ABSTRACT
The aim of the article is to share the memory woven over fifty years of monitoring Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) in Brazil. It is a memory based on facts, however, observed from a very peculiar perspective: “observant participation” (Regina Novaes), typical of a researcher in the field of sociology of religion who has been enchanted by the new face of the Catholic Church that has emerged in the BECs. The reflections shared here are intended to pay tribute to Father João Batista Libanio, SJ, a great chronicler of the first Interchurch meetings of the BECs and the author’s companion in many advisory activities. Finally, the exposition of the memories follows the hypothesis put forward by the author that we are witnessing the emergence of the fourth generation of the BECs.
KEYWORDS
Base ecclesiastical communities; Popular pastoral; Pastoral articulation; Synodality