From August 2 to 14, the Continental Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean, Bettina Raed, visited the mission in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, engaging with the Coordinators of these countries, national teams, and communities that are part of the Pope’s Prayer Network and its youth branch, the EYM (Eucharistic Youth Movement).
In El Salvador, she participated alongside the national EYM team in the third level of the annual training for monitors. About 70 young people, including participants and support staff, took part in this event, which featured personal prayer time, sharing in small communities, recreation, and Eucharistic adoration. Martín García SJ and Kevin Campos SJ from the Ignatian Youth Network of the Central American Jesuit Province were present. It was an experience of hope and fraternity led by Cony Calzadilla, the National Coordinator of EYM, along with a generous group of young people who volunteer their time to serve in this mission. At the conclusion of the event, they also had the opportunity to meet with Nery Quevedo, Coordinator of the Pope’s Prayer Network, and members of the national team.
In Guatemala, together with Willy Armira and the country’s national team, they visited different areas, including a Mayan community, discovering the blend of Catholic faith and ancestral practices of these people. Conversations throughout the visit with members of the national team were valuable in framing the mission and projecting plans for the coming years.
In Costa Rica, alongside national coordinator Katherine Cavallini, they participated in meetings with authorities of the country’s Episcopal Conference to present and clarify the mission’s guidelines, as well as in radio and press broadcasts. The continental coordinator gave a talk at the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, where a holy door has been opened in celebration of the Jubilee of the Heart of Jesus. She also led a session of the Experience of the Way of the Heart, which the coordinating team has been offering for several weeks.
