Last week Gabriel and I were blessed to have a short rest
from our mission post. Though not at all extravagant by any means, we took the
7 hour drive to the bustling city of Chiclayo, the former mission field of
Bishop Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leon XIV.
Though we could not stay long due to the cost of being away
from our mission post we were delighted to be in what we call civilization.
Where there are paved roads, and almost 1st world comforts.
Our Idea was to go to daily mass at the cathedral of Santa
Maria that once was the home to Pope Leon, and make our way to the site of a
Eucharistic Miracle that has yet to be confirmed, and to visit a small out of
the way town called Zana which is the home to an Augustine Convent
which was built in 1569 as well as two other church ruins, one in which is
where the former tomb of Saint Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo who was
the Bishop of Lima. Saint Toribio died while he was at the Augustine Convent,
and he is who confirmed Saint Rosa de Lima and Saint Martin de Porres. Some of
his bones still remain in Zana, however, most have been taken to Lima and
placed in a tomb there.
I recently read a report that Officials in Peru are now
hoping that with Pope Leon XIV as the head of the Church that these sites will
become an official pilgrimage that the faithful from all over the world will
desire to make. They are also hoping that now with the ties that Pope
Leon has with Peru because of his many years serving in Peru will speed up the
process of the approval of the Eucharistic Miracle that took place in the town
of Eten during the 17th century. The dates of these miracles
hold an even greater place in my heart as one took place on June 2 solemn
celebration of Corpus Christi, and the other on July 22, the feast
day of Santa Maria Magdalena.
Here is a link to miracles if you want to know more about
them.
Will Leo XIV soon approve the Eucharistic miracle of Eten?
https://aleteia.org/.../will-leo-xiv-soon-approve-the.../
and
https://www.aciprensa.com/.../reconstruyen-digitalmente...
But I think the best part of our little trip is when we noticed the ice cream vendors selling Pope Leon XIV popsicles. I mean just how many popes have had an ice cream made of them!!!!!!
I would like to extend an offer to anyone who would like to
make this pilgrimage, we would be happy to help you make this a reality. We are
willing to travel with you to these sites, or we can just help coordinate the
arrangements for you.
