New Entities

Parroquia Sangre de Cristo

By 1996 parishoners of Nuestra Senora de Fatima were sufficiently trained to carry on pastoral duties in their parish. Although they continued to work in Parroquia Senora de Fatima until 2000,  in 1996 the Adorers moved further up the mountain into one of the poorest neighborhoods of La Paz to create a new parish -- one they had dreamed of for several years --  Parroquia Sangre de Cristo (Precious Blood Parish), a parish still in formation today.  A new convent is being built for the ASC community there: Sisters Ann Fearday (US) and Reina Quispe (Bolivia).

Centro Salud Integral

In October of 2000 land was purchased and a former warehouse was converted into Centro Salud Integral (Holistic Health Center), dedicated to health of mind, body and spirit.  It was funded by donations from the people of Teutopolis, Illinois, US Adorer Ann Fearday’s hometown.  The operation was founded and is still directed by Sister Ann and has continued with grants from the Padre Pio Foundation.

Today Salud Integral has twenty persons on its payroll and several volunteers, including Bolivian directors of its various services, a volunteer psychologist, an education coordinator, a full-time social worker, a naturalists, an herbalist, a physician, and six people with disabilities who work in the bakery situated on the premises.  Land has been purchased for a new building.

Centro Salud Integral offers a variety of services: Pastoral care under the direction of Bolivian Adorer Reina Quispe is offered in the formation of Basic Christian Communities, and the pastor of Parroquia Senora de Fatima comes to the center once a month for mass. The building seves as a center for FRATER (Christian Fraternity of Persons with Disabilities) and a place for youth gatherings.  University students volunteer their time to tutor youngsters identified by the schools as the ones most likely to fail. Day care is offered for children whose parents work and whose older siblings are in school. Medical care at the center takes the form of dental and eye care as well as clinical treatments relying on both pharmaceutical medicine and the traditional natural remedies used by the Bolivian people for centuries and which are still a valuable part of their heritage.  A student lawyer volunteers time and talent to help people to get their legal papers in order.

Community Growth

As Sister Janet Marie hoped in 1974, God indeed has been with the Adorers and the people of God in Bolivia and has accomplished what was needed there.  Internationality has always been a hallmark of the Bolivian mission.  From the earliest days of ASC presence there, Adorers from the US have worked with the Bolivian people themselves and have cooperated with Spanish and Italian Sisters from the Province of Rome, Italy. At present Adorers from Bolivia and three other countries --- Spain, Italy, and the United States --- live and work in Bolivia. As of this writing there are three professed Adorers from Spain, one from Italy, four from the US, and four from Bolivia.  In addition, there are four Bolivian novices and three Bolivian candidates serving the people of God.

The Bolivian community of Adorers has recently become a foundation (February, 2003), one of the early steps toward becoming an independent province in the international community of Adorers of the Blood of Christ. Rio Seco is the formation house for the Bolivian community of Adorers, the place where women wishing to join the community receive some of their early preparation before formal entrance into the congregation as novices.  US Adorers Anne Irose and Sharon Van Horn live there with Bolivian Adorer Maria Eugenia Machaca, and two Bolivian candidates:  Lidia Apaza and Gilda Alanoca. Besides her work as Coordinator of the newly formed Bolivian Foundation, Sister Anne is Vicar for Religious of the Diocese of El Alto.  Both she and Sister Sharon work in Base Communities in Parroquia San Pablo.

In 2002, Cochabamba was chosen as the site for the internationally-staffed Bolivian ASC Novitiate where women who have formally entered the community receive further preparation before making vows.  Since January 2002, Adorers from the US and Rome provinces have lived and served there. US Adorer Janet Marie Wilhelm works with Sister Petrona Jeréz (Bolivian), Sister Victoria Barco (Spanish) in the formation of the novices. They live with four Bolivian novices: Sisters Irma Llanos, Marlene Salazar, and Saida Pérez who will make vows on  Feb. 4, 2004; and Beatriz Chinche who will begin her second year of novitiate on the same date.  Sister Janet is also the National asesora (spiritual director) of the Christian Fraternity of Persons with Disabilities, an International Catholic movement brought to Bolivia from France in 1978.

In addition to the places served by the US Adorers, two other Bolivian areas are served by Spanish and Italian Adorers from the Province of Rome. In Traija there are two Spanish and one Italian ASC: Sisters María del Transito Palomera, Mercedes Redondo, (Spanish); Sister María Grazia Carpenito (Italian).  Santa Cruz is home to two professed Bolivian ASC’s and one candidate: Sisters Dominga Alarcón and Yolanda Gutierrez (Bolivians) and Candidate Eliana Zorrilla.

US Mission Center, 4233 Sulphur Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63109, 877-272-1870 Vocation Office, 1400 South Sheridan Rd., Wichita, KS  67213 - Telephone: 877-ADORERS (877-236-7377) (Copyright 2005 Adorers of the Blood of Christ)