What is missing in our time? “Sweetness, the fruit of charity and of a purified heart, and expression of a gentle patience, Visitandines in Rome tell us.
The silence is broken by the sound of the bells and the voices of the nuns. The cloister can be seen behind the grilles. It filters an intense light. The cloistered monastery of the Visitation was built in wartime, in 1942, in an area that was once only countryside, today is near the Tiburtina station. there are the Sisters of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, founded by Saint Francis de Sales and St Jane de Chantal June 6, 1610 in Annecy, France.
The Visitation Monastery of Rome was founded by the Turin Monastery on 2 April 1671. Their first Roman building was in Via della Longara, in Trastevere. After changing various locations, they arrive in via Galla Placidia, close to the populous Via Tiburtina. There are 15 nuns from various parts of the world: 4 are Mexican, one Puerto Rican, one Croatian, one French and the other Italian. The youngest is 41 years old, the oldest is 98. «She designs, draws: she is always in business», says the superior Chiara Margherita Magni, in Rome since 1990, but originally from Merate, in Brianza.
The silence of the monastery welcomes the cry of pain in the world. “Today the drama is division. There are conflicts of all kinds. The family is pierced. People no longer have peace, they often ask us to pray because they no longer have news of a family member or because of the difficult separations ». But there is another drama. “There are many cases of diabolical possession. Many people in difficulty turn to sorcerers, sorcerers and do not free themselves anymore. Then comes the depression, the nervous breakdown and is enveloped in a vortex of negativity ». But what do people ask? “An ear, a listening full of tenderness. There are many wounds that could be avoided if we forgive ourselves “, says Sister Maryam Micaela Jivan, of French origins.
“They are all looking for prayer, it is the bread that they ask. Our phone always rings. They call us not only from Italy, but also from abroad. The request is always the same: prayer and consolation to get out of the vortex of pain that has struck them, »explains Sister Maryam. Meekness and humility open the doors of the heart. “These grates are open to the intimate. When people talk to us they live the communion of listening “, underlines Sister Maryam. “The true sickness of man is the heart. It is full of hatred towards the other, of rivalry, jealousy, desire for domination, “adds Sister Agnese Fucà, originally from Aragon in the province of Agrigento, in Rome for 53 years.
“Every action of ours must have a perfume, which is like the grace of God: we hear, but we can not see it. And this is the core of our charism “, explains mother Chiara Margherita Magni. Every day these sisters, through their works, retrace the journey that Mary made to help Elizabeth who was in difficulty. “Let’s distribute meals to those who knock on our door,” says Mother Superior, Chiara Margherita Magni. Long and intense days that start with the alarm at 5.25 in the morning. Prayer, meditation and work. Once they devoted themselves to teaching, now to books.
“In 1975 they called us from the Vatican to have the documents of the Secretariat of State bound and restored. For us, a perfect job because it fits well with the contemplative life. Then when John Paul II was elected, in 1978, we also received the task of sorting his mail. An incredible amount of work “, explains Sister Agnese Fucà, originally from Aragon in the province of Agrigento, in Rome for 53 years. “Today the work has decreased a lot, we do not do the restoration of the volumes, but only the binding,” she says with a certain regret.
The laboratory is surrounded by greenery, to act as a soundtrack for many parrots and seagulls: “We eat tomatoes from the garden,” say the nuns. Meanwhile, the volumes are being bound with great care. An assignment that they carry on with passion. What is missing in our time? “Sweetness, fruit of charity and of a purified heart, expression of a gentle patience,” they reply.
https://www.romasette.it/clausura-monastero-della-visitazione-grate-aperte-intimo/