In the Heart of the Church

The first Fazenda de Esperanza was opened 40 years ago in Guaratingueta in Brazil. Now, more than 140 Fazendas (Farms of Hope) are in 24 countries. And the first one to open in the United States will be in Corpus Christi!

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary, Pope Francis held a special audience for members and friends of Fazenda in Rome. The founders and presidents were present, and a small delegation from Corpus Christi went, too.

Cassiano Silva, responsible for the new Fazenda in Corpus Christi, said: “We are very grateful to God for this opportunity to be present at this jubilee of 40 years of Fazenda. Pope Francis received us for 45 minutes; he talked with us about our mission – to embrace the most vulnerable and that we can love them to the point that they can encounter Jesus. And he said that in the heart of the Church, we should feel very much at home.

“The pope's message strengthened in our hearts the desire to go ahead and encounter those suffering the most; here in Corpus Christi, our mission is just beginning; we are still trying to get to know people and get ready. But we want to go ahead with those most vulnerable so they can meet Christ. We want to be the instruments of God for the people and the families who suffer, who might suffer from addictions, depression, or spiritual difficulties, whatever their challenges might be. In that way, we can be light in the church, and we hope that we can bear fruit for God in this place, in this part of the Church.

“After the meeting with Pope Francis, we want to follow even more our mission. We feel the love and the care of Bishop Mulvey; we are also very grateful for that and for all the people who are present and help us.”

“The meeting with the pope in Rome was special because it was confirmation that the Holy Father directly recognizes the important need at the heart of the ministry of the Fazenda de Esperanza – the charism of hope,” said Chancellor Marc Cervantes. “It was nice to be together amongst Fazenda ministry leaders worldwide and extra special to represent the United States for the first time through the Diocese of Corpus Christi. Given the challenges of being a new ministry within our Diocese, being in the presence of and receiving a blessing from the Holy Father was a special gift for the Fazenda.”

Michele Johnston, Director of Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi, shares, “The most profound takeaway I experienced from our pilgrimage to Rome to convene with the Family of Hope was, without a doubt, communicating through the language of caritas (love in Latin). We were just a small group adding to the over 1,300 individuals on pilgrimage. The pilgrims were a diverse group of young, old and everywhere in between.

“There were too many beautiful experiences to name here, including the audience with Pope Francis that I will hold in my heart forever. However, our day at the International Mariapolis Center at Castel Gandolfo pierced my heart to the core. The auditorium was filled to the brim with pilgrims excitedly talking amongst themselves between program sessions. I sat near a group of pilgrims who spoke only Portuguese. We attempted to share our great joy about our experiences with stilted language and keywords, hoping the other would pick something up. At one point, as if on cue, we all stopped and gave one another knowing looks, held our hands to our hearts, and smiled. The language of love needed no words.”