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From 20 th to 27 th January 2008, the members of the St. James Society, as well as Sending and Receiving Bishops, gathered in Lima, Peru to celebrate 50 years service to the poor of Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. Bishop Donal made the return trip to Peru, accompanied by Rev. Paul Finnerty, to celebrate with the Society and to visit the Limerick mission in Lima.
The week-long celebrations coincided with two important events at the parish of “El Resucitado”, where David and Derek minister.
20 th January was the official opening/blessing of the Chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist. This Chapel replaced a shack-like structure, which had been in use for seven years. Thanks to the goodwill and determination of the local people, as well as the generosity of Frs. Pat O’Sullivan and Michael O’Shea, the dream of having a permanent Chapel became a reality.
The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Norbert Strotmann, [local Ordinary] accompanied by Bishop Donal Murray, Bishop John Magee, Archbishop Alcides Mendoza Castro [retired Archbishop of Cusco], as well as David and Derek and many others who travelled from near and far. The liturgy focused on the richness of the local culture, with the use of English, Spanish and the indigenous language of Quechua. This was a wonderful celebration and the people of “El Resucitado” were honoured that Bishop Donal had made the effort to be with us once again.
The 50 th celebrations continued throughout the week. The St. James Society was set up in 1958 by Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston, to offer Diocesan Priests the opportunity to live and work with the poorest of the poor in Latin America. Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston came to celebrate with us during the week, as well as former members of the Society. We currently have members from all over the world, including USA, Australia, The Philippines, Ireland, England and Scotland.
On 26 th January, Bishop Donal Murray, along with Bishop John Magee blessed the foundation of a new Comedor [kitchen] in one of the ten areas in our Parish. The idea of the Comedor is basically to help the people help themselves i.e. 180 children will receive a nutritional meal each day, the meal will be prepared by the mothers of the children, who in turn will receive special training in the preparation of a balanced diet.
Traditional music and dance followed, in true Peruvian style.
After the blessing of the Comedor, we continued on to “Naomh Íde”, the newly built Parish house, where David and Derek now live. Limerick culture took over at this point, which was evident by the sounds of “There is an Isle” and “Limerick, You’re a Lady” being sung to the backdrop of the Irish, Limerick and Munster flags. Bishop Donal blessed “Naomh Íde”, which will always have an open door to visitors from across the seas.
Several times during the week, Bishop Donal reiterated the Diocese’s commitment to the mission here in Peru. We in turn would like to thank everybody in Limerick and further afield, who continue to support us in so many ways.
Mission is a two-way thing, together we are partners in mission.
The people of “El Resucitado” look forward to Bishop Donal’s next visit.
Que Venga Pronto!!
David Costello & Derek Leonard
Lima, Peru
February 2008.
+Donal Murray |
