OUR FOUNDRESS
Maria Camino Sanz Orrio
'If the Lord wants it, He will do it'
Our founder was born in Pamplona on May 3, 1896 in the family formed by Fermín Sanz and Eustasia Orrio. They had 9 children, Maria Camino was the second, but before her birth her firstborn died, so she was practically the eldest of 8 siblings. The family lived the Christian faith naturally and simply, was economically well-off and occupied a prominent place in that Pamplona society of the early 20th century.
María Camino studied at the San José de Cluny school until she was 19 years old and, in addition to “general culture”, she learned to speak English and French perfectly, which would be of great help to her later. She was intelligent, determined, with clear judgment and straight criteria; she had a marked personality and a strong character
Our Founder: His life
In her youth, María Camino belonged to the Marian Congregation of 'Daughters of Mary' promoted and maintained by the Jesuits, she was secretary of the diocesan board in 1932, the year in which the Society of Jesus was dissolved by the Government of the Republic. In 1939 she was named President and she remained in office until June 1943.
When the first steps to constitute the Catholic Action in NavarraIn the 1930s, Maria Camino stood out as a pioneer and propagandist and later as a leader, holding the position of president of the young women of Navarra until June 1, 1937, when she became President of the women of Catholic Action. From the leadership position of both associations, she contributed to the mutual influence and transfer of many young people from the Marian congregation to the ranks of Catholic Action.
María Camino was a tireless propagandist; Due to her availability, simplicity and apostolic commitment, she offered herself to everything: she visited towns to arouse the enthusiasm of the young people and to promote the organization of Catholic Action parish centers, which she collaborated in the formation of young people. She was also president of the Commission “Pro Devastated Churches” . She enthusiastically collaborated in everything that was entrusted to him, for which in the spring of 1938 he received the decoration
'For the Church and the Pontiff'.
This is how the Camino began
On December 2, 1940, when she was leaving the Misiones secretariat where she went to look for photographs for a magazine she was preparing for the women of Catholic Action, she ran into the Fr Moses Domenzain, SJ, missionary in Japan, who had come to Spain seeking financial help to build his parish in Yamaguchi. They knew each other and, when they saw each other, they greeted each other with joy. In the conversation, Fr. Domenzain said: “I have been told that you work a lot in Catholic Action! … “I am everywhere where there is something from Catholic Action, if you want something from Catholic Action in Japan tell me and there you have me… What if I want? I think I want a thing like that there. That is what we need and do not have. …The nuns do a very good job in their schools and residences, in their homes,… But there are so many things outside that we cannot do and that no one does…!What a great help it would be for the missionaries and how the Church would advance in the missions if there were people who could do there what Catholic Action does here! I cannot now express in words what I felt then when I heard the father say this. It was like a flash, a light that made me see and feel that I had to do it, that I was born for this. (“This is how the Camino began”).
Missionaries of Christ Jesus Foundation
This light that begins to illuminate the life of Maria Camino will not go out anymore. Little by little, and through tortuous paths, God is carrying out his work, and finally, with the support of the Bishop of Pamplona, Monsignor Marcelino Olaechea, on March 14, 1944 they meet in Javier (Navarra) the first three aspiring missionaries, to receive the necessary formation that allows them to carry out the task to which they are called. Are Maria Camino Sanz Orrio, Maria Concepción Arraiza Jáuregui and Maria Teresa Unzu Lapeira. A few months later it will be added Eugenia Nagore Nuin.
In March 30, 1944, the Institute was constituted in Pia Unión, with the name of MISSIONARIES OF CHRIST JESUS.
Later, on June 5, 1946, it became a religious Congregation of Diocesan Law and on June 27, 1954, the Holy See elevated it to an Institute of Pontifical Law with a decree of the FIDE Propaganda Congregation.
El 3 de octubre de 1946 pronuncian los votos las cuatro primeras Misioneras de Cristo Jesús. Aunque el Instituto nació para ir a Japón, los caminos de Dios le van conduciendo de otro modo y el 18 de Noviembre de 1948 sale para la India la primera expedición, compuesta por Maria Camino Sanz Orrio, Guadalupe Velasco, Pilar Gonzalez, Maria del Villar y Margarita Cifre.
Maria Camino was already fifty-two years old. She stayed in India for 17 years. Her first job, with two other sisters, was the Tura leper colony (Meghalaya)which they found in a deplorable state. The love and dedication of the three sisters who worked on it quickly changed the situation of the sick.
As in Catholic Action, Maria Camino was a pioneer in the Institute she founded, honoring her name and leading the way with her own steps.
Do what God wants.
Maria Camino always had a determined desire to “Do what God wants"I saw in the Bishop, in the priests and in the spiritual director representatives of God and I listened to them to listen to God through their orientations. But she clearly showed that she sought to obey God and not men, and she discovered in events contrary to the will of the priests who helped her, signs of God's will that she did not hesitate to follow and that they respected that she followed.
When the number of sisters destined for India increased, Maria Camino was appointed Provincial Superior and remained in this position until 1962. During this time nine communities were founded in India: Tura (Garo Hills) and Kasi Hills, Nagaland, Assam, West from Bengal, Pune
(Maharashtra), Gujerat y Bihar.
The Missionaries of Christ Jesus were able to fully live their charism as described by Maria Camino:
«To provide a service to the missionary Church by being auxiliaries of the Church in the mission fields, always giving preference to the most difficult and needy missions. Like Christ, submissive to the will of the Father, showing universal love for all men, spreading good where it is most needed, without limitations of any kind in activities and doing it in a simple way through our service and our friendship. With an authentic family life, simple, joyful, with a wide range of schedules and plans, always accommodated to the needs of the mission... The example of Saint Francis Xavier and his entrepreneurial spirit fueled in us the desire to take the message of Christ to the most remote and needy peoples” (Constitutions of the Missionaries of Christ Jesus).
In 1964 a lump was detected under his arm. In the refugee camp a surgeon sister operated on her in Shillong, she was a breast cancer. In Bombay she underwent a second successful operation, as soon as she was able to make the trip, she flew to Spain, to continue the treatment with local radiation. After that she went
appointed General Counsel. Maria Camino participated in the extraordinary General Assembly of 1969 that responded to what was ordered by Pablo VI for the renovation and adaptation of religious Institutes and Congregations in accordance with the Concilio Vaticano IIHis performance in this task of renewing the Institute while remaining faithful to the founding charism was decisive. In 1969, with the authorization of the Holy See, she was appointed General Councilor for life.
One of his great joys at this time was the fact that he was able to travel and get to know all the communities of the Missionaries of Christ Jesus located then in India, Japan, the Philippines, Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, and Zaire.
Maria Camino always trusted God and also knew how to trust the sisters who had responsibilities in the Institute. She used to say: 'Now it is up to you to see how you have to live and carry out the mission today'... She had a great ability to maintain a personal and very cordial relationship with all the sisters, listening to those who were close and writing frequently to those who were far away. . Her last letter to all of her, written on March 10, 1991, expresses her deepest wish: “Let us ask (Saint Francis Xavier) to help us, missionaries of Christ Jesus, to live that union with Christ and to always be as He wants us to be and to do what He wants us to do.'
María Camino died in Pamplona on June 6, 1991.
