SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY! St. Francis de Sales students throw birthday party for the Blessed Mother ▪ SEE PAGE 11
SEPTEMBER 26, 2023
texas catholic herald 1
IT’S FESTIVAL TIME!
Join in the fun as parishes all around are hosting festivals, bazaars ▪ SEE PAGES 18 - 19
Proclaiming the Good News to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston since 1964
IN MISSION
VOL. 60, NO. 7
¡VIVA LA VIRGEN!
Serving the Church in Guatemala
Father Joseph Perez reflects on 50-plus years of priestly mission
BY JO ANN ZUÑIGA Texas Catholic Herald HOUSTON — Father Joseph Perez, a Houston native, left the city in 1971 as a fresh-faced, newly ordained young diocesan priest for mission work in Guatemala, helping the poor build better lives. He followed a line of Houston priests and religious sisters working there as well. But now 81 years old and still with a full head of dark hair only slightly peppered with gray, Father Perez is the last remaining Houston Archdiocesan PHOTO BY JAMES RAMOS/HERALD
See GUATEMALA, page 5
Venezuelan Catholics carry a statue of Our Lady of Coromoto, the patroness of Venezuela, during a special Mass at St. Laurence Catholic Church in Sugar Land on Sept. 9 honoring Our Lady of Coromoto, with at least 800 Venezuelan Catholics from the region. SEE MORE ON PAGE 3.
VOCATIONS
Nearly 40 priests, religious to celebrate Jubilee anniversaries
WORLD YOUTH DAY
WYD pilgrims reunite to remember Lisbon’s ‘miracles’ BY JAMES RAMOS Texas Catholic Herald HOUSTON — In an effort to ensure the experience that young pilgrims had at World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon in August didn’t stay in Portugal, Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, hosted a reunion for some 40 pilgrims on Sept. 16 at St. Dominic Center in Houston. Across two sessions of reflection, prayer and discussion, as well as Mass and lunch, Bishop Dell’Oro encouraged the pilgrims to remember what happened in Lisbon at WYD. For Cecilia Dao, a pilgrim from Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church, it was challenging to return to her routine life after WYD. After two weeks on pilgrimage to Spain and Portugal, going back to work and her post-baccalaureate studies was an adjustment. Even so, “I cannot thank God enough for the graces and blessings that I’ve received from WYD,” she said. “It’s continuing
HOUSTON — With heavy responsibilities at times weighing on priests as pastors and vicars, they have turned to Father Phil “Skip” Negley, M.S., as spiritual director and retreat organizer for many of them. At the time, then-Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza selected Father Negley to be the first director for the Office of Ministry to Priests when it was founded in 1998. Now, the 77-year-old priest is officially retired from the office as of Sept. 1, but has been reassigned by his order, the Missionaries of La Salette, to a parish in the Diocese of Orlando starting Nov. 1. “The plan of retirement is sometimes as elusive or mysterious as the inspiration and invitation from the Holy See JUBILEE, page 4
THE FIRST WORD † 3
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COLUMNISTS † 12 - 13
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PHOTO BY JAMES RAMOS/HERALD
Auxilary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, leads a reflection session during a reunion of Galveston-Houston World Youth Day pilgrims at the St. Dominic Center in Houston on Sept. 16.
to be unpacked as I’m still continuing to process everything that happened in Lisbon and all the things that God is calling me to.” This journey of unpacking all that happened in Lisbon is exactly what
ESPAÑOL † 16
Bishop Dell’Oro hoped to help the pilgrims explore and deepen, especially as the time since those experiences in Lisbon continues to expand. See LISBON, page 6
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