International mission in Canta

A bit of our Missionary History and work

We, the Clarist Franciscan Missionaries of the Most Blessed Sacrament (CFMSS), faithful to the Missionary Charism of our Foundress Mother Seraphina, and present in some parts of the world, are also present in Canta – Peru, to make real what she recommends to us: “To love and to make LOVE be loved”.

The Province of Canta, like all of Peru, has many natural and cultural riches, moral values, traditions and millenary customs; it is a people respectful and reverent to their ancestors and their history. But it also has a lot of poverty. Poverty does not only mean material limitations but a whole set of values, attitudes and forms of behaviour that, when structured together, constitute a whole way of life that orients children and adults in private environments, leading to anti-social behaviour, alcoholism and other vices. From an early age, children understand that responsibility in the home is collective and that necessity forces them to share their limited possessions. Livelihoods involve a great deal of sacrifice. The women leave early for the fields to work in the plantations or as shepherds, or go to the streets to sell their handicrafts, food or other products… and they bring their small children who play as soon as they wait for them. Likewise the men who also work in commerce, in construction or as transporters.

In the midst of this reality, we try to be a presence of faith and hope for this people. Besides working professionally in the schools and in a school home, we assist the parish and the villages in their religious and pastoral needs, we visit families, we are present at their celebrations and commemorations, we evangelise through radio programmes, we spread our charism to the laity, offering them knowledge and formation based on our spirituality, and we offer biblical and catechetical formation to children, young people and adults.