The parish of Saint Francis Xavier is situated in a very rural region of the diocese of San Ignacio de Velasco in the tropical eastern part of Bolivia. The people here live mainly by traditional subsistence farming, the region is largely undeveloped and they are very poor.
Juancito is one of the outstations belonging to the parish. It is a community of a little under 500 souls and only accessible on unmade roads. Juancito is also the centre to which, on feast days, the other Catholic faithful come from the surrounding smaller settlements.
Until recently there was only a very old chapel here, already far too small for the number of worshippers. It was in an extremely derelict condition and also had very little ventilation, so that it was suffocatingly hot inside. Over time it had also become a shelter for bats, which were very difficult to get rid of. And finally, it was badly sited and not easy to get to. What they needed was a considerably larger chapel on a site that was also more easily accessible.
The local faithful play a very active part in the life of the Church and practise their faith ardently. They have sacrificed their own time and money for this dream of having a „proper“ church and have gathered local building materials such as wood and mud and invested all their skills and hard work. But their financial resources were still not enough and so, thanks to the 13,800 Euros given by our supporters, we were able to help them finally fulfil their dream. So now there is great rejoicing in Juancito! Our heartfelt thanks to all of you for your generosity!
