Oblate Feast Day,

Trip Start Nov 21, 2008

Trip End Feb 18, 2009

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Map Options

Show trip route

Hide lines

Flag of Peru Lima, Peru, Utah, Peru
Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Good Day to All,
After checking my last entry there are a few corrections that are in order. I mentioned that yesterday being the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a National Holiday in Peru that it would be interesting to attend Mass at
the Cathedral. No such luck, there was no Mass at the Cathedral. Second correction, the banquet yesterday evening was not at the Oscar Romero Centerer, like I said in the blog, but rather at Jesus the Worker Industrial
School.
Yesterday after breakfast Kristine Vanderham and I jumped on one of those little vans and headed downtown to
visit the Cathedral and a few other touirist attractions. As I said above, the Cathedral was closed, but we noticed
a lot of activity in the square in from of the St. Rose of Lima Chapel. About five different marching bands were
warming up and preparing for the big parade. Several groups were donning the most elaborate costumes what seemed to be heavy and cumbersome headress of another time and place. The colors were very bright and the
music very lively. The beadwork that adorned all of these traditional outfits, from the smallest children to the
grandparents, was spectacular and depicted the beliefs and customs of the Peruvian people today and predating the Spanish conquest, somewhere around AD 1400. The remainder of our time downtown was spent visiting chapels and convents. The Church of St. Rose of Lima, ( I read somewhere that she was the first Saint
of the Americas. Next was Iglesia de Santo Domingo, one of Lima's most historic churches. The church contains
the tombs of Saint Rose and Saint Martin de Porres. An aside, Father Les Costello of Topront Maple Leaf
Stanley Cup fame (1948) and heart and soul of the infamous Flying Fathers hockey team had a tremendous
devotion to St. Martin de Porres. The night that Costy (Father Costello) spent in the bush in sub-zero wether,
after getting disoriented while cross-county skiing, and not all that sure that he was going to come our alive, he
told us, he prayed to St. Martin de Porres, in a style that only Costy could get away with: "If you want me to
keep working for the poor in Northern Ontario, get me the hell out of here", St Martin. End result, seven toes
were amputated. The Associated Press (AP) picked up the story the Flying Fathers became the guests on Naational TV shows in the states like "Real People" and the teams popularity, south of the Canadiam boarder
grew overnight.
The Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception was a here in Comas at Parroquia "Nuestra Senora
de La Paz". A packed church, about twenty Oblates, a couple of bishops, and many religious men and women
who have worked with the Oblates since the Congregation came to Comas over fifty years ago. "Jesus the
Worker" industrial school, founded by the Oblates in those early years was the place for a magnifient banquet
about three hundred people enjoyed the turkey dinner. Most of these have worked in the different ministries of
the congregation for the last half century. A Sister of Chrarity from Kingston, an RN who trained at St. Mary's
hospital in Montreal in the days when Dr.John Quinn, my father was practicing at St. Mary's. The event was a
meaningful way of recognizing, and exppressing gratitude to all the folks and who freely donated their time and
talent to the realization of the Oblate presence in Comas.
Tomorrow Kristine and I will fly to Cuzco, the Sacred Valley. This is at the heart of the once mighty Inca
empire. The magnetic city of Cuzco draws hundreds of thousands of tourists. And lying within an easy hopping
distance of the city is the country's biggest drawcard of all, the 'lost' city of the Incas, Machu Picchu, a lofty
Inca citadel perched high on an isolated mountaintop. We are boked in at a Dominican Convvent and due
back here in Lima next Monday. I just read that internet cafes are found are almost every corner, and we'll
try to keep up with short blogs while on this expedition, but we'll take it one day at a time.
So for now Adios,
Vaughan

Print this entry Lima hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry