Photo provided by Kim KnoxGREENSBORO — The El Salvador Ministry of the Franciscan Center and St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, under the leadership of Father Louis Canino, OFM, recently hosted three Salvadoran scholarship students during a four-day visit to Greensboro.
Iris Canenguez, Roberto Arriaga and Alex Rivas, along with their adult program director, Nuria Monico, are participating in the scholarship program and community development work that the Franciscan Ministries have supported in poor rural areas since it began this outreach program in 1999. This was the first time the students had ever left El Salvador, and they were very excited by many things that we take for granted. Easy access to safe drinking water, modern bathrooms, and a cold early morning frost were all new and thrilling experiences.
One of the highlights of the Salvadoran students’ trip was a visit to Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville and the warm hospitality they received from the staff, the teachers and students. During their visit, the group spoke to two religion classes and a Spanish language and culture class. They also enjoyed participating in a choral music class.
The Salvadoran students were very happy to share their joy over the recent canonization of St. Oscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador who was killed by a military assassin while saying Mass in 1980.
The students and faculty were very deeply touched by the stories of the three Salvadoran students.
The Franciscan Ministries hope to sponsor more students and provide more educational opportunities through this program.
For details, contact Ann Bauer at St. Francis Springs Prayer Center at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 336-573-3751.
— Joe Bauer, Albamaria Rivera and Edgardo Gonzales, Special to the Catholic News Herald
Joe Bauer serves at the St. Francis Springs Prayer Center. Bishop McGuinness High School seniors Albamaria Rivera and Edgardo Gonzales served as hosts and translators to the visiting students. Rivera is from Nicaragua and Gonzales was born in El Salvador and holds dual American and El Salvadoran citizenship.
GREENSBORO — The Dec. 9 snow storm may have cancelled classes at Our Lady of Grace Catholic School through Dec.12 but, that didn't stop students from celebrating events that took place on those exact dates nearly 500 years ago in North America.
On Friday, Dec. 14, five middle school students recreated the story of St. Juan Diego's miraculous encounters with Our Lady of Guadalupe on Tepeyac Hill in present-day Mexico from Dec. 9 to Dec. 12, 1531. Students from pre-Kindergarten to eighth grade watched the performance in the school's gym.
The reenactment told the story of a humble indigenous man - one of the earliest Aztec converts to Christianity - who was met by Mary, the mother of Jesus, as he walked to mass early one winter morning.
Mary appeared to Juan Diego in the dress of a native Aztec princess and spoke in his native language but appeared as a mestiza, a half European and half Native woman.
She announced to Juan Diego that she was the mother of the one and only true God and asked that he tell the bishop, a Spanish Franciscan missionary, to build a chapel in her name where she could offer love, compassion, and protection to all those who need it.
The humble man tries unsuccessfully to relay the message to the bishop and asks Mary to send someone more important and respected but she insists that he alone is chosen to relay her wishes. When Juan Diego returns to the bishop a few days later with the miraculous Castilian roses only grown in Spain and an image of a Mary on his tilma (cloak), the bishop believes him and begs forgiveness.
The appearance of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in December 1531, led to the conversion of millions of natives, who immediately embraced Christianity and stopped their practice of human sacrifice. Today, the tilma with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, can be seen in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City and is among the most visited holy sites in the World.
She is regarded as the Patroness of the Americas due to her influence on the successful adoption of Christianity by millions of Natives in the Americas and the unification between the New and Old World.
Pre-Kindergarten to fourth grade students made paper tilmas with the help of their big buddes (5th - 8th grade students) in preparation for the feast days of St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The students wore them during the reenactment.
— Provided by Paola Scilinguo-Mendoza and Normalinda Hammond
