Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ayaviri (Agenzia Fides) - The Prelature of Ayaviri is located in southern Peru. Along with the other Prelatures and Dioceses that were formed in this country during the late 50s, it celebrates its 50th anniversary, making it an occasion for a jubilee celebration. Bishop Kay Martin Schmalhausen has been the Bishop of Ayaviri for two years now. In an interview with Agenzia Fides, he explains the meaning and importance of this Jubilee.
Your Excellency, could you tell us a bit about the Prelature of Ayaviri?
The Prelature of Ayaviri, located in the southern part of the Peruvian Andes, is currently celebrating a Jubilee Year in honor of its 50th anniversary. It was formed through the Apostolic Letter “Ex illis Diocesibus,” of Pope Pius XII, on July 30, 1958, being separated from the Diocese of Puno, which at that time was a fairly large diocese. It currently includes the 3 provinces located towards the north of this region: Melgar, Carabaya, and Sandia. It has an extension of 32,000 sq. kilometers and has a population of 250,000 people, 95% of which are Catholics. It is a territory with a long-standing religious tradition and with faithful who are very simple and have a very profound faith, although they also live in great poverty. 85% of the population living in these three provinces that form a part of the Prelature, live somewhere between poverty and extreme poverty.
You are celebrating a Jubilee Year. What does this mean for your local Church?
A Jubilee Year is a year of grace. We want to thank God for all the many blessings, gifts, and favors that we have received from Him over the course of the last 50 years. We are also grateful for the fruits of the first evangelization of our land that we have inherited. We are also aware of the fact that the blessings are a call to a greater conversion. That is why this year includes the grace of indulgences, which is one of the many ways that can help convert us and bring us closer to the Lord. A Jubilee Year must also lead us to the mission and apostolate. In the context of the “Great Continental Mission,” launched in Aparecida, we are trying to promote parish missions in the Prelature. We want to reach all Catholic homes and create awareness among the communities of “the permanent mission.”
What kinds of activities are taking place over the course of the year?
Since the opening of the Jubilee Year, which took place on Palm Sunday with a Solemn Mass, we have organized various projects and activities in the Prelature. As far as projects are concerned, there are many great social needs. That is why we organized, at the beginning of this past March, the first parochial school that has 130 primary school students and that will be a pioneer experience in the area of education. We are establishing an assisted living center for the elderly, which in the near future will be a home for some of the most marginalized members of Ayaviri’s population, as there is a great lack of care for these members of our society. In the health field, we are trying to start a medical center. The infrastructures and medical care in our area is of very poor quality.
In the catechetical field, we are holding an exposition of a relic of the Holy Shroud, which is having great success as an instrument of evangelization. With its slides and pictures, that illustrate and offer information about the Holy Shroud’s history, the exposition will travel from parish to parish. There are also missions that will be held mainly in July and August. They will be an intense time for our parishes. That is why we hope to organize various missionary groups. The main celebration of the anniversary will take place on July 30. We hope that it will be an event of great ecclesiastical importance. In August, September, and October, we will organize encounters for the youth, families, and catechists. Both the youth and families form part of our main pastoral priorities. One of the fruits that we are hoping for from the Jubilee Year, although it will need more time to unfold, is that of the Missionary School or Institute. Pastoral Care in the rural areas is very different than in the cities. There are many parishes without priests. A solid formation is needed in the catechetical formation of our laity, our religion teachers, and the catechists themselves.
Is there a central theme for this year’s celebration?
The central theme of our year is “Sent to preach the Gospel.” I also was able to write a Pastoral Letter with the same theme, that we hope will serve as a guide in the coming years. As is evident, the theme is related to the missionary dimension of our Christian life and our life in the Church. We also want to recall that we are celebrating a year dedicated to the Apostle Saint Paul. We have also tried to focus on the pastoral importance of the Sacrament of Penance, the Eucharist, the importance of Sunday, the missions, charity, the service works within the parishes, and the presence of the Virgin Mary in our history. They are aspects that, along with others, we will work on together with our faithful. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 28/4/2008; righe 73, parole 887)
