By Ana Rodriguez Soto - Florida Catholic newspaper

Photography: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC

MIAMI | If raindrops were blessings — as Archbishop Edward McCarthy used to say — then God certainly showered his graces upon the 25th anniversary celebration for the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

On a rainy Saturday morning, 10 bishops, dozens of priests and hundreds of the faithful — not to mention the mayor of Miami — gathered at St. Mary Cathedral to help the Servants celebrate their foundation.

The Servants are the archdiocese’s home-grown religious community, officially established in 1990 by Mother Adela Galindo and recognized as a Religious Institute of Diocesan Right in 2000. There are now 43 Servants — average age 27 — working in archdiocesan parishes and schools, as well as in the dioceses of Orlando, Peoria, Illinois, and the Military Ordinariate in Italy. The Servants also are active in a number of countries in Central and South America.

Describing themselves as a contemplative community with an apostolic thrust, the Servants make a fourth vow: in addition to chastity, poverty and obedience, they promise “total availability.” That is, they serve wherever they are needed, doing whatever is needed.

That unconditional “fiat” or “yes” to doing the will of God in today’s world recalls the “fiat” of Mary, whose “yes” to God made possible the Incarnation. So it was fitting that the Servants’ 25th anniversary celebration took place on the feast of the Assumption, Aug. 15.

In his homily, Archbishop Thomas Wenski noted that four words sum up the life of Mary: Fiat, Magnificat, Conservabat, Stabat.

“‘Fiat,’ in her response to the angel Gabriel; ‘Magnificat,’ as her response to God’s grace at work in her life; ‘Conservabat,’ as she cherished all these memories and events in her heart; and ‘Stabat,’ as she stood faithfully at the foot of the cross watching her Son die for humanity and awaited the fulfillment of Simeon’s prophecy about Jesus’ mission,” he said, quoting Basilian Father Tom Rossica, CEO of Salt + Light Television.

“Fiat, Magnificat, Conservabat, Stabat,” the archbishop said. “These words describe what Mary did do — and they describe the life and the mission of the Sisters of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary.”

“Boundless love” is how Dilcia Ortiz, of St. Martha Parish in Miami Shores, describes the Servants’ ministry. She remembers how the community began with meetings at Immaculate Conception Church in Hialeah.

“That’s where they gathered and that’s where I went,” Ortiz said, recalling the first women who joined Mother Adela to form the fledgling community in the mid-1980s: Sister Ana Margarita Lanzas, who is now director for religious for the archdiocese; Sister Carmen Ors, who now works as office manager at St. Mary Cathedral; and Sister Maria Teresa Acosta, who now works as pastoral assistant at Annunciation Church in Altamonte Springs, Orlando diocese.

Although Ortiz has made vows as a Secular Carmelite, she considers herself “Mother Adela’s adopted daughter.”

The Servants’ family includes about 250 lay associates, with groups for children, families, and seminarians, deacons and priests.

“I know priests who have been influenced” in their vocation by the Servants, Ortiz said.

Someone else who remembers the Servants’ early years is Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado. He recalled their first convent in a little house in the Shenandoah area of the city, when he served as commissioner. The street has since been renamed “Two Hearts Way."

“This is not just an official act for me,” Regalado said. “Every time the Servants of the Pierced Hearts expand — in another house, another convent — things in Miami get better.”

Mother Adela “is not a president, she is not a movie star, but she deserves the key to the city of Miami,” he said, in addition to the proclamation marking Aug. 15 as Day of the Sisters Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

“I don’t deserve the key,” Mother Adela responded. “But I hope our presence will bring blessings to the archdiocese and the city of Miami.”

“This is the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in our times,” said Archbishop Emeritus John C. Favalora, who granted the Servants canonical status in 2000.

“If I may be a bit of a prophet,” he added, “I think the next 25 years we will see many more fruits of the work of the Holy Spirit through this religious community.”