The apostolic prelature of Corocoro is situated high up in the Andes. Life is hard here, and the people live widely scattered, often in small settlements. Only a handful of the villages/small towns have a population of over 10,000. Around 80% of the 290,000 people in the prelature are now living in extreme poverty, and rural exodus is a real problem as many people move away into the urban centres of the country, mostly ending up stuck in poverty in the urban slums. At the same time, families are being torn apart as a result.
All this represents an immense challenge for the Church. The 27 parishes of the prelature have only 17 priests to minister to them, with eachs parishes containing anything up to 80 smaller settlements, many of which are remote and inaccessible. Hence most of these places can be visited only once or twice a year at best by the priest. There is also a shortage of catechists who can help prepare the people for baptism and for reception of the other sacraments.
Bishop Pascual Limachi Ortiz, who himself belongs to the indigenous Aymara people, who make up the majority of the population of the prelature, wants to do something to change all this, and above all by devoting himself to the youth apostolate. For of course, young people are the future of the Church. And so, in 2021, with the help of ACN, he set up a training programme which aims to form young people in the faith and promote vocations. It has been a tremendous success, and so now he wants to extend and expand this initiative.
“At present we see the need to give greater continuity to this work with young people, who are the most neglected group in our society. We are also very interested to see how youth work can also be taken up in those parishes and areas where we have not hitherto been present.” (Bishop Pascual Limachi Ortiz)
The programme comprises course units on various topics, such as the Holy Scriptures, the Sacraments, Christian values and morality. They will also be organizing retreat days and youth meetings. For this they need not only the course materials, but also to be able to cover the cost of travel, board and lodging for those involved.
Donate today: Your contribution, no matter how big or small, will go a long way in helping to provide course materials, travel, board, and lodging for young people participating in the program.
By donating, you can make a meaningful difference in the lives of these communities.