Production of 2000 Hand-Made Twine Rosaries for the Granting of Scholarships for the Formation of 12 Vocations of The Marian Community of Reconciliation in Lima, Peru

Project location: Peru, Lima
Project start date: September 2009 - Project end date: March 2011
Project number: 2009-40
Beneficiary: Marian Community of Reconciliation

The Marian Community of the Reconciliation is an Association of Faithful Catholic Women - heading to become a Society of Apostolic Life. The women consecrate their lives to serve God´s Plan through a full apostolic availability. They also participate actively in the evangelizing mission of the Church.  

Every year new vocations from different countries join the Community. This year, 12 young women started their formation period. Through the ¨Hand-made Rosary making Project¨, support for 2 years of their formation will be offered. This project helps the formation of the sisters who wanted to study theology.

1. Formation of vocations
The stages of formation in the Marian Community of Reconciliation are four before reaching the perpetual profession. In this period, the sisters are consolidating their vocation through prayer, study and deepening in the Marian spirituality. All these activities and stages are developed while sharing community life.

The formative stages are as follows:
• Aspirant: First year of formation
• Postulant: Second and third years of formation
• Consecration to Mary
• Temporal Profession

Classes given during year I + II (Aspirants and Postulants)

For Aspirants (sisters in first year):
• Aspirants Core Class
• Logics
• Catechism
• Study Methods
• Introduction to Philosophy
• Workshop for Spiritual Life
• Workshop for Mass and liturgy
• Workshop of Sacred Scriptures
• Singing Classes

For Postulants (Sisters in second year):
• Postulants Core Class
• Theology
• Christology
• Theological Anthropology
• Moral Theology I
• Moral Theology II
• Moral Theology III
• Sacraments
• Church History
• Workshop for Spiritual Life
• Workshop for Mass and Liturgy

2. Preparation of Rosaries
The sisters in formation will make the twine rosaries as part of their formation and training to meditation. The rosaries made by the Fraternas will be sent to the Nando Peretti Foundation as a thanks for supporting the scholarships for the girls. The Nando Peretti Foundation, through the distribution of them, will promote its program for the recovery of traditional liturgy. The rosaries will be sent to the Nando Peretti Foundation in Rome, 1000 after the reception of the first instalment of funds; the other 1000 rosaries will be sent to the Foundation after the reception of the second instalment of funds granted by the Nando Peretti Foundation.

The Nando Peretti Foundation has awarded a grant to this project. The classes that have been designed for the first year of the aspirants and the second year of the postulants aim to provide a comprehensive formation for the new vocations that generously respond to their calling.
The courses include classes in Marian spirituality, in history of the Church, in Philosophy and a good understanding of Catechism of the Catholic Church is another important outcome in the formation period as it provides the Fraternas with the opportunity to learn their faith in a deep way. It constitutes an important basis for the apostolic work that they will carry out.
All of this will prepare the new vocations for their mission, which includes leading: spiritual retreats, other groups of formation in the faith, and preparation of and adult women to receive sacraments.
Another area of priority importance in the first years of formation is to nurture a deep spiritual life which allows them, from their own encounter with the Lord, to announce the Gospel to people with their own testimony. The spiritual foundations are essential to address the numerous challenges that the consecrated vocation has, upon an apostolic service in the middle of the world.