BRAZIL, Monina Crivelli. On Sunday the 8^th of January one of the great pillars of the Campaign, Sister Maria Regina Viera, 43, from Brazil, departed to heaven. I can still remember her on that month of April of 1988, in Santa Maria, where we traveled from Argentina along with a group of leaders of the Campaign to participate in the first encounter of reflection.

This encounter was masterfully led by Father Joaquin Alliende, and coordinated by Father Esteban Uriburu, Brother Germano Arendes and Sister Regina. Other priests who were there in Tertiary with Father Joaquin also participated; among them were Father Juan Pablo Catoggio, Father Gonzalo Castro, Father Carlos Cox, Father Rubens (who held the Original Pilgrim Shrine in his hands at St. Peter’s, in the famous photo of Joao’s trip from Schoenstatt to Rome) and Father David Musgrave, from South Africa.

Those were the beginnings of the Campaign, Joao had died not even three years, and it was necessary to formulate some common guidelines among the countries where the Campaign was present, basically Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.

The Campaign was so clear to her

I believe that if we ask ourselves what we remember about this very blessed encounter, one of them would be the dynamism and vitality of Sister Regina, who was everywhere, behind every detail offering her enriching contribution.

The Campaign was clear to her, the place that it occupied within the Movement, its role and its mission, it main elements, its contribution to the New Evangelization, in short, all the enormous wealth that the Campaign possesses. The group from Argentina felt totally united with Sister Regina’s way of thinking.

Her enthusiasm and love for the Campaign were so great; when she spoke about it her eyes glowed and her words gushed (to the point that at times it was difficult for us to understand her and we had to ask her to "digress" and speak more slowly). It was as if time was short for her in regard to speaking and sharing all the wonderful works of the Pilgrim MTA. She transmitted the life awakened in the missionaries to us, the openness of the pastors and the affection that they acquired for the Campaign after working with it a short while, its contribution to the Church and its evangelizing role, the importance of its social consciousness, among many more things.

She was truly a "motor", always going and coming and taking care, like a good hostess, from the organizational things to the dynamics and progress of the encounter. She was truly a mother, a missionary to the core.

Document of Consensus

Obviously, at the time of editing the Document of Consensus – later known as the Document of Santa Maria ‘89, it was approved by several more countries the next year also at Santa Maria – Sister Regina was part of "triumvirate" chosen for this task, along with Father Juan Pablo Catoggio and Sister Elizabeth Parodi, from Argentina. It was a real work of art, where the spirit, life and Joao’s Campaign are exceptionally formed. It is important to stress her participation on this team since she was undoubtedly one of the foremost "authorities" of the Campaign.

I especially remember, that in the midst of all this activity, her sweet countenance was like a haven of peace in the midst of the rush between meetings and the group work, talks and the informative reviews, drafts and corrections, and making sure nothing was missing, and the conclusions.

This was the first and the last time that I saw her in a long time. The times that I returned to Santa Maria during the following years, she was not there, so that on each of the visits I left my greetings for her. Even at that we always remained united in the love and the mission and of Joao. I knew that wherever she was, she would carry the Pilgrim MTA inscribed with fire in her heart.

The Blessed Mother’s triumphal march

In September of the year 2000, during the 50^th Anniversary celebration of the Campaign in Santa Maria, I was coming out of the Marian Center on my way to Tabor Shrine when I saw two smiling Sisters come towards me. To my surprise it was Sister Regina who was accompanying Sister Lubia! What a great joy, it seemed as if time had not passed since 1988, it was the communion, the same complicity, the same ardor for the mission, it was the same synchronization. Although she did not participate in the encounter and she had not worked directly with the Campaign for years, it still vibrated in her. Precisely in regard to this jubilee encounter of 2000, she later affirmed: This Congress has once more demonstrated the Blessed Mother’s triumphal march that Father spoke about so many times. For her, the Campaign was this triumphal march that Father had anticipated and so much desired on his trips to Latin America, from where he departed in search for allies for his mission.

Her heroic giving of self until the last moment of her life

I still did not know about her illness, which she suffered for many years, although it was noticeable that her movements were much slower than before, which I attributed to the passing years. However, her enthusiasm for the Campaign, was not only manifested with words; rather. .the brilliant gleam of her eyes expressed it, that remained intact. In a few minutes we caught up with the miracles that the Pilgrim MTA had worked during all those years. I told her that in my work in service of the Campaign in Argentina I continued to discover things that she had transmitted to us in ’88, at which she smiled saucily. What a long road she traveled by the hand of the beloved Pilgrim MTA…

And at the end she departed to heaven holding her hand, from where she will work more than ever for this mission. It is enough to say the day after her departure she heard a petition in the name of the Campaign. As I said at the beginning, one of the great pillars of the Campaign has departed, for this reason I believe that it is obligation of justice to remember all the wealth that she offered us and for the example she has left for all the missionaries to follow: her heroic giving of self to the Campaign until the last minute of the last day of her life.

Translation: Celina M Garza, Harlingen, TX, USA