2008 Trip Summary

On Wednesday, February 27th, the Lococo family, along with Mike Duffy, began a journey to our Sister Parish of Santa Maria in Nebaj, Guatemala.  It had been just over four years since our first visit to Guatemala.  Our trip would help us to understand how things have changed, meet the new Pastor, and learn how we could work more closely in the future.

Over the past four years, the St. Pius parishioners have been generous in their support of our Sister Parish.  The Parish Center, which had been a burned out shell when we last saw it, has been fully restored.  Funds from our last Mission Sunday collection helped retire the debt on the center’s kitchen.  The Santa Maria Parish is made up of the main church and 92 small villages.  The primary means of communicating with these areas is by radio.  The parish radio station broadcasts spiritual, educational, and general information from the Parish Center.  The station uses software purchased by St. Pius.  Additionally, the Bibles donated by St. Pius parishioners have been distributed as part of Catechist training.  Your name may be in one of the bibles in the Guatemalan Highlands.

When we reached Nebaj we were welcomed by Fr. Diego Agapito Santiago, the new Pastor of Santa Maria parish.  We found Padre Diego a very intense and down-to-Earth person.  He had only been at the parish for a few weeks but was quite engaged in parish life.  Padre Diego was raised in Nebaj and speaks Ixil, the indigenous language of our Sister Parish.  If you think what it would be like if Fr. Bob didn’t speak English, you can imagine how good it would be to find the new Pastor speaks your language.

We had a chance to sit down with Padre Diego and representatives of Santa Maria’s Parish council to discuss how we could work together in the future.  Some of the things we identified were:  collaborating on parishioner Formation, helping to put books in the new library building, supporting a program to distribute medical supplies to families in need, and renovation of the parish’s old convent to be used as a hotel. 

We met with Catholic Relief Services after leaving Nebaj.  We were very pleased to learn CRS had worked with Padre Diego in the past and would be happy to do so again.  This is important because CRS is experienced with working as an agent in sister parish situations.

We also had a chance to spend time with Padre Rigo, Santa Maria’s former Pastor.  We visited Padre Rigo’s new parish and saw the radio station he manages in Quiche. 

We returned to Milwaukee on Thursday, March 6th.  We accomplished our goals for the trip.  We found the support St. Pius parishioners have provided has been used wisely.  Padre Diego is someone we can look forward to working with.  As we look to the future we have a wide range of opportunities to collaborate.

We plan to return to our Sister parish in July, 2009.  We would like this trip to be a “Family Outreach” project to work on Santa Maria’s old convent.  We hope to build our Sister Parish relationship through face-to-face contact and hands-on experience.

Interest in collaboration

Querido Padre Diego,

¡Buenas tardes! Nosotros esperamos que Ud. está bien. Cuando estábamos en Nebaj en febrero, hablamos sobre renovado de el convento viejo. ¿Todovia está su intención? La gente de San Pio hemos hablaron sobre como podrian ayudar. Hay personas en la comunidad quien quisieron colabrar con la gente de Santa Maria hacer el trabajo. ¿Es factible? ¿Por eso es el fin de julio 2009 posible? Entonces nosotros podriamos asistir a la Misa de los Martires. Diganos su refleciónes por favor.

Su y la gente de Santa Maria son en nuestro corozones y oraciónes.

Con un abrazo,

-Dan, Jessica, y la comisión de la Parroquia Hermana.

 

 

 

Dear Padre Diego,

Greetings! We hope that you are well. When we were in Nebaj in February, we talked about renovating the old convent. Is this still your intention? The people of St. Pius have talked about how they could help, and there are people in the community who want to collaborate with the people of Santa Maria to do the work. Is this feasible? If so, is the end of July, 2009 possible? Then we could go to the Mass of the Martyrs. Please tell us your thoughts.

You and the people of Santa Maria are in our hearts and prayers.

With a hug,

Dad, Jessica, and the Sister Parish committee

Last call for Guatemala

Good afternoon,

I want to give you an update on our plans for going to Guatemala in 2008 and alert you to the need to act if you are planning to join us.

We have identified February 18-25 for traveling to meet with our sisters and brothers in Nebaj, Guatemala.  We are anticipating a cost of approximately $400-$500  per person plus air fare.  The main feature of the trip would be travel to the Guatemalan Highlands:  the location of our Sister Parish.  We would also visit some programs and attractions of Guatemala along our way.

While in Nebaj, we will focus on furthering our relationship with the people of Santa Maria parish.  This will include meeting with the parish staff and reviewing some of the outcomes of programs we have supported.

If you are planning to participate in this trip, you will want to check your passport immediately.  It takes 6-8 weeks to process a passport request.  If you need to obtain a passport, you will want to submit your application materials by the end of this week (12/21).  Further information on obtaining a passport can be found through our St. Pius Sister Parish Blog:

<http://stpiusx-sp.blogspot.com/>

If you are intending to participate in the trip, we ask you respond to this message, by Friday, December 21, with the following information:

1.  Names of all persons who will be participating.
2.  Name, address and phone of the primary contact person  for your family unit.
3.  The status of your passport:  I have an up-to-date passport or I submitted  the passport application on mm/dd/yyyy.

If you have specific questions we can help answer, please contact Helen or Dan Lococo at 257-9596 or at <dlococo@wi.rr.com>.

We hope to hear from you very soon,

Helen and Dan Lococo
St. Pius X Faith Community

Update meeting 12/13

This message is in response to the interest you expressed in joining St.
Pius parishioners as they travel to visit their sisters and brothers of
Santa Maria parish in Nebaj, Guatemala.

We have had to reschedule our Guatemala trip to the end of February,
2008. This will allow us to make the trip more affordable for all.

This trip is open to all members of our Tri-Parish Collaborative.

Please plan to attend our next informational meeting on Thursday, December
13th at 7:00 PM at St. Pius Parish room 105 For more information, please
contact Helen or Dan Lococo at 257-9596 or <dlococo@wi.rr.com.

The Day of the Dead

Last week marked celebrations of All Saints Day, All souls Day, and
the Day of the Dead in Central America. As we prepare to travel to
Guatemala in March, 2008 I am reminded of a visit to a Guatemalan cemetery
in January, 2004.

The cemetery in chichi Castenango was a mix of Mayan and Christian graves.
The Mayan grave sites are unique because they include an opening for the
soul of the departed to come and go. On the Day of the Dead, families come
to celebrate with their ancestors with special foods and ceremonies. This
seemed like a quaint tradition until we came upon a Mayan couple preparing
for marriage. The couple were participating in a religious ceremony
designed to bring the ancestors into the new marriage. We kept a respectful
distance.

IN June of each year, our sisters and brothers of Santa Maria remember the
martyrs who died in Guatemala's 36 year civil war. Some families have never
found the loved ones who were disappeared during the war. It isn't until we
see the connection Mayan's maintain between the living and the dead that we
can begin to appreciate the loss the Mayan people have suffered.

The link below leads to pictures and information on Chichi Castenango. No
endorsement of the site is made or implied.

http://www.eveandersson.com/guatemala/chichicastenango

Trip Overview Information

Below are notes from the October 30 "Easter in Guatemala Information"
meeting

1) Tentative itinerary
a) Mar. 19: Travel to Guatemala
b) Mar 22: Travel to Nebaj
c) Mar 23: Easter in Guatemala
d) Mar 25: Leave Nebaj
e) Mar 28: Return to U.S.A.

2) Significant activities/dates
a) Passport application - Mid-December
b) Commitment to participate - December 31
c) Consensus on travel plans - Mid-February
3) Costs
a) We are working with the GATE program to finalize costs for the trip.
We are working on a package including all ground transportation, meals,
lodging and gratuities.
b) We will provide more information as it becomes available

Passport info:
. Passports are obtained through Post Offices. The web site below
provides detailed info on getting a passport. The site indicates it takes
6-8 weeks to process a passport application. We recommend you allow 10-12
weeks.
. Adult passports cost $67 plus a $30 processing fee. Children under
16 are charged $52 plus the $30 processing fee.
. For more information: Call: 800 275 8777
<http://www.usps.com/passport/>

GATE Program:
. The GATE (Global Awareness Through Experience) Program will be
coordinating our trip. GATE is an organization dedicated to bringing people
together to share cultural experience. GATE has been in existence for
twenty-five years. You can (and should) learn more about GATE at their web
site.:

<http://www.gate-travel.org/>

<dlococo@wi.rr.com>

Easter In Guatemala

You are invited to join St. Pius parishioners as they travel to visit their sisters and brothers of Santa Maria parish in Nebaj, Guatemala. The trip is scheduled for March19-28, 2008. We will spend time learning of the culture and people of Guatemala, including celebrating Easter in Nebaj. We will also spend time in other parts of Guatemala as a part of our journey.

All members of our Tri-Parish Collaborative are welcome to join us. An informational meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 30, at 7:00 PM in the St. Pius Parish Living room. For more information, please contact Helen or Dan Lococo at <dlococo@wi.rr.com>.