December 9, 2011
Guadalupe celebrations highlight ministry to Latino community
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
Bishop Charles C. Thompson will preside at Mass, to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, at two locations in the Diocese of Evansville.
On Saturday at 7 p.m. EST, Bishop Thompson will celebrate Mass at St. Mary Church in Huntingburg. On Sunday at 2 p.m. CST, he will preside at Mass at Nativity Church in Evansville.
Huntingburg is the location of the Guadalupe Center. Ten years ago Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger blessed the office of Spanish-Speaking Ministry of the Diocese of Evansville under the new name, the Guadalupe Center. Benedictine Sister Karen Durliat, now the director of the center, said the name was changed from El Centro Hispano “to reflect our Catholic identity as well as to seek the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe who appeared in Mexico in 1531.”
Nativity Church in Evansville, under the guidance of Father Henry Kuykendall and his staff, including Pilar Tirado and until recently Abraham Brown, has been the focus of ministry to the Spanish speaking in the Evansville area.
Father Gene Heerdink, a retired priest of the diocese and a former missionary in South America, was previously the diocesan director of ministry to the Spanish speaking, and continues to celebrate Mass in Spanish in Jasper and other cities in the diocese.
Parishes in Washington and Vincennes also serve migrant workers and permanent members of the Latino community.
In a recent report to the diocese, Sister Karen described ministry to the Latino families and individuals as a desire “to build a Church where all are welcome and where all will experience her love and protection.” (The letter will be published next week, Dec. 16, in the Message.)
Sister Karen reported that the Guadalupe Center continues “to offer Spanish and bilingual Liturgies and sacramental preparation. Our Advisory Board, made up of Hispanic and Anglo representatives from throughout the diocese, helps us to discern directions and goals for our ministry. Like many of their English-speaking counterparts, Spanish-speaking adults participated in the “Why Catholic?” program to learn more about their faith. We continue to offer other services, such as, English and life-skill classes and immigration, translation, transportation and health services.”
She said a grant from the Welborn Baptist Foundation “made more cultural and language connections possible . . . so English-speakers learned more about Latin customs and Spanish-speakers learned more about their new U.S. neighbors.”