It’s over 60 years since the people of the Diocese of Cork and Ross, lead by Bishop Lucey, took a decision which would change the lives of many people in South America.
On St. Patrick’s Day, 1965, Bishop Cornelius Lucey took pastoral responsibility for thousands of people living in the sands around the city of Trujillo in northern Peru.
Peruvians were moving in droves from living in poverty high up in the Andes mountains to seek what they thought would be a better life along the coast. But the coastal cities were now swamped so the new migrants lived in make-shift huts in areas with no services to support them.
Among the first priests to go to Peru, in response to a call from the Archdiocese of Boston to help, were Fr. Paddy Leader from Clonakilty, Fr. Michael Crowley, Carhuvouler (Enniskeane parish) and Fr. Michael Murphy (Kilmichael). The latter was to become bishop of our diocese after Bishop Lucey.
The priests were soon joined by Sisters of Mercy, Bon Secours Sisters and Presentation Sisters along with a few priests from Kerry and Cloyne.
The people at home supported the Mission with extraordinary generosity and soon Trujillo’s outskirts had new schools, health centres, churches and community facilities which were all funded by people in the home diocese.
Decades later, the mission was extended to include an area near the city of Manta , Ecuador.
Over the almost 40 years when sisters and priests from Ireland served the needs of the people of South America through the diocesan mission, their sacrifice was more than matched by people’s donations to the Peru Boxes in churches at home and the annual May collection for Peru, as well as countless other fundraisers.
Today, the parishes in that community are vibrant. They don’t have Irish priests and sisters anymore but they have a legacy which is not forgotten.
The video is a clip from "Desert Mission" which was made in Peru to mark the 30th anniversary and features the late Bishop Michael Murphy talking about the early days of the mission.
