Many hearts, many hands
Faith community brings hope to the underserved
Father Jim Gaynor, C.PP.S, currently serves as parochial vicar for the St. Gaspar family of parishes in Dayton, Ohio, but this home is thousands of miles and a wide gulf of cultural difference from where he’s devoted much of his life ministering to the faithful.
Father Jim, who is more often known as Padre Santiago, spent many years in South America, supporting communities in need. After 34 years of ministry in Peru, as well as time in Guatemala and Chile, he recently joined a group for his first trip to El Salvador. “I felt so much at home,” he says. “It wasn’t like really going to the mission for the first time, almost like going back and feeling that’s where I belong.”
The group went to assist Father John Ostrowski, a member of the Diocese of Cleveland, who serves as the pastor of Saint Peter the Apostle Church in Teotepeque, El Salvador, a vast parish comprising 23 villages. It’s a lot of territory to cover, and Fr. Jim was happy to lend a hand in celebrating Mass and the sacraments, sharing prayer, and visiting the school.
Gerry Jira, also from Cleveland, organized the trip. Gerry’s involvement with missions began in 2007 when he participated as a pharmacy technician in a medical mission. He remembers the long lines of people, some 350 to 400 each day, patiently waiting under tents in the heat for medical care. He filled prescriptions as doctors and nurses provided treatment. Despite the hard work, Gerry was touched by the gratitude and resilience of the people. This experience sparked a long-term commitment to mission work in El Salvador.
The group also included members of Fr. Jim’s parishes in Dayton, Tom Sorna and Susan McElroy. Tom says, “It was kind of a cultural shock to see the poverty and to see the devotion that they have to the faith.”
One moment that stood out for Tom was experiencing the Sign of Peace during Mass. “It was a small place, and people were lined up against the walls all the way around. There was an old man I had noticed behind me, kind of bedraggled, and I was uncomfortable with this shabby-looking guy.
“At the Sign of Peace, I turned around and offered my hand. I said peace to him, and his eyes lit up and he grabbed my hand with two hands, and he said to me in Spanish, ‘Peace be with you.’ It was a revelation.
“It was a real genuine sign of peace to me from a guy that I didn’t think much of at all. It made me look at my preconceived notions about the people there and it changed my mind. I saw Christ in this guy, in this place.”
One project the team assisted with was building a home for Leyla, a young girl with medical conditions that require her to live in a clean environment, unlike the typical homes in El Salvador, which are often small and lack basic amenities. Tom’s company, Cascade Corporation, stepped in to help build a suitable house for Leyla’s family, providing her with a drop ceiling, fans, and proper wiring to create a livable space. Tom says, “It’s amazing what happens once people know the needs — there’s some very generous and giving people in this world who want to help.”
Father Jim and the other missionaries draw inspiration from Óscar Romero, the former Archbishop of San Salvador, who was martyred in 1980 for speaking out against government violence and advocating for the poor. The group took the opportunity to visit Romero’s tomb during their trip.
Father Jim encourages others to join a mission trip. One needn’t be a doctor or build houses to make a difference. “Taking the word of God to people who can’t travel back and forth to church and being available to them is also very important and very rewarding,” he says.