The Order of the Barefoot Carmelites (OCD) will deliver to the Archbishopric of Santiago de Guatemala the rectory Santa Teresa de Jesús, who was in charge for more than half a century, for lack of vocations to attend it.
In a communication Signed on February 7, Fray Edgardo Hernández, provincial in Central America of the OCD, recalls that “by the grace of God the Father, in May 1960, the Barefoot Carmelite friars, began the pastoral service in the Santa Teresa de Jesús rectory of Jesus, city of Guatemala ”.
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“Each and every one of the friars that we have lived and served in the Santa Teresa de Jesús rectory, we present our prayer of thanks to God for the gift of having allowed us to make way of faith with so many parishioners and devotees,” he says.
“From the charism that God has given Santa Teresa de Jesus, we have provided our pastoral service facilitating prayer and encounter with Jesus, true friend,” says the provincial superior, highlighting that “if God the Father allows it, when we have more vocations , we can expand our pastoral service in Guatemala. ”
“We continue in ecclesial communion with our fraternal prayer and entrust the Rectory Santa Teresa de Jesús and the entire Church of Guatemala, to Our Lady of the Assumption,” he adds.
For his part, the Archbishopric of Guatemala, in a communication Extended on February 8, he said that the delivery of the temple in the capital of the country was carried out by “own initiative” of the OCD, “arguing the lack of personnel to attend it”.
The Archbishop of Guatemala, Mons. Gonzalo de Villa and Vásquez, “attending to the pastoral good of the souls, has already designated a rector to give continuity to the pastoral processes and avoid the closing of said rectory,” adds the statement, which he also asks for The support and prayers of the entire community of faithful.
The delivery of this rectory occurs a few weeks after the barefoot Carmelites announced their departure from Nicaragua, also because of the shortage of vocations.
The OCD invited the faithful to participate in the morning of this Sunday, February 9 at the Mass in which the temple will be delivered to the Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala, who has designated P. Antonio Zuleta as a new rector.
David Ramos
Graduate in Communication Sciences by the Private University of the North in Trujillo, Peru. With more than 12 years of experience in Catholic journalism working in ACI Press, I am based in Mexico since 2018. I have covered the trips of Pope Francis to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Panama.