Kick-off of the missionary month in Spain José María CalderónOne of the great dangers of the Church in the 21st century is to lose the apostolic zeal".Surrounded by cameras since her birth, Tamara Falcó is the character of the moment in the Spanish social chronicle. Her conversion to Catholicism, thanks to reading the Bible, added one more title to her public persona and, above all, gave her the joy and peace she had always been looking for.
This 2022 has been a year full of nuances that she has endured with fortitude and serenity, largely thanks to her faith. This year, moreover, Tamara will be the preacher of the World Mission Sunday, in an especially significant year for Pontifical Mission Societies. A proclamation that she also received as a mission and for which, as she says in this interview with Omnes, she does not consider herself "not even a quarter worthy".
After a difficult few weeks, Tamara Falcó puts a face to the missionaries from all over the world after a stay in Lourdes that had a profound impact on him.
Since your conversion, you are "the catholic celebrity" Do you consider this place of influence in which you move as "a mission", a way that God gives you to reflect Him in your daily life? Is there more (or less) pressure to be His witness in the environment that surrounds you?
-I think that the celebrity The Virgin Mary par excellence is the Virgin Mary and I am just a grain of sand. If there is more pressure..., I don't know. It's true that I don't move around a group. super catholic. For example, Lourdes has been for me a haven of peace, because in the Hospitality there were many people who thought and prayed like me, and that is a pleasure. What I do believe is that God has given me the "weapons" so that, where I am, I can transmit my faith, his love and his peace.
Your life, in recent years, has been linked to the kitchens. As a Catholic, you also have the Eucharist as food for the soul, how does Tamara Falcó live the Mass?
-For me the Eucharist is a miracle, the greatest miracle. It is there that God gives me strength. Of the sacraments, I also love confession, but to be able to receive communion is marvelous.
The celebrity par excellence is the Virgin Mary and I am just a grain of sand.
Tamara Falcó. Pregonera Domund 2022
What did you think when you were asked to give the proclamation of the Domund?
-The truth is that I took it as a mission. I don't feel even a quarter worthy of giving that proclamation and the little I can offer, which is media exposure, I am happy to use it to make known the DOMUND and the work that the missions do.
How do you value the work of the Church, and especially of the missionaries, inside and outside our countries?
-The work that the missionaries do is brutal. Leaving your family, your friends, the country where you grew up and have your customs to go to remote places, often risking their own lives, in places of war, is a gigantic sacrifice, it is impressive!
I also believe that it is very true what St. Teresa of Calcutta said, that "Calcutta is everywhere". I think of St. Philip Neri, who wanted to go as a missionary at all costs and God made him stay in Italy, and there he did his mission with the children. A bit like Father Angel. I think it is true that there are missions everywhere.
It is hard to leave our hurts behind and think that God loves us, but He does.
Tamara Falcó. Pregonera Domund 2022
At some point you thought about becoming a nun... but has Tamara Falcó ever thought about becoming a missionary?
-Of course it is! It's definitely something I'd like to do and always talk about. I think it's an appointment we have to block on the calendar, organize well, and do it. I was in Lourdes with a lady who was a doctor in Hospitality and she was planning her trip to a tiny little place in Uganda to go operate there. It is something I would love to do. I think it's a fantastic thing for young people to do because it changes your outlook.
In the last few days you have been at the center of all eyes and now comes this proclamation. What would you like to transmit to the world, believer or not, with your life and, in a certain way, with this proclamation?
-The love of God. That's the only thing I would like to pass on because it's what changed my life. It's hard to leave our hurts behind and think that God loves us, but that's how it is.
The Pregón of the DOMUND
Next Sunday, October 23rd, World Mission Day, better known as Domund, will be celebrated and, among other actions, since October 18th, the exhibition "El Domund al descubierto" can be visited, which aims to bring the missionary reality closer to the people in the street. It will be open in the Greenhouse of the Crystal Palace of Arganzuela until Sunday, October 23, World Mission Sunday.
The World Mission Sunday proclamation is one of the events that, for some years now, has marked the agenda of the missionary month in Spain. In 2022, the World Mission Sunday will be 200 years of service to the mission.
