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.
Tag: Mexico
Latin American Mission Program celebrates 50th anniversary
MADISON — It has been 50 years since the first volunteers went to Mexico with the Latin American Mission Program (LAMP).
To mark this anniversary, there will be a Mass at 12 noon celebrated by Bishop Robert C. Morlino on Sunday, April 6, at the Bishop O’Connor Center, 702 S. High Point Rd.
A catered dinner will follow the Mass at the Bishop O’Connor Center. All past LAMP volunteers are welcome and encouraged to attend the anniversary celebration.
Focusing on the plight of immigrants during Lent
“Forty days in the desert” describes Jesus at the start of his ministry and the Christian community during Lent.
For me, henceforth, it will also bring to mind migrants who make a dangerous journey through Mexico to the United States. I learned on a tour with the organization Witness for Peace that the trip for those who start in southern Mexico or Central America can take one to two months and often includes walking through treacherous stretches of desert.
Edgewood College students bridge borders
MADISON — During winter break, while many college students are hanging out with hometown friends or catching up on sleep, a group from Edgewood College is spending some of that time helping others.
From January 2 to January 13, almost a dozen students and their instructor are in the state of Chiapas, Mexico helping with two service projects.
Catholics must be vigilant to protect religious freedom
To the editor:
As Thanksgiving Day passes into history, I was reminded this morning at Mass to give thanks to the Catholic martyrs who have died because of their resistance to anti-religious freedom laws. In particular this day, we remember Blessed Miguel Pro, a Jesuit priest in Mexico during the violent anti-Catholic persecutions in the 1920’s. On this day in 1927, he was taken to a police firing range and shot to death. His crime against the Mexican government was simply to minister to the Catholic people in their worship of Jesus Christ.
Mexico’s President Calles personally ordered Father Pro’s execution. Before the execution, Father Pro prayed, and then held out his arms in the form of a cross. As the police took aim with their rifles, he spoke the words, “Viva Cristo Rey!” (“Long live Christ the King!”).
Father Pro was not alone in his opposition to religious persecution. According to some sources, more than 200,000 Mexican people from every socio-economic background were killed or martyred by 1930. In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized 25 Catholic martyrs in Mexico, among them being Blessed Miguel Pro.
Sister Chiara Pauloni, OP, dies
Sr. Chiara Pauloni, OP, died Nov. 13, 2011, at St. Dominic Villa, Hazel Green, Wis.
First training class for LAMP volunteers
LAMP (Latin American Mission Program) volunteers will spend two weeks this summer in Mexico to teach religion, arts and crafts, and English; help the teams; and do other work as needed.
St. Thomas Aquinas concludes golden jubilee year
The final event marking St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) Parish’s 50th anniversary was the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12.
Our Lady of Guadalupe inspires devotion
In 1531, Juan Diego, a convert in Mexico, met a beautiful woman who said, “My dear little son, I love you. I desire you to know who I am. I am the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God who gives life and maintains its existence. He created all things. He is in all places. He is Lord of Heaven and Earth.