Last Thursday, a Mass was held at Las Palmas Cathedral for the feast of Saint Anthony Mary Claret, co-patron of the diocese, commemorating the 175th anniversary of Father Claret’s arrival to the islands. The day began with a solemn procession, in which the images of Our Lady of Fatima and Saint Anthony Mary Claret journeyed from the Heart of Mary parish to the Canary Islands Cathedral. The Mass was presided over by Bishop Mr. José Mazuelos, with concelebrants including the Father General, Mathew Vattamattam CMF, and the Provincial of Fatima, Father Carlos Candeias CMF, among others.
At the conclusion of the Eucharist, the Superior General shared a few words of reflection and gratitude as this Claretian Jubilee Year came to a close:
CLARETIAN MISSIONARY OCTOBER 2024
CLOSURE OF THE CLARETIAN JUBILEE YEAR
Your Excellency, Bishop José, Auxiliary Bishop Cristóbal, Father Provincial Carlos, dear brothers and sisters,
I have come to this beautiful island as a pilgrim, seeking to discover the heart that, according to our Founder, the islanders “stole” in 1848, or rather, the heart that confirmed his missionary vocation and the whispers of the Spirit through the people’s remarkable response to his preaching. For Claret, it was a departure from his limited Catalonian world, where the political powers obstructed the success of his mission. His arrival in the Canaries with the newly appointed Bishop Codina, with a programme of renewal, was a transformative experience for the islanders. Your ancestors affectionately called him “the Little Father” and kept the memory of those events alive, passing it down through seven generations.
I have also come to thank you for the love and affection you hold for Claret and the Congregation. This means a great deal to our missionary Congregation. The sense of communion with the Congregation and the collective embrace of the missionary charism among the religious and lay missionaries and parishioners here is remarkable. I am moved by the sense of family and fraternity that the bishops and clergy cultivate with the religious and laypeople, something I witnessed yesterday in my meeting with the bishops and priests at the episcopal residence. It was the style of the missionary Claret, priest and archbishop.
I would like to reflect on what the simple, open-hearted people of this island taught Claret, something he held onto throughout his life. The first lesson concerns the universal thirst for the Word of God, for meaning, true love, and the life human hearts seek. He saw this in the people of Catalonia, and it was confirmed here, on this island, and later in Cuba and everywhere he went. The restless human heart that searches for life and love, which only God can give, is why evangelisation is valid and necessary today and tomorrow. The diversion of this hunger in other directions – drugs, drink, or riches in different times – is no reason for us to lose faith in the need for evangelisation at any time.
The second lesson is the broadening of his missionary vision. The Canaries broke down his cultural boundaries, and it seems he returned with a universal spirit. When Claret was appointed Archbishop of Cuba, shortly after founding the Congregation, he wrote to the nuncio saying that his spirit was for the whole world. Today, his missionaries are around 3,000, serving in roughly 72 countries. It is the fire of God’s love that the Lord ignited in his heart, which he passed on to so many over 175 years, that keeps the Congregation and the Claretian family alive.
The third lesson is the conviction of proclaiming the Gospel as a “doing with others”. Today we call this the synodal way, walking together, bringing diverse gifts and charisms together for the good of the Church. It is the art of weaving. He knew this as a weaver, threading different colours together to create a beautiful fabric. In evangelisation, it is about weaving relationships and working together. In the Canary Islands, he saw how evangelisation could be done as a team and later saw its success in Cuba. For Claret, a missionary is a weaver of relationships in the style of Jesus. It is in relationships – with Christ, with others, in the community – where faith is passed on. Our relationships within our families, communities, and workplaces bear witness to or against our faith in Jesus Christ.
I would like to thank the Claretian missionary community, past and present, who, alongside you, keep the charism of St Claret alive through the witness of their lives and ministry in these dear islands. I especially remember Father Pedro Fuentes, with whom I have fond memories from my last visit. He embodied the beauty of the missionary life.
Father Claret was a gift from God in a time of epochal change, much like our own. Today, the Lord counts on us to burn with Love and to be missionaries with Spirit. The Lord calls us to walk together on the synodal path, rooted and bold as missionaries. Just as Claret carried the Canary people in his heart (and you stole his heart), no one can take away your place in the Congregation’s history.
May Our Lady of the Pine protect you and lead you to her Son.
I wish you a happy feast of the Little Father, co-patron of your island.
Mathew Vattamattam, CMF
Superior General
24 October 2024
