Rita Silva appointed to the Extended Secretariat of Laity
Br. Ernesto Sánchez, Superior General, and the General Council have appointed Rita Silva (Portugal, Province of Compostela) as a member of the Extended Secretariat of Laity for a period of three years, beginning her service on September 1, 2023. She will represent the European Region.
The Extended Secretariat is a team that supports the directors of the Secretariat, Raúl Amaya (Santa María de los Andes), Manu Gómez (Mediterránea) and Mark O’Farrell (Star of the Sea) and the Link Councilors, Brothers João Carlos do Prado and Sylvain Ramandimbiarisoa. And currently it is formed by Ana Saborío (Central America), Alida Bodomanitra (Madagascar), Nathan Ahearne (Star of the Sea), Br. Elias Iwu (Nigeria), Marcos José Broc (Brasil Sul-Amazônia) and Elma Rafil (East Asia).
_______________________
Rita Silva belongs to the Marist Province of Compostela. She was born in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 2, 1978. She is married and has a son.
She entered the Marists as a 4 year old student, where she did all her schooling. During this period of her life there were many references to Marist brothers and teachers during her schooling, who captivated her by their charism of dedication to the mission and the needs of each one.
She has a degree in Primary Education and has been a teacher since 2002 in the school that welcomed her as a child. She has held positions as coordinator of the 1st cycle and formator of the Marist Pedagogical Model, always seeking to innovate in her educational practices.
Her formative process of Marist life began in 2003 with her participation in the formation of new Hermitage School of Educators. Once again, the close relationship with the Marist Brothers and the learning she accomplished allowed her to open new perspectives and vision before the contribution she could give as a lay woman.
This was followed by the Itineraries of Marist Spirituality in which she collaborated as a formator in the task of accompanying and providing different processes of personal growth that had the person and Marist spirituality at their center.
She has carried out a course of personal accompaniment, promoted by the Marist Province of Compostela, and has collaborated in meetings of reflection on the Marist vocation, retreats and formative workshops among brothers and lay people. Recently she participated in the International Course for Leaders and Animators of the Lay Marist Vocation.
Currently she is part of the Marist Life Team and the Laity Team of the Marist Province of Compostela. She is also a formator of the Marist Life Itinerary, highlighting this itinerary as an opportunity for people to realize in a personal way their vocational process as lay Marists.
Presence, availability and daily witness are for her fundamental principles in her mission as educator. Her way of living “being a lay Marist” is based on a light that she believes the world needs. The light of sensitivity, of respect, of love for others and of belief in a better world.