By Kevin Elphick, Associate in CNY
S. Cristina Florez flew to Syracuse from Perú in July for the Sisters’ General Chapter. At Franciscan Villa, S. Pam Conte first introduced S. Cristina to me after we celebrated mass together in the chapel. Despite my limited Spanish, I quickly understood S. Cristina’s warm invitation to visit her community in Lima in the coming weeks and meet with fellow Associates.
I traveled to Lima at the end of July and stayed with the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement at their house of discernment there. S. Cristina graciously expanded her welcome to include the Atonement Friars, who have their founding roots in New York. On July 31, we traveled to the Convento Nuestra Señora de la Paz, where the Sisters in Lima reside. The three Sisters in community welcomed us heartily, and I introduced our two priests, Fr. Dan Callahan and Fr. Ken Cienik, as well as the four men in formation. Fr. Dan was born in Buffalo and did pastoral ministry there, so he quickly connected over the Neumann Sisters’ presence in the Buffalo Diocese.
As a unique opportunity for an Associate from the States to meet the Associates of Perú, S. Cristina had invited their local Associates to the gathering. They served food and beverages and we exchanged gifts. The Lima Associates gave me a ski cap featuring llamas, a bracelet intricately made of native seeds, and a Marian pilgrimage package. I came with a gift for the Sisters’ convent: a reproduction of a painting of New York-born St. Kateri Tekakwitha by the artist Karla Kozach. She sent greetings to the Sisters in an accompanying letter that highlighted how St. Kateri was canonized in 2012 along with the Sisters’ own beloved St. Marianne Cope. Karla also wrote about the connection between Peru’s St. Rose of Lima and St. Kateri highlighting shared indigenous, native ancestry in the Americas. I was able to give the Associates scarves with Our Lady of Guadalupe’s image, as well as a snow-globe with the Statue of Liberty for the young child of a married couple who are both Associates.
S. Cristina then assembled everyone to join in prayer and song. Celebrating our common Franciscan identities, she chose the song “Francisco, Evangelio Vivo,”and a hymn to the Blessed Mother. The refrain for the first song was “Yo quiero ser evangelio vivente, Abandonarme en tus brazos, Señor. Ser como un niño que juega o se duerme mientras su padre lo envuelve en amor.”
This translates as: “I want to be a living Gospel, to abandon myself into your arms, O Lord. To be like a child playing or falling asleep, while his father embraces him in love.” It was an apt description of our joyful gathering!
Too soon we had to part ways, but we made new friendships and connections. ¡Muchas gracias Hermanas y Asociadas de Lima!
