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Father Nova's visit - Saturday, October 20 to Sunday, October 21
At Mass: Father Nova will be speaking at Masses the weekend of October 20 and 21.
Parish Family Picnic: Please join families following the 5:30 p.m. Mass on Saturday, October 20 for some grilled food and refreshments inside Parish Hall. We'll be eating food and welcoming Father Nova. Enjoy burgers, brats, soda, chips and all traditional picnic fixings. We hope to see you there! Food will begin being served at 6:30 p.m. This event is hosted by the Knights of Columbus.
Second Collection: That weekend will have a second collection for World Mission Sunday. The following weekend, Oct. 27 and 28, will have a second collection for our Haiti Twin Parish's needs.
For almost three years, the Haiti Twin Parish group at Saint Alphonsus Liguori has created and fostered a loving relationship with St. Anthony of Padua located in Croix Fer, Haiti. After completing a second medical mission trip to Haiti to see Fr. Norvela Garcon and help out with St. Anthony Parish and the surrounding village, it’s time to bring Father back here!
Father Nova's next visit is Oct. 20/21: Fr. Nova will be visiting our parish for the second time on the weekend of October 20 and 21, and he will be preaching at each of the Masses. To celebrate his visit, the Knights of Columbus will be hosting a family cookout following the 5:30 p.m. mass on Saturday, October 20. Be sure to come out, grab some delicious food, join in on the fun, and say hello to Fr. Nova! It has been six months since the second medical mission to Croix Fer, and we can’t wait to be reunited with our twin parish.
Since the first trip to Haiti, St. Anthony of Padua has seen many changes, thanks to the gracious support of the parish community of St. Alphonsus Liguori. The front of the church has undergone quite the facelift including new paint, new trim, new ironwork, a front courtyard with gate, a garden, and a stone wall. St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School now consists of one nearly complete building, lacking just windows and doors, and one building that is still in progress. The parish families and Croix Fer villagers will continue to receive more Gift of Water filtration systems funded by St. Alphonsus. In addition, parishioner gifts have also helped install a new generator since the first trip, as well as a small structure to protect it from the weather. This has proven to be very helpful not only to the parishioners who no longer lose electricity during Mass, but also to the second medical mission team as they made use of medical equipment during clinics.
As of this past spring, the medical mission team of eleven parishioners and volunteers traveled back to our twin parish in Croix Fer. The team included doctors, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, three lay assistants, as well as eight translators. Medical professionals Maribeth McCurren, Rebecca Pettit, Angi Gunkel, Craig Veirs, Dr. Michelle Howenstine, Dr. Mary Ciccarelli, Dr. Raphael Villavicencio, Dr. Erin Phipps, and assistants Maggie McCurren, Mark Whitlock, and Donna Burgard traveled and served for a full six days. Early in the morning just after breakfast, the team would open medical clinics which would run the entire day long.
For the first time, the team was able to set up a medical clinic within St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School, rather than just the church. This enabled them to give complete physicals to every student of St. Anthony, as well as every student of St. Theresa. The team provided preventive services including dental varnish, antiparasite treatments, physical exams and other testing. In addition to the school, the team also provided four days of clinic in the church building, serving hundreds of parishioners and villagers. “The needs are great, there were so many people with untreated high blood pressure who we started on treatment. We treated many with anemia and malnutrition. This trip we worked to provide more visual patient education handouts on common issues like dehydration, high blood pressure, malaria, hookworms, etc,” explained Dr. Mary Ciccarelli. Between the school and parish, the medical mission team kept busy during their trip, seeing more than a thousand visitors whose ages ranged from just one month to well into their nineties, some who had been waiting outside since the early morning.
“The team is looking forward to a return trip to take additional steps in impacting the health of our fellow brethren,” says Ciccarelli. In the meantime, we are blessed to be able to welcome Fr. Nova back to St. Alphonsus and hear all about our brothers and sisters in Croix Fer at our twin parish, St. Anthony of Padua.
View a photo gallery of images from the previous mission trip
Learn more about our Haiti Twin Parish Ministry