58 YEARS OF MISSIONARY DEDICATION IN BOLIVIA AND CHILE

I was born in 1941. My family consisted of my parents, five brothers, and two sisters; I was the fourth child. We were a very close-knit, hardworking family, living off the land.

The village had 200 inhabitants and was shaped by the National Catholicism of the post-Spanish Civil War era. It was an economy based entirely on agriculture and livestock, with a cohesive community life. Daily routines revolved around farm work and the precepts of the Catholic Church. The people possessed deep faith and trust in a God who cared for them lovingly; they lived lives of quiet contemplation, deeply attuned to the cycles of nature.

Ours was a subsistence economy. Neighbors lived off cereal crops—such as wheat and barley—and small vineyard plots. They also raised sheep, cows (for milk or draft work), pigs, and chickens. The landscape that framed our lives was defined by a scarcity of drinking water, which made our existence more austere and centered on surrendering to God’s will.

God sought me out there and called me with great persistence, just as He did with Samuel. From a very young age, I harbored a desire to be a missionary. God revealed Himself to me in my daily life through a profound love—one I cannot put into words, though my heart knows it well. I always felt Jesus telling me, “I thirst.” I didn’t understand it all; I simply wanted to be a missionary.

One day, this call and invitation grew stronger. When I was fifteen, at noon, I was taking lunch to my father—who was working in the fields—along a path winding through blooming wheat. I heard the words “I thirst” more powerfully than ever before. I froze for a few moments, set my basket on the ground, knelt in adoration, and—filled with an inexplicable happiness—continued on my way. I began looking for a missionary congregation; my father had two sisters who were Servants of Jesus, but they had never really inspired me. Finally, one day, Sister Remedios Vásquez—from the Virgen del Camino community—visited my uncle (who was a priest and my father’s brother) to sign some documents; she mentioned that she was a Dominican Missionary of the Rosary. My uncle called me, and that is how the whole story began.

I entered the postulancy in March 1959. It was a long journey of formation. After making my perpetual vows, Mother General Carmen Azcárate called me to send me to the Vicariate of Santa Rosa. This news filled me with joy. At last, my dreams of becoming a missionary were coming true.

I arrived in Santiago in February 1968. Adapting to a different climate and culture requires effort, especially during the early years; yet, knowing with certainty that it was God calling and sending me on His mission made the challenge easier to bear—especially since I was full of hope and the vigor of youth.

In difficult moments, I would repeat the words of Saint Paul: “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” I have lived in various communities across Chile and Bolivia; this experience helped me to step out of my comfort zone, open myself to new realities, and meet sisters and people in diverse situations and missions—such as in Villa Caspana. God begins with small realities. The Kingdom of God has humble beginnings, yet its effects will be visible to all.

It is impossible to write the story of my vocation without dedicating a few lines to the La Merced parish in Villa Caspana. They were simple people with a deep desire to grow in faith and in following Jesus. They shaped my life and prepared me, day by day, for a life of total self-giving.

Those were fifteen precious years during which we wove new kinds of relationships. We strove to bring out the best in everyone we worked with, growing greatly in the virtue of patience and attentiveness to life. They helped me cultivate a heart of mercy and embrace vulnerability—both my own and that of those around us—and to keep my eyes open to the suffering of others. Together, we committed ourselves to fraternity in order to eradicate exclusion.

We shared expressions of genuine closeness and love—believing in others, overcoming barriers, dreaming together, always seeking what is essential, becoming guardians of our shared humanity, opening our eyes and hearts to discover the experiences of others, and reaching out to where life is most fragile.

I have come to realize that it is the bond—the relationship itself—that works wonders and makes us brothers and sisters. I learned that what truly matters takes time. I sought to share the passion that fills me—the conviction that living with joy is an ideal way of life.

My primary concern and focus were the Christian base communities; they served as a leaven for Christian life and vocations, sustaining the faith of the parish.

Do not think that my life has been all sunshine and roses. I have faced situations of great pain, though I prefer to keep them private. I invite you to join me in thanking God for the vocation He bestowed upon me—in service to the Church’s evangelizing mission—and to sing with me: “I will sing forever of the Lord’s mercies and proclaim His faithfulness through all ages.”

Now I begin a new stage—surely the final one. My story of salvation continues; it will

last until the Lord gathers me to live the fullness to which we are all called.

Angelina Llamazares

Barañain, September 2026.