A Vehicle for a Parish in Guatemala 

Father Luis Francisco Morales Reyes is in charge of the parish of Siquinalá Escuintla, in southern Guatemala. It has a population of more than 26,000 people, about 60 percent of whom are Catholic. The rest of the people mostly belong to fundamentalist or Pentecostalist sects.  

In order to minister to the faithful, Father Morales has to travel distances of up to 22 miles to reach the outlying communities. And the roads are extremely poor. Since his parish lies at the foot of a volcano, it is strewn with rocks, scree, and hardened lava streams. Only a few of the roads are properly stabilized, and when it rains, and the river levels rise, it can be almost impossible to get through. Even then, the journey can take hours.  

37-year-old Father Luis explains: “The reason I am asking for a new vehicle is that our old one is now in a very poor state of repair. It has almost 372,822 miles under its belt and is frequently breaking down. And the maintenance and repair costs are so high that given the financial state of the parish, we have been forced to organize fundraising campaigns just to pay for these repairs, which naturally hinders our pastoral work. Often, we have to borrow a vehicle in order to reach the villages, and not infrequently, we even have to go on foot. This is one of the poorest parishes in the Diocese of Escuintla, and the people are in no position to raise the money we need.” 

We have promised him $18,523 for a sturdy, all-terrain vehicle.  

219-01-29