On the occasion of the 100 years of its foundation that will be celebrated in October 2021, the second Monastery of the Visitation in Chile began a jubilee year.
The Apostolic Nuncio in Chile, Mons. Alberto Ortega, arrived at the convent located in the commune of Ñuñoa in Santiago; the Archbishop of Santiago, Mons. Celestino Aós; together with priests.
There they opened the holy door and celebrated a Mass without the presence of the faithful due to the sanitary restrictions due to the coronavirus but with the presence of the Visitation nuns from the cloister.
In his homily, Bishop Celestino Aós recalled that the Jubilee Year is a call to “joyful serenity.”
“Whoever has Jesus Christ is a person with joy. Let us remember gratefully all the nuns who lived in this monastery. Now is our time, the one that God gives us and God has not abandoned us, God continues to love the world, God continues to love this monastery, ”said Bishop Aós.
In this sense, “the holy door that we have opened encourages you to enter into intimacy with God, with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. May the same God of Peace sanctify you and may all body, soul and spirit remain irreproachable for the coming of Jesus Christ ”.
The Superior of the Visitandines or also called Salesas, Sr. María Gabriela García said that with the opening of the holy door, “the arrival of the Visitation Nuns to this monastery and the jubilee of Saint Margarita María Alacoque” is remembered.
To continue the celebration, the community organizes a year that will have a “spiritual journey”.
“The contemplatives are the heart of the Church and therefore we want to be a source of radiation, joy and hope at this time,” said Sr. Garcia.
Monasteries of the Order of the Visitation in Chile
The Order of the Visitation of Santa María arrived in America thanks to Blessed Pius IX.
At the initiative of two Uruguayan women, the pontifical delegate for Uruguay, Mons. Juan Muzi, requested the establishment of the order in the country.
The Superior of the Visitation in Rome proposed to the Visitation of Milan the foundation in Uruguay.
Thus, Mother Luisa Beatriz Radice, together with four sisters, founded on December 8, 1856, the first monastery of the Order of the Visitation of Santa María in Latin America.
In 1877 the Visitation nuns led by Mother María Manuela Vial Guzmán arrived from Uruguay to Santiago de Chile to found the first monastery that today is located on Huérfanos Street, in the heart of the capital.
In 1921 the second monastery of the Visitation of Santa María was opened in the current commune of Ñuñoa and today its jubilee year begins.
Source: https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/monasterio-de-religiosas-de-clausura-inicia-su-ano-jubilar-82137
