CHARISMA

The charism of the Congregation is to cooperate in the New Evangelization through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with the specific face of the Message of Fatima. This takes the form of a way of life based on the truths of the Gospel, emphasized by Our Lady in the Cova da Iria. These include the centrality of God, love for Jesus in the Eucharist, the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Church, as well as the desire for conversion towards holiness. The mission itself is thus understood from the zeal, in the mystery of the Communion of Saints, to participate in the History of Salvation, according to this specific way of living. Under the sign of prayer and contemplation, Consecrated in poverty, chastity, obedience and unity, each member of the Congregation seeks to attain holiness through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In this identification with the Blessed Virgin Mary, the aim is to collaborate so that Christ may be generated in all people.

SERVICE
TO THE LORD

Rooted in the Word of God, in a spirit of filial surrender, deep joy and fraternal union, the Covenant of St. Mary has been constituted as a small flock at the service of the Lord and his kingdom.

Team (1960-1966)

The first prayer group created in Porto, called “Equipa”, led by Maria Áurea Soares, born on August 29, 1925.

1966

Maria Áurea started living with other ladies in a small apartment in Porto, with a particular consecration to Our Lady and the desire to live and announce her requests at Fatima. In this group, Maria Clara Vasconcelos, born on April 1, 1947, stood out and became a key member in the leadership of this first nucleus. Maria Clara moved into the apartment on March 25, 1966.

1969

On September 24th, the young Maria Alice Santos joined that first group and assumed the same style of consecration. At this point, only Maria Áurea, Maria Clara and Maria Alice remain.

1974-1979

Intensification of the dissemination of the Message of Fatima and the beginning of the lay movements “National Rosary Crusade” and “Luzeiros de Santa Maria”. The group grew steadily, with other young women joining.

1979

Approval as an Association of the Faithful under diocesan law, in the archdiocese of Braga.

1982

Opening of a community in Fatima.

1985

Opening of a community in Guimarães.

1994

Maria Clara's death

Maria Clara's death in a car accident on March 30th.

1998

First General Chapter in Braga, with the election of Maria Alice Santos as Superior General.

2001

Maria Áurea's death

Maria Áurea's death on December 1st.

2002

Approval as a Religious Congregation

Approval as a Religious Congregation of diocesan right, in the archdiocese of Braga, on June 13.

Team (1960-1966)

The first prayer group created in Porto, called “Equipa”, led by Maria Áurea Soares, born on August 29, 1925.

1966

Maria Áurea started living with other ladies in a small apartment in Porto, with a particular consecration to Our Lady and the desire to live and announce her requests at Fatima. In this group, Maria Clara Vasconcelos, born on April 1, 1947, stood out and became a key member in the leadership of this first nucleus. Maria Clara moved into the apartment on March 25, 1966.

1969

On September 24th, the young Maria Alice Santos joined that first group and assumed the same style of consecration. At this point, only Maria Áurea, Maria Clara and Maria Alice remain.

1974-1979

Intensification of the dissemination of the Message of Fatima and the beginning of the lay movements “National Rosary Crusade” and “Luzeiros de Santa Maria”. The group grew steadily, with other young women joining.

1979

Approval as an Association of the Faithful under diocesan law, in the archdiocese of Braga.

1982

Opening of a community in Fatima.

1985

Opening of a community in Guimarães.

1994

Maria Clara's death

Maria Clara's death in a car accident on March 30th.

1998

First General Chapter in Braga, with the election of Maria Alice Santos as Superior General.

2001

Maria Áurea's death

Maria Áurea's death on December 1st.

2002

Approval as a Religious Congregation

Approval as a Religious Congregation of diocesan right, in the archdiocese of Braga, on June 13.

PROCESS&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspFOUNDATIONAL

The Congregation of the Covenant of St. Mary was born out of a multi-stakeholder process and various ecclesial experiences, which had as its guiding thread the search for an evangelical life with a Marian profile, with some form of personal consecration lived in community. This journey began in 1960 with a pilgrimage to Schoenstatt in Germany, after which some people began to come together with a strong desire to live in covenant with Mary and to find concrete ways of living surrendered to God. This experience began in informal groups that met spontaneously and then groups with common commitments that met more regularly. In the mid-1960s, while some women continued to meet regularly, others decided to start a form of common life, first without formalization and then with various forms of ecclesiastical approval. A milestone was the constitution of this group in 1979 as an Association of the Faithful under diocesan law. This journey culminated in the creation of the Congregation of the Covenant of St. Mary as an institute of religious life in 2002.

Throughout this journey, the same people were not always present: many joined the group for a while and left; others were only there for short periods; some were there for most of the 40 years that this journey lasted, but left almost at the end. A good number of those who were part of the community that became a religious congregation in 2002 were not present in the early years of this history. Some people were remarkable, such as Maria Áurea Soares, who, despite having been an important leader in the first group, ended up, with four other companions, leaving before the Congregation was born; others, like Maria Clara Pereira, who played an important role in uniting the group and keeping it in tune with the Church's thinking, ended up not achieving the foundation of what they wanted and saw her earthly journey interrupted by a premature death. The people most active in the creation of the Congregation in 2002 didn't live through the early years of this journey. We like to think that the absence of a human face that can be identified as the founder of the Congregation of the Covenant of St. Mary helps us to discover the face of the One who called us to this life and to recognize the Holy Spirit as the guide of several generations of women who, in all their contributions and stories, founded the Congregation of the Covenant of St. Mary.

Something unites the protagonists of this 40-year journey: the desire and search for an evangelical way of life, shared in community, rooted in a deeply Marian spirituality of surrender to God. The first influence is that of the Schoenstatt spirituality, which imprints the Marian imprint of Christian life, the connection to the Mother of God, and the covenant model as a form of trusting relationship with the Virgin Mary. Later on, this Marian devotion was reconfigured according to the spirituality of the Fatima apparitions, especially in the living of an attitude of reparation, the praying of the rosary and Eucharistic devotion. When it was born as a Religious Congregation, the Alliance of St. Mary had already defined that its charism was based on the spirituality of Fatima, in a trusting relationship with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, both in the configuration of its community life and in the inspiration of its apostolate. The fundamental commitment of each member of this community is to seek union with Christ in a life of prayer and contemplation. Through identification with the Blessed Virgin, each Ally wishes to be an instrument in the hands of the Blessed Mother to generate Christ in each person.