mex’s efforts, and with the support of Mega-Media Communications Company, a presentation was made about the work of the Maryknoll Fathers and Sisters during the 69 years they served in the Yucatan Peninsula. We have shown it in parishes around the state of Yucatán, including villages that have enjoyed the presence of Maryknoll.
Wherever we have taken the exhibit, people have commented on the impact of Maryknoll when missioners were in Yucatan; that impact remains today, many years later. We can say with certainty that this work still continues through the actions of people who have met Maryknoll missioners and been inspired by their efforts. We know that, as a Chapter of Affiliates, we too have a great responsibility to live in testimony to mission.