By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
MIAMI | The sign at the entrance to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church campus in Doral says it plainly: "Let's Support Venezuela." Behind it, in a parish parking lot turned into a donation center, the words are becoming flesh: boxes of medicine and food passed hand to hand, names of the missing written down to be lifted up at Mass, strangers and neighbors bound together by a single ache and a single hope.
Two weeks after one of the deadliest natural disasters in Venezuela's recent history, the Catholic community of South Florida has answered the way the Church so often does in the face of suffering: with prayer that becomes presence and presence that becomes charity.
The twin earthquakes that struck the South American nation on June 24 left communities shattered, and, thousands of miles away, they reached straight into the hearts of the many Venezuelan families who call this Archdiocese home.
"Our Catholic faithful and all people of good will across South Florida" are called to "stand in solidarity" with those affected, Archbishop Thomas Wenski said as Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami launched an emergency relief fund. Every dollar donated, the Archdiocese has said, goes directly to humanitarian assistance for the communities devastated by the earthquakes.
A parish that would not sit still
Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of South Florida's largest Hispanic Catholic parishes and a spiritual home for thousands of Venezuelan families. In the hours after the news arrived, its people did not wait to be asked. They came with their cars filled to the brim, their hands, their donations, and their grief.
After an initial effort that ran around the clock, the parish settled into a steady rhythm of mercy. Monday through Friday, from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., volunteers staff a drive-through donation center in the church parking lot, receiving the essentials that survivors need most.
They are not doing it alone: the St. Vincent de Paul Doral Conference and the Rotary Club of Doral have joined the effort, a quiet sign of how the works of mercy draw the whole community, believer and neighbor alike, into one labor of love.
"It has been a very sad, very devastating experience, and all of us have a broken heart, not only those of us who are Venezuelan," said Father Israel Mago, the parish administrator. "It hurts anyone, and above all any Christian, to see something this tragic. Thousands of people have lost everything. Thousands have died."
He learned of it the way most of Doral did, sideways and without warning. "I was at my house, and there was a man doing some work there, a Venezuelan, and he told me, 'Look, there was a tremor in Venezuela, an earthquake,'" Mago said. "I thought it was something inconsequential. Then the news kept coming and we realized it was something of enormous magnitude."
What followed was the frustration of distance. "From here we feel a little frustrated at not being able to do more than what we are doing," he said. "But we also understand that we are doing everything we can from here. And whatever we feel we can do that, in some way eases the anguish and the sadness, we are going to keep doing it."
Two shipments of donations have already gone out. Cash donations are routed through Caritas; food and medical supplies travel through St. Vincent de Paul, and, once in Venezuela, through Fe y Alegría, the Jesuit-founded network of schools whose presence in the poorest neighborhoods makes it a natural partner. Nearly 30 of its schools in the country, Mago noted, were badly damaged.
"Everything in cash is being channeled through Caritas, which is the most trustworthy and established institution of the Church," he said. "We know it is going to reach the right hands."
Photographer: Alicia Civita
Father Israel Mago, administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Doral, has led the parish's spiritual and humanitarian response to the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, organizing prayer initiatives and coordinating relief efforts for affected communities.
Prayer at the center
For all the boxes and logistics, the parish has never forgotten where its strength begins. At the entrance to the church, a space has been set aside for parishioners to write the names of those they want mentioned at the altar. Every day the list is renewed. Some ask for individual intentions, others simply write "for Venezuela," and others leave messages of thanksgiving.
Our Lady of Guadalupe has announced a novena of Masses for Venezuela, gathering the faithful to pray for the dead, for the injured, for the rescue workers, and for the families whose lives were overturned in an instant. Parishioners are invited to bring the names of their loved ones, so that each one can be spoken before the altar.
The three priests at the church have offered more than 500 prayers intentions since the twin earthquakes destroyed La Guaira, parts of Caracas, and miles of the Caribbean coast of Venezuela. It's a reminder that in the Catholic community, no one grieves alone. To pray for the suffering is already to begin to carry them.
The parish has also offered holy hours and set aside an entire day of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament for the victims. A rosary dedicated to Venezuela is planned for the coming days."We pray every day for this intention," Mago said.
"We have offered special Masses for those affected by the earthquake in Venezuela, for the victims, for those who were rescued, for all the people who are there helping others be found."
"Many times we question God in a situation like this, but we should never do that, because God always permits things for a greater good," Mago said. "Sometimes we ask for a miracle and we want the miracle to look the way we want it to look. And often God manifests it in a way that is different from what we expect. I believe one of the ways the Lord has manifested himself here is through the rescue workers, giving people the strength to hold on and wait to be rescued, and through the solidarity of people all over the world. I believe that is how the Lord is working, in a great and powerful way."
For many here, including Father Mago, who grew up in the San Martín neighborhood of Caracas, this is not a distant tragedy on the evening news. South Florida is home to one of the nation's largest Venezuelan communities, and countless parishioners have a mother, a child, a brother, or a lifelong friend in the towns the earthquakes struck. Some are packing donation boxes with the same hands they use to wipe away tears, mourning their own even as they serve everyone in need.
The pain reaches nearly every pew. "There are many people who have lost family members, very close friends who lived in the area of La Guaira, or in Caracas, in Los Palos Grandes," said Father Mago, who grew up in the Venezuelan capital. "Parents who lost children, children who lost their parents. We have accompanied them with our prayer, with our embrace."
The latest census found that 48% of the almost 90,000 residents of Doral are Venezuelan or of Venezuelan origin. "That means almost five of every ten people are Venezuelan," Mago said. "So you can imagine that the pain and the feeling here are very great." The parish has more than 10,000 families registered.
One Church, one mission
The effort in Doral is one thread in a wider response led by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, which is accepting monetary donations through the Archdiocese of Miami website.
The fundraising campaign supports initiatives led by Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Doral and St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Margate, two Archdiocese of Miami parishes coordinating humanitarian assistance for affected communities.
In addition to raising funds, Catholic Charities is supporting the shipment of humanitarian supplies by sea from the two parishes, covering shipping costs and coordinating with Caritas Venezuela and Catholic Relief Services (CRS). This partnership helps ensure that the aid is distributed through the Catholic Church and reaches those most in need.
"By working through Caritas Venezuela and Catholic Relief Services, we can rely on trusted Catholic partners already serving affected communities, helping ensure donations and humanitarian aid are distributed efficiently and that they reach those most in need," said Peter Routsis-Arroyo, chief executive officer of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami.
The scale of that response is beginning to show. According to Tras el temblor, el amor ("After the Tremor, Love"), the first report released by Caritas Venezuela, the organization has received 14,700 tons of humanitarian aid.
Catholic Charities is also assisting Commissioner Rolando Escalona of District 3, who is flying humanitarian supplies to Venezuela. The organization is coordinating with Caritas Venezuela and CRS to ensure the supplies are received by the local Church and distributed to affected communities.
Looking ahead, Routsis-Arroyo said Catholic Charities is exploring long-term ways to support the people of Venezuela.
Mago sees the same horizon. "Now is when you could say the help is needed most, because now comes the rebuilding of everything that was lost," he said. Being the city with the largest concentration of Venezuelans in the United States, he added, carries a duty.
Andoni Biurrarena, editor of Florida Catholic and La Voz Católica, contributed to this article.
Catholics wishing to support the relief effort can make monetary donations through the Archdiocese of Miami website. Donations will help fund humanitarian assistance coordinated by Catholic Charities, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Caritas Venezuela and Catholic Relief Services.
