SALTILLO MISSION ADDS CHAPEL, AND MORE

NEW CHAPEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

                                     
                                       


SALTILLO MISSION ADDS CHAPEL, DORMITORY, AND CONVENT, CONTINUING WORK OF FR. QUINN

BY:  Msgr. Michael Flannery
Taken from Mississippi Catholic, August 7, 2015

     SALTILLO, MEXICO--The good work begun by Father Patrick Quinn in Saltillo, still continues to bear fruit.  The most recent project is the building of a new church within the City of Saltillo, which will be named Divine Mercy.  This will bring the total number of churches within the city under the responsibility of San Miguel Mission to eight.  The mission is also responsible for 25 mountain villages, some of which are six hours away from Saltillo.

     The new project is about two miles form San Miguel the Archangel which is presently the center of the mission.  Within the confines of that same campus there are plans to build a home for unwed mothers and a dormitory-style building to provide housing for college students coming from the mountain villages who cannot afford to pay the housing costs during their college years.  Finally, there will be a convent on the campus where the Divine Mercy Sisters, a newly founded religious order, will supervise the operation of the campus and its ministries.

     On Dec. 1, 2014, Bishop Joseph Kopacz joined Bishop Raul Vera Lopez, Bishop of Saltillo, in blessing the cornerstone of the Divine Mercy Church.  The ceremony was attended by about 300 people.

                                          Father David with Bishop Kopacz
                                            and Msgr. Flannery in Mexico

Saltillo Bishop Raul Vera Lopez

     The Saltillo Mission was initially begun in response to an appeal made by Blessed Pope Paul VI to the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1967,  to consider adopting a mission in Latin America.  At the time the ratio between priests and people in Latin America was one priest for every 10,000 baptized Catholics and the ratio in the United States was one priest for every 1,000 Catholics.  Then Bishop Joseph Brunini, of happy memory, responded positively to the challenge.

     Father Murray Clayton, a priest from Shreveport, La., who was  involved with an orphanage in Saltillo, suggested that the diocese consider going there.  Saltillo is 200 miles south of the border at Laredo, Mexico.  Father Patrick Quinn volunteered to be the first pastor of the mission.  Father Quinn spent three months learning Spanish at Laredo before he moved to Saltillo and became pastor of one of the poorest parishes in the diocese, Perpetual Help (Perpetual Socorro), in 1969.

"THE MAN"

     Father Quinn remained the pastor of Perpetual Help Church until the time of his death on Jan. 7, 1997. During that 40-year administration, the parish had grown and several parishes were split off from it. The city of Saltillo grew from 200,000 to 709,000.  The first group of Catholic youth to visit the mission was from Pascagoula Our Lady of Victory Church Parish in 1969.  It became a very popular retreat for the youth of Mississippi and Father Quinn built a dormitory to house up to 100 youth at a given time.  It is estimated that over the 40 years more than 40,000 people from Mississippi went to the mission and for many of those youth it was a life changing experience.

     The situation in Mexico changed to the point where  the safety of the youth could not be guaranteed and  the state did not recommend sending young people there.  Shortly after Father Quinn's death, a decision was made to move the center of the mission from Perpetual Help to San Miguel, and Msgr. Michael Thornton was appointed pastor.  Presently, Fathers David Martinez and Elevio Casarubias staff the mission and the good work begun by Father Quinn continues.

Padre Elevio and Padre David

     Because of the shortage of priests in Mississippi, we find it impossible to send priests to the mission. However, the shortage of priests in Latin America has changed to the point where we are looking to Mexico for seminarians and we are blessed to have a number of priests from Mexico working in our midst.

     "We cast our bread on the water and it is returned to us."
                    (Msgr. Flannery is pastor of Madison St. Francis Parish)

Msgr. Flannery served with Father Quinn in Saltillo from 1971-1974.
(photos added)

OH, GOOD MAN! The Legacy of Patrick Quinn

"OH, GOOD MAN",  a book about Father Patrick Quinn, Pastor of the Mexican Saltillo Mission in Saltillo, Coah., Mexico, by Jesus "Chuy" Salas Cortes, is now on sale in the United States. 

     Chuy brought the book to America for Presentation and book signing on July 25, 2015, in Biloxi, Mississippi.

     The books can now be purchased at the following locations:

1.   Annunciation Catholic Church book store, Kiln, Mississippi.

2.    Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Laurel, Mississippi.

3.     Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

4.     Fatima Catholic Church, Biloxi, Mississippi.

5.      Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Church, Laplace, La. 

6.      St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church,  Madison, Mississippi.

and through the mail at email erubielsando@hotmail.com .

     The book is bilingual with English in front, then lots of pictures of the much-loved priest, then the Spanish version.

     

      Father Quinn was born in Ireland on June 25, 1930,  ordained a priest in Ireland,  then came to the United States, Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi, then volunteered to open a Mission in Saltillo, Mexico.  He arrived in January 1969, then became Pastor of  Perpetuo Socorro Catholic Church, on Abasolo Street, and also other churches in the City of Saltillo, as well as a large number of  rancho churches scattered throughout the mountains, near and far from the City.

     Many are still awed by the fact that he could take care of such as large and   vast parish.

     Doing great work there for 28 years, he passed away unexpectedly, on January 9, 1997.

     During his ministry he touched many thousands of lives.  He loved them and they loved him.  He is sorely missed in Mexico, the United States, Ireland, and around the world.  

     The book is a chance for those who knew him to remember the life and works of a great man, and for those who did not know, to become aware of how amazing this great man was.  

     Father Benny Piovan,  former Pastor of the Saltillo Mission, began the movement to have Padre Quinn canonized a Saint by the Catholic  Church.  Father Benny, himself, passed away while working at the Mission doing great work for his parishioners.

     The Mission started by Padre Quinn is still going strong, still doing great work started by him,  and now located at San Miguel A. Catholic Church, Saltillo, where it moved after the death of  Padre Quinn.

     BRAVO PADRE QUINN................................

His mission is on Facebook at:  Saltillo Mission San Miguel

COMING TO AMERICA!!!!

     Members of the Perpetuo Socorro Catholic Church choir in Saltillo,  Mexico are planning a trip to Biloxi,  Mississippi  to remember in concert a charismatic and lovable Irish priest named Padre Patrick Quinn, who served as their Pastor for 28 years, and as a way to thank those from Mississippi, Louisiana as well as other parishes around the United States who often visited  and supported the Mission over the years since the Mission was started by Father Quinn in 1969.   The choir has even written songs about this legend of a man.  Father Quinn was born in Ireland on June 25, 1930,  spent time in Mississippi after being ordained a priest, and took up missionary work in Saltillo, Mexico, in January, 1969, where he stayed until his death in January, 1997.

       A mexican author, Jesus "Chuy" Salas Cortez has penned a book about the famous beloved Pastor, and plans to open a book tour at the same event.   This is the english edition.  The spanish version was launched last year.  The book includes many photos along with the history of  the life and times of this great man.  Fr. Quinn's amazing  accomplishments are brought to life with this first book written about the saintly Father Quinn.  He was simply a legend in his own time.  He was loved and still missed by thousands of people whose lives he touched. 

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK:

OH, GOOD MAN

by

Jesus Salas Cortes

For Benjamin Piovan,

with great affection.

PREFACE

      Sometimes, when you least expect it, life sends you a gift. That’s what happened to me when I received this story about Father Quinn. Like most people from Saltillo, I had heard of the Irish priest who was at the Church of Perpetuo Socorro, the priest who took food and clothing to people who lived in rural areas, but now I truly regret never meeting him. I didn’t know Chuy Salas, the author of the book that tells the story of the life and work of this missionary priest, either.

     
     A few weeks ago I received a phone call, the announcement of the gift that life was sending to me: the opportunity to be in close contact with the life and work of Father Quinn, by intercession of Chuy Salas Cortes. It was the latter who was calling to
ask me to help him with the correction of style of his book, since a friend of his, Miguel Sanchez Maldonado, had recommended that Chuy contact me for this task. I will never be able to thank Chuy enough for taking his friend’s advice.

     When I found out about the type of book I was dealing with, I thought it would be about a priest that was well-loved in his parish, one of many in our city; and only that. As I read the text I realized how wrong I was. The hero of the story that Chuy tells is far from being a common priest. He was a man who performed his ministry with total dedication, a revived example of Christ on Earth.

     According to Catholic doctrine, there are three main functions of priests, the men who are consecrated into the ministry of service to the Church: preaching, administering sacraments, and pastoral government. Some theologians say that preaching is the essential work of a priest, that a priest is the herald of God’s word.

     Others point out that the aspect of worship is predominant. Yet others argue that
guiding the faithful is the most important issue.

     According to Jean Galot, priests are present to serve the community, and guiding at same community is a service offered in love: “Christ guides His flock through His Word and guarantees the truth of his teachings through the supreme testimony of giving
of Himself.”  That’s what Father Quinn was: a living testimony of the teachings of Jesus, who also gave his life for his brothers.

     As you read these pages, those of you who had the blessing of knowing him will remember the genius and the wit of this priest. Those who were not so lucky will discover the wonderful man in this Irish priest, a man who served thousands of people
from rural and urban Saltillo with joy, love and passion, and who touched the lives of many with his example.
    
      I know that writing this book was an act of reverence and love inspired by Patrick Quinn. The book is without doubt a heartfelt tribute to the unforgettable Irishman who came to Saltillo one good day to fulfill a mission and never left because
he wanted to stay with us forever.

                                         Odila Fuentes Aguirre
             Saltillo, Coahuila de Zaragoza, October, 2014

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Details of  the book sales will be announced at the Fatima event. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Saltillo Mission San Miguel.  The Mission is still going strong. 

The Mission is on Facebook at Saltillo Mission San Miguel.