A few days ago news broke out that the United States was moving its Embassy to the Vatican (the Holy See) to the campus of its Embassy to Italy.  The news reports correctly did not state that the United States was closing its Embassy to the Holy See, but that the United States was consolidating operations into one campus due to safety concerns.  The Embassy to the Holy See would still function as before but at a different location. From... Read more

The Archbishop of Milwaukee came to give a conference at my seminary while I was a student.  We were all anticipating his visit.  He had been the rector of the seminary years before and was well known for his great ability to communicate the faith to others.  Many of you know who he is, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, now the Archbishop of New York. I had read a book by him on the priesthood and couldn’t wait to hear his talk.... Read more

[Written for The Southern Cross] If I got up early enough as a kid, I would see the watchman come up to the house, stand by parents’ window and let my father know he was leaving.  I recall at least once hearing his voice as he spoke with my dad through the cracked window.  We needed a watchman since the police could provide very little security in a city where crime and terrorism were gaining strength. I have oftentimes wondered... Read more

Si de niño me levantaba lo suficientemente temprano, veía al vigilante acercarse a la casa, dirigirse a la ventana de mis padres y dejarle saber a mi papá que se estaba marchando. Recuerdo al menos una vez escuchar su voz cuando el vigilante hablaba con mi papa por la ventana. Necesitábamos a un vigilante ya que la policía no ofrecía mucha seguridad en una ciudad donde la delincuencia y el terrorismo ganaban fuerza. Muchas veces he pensado sobre este vigilante... Read more

Even though Christmas may have become secularized, the beauty of Thanksgiving is that it retains its religious tone. When we give thanks, we always have to give thanks for something to someone. If someone says, “I am thankful,” one can ask two logical questions, “for what?” and “to whom?” If a person can’t answer either of these two questions, then it’s silly for the person to say “I am thankful.” When we celebrate Thanksgiving, there is an understood sense that... Read more

When I was a kid in the mid 1980s, President Alan Garcia began the construction of a 21 kilometer long elevated train track to connect downtown Lima with its southern districts.  The “electric train” as it was called was to be a futuristic project, quickly moving thousands of people over an ever-more congested city.  In 1989 there was a sample car of the train at the annual Pacific Fair of Lima.  I remember getting on it and being very excited.... Read more

Today I came across a video of the Dives in Misericordia Parish or Jubilee Church built in the Roman suburb of Tor Tre Teste for the celebration of the new millennium.  The video referred to it as the “most spectacular” church of Rome, but I have to disagree.  I can say without hesitating that it’s “the most surprising” or “the most unconventional” church, but I find it impossible to say it’s more spectacular than many of the architectural gems of... Read more

Forty-eight Christians were condemned and executed in the Roman city of Lugdunum, which at the time was the capital of  the province Gallia Lugdunensis.  Lugdunum was the most important Roman city west of Rome, known today as Lyon, France.  The martyrdom of these brave men and women in 177 AD was recorded some years later by the historian Eusebius in the fifth chapter of his Eccelsiastical History. Eusebius records that these men and women “heroically endured all that the people... Read more

[Written for The Southern Cross] My first emergency call to the hospital as a priest came just a few days after arriving to my first parish assignment.  I carefully placed my brand new container with fresh oil in my shirt’s pocket and I held the official Pastoral Care of the Sick green prayer book in my hand.  I took the elevator to the intensive care unit. As I entered the unit after having called the nurses station, I heard a... Read more

Mi primera llamada de emergencia al hospital como sacerdote ocurrió pocos días después de llegar a mi primera parroquia. Coloqué cuidadosamente mi envase nuevo con los santos oleos en el bolsillo de mi camisa y en mano tenía el libro de cuidado pastoral para los enfermos.  Tomé el ascensor a la unidad de cuidados intensivos. Al entrar a la unidad después de haber llamado por el intercomunicador a la estación de enfermería, oí a un hombre decir al verme, “Bien,... Read more