During the visitation to the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Belize, our Sisters were invited to a celebration in Benque Viejo, where a commemorative committee presented a rich program that recalled that it was in this place that the Pallottine Missionary Sisters began their ministry in the country. Young Vinette Manzanero recited her self-composed poem, “Divine Messengers,” about the Sisters’ first years in this country.
Divine Messengers
The children play from dusk to dawn
All day
They run under the sun
Jump under the stars
Having great fun, but not moving very far
Repeating pattern day in, day out
The kids need to learn more
Than kicking a ball
But on 1913
Like angels came to them
Handful of blessings
Called the Pallottine Sisters
The value they placed on the land
Worth more than crystals
The one above told them
To share knowledge
Teach the young minds
Even in a place smaller than a cottage
Like a shepherd herding sheep
Or a collector of beads
Slowly gather each part to make
a meaningful symbol called the Blessed Rosary
the boys the Our Father, the girls, Hail Mary
the teaching are the mysteries
the sisters the cross tying them together
setting a foundation that will go down
in the history of education
Now you return
Like a mother checking her children
And how they have to prosper
admiring the results of your prayers
And with the help of God not other could compare
We thank you, Pallottine Sisters
For giving us all we have today
And ensure a bright future for
the next generation.
Vinnette Manzanero
Photos: Sr. Adelheid Scheloske SAC
