Los Negrales, Madrid, Spain. A transformative two-month journey for 16 Claretian Missionaries has concluded, marking the end of the 2025 Heart of Mary School for Formators. This immersive experience in Spain, designed as a profound spiritual and intellectual pilgrimage, brought together participants from thirteen Major Organisms, blending historical reflection, personal introspection, and modern ministerial training. Two attendees, Fr. Wigbert Papa, CMF, and Fr. Efren Decrito, CMF, represented the Fr. Rhoel Gallardo Province.
The program, which began online in March before its onsite phase from June 1st to July 31st, 2025, aimed to forge a renewed sense of mission and a modernized approach to the ministry of formation.
The comprehensive curriculum provided a deep intellectual dive into various facets of Claretian life and ministry. Participants engaged in sessions covering multiple topics, including Interculturality, the Autobiography of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Sexual and Affective Maturity, the History of the Congregation, martyrdom, and the spirituality of the mission. Further workshops focused on the Constitutions, discerning leadership, being a formator in a highly digitalized society, formation for mission, the economy’s role in mission, creating safe environments, and the practical dimensions of accompaniment and discernment. This diverse intellectual formation was enriched by the “living laboratory” of the intercultural community, where daily interactions among formators from different backgrounds made abstract lessons tangible.
Integral to the program was its design as a spiritual pilgrimage, guiding the formators through the sacred geography of the congregation’s origins. The journey began in Vic, where they visited the Claret museum and his first mission sites, before traveling to Fontfroide, the monastery where St. Anthony Mary Claret died. The pilgrimage continued to other key locations, including Sallent, Claret’s birthplace; Cervera and Barcelona, with their significant Claretian connections; and Barbastro, home to the museum of the Claretian martyrs. A visit to Our Lady of Lourdes highlighted the Cordimarian dimension of their spirituality. The formators also journeyed to Madrid, Segovia, Aranjuez, and the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, before the program concluded at the “Forge” center in Los Negrales.
A central theme that resonated throughout the two months was a profound return to the sources and the internalization of the Congregation’s General Plan of Formation. Participants candidly acknowledged gaps in their knowledge of the Congregation’s history and its founder, leading to a significant personal metamorphosis for many. One formator confessed to entering the program with a sense of self-sufficiency, only to have it replaced by a humbling awareness of how much there was still to learn. This experience cultivated a core conviction among the group that the ministry of formation is a demanding vocation that requires continuous learning, profound humility, and the gentle art of listening.
In the final commissioning ceremony on July 31st, Fr. Joseph Mbungu, the General Prefect of Formation, delivered a powerful message to the participants. He reminded them to be always rooted in prayer and to practice patience, faith, and discernment. Fr. Joseph’s invitation was not merely to transmit content, but to be authentic witnesses to the divine presence that accompanies, educates, and transforms. He stressed that the conclusion of the school was not an end, but the beginning of a return to their respective organisms with “renewed vigor, in humility, faith, and hope,” ready to form mystical missionaries for the modern world.
by Fr. Wigbert Papa, CMF
