Fernando de la Mora, at the only chapel in Paraguay that bears the name Saint Jeanne Antide Thouret.
As early as Sunday 24 November 2024, we are already celebrating with the community of centre 11, which bears the name of St. Jeanne-Antide, belonging to the parish of St. Catherine of Siena in the city of Fernando de la Mora, Paraguay, the anniversary of the birth of Juana Antida, together with friends and faithful of the community.
We have shared about the life and a little of the history of St. Jeanne Antide so that you may continue to know her, on the eve of her birthday.
I would like to share with you a little of the history of the chapel since it was named after St. Jeanne Antide:
the chapel was founded in 1985, we came here in 1987, we moved here and at that time it was called John Paul II, but he was the Pope at that time, he was still alive, the coordinator was Don Félix Cuenca who is now deceased and then he was the one who went to the parish and brought the report to us, in 1988 Don Félix Cuenca died.
In September 1988, the land was bought and we started to clean it up. In one of the meetings we had, I don’t know if it was at the end of 1988 or the beginning of 1990 when the sisters came, and I think it was Sister Justina who was with us at that time, she said that it could not bear the Pope’s name because he is still alive, so since the Sisters were working here in the centre from the beginning, and as Don Feliz Cuenca also in one of his requests was that if the name of the Chapel is going to be changed, that it be named after Saint Jeanne Antide, because she was the foundress of the Congregation and that is how the name came about, it was changed and accepted.
I think Sister Victoria was also there and she brought us the bell and there was a coconut plant almost in front of the land and so we put a piece of wood and we put the bell there and she told us the story of that bell and how it came to be.
Sister Justina got the priests from the seminary to come and celebrate mass on the land and Juan Carlos stayed on as coordinator for 8 years because we didn’t have much time without a priest and the father of Zacarías Martínez was acting as interim for the miraculous medal and he was the one who gave us the idea of building a large shed on the land and so we set to work and he ordered us to build the foundation first and then the base with columns for the shed and so we began. (Story of Mrs. Elena and her husband Juan Carlos).
Then Sister Inmaculada brought a statue that was made by a man from Entre Ríos Argentina and we had it in Fernando for two months until the base was made in the chapel to place it on both sides and also for the Virgin. She was enthroned on the 23rd of May in front of a small statue left to her by Sr. Livia and the picture that was carried in procession
Sr. Inmaculada
