Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Santa Barbara de Pinto (Agenzia Fides) - “We are working with great joy, because we find ourselves among the poorest and most disadvantaged, in the situation which this winter has left us in, destroying everything. We are in the midst of a desperate population because of this situation. We have been in Pinto (Santa Barbara) for many years bringing the message of salvation to all, despite the difficulties we have to face,” reads a letter from the Superior General of the Eudist missionaries, Bishop Humberto Lugo Arguelles, ME, which contains the testimony of the Eudist missionaries who work in Santa Barbara de Pinto, in the district of Magdalena in Colombia.
In the letter received by Fides, which included vivid photos of the situation created after the abundant rain falls in the area, was a description of the life experience of the missionaries who have been devoted for many years to the pastoral care of the locals.
“It is very sad for the community to know that this Christmas – because of the winter that plagues our communities, diseases, nauseating odours of dead animals, the danger of snakes in search of higher ground, the lack of food for many of our brothers, but especially for children – will be a disgrace, because they do not even have a place to sleep.... I am sad because there is not even a place to celebrate the novena of the Infant Jesus. Even the temple of the community is completely flooded and many people have lost hope of having a happy Christmas.”
At this time the religious Eudists live in the upper chapel, where, with brothers Angelo and Giuseppe Absalon, they continue to prepare food for the children with what little they have received from the Red Cross and Caritas.
As stated in the letter, the population should be moved to another place, a higher ground. A delegation from the federal Government, arriving at the location by helicopter, announced that it will transfer the entire population, and has also allocated the land for construction of the temple and the parish house. However, no grants will be awarded for the construction, so the men religious have to start looking for resources to proceed. “We must do everything humanly possible to have a decent place to celebrate not only Christmas, but where we can also meet with children and with the community to share the Word of God and to nourish our spirit with the bread of the Eucharist,” concludes the letter signed by Fr Elberh Rios Martínez, Br Ángel Yamid Donado García and José Absalon Chica García. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 16/12/2010)
