During the Mass in which the Salesians from the houses in Manaus welcomed him, Fr Maravilla encouraged his confreres “to live the missionary spirit of Don Bosco, expressed in the passion for evangelisation, the Oratorian heart, in the joy of sharing Jesus Christ with those who do not know him or with those who have already known him and have now abandoned him.”
Referring to the upcoming 150th anniversary of the first Salesian Missionary Expedition, in 2025, he also stressed that “the greatest challenge for our Congregation is to rethink our missionary activities today in the light of current ecclesiology and missiology, and not just repeat the missionary paradigms of the past. Today the missions are not only geographical, but above all contextual (...). Today missions are where there is a need to proclaim the Gospel to those who do not know Jesus Christ. A renewed Salesian missionary paradigm is urgently needed today.”
Not being able to reach the missionary presence in Manicore, as planned in his program, due to the cancellation of flights, Fr Maravilla took the opportunity to visit some religious communities and Salesian works in Manaus. He was thus able see the initial work of arranging materials taking place at the "Iauareté" Centre for Ethnographic and Missionary Documentation (CEDEM), at the Provincial House. "They are a real asset for the Congregation" said the General Councillor in reference to the materials stored there.
On the last day of his visit, the outgoing Provincial, Fr Jefferson Santos, and his designated successor, Fr Philippe Bauzière, invited him to speak to the Provincial Council meeting in session. After talking to all of them about missionary issues, he reminded them that “the most important beneficiaries of missionary animation are the confreres and each Salesian community, as the animating nucleus of the Educative and Pastoral Community.”
Fr Maravilla also highlighted that “when the missionary spirit in the Province is weak, the confreres lose missionary joy, which easily leads to a ‘psychology of the grave’ and pastoral negligence. These result in a lack of hope, and sterile pessimism. When the missionary spirit is weak, the confreres rest easily in their comfort zone, they find it difficult to go where the Superior sends them, and audacity, zeal and the joy of evangelising are suffocated. “Therefore,” “missionary animation must be able to keep the heart of every Salesian burning. That is why it is crucial to give the right place to the figure and role of the Provincial Delegate for Missionary Animation (DIAM).”
