August 24, 2010, marked a decisive moment in the journey of Moysés Azevedo, founder of the Shalom Catholic Community. On that day, Moysés made his Definitive Promises in the Shalom Charism and professed his Perpetual Vows of Celibacy for the Kingdom of Heaven. The Holy Mass during which these rites were celebrated took place at Shalom da Paz in Fortaleza, Brazil. The then-Archbishop of Fortaleza, Archbishop José Antonio Aparecido Tosi Marques, presided over the Eucharistic celebration. In the Community’s 2010 Consultative Council, Moysés himself described the event as “one of the most important and decisive graces” of his life.
Thirty years earlier, in 1980, at the age of 20, Moysés had offered his life to Christ and the Church before Pope St. John Paul II during the pontiff’s visit to Fortaleza. Recalling that moment, Moysés explains that, although he did not fully understand what was happening at the time, that offering already contained what would later unfold into his vocation and the founding of the Shalom Catholic Community. For him, there was no rupture between the two events, but rather a continuity of the same offering of his life.
What the Promises and Vows Mean
The Definitive Promises in the Charism express a missionary’s permanent commitment to the Charism of the Community and to its life and mission. The Perpetual Vows of Celibacy for the Kingdom of Heaven, in turn, constitute the definitive consecration of celibate members through the profession of the Evangelical Counsels of poverty, obedience and chastity.
Moysés was the first member of the Shalom Community to take this definitive step. The moment, therefore, was not limited to the founder’s personal journey; it inaugurated, in practice, a new chapter in the history of the Charism. In a particular way, the dimension of eternity took on a new meaning for the Community.
Pontifical Recognition
The journey toward the Definitive Promises in the Shalom Community began to take more concrete shape following the Pontifical Recognition of the Community in February 2007. The same process took place regarding the profession of Perpetual Vows of Celibacy for the Kingdom of Heaven by the Community’s celibate members. The entire process was progressively discerned within community life through conversations, retreats and accompaniment by Church authorities.
The Date of the Celebration
Moysés’ celebration of his Definitive Promises and Perpetual Vows took place on August 24, 2010. The Holy Mass, which was initially scheduled for the feast of St. Clare of Assisi on August 11, was rescheduled and came to carry a particular significance.
Moysés later discovered that August 24, the feast of St. Bartholomew, was also associated with the reform of the Carmelite Order by St. Teresa of Jesus, through the founding of the Monastery of St. Joseph. For him, this and other events were perceived as signs in the process of discerning the new date.
“When I wrote to Friar Patrício Sciadini [a Carmelite friar and friend of the Community] informing him of the date of the Mass, that was the first thing he also mentioned in his reply. In this way, I began to see some of God’s signs.“
Divine Providence
On August 24, therefore, Moysés understood the Definitive Promises and Perpetual Vows as part of a single journey. In his testimony, he connects the event with his experience of Christ, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the offering he made to Pope John Paul II, and the founding of the Shalom Catholic Community. Speaking about these events, he says that, at a deeper level, they formed “a single event” in his life.
Thus, August 24, 2010, represents a milestone in the vocational journey of Moysés Azevedo and in the history of the Shalom Catholic Community. The event definitively consolidated two commitments: belonging to the Shalom Charism and consecration in Celibacy for the Kingdom of Heaven. For the founder, however, that day did not inaugurate a new stage disconnected from the past. Rather, it gave definitive form to an offering that, according to his own testimony, had begun three decades earlier.
More About the Founder of Shalom
Moysés Louro de Azevedo Filho is the founder and General Moderator of the Shalom Catholic Community. He has been a member of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life since 2019 and of the Dicastery for Evangelization since 2023.
Born on November 4, 1959, in Fortaleza, Brazil, he was raised in a Catholic environment and, from an early age, began leading prayer groups for young people. In 1976, he had a profound experience of God’s love through his encounter with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
In 1980, he was chosen by the then-Archbishop of Fortaleza, Archbishop Aloísio Lorscheider, to present a gift to Pope John Paul II on behalf of the young people of the Archdiocese. He prayed, asking God for a gift worthy of the Holy Father, and decided to write a letter offering his life to the evangelization of young people. On July 9, 1982, exactly two years after his encounter with the pontiff, the Shalom Catholic Community was born.
A hallmark of his preaching is the outpouring of a love inflamed by God and an unwavering commitment to the evangelization of others, especially young people. He lives in Aquiraz, Brazil, at the General Diaconia, where, through the Shalom Charism, he serves the Church and humanity.
