From the General Councilor for the Americas
FOCAM - Meeting for Carmelite Formators of the Americas -- Embracing the Future with Hope from a Carmelite Perspective
A meeting of FOCAM (Carmelite Formation in the Americas) was held from August 27 to September 3 in the Villa Carmelitas retreat house in Lurín, Perú. Friars, sisters and laity from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, the United States, El Salvador, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela participated.
It was a week with much reflection, prayer and fraternity. The different themes developed invited and challenged us to meet as Carmelite Family, as Church, after the whole experience of the pandemic. It was a time of God, where friars, religious and laity turned their gaze to God from the Carmelite experience already initiated through the virtual meetings.
The motto of this meeting, "Embracing the Future with Hope from the Carmelite Point of View," simply reflects the desire of the heart to meet God, living the present and projecting towards the future.
At the end of the meeting we were able to confirm that what was planned was developed with a good dynamic and pedagogy helped by the following speakers: Marlom Francis, O. Carm. Prov. Fluminense; Vagner Sanagiatto, O. Carm., Commissariat of Paraná; Benny Phang, O. Carm., General Curia; Sister Liliana Franco Echeverri, ODN, president of CLAR and Licentiate Daniela Emmerich.
"We thank all the brothers and sisters who participated in this meeting of the Carmelite Family of the Americas. It was basically an experience of synodality, as our sister Liliana reminded us," said Luis Maza, General Councilor for the Americas.
There was great appreciation for the Secretariat of the Americas guidance in this FOCAM gathering. "We also thank God for the hospitality of the Carmelites of Peru. See you in Brazil in 2026," concluded Maza.
