ST. MICHAEL - CARY - SISTER PARISH

St. Michaels Cary - Sister Parish - Honduras

Honduras Sister Parish Mission

My dear parishioners: During the years that I have been your Pastor I have been privileged to actively support your efforts to reach out to our Sister parish in Honduras. I have likewise been impressed with how much your efforts have been able to accomplish there in the areas of Education, Medical needs being met, Agricultural programs being initiated, and Spiritual concerns for the Parishioners of our Sister parish. During this Easter season Pope Francis reminds us to be merciful. Let us live our faith by walking with the Lord and caring for those who are not as fortunate as we are. Your generosity in giving to this special appeal for our Sister Parish reflects your willingness to sacrifice for others whom you do not know so that the Easter Message of Love of your neighbor might be real in your lives. I thank you for your generosity and ask God’s blessing upon you and your loved ones.

About "Honduras"

Honduras is located in Central America and is plagued with immense poverty. Our sister parish, Nuestra Señora de Suyapa, is located in the town of Nueva Palestina. The lifestyle of our sister parish community is quite simple. Most of Padre’s parishioners are subsistence farmers who earn less than $80/month and support their families the best they can.

While our brothers and sister may be poor in monetary terms they have a strong faith in Jesus Christ and a strong love of Jesus and the parishioners’ of Saint Michael’s.

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Education Program

While tuition is free, many of the families cannot afford the cost of school materials, uniforms, and shoes needed to send their children to school. Furthermore, they were needed to help produce food for the family or assist with the home.

This year, St. Michael is sponsoring 811 children for a cost of $75/year. When we started no student went beyond the 6th grade. We have helped over 1600 children in their studies and close to 100 have graduated from the 12th grade.

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Health Program

Since the early years, Saint Michael’s parishioners have been able to assist our sister parish with basic medical needs and hygiene education. You have provided the funding for: a part-time doctor, a nurse and 2 health promoters, that work with and treat our sisters and brothers in Nueva Palestina. Last year, the medical team visited 96 of the 120 aldeas in the parish and saw 4200 patients during their visits. Learn More

Agriculture Program

In partnership with NC State University, we started an agricultural education program in 2012. We hired a local agricultural graduate to help promote and teach important agricultural skills to students at the Nueva Cholulteca Middle and High Schools and family farmers.

For three years, the agricultural program has provided educational activities in crop and vegetable production for high school-age youth on the grounds of the secondary school at Nueva Choluteca. A Honduran university student conducted his undergraduate thesis research at the school. It demonstrated the appropriate rations of commercial feed for efficient chicken production.

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Spiritual Program

The parish is supported by its pastor, Padre Fernando and 3 Franciscan sisters. Padre Fernando’s parish covers an area close to 160 square miles including 120 remote villages, called aldeas. Each of the 120 aldeas in Padre’s parish have a spiritual leader referred to as a delegado. These “delegates of the word” make up the pastoral council and provide spiritual leadership to the people in their villages between Padre’s visits. The “delegates” travel monthly to Nueva Palestina where they receive education on their faith to share with their individual communities.
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