Since 2000, the Rwanda-Chad Province has lived each year a special moment: a sacred pause to remember, to reconcile, and to open together a path of hope. It is a journey of truth, a rereading of our collective history, and also a call to build a more fraternal future for our communities and for society.
This year, this inner journey took on renewed depth thanks to the presence of Sister Ana María, from the Province of Spain, who accompanied us through the ESPERE pedagogy – School of Forgiveness and Reconciliation. Her stay among us, from August 29 to October 15, 2025, was a time of grace and profound transformation.
Each community experienced the joy of walking the path of reconciliation, and all the sisters of the province benefited from this intense and fruitful spiritual time. At each encounter, Sister Ana María created a space conducive to reflection, mutual listening, and prayer. Through symbolic gestures, exercises of interiority, and a pedagogy of the heart, we were led into a true work of truth: to recognize our wounds, name what had been silenced, and welcome the light that frees and transforms.
These were rich and fruitful days, during which the ESPERE approach offered us clear and deeply human reference points to continue this path of reconciliation. It helped us to look at our history with truth and kindness, to free ourselves from inner confinements that tie us to the past, to rebuild relationships where all seemed broken, and to let ourselves be transformed by the power of forgiveness that heals without erasing.
To carry this dynamic forward, a group of sisters and a group of lay people were trained in the ESPERE pedagogy. This allows the continuation of the work begun, anchoring this culture of forgiveness and truth within our communities and extending it to families and social life. The fruits are already visible: concrete gestures of reconciliation have emerged; words now flow more freely; relationships have been restored, and the communities are breathing a new life. Sister Ana María herself shared the fruits of this process: “For my part, this process has deeply transformed me. I have rediscovered the strength of silence, the richness of inner listening, and the beauty of letting God heal what seemed motionless. ESPERE has allowed me to make concrete acts of inner liberation. I have understood that to forgive is to choose not to let the past have the last word, but to enter into an open and truthful future.”
The reconciliation we have lived calls us to become builders of peace. What we have received is not only for us but to be shared with the world. It is now our mission to let it shine around us, in our families, in our communities, and in society. We express our deep gratitude to Sister Ana María for her respectful and enlightened guidance, and to the Province of Spain, who sent her to us. Through her, we have received a strong call to become women of peace, rooted in Christ. A new momentum has been born. It is now up to us to nurture it, embody it, and pass it on. This journey does not end; it begins. May the Lord bless this time of grace, watch over this process of forgiveness, and make us faithful witnesses of His peace and mercy.