Fifty years of religious profession are a great gift of God for the person who reaches this milestone but also for the Local Church in which that individual’s vocation emerged and matured to the point of his/her entrance into a religious Institute. This is why a climate of joy and gratitude reigned in St. Paul the Apostle Parish, Tor Tre Ponti (Latina), Italy from 25 September–5 October 2014: a week of celebrating the Golden Jubilee of profession of Sr. Angela Piccinato by means of animations organized and guided by several members of the Generalate community.
The program consisted of times of prayer, a meeting with engaged couples and another with catechists, animation of the Eucharistic Liturgies and book displays–all geared to helping the parishioners experience the beauty of the Pauline charism. The FSP team that coordinated the events was made up of sisters from different parts of the world, offering everyone a visible sign of the missionary and universal dimension of the Pauline vocation.
The parishioners were deeply touched by Sr. Angela’s talk during the concluding Liturgy, in which she sketched out her childhood in that parish, which bears the name of the patron of our Institute and is located on the Via Appia–the Roman road the Apostle Paul walked on his way to Rome. All those who attended the Sunday Masses were given a copy of the Gospel, in the hope that the gift would help to concretize the words of Pope Francis: “May the joy of the Gospel fill the hearts and lives of all those who meet Jesus.” This message was the farewell salute of the FSPs to the people at the close of the mission.
