The Word, Preached Faithfully

The history of El Camino Community is rooted in the conversion of Brother Nicolás Sanabria. Following this experience of faith, José Massó (Beto) and Héctor Rodríguez joined him. The three began participating in prayer groups in Hartford, Connecticut, approximately 45 minutes away.

At the same time, groups from Hartford traveled to Springfield to lead charismatic retreats and Life in the Spirit Seminars. These initiatives laid a firm foundation for the development of Latino evangelization in western Massachusetts.

During this process, and quite unexpectedly, they were informed that, after a period of discernment and prayer, a team of leaders from the 'Word of God' community had recognized a call from the Lord for the brothers to establish a community in Westfield, Massachusetts. They were also advised not to relocate to Michigan.

In response to this discernment, they began laying the foundations for a community in Westfield. That same year, Nicky, Beto, and Héctor made their first commitment to form El Camino Community through a solemn covenant with one another.

The community's name is inspired by Proverbs 15:24: "The path of life leads upward for the prudent."

Prayer groups were established in Springfield, Westfield, and Holyoke, with the active participation. The community began offering Christian formation to children and, through this ministry, also recognized the need to accompany their parents, particularly the men.

This need led to the creation of men's groups and, later, to the organization of retreats for men and married couples. Men's breakfasts held each Holy Saturday, and Lenten retreats for women were also introduced; both initiatives have continued to the present day. Over time, a spirit of family life deeply rooted in the Christian faith took shape.

Although our community has been predominantly Puerto Rican, we have been enriched with brethren from South and Central America. Some of the things that have characterized us are our sense of hospitality, our spirituality, and service to our local parishes and Diocese. Even though we are a small community, we have had an impact by providing retreats outside of our area to include Puerto Rico and Toronto Canada. We have held an annual men's breakfast for the last 40 years where we have had up to 175 men participate and gather to praise and worship, fellowship and share God's word. We also have an annual community camping trip where we gather to share with other families.

Some members of Misiones Hispanoamericanas received a call to establish an evangelization movement in Florida, from which Kerigma emerged. For a time, El Camino Community collaborated with this movement and coordinated various Hispanic gatherings.

Later, the community had to discern whether to join Kerigma, whose vision was primarily focused on evangelization, or to become part of the Sword of the Spirit, which integrated evangelization with family life, community life, and discipleship.

John Keating visited the community to determine whether it was ready to be recognized as an affiliated community of the Sword of the Spirit. The evaluation concluded favorably.

At Bill Brown's recommendation, the process began for El Camino to move from affiliated community status to Community A status.

The visiting team, led by Horacio Anleu, recommended that El Camino Community move forward toward recognition as a Community on the Way B.

As the culmination of this process, El Camino Community was officially recognized as a Community on the Way B.

That same month, El Camino Community changed regions and became part of the NAR (North American Region), thereby beginning a new stage in its institutional journey.