Augustinian News
Following is the latest news from the Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova and around the Order of Saint Augustine. To receive Augustinian eNews via email, please click on the link below to send an e-mail to the Director of Communications to sign up for the E Newsletter.
SAN JOSE OBRERO PARISH TURNS 40! by John Lydon, OSA
This year 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of St. Joseph the Worker (San Jose Obrero) parish in Chulucanas. This was the first mission in Peru of the Augustinians of the Villanova Province and was begun with Frs. Frank Kelly, Richard Appicci and John Sheridan. Shortly after being installed as the first pastor, Fr. Kelly had to return to the U.S. because of illness and Fr. Appicci became the pastor and served in and around the parish for all of his 20 years in Peru. The other long term pastor of the parish is Fr. Art Purcaro who served there until 1984 when he was assigned as the first Augustinian pastor of the mission in Pacaipampa. Fr. Art later was called to serve for 12 years as Assistant General of the Order in Rome and last year returned once again to San Jose Obrero as pastor.
The feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14th) was for many years a major celebration in San Jose so it was chosen to be the opening of the celebrations for this 40th anniversary event which will continue until December when the bishop, Dan Turley, OSA, will make his pastoral visit and close the anniversary.
The celebration began on Friday evening with the contest of crowning "Miss Beautiful Missionary" (Belleza Misionera). Holding beauty contests to crown the "Queen" (Reina) of a major feast or civic holiday is a long-standing custom in Peruvian culture. However, this year the parish wanted to put a different spin on this type of activity and instead of awarding someone with physical beauty, look for the person whose life and values witnessed to the beauty of Christ. Thus the contest gave no points for physical attributes, rather everything was calculated based on service provided in the local community, answers to questions about faith and family values, costumes that reflected cultural historical appreciation, etc. In this year where the Latin American bishops are calling for a new missionary age within the continent, the winner had to show how she was attempting to build these values with those in her parish zone. They each organized an 8 minute dramatization to show how this was being done, with the hope of encouraging others to follow suit.
The contest was a great success judging by the number of participants and people who came to enjoy the ceremony which lasted from 8pm to 1 am on Friday. The local stadium where the event was held could hold up to 2,000 spectators and almost all the seats were filled. Each of the contestants had her own "routing section" from the parish zone where they live and whom they were representing. It was an evening of lots of fun, laughs and a healthy building of community relationships.
On Saturday in the local soccer stadium there was a competition centered around the family. With food booths set up the idea was to promote the participation of the parish in a family-friendly event which included 4 teams of "senior" players. All the players had to be over 40 and were mostly in their 50s as it included people who played soccer in the first parish leagues organized almost 40 years ago.
In the evening mass the Vespers of the Feast of the Cross was celebrated. Fr. John Lydon, representing all the Augustinians of the Augustinian Vicariate, presided at the mass emphasizing the need to remember these forty years, celebrate the graces received and the need to fortify ourselves for the continuing mission of the years ahead. The following morning the pastor, Fr. Art Purcaro presided at the main celebration to mark the anniversary with Fr. Wilder Vasquez, the local prior, Fr. Hugo Erazo and Fr. John also in attendance. Fr. Art emphasized the special charism of San Jose Obrero from its foundation as being a parish at the service of the poorest and most excluded members of society. He mentioned the fundamental role of Fr. Appicci in setting up social programs, as well as the Augustinians who were the first to go out to the local villages when the previous model was to have the people come to the parish church. With this fundamental change, the Augustinian mission began a whole new way of thinking of evangelization that now includes the entire diocese. In a special moment of prayer people who served the parish in the first zone teams and who are now deceased were remembered as well as the Augustinians who served in the parish and have gone to their eternal reward with the Lord (Frank Kelly, John McKniff, John Kelly, and Richard Appicci).
Responding to the parish's special emphasis on the outcast and forgotten, a special collection of food was taken up for prisoners in the local jail. As Fr. Art mentioned, we do it not because they are guilty or innocent, for that we do not yet know; we do it because they are abandoned and they are always our fellow human beings. In a moving tribute, the poor people of San Jose responded with great generosity as small boxes of food supplies were brought up by the different parish zone teams.
At the end of mass people were invited to carry the statute of St. Joseph the Worker to the local cemetery where they placed flowers in the chapel and prayed once more for the Augustinians and lay people who ministered in the parish during these 40 years and who the Risen Lord now has at His side.
Finally, as on the previous day, a sporting event was held, this time in the local parochial school with the participation of youth teams rather than seniors, from the different zones of the outlying areas and some from the town of Chulucanas. Once again it was promoted as a family day of celebration with food and drink on sale to allow people to stay through until the late afternoon.
With this closing sporting event of soccer and volleyball the weekend of activities came to a close and final prayers emphasized all that the Lord has accomplished in these 40 years, when the parish began in a former restaurant, at the side of the town market, in most humble and abandoned part of Chulucanas. That charism to search out the poorest and the most forgotten is the main legacy of San Jose Obrero Parish and one that the Augustinian community continues to promote among all the laity.
Click here to download document in
PDF Format