As I conclude this phase as Global Communications Coordinator, my heart is filled with gratitude. These have been intense years since that August of 2019 when we began this journey together with Almudena de la Torre and Linda Plant, with the close support of Sister Rekha and her General Council. I remember, with particular gratitude, the trust, attention, and encouragement I have received, especially from Sister Isabelle Roux, as well as the generous collaboration of Sister Françoise at the beginning and Sister Sandra in this final phase.
Nothing we have experienced would have been possible without an active and committed network: the communications coordinators of the provinces and their teams, who—with creativity, perseverance, and a sense of belonging—have made life and mission visible in so many places around the world. My thanks also go to the Provincial Sisters, who make this mission possible and with whom I have been able to share and build a common understanding.
My thanks also go to the leaders and teams of the different mission areas that came to an end at the 2024 Chapter, with whom we learned to communicate who we are by communicating what we do. Thank you to the leaders and teams in the provinces, who have made it possible to share resources and experiences throughout these years; we continue to count on you.
In particular, I would like to acknowledge Sister Cecile Franquin from the General Economat for her availability and clarity, and Veronique for safeguarding the living memory that sustains and guides us.A very special word of thanks also goes to the translators, without whom it would have been impossible to respond to the challenge of communicating in three languages on the website, on social media, and in printed publications. Thank you, because through your quiet dedication, you make so many meetings and encounters possible.
Over these years, we have come to understand that communication is not simply about transmitting information; it is, above all, about building communion. As we expressed in the plan we sought to implement, communication is part of a culture: a way of relating, of generating meaning, of sharing life. Because of this, we have tried to do more than just create structures or produce content: we have taken steps toward creating a true Assumption culture of communication.
A culture born from the desire to encounter one another, listen, and recognize ourselves as one body. A culture that urges us to move from “I” to “we,” to build bridges, to foster dialogue, to care for our common home through words that are true, good, and beautiful. A culture that is not delegated to a few, but involves everyone: sisters, lay people, young people, children… each from where they are and with their own voice.
We know that this path is still being built. Perhaps one of the most valuable outcomes of this stage has been the awareness that communication is part of our mission, and that it must be cared for, shaped, and discerned together. A culture of communication is not improvised; it is cultivated with patience, coherence, and humility.
Today, as I step down from this responsibility, I do not feel that something is ending, but rather that something is being entrusted. I have great confidence in the new team that will continue this mission. My thanks go to Sister Ingrid and her province of Central America–Cuba for their generosity in taking on this task. I am certain that she will continue building, with creativity and faithfulness, the culture of communication that we so greatly need to be more fully who we are called to be.
I leave with gratitude. Grateful for what we have shared, for what we have learned, for the bonds that have been created. Grateful also for the challenges, which have led us to grow and to seek new paths together.
And I leave with hope. Because when communication is born from the heart and serves the communion and mission, it becomes a place where God continues to take flesh, to meet us, and to send us forth.
Thank you for everything. We continue walking, each from our own place, yet united in the same Spirit.
MERCEDES MÉNDEZ SILIUTO, RA
Responsible for Communication 2019-2026
Province of Spain
Original Spanish
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