St. Monica - St. George Twinning Site at 328 W. McMillan St., Cincinnati, OH 45219 US - Parishioner News
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Parishioner News |
Ed Franchi The heart and soul of The most moving experience from my visit was the opportunity to participate in a parishioner meeting at one of the mission parishes that will be served by this twinning relationship. This “parish” currently meets in a local classroom because they do not have the money to build a Church yet. It is not unusual for parishioners to travel for 20 or 30 miles across gravel roads just to attend Mass on Sunday. I was moved by their passion to have an actual Church building to call their own, and their conviction that the Church’s presence would grow if they simply had a physical presence. It reminded me how lucky I am to live in an area that has a plentiful selection of Catholic Churches. Would I be so passionate and committed as these people? It was a great lesson and reminder for my own faith development. In August 2004, I got the opportunity to travel to This was my first trip to During the drive some of the first things that I noticed were the beauty of the land. The water was an exquisite blue and the sunset was breathtaking. Amidst the charm one could not help but notice the poverty. In between the larger houses sat some homes that were so small one wondered how a family could all comfortably fit inside. Negril Inn was located in the middle of a seven mile stretch of hotels, restaurants and clubs on the western tip of the island. When taking a walk on the beach behind the hotel, you were asked repeatedly if you wanted to have your hair braided or if you cared to buy some type of beaded jewelry. It was a half mile walk to Mary Gate of Heaven Catholic Church where we met each day with Friars Vincent DeLorenzo, Mark Gehret and Felix D'Souza. Mark was our daily chauffeur and showed us many Catholic churches and tourist sites on the island. On one outing, we had to brace ourselves as an unexpected herd of cattle stampeded towards his car. I could not say enough good things about Brother Mark. One word to describe him is selfless. He was always gracious especially when I bombarded him with questions about He reported that Roman Catholics only make up about 4% of the Jamaican population. The primary religion in The friars gently suggested that we should not twin with their parish as they were predominately a tourist parish. Other parishes had greater needs such as One of the highlights of the trip was visiting one of St. Joe's mission churches. They currently hold services in a classroom. Many of the townspeople came to the classroom to welcome us and to encourage us to join them in a twinning relationship. They are passionate about their faith and have a dream of someday building their own church. With their energy and enthusiasm I have no doubt that they will achieve this dream one day. They were quick to point out that they do not just want a hand-out but are truly interested in developing a relationship with St. Monica St. George. They feel that each parish could truly offer something of importance to the other and the pairing would be worthwhile. Brother Mark also took us to parishioner’s houses. Greetings usually began with a simple "Hey Mon". We got to try sugarcane, okra and jerk chicken. At one home we simply spent some time watching the "doctor bird", which is their national bird, fly from tree to tree eating it's food. Overall, it was a wonderful trip. We are in the beginning stages of developing a twinning relationship with