The Community at the Pastoral Theological Institute for Latin America and the Caribbean Welcomes Conventual Franciscan Students
The community at the Pastoral Theological Institute for Latin America and the Caribbean
in Bogota, Colombia
Conventual Franciscan Friars José Antonio Lopez and Marco Umaña live a life of service and community in Costa Rica. Focused on improving their skills so that they can better minister to their brothers and sisters, the friars took certificate courses at the Pastoral Theological Institute for Latin America and the Caribbean (ITEPAL) in Bogota, Colombia from January 25 to March 19, 2010.
Friar Antonio took a course in Youth Ministry while Friar Marco’s course was on Vocation Ministry. Both friars successfully completed their programs and received diplomas for them at the end of the semester.
José and Marco experienced an intellectually stimulating environment during their time in Colombia. For the first three weeks of their stay in the country they took classes with everyone else in the institute. The rest of the semester, José and Marco focused on their particular disciplines. Their work involved a lot of open and honest discussion about experiences in youth and vocation ministries. The friars and their classmates also always remembered that God loves each and every one of us.
Students at the Pastoral Theological Institute for Latin America and the Caribbean form a real community. They pray and socialize together and are there for one another during difficult times. Close friendships often evolve within this community. On photos from José and Marco’s time at the institute one sees happy, smiling people living their vocations. Friars José and Marco besides getting to know their fellow students also met many Conventual Franciscan friars at the St. Anthony of Padua Formation House where they lived for the duration of their semester at the institute.
(Source of all related photos on webpage and homepage: Conventual Franciscan Friars Immaculate Conception Province Provincialgram and www.wikipedia.org.) |
