2. The Betania Communities
After completing his high school education, Theodore Rufo
attended Keefe Technical & Vocational School in
Framingham, Massachusetts. For several years, he worked
as a custodian in various schools in the MetroWest area
west of Boston. Today, Ted Rufo serves as the head
groundskeeper of a large estate in Rhode Island,
responsible for the horses and the grounds. A devout
Catholic, Ted Rufo took the vows to join Betania II, a
private lay Roman Catholic Marian community.
3. The Betania Communities
In 1974, a devout young woman named Maria Esperanza
purchased farmland with her husband in Miranda,
Venezuela, following guidance received in a vision of the
Virgin Mary. They named the farm Finca Betania (Bethany
Farm). In 1976, she witnessed the first of numerous
apparitions of the Virgin she would see over the course of
her lifetime. In 1984, more than 100 people saw the
apparition, which was validated by the Catholic Church in
1987.
4. The Betania Communities
Sister Margaret Catherine Sims, CSJ (Congregation of St.
Joseph) established Betania II in Medway, Massachusetts,
after long prayer, guidance from Maria Esperanza, and a
search for the most appropriate place to establish the
community. She acquired the 109-acre parcel in 1997 and
spent the next several years developing the spiritual center,
which today includes the stations of the cross, the Virgin’s
grotto, and the Spiritual Life Center, which houses several
meeting rooms, a 600-seat oratory, a complete commercial
kitchen, and a large dining room. Betania II is a popular
retreat center and hosts numerous other events as well, a
complete calendar of which can be viewed at the center’s
website at www.betania2.org.
5. The Betania Communities
After Betania II, no more centers in the series were
established until 2008, when five more were founded.
Today, there are 16 Betania communities in North and
South America, and in Europe.
