The Sisters of the Visitation of Santa María in Zapatoca (Colombia) have begun the construction of the Monastery of the Visitation, but they need financial support to be able to conclude it.
Mother María Rosalba Gómez, superior of the monastery, said that the community is made up of nine nuns, of which eight made the profession of solemn-perpetual vows, and one professes their temporary vows. Six sisters of this group entered the community when it was already in Zapatoca.
The Monastery of the Order of the Visitation of Santa Maria belongs to the Diocese of Socorro and San Gil, whose current bishop is Bishop Carlos Germán Mesa Ruiz. It was founded on September 8, 2010 by the Monastery of Bucaramanga and erected canonically on May 31 of this year.
Mother María Rosalba Gómez Valencia explained that the presence of the congregation in Colombia dates back more than a century ago, when the first group arrived from Spain after a trip of several months.
The order has several monasteries in the country and has now begun the construction of a new one in Zapatoca, known as “The Levitical City”, and that has brought many vocational fruits to Colombia.
On May 31, 2014, the first stone of the monastery was laid so that the religious “can carry out their life of prayer, liturgical acts, a healthy expansion for young women who are already there and those who wish to enter”.
So far, it has been possible to level the ground, lift the columns of the first and second level, as well as place the plate of the second floor.
“This year, by the mercy of God we were able to carry out the sewage system and start the closing wall which in turn is a containment, but we exhausted all the savings and aid received,” said the superior.
“Once the materials are used, we will suspend the work while collecting the money to pay the debt,” they said.
The first mothers left Spain on August 24, 1892 and arrived in Bogotá (Colombia) on November 2 of the same year. “They experienced a situation of extreme poverty because of the death of the priest who had requested their arrival, and the failure of those who had committed themselves with him to help them. However, with magnanimity, by force of work, deprivation and abandoned to the Divine Providence, they persevered and little by little they went ahead, ”said the superior of the monastery that is under construction in Zapatoca.
For her part, Sister Gloria Amparo Ovalle said that what they want is “a special place where God is loved. No more”.
“Our founder, San Francis de Sales, said he wanted souls to dedicate themselves only to God, to comfort him, to be with Him. And that is the meaning, the grace that we have as Visitation,” he said.
“That is why we are going to build a monastery where we have everything we need to devote ourselves completely to God,” she said.
“ We want a place where He is loved, because there are places where He is despised all day. Tell God: I love you, thank you, I praise you, I bless you! Do you know that it fills the heart? Said the religious.
SHe also invited people to approach the heart of Jesus to find happiness. “If you have a wife and you are approaching the heart of Jesus, then you will live better with your wife. If you are a doctor and you are approaching, you will live your profession better, ”she said.
SHe also stressed the importance of taking into account that Jesus is the reason for the life of the human being and therefore invited all to approach the Blessed Sacrament.
The current superior also commented that the monastery in Bogotá has been declared a national monument and that Colombia “is one of the countries where more vocations come from.”
The Order of the Visitation of Saint Mary was born in Annecy, a commune of France, on June 6, 1610. It was founded under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, and Saint Joan Francisca Fremiot .
The Sisters of the Visitation are a contemplative order whose mission is “to worship and praise the Lord and intercede for humanity.” “We pray with great fervor for the Holy Father and the whole Church, for those who suffer, for children and young people, for families, for those who are entrusted in our prayers, for the entire world,” said Sister Maria Rosalba.
The superior said that the spirit of the order “continually seeks God, independent of everything except his will”, and that it is also “a spirit of deep humility towards God and great sweetness towards others.” Both are virtues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that characterize a “visitandine”, she said.
Mother María Angélica Vargas Cornejo was the founder of the monastery that is being built in Zapatoca, who “from her childhood and youth let her see her spirit of deep goodness and piety, of great intelligence, shy but determined and brave.”
Source: https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/un-lugar-para-amar-a-dios-monjas-de-clausura-reunen-fondos-para-construir-monasterio-43056