Brownsville Archives - Society of Mary

Pope Francis reached out recently to the children of Brownsville diocese, saying he wanted to be close to them.

The Diocese of Brownsville lies on the Mexican border and is considered one of the most impoverished areas of the United States.

“I want to tell you to always look forward, always look towards the horizon, don’t let life put walls in front of you.”

“God calls you to receive mercy and show mercy to others. God calls you to be happy. Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid. Play life to the full! That is life,” Francis told them.

Brownsville Marist parish

Brownsville parish welcomes migrant youth — Fr Tony O’Connor and some of the San Felipe de Jesus youth who celebrated the bi-centenary of the Marist pledge at Fourviere.

The message was heard by parishioners of San Felipe de Jesus Church, a Marist parish in Brownsville.

While packed on Sundays with youth and adults, Pope Francis’ message was particularly poignant for more than 100 migrant children under 18 years of age who attend Mass.

New Zealand Marist Father, Tony O’Connor ministers to children coming across the border into the US.

Most of these children are fleeing from poverty and violence… the journey is fraught with its own dangers…they have to grow up pretty fast.
Fr Tony O'Connor

” Most of these children are fleeing from poverty and violence”, he told the The Valley Catholic; a diocesan paper.

The children, who are mostly from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, enter the United States unaccompanied.

On arrival they are housed in shelters while arrangements are made to reunite them with relatives living the US or back in their country of origin.

Tony O’Connor says they come to the United States in search of a better life, but the journey is “fraught with its own dangers”.

Passing through moral and physical danger to get to the United States, “They often have had to grow up fast”, said Tony O’Connor who visits four different centros de refugio to hear confessions and visit the children.

No walls to migrant children

The San Felipe de Jesus Church welcomes the migrant children and has a section of the church reserved for them.

“Everybody respects that space, says parishioner Miguel Lopes, who serves as an usher.

“People will stand in the back of the church rather than sit there.

“We are not afraid to admit we give them special treatment because we want them to feel special…. I see some of them crying as they pray.

“We know they are going through a lot.

“We feel their pain”, he said.

Another parishioner, Yolanda Castillo agrees, saying the parish feels blessed to have them as part of the community.

Asked if there was any reservations about having the children join them for Mass, parishoner David Gomez responded with certainty.

“This is the house of God.

“Everyone is welcome.

“On the rare occasion the children don’t come to Mass we really miss them. We feel like a part of us is missing”, he said.

Parishioner, Marcos Garcia is relatively new to the Marist parish.

“I am in awe of this community, of how generous and welcoming everyone is and I believe it comes from Our Lord, first of all and also from Father Tony,” he said

“He inspires us to serve and we pray for him constantly that he will continue to have the strength to minister to these children”.

Sources

Vatican News
San Felipe de Jesus Church (Facebook)
Supplied
The Valley Catholic

“Who says men don’t cry ?” is New Zealand Marist priest, Tony O’Connor’s initial reflection of ministering on the border of Mexico and the United States.

Part of Fr O’Connor’s ministry, working in the Brownsville Texas parish, is to visit two detention centres, one for captured minor migrants and the other for captured adult migrants.

Given their personal circumstance and after all they have been through, Fr O’Connor offers a listening ear.

Fr O’Connor says that despite their detention he has a quiet admiration for the detained minors.

To get to the detention centre they travel around 1,200 miles.

Outlining a typical journey, Fr O’Connor says the kids ‘train surf’; travel on the top of long trains called the “Bestia” (the Beast), they walk and bus through Central America and Mexico, they cross over the border in the desert where there are no high fences and border control and are either caught or in some cases give themselves up.

The minors that make to the detention centres are treated very well, but many get left in the desert, Fr O’Connor says.

Not all end up in detention centres.

“Others make it and cross the border without getting caught and end up hiding for a time in ‘stack houses’, where hundreds are locked in a room”, he says.

The atmosphere in the adult detention centre is very different, run by the State, they are more like a prison; barbed wire included, he says.

“Those in red overhauls have serious criminal records in the USA, those in “safety orange” have light criminal records and the blues (majority) are just ‘illegals’ caught crossing the divide”, he said.

With more than 1,300 adult men detainees Fr O’Connor suggests it is not all negative.

“The last time there we had a full auditorium for mass, lots of pretty gutsy confessions too. Who says “men don’t cry?

As well as “locals” currently there are three from Ghana, one from Somalia, people from Ecuador, Peru and five Chinese; whom he thinks made their first communion.

Commenting on his new mission, Fr O’Connor says that after being on mission in Peru and Venezuela for more than 30 years, he says it’s taken a bit of time to get his feet on the ground.

With the Peru – Venezuela district closing, Fr O’Connor was asked by the Society of Mary’s Superior General, Fr John Hannan, join the Marist mission in Brownsville, USA.

Fr O’Connor says while preferring to work with the more physically poor he can see the wisdom of living to saying, “‘Where the captain sends, the sailor goes’. It works for me”.

On Tuesday 8 July, 2014, BBC reports:

“The fate of tens of thousands of child migrants in the United States is turning into a major political problem for President Obama.

“This week he is expected to ask Congress for US$2bn to build detention centres and hire new officials – just to cope with the number of unaccompanied children arriving from Central America.

“Many of President Obama’s supporters are upset at plans to send the children back to their home countries.”

Fr Tony O’Connor is a New Zealand Marist, working in the United States and part of the Society of Mary USA Province Brownsville Parish ministry.