Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Philadelphia (Agenzia Fides) - After two years of pastoral care work with the Hispanic community, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has granted to the Servants of Charity (Guanellians) the use of a long-abandoned convent in Chester, a once-thriving and active town, nestled on the banks of the Delaware River. In the last two decades Chester has suffered economic, environmental, moral and spiritual decline. “Drugs, prostitution, delinquency, unemployment is the reality that hits you in the face. Houses which were left empty by people who emigrated elsewhere for work, have been purchased and occupied by the African-American population and immigrants from various Latin American nations. Only a small number of Polish descendants remain, previously numerous in this area. Here the church, school and convent were the focus of their spiritual, cultural and social life. Today there is still the beautiful church dedicated to St Hedwig, where Sunday Mass is celebrated for a group of Poles who are still there. The rectory and the convent of the nuns who taught at the school are empty and the school has been sold. There are about a hundred people from different Christian denominations in the area, from the Protestant tradition to the new many independent religious groups. Here on the banks of the Delaware River, where the boats first arrived, the first Anglican church in Pennsylvania, built in 1703, is still operating. It is in this area that the Guanellians started their missionary work, primarily with the presence of their witness and charity. There are not many Catholics. Immigrants from South America, Catholic by tradition, have not placed themselves in the context of the local Church. First of all they contact us for the recovery of Catholic values, weakened by the distance from their cultural and religious roots. The goal is the preservation of the Catholic faith, the exercise of charity, the promotion of life and the testimony of truth. (AP) (7/3/2011 Agenzia Fides)
