St. Anthony on the Lake & Santisimo Sacramento in Piura, Peru
See the story below to learn more about this sister parish relationship.
In January of 1999, eleven members of St. Anthony on the Lake visited Peru to see what we could do as a parish to help the 40,000+ members of Padre Joe Uhen’s parish, Santisimo Sacramento in Piura, Peru. We were blessed to find it a community of faith-filled, beautiful people who dwell in homes consisting of dirt floors, bamboo walls, and tin roofs, with no running water or electricity. From that fact-finding mission evolved our current Family to Family Program where families from St. Anthony sponsor families in Peru donating $30 per month to supply the Peru family with rice, beans, powdered milk, vegetable oil, and various other sundries. Currently, St. Anthony on the Lake sponsors over 320 families in Piura.
Subsequent annual visits have included 246 St. Anthony parishioners who've made the pilgrimage, many having traveled more than once.
In September, Padre Joe Uhen came to St. Anthony on the Lake to visit, along with two of his staff members. While here, Fr. Joe celebrates at each of our weekend masses and gives us an update on his parish, Santisimo Sacramento. Each of his staff members also speak to our parish thru Fr. Joe’s interpretation and tell of the many thanks that their people send to all of us at St. Anthony’s.
Ways To Make A Difference:
There are many ways you can make a difference in helping our sister parish besides sponsoring a family or donating items for the container. St. Anthony and Santisimo Sacramento websites have many ideas in which to donate in honor of that "hard-to-buy-for" birthday, anniversary, or thinking of you gift. Additionally, tangible items such as purchasing a chicken, pig, or donkey for a family, a full day of work or one-week salary for a person in need of a job, shoes, clothing for a child, mattress or bed for a family, etc. are appreciated.
Santisimo’s website is www.santisimo.org. Click on English then scroll down to “Gifts for the Poor” to see other possibilities.