(Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)
MADISON — Sunday, April 6, was a day of celebration. The Latin American Mission Program (LAMP) celebrated 50 years of work and bringing people closer to God with a Mass and dinner at the Bishop O’Connor Center in Madison.
Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison offered the Mass. Among the concelebrating priests was Msgr. George Hastrich — whose brother, Bishop Jerome Hastrich, led the first LAMP group that went to Mexico to perform mission work.
Midwest LAMP was organized in 1964 in response to an apostolic exhortation of Pope John XXIII.
On June 22, 1964, 45 pilgrims left Madison on the first LAMP pilgrimage. Their aims were: to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City and to take an active part in missionary work in Latin America.
This was the beginning of almost 50 years of volunteer missions to Mexico to teach religion, provide health care missions, and donate Rosaries, clothing, and medicines.
Giving thanks for LAMP’s work
Bishop Morlino and his brother priests processed in while a guitarist played and sang a hymn in Spanish.
The bishop thanked everyone for coming to celebrate “the wonderful 50th anniversary of LAMP.”
He encouraged everyone to pray in remembrance of Bishop Hastrich, who died in 1995.
During Bishop Morlino’s homily, he said, “Lamp is a very good word as we begin the season of Passion time,” entering into the “final solemn days of the Lenten season.”
“Lamp means a light in the darkness,” Bishop Morlino added. “It means the light of the conquering by the risen Christ. . . the risen Christ is the source of all light that conquers the darkness only through death and resurrection.”
Bishop Morlino went on to say, “We need light as people in this country in trying to deal with all immigrants in a humane way,” respecting them as “sons and daughters of the Lord. That is a particular area of darkness in our society, on which we need a lamp to shine. You are such wonderful bearers of the lamp.”
Making the light shine
The bishop spent the next part of his homily reflecting on the challenges defending the sacredness of marriage and the dignity of human life.
“Nothing is more important in the United States. Nothing is more important in Mexico. Nothing is more important in all of Latin America. Because when we proclaim the truth in these areas, we save and we bless our culture, we save and bless our society, and we save and bless everything that is precious to us so that we can find our own salvation and bring as many of our neighbors or brothers and sisters with us toward that salvation as possible.”
Bishop Morlino urged everyone to take up his or her lamp, “and make that light shine very bright in the United States, in Mexico, and throughout Latin America.”
A time to celebrate
After Mass, a catered dinner was held in the Bishop O’Connor Center hall. As guests entered the hall, they had an opportunity to see displays showing the history of LAMP. There were numerous photo albums, newspaper articles, and books telling the stories of the mission work over the past half century.
Fr. Bart Timmerman, pastor of St Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madison, led a blessing over the meal.
Father Timmerman thanked God for the “opportunity to be together and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of LAMP” and to “celebrate all the good ministry and work of the Lord that we were able to accomplish through the grace of God in these 50 years.”
He prayed for all those who continue to work in the missions and that all the people helped “may know the love of God.”
Deli and Steve Lanoux, who came to the celebration from Texas, enjoyed seeing many old faces.
“More than a mere reunion, this was a pilgrimage from the South Texas Gulf Coast to see old friends,” they said. “We had a great time, loved the energy in the room and the people, and hated to leave so much that we hooked up with some of the group again that evening.”
Longtime LAMP volunteer Pat Crabtree, Edgerton, said, “The Mass and dinner added so much to the memories we shared in meeting the many volunteers who worked with LAMP through the years to provide for the physical and religious needs of the people of Mexico.”