With an area of over 14,000 square miles (36,000 km²), the Apostolic Vicariate of El Petén covers more than a third of the total territory of Guatemala. Despite its vast size, it is thinly populated with only around 900,000 inhabitants. In this region, journeys are long and distances are measured not in miles or kilometers, but in hours, due to the appalling state of the roads. Some parishes here are larger than entire dioceses in other countries.
The overwhelming majority of the population manages to scrape a living from the land. Many families live in real poverty, lacking access to education or medical care. Furthermore, drugs, corruption, unemployment, and social inequalities make life exceptionally hard for the ordinary people.
A Pastoral Outreach of Encounter
Bishop Mario Fiandri, who has led the vicariate for almost 17 years, emphasizes that the heart of his mission lies in personal contact rather than administrative tasks. For him, the priority is to devote time to every individual, regardless of their condition or relationship with the Church.
“What really matters here, in our pastoral work in El Petén, is not the job titles or ideas, and we shouldn‘t be concerned above all about things like money, paper, material or other external activities. Instead the most important thing is visiting the people, real personal contacts, a pastoral outreach of encounter in which we devote time to people – the young and the elderly, to children and adults, the sick and healthy, the poor and abandoned, to those who are close to the Church but also to those who have wandered away from the Church and who criticise us”.
The Challenge of Remote Missions
To maintain this presence, the bishop visits various parishes an average of three times a week, often traveling for hours. Journeys to the most far-flung villages can take as long as 15 hours, requiring a powerful and sturdy vehicle to navigate the terrain.
However, the vehicle Bishop Fiandri currently uses is already 20 years old and frequently breaks down. To ensure he can continue reaching as many parishes as possible, he has requested help to purchase a sturdy all-terrain vehicle. In support of his tireless mission, we have promised him 18,000 Euros.
