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HISTORY OF OUR MISSION
More than thirty years ago the Congregation of Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters responded to a call. The call was from Pope John XXIII. He asked for religious congregations to commit personnel to Latin America to work among the predominantly Catholic population there.
The OLVM Congregation was founded for home mission work in areas of the United States where there were few priests and no Catholic sisters or schools. Even so, the community answered the call with a "yes."
Latin America seemed a likely place for Victory Noll's first mission venture outside of the United States since many of the OLVM Sisters were Hispanic and other Sisters were comfortable with the Spanish language.
 The Sisters were convinced that the Spirit was calling them to Oruro. Its needs and mission closely resembled the Congregation's beginnings in the Southwest. Bolivia is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere next to Haiti.
There were no North American Sisters in Oruro at the time because many missionaries found the city's location too high. Oruro, which is located in the Altiplano region of Bolivia, is 12,500 feet above sea level causing a lack of oxygen in the air and a cold, harsh climate. The challenges that Oruro presented are what the Congregation felt their first foreign mission should accept.
On December 8, 1968 the Oruro mission was opened.
Since then, missions were opened in Buena Vista and later in Mora, both in the Department of Santa Cruz. Over the years, 15 different sisters served the people of Bolivia. We were blessed with three Bolivian women who joined our congregation. They are presently living and ministering in the United States.
The Victory Noll Sisters worked in Bolivia for almost 40 years, from 1968 to 2008. Although our mission there has closed, the people and culture of Bolivia will always be in our hearts.
READ MORE BELOW ABOUT THE BOLIVIAN PEOPLE AND CULTURE
THE PEOPLE
Bolivia has 37 different cultural groups living in various geographical zones of the country. The three largest groups are the Quechua, Aymara and Guarani. There is another group, the “mestizos” (mixed ancestry), who do not identify with any of the above groups.
 Photo of Bolivian mother and child in native dress.
The population of Bolivia is around eight million. Over half of the people are considered indigenous and speak their native language as well as Spanish. 65% of the population lives in rural areas. Because of discrimination since colonial times, there has been a division between the urban population, which has access to modern technology and development and the rural areas, which are marginalized and excluded. This fact has kept Bolivia from establishing an authentic national unity.
In spite of discrimination, the indigenous groups have guarded their fundamental values and cultural heritage. Some of these values are: the sacredness of life, the sense of family and community, co-responsibility in facing life, hospitality, reciprocity, respect for the elderly, the value of marriage, the value of children, a sense of complementarity with creation, respect for the dimension of the divine in all creation and a sense of gratitude to God, the value and dignity of all humanity and a hope for a full life in God.
In recent years, the indigenous communities have been in constant dialogue with the modern cultures. This happens because of their attitude of openness to others, of knowing how to give and receive. Because of this encounter, they have lost much of their identity, history and values. In the last several decades, the impact of neoliberalism has created many distortions in their lives. More than receiving new benefits, they have run the risk of losing the fundamental values of life.
Taken from: Carmen Manchicado, Los Pueblos Indigenas y Originarios de Bolivia, research by Sr. Lucy Regalado, OLVM.
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THE PACHA
The people who live in the Andes have a spirituality that is all encompassing. Their space, time and personal relationship of balance and harmony are lived within the Pacha. “We hear with our ears, we feel with our hearts, we see with our eyes. That is the way we should speak: seeing, feeling and listening.”
The Pacha is the divine at the heart of the life of the human community. The people draw near to the things of God from the most profound sentiments of their hearts. They are in dialogue with the marvel of God, heart to heart, because God is the heart of the Pacha.
In the Andean perception of the universe, all the dimensions of the universe work interdependently in a total unity. The Pacha works in complementarity and reciprocity, giving place, meaning and life to all beings that exist.
All of Pacha’s creations have life: rocks, water, plants, wind, hail, animals, etc. Because everything has life, it is possible to converse, to maintain a mutual relationship with each of the realities of the Pacha. All has life in the Pacha, and Pacha becomes life for each and in each of its existential elements.
According to Andean knowledge and wisdom, existential balance and harmony is seen from the principle of complementarity: all beings come in pairs. The divinity, nature, humanity, as well as stones are male and female and live in pairs. All is and grows in pairs. Service to the community must also be given as a pair. The authority of the community must always be received and accomplished as a pair; a male or a female alone are not acceptable. If one is alone, one must seek a companion to accomplish this task.
For the Andean, there is only one family. Even though there are many cultures in the world, they all form one family, the Ayllu. There are no strangers in the family. All have been created by the same Pachakamag (the Creator). All are raised and taken care of in the hands of the Pachamama (Mother Earth), giver of life, who conserves and recreates the fecundity of all beings of the Pacha.
Taken from: Victor Bascopé C., El Pacha, research by Sr. Lucy Regalado, OLVM.
ANDEAN RITUALS
The Andean communities have many rituals to express gratitude and to repay the Pacha, the Divine Presence, for all that is given and received in daily life. This is known as reciprocal complementarity. Having felt and perceived the Pacha, it is necessary to present offerings to the Creator and Mother Earth and to the Achachilas (the Tutelor Beings) for all that has been received. Through rituals, the people ask for protection and help in daily life. They live in close relationship with the Divinity and feel themselves supported by the hands of Pachamama (Mother Earth).
The celebrations of the rituals are deeply symbolic. They constitute moments and spaces of the RECREATION of life, with all its elements and relationships. The rituals restore life. They are celebrated in community. Through these celebrations, equilibrium and harmony in community and family are restored and celebrated.
The Andean Liturgical Calendar is divided into four seasons of fiesta:
• January to March is the season of produce
• April to June is the season of fiestas of fertility
• July to September is the Andean New Year
• October to December is the season of fiestas of the Dead
These mark the time of strong, meaningful religious communal experiences. Some rituals are in relation to Mother Earth and her productivity, planting and harvest, rituals of thanskgiving, of protection and family life, of construction and protection of homes, of initiation, for the deceased, for protection and care of animals and the many rituals of daily life.
This short summary gives a glimpse of the richness of Andean life and culture. It is through these rituals that the people celebrate, restore life and give it meaning.
Taken from: Victor Bascopé C., El Pacha, research by Sr. Lucy Regalado, OLVM.
CARNIVAL
When people hear the word “carnival,” they usually don’t think of Bolivia. However, Oruro is a folkloric capital and its carnival has been declared one of the Cultural Treasures of the World. Thousands of people come each year to watch the “entrada”, as the folkloric groups dance through the city towards the Shrine of Our Lady of Socavon.
 Photo: “Morenada” Women Dancers.
There are several things that make the carnival in Oruro unique. It is made up of many cultural and folkloric groups who are from various parts of the country: the altiplano with its austere climate, the jungles of the eastern zone, the valleys with its temperate climate, etc. This variety is reflected in their costumes, their music and their dances. 
Another “Morena” Woman Dancer.
The groups also reflect the history of the country. The “Incas” represent pre-colonial times. From Tarabuco come the dancers whose rawhide headgear is in the shape of the Spanish helmets of the “conquistadores.” Their huge spurs jingle in unison to their dance step. There are the “Morenos” who represent the black slaves who were brought to work in the silver and tin mines.
The “Caporales” are the slave drivers, with high boots and leather whips. From the tropics come the “Tobas,” all dressed in feather crowns, representing the native peoples of the Amazon Basin. From Potosi come the “Tinkus” whose dance  reenacts the hope for good crops. Then there are the sheep and llama herders, and many more.
“Caporales” in this photo.
Another aspect of the Oruro carnival is its mixture of native and Christian beliefs (syncretism). Many of the costumes have animals (frogs, snakes, spiders) that have legends connected with them. St. Michael leads the Devil Dancers, showing that he is in control. At the same time, the Devil is the master of the mines and all the miners offer some gift (cigarettes, candy) when they enter the mine, praying for safety. There is also a morality play depicting the battle between Virtue and the Seven Capital Sins.
Photo of “Morenos” Dancers.
All the dancers make a promise to dance for three years in honor of Our Lady of Socavon, the patroness of Oruro. They dance uphill for several hours (at 12,000 feet altitude) to the chapel where they attend Mass as a group. Dancing in the carnival is considered a religious devotion.
 In the midst of all this cultural and religious abundance, the people make room for enjoyment, throwing water balloons or squirting water guns, buying snacks from vendors, getting black grease smeared on their faces by the dancers or just having a good time.
Sr. Mary Edna Butler, who was in Bolivia for 35 years, never missed a carnival. Helen Espinosa, a covenant associate (pictured with “Tobas” Dancers - note her protective, anti-water poncho), lived in Bolivia a short time and also had the opportunity to be at the carnival. They both agreed that it is an unforgettable experience.
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