From 18 to 22 August 2025, the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Retreat Centre in Vía del Mar, El Salvador, hosted the International Symposium ‘Trust Leads to Love’.
Over 100 people from Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Peru and the Caribbean took part, along with another 100 people who attended virtually from different parts of the world.
The symposium, organized by the Discalced Carmelites of Central America, aimed to explore the spiritual message of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. For five days, religious men and women and lay people participated in conferences, workshops, liturgical celebrations, moments of community prayer and cultural activities, in an atmosphere of fraternity and ecclesial communion.
The presentations addressed themes such as radical trust in God’s mercy, evangelical simplicity as a path to holiness, and the relevance of Thérèse of Lisieux’s spirituality in the face of the pastoral challenges of the contemporary Church. In addition, group discussions provided an opportunity to share experiences of faith and to discern together new ways of living and transmitting the Gospel.
The Symposium ended with a deep sense of gratitude and hope. Participants expressed their desire to bring the spirit of trust and self-love characteristic of Little Thérèse to their communities.
