I am up in Quito for two days with Colm Hogan making a visit to Paddy McIntyre, an Irish priest who has been working here with St. James for over 25 years. Apart from great admiration for his work, he is a great personality with a great laugh. We have not stopped laughing since we arrived. AS well as laughing though we have been doing some shopping for Church things: statues etc, for our Churches back in Guayaquil.
Of course, I have just seen off Joe Bradley and Gerry Croall after their week with us in Nueva Prosperina. What a great week they had. Such a short time meant that we had to squeeze a load in. They both worked in the school each weekday morning: while Joe was shadowing Tito in music classes (tin whistle) and English, Gerry was showing off his culinary skills in the Soup Kitchen. Being part of the school community is always a tremendous thing for our visitors as it brings them into very close contact with 500 shanty residents. However the key for Joe and Gerry was then to visit some of the houses in the afternoons to show how these well-dressed pupils lived once they leave the safety of the school. I think it would be fair to say they were shocked at what they saw: the very basic living conditions without running water, sewerage and electricity and so many family members squashed together in cramped surroundings. We also went to the various Masses in the week and over the weekend which allowed them to see further into Parish life. I personally loved having them out with me here – Gerry I have met on several occasions back home but I have known Joe through HCPT and his family over many years. Both have done a lot to raise money for us over here. They are great sports.
The sad event of the week was the farewell for Ed Veasey. After 20 years with the Society and eighteen of them in the poor south-side area of Guasmo, he has decided to take a sabbatical fro six months. He will be going to preach in Boston and then in Scotland before heading to a retreat centre in England. We had had a farewell from the missionary priests last week but last Friday there was a big Mass with the Archbishop in Ed’s Parish. It was a very emotional affair as Ed had been part of that Parish and of people’s lives for all those years. Best of luck, Ed, in these months ahead.
The other event I want to mention is the Baptism of 40 children on Saturday. Normally I have a big number of Baptisms towards the end of the year as we approach First Communion season. However, the other Catholic school in our Parish, San Ignacio, had done a sweep to find out how many kids were not baptized within their school roll. So that was the result. And more or less you could say it was very difficult trying to Baptise so many and keep control. But I think we got there.
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