Roofs

One of the first things that I learned about Americans on mission, especially the men, is that we have a deep seated desire to fix things.  We want to clean, paint rooms, repair broken windows, improve drainage, establish Internet access, drill wells, plumb, wire, level and widen. There is no denying the need in Patzún and there isn’t anything wrong with helping. My opinion, though, is that mission work that sees and addresses only material need is the “… seed

[that] fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture.” that Christ spoke of and is recorded in Luke 8:6. It grows fast, dries even faster and blows away in the slightest breeze.

Never-the-less these roofs at San Bernardino are in bad shape. The school was built in 1961 and from the look of things many of the roofs might be original equipment. Rainy season in Patzún is really rainy and every few years a hurricane parks itself just off the coast in the Caribbean or Pacific, drenching the entire isthmus that is Central America. In the last few years some interior classroom walls literally became waterfalls during hard rains.  Walls, not even the cinder block walls of San Bernardino, will stand up to the elements for long. If San Bernardino School was to continue, roof repair needed to be addressed. Being an American male I figured it should be part of our mission. As usual the parishioners of Holy Sepulcher accepted the challenge with splendid caritas.

Jessica Zigerelli, Caitlyn Gantzer and Adam Tucek plus the Brothers Waruszewski (Tom, Bob and Dan) –  young people on this year’s trip from Saint Vincent College, are pictured above doing  some of the work themselves. The new roofs are stunning. There are even a few classrooms covered with blue standing seam aluminum. Standing seam metal roofs being my personal favorite, this was a very nice surprise. The roofs are excellent and, as you can see, the ceilings are part of the to roughly $500 USD per classroom price.

Roofing is part of the Holy Sepulcher mission and when complete no student will suffer the indignity and discomfort of wading through puddles in the classrooms. San Bernardino is a wonderful school, the academic pinnacle of the Departmento of

San Bernardino's Priests Meet the Pittsburgh Ordination Class of 2010

Chimaltenango and font of priests.
It is only fitting that students and teachers have a roof between them and the elements.

Roofing is work, an important part of what we do. It is a fruit of who we are, adopted sons and daughters of Almighty God. Material progress throughout 2011 was significant. Roots on this mission trip were deep and well nourished. It was  faith-filled, fruitful and satisfying.

classrooms	cost
9   (completed)	$5,969
cost for 1	$663.22
24 remain	~16,000

New Priest

Fr. Roche 1st Mass. June 26, 2011

Vocations to the priesthood in the Diocese of Pittsburgh are on a modest upswing and with that trend so are the priests who know the Franciscan missions in Patzún. Fr. Mike was one of six Pittsburgh seminarians who made the trip to San Bernardino in May, 2007. I knew Fr. Mike aflame in is love for the Lord, eager to worship, praying with great piety and always prepared to cheerfully take on whatever work came our way.  Fr. Mike was the picture of humility and he was really, really funny. Eric Campbell, currently in seminary in Rome, was leading a group of us in song as I finished up cleaning paint brushes after a day at the missions. Kids from the school gathered round, listening with great attention. Eric was a gifted musician and made the rest of us sound good. In evening reflection Fr. Mike said this was the first time  in his life that anyone willfully came to hear him sing. Those of you with sharp eyes might recognize seminarian Fred Gruber is the group photo. He is in Rome and will himself be ordained a transitional Deacon October 6th, 2011. Fred’s sister-in-law sang Latin hymns from the choir loft at Fr.

Fr. Mike with 2007 Mission Group

Mike’s First Mass, a Mass that struck me for its piety and Fr. Kim Schreck’s powerful message on the miracle that precipitated the Feast of Corpus Christi. I found myself humbled in the presence of so many with their eyes fixed on Jesus, guided by the Church – their lives well lived.

Fr. Mike with Maria 2007

 

At his ordination as a transitional Deacon, June 2010, I presented a print of this beautiful photo of Fr. Mike with an orphan girl at the Franciscan Hogar Para Niñas. Looking at it he noted, “Finally there is a picture of me that looks decent.” The picture of Fr. Michael Roche, a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek looks good, very good indeed.

Please join me in praying for the priests of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, for our seminarians and for an increase in vocations.

One Family

This is a nice looking Guatemalan family, posing at the main door to San Bernardino, the school in Patzún that is supported, in part by Holy Sepulcher Parish. Some of you will recognize the name, Ana Cecilia Jimánez Arreaga or just Ceci. She is the one in pink. It seems like I have known Ceci forever. In fact it has been 11 years. The others in the photo are her mother and her three siblings.

All four children attend San Bernardino, made possible through the extraordinary efforts of some particularly good friends. Ceci’s situation is not the norm. The family is not from Patzún but from an aldea of Santiago Atitlán. The Jimánez Arreaga family comes from the far side of Lake Atitlán, from coffee country. The father, whom I have not met, works in the coffee fields and earns $2 to $2.50 per day. (See Education, education, education). It is a good family and they are together whenever it is possible.

Ceci

Ceci, the oldest, left the aldea, family and friends 11 years ago because education in her aldea stopped at 3rd or 4th grade. In the aldea she was likely to be locked into the physically demanding and extremely poor life of those around her. There was room for her at the orphanage, Hogar Para Niñas, also operated by Franciscan Sisters in Patzún. She lived at the Hogar for 4 years and then was allowed to live at San Bernardino with the Franciscan Sisters. Things were not easy. One year she couldn’t attend classes because of lack of funds. She lost much of her vision which has been restored over a period of years. Her siblings came to Patzún after her, though I don’t know the dates.

The mother came too. She works as a cook for the Sisters at San Bernardino. Her income is tiny, though a lot for the Sisters. Mom is only 40 years old and looks good in the photo. Often she looks much older and very tired. She has suffered serious health problems the last five years and physicians tell her that she has one or more lesions on her brain. She is palsied, more fitting someone twice her age. I told the mother that her health is beyond my ability to restore. Desperate to have her children educated, she hugged me and thanked me warmly for what you people have already done. I now understand that Ceci needed special help to attend San Bernardino because without assistance the entire family would have been forced back to their aldea.

Chief among those who helped this family is Fr. Brian Noel of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Others include Roger Dannenberg, Rita Shoemaker and Barry Dwolatzky all people I came to know at Carnegie Mellon, Roger for more than 30 years. This photo of the

Fr. Fleckenstein, Fr. Gillespie and Fr. Noel

2010 Pittsburgh ordinations was right next to the Jimánez Arreaga family as I snapped their photo. These priests, Fr. Noel on the right, made the trip as seminarians. San Bernardino remembers its friends.

Why this family? There must be dozens of stories like it, stories of more extreme need. I am sure there are but Sister Angela, Superiora at San Bernardino, made a special request. You must understand this is the Jimánez Arreaga family. Arreaga is the name of the mother’s father’s family. This young, dying mother was adopted by the parents of two Franciscan Sisters, Carmen and Gloria Arreaga García. These are the nieces and nephew of Madre Carmen longtime Superiora in Patzún who, outside my family, is my best friend in the whole world. We will learn more about her another time.

The story of the Jimánez Arreaga family appears with their permission.