Our Sister Parishes

The friars of Holy Name Province (HNP) are responsible for two parishes in Lima, Nuestra Senora de Lourdes, and Parroquia Santa Ana. Both are our Sister Parishes. We signed a Pledge of Solidarity with Lourdes in January 2000 and with Santa Ana in August 2007. Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres, a popular Latin American saying, is echoed in the North American expression "People know you by the friends you keep." We have decided to walk together with Jesus and work together to build the kingdom of God.

Our pledge with our Brothers and Sisters in Lima calls for us:

    • To continually pray for one another as 'Sister Parishes' especially at the Sunday Eucharist.
    • To learn more about the Catholic life and witness of our Sister Parishes through communication between parishes, education about one another, and when feasible through visits to one other.
    • To cross frontiers and barriers of geography, politics, economics, race and ethnicity.
    • To become more just within our families, schools, places of work, business and political life.
    • To give more generously to meet the basic needs of those within our country and beyond.
    • To advocate for the protection of life, the defense of human dignity, the care of God’s creation and the promotion of peace.

The number of people living within the geographic boundaries of each of our Sister Parishes is tremendous, as is the economic poverty of the vast majority of the people living there. Both parishes have HNP operated or sponsored programs such as food kitchens, pantries, medical clinics, pre-schools, an elementary school (Santa Ana), educational counseling programs, etc, that offer the only assistance available to the very poor. The parishioners of Lourdes and Santa Ana are a clever and resourceful people. But they have been deprived of many of the basic resources of life that we all take for granted here in the United Sates of America. Our relationship helps cultivate self-esteem, and allows them to pool their scant resources and to live in dignity.

Peru

• Population: 28 million people
• Religion: 81% Roman Catholic
• Size: Almost 500,000 sq. miles (A bit smaller than Alaska)

    Terrain:
    • Western desert coastal plain
    • High, rugged Andes in center
    • Eastern lowland jungle of Amazon basin



Lima

The Lima Metropolis ranks among Latin America's largest and densest urban concentrations, with a population of over 7 million for the urban area. Political and economic instability in Peru during the latter half of the twentieth century created unprecedented poverty and violence in the towns of the countryside, forcing hundreds of thousands to migrate to Lima.



Ways To Get Involved

Our Sister Parishes offer opportunities for involvement within the Catholic Community of St. Francis of Assisi. The following are ways YOU can make a difference:

    † As a Parish:
      • Support our annual Special Collection to help our brothers and sisters in Lima

    † As individuals, families, or groups:
      • Be a Prayer Partner
      • Fund a specific project
      • Sponsor a pre-school student
      • Provide assistance or tuition for job training
      • Support other needs…

    † Serve in the Sister Parish ministry at St. Francis:
      • Planning
      • Education/Publicity
      • Communications (Fluent in Spanish)
      • Logistics/Finance

To learn more about our Sister Parish Program, please contact Anne Tunney, Outreach Minister (703) 221-4312 AnneT@stfrncis.org

Don't forget to check out our Sister Parish Photo Album.


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