Welcome to Brazil

WYD Rio is my fifth experience of this sort. In each of these, the pilgrims with whom I traveled have been hosted in the homes of local people for at least part of the time.  As a result of these stays, I have come to know the hospitality and generosity of Catholics and of Our Lord over and over. San Jose Dos Campos is no different. 

With promises of missing luggage to be delivered tomorrow, our group mounted a lovely, spacious, air conditioned bus. Leo, our guide from the travel company, joined us as well to translate and assure our safe arrival at our host parish. 

Leo is a German by birth and a natural guide. He offered a brief socio-economic history of Brazil and the city in which we are currently staying, and assured the young pilgrims that the young men and women of this country would be very excited to meet some Americans. Some interesting facts:

1) Brazil had an active slave trade until the 1880s. 

2)  Brazilians spend an astonishing amount of money as Disney Land each year, and four in five summer visitors to that site are Brazilian. 

3) Americans encouraged the aviation industry in this country as a way to stick it to the Pinko Commies during the Cold War. 

4) Brahman cattle appear to be the local breed of choice. 

The bus ride was nice, the hillside green, and the commentary helpful, but all of that quickly faded as we finally left the bus and were welcomed, quite literally, into the arms of our hosts at the Cathedral Parish. We were quickly ushered to a place to drop our bags, and then made a Rock Star entrance into the dining hall where locals and a group from California cheered and sang and danced. Then it was time to eat. Black beans and rice, chicken, some sort of steamed greens, and a lovely drink made of "lemon,sugar, and a little alcohol" we're the fare.  We ate ravenously. 

As the meal was winding down, the pastor of the parish asked the priests if we would care to go to his apartment for a shower and a nap. Few offers have ever made me so happy. A thoughtful deacon suggested that maybe our seminarian (Andrew Sullivan) would like to come too. The four of us eagerly handed the care of our flock over to the people of the parish, and we lit out.  

We have found many English speakers, though the parish priest is not among them.  Among the American priests, however, we are conversant in four languages besides English. Italian is the spoken tongue this afternoon. In that language we learned that the parish is the spiritual home to thirty thousand souls who are cared for by two priests and six deacons. For comparison's sake, that is the same population as our entire diocese. Thus we begin to see why Brazil needs world youth day. 

As it were, we are now all clean, shaved, and better rested. We go to eat again in about an hour. Until then, join us in thanking God for the generous people of St. Dismas Cathedral in San Jose Dos Campos.