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This year marks the 40th anniversary of the presence of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in the State of Pernambuco in Northeastern Brazil. On Saturday, January 17, the Oblates and their parishioners, past and present, began a week-long celebration of "Oblate Week" to commemorate the arrival of their missionaries.
In 1964, the former Central Province of the United States sent Nebraska-born Fr. Jim Kohmetscher, OMI, to open a missionary presence in the Archdiocese of Olinda-Recife. The Oblates had already been present for some decades in the southern part of Brazil through the auspices of the former Eastern Province.
In the early 60's, Blessed Pope John XXIII had challenged missionary communities to extend their focus to Latin America. The Central Province Oblates looked at sites in the states of Bahia, Pernambuco, and Rio Grande do Norte before deciding upon Pernambuco. Subsequently, Irish, Canadian, French and Belgian Oblates opened missions in other Brazilian States.
The first Oblate foundation was in the favela of Brasilia Teimosa, one of the poorest "suburbs" of the metropolitan Recife area. At the start, Brasilia Teimosa was a shanty town, "invaded" by the homeless, and where the poorest of the poor had set up simple homes, made of any material they could find. There were no streets nor means of sanitation...just the ingenuity of the people who were trying to find a place of shelter and honest work.
Gradually, the Oblates sent more missionaries. Fr. Ed Figueroa, OMI, who had gone to Sao Paulo to work with the Eastern Province Oblates, transferred north to work with Fr. Kohmetscher. With the help of the Oblates' community organization skills and the small ecclesial communities they founded, Brasilia Teimosa eventually began to overcome some of the obstacles that an often unfriendly and hostile government put in their way. Water, electricity, paved streets--some of the bare necessities for safe and healthy living--reached some parts of the favela. Eventually, in the mid-1980's, the Oblates handed Brasilia Teimosa over to the diocesan clergy. As good missionaries, they moved on to other needy areas. But the struggles of Brasilia Teimosa continue to this day.
Great inspiration and encouragement for the Oblates came from the late Dom Helder Camara, the Archbishop of Recife, who himself suffered from the ill will and even harassment of the military government that ruled Brazil for so many years. Dom Helder received death threats and numerous other obstacles in carrying out his own total dedication to the poor. Some of the American Oblates found themselves persecuted and even jailed and expelled because of their voices against injustice.
At one point in the early 80's, Dom Helder asked the Oblates to see what they might be able to do for the thousands of persons living on the streets of Recife. The street ministry of Fr. Larry Rosebaugh, OMI, is still remembered by many.
That street ministry eventually developed into a ministry with abandoned children. Fr. Ed Figueroa continues to be father to 50 or so youngsters who otherwise would have had nowhere else to go. Many of them are children with severe disabilities who are lovingly cared for at the "House of God and Mary."
The Oblates were able eventually to take over several other huge parishes in Recife and in the countryside. Brazilian young men began to inquire about joining the community. As some of the American missionaries returned to the United States, Brazilian-born Oblate priests and brothers took their place.
In 2003, after years of discussion and discernment, the Oblates of Sao Paulo, Recife, and Salvador joined their communities to become the new Province of Brazil.
Present U.S. Oblates serving in the Recife area: Fr. James Kohmetsher, OMI Fr. Edward Figueroa, OMI Fr. Bruce Heit, OMI Fr. Tony Rendon, OMI
Oblates who now minister in the U.S. after serving in Recife: Fr. Darrell Rupiper, OMI Fr. Lawrence Rosebaugh, OMI Fr. Ronald Harrer, OMI Fr. Gerald McGovern, OMI Brother Patrick McGee, OMI Fr. Roger Bergkamp, OMI Fr. Carl Kabat, OMI
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40 Years of Oblate Ministry in
Northeastern Brazil
