Solemnity of St. Joseph
20th Anniversary Celebration of our Institute

Saturday, March 15, 2008, the Feast of St. Joseph, marked the 20th Anniversary of the founding of the Institute Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará.  Our Institute was founded by Fr. Carlos Miguel Buela in San Rafael, Argentina in 1988 as the sisters of the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word, which also includes missionary priests and the Third Order.  Since then we have grown to number over 800 sisters in 24 countries.  Celebrations were held throughout the Province.

Washington, D.C.
Our sisters of the Novitiate House (Upper Marlboro, MD), Juniorate House (Washington, DC), and Misión Santa Maria (Avondale, PA) began the feast with a Holy Mass in honor of St. Joseph celebrated by Fr. Pablo Bonello, IVE at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  He was assisted by priests of the Institute of the Incarnate Word as well as diocesan priests.  We continued the celebration with a reception provided by the generosity of the Knights of Columbus in Sarto Hall in Forestville, MD.  About 300 people were in attendance including many friends and family.  We give thanks to God for our Institute and all the blessings He has bestowed upon us these last 20 years, as well as to all the benefactors who made this feast possible.

New York
Sisters from the Provincial House (East Harlem, NY), St. Paul's Convent (East Harlem, NY), Sts. Peter and Paul Convent (Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY), St. Gabriel's (East New York, Brooklyn, NY), and St. Damaris Convent (Bridgeport, CT) joined the cloistered contemplative sisters at the St. Edith Stein Monastery for Mass at the adjoining parish, St. Thomas Aquinas Church (Flatlands, Brooklyn, NY). During the Mass presided by Fr. Gustavo Nieto, IVE, a sister renewed her vows.  The reception was attended by parishioners, benefactors, and members of the Third Order at St. Gabriel's Parish, the first mission of the sisters in the United States founded in 1994.

Toronto, Canada
On the Vigil of the Solemnity of Saint Joseph we celebrated the 20th Anniversary with friends and parishioners. The Holy Mass was presided by Most Rev. Bishop Peter Hundt, Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto and Vicar for Religious.  We in Toronto also give thanks to God for all the graces we have received over the course of these 20 years, and pray for His continued blessings upon our Religious Family. We pray, too—through the intercession of St. Joseph—that we will always remain faithful to our vocation.

Santa Clara, California
We began our celebration of our 20th Anniversary praying Morning Prayer with some of our Third Order members and faithful parishioners. Following Morning Prayer, Fr. Walter Mallo presided at Holy Mass, with Fr. Jeff Obniski, Fr. Hugo Cardenas, and Fr. Marcelo Navarro concelebrating. 

Following Holy Mass, we had brunch in the Family Learning Center. Later in that night, our Third Order members treated us to a potluck dinner in the rectory. Many people from Our Lady of Peace and Saint Leo the Great were present to celebrate our 20th anniversary with us and we are truly grateful for their support and generosity!