A vehicle for a remote mountain parish

The parish of El Calvaria in central Guatemala covers a mountainous area of over 2,000 km² and includes 117 separate small communities.

The challenges are enormous. Most of the inhabitants are Kekchí – Mayan Indigenous Peoples. They are especially disadvantaged and marginalised and live for the most part in deep poverty. Moreover, many of their families were caught up in the country’s bitter civil war from 1960 to 1996 and became victims of abductions and torture, or lost family members. Many children were orphaned during this time. “The wounds from that era are still not healed,” says Father Charitable Derisseau, who is from Haiti. “The widows, orphans, and other survivors of this conflict are still living in our parish to this day,” he adds.

His parish has been in existence for over 60 years now, and for 46 of these has been in the care of the priests of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Until recently there have been three priests working here, but a fourth has now joined them after being ordained in September 2022. There is a great deal of work for the priests. Last year alone, there were over 1,000 First Holy Communions and Confirmations celebrated.

One of the biggest challenges is the difficulty in reaching many of the villages and settlements. In order to reach some of them, it takes hours on foot, often including walking along muddy footpaths. Others can be reached via difficult and muddy tracks that can be navigated only by a sturdy off-road vehicle. A few years ago, thanks to the help of our benefactors, we were able to supply such a vehicle. But now that the number of priests has risen to four, and the pastoral workload for this extensive parish has likewise increased, they urgently need a second vehicle. We would like to provide them with $27,600 for this purpose. Will you help us?