mexicospiritans

It used to be the town dump. It must once have been like its successor, the modern town dump in the town of Tampico. This is the closest image you can have of Hell on earth. The new town dump is flat and covers a huge area. Around it has grown the shanty town where the garbage pickers live. An evil smelling fluid oozed out all around its perimeter and among the shacks, which are made from material reclaimed from the dump. And in this polluted environment with no electricity, sewage or running water, the poor garbage workers bring up their families.

When the old dump was closed thirty years ago and covered with a thin layer of soil, the poor of Tampico moved in and a new suburb emerged. The Spiritans, who had arrived in Tampico just as this community developed, asked the bishop if they could be given charge of the area in order to develop a parish there. They dedicated the new-born parish to St. David Roldán Lara, a twenty year old Catholic activist who, although offered his freedom if he were to cease his attachment to the church and his social activism, accepted execution at the hands of the military. He is but one of a glorious list of Mexican martyrs of the 20th century. David gave his life for the cause of the poor in 1927.

In twenty five years, St. David Lara parish has become a vibrant Catholic community. Despite the poverty of the region, a fine church has been built in two of the four barrios or neighbourhoods, into which the parish has been divided. Construction of a church building is well underway in the third barrio while in the fourth barrio the people still worship in a hall, which belongs to a parishioner.

Over 50% of the population is under 21 years old and the parish is served by Spiritan, Gerard County from Trinidad, West Indies who will shortly be joined by John Tavershima Agberagba of Nigeria who came to Mexico via Senegal.

Since the parishioners are at work or school during the day, David Lara is an evening and night ministry during the week. Gerard is kept very busy saying Masses, hearing confessions, and attending meetings of various groups. With a parish population of about 30,000 people, most of the evangelization is in the hands of zealous and devoted lay-people. Each barrio looks after its own needs as far as possible and relieves Gerard for sacramental work and spiritual guidance.

His short term goal is to completely finish the three churches in the parish, two of which are already in use. Then he would like to acquire land in the fourth barrio for a church of their own. "The poor" he says "can often afford only second-hand and second-rate goods and services. Why should their church buildings be less splendid than those in wealthy suburbs? You cannot believe how uplifting it is for a barrio when a beautiful new church, with first class facilities, is opened in their neighbourhood of unpaved roads and poor municipal services."

His second priority is to obtain a full-time youth minister. John's arrival should do a lot towards solving this problem. Also Gerard would like to start a program for fostering vocations among the young men and women. "The desire for young people to dedicate their lives to God may have been diluted in first-world countries. But not in my parish. What is lacking here is opportunity. It is a great financial sacrifice for a family when one of their brightest children joins a religious group rather than entering the world of work. Too many priests in Mexico come from the wealthier areas and few of them opt to work in poor areas like ours or among the native peoples in the mountain areas. Identifying and supporting vocations in the parish, must be a priority"

David Lara is an urban parish, a parish of poor people, a young parish. This is ideal soil for a Spiritan team to till.