Madrid, Spain. A dozen Claretian missionaries, along with members from other branches of the Claretian Family (Claretian Missionary Sisters, Lay Claretians, Daughters of the Heart of Mary…), joined over 3000 participants in Madrid, from February 7 to 9, 2025, for the Vocations Congress. This event, convened as an ‘assembly of those called for the Mission,’ was organized by the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
After months of preparation, the gathering was centered around the question, ‘For whom am I?’ It aimed to foster a vocational culture that highlights the call and invitation to Mission received by every baptized person. The organizers ensured that at least one-third of the congress participants, among them 65 bishops, including Claretian bishops Luis Ángel de las Heras and Fernando Prado, CMFF, were under thirty years old. The initiative successfully brought together a wide variety of Church communities and realities.
The event program, with significant contributions from Fr. Luis Manuel Suárez CMF (from the Province of Santiago) on behalf of the national religious conference, featured moments of prayer, enlightening presentations, workshops, discussions, and artistic and musical encounters. The Apostolic Nuncio to Spain read a message specifically addressed to the assembly by Pope Francis. Additionally, Fr. Antonio Bellella CMF, director of the Theological Institute of Religious Life in Madrid (ITVR), moderated one of over 60 workshops and round tables, where laity, seminarians, priests, and members from more than 120 religious congregations shared their insights.
The congress, which concluded on Sunday, February 9, aimed to inspire greater openness and momentum in Spanish dioceses, strengthening networking and communion in youth and vocational pastoral ministry.
Coinciding with the congress, Cardinal Aquilino Bocos ordained two Claretian deacons of Vietnamese origin, Francis Nguyén Trong Quán and Antonio Nguyén Van Ngoc, who are assigned to the Province of Santiago, in Madrid. Furthermore, on February 1, in the context of the commemoration of the Claretian Blessed Martyrs, Salvador Ferrandis, a missionary from the Province of Santiago and a member of the community accompanying the Spanish-speaking Catholic Mission, was ordained a deacon in Zurich, Switzerland.
Source: General Prefecture of Apostolate
