A small doll dressed in the habit of Mary Ward has become a symbol of faith, community, and hope for the eleven schools that form the Mary Ward Education Network – CJ Amerindia. The ‘Mary Ward Peregrina’ initiative was born at the Colegio Beatísima Virgen María in Brazil, in the context of celebrating its 90th anniversary, as a way of bringing the legacy of Mary Ward closer to families and educational communities, promoting prayer, encounter, and shared spirituality.
Today, this pilgrimage has already visited communities in all three countries of the Province, reaching schools, homes, and families who have opened their doors to receive her with affection and reverence. The initiative invites people to live a profoundly simple and significant experience: alongside the doll travel the ‘Prayer in Times of Illness’ and the ‘Prayer for the Beatification of Mary Ward’, intended to be prayed as a family.
Furthermore, in the pockets of her habit, names and intentions of people in need of prayer can be placed, whilst in her small rucksack, children leave drawings, messages, or symbols of faith that continue accompanying the journey to the next community.
Praying together
More than just an itinerant symbol, “Mary Ward Peregrina” represents a network of people united by faith and the desire to keep alive the legacy of a visionary woman whose spirituality continues to inspire new generations.
Stories such as that of the Brazilian educator Simone Gottsfritz reflect the profound meaning of this initiative. She relates that during her father’s serious illness, when medical prognoses were less than encouraging, her family and community united in prayer, trusting in Mary Ward’s intercession. ‘Against all medical prognoses, following delicate operations and a lengthy process, my father recovered. For us there was never any doubt: it was the power of faith, the grace of God, and the intercession of Mary Ward’, she shares.
The experience has also been lived intensely by the educational communities of Argentina. At Colegio Mary Ward in Plátanos, Berazategui, together with catechists and sisters of the congregation, each visit has been transformed into a moment of encounter, prayer, and communion amongst pupils, educators, and families.
‘More than traversing distances, this pilgrimage carries deep intentions: uniting hearts in prayer for the beatification of Mary Ward, recognising the power of her legacy and the relevance of her mission’, expressed those from the Argentine community.
Sr Elena Gatica CJ, Provincial Superior of Amerindia, valued especially the impact that this initiative has generated in the educational communities of the network. ‘For me it is an immense joy to meet our lay collaborators who created this idea of this doll that meets all standards to make her trustworthy. I invite the families of our schools to welcome Mary Ward, represented in this doll, as someone who visits us to unite us, to pray for so many who are ill, but also to ask that the Church recognise how great and relevant Mary Ward is in our times’, she indicated.
The sister added that this experience seeks to strengthen family and community life through shared prayer. ‘May it be a moment when the family can gather to pray, to bring the family or friends’ needs. That is the invitation: that we unite and form a body that prays together because we are schools of the Amerindia Network’, she concluded.
Thus, between children’s drawings, handwritten intentions, and shared prayers, Mary Ward Peregrina continues her journey through Latin America, carrying with her a message of hope, community, and living faith.
Text and photos: Carolina Marcos Chavarría
