"Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary"
St. Francis of Assisi, who coined this phrase, has been dead for almost 800 years – but still we cannot say it better! Whether or not we can live it, however, is a completely different matter... and yet that is exactly what we would want to live: to proclaim the gospel without needing many words, simply through our being, our being so, our being consecrated to God; without special clothes or other visible characteristics, in the heart of the world. But sometimes we also do need words – to tell others about this life, about our vocation, about the God who is calling us.
Seizing the opportunity of the "Year of Consecrated Life", which Pope Francis proclaimed in 2015, we have each month let a member of our community have their say on this page. Each one reports in her own way about her vocation and her path to and in the Institute St. Boniface. The result is a colourful kaleidoscope of portraits across all age groups, nationalities and locations of the Institute's women, some of which we have translated into English for you.
So you see: it is not absolutely necessary ... but we do like to "use words"!
Testimonials of members of the Institute St. Boniface:
Christel G. (*1932), social worker
Father Cyprian Mayr OSB, the founder of our community, wrote this sentence in a letter in 1949, answering my request to enter the new community. I was just 17 years old. Actually, I felt drawn toward missionary work; I had already written to a missionary order when I heard about the urgent needs of Catholics in the diaspora of Schleswig-Holstein …
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Mercedes C. (*1972, Spain), social education worker
The beginnings of a love story
Sometimes, when we read about saints or the biographies of important people, we hope to find something surprising: something that distinguishes them from us and that we might want to imitate; or we might want to achieve a goal that they have achieved. Yet, when you continue reading the history of my vocation, you will …
Marie-Concilie U. (*1966)
"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." (From the Gospel according to St. Matthew 9,12)
Nitwa Marie Concilie, ndi imfura mu bana b'iwacu, ababyeyi banjye ni abakristu gatolika.
My name is Marie Concilie and I am the eldest daughter of a couple of practicing Catholics. Three boys and five girls were born after me. …