Christ’s impoverished birth echoed in Nicaragua

You joined seminarians, priests, deacons and laypeople in Nicaragua last week for a missionary program called Acompaño. What was that like?
It was a sacred experience. For me, it’s almost become imperative to go there before the celebration of Christ’s birth because Christ was born in utter poverty. Mary and Joseph were poor, and even though Mary was ready to give birth, they could not find a place to stay because no one would let them into their home. Jesus was born in a stable and wrapped in swaddling clothes. Those swaddling “clothes” were actually the rags inside the stable for the animals to lie down on. Going to Nicaragua gave me the sense of Mary and Joseph and the poverty they endured and the poverty in which Jesus grew up. Though this was not the Holy Land, it is a holy land and has so much to tell us about the life of Jesus and the importance of evangelization in mission dioceses in developing countries.
 
How long have the seminarians been going on mission trips before Christmas?
It’s been more than 25 years. When I was at Notre Dame Seminary as rector, I was also the director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, so I combined my seminary work with mission work. I’ve come to realize that a priest absolutely needs to know the missionary work of the church and to see it first-hand. A priest needs to be able to see people living in poverty, hungering for God and hungering for justice. I’m so glad the seminary has kept up the program, because it is a critical part of a seminarian’s formation.
 
Who’s in charge of the program now?
Father Joe Krafft is in charge, and he’s doing an outstanding job. Most of the seminarians who went on the mission trip are in their first or second year of theological studies. Father Krafft also invited other priests – Father David Kelly, who has an extensive mission background, Father Terry Hayden, Deacon Carlo Maniglia and several laywomen who are active in our community. Father Krafft is doing doctoral studies in ministry, and his dissertation will involve the evaluations he is making on how priests, young and old, and seminarians interact with each other and with the laypeople and the people of Nicaragua on this mission experience. The leadership team met while we were in Nicaragua, and the team feels very strongly that the intergenerational mix and the mix of clergy, seminarians and laity are strong points of the mission experience. They feel this fosters true collaboration in ministry.

Didn’t you start the mission experience many years ago in Mexico?
Yes, we did. We started out with the seminarians going to Mexico, and I was looking for a place to do Christ the Healer, which was a program to bring medical professionals to an impoverished country. But when it wasn’t possible to do Christ the Healer in Mexico, we decided to move both Christ the Healer and Acompaño to Nicaragua. We thought it would be helpful to have both programs in the same place because that would allow us to build up relationships for both programs. And that’s what has happened. There are women in Nicaragua – we call them the angels and archangels – who have been helping out with both programs for the last 25 years. They’re growing a little more mature and older – as I am – but it was really great to reconnect and spend some quality time with them.

What did you tell the seminarians about their mission work?
I mentioned to them that the names of these two programs are very important. Acompaño means to accompany people. We are there to walk with them. We’re not coming there to simply give to people or do something for them. We’re coming to experience their lives and their faith and their culture, so we walk with them. The Christ the Healer program is not just a medical mission. We hope to bring, in a very humble way, Christ’s healing power through medicine. The titles are important for both programs.

What are the conditions like in Nicaragua?
It’s a very poor country. People live in “shacks,” as we see them. The seminarians’ major physical projects are laying the foundations for homes which will be completed by the Nicaraguan people after the seminarians leave. The places where people live are incredibly humble. There are four to eight people living in one room. There’s really no bathroom. Quite often the kitchen is in the same place as the bedroom. I told the seminarians that the missionary work of the church is to bring Christ to others and for us to find Christ in them. Through our missionary work we hope to bring them, in some way, God’s compassion. And, we also want to do what we can to bring them something to eat.

What did you do every day?
We had Mass and adoration daily. We also visited an orphanage run by the Teresian Sisters, and we visited the Sisters of Charity, who work with young people who don’t have anyone to care for them. We don’t necessarily “do” anything on these visits, but we are there to listen and to be on the journey with them. I was deeply impressed by the seminarians who went on the mission trip. I saw their faith and their understanding of mission as I worked with them. The church is very blessed to have the quality of men studying for priesthood that we have today.

Archbishop Aymond can be reached at [email protected].