January 25, 2016  Pinhal, Brazil

On Sunday, January 24, under sunny skies, the South American novitiate opened in Pinhal, Brazil, situated in a wing of the large retreat house/spiritual center run by the Assumptionists in this town some 3 hours from the metropolis of São Paulo.

Fresh from two years of studies in spirituality at the Gregorianum in Rome, the new novice-master, Fr. João Gomes, and his assistant, Br. Gwenaël Petton, recently arrived from the novitiate in Juvisy, France, opened the doors of the novitiate to this year's class of three novices, Brothers Luciano and Jefferson from Brazil and Jonathan from Chile. This new initiative marks a milestone in the collaboration of the two Assumptionist provinces in South America, the Province of Brazil and the Andean Province (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador). A common house of theology, which will include Assumptionists from around the world undertaking their studies in Spanish, will open this February in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Assumptionist spiritual center and grounds where the novitiate is located

The opening Mass was simple but beautiful, bringing together many Assumptionists, including Fr. Luiz Gonzaga, the provincial of Brazil, and Fr. Esteban Monsalves, the assistant provincial of the Andean Province, family members of the novices, lay Assumptionists, friends, and local parishioners.

Part of the novitiate program includes exchanges with members of the Assumption Family information in Brazil, namely,the Religious of the Assumption, the Little Sisters of the Assumption,and the Oblate Sisters of the Assumption.