ROME, JUNE 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Idente Missionaries are marking their 50th anniversary with a pilgrimage to Rome, as an expression of gratitude to God and to their founder.
The Idente Missionaries of Christ the Redeemer, founded by Fernando Rielo (1923-2004), are working in 25 nations. Their pilgrimage got under way Thursday.
Missionary Verónica Altamirano told ZENIT that the pilgrimage is a sign «of the gratitude we feel toward God and toward our father founder, who guided the work that the Heavenly Father entrusted him with such love.»
She said the meeting will be a «particularly important moment to recall together these 50 years lived in the footsteps of Christ, to speak of the current reality, and to dream together about the next 50 years.»
The Idente Missionaries were founded in Spain; Bishop Domingo Pérez Cáceres welcomed their first community on June 29, 1959. The institute is made up of men and women, laypeople and clergy, celibates and married people. It was recognized canonically in Madrid in 1994, and 10 years later by the Holy See.
The Idente Missionaries on pilgrimage in Rome are today enjoying a retreat. They will participate in the Mass celebrated by Benedict XVI on Monday, feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, and they are scheduled to participate in the general audience on July 1.
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On the Net:
Idente Missionaries: identes2009.net/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1〈=english
