Coinciding with the birth of Saint Bonifiacia, founder of the congregation of the Servants of Saint Joseph, on June 6, the parish temple of Our Lady of the Snows in Vigo hosted the Eucharist of thanksgiving for the 150th anniversary of the founding of the congregation of the “josefinas”. The bishop and apostolic administrator of Tui-Vigo, Mons. Luis Quinteiro, presided over this celebration in which he gave thanks for the presence, for 90 years, of the Servants of Saint Joseph in the Tudense diocese through the school located in the working-class neighborhood. of Teis.
During his intervention, the prelate Mons. Luis Quinteiro expressed that the life of Saint Bonifacia was “full of fascination and difficulty.” Through a hidden life, from her workshop, the founder of the Servants of San José glimpsed a path of God that few understood. In this sense, the bishop stressed that “the Christian, in any era, has to understand the cross. Saint Boniface illuminated the cross with her “charisma”, which she encouraged through her workshop for the promotion and evangelization of working women.
The community of the Servants of Saint Joseph in Vigo is living this 150th anniversary event with enthusiasm, joy and gratitude. For the San José de A Guía school it is being «a year of grace», in which to make known in a special way the charisma and the founders of the congregation.
Isabel Hiebra, nun of the Servants of San José in Vigo, explains that, 90 years after her arrival in the olive city They perceive that “there has been an important impact in the neighborhood of promotion and attention to the person, of closeness, of proximity and, in a recent publication of Here you are. Neighborhood newspaperWhat they say is that they have always felt at home: welcomed into a simple, familiar life and environment, which is our disposition and our lifestyle. “It has been a space to share, a home, a family.”
Esther Pérez, “Josefina” for 55 years
Esther Pérez, a nun of the Servants of San José for 55 years, was born in Valladares, into a family with a long “tradition of priests and nuns,” she explains. She met the congregation thanks to her uncle, “the priest”, and thanks to one of her aunts who, like her, followed the charisma of Saint Bonifacia, becoming the first Vigo woman, Servant of Saint Joseph.
Her vocation was born in her family, thanks to the knowledge of Jesus that was instilled in her as a child and that led her to feel fascination with the life of Christ and his Gospel.. In this context, she meets the Servants of San José and falls in love with “their style, their way of thinking, of giving themselves. I was very impressed by their capacity for service and work well done”, qualities that he was able to observe in his uncle and aunt.. Thus, “there comes a moment,” Esther remembers, “in which you feel that something loud is calling you from the knowledge you have of Jesus and you decide to try something different, a dedication to others, a service to society… This fulfilled me.”
Friendship and affection are the words that resonate with Esther as she makes grateful memory of these 55 years of dedicated vocation.. During this time, he especially highlighted community life, which he loved from the first moment. Now, he invites all people who may be considering a religious vocation to “move forward” to discover, step by step, what their place in life is, at the hand of Jesus.
