Parish ministry
In Fonte da Prata, a poor area in Portugal, the parish ministry has multiple activities: initial catechesis for children who are from the area; accompanying the group of catechists in the neighbourhood. The community of sisters energise the area chapel, as well as the Paschal Triduum in Fonte da Prata and they also take Holy…
Collaboration with PAR (Refugee Support Platform)
The Refugee Support Platform (PAR) is an initiative of the Instituto Padre António Vieira, consisting of a set of organizations from the Portuguese civil society, whose purpose is to support the refugees and find a solution for one of the worst humanitarian crises since the Second World War. Aware of the need for an urgent…
Collaboration with JRS – Jesuit Refugee Service
“No one questions that the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ is the biggest humanitarian problem nowadays and that it is urgent to solve it. This crisis represents millions of men and women of all ages, as well as children, dramatically exposed to great dangers, suffering the inexpressible, and whose future does not seem to exist. Following the…
Collaboration with ACADEMIA UBUNTU
The Academia Ubuntu is a project from IPAV – Instituto Padre António Vieira – of Ignatian inspiration. The project seeks to train young people from socially unfavourable contexts or those with an ability to work in these contexts, so that in the future they are able to develop innovative and social entrepreneurial projects for their community.…
Collaboration with CAVITP – Support Commission for Human Trafficking Victims
In response to the Decree of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation from the 19th General Congregation, which asks us to cooperate with other organisations in the defence of life and the culture of peace, we participated in Lisbon in the Support Commission for Human Trafficking Victims (CAVITP). This committee emerged in 2006 from the…
Collaboration with the ES.PE.RE.
The Schools of Pardon and Reconciliation (ES.PE.RE in Portuguese) are a proposal for community service through which participants are helped to make an ethical reading of their feelings of resentment caused by aggressions against them. By directly working with feelings of anger, hatred, bitterness and desire for revenge – in groups of 10 to 15…
Collaboration with Pedro Arrupe school
Pedro Arrupe School, in the East of Lisbon, has ignatian teaching as the basis of its educational project. They maintain links with the other schools of the Society of Jesus. From the beginning of the school in 2010, the Handmaids have collaborated in this project, above all from a pastoral aspect and in human and…
Collaboration with Jesuit University Centres
The collaboration between the Jesuits and the Handmaids is common and frequent: we both share the same spirituality – a common language and lifestyle – and have similar ways of reaching out to people and proclaiming Jesus. The Handmaids are involved in the pastoral work of the University Jesuit Centres in several cities of our…