First in a three-part series

By Sam Lucero, Catholic Herald Staff

SABANA YEGUA, Dominican Republic — Twenty-five years ago, two priests from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Frs. Richard Broach and Tom Demse, arrived in the Dominican Republic to begin a partnership between the archdiocese and La

Sagrada Familia Parish, located in the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana. On Oct. 29, a contingent of 25 people from the archdiocese, led by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and Bishop Richard J. Sklba, joined more than 600 parishioners and guests in the town of Sabana Yegua for a Mass marking the 25th anniversary of the twinning relationship.

The celebration was held outdoors to accommodate the large crowd. Blue tarps hung over the gathering area, between the church and parish center, were erected to block out the intense Caribbean sun. However, with a morning rain shower, it served another purpose.

Joining Archbishop Dolan and Bishop Sklba as concelebrants of the Mass were the apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic, Bishop Timothy Broglio, and Bishop Jose Grullon, bishop of San Juan de la Maguana, along with 12 priests from both dioceses.

In his greetings to the worshippers, Archbishop Dolan thanked God for the 25 years of friendship and cooperation between the two church communities.

“I bring to you the love, the greetings, the prayers of the people of southeastern Wisconsin,” he said. “You are a gift to us. You help us realize that our family of the Catholic Church is bigger than our own home. We are close to you. We are all sons and daughters of God; we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Bishop Broglio also shared the gratitude of Pope Benedict XVI for the archdiocese’s partnership with Sagrada Familia.

“An anniversary is not only a time to look back and to remember the good things that have been accomplished,” he said. “It is also an invitation to look forward and see what remains to be done. In that context I asked Archbishop Dolan to relay the gratitude of the Holy Father for all of the good pastoral work done by the priests of the archdiocese, those who left what they knew … and who willingly accepted the challenge of a ministry in a new land, with a different language and other customs.”

History of relationship

The bond between the Milwaukee Archdiocese and Sagrada Familia, located in the province of Azua in the southwest corner of the Dominican Republic, was initiated by Archbishop James Harvey, a priest of the archdiocese who now serves as prefect of the papal household at the Vatican. Twenty-five years ago he served as secretary to the apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic and approached Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland about forming a relationship with Sagrada Familia. At the time, there were only 14 priests, all foreign-born, in the diocese.

The plan, formalized between Archbishop Weakland and Bishop Ronald Connors of San Juan de la Maguana on April 20, 1981, would designate two priests to serve in the Dominican Republic.

Over the years, 14 priests of the archdiocese have served at Sagrada Familia. In 2003, the partnership took on a new dimension when Archbishop Dolan appointed Fr. Marti Colom as pastor. He replaced Fr. Jerome Thompson, who died unexpectedly at General Mitchell International Airport in May of 2003, while returning to the Dominican Republic.

A priest from Barcelona, Spain, ordained in 2000 for the archdiocese, Fr. Colom is also a member of the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle, a public association of the church that consists of priests and lay people from around the world. Fellow Missionary of St. Paul, Fr. Oriol Regales, a Barcelona native ordained for the archdiocese in 2001, was assigned to the Dominican Republic in July 2004.

The Missionaries of St. Paul, with approximately 100 priests and lay members in eight countries, bring a background in missionary work to the Dominican Republic. Their skills and resources in working with the poor enable them to expand and improve the groundwork established by priests of the archdiocese who came here with little or no missionary experience.

Sagrada Familia by the numbers

The town of Sabana Yegua serves as home base for La Sagrada Familia Parish, but the boundaries extend far beyond one town. The parish encompasses 28 communities within an area of about120 to 150 square miles. The pastors include a local prison, where they make regular visits to inmates, as a 29th community. About 50,000 people belong to the parish, which is the largest of 30 parishes in the diocese.

Some 2,000 miles separate the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana. To visitors of La Sagrada Familia, the parish structure and ministries taking place within its borders seem just as distant.

In addition to religious formation of children and adults, parish leaders must tend to the primary needs of the people. These needs include preventing malnutrition and disease, and gaining access to drinking water and health care. This social dimension of parish ministry also extends into other areas such as job training, housing and diversifying the agricultural produce of peasant farmers.

A parish pastoral plan developed for 2005 and 2006 by the priests and pastoral team of La Sagrada Familia helps leaders keep focused. They have organized their pastoral activities into seven areas: Christian life (celebrating the sacraments and Christian formation), health programs, a nutritional center for children, building latrines, housing, education, and farming and food production.

Experiencing the mission church

What began as an agreement to provide priests to staff the parish has blossomed into an opportunity for Catholics in the Milwaukee Archdiocese to experience the mission church, where the emphasis is no longer helping the poor, but walking with them.

As a way to participate in the sister parish relationship, numerous parishes in the archdiocese have established ties with villages of the parish, helping to build chapels or schools in those faith communities. Special collections are taken to support the parish, and some parishioners have visited the Dominican Republic to witness the work being accomplished.

“As a diocese, we’re growing in awareness to what the needs are” in the church’s missions, said Franciscan Sr. Frances Cunningham, director of the World Mission Ministries Office, which oversees the twinning relationship between Sagrada Familia and the archdiocese. “The church is more challenged at this moment to building relationships. If we don’t, we have lost an opportunity. We need this relationship just as much as people in the DR need this relationship.”

For more information about Sagrada Familia, contact the World Mission Ministries Office at (414) 769-3404, or visit www.archmil.org/sagradafamilia.

Next week: Pastoral leaders not only fighting poverty, also fighting history

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