A little seed, called to grow…

175 Years of the Vow of Tarragona · August 15, 1851 – August 15, 2026

On August 15, 1851, in the chapel of the Virgin of the Cloister in Tarragona Cathedral, five women said “yes”, a yes that would forever change the course of a story.

The Venerable María Antonia París, together with Florentina, Rosa, María Encarnación, and Josefa, gave themselves entirely to God, committing themselves to “cross the seas and go anywhere in the world without ever separating from one another.”

There was no Congregation yet, no established ministries, and no certainty about the future. There was only a small community, sustained by the Eucharist, trust in God, and the desire to remain united in order to live out their mission wherever the Lord might send them. Father Claret would be the apostolic man whom God had promised her would help her carry out this work.

That little seed, seemingly insignificant, already contained the power of a story that today celebrates its 175th anniversary.

From Tarragona, through Santiago de Cuba, and gradually spreading across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, generations of Claretian Missionary Sisters have brought that first “yes” to life, alongside so many people who have shared and continue to share the charism and mission.

Communities, apostolic centres, and pastoral initiatives; education, accompaniment, the promotion of justice, popular missions, and mission ad gentes; children, young people, families, and so many others who, in one way or another, have found a path to encounter Christ and the Gospel.

But the Vow of Tarragona speaks not only of crossing seas. It also speaks of remaining united.

For mission and communion were born together that day. And 175 years later, that promise remains a call: to cross, too, the seas that divide us today, the differences, distances, wounds, and resistance, to continue walking together as a family, at the service of the Kingdom.

On this Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, we turn our gaze once again to that small beginning and give thanks for all that God has brought to life and caused to grow from it.

175 years later, the seed is still alive. And the “yes” continues to open itself to the future.

175 years of walking together at the service of the Kingdom.