ACN Supporting the Church High in the Andes
ACN’s head of projects for Peru describes some of the challenges faced by the Church in the Latin American country but also some of the opportunities in what Pope Francis described as “the Land of Saints”.
By ACN Staff
Holy Mass in the mountains. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Nestled up in the Andes, 5,000 metres above sea level, is Peru, described by Pope Francis as “the Land of the Saints”. Recently, ACN’s director of projects in Peru, Luis Vildoso, returned from a trip to the South American country. Upon his return, Luis discussed the work carried out by the Church in Peru and the challenges faced there.
Corpus Christi Mass at the Moyobamba Cathedral. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Luis told of how the Church is valued by Peruvian society. The Catholic Church in Peru is old, with some of the dioceses being erected in the first half of the sixteenth century. This heritage can be seen all around Peru and in place names. Luis explained that there is great potential in Peru:
“When we were speaking to some foreign missionaries in the country, they told us that the Church in Peru is like a garden that needs to be cared for and watered, because it is quite easy to proclaim the faith, and there is a great thirst for God, and popular piety.”
People also know that the Church is present where other organisations and the government are not and helps care for the needs of the people. The laity in Peru play a key role in the Church. Peru, like many other Latin American countries, does not have enough priests and religious to cover the vast distances to visit isolated communities in high mountains or the depths of the jungle. Luis spoke about these lay helpers in many Catholic communities in Peru:
Fr. David O’Connor praying with people in Sandia- Huancané. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
“They are true heroes, the guardians of the faith in each community, because there are hardly any priests or religious. It is the laypeople who celebrate the liturgy of the word, for instance, and they express their faith with joy, so that the people do not lose theirs.
When we visited the Apostolic Vicariate of Yurimaguas, we happened to coincide with a formation session for lay animators, which had the support of ACN, and it was very interesting to see how they were being given Biblical formation to accompany and sustain their communities, which are faced with the profusion of sects.”
These local laypeople often support missionaries from abroad, who travel vast distances to minister the sacraments to the faithful. These journeys are often perilous, with rough roads beside steep precipices, for example.
Luis laid out the major challenges facing the Church in Peru:
Seminarians of the Archidiocesan Seminary San Jeronimo in Arequipa. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
“One of the first challenges is that in all the places we visited there was a great shortage of clergy and religious. The second challenge is the contrast between the rich cultural heritage and natural resources, and the social injustice and inequality. And amidst all this painful reality, the Church is evangelising, proclaiming values and accompanying these people. The poverty is also a great difficulty for the local Church, because in places such as those that we visited, the communities don’t generate enough resources to provide for their priests or for the pastoral work. Finally, some of the Peruvian mission zones are very distant and difficult to get to, whether at the top of the Andes or in the depths of the jungle. Some communities can only be reached by crossing rivers.
In Arequipa we visited a cloistered monastery of the Congregation of the Justinian Canonesses Regular, whose vocation is to pray for the clergy. This made me think that on one hand there is a shortage of priests and religious, but on the other, we have the contemplative Church praying for the Lord to send workers to his field.”
ACN has prioritised the formation of seminarians to help address the shortage of priests in Peru. Many Peruvian priests would not have been able to complete their training without ACN’s support. ACN also supports and provides material for pastoral care and evangelisation. It is only thanks to the support of our benefactors that we can provide this vital assistance to the Peruvian Church.