Why
Peñitas, in a colonia known as Pueblo de Palmas? Why such a remote area along
the U.S.-Mexico border where many in our own Rio Grande Valley here in South
Texas have never visited? And why would the Holy Father send a message to the
people of a rural area that some say is “insignificant”?
These are questions Father Michael Montoya, a Missionary of
Jesus priest, who is pastor of St. Anne Quasi-Parish in Peñitas, Texas and its
three missionary churches, continued to hear as he was finalizing plans for a
World Youth Encounter/Encuentro Mundial de los Jovenes on July 26. This local
celebration, which coincided with World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland started off
as an idea to help the young people in one of the poorest areas in the country
see how they are connected with the Church and young people from around the
world.
Given the extreme poverty levels in the community and their
immigration status, it is impossible for most to travel. In Peñitas, explains
Father Montoya, traveling even from their homes to church comes with risk. Some
fear the real danger that if they are pulled over for even a minor driving
infraction, they could be deported. Father Montoya points to what he refers to
as a “military presence” in the area. There is a no shortage of local police,
sheriff’s deputies, state troopers, U.S. border patrol agents and National
Guard patrolling the area located just miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.
“It’s a constant reminder to the people that something is not
right. We live so close to the wall that divides families, it affects
self-identity. All the images we receive from the outside are negative. It’s
always connected to the border, always connected to the things we cannot do,”
said Father Montoya.
Add to this the poverty and lack of basic infustructure in
some neighborhoods that do not even have sewage and water lines. “There are
many circumstances,” Father Montoya said, “that make it difficult for the
people. They think they are forgotten.”
But they are not forgotten. Today they are celebrating after
learning that the Holy Father prepared a personal message for the youth of the
diocese, specifically for the youth attending the Encuentro Mundial de los
Jovenes at St. Anne Church in Peñitas.
“The parish of St. Anne is beyond happy. Things like this
don’t happen to a place like Peñitas,” said Father Montoya. “The pope is
sending a message to us! I think that is proof enough, that the love of the
Church for our poor people is really palpable, it’s real.”
So even before they heard the message, the community
celebrated the fact that a message was on its way, that the Holy Father took
the time to think of them.
As Father Montoya stressed, the idea of hosting the encuentro
in Peñitas was to help the people witness that “the mercy of God knows no
limits within a Church that knows no borders,” “that it reaches even the
remotest part of the world. We don’t have to be in the center of power to be
recognized by the Church.”
Forgetting perhaps, that the infant Jesus chose to be born in
the small town of Bethlehem and not a city center, many doubted that such an
event like the encuentro could happen in such an “out of the way” place. The
people of Peñitas and surrounding communities proved otherwise. “Not everyone
can travel to Poland for World Youth Day,” explained Father Montoya, “but we
believe that even in our area, a profound and meaningful encounter with the
world’s youth can be organized.”
“It’s a re-imagining,” Father Montoya said, “of who we are.
We are not defined by the border, we are defined by our culture and by our
faith.”
This is truly a testament that the mercy of God knows no
limits. It should also serve as a reminder to each of us that no matter where
God places us, no matter where we stand in the world, we each matter and must
do what we can to reach out to those in need and foster a “culture of
encounter.”
Some people may still be asking, “Why Peñitas?” Three
Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who have been living and
helping in the area for 12 years will tell you, because the people of God here
have a deep faith that is not daunted by poverty or other hardships they may
endure.
The rich faith of the people moved the ICM sisters – Sister
Carolyn Kosub, Sister Emily Jocson and Sister Fatima Santiago to remain in the
area after they arrived in 2004 to help rebuild the community after it was
devastated by a tornado. Through an outreach center they started, Proyecto
Desarollo Humano, this underserved area started to blossom. They also built St.
Anne Church in 2009. They never dreamed it would become a mother church of a
parish four years later, or that one day, on the feast of St. Anne, the Holy
Father would send a personal message to the youth of that parish. In the words
of ICM Sister Kosub, “God has certainly worked wonders.”
(Originally published
in August 2016 edition of The Valley Catholic newspaper. Another version was also published on the Catholic News Blog, July 26, 2016 - https://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/26/why-a-poor-rural-texas-town-captured-the-popes-attention-on-wyd/)
