Missionary’s Postcard from Peru
Fr. Nick Harding, OMI, formerly of the U.S.Province, now attached to the Oblates in South America, occasionally sends us photos of the celebrations and of the people he ministers to in rural Peru – always a fascinating snapshot of missionary life. The photos below, along with his captions are from a recent Procession of Corpus Christie, and some photos of the people he serves.
“In our main parish…and we had 8 altars in the main Plaza de Armas for procession….only mishap was policeman at one corner was distracted (on cell phone), one of our groups put up a rope and a motorcyclist came through fast, hit throat against rope and went flying (here not big lawsuits as in US so we divided the cost of his jacket, stitches on head, etc, negligence by him , town and our people….each equivalent of $30 usd)”
Plaza outside the Church
Procession began outside the town, Fr.Harding carries the Monstrance
Nearing the Church
Women outside the Church are in their most colorful dresses and hats
The Mass following the procession
“A mom with her son who live/work at the huge garbage dump” (Fr. Nick is on the right in the picture above)
“Many families live in the trash dumps in extreme conditions.”
“Kids being creative with tricycle belonging to their little sister”
“Raquel has 6 kids , husband in prison..we help out some”
– “With gratitude and prayers , Fr Nicholas Harding, OMI”