By Fr. Gerry Creedon
Special to the Herald
(From the issue of 2/3/05)

Father Dan Gee, pastor of San Francisco de Asis, and Fidia, the animador, local community leader, greeted Bishop Jose Grullon at Higuerito in the southern outskirts of our diocesan mission. I had found a ride to Banica from San Juan de La Maguana with the bishop who was on his way to make his annual pastoral visit. Father Dan had all the preparations made for Mass. Fidia greeted everyone with a toothy smile that in itself was remarkable. This is not how I remembered her. Msgr. Cassidy, fondly known as Padre Tomas, had helped her pay for dentures that made all the difference.

The pastoral review that followed the liturgy revealed a theme. Places like Blas Martinez, which had only been names on a map, had grown into vital faith communities, each guided by a 12-member council. Using an elaborate census that included religious and social data, Bishop Grullon surveyed the luces y sombras, lights and shadows, of each neighborhood. Father Dan’s role as spiritual and liturgical leader was complemented by the newly arrived Father Chris Murphy and by Homero, a pastoral staff person known as an asesor or consultant. Catechists proudly reviewed the record of baptisms, first communions and marriages. A fundamental problem facing many of the communities is the lack of water, accentuated by the winter drought. The construction of a gravitational aqueduct would be a solution. Fidia proudly showed me the new chapel, which serves as a center for faith formation and service. The proliferation of newly built chapels is a tribute to the commitment of the priests, especially Father Patrick Posey, who have served in our mission over the years.

Arriving in Banica, I was overwhelmed to see the new parish school, developed over the past year. This two-story structure, one of the few in the town, was designed and built by a local church member, Cuta. I knew him as a carpenter. He has acquired the skills of a creative architect. Father Dan must be credited with executing the least costly and most expeditious building project associated with the Diocese of Arlington in 2004. The beauty of this structure is matched by the quality of the teachers and the enthusiasm of the 73 students, as happy baniqueros eagerly attest.

While the pastor accompanied Bishop Grullon in a visit to the Lomas, the towering mountains that gird the Haiti-Dominican Border, Father Chris Murphy and I journeyed to Sabana Cruz. His singing voice gives him an ear for a new language that serves him well as he makes the adjustment to local idiom and customs. He left me with 15 penitents preparing for sacraments of initiation as he took off in his motor bike in a cloud of dust to attend to another neighborhood celebration.

Afterward I met Argentina, who had lost a child to malnutrition in my time. The death gave rise to the mission’s involvement with a milk program that helped her other children and many others to survive. I was touched by her warm welcome and the hope she carried, despite many economic challenges. Last year the peso lost 50 percent of its value, which made the scramble for food even more difficult. The mission has created a neighborhood based Vincent de Paul society for emergencies. Many clinics have also been added in rural areas. Despite the daunting survival tasks facing Sabana Cruz, the people were most appreciative of a program that met their spiritual needs: a bible study group founded by the beloved Padre Juan, aka Father Jack O’Hara.

Among the topics Father Dan and I discussed was support for the parish’s two seminarians. Norberto is now a candidate for the diaconate and Pedro will begin theology. Roberto already serves as a permanent deacon in his home town of Pedro Santana. All assist with a pastoral goal — the Dominicanization of the clergy of the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana.

In my return to Santo Domingo I was accompanied by Georgine, a young Haitian woman with a swollen arm. She had a cancerous tumor that would require her to lose a limb to surgery. Anna, the parish volunteer nurse from Arlington, had made arrangements with the neighboring Haitian parish across the Artibonito River to take Georgine to La Posada, a Ronald Mac Donald replica. There Sister Beatrice assists our frontier parishes to provide their seriously ill people the health service and care they need. The bumpy journey of four hours presented a dilemma. Should one drive slowly to reduce the pain while prolonging a difficult ride, or go fast and get it over with? Our driver, Claudio, chose the latter course.

I share some of these experiences to bring home to our Diocese of Arlington good news of healing, evangelizing and outreach. Let us continue to support our missionaries, both lay volunteers and priests, as they accompany the people of Pedro Santana and Banica on their road to the kingdom of life and love.