Community of Borgomanero: Parent Company
Suore della Provvidenza Rosminiane Casa Madre – Via Fornari 1, 28021, Borgomanero (NO)
Istituto Antonio Rosmini – Via Fornari 1-3, 28021 Borgomanero (NO)
Purchased by the Rosminian Sisters of Providence in the now distant 1855, the house of Borgomanero is called “the Mother House”. The large convent, which every summer brought together all the communities that came there for the spiritual exercises, was always a point of reference for the sisters because, for many years, it was the seat of the “Dearest Mother” and then of the Provincial Mother; even today it hosts a coordinator of the Italian Circumscription. The house of Borgomanero is therefore doubly historical: for the Franciscan origins of the convent, dating back to the late sixteenth century, and for the historical evolution of our Congregation in Italy.
There is currently a large community. Years old due to the advanced age of most of the sisters who compose it, the community is therefore rich in the experience of its members, who nevertheless still express vivacity of spirit and a deep desire to be useful, to be collaborative.
Since most of the sisters do not have a specific activity, the main occupation of many is prayer, an important reality in which we bring the many dramas, problems, social sufferings and those who entrust themselves to our prayer. It is with it that we also support those who are still engaged in the front line, in educational and apostolic works.
Next to the community there is in fact the school: from the nursery to the secondary school of the first degree. Some of us are engaged in this activity, which is carried out according to the Educational Project common to all our Rosminian schools. It is inspired by the pedagogical-philosophical thought of Blessed Antonio Rosmini, who focuses on the person considered in his totality, and whose intellectual, human and spiritual potential must be developed in a harmonious way, according to the uniqueness of each one. We strive for this educational goal with a synergistic commitment that sees the close collaboration between teachers, parents and students, in an atmosphere of serene collaboration and mutual esteem.
We thus pass from the collected silence of the church and the cloister, to the cheerful voices of the children and young people who populate the playgrounds and the garden, all in a continuity of life and harmonious understanding between the different ages of existence and the multiple vocations.
Other sisters of the community are instead engaged in catechesis, in parish works, in visiting elderly people, often alone or sick, in volunteering; there is no shortage of those who dedicate themselves to iconographic art with great skill and skill.
The days are marked by moments of community and personal prayer. Spaces of silence and meditation are dedicated to Lectio divina. For years, in agreement with the parish priest, we have opened to the public our church, dedicated to Our Lady of Grace, for the Eucharistic celebration both weekdays and holidays. The liturgy, carefully prepared and embellished by sound and song, marks the periods of the year and the passing of the seasons in a vision that continually projects us into the eternal.
The days go by fast and laborious for all, although in a different way. More intense for those who have a specific activity inside or outside the community, they are also varied for those who, despite being at rest for age, always find a way to make themselves useful with needle, irons and crochet to package what is much appreciated in the mission and beyond.
The rich library of the house does not fail to provide books of all kinds to those sisters who dedicate themselves assiduously to reading, as a means of continuous enrichment, training and updating, as well as leisure. Even newspapers, weeklies, various magazines are always expected and “disputed”; read with much interest become the subject of animated conversations and interesting exchanges of opinion. Facebook, emails, Shype and the internet are used daily by the most “computer”, regardless of age.
The audiovisual room is often populated not only at the time of the news, but also during the day when some sisters wish to follow live ecclesial or social events of particular importance and interest, as well as broadcasts of a religious, artistic, geographical or scientific nature.
There is also the screening of films of different genres, always highly appreciated; before presented, they also become a reason for comparison and dialogue. Sometimes we invite people particularly prepared for conferences of different kinds, and we do not fail to participate in the various cultural and religious initiatives organized on site.
Sharing, comparison and dialogue are our method, applied weekly, also to carry on and deepen together the themes chosen annually for ongoing community formation.
As in any family, together we share the joys, the recreational and festive moments, the important dates of each of us; but also the sorrows and mourning of each one see us united in participation and prayer.
The community is also always very open to acceptance and involvement, even material, for the success of the various initiatives promoted by the school, the parish, the community itself.
Ours therefore remains a very open house, ready to host individuals and groups of different origins and nature: from prayer groups, to the group of families who monthly meet for a day of reflection and prayer, to the group of Rosminian Ascribed to local associations, to the classes of some schools that come to visit the convent or in the day, or with a stop between us for a few days. For a year, every Saturday morning, a group of Ukrainian children have been meeting with their educators in our home, where we have created spaces for them.
With a group of highly motivated lay people, last year we reopened a wing of the house that had been closed for years. Now in those spaces, partly still under construction, but already frequented by children, young people and adults, boys and girls with disabilities who with their volunteers and teachers form a truly exceptional orchestra, you can breathe creativity, art and culture, meeting and friendship. It is there that an acting school and an iconography workshop are housed; it is there that cultural and artistic events are sometimes organized; as well as recreational moments.
Even today, our community welcomes the sisters of the other communities who come here for spiritual exercises and for a period of rest in the summer, or for days of deepening and formation during the year. Sometimes other people join us to savour, in tranquility and silence, the enrichment of prayer and reflection.
In its small way this house thus appears as a hive, rich in inner and outer industriousness for those who live there, but also a welcome stop capable of offering spaces of welcome, listening and spirituality for the various “pilgrims” who come here, stop and return always willingly.
Strongly interested in the today of the Church and of the world, together we look with interest and hope to the future of religious life and of our own communities, as well as of the society in which we live, beginning with the territory in which we are inserted and in which we desire and seek to be a living and meaningful presence.
