Holy Trinity ChurchMission Appeal Sunday
My brothers and sisters of Holy Trinity Church.
This coming weekend, July 19 & 20, the diocese of Rochester will have the annual Mission Appeal. Fr. Antonio Carpena Lopez, who is originally from Spain and works in Honduras, will be with us to preach about the missions. Penny Sunday that weekend will be for the Mission Appeal. Please, welcome Fr. Carpena, listen to his message, pray for the missions, and be generous with this important appeal.
Remember, the parish that we dream is the parish that I help to build. God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
Fr. Jorge Ramirez
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
My name is Father Antonio Carpena López, Rector of the Seminary of “Santa María de las Gracias” in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gracias in Honduras. I am the one designated by my bishop, Monsignor Walter Guillén Soto, SBD to represent him in this mission in the United States of America.
I am from Spain, but I have been sent to Honduras as a missionary since 2022 in the blessed lands of Central America. Specifically, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gracias is the youngest diocese in all of Latin America. We have just completed 3 years of canonical erection by Pope Francis. The Diocese is made up of 2 of the poorest departments in the entire country. The majority of the population is indigenous to the “Lenca” ethnic group and is dedicated to agriculture.
The Catholic population in the country barely reaches 40% but in our Diocese it is 95% and has a very active and committed Catholicism. There is no village, no matter how small, that does not have its Church. In the seminary we have 54 boys who are being carefully trained to be able to serve the different communities as good and holy priests in the future. The truth is that the diocese is very large and we have few resources and priests. The diocese takes 10 hours to travel from one end to the other by car on very difficult muddy roads. The 37 priests of the diocese, who live in a very austere and simple way, cannot always reach all places. Some communities can only be visited once or twice a year, establishing well-trained laypeople who are in charge of worship and evangelization in the absence of the priest.
We need to provide priests with the necessary resources for the mission entrusted to them and many times, impotently, this cannot be guaranteed. We are at the same time building the diocesan curia, cathedral, training centers for our faithful, etc., so necessary to provide a better and stable future and thus avoid one of the greatest dramas of our land, such as immigration, especially to this sister Nation of the United States of America, who is behaving so well with our compatriots. This immigration drama separates families and many of our young people are victims of the mafias on this tortuous path to the American dream.
We heartily thank the Diocesan Bishop of this Diocese, who welcomes us for this mission, as well as the parish priest and you all, members of this very lively parish community, for the economic and spiritual support you offer to us.
Knowing that the Lord is the Master of the Vineyard and it is He who takes care of the branches, we will work hard to offer the Diocese of Gracias and the Universal Church good and holy priests, as well as faithful who are well-formed integrally, according to the Heart of Jesus.
Thanking you for the kindness of your hospitality, I am pleased to greet you and express the most sincere expressions of appreciation.
In Jesus, Joseph and Mary,
Father Antonio Carpena López
