Being There for Others

Today I was talking to a woman who goes twice a week to visit her son who is serving ten years in prison. Listening to her, I began to understand how the family suffers. Pedro, her son, is in a jail built 100 years ago for a maximum of 1,800 men. Today that jail holds 7,000 inmates.

Pedro’s mother, like many other of the men’s relatives, began queuing at 2 a.m. to get in at 9 a.m. In the rain, in the cold, they have no shelter from the elements. The relatives of the inmates bring clothes and food as there is never enough food provided by the jail. In spite of visitors being partly strip searched —a degrading experience — drugs, cell phones and alcohol still find their way inside.

A Repressive System

The system is one of repression and punishment. Up to 30 men at a time sleep in cells that were built for eight. They pool the food and take turns cooking it. When they wash their clothes and hang them up over the passage way, they have to keep watch so that the clothes are not stolen and sold for drugs. Close living conditions with nothing to do, abysmal toilet facilities along with various mental and physical complaints creates a climate of unrest, fighting and drug consumption. Some of the men spend their time taking irons out of the beds, walls and stairs to make weapons like spears to fight each other which leads to many injuries. In one week, 203 inmates were murdered by other inmates.

In spite of these conditions, one is surprised by the depth of faith, hope and solidarity that is to be found there among those who have a change of mind, heart and spirit. Those who recognize they have done wrong, and they are few, want to change their way of thinking and acting; they want a new life. But sadly, for the great majority, life in this prison is a brutal affair where many give up all hope of new beginnings.

New Beginnings for Juan

In another jail outside Santiago where there are 5,000 men, we said good-bye to Juan as he left for Bolivia after serving an eightyear sentence. Over the last two years he worked in a workshop, St. Columban’s, where he learned a lot about copper work through the arts and crafts course. He also took a course in solar paneling. He made one for me and what a treat it is to have boiling water from the sun.

Throughout the last year Juan took four men each month and taught them all he had learned. With patience he even taught some of them to read and write. Juan felt very happy to be going to the workshop; he was one of the lucky ones who had availed himself of the opportunity to learn something he could work at when he got back to his own people. The fact that he was able to share his experience with others helped him in some small way to repair some of the damage he had done by working for eighteen years in drug factories in different parts of the world. In Bolivia he will begin a new and better life.

Realizing the Damage Done

One can never understand the mystery of life where there are some people who do a lot of damage and only fully realize it when they come to jail. As many say to me: “I had to come here to stop doing what I was doing when I was young; the dangers I was in and put others in.” Many see the hand of God in this. It is an opportunity for some to seek help to change, but others continue as they are and refuse any help that is offered.

What would Jesus do?

I ask myself, “What would Jesus do?” How would He relate to the Pedros and the Juans in these prisons? To the innumerable men “spaced out” by drugs, brutalized by violence, alienated from warm human contact, sunk in despair? And every day I hear Him say, “I was in prison and you came…” Maybe, in the end, that is all He asks of us — to simply be there for others.

Felipe Larenas

A few years ago I came to Valparaiso, Chile, which is on the Pacific coast an hour and a half along the freeway west of Santiago, the capital of Chile. I came because I’d heard that good things were happening here. Young people were meeting and organizing to do what I believe will help all Chileans achieve our dream of a more equitable, just and caring society, one too that promotes harmony with the earth on which we live and from which we derive what we need for our lives.

I grew up in Temuco, a city 530 kilometers south of Santiago. My parents struggled to cover the cost of bringing up children just like any other working family in Chile. When I was about 17 years old, I chose to be a vegetarian. While at university studying sociology, I became fascinated with the Mapuche vision of life. Mapuche friends explained how their tradition taught them to respect nature and live in harmony with all that is. They helped me develop a sensibility to, if not an affection for, mother earth.

Fr. Derry Healy

I did not complete my university studies even though that brief period marked me profoundly. I became a good cook, combining what I had learned at home with Mapuche recipes and worked in restaurants in various parts of southern Chile. I wandered, worked and engaged with people along the way as might any adventurous young person who is beginning to discover his or her path in life.

The state-run local community schools in Valparaiso allow young adults in particular to develop a variety of artistic and artisanal skills. They offer courses in fields such as painting, dance, song, instrumental music and various types of sculpture. What such schools offer allows young adults, who are living off the little they earn, to further develop their gifts and interact with others who share their passion. All this helps us grow in a lifestyle that is so much more than a routine of work and sterile fun.

Children Participate at the Center

A friend with whom I worked in a vegetarian restaurant in Valparaiso told me about the education center for ecology and human development near where he lives that was looking for someone to teach people composting and the use of recycled waste material.

I visited the center and met Columban Fr. Derry Healy. I had little previous association with the Catholic Church but was taken by the possibilities of this project that had been organized and financed by the Columban Justice and Peace Office. I began by facilitating a one month course for school children. Then, with Consuelo Troncoso, a friend with similar interests, I presented a three-month project to develop further the ecological projects of the center.

We want to interest people in practical things they might do such as growing vegetables at home on the small plots of land available to them, or where they can use pots on their windowsills, or plastic bottles cut lengthwise and lying on their sides as they hang from windows. We teach them how to recycle waste, which in turn can be used to enrich the soil mix in their pots and plastic bottles. We have found that it is extremely difficult to interest adults in any of these endeavors, but the children are open and enthusiastic, which is good but also means that we might not be able to evaluate the impact of what we are doing until today’s children are old enough to take responsibility for their own lives.

We want the center to beat the service of the residents of the area. Upon visiting our center, however, one would see very little evidence of any progress because the evidence is in the homes of those who come to our courses. The local homes have quite limited space for gardens as they are part of a government housing project for poor families. The residents may eventually become home owners and contract to contribute a certain percentage of the cost of their house, but the State assumes most of the cost.

This housing project began twelve years ago and soon after the Columban Fathers agreed to take responsibility for the pastoral development of a parish. With local and foreign support, they have built
a parish center and two chapels. Five years ago, the Columbans began to develop the Center for Education for Ecology and Human Development. Progress has been slow as we have no tried and true blueprint for how it might function effectively. We are pilgrims, finding our way as we go.

I am only 25 years old so am quite content to live that way for now but suspect that it might be more difficult for an older person to live with such uncertainty. However, we don’t plough a lonely furrow. We coordinate with other institutions in the Valparaiso area who share our concerns and commitment to forging a more healthy society for all Chileans.

We also work on education about social issues related to the environment, one of which is the value of a massive hydroelectric plant that the government plans to build in the far south of Chile, near the city of Coyhaique in Patagonia. We are concerned about the model of development that this project will be sustaining, a model that guarantees much wealth for a few. We are also concerned about its impact on the environment, especially the hundreds of kilometers of high tension cables from the south to the north of the country to fuel mineral refining processes that are part of the backbone of the present economic model of national development.

But, returning to the details of our immediate local concerns, we have two campaigns running: one, to protect the Chilean palm that once covered the warm coastal valleys of this part of Chile; the second, to recover and value native seeds and at the same time reject all forms of genetically modified seed. One way or another, we hope to sow the seeds of ecological sensitivity and concern for the earth in those who join us in our projects at the Center.

Fr. Mike Hoban with the children of the parish

Columban missionaries often live in countries which are a long way from the countries where they were born and raised. We can spend years without visiting family and friends at home. Yet, we remain very close to our loved ones. Visits home are a special time of grace for us. There is always a great welcome. Everyone is anxious to catch up on what has happened since the last time we met.

We usually go back to our missions weighing several (or more) pounds more than when we got off the plane. Our bags are full of new clothes, books and other gifts. Over the years, my family and friends in the United States and in Ireland have helped to finance many projects here in Chile: chapels, community centers, libraries, soup kitchens, training programs, etc. In the past, they had to rely on letters and photos to inform them about the progress of these projects. Unfortunately, I am not a great letter writer!

The Chapel

However, in recent years, I have been visited by various members of my family as well as friends. It has been gratifying for me to see their interest in the work of the Columbans in the poblaciones (housing projects) of Santiago, Valparaiso, Iquique and Vallenar as well as work in the campo (countryside). Their visits are always memorable for me, and I try to return the hospitality which I experience on my visits home.

The training center

At different times, my brother Stephen and his wife Carole sent their two older teenage children, Stephen Jr. and Maureen, to visit their missionary uncle in Chile. Their parents wanted them to see another reality and to appreciate how the poor struggle to maintain their families. My nephew and niece came with strict instructions that they were not to be tourists. They had to do something useful. So they cleaned drains and vacant lots, painted meeting rooms, dusted library books and helped in soup kitchens. For young people who were used to a more prosperous lifestyle, they adapted well. Their Spanish improved. They ate different foods and lived with their uncle in the parish house without the comforts of home. They had to get used to the dogs barking late into the night. But they approached it all with good humor and made friends with the young people in my parish. I was proud of them. I figured that despite a few hardships, they had a good time.

The eldest, Stephen Jr., has visited me several times since then! Later my brother Stephen decided to make a visit himself. He came with his youngest son Patrick. Like his children, Stephen insisted on doing something useful. A lawyer by profession, he was always quite good and skillful with his hands. He repaired the roof of the training center which the Columbans had built in La Pintana. We also traveled south to the Columban mission in Puerto Saavedra among the Mapuches.

He was fascinated by the country and promised to return. He kept his promise and came back for a second visit which coincided with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Columbans in Chile. For years, he had been active in Columban fundraising events in New York. He felt privileged to take part in an historic occasion for the Society in Chile.

In 2001, I was assigned to the Columban parish of San Pedro Nolasco in Puente Alto. Puente Alto is the most populated municipality of Chile with over 500,000 inhabitants. In ten years, the parish of San Pedro Nolasco had grown 700% from 10,000 people in 1992 to 70,000 in 2002. The government had built numerous new housing projects for the poor in the area.

The chapel

Within a few years, this part of the municipality was listed among the most densely populated areas of Chile with all the social problems which overcrowding brings. The Columbans responded to the challenges by developing new Christian communities and building new chapels and meeting rooms. When Stephen came back, he followed me through the streets of the parish as I celebrated Mass in neighboring centers or in the streets. In the community of Sagrada Familia (Holy Family), we were using a small house for our catechetical programs and other meetings. It was not in great shape, so he decided to paint and repair it. I would leave him and his son there in the morning, pick them up for dinner and bring them back in the afternoon. He was always interested in people and with his improved Spanish he conversed with the neighbors and enjoyed an occasional beer with them.

Some nights, I did not collect them until 11:00 p.m. The people of the parish were impressed that a lawyer could roll up his sleeves and be so efficient at manual labor. I was scolded several times by my parishioners for exploiting my brother and nephew! Before he left, Stephen promised that he would help them to build a decent chapel. When he returned to New York, he began to contact family, friends and business associates and to interest them in making a donation for the construction of the chapel of Sagrada Familia. Just a few months later he was diagnosed with colon cancer. He underwent surgery and began chemotherapy.

He was determined to try and beat the cancer. The battle with the deadly disease only served to strengthen his motivation. He wrote letters and made more phone calls. He contacted Fr. John Burger who was the U.S. Regional Director at the time. By mid-2004, Stephen had gathered enough money to begin building the first stage of the future chapel with meeting rooms. He was in constant contact with me about the progress of the building.

In September, he learned that the cancer had come back in a more aggressive form and that the drugs were not working. The doctors were going to try another form of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, his weakened condition did not allow his body to accept the new drugs. He was in and out of the hospital several times. A man of deep faith, he kept on praying his favorite devotion, the Rosary. He had been listening to tapes in Spanish of the Rosary and told me that sometimes he even prayed in Spanish. He was convinced that the Lord had sent him to Chile with a purpose. By October 2004, we were able to start celebrating Mass in the new building even though it was not finished.

In December, I decided to go home to New York to see Stephen. I knew that it would be our final meeting. I arrived on the morning of December 20, 2004.

When I got to his home, he was not conscious and was having difficulty breathing. I anointed him and stayed by his side praying. He died two hours later. The Lord called him to make his last missionary journey.

The community of Sagrada Familia continues to grow. We need now to expand the chapel to facilitate all the people who are coming to Mass on Sunday. Somehow, I know that Stephen once again will help me. In the meantime, I will try to be more faithful in thanking the Lord for the generosity of my family, friends and Columban benefactors. They are all real missionaries.

Fr. Mike Hoban lives and works in Chile.

Many of the pedicab drivers now own their own vehicles instead of renting with more paying off their loans each year. They have been able to open savings accounts in the cooperative bank to help them in times of need. The wives of the drivers have started supplementary livelihood projects such as sari-sari stores, small restaurants and laundry service.  The children of the drivers are provided with school supplies, uniforms, vitamins and medicine while graduates of our scholarship program have found gainful employment.

Building on the success of the “Pedaling to Live Program,” Fr. McCrossan has launched the “Pedaling to Live Housing Program” to assist the drivers and their families with their housing needs. Most of the families do not own their own houses; they rent their dwellings for $1 dollar a day. The rented house is usually made from bamboo with just one room which is used for sleeping, cooking and eating. The houses have no indoor toilet facilities. Due to the unsanitary living conditions, the children often are sick. In addition, many families live close to the sea, and their homes take a battering from high waves whenever there is a storm or typhoon.

Fr. McCrossan has acquired a piece of land where they can build a safe and sanitary community.  Through the “Pedaling to Live Housing Program,” drivers who have successfully paid off their pedicab loans can apply to purchase a house in the community. Each house will consist of two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and an indoor toilet. The materials will be wood and hollow blocks with galvanized metal for roofing. All the materials will be sourced locally. The cost of materials per house is $1,500 including $660 for labor which will be provided locally. The drivers themselves will provide 80% of the labor required to build their own houses.

To repay the house loan, the beneficiary will pay $20 a month which is well below the $30-$31 they pay currently in rent. With the repayment schedule, the house will be paid off fully in just over six years. While the beneficiaries are carefully selected based on strict criteria, if payments are not made for three consecutive months, the occupancy will be terminated. With the income generated from the loan repayments, another piece of land will be acquired for another community.

Fr. McCrossan and the other managers of the project will help organize the beneficiaries to form a solid community. There will be an area for an organic vegetable garden in addition to a fish pond and an area for chickens and ducks. It will be an environmentally friendly village with the aim of living lightly on the earth. There are already mature trees growing on the site, and more trees will be planted along the perimeter. There is a waste management plan for the project.

Fr. McCrossan recently wrote to me about the project.

I am pleased to belong to the community that has grown among our drivers, their families and the staff of our cooperative program. I am proud of our drivers who provide a cheap and pollution free transport service for the poor of Ozamiz City. I admire and respect their daily struggle to feed their families and their support for one another. I am pleased that their living standards have improved as a result of the project. I feel that I am a small bridge or a small link in the chain binding us all together on this planet, linking our Columban supporters around the world with our people here in the Philippines. The ties that bind us together are concern for all of life. I feel that I have been invited and called by God. It’s not just a job for me; it’s a way of living.

It is the generous prayerful and financial support of our benefactors and friends that allows us to live out God’s call, to be changed by the people with whom we live. Your support of this project won’t just build houses. Your assistance will help build a faith community where individuals and families will find support and strength, a true shelter from the storms of life. It is with deep gratitude for all you have done and continue to do for Columban mission that I invite you to support Fr. McCrossan’s “Pedaling to Live Housing Program.”

Gratefully yours in Christ,

Fr. Arturo Aguilar

I remember a 17-year-old boy who had grown up on the streets and in shelters. He was rough, kept to himself and didn’t speak much. One night it fell upon two of us to take some of the kids to church. We ended up at a small chapel with no more than ten churchgoers. Ten kids from the shelter and my coworker and I made up half the congregation!

The kids were embarrassed to sing, since there were so few people, so I made it a point to sing extra loud, hoping they might be less self-conscious about their own voices. On the ride home in the van, the kids and I laughed about my terrible singing voice.

One person not laughing was the 17-year-old boy. He sat in the back and was quiet. He looked at me intently for awhile and then began nodding his head as if in agreement with something. He pointed at me and smiled, “I get it! You just like to make other people feel good about themselves.” He then joined in the laughing.

What worked in our shelter wasn’t just the rules and constant teaching. It was the family atmosphere we created. The kids knew they were safe—that no one there would raise a hand to them or yell at them or let another kid hurt them. They knew we cared about them and wanted the best for them. As the boy pointed out regarding my singing fiasco, we wanted the kids to feel good about themselves.

The type of loving environment we created was one they had never known in their own families. In this new world, behavior problems disappeared. Kids who were previously “out of control” cleaned up their rooms daily, did their homework and helped cook dinner.

While we worked with the youth, other counselors worked with their families at home, in hopes that they would be reunited and better equipped to live peacefully together.

I brought this experience with me to Chile six years ago when my husband and I became lay missionaries with the Columbans. Again I found myself working with youth, but this time in a different setting. We have worked in two large, inner city parishes, trying to build up the churches’ youth groups. The biggest problems we’ve seen here are drugs, teen pregnancy, domestic violence and gangs—not unlike the problems that plague young people in cities in the U.S.

We’ve learned a lot along the way and are constantly trying to learn more to enable ourselves to better help the young ones with whom we work. During our mission, we’ve taken a long list of courses: Working with High Risk Youth, Drug Prevention in Families and Sex Education for Adolescents, to name a few. At times we feel so impotent while facing these problems that we’re constantly looking for ways to build up our forces, to learn more and to be better equipped to face the challenges of everyday life in the población (Chilean ghetto).

These courses have helped, but in the end, I think the biggest gift we can give teens today is a loving community. More and more teens are turning to sex partners, drugs or gangs in order to have a sense of being loved or belonging.

Some of our best results in the parish have come from activities that strengthen the families and the church community that they form. Two years ago we celebrated Family Week in our chapel by offering nightly talks, testimonies and games related to strengthening the family. During the week we discussed issues like prayer, communication and discipline.

Parents found a support group in other parents, and kids found a safe place to play and share with others their own age. On the first night of our talks, about fifteen adults showed up. Each night brought more people, and by the end of the week we had about 50 adults participating.

This was a wakeup call for our chapel that families were the key to creating both a strong church community and a strong society. Since then, my husband and I have been trying to connect to families through all of our ministries. Working with youth groups here has entailed much more than simply providing catechism to teens preparing for confirmation.

Rather, we are constantly trying to build bridges between the kids and their parents, visiting their homes and encouraging communication. Simple acts like going to Mass, praying the rosary or sitting down to a meal (without watching television while eating together) are transformational opportunities when shared as a family.

The reality in the población, just as in other parts of the world, is that the family unit has changed. Mother and father are often not married and both may not be a part of their children’s lives. Grandparents are either not present at all or are the primary caregivers. Sometimes, the people to whom children feel closest are not blood relatives at all.

In the end, it’s not the composition of a family that matters most but rather the strength of the love that binds it together. Our church community is a family too, and it is important to strengthen our ties in order to remain strong while facing the challenges of the world today.

Columban lay missionary Anna Draper lives and works in Chile with her husband David and son Joshua.

This article originally appeared in the December 2010 issue of Columban Mission.

chile prison fire, catholic mission

The Vicar of the southern zone of Santiago, Chile, Fr. Michael Hoban, called on all the pastors and pastoral agents of the local Church of Santiago to remain in deep prayer over the prison tragedy that occurred in the prison of San Miguel the morning of December 8, 2010, and claimed the lives of over 80 people.

“This prison holds mainly our neighbors, from the areas of the southern zone of Santiago, people from our communities,” Fr. Hoban stated.  “Therefore, I would like us all to be in prayer for the more than 80 families that have lost their loved ones in these tragic conditions.”

chile prison fire, catholic response, mission

Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz, archbishop of Santiago, visited the site of the fire, noting that “our society forgot about this problem for a long time, only placing it on our national agenda recently, for our bicentenary year.”

Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati of Concepción also released an urgent message.  “A tragedy has darkened this feast day, in which the greater part of our country venerates the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the very first hours of daylight,” the archbishop, president of the Chilean Conference of Bishops, declared.  “A fire in the prison of San Miguel has claimed the lives of 81 prisoners, according to the latest information we have received. …We pray for those who have lost their lives so tragically, and for the recovery of the injured, and for the work that the authorities are engaged in.”

“…Many centers of incarceration do not avail of real and sufficient opportunities for rehabilitation for the prisoners, even the new prisons,” the archbishop added.  “On the contrary, we know that, frequently, the penal institutions are the most violent and dehumanizing habitats of all those that favor the development of delinquency.  Violent death on prison grounds is one of the worst ways to conclude one’s passage through history.  The true stories that the Church receives on a daily basis, within the context of our pastoral attention in the prisons, are eloquent regarding this world of suffering and pain, a pain to which we, as a society, many time respond with indifference.”

“We believe that the country ought to know clearly the causes of this tragedy,” Archbishop Ezzati concluded, “and also the indignant conditions in which many imprisoned live.  With hope, we encourage the implementation of the measures announced a month ago by the Ministry of Justice, in order to notably improve the living conditions of the imprisoned.  It’s still not too late to accept the fundamental proposal of our July declaration:  That we social actors enter into a dialogue at the highest level in order to definitively resolve the drama of Chile’s prisons, just as was accomplished in the areas of education, work and pensions, and as was recently done with to improve public health.  The penitentiary reality of Chile must be incorporated into the list of decisions to make, and this is urgent.”

The prison of San Miguel was built with a capacity for 900 prisoners, and held 1,900 prisoners at the time of the fire.   Of Chile’s total population of 17 million people, about 37,000 are incarcerated in 95 prisons throughout the country—about 200 persons per 100,000 inhabitants.  Only Panama and the U.S. have a higher proportion of prisoners per population.

A lookout point.

Meeting the Dalai Lama

As we enter into the hopeful season of Advent, I can think of no better time to share with you the work of one of our most recently ordained Columban Fathers and his joy in living out his vocation.

Ordained in 2008, Fr. William Lee was appointed to Santiago, Chile, in February 2009. A native Fijian, Fr. Willie already spoke three languages – Fijian, English and Hindi – when he was appointed pastor of San Matias Parish on the southern edge of Santiago. Learning Spanish might have been the easiest task to date for this young and energetic missionary! However, Fr. Willie sees his ministry in Chile as an “ongoing formation and learning experience about missionary life, culture, language and the faith experience.” It is an exciting time for Fr. Willie as he is now being formed by his mission, ministry and real world experience.

The parish of San Matias consists of nine communities with eight chapels serving approximately 90,000 people who live within the parish boundary. After more than a year in San Matias, Fr. Willie is well versed in the joys and sorrows that come with serving such a large parish.

Fr. Willie Lee

Like many Columban parishes, the parish of San Matias is economically poor. Most of the people living within the parish live in poverty. There is an overall lack of educational opportunity for people within the parish. Unfortunately, the lack of education and resulting lack of opportunity leads to drug use, violence, suicide, teenage pregnancy and other social ills. In order to combat these systemic problems associated with economic poverty, the Columban Fathers have made working with the Chilean youth one of our main areas of focus and attention. We focus on the youth of the community every day, either in the family, the neighborhood or the Church, because they are the way forward. We lose too many of them to the streets, to drugs, to crime, for us not to try to change things for them.

Father Willie is enthusiastic about his work with the young people, some of whom are pictured in the photo at the bottom of the page. He recently wrote, “Our youth program includes pastoral programs that involve all youth. For example, we have youth who are preparing for Confirmation and their catechists are the youth who have already received their sacrament and have had catechetical formation in preparing young people for Confirmation and children for First Holy Communion. It’s really part of an ongoing formation for our youth, not only in church, but for how the youth value their lives and what they need to do in order to build a Christian community in their homes, in the church and in their geographic communities. Our helping the youth become involved, responsible and committed to pastoral activity gives them a sense of identity as they realize their importance in their church, their families and their communities.”

There are many needs within the parish. Serving 90,000 people is quite similar to running a small city, although there is no tax revenue to fund programs. Chapels need to be renovated. The main building where the youth meet needs to be expanded and renovated. Our desire is to provide educational opportunities in additional to pastoral programs for the youth. Furthermore, the young people need an area for recreation and, though there is plenty of land area open and available next to the main building, the area needs to be landscaped to make it suitable for activities such as sports and retreats. Unfortunately these programs and improvements currently are not within reach for the parish. This is why I am writing you once again, faithful friends who so generously help our missionaries help the people among whom they are sent to live and work.

Father Willie also shared a personal reflection in his letter. He wrote, “I became a Columban missionary because I valued their commitment to cross borders of country, language and culture in the name of mission. Now, I am privileged to offer my life as a Columban missionary priest in continuing the mission of God in Chile.” There is much joy in Fr. Willie’s work, and there is anticipation as well. Fr. Willie looks for signs, however small they might be, that the youth in his parish will see a brighter future for themselves as valued members of their families, their parish and their communities. There is hope that the cycle of poverty will one day be broken.

In reading Fr. Willie’s words about his work, I reflected on my own first mission assignment after ordination. I well remember those days and the prayerful support that I received from the entire Columban family – my brothers in Christ, the Columban Sisters, the lay and associate missionaries and our generous friends in the United States – and how spiritually sustaining that was for me. In going beyond what is familiar and comfortable, in leaving our family and friends, we witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ and find ourselves exactly where God needs us be, furthering the work of the Kingdom and living in community with His people.

As we celebrate this Advent season, as we wait with joyful anticipation to commemorate the birth of Jesus and all that He brings to us, I would like to say a special word of gratitude to you. It is the support of our Columban friends and benefactors that allows missionaries like Fr. Willie to further the work of the Kingdom and to bring about a brighter future for the youth in his parish. You, your loved ones and your intentions will have a special place in the prayers and Masses of Columbans worldwide during this Advent and Christmas season.

Gratefully yours in Christ,

Fr. Arturo Aguilar

Youth in Chile

On August 5, 2010, an accident occurred at the San José Gold and Copper Mine, some 30 miles north of the city of Copiopó in northern Chile. It left 33 miners trapped over 2,000 feet down, beneath countless tons of rock.

The mine literally swallowed these men, and initial rescue efforts were frustrated by a second roof collapse. Renewed operations succeeded in establishing contact with them, raising hopes amongst a world audience that their rescue may be imminent. The massive rescue operation is unprecedented in history.

Walking the town’s streets, you can sense the tension and longing, as every single inhabitant, be they relative or miner, listens to the pounding of the gigantic machinery inching through the rock closer to the trapped men. The thundering brings anxiety and expectation in equal measure.

This natural disaster also highlighted deficiencies in Chile’s health and safety precautions for miners in addition to the underlying precarious working conditions of the individuals and families who work to produce a significant amount of the country’s wealth. The majority of Chile’s export-earnings comes from mining, especially the extraction of copper.

As part of my work as a Columban missionary, I present a weekly program on Catholic television, Los Caminos de la Iglesia” (The Way of the Church). Our team went to the mine in order to interview the trapped men and their families from a faith viewpoint.

Since the disaster, a whole town has grown up at the pithead, a giant camp-site made up of family members, friends, rescue workers and the media. They call it, Esperanza, or Hope. Walking the town’s streets, you can sense the tension and longing, as every single inhabitant, be they relative or miner, listens to the pounding of the gigantic machinery inching through the rock closer to the trapped men. The thundering brings anxiety and expectation in equal measure. The families of the men live in tents, where they’ve set up the basic facilities for washing, cooking and eating. Restroom facilities have been made. Even a school has been improvised, so that the missing miners’ children can attend classes even though they are 30 miles from the nearest permanent settlement. All of this heightens the intensity of an enforced community lifestyle.

To this tension has been added a strange ingredient – celebrity status! Press and television channels from all over the globe have converged on the site, many offering lucrative contacts for “Exclusive” stories once the men are out. The temptation of instant wealth resulting from an agreement with a major world network could have negative consequences, for instance, provoking rivalry and envy between the men, or placing on them the strains of instant celebrity. In one interview, I raised the matter with a relative, suggesting that caution might be in order once the men were freed. The reply was uncompromising. “No, we have to look after our future!”

It is hard to hear such words. Still, I suppose it is inevitable that a history of dangerous working conditions, coupled with a life of poverty and the stress of camp life, will combine to bring out the best in human nature and some of its dark side as well.

Faith was a recurring theme in my interviews with family and friends. Miguel explained, “I’m not a churchgoer, but the day they found that the kids (as they call the trapped men) were alive, I blew up with joy, I shouted thanks to God and the Virgin for giving us back the kids.”

Overall however, the story is inspirational, a glass far more full than empty. The 33 souls are inspirational, buried alive for so long, but showing such steadfast faith in God and Our Lady. They are showing a nation that confidence in God and the loyalty of a family can sustain us in the most terrible of moments. The unending vigil of the loved ones and the way in which the men rapidly organized a survival routine of work and prayer a mile underground is inspiration to all.

Faith was a recurring theme in my interviews with family and friends. Miguel explained, “I’m not a churchgoer, but the day they found that the kids (as they call the trapped men) were alive, I blew up with joy, I shouted thanks to God and the Virgin for giving us back the kids.”

I spoke to Alonso, whose cousin Carlos is one of the trapped men, and questioned him as to what had gone on inside the miners’ refuge that had so sustained them. Apparently, one of the men had been quite devout, and he had been sparking lights of hope and faith in each of his companions. In fact, one of the men had always maintained that he didn’t believe in God. Soon after telephone contact had been made with them, he spoke to a cousin, shouting that, “I’ve found God…….now I know God exists.”

All of this got me thinking. Isn’t it fascinating to see the different ways in which God makes himself known to us? He lives in all of us, but chooses His own time and place to make Himself present to us. A humble miner, trapped underground, turns out to be a light in that darkness for his comrades. A convinced atheist finds out that God exists. Family loyalty revives the faith of an entire country. Often, a person´s faith isn’t dead, only dormant, waiting for the right spark to ignite it. Just like Jesus said when faced with the body of Jairo’s daughter in Luke 8:52, “Don’t cry, the child isn’t dead, only sleeping.”

Columban Fr. Alvaro Martinez lives and works in Chile.

Anna, David and son Joshua