“Go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to all humanity.” (Mk 16:15). This missionary mandate from Jesus is not just a biblical quote; it is a living experience that is embodied each year in Missionary Easter, a mission that takes lay Claretians and laypeople to the peripheries of our country, especially to the province of Darién, Panama, to accompany the Easter Triduum. Seventeen missionaries said Yes to the call of Missionary Easter in 2026, and the Lay Claretians of the Heart of Mary are participating for the fifth consecutive year to serve as instruments and companions in offering an experience of the Easter Triduum in the communities of Santa Fe and Agua Fria.
Lay Claretians on the Move: The Mission that transforms lives.
Itsury Gonzalez, lc, shares with us: “…It resonates in me and in the Claretian lay vocation I have chosen as my way of life. That is why one of the opportunities that comes my way every year is to go out and meet others during Holy Week. Through the Missionary Easter, as we lay claretian in Panama call the Holy Week mission, I give of myself to serve others and bring the joy of the Good News to communities on the peripheries, on this occasion in the Province of Darién. From organizing the mission with other lay claretians, Claretian Missionaries, and laypeople close to the Claretian Family, to accompanying and listening to the people in each community to which I am sent, it is a unique experience every time. Sharing with brothers and sisters from different realities is always a learning experience. Being open to understanding their material, structural, and social realities—and, in trust, their spiritual and personal needs as well—not only makes me more empathetic but also strengthens my firm belief in Jesus’ evangelizing mission and reaffirms that this mission is increasingly necessary. But there is a reality: religious missionary vocations are becoming fewer and fewer, and this makes the participation of us laypeople in supporting this missionary work all the more urgent!”
The call to be a church that reaches out, a church in action, resounds.
As lay Claretian, Itsury tells us, “I am called to be a church that reaches out and to walk alongside others, as Pope Francis told us, wherever Christ’s love is in need, just as Father Claret taught us with that phrase from which he derived his apostolic motto, based on the Apostle Paul. That is why the Missionary Easter is one of the evangelization missions in my lay community, Heart of Mary.”
Communities that welcome and evangelize through their witness.
“From Santa Fe to La Lomita, Altos del Cristo, Relojera, and on through Pueblo Nuevo, each community in Darién offered a unique experience, yet all shared a common thread: the openness and joy with which they received the Gospel. “The Missionary Easter is a remembrance of the path of the scourging, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ during the Easter Triduum,” shares Yeira Jiménez Romero, lc.
“The mission is not only about bringing a message, but about building bridges,” she describes it this way: “An experience that I feel defines our lay mission, committed to each community to stay close, serving as a bridge, working in communion to promote pastoral conversion, and, on a personal level, to bear witness.”
Walking in Faith: Distances that speak of love for God.
In the community of Río Sabana, another missionary, Beatriz Jaramillo, lc, had an experience deeply marked by the simplicity and sacrifice of the people. “This experience has been a gift from God. I felt very welcomed by the community, as well as by my sister Mabel, my mission sister. I walked and visited the homes, and I was deeply struck by the issue of distance.” However, beyond the physical effort, what remains is the spiritual witness. “For me, seeing that beyond the distances they travel to reach the chapel, they want to live and have that closeness to all that is Divine and comes from God brings me great joy.”
Living Faith in Community.
In Guayabillo, the mission was lived out from the heart of the community. Our arrival on Good Friday marked the beginning of an experience filled with real faces and testimonies of life. Iliana Gonzalez, lc, shares with us: “I was welcomed by Mr. Sixto, a very hospitable country man—a delegate of the Word—and minister of communion alongside his wife Celina, a catechist; a married couple united in Christ for nearly 50 years, worthy of respect and an example to others.”
For this Missionary Easter, the Claretian Missionaries extended an invitation to the youth ministry of the Claretian mission areas, so the invitation to work in a shared mission with the youth brought great dynamism and harmony to the mission. “A very surprising change was working alongside a lay missionary from the youth ministry of Santa Fe Darién; Ana infused Easter with a touch of warmth, creativity, and a melodious voice. Together with her, we had the opportunity to share moments of learning, creativity, and fellowship among missionaries and children in a simple yet welcoming atmosphere, centered on the Chapel of the Divine Child, which became the heart of the gathering.”
A Way of the Cross around the parish, meditating on the stations with flowers and accompanied by the community, and a beautiful moment of Adoration of the Cross, culminating in Communion, were moments of deep reflection. During visits to homes, we met many members of the community, whose testimonies have left a lasting impact on us. Faith, even in the midst of limitations, reflects joy and a love for life. It was an experience that taught us the value of simplicity rooted in God.
A Church that reaches out and continues to beat with life.
Living the Triduum allowed us to see situations where faith needs to be rekindled. As missionaries, we were sent to accompany others and help open their hearts. There, the message of a living Jesus who walks with his people became present. A Jesus who invites us to embrace the cross with love and hope. And who urges us to persevere and strengthen community life through brotherhood.
Missionary Easter 2026 makes it clear that mission is a way of life. It is a Church that listens, that walks, that allows itself to be touched by the realities of the people. As Pope Francis recalled: “The Church exists for mission.” Today, that mission becomes concrete on the roads of Darién, in the homes visited, in the long walks, in the simple yet meaningful celebrations. It becomes life in every lay Claretian and lay missionary who returns transformed, convinced that evangelizing also means allowing oneself to be evangelized. Because in the end, Easter is not only celebrated; it is lived, shared, and embodied in every encounter.
Iliana González,lc
Panama – Central America Region
