JAÉN, Spain.
On March 29, the centenary of the presence of the Teresian Association (TA) in the city of Jaén was celebrated with a ceremony titled "Yesterday and Today: A Century of the Teresian Association in Jaén."
Francisca Moyano (Paquita Feria) and other people have written a story that reflects the quality and friendliness of the event. There was a panel discussion on "Yesterday and Today: A Century of the Teresian Association in Jaén," followed by a musical event. The members of the panel were M ª Asunción Ortiz, director of the Historical Archive of the TA; Noelia Martínez, member of InteRed Jaén; José Luis Lomas, teacher at Pedro Poveda School of Jaén; Pilar Poveda, volunteer and member of the team of the Rajab project; José Manuel Blesa, ACIT member; Isabel Morales Güeto, Alumna of P. Poveda School; and Ana Quirós, member of the Primary Association (PA) of the TA.
Rooting and affection
We want to share the climate of shared gratitude and celebration that elicited the celebration of the centenary of the TA in Jaén. We sensed the deep roots and affection with which the city responds to our invitations.
It is July 17, 1913 ... ‘the carriage that Fr. Pedro takes when he gets off the train travels along the ‘Paseo de la Estación.’ From the window one can see the horizon that marks the landscape of Jaén ... ‘ (Flavia Paz Velázquez, Biography Papers). Today, March 29, 2014, we ask Fr. Pedro Poveda to allow us to accompany him for a while...
The carriage stops at 29 Carrera St., today Bernabé Soriano Street. On the doorpost there is an ancient sign: Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country. Fr. Poveda 's face lights up and there is an excited gleam in his eyes ... I'll stay with you ... From this moment, his person, his life, his Work, his dreams, his closeness, all of it ... fill with meaning and joy the encounter in this festive evening.
Here it is very easy to imagine Father Poveda sharing projects, ideas, and dreams with fellow members of the Economic Society, of which he was a member. Today, March 29, 2014, the TA has organized an event to celebrate the centenary of its presence in Jaén (1913-2014).
The room is filled to capacity with representatives of ecclesiastical, civil and academic authorities; TA members, Young ACIT, friends, family ... Others have arrived from Cordoba, Madrid, Linares, Guadix, Barcelona, Malaga ... This is a festive reception. After grateful greetings the panel begins: "Yesterday and today: one hundred years of the Teresian Association in Jaén ."
Paquita Feria, Director of the TA in Córdoba, Jaén, and Linares, thanks the audience with a warm welcome and starts the ceremony, inviting us to remember with the heart what we have lived, shared, and walked together.
She uses a short quote of Fr. Poveda from 1913: “I was sad to leave Covadonga but the joy I felt regarding the hope of seeing the progress of my work was bigger…. From Jaén I could serve the Work better.” History is a witness that such was the case.
M ª Asunción Andrés Ortiz is in charge of the “Yesterday” part of the panel discussion. In a succinct synthesis she contextualizes the time when the Academy of Jaén is founded. She takes some expressions of Saint Pedro Poveda on Jaén as a starting point: The House of Jaén, " Epiphany" of the Teresian Association; “in Jaén I saw the hand of God in everything" and "Covadonga, Jaén and Rome, places of special devotion."
M ª Asunción Ortiz recalled what the "Academies" founded by Poveda meant, their meaning, their philosophy, vision, and mission. Then she focused on the "Academy of Jaén." At the Academy of Jaén, the "traits" of Poveda were taking life and what had been written in Covadonga, "faith, science and social action" were becoming a reality.
She stated that in Jaén a series of exceptional circumstances converged and favored the consolidation of the "Work of the Academies of Saint Teresa." M ª Asunción highlighted the person of Josefa Segovia, who contributed to the good idea of Fr. Pedro Poveda in every possible way.
After a hundred years the TA’s commitment to the Church and society of Jaén is still alive. Pedro Poveda responded to needs and demands of the twentieth century and today, here and now, the TA wants to humbly contribute with some specific responses to the needs of this society.
Noelia Martínez, member of InteRed Jaén, shared that Intered found a family of committed, involved, educated and enthusiastic people. She shared the experience in CESDER, Zautla, Puebla (Mexico). There she felt welcome by the TA. These people welcome us in different countries, says Noelia, “and they open their home and their heart. They give us without asking for anything in return and without any conditions."
José Luis Lomas, teacher at Pedro Poveda School of Jaén, shares his experience and says that today Pedro Poveda’s intuition continues to bear fruit in a transformative education, which is consistent with Gospel values. He points out some characteristics of the teachers at the school: awareness and sense of vocation, a humanizing paradigm open to transcendence, commitment to innovation and the incorporation of networking, among others.
Pilar Poveda, volunteer and member of the team of the Rajab project, the goal of which is the reception and encounter with immigrants, says, "along with Spanish classes, what we try to do is to create bonds, thus achieving an exchange of cultures. For them, this is one more step towards real integration, and we are enriched with their experiences. We take into account the educational, collaborative, emotional and celebratory dimensions.”
José Manuel Blesa, ACIT member, shares what it has meant and means to him to belong to the TA: formation, awareness, learning to pray, looking back and thanking God for what He has given him. The ACIT members of Jaén, says José Manuel, live their mission in the family and try to live their professional work as a service to society. They also collaborate in Catechesis, Prison Ministry, Family Ministry and with the needy around us and with those who live elsewhere.
Isabel Morales Güeto, alumna of Pedro Poveda School, speaks about her school years. “There I acquired a way to understand culture and its expressions in an open and respectful manner,” she says. Her personal life, married with two children and a health care professional, has the same spirit, the one she learned from hard-working, special, and different women, dedicated to education and respectful with everyone.
Ana Quirós, PA member, recalls her beginnings in youth groups of the TA in Linares. With them, and with TA people that led those groups, she walked a path of personal growth, of faith experiences and journeyed with others. Given her vocation as an educator, through the years she found Pedro Poveda’s ideas in dialogue with faith and science, the gospel with different cultural realities ... Life has led her to be able to talk to different people from different cultures, with a common dream.
After the panel presentations, we enjoyed the Cello D ` Arco Duet who delighted us with several musical pieces.
Elisa Estévez López, member of the TA Governing Council, closed the ceremony. Elisa states: "The Teresian Association recognizes its origins, which deeply marked our identity and today bond us closely to continue the work of Poveda in multiple and varied contexts and cultures."
It is proper to highlight in this celebration some of those identifying features that are reflected in the Academy of Jaén and that continue to remain relevant:
In the centenary of the Academy of Jaén we joyfully celebrate one hundred years of intense life, of cooperation with the gospel (cf. Phil 1:1), of commitment to society and to the Church according to the charism of Poveda. This joy urges us, as the Pope asks of us, to discern what the Lord asks of us, and "to accept this call: leaving one's comfort and daring to reach out to all the regions that need the light of the Gospel."
Francisca Moyano-Paqui Feria
Photos: Fernando Mármol