From May 1 to 3, 2026, a group of 25 Consolata lay missionaries gathered at the Mother House of the Consolata Missionaries in Turin, representing various countries where a process of charismatic identity is taking shape at the lay level, rooted in the spirituality and charism of Saint Joseph Allamano.
By Yesenia Alcalá, *
This was the Second International Meeting of the Consolata Lay Missionaries (LMC). The first meeting at this level was held in 2011 in Rome.
Participants from the European continent included representatives of LMC communities from Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Poland; from the Americas came lay members from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina; from Africa, representatives arrived from Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau; and from Asia, two representatives from South Korea. Throughout the meeting, the LMC members were accompanied by two representatives from the General Councils of our Institutes (IMC-MC).
Following a long-awaited visit to the Shrine of Our Lady Consolata and the Cathedral of Turin, as well as to the Mother House of the Consolata Missionary Sisters, the meeting began in Castelnuovo Don Bosco — the birthplace of the Founder and home to precious elements of our charism and history as Consolata Family. Guided by the reflections of Sister Cecilia Pedroza, who presented key elements of Saint Joseph Allamano’s spirituality; Father Piero Trabucco, who highlighted the founding elements of our charism; and layman Rui Sousa (Copi), who shared what might serve as guiding principles for a lay vocation in the world, participants immersed themselves fully in the objectives of the meeting:
1. To gain a deeper understanding of the reality of the various communities or groups that identify as LMC.
2. To broadly describe the profile of a person responding to the specific LMC vocation — one who takes on certain commitments while continuing to be a member of their family of origin and maintaining their work or professional ties.
3. To reaffirm that LMC members always belong to a community of life which, while taking different forms, converges on fundamental elements: the family spirit of the IMC, MC, and LMC; the living out of the charism and spirituality inherited from Saint Joseph Allamano; apostolic missionary engagement both locally and abroad; and, wherever possible, collaboration with other members of the Consolata Family.
4. To assess the feasibility of a body that could coordinate and connect the various LMC communities spread throughout the world.
Despite being a group made up of 14 different nationalities, the language barrier was no obstacle to mutual understanding, sharing of experiences and opinions, expressing feelings and dreams, and reaching some basic agreements to move forward along this path of consolidating the LMC vocation.
One of the major outcomes of this event was a request to the coordinating group — which includes representatives from every continent — to continue acting as an “International LMC Secretariat,” coordinating communication among the various lay communities and proposing initiatives in virtual form, such as moments of prayer, formation, and sharing among the different LMC communities worldwide.
Recognizing that some communities have already made significant progress and achieved a minimal structure, with statutes and other frameworks in place, it was decided to allow a prudential period of three years for this “Secretariat” to closely accompany those communities still in the process of consolidation — especially in African countries where new communities are emerging — so as to eventually reach, as in Europe and the Americas, a continental secretariat or coordination body.
We conclude the meeting with the recognition that this lay vocation is not defined by a specific “doing,” but by a way of living one’s entire life as mission. The LMC is a lay person who, rooted in Baptism, allows himself/herself to be progressively configured by Jesus Christ and embraces mission ad gentes as the unifying criterion of their choices, relationships, and commitments, in the light of the charism of Saint Joseph Allamano.
* Yesenia Alcalá, LMC Venezuela, and Father Juan Pablo de los Ríos, IMC, General Councillor for the Americas.
