VOICA – Il Volontariato Internazionale Canossiano
VOICA – Il Volontariato Internazionale Canossiano is, first of all, an idea conceived for sharing the Canossian charism and its service oriented vocational spirit with lay people — men and women ready to offer their spiritual and professional energies in service to the “missio ad gentes” (mission to all peoples). Following the example of St. Magdalene of Canossa, who recognized the precious role of the laity also in the missionary field. This valuable and fruitful sharing has continued through the years.
In 1996, the General Chapter strongly felt the need to publish a document on the “Canossian International Volunteer Movement.” Based on these guiding principles, VOICA was established. In the following years, the movement increasingly strengthened its formation programs and the sending of volunteers for both long-term and short-term services through different methods but always centered on knowledge of the needy world, the Canossian charism, and the responsibilities that every volunteer is called to undertake.
Thanks to this openness toward young people, many men and women from different countries and social backgrounds discovered in Magdalene the same gift of the Spirit that they felt alive in their own hearts. They sought to respond to it with all their energies, enriched by the originality and richness of their own cultures.
Over the years, VOICA volunteers have served in:
AFRICA: Togo, Malawi, Tanzania, Egypt, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, São Tomé, Angola, Uganda
LATIN AMERICA: Brazil, Paraguay
ASIA: East and West Timor, Indonesia, India
EUROPE: Albania, Poland
Our dream of changing the world may seem like a utopia; nevertheless, our hope is still alive. This hope is the ability to see God in the midst of difficulties, to feel His presence that never abandons us, that comforts our loneliness, and accompanies our dreams. This is what we mean by Providence; this is what the Church teaches us and what urges us to be present in the outskirts of cities, among the poor and the excluded, among the sick and the suffering, always keeping in mind the invitation of Magdalene:
“I entrust to you my beloved poor.”
