Columbans have trained laity to evangelize the faithful in the remote Andes Mountains of southern Peru.
By Fr. Dermot Carthy

The new Diocese of Carabayllo was set up in 1997 on the north side of Lima with more than 2 million people within its borders.

Twenty-one of its 41 parishes were set up from scratch by Columbans, associates and Columban friends. Many parishes have huge populations of more than 50,000 people, and my own, Most Holy Redeemer, has more than 90,000. About 7 percent are regular church-goers; less than half of the children are baptized.

As we Columbans reflected on these facts, we wondered how to evangelize such multitudes. Our declining numbers and increasing age have stretched us fully.

Parishioners awaited laity missionaries for a Sunday liturgy at a makeshift bamboo chapel.

At first, the response was slow. The idea of homegrown missionaries is still novel in a country that has long received many foreign missionaries since its independence from Spain in 1821.

In 1998, we started by sending two small groups for a month to Columban Father Paul Prendergast’s parish in the mountains of southern Peru near the Inca capital of Cuzco.

They were nervous about what was ahead, about what they could do and what the food and living conditions might be. Fr. Paul soon had them living in a few remote villages where they prepared children and parents for first Communion, baptism and marriage.

They had such a warm reception and joyful experience that, upon their return to Lima, their contagious enthusiasm quickly fired the interest of 20 other catechists. Word quickly spread around the Columban parishes and soon, 50 men and women, mostly young, wanted to prepare themselves as lay missionaries for the following summer.

The Harvest Is Rich
Columbans prepared the catechists with classes on the Bible, prayer, sacraments and teaching methods. During the year, we contacted pastors in the mountains who are willing to provide housing and food for a month. The catechists often went to remote villages in the extensive parishes around Cuzco. Often this meant walking all day on muddy tracks.

Usually they shared poor housing with host families, sleeping on fresh straw spread on the floor, using cold running water from streams and eating monotonous meals. One middle-aged man said upon his return that he never wanted to see a potato again. Boiled potatoes for breakfast, dinner and supper every day for a month had turned him off for life.

Over the years, we have developed a broader preparation program based upon feedback from our lay missionaries. On the first Sunday of each month, 80 to 100 catechists meet with Columban Fathers John Boles, John Hegerty, Noel Kerins and others to study religious and social themes and share experiences.

About 60 go to distant chapels in the diocese to lead prayer services, form small communities, and teach basic Christian doctrine. Three are committed to a yearly stint in Cuzco for the next three years.

We have had our problems, as might be expected in a new venture. Early enthusiasm waned and volunteers dropped out. Some found that being away from home was too lonely.

Others, with more free time than they could handle, found work for their idle hands to do instead of visiting nearby villages and groups. Fortunately these occurrences were few, and this experience led to better screening of applicants.

In our parishes, people have become more aware of the urgency to evangelize in distant places and of how few people are available to do so. “The harvest is rich, but the laborers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to His harvest” (Luke 10:2).

Columban Father Dermot Carthy of Ireland has spent most of his mission life in Peru since his ordination in 1959.