Empowering Lay Leaders in Belize
By Rachel Amiri
Belizean Sr. Higinia Bol, SCN, always dreamed of returning to minister in the Toledo District of Belize after she joined the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (Kentucky).
“I’ve always felt a call to go back,” she said.
For much of the past decade, she has gotten her wish.
As associate spiritual formation director at St. Peter Claver Parish, the Jesuit parish in Punta Gorda, Sr. Higinia is a valued collaborator on the parish’s pastoral ministry team. She has brought sensitivity, creativity and commitment to her work forming lay catechists, who play an important role in the life of the large, diverse and geographically dispersed parish.
The Toledo District spans a vast area in southern Belize, encompassing more than 30 villages and their mission churches. The people of Toledo include indigenous Maya, Garifuna and East Indian peoples. Because the 32 village churches are separated by rough terrain and great distances, the three Jesuit priests currently ministering at the parish only visit each village church for Mass once every two months.
Meeting the daily pastoral needs of Catholics in these communities has long been tasked to lay leaders. Now instituted as catechists, a stable and permanent lay ministry established in canon law by Pope Francis, these men and women conduct communion services, preach homilies and guide parishioners through sacramental preparation.
“They are the ones who keep the church open for the community when the priest is not there,” said Sr. Higinia.
Recognizing the significance of the role catechists play in the daily life of the Jesuit-run parish, Pastor Matt Ruhl, SJ, and Sr. Higinia sensed an opportunity to deepen the formation of these leaders and to invite others to join them to serve the Church long into the future.
“We invite the catechists to listen to their call and ask, ‘Is it a call?’ Because any work that we do should come from deep within that desire,” she said.
Sister Higinia focuses in a particular way on inviting the women of the Toledo District to hear the Lord’s call to leadership through service.
Until the past few years, most catechists were men. “Women’s presence is predominant in the churches, however, they’re behind the scenes,” said Sr. Higinia.
The new catechist training program has brought forth women’s gifts in service of the parish and their local villages in ways that had not been seen before. While previously only the men would stand up to preach during the lay-led communion services, with encouragement and training, the women catechists have begun preaching as well. In the current cohort, there are equal numbers of men and women in catechist training.
“We will be different in our style, but we all have something to share about the word of God. They are called to share, to lead, to express their feelings,” she said.
The change has been positive.
“The churches are more stable. The women have become very vocal. I can see their self-confidence. I can see their inner strength coming forth,” she said. “That’s where I can see the movement of the spirit. It gives me great hope to see that there is a transformation in that mindset of male dominance.”
The lay catechist uses his or her gifts to share God’s word with God’s people. It is an effort rooted in an understanding of the Church as a community, the people of God.
Sister Higinia has brought her own gifts and Indigenous background to bear on this work, innovating and collaborating to form leaders for the local church, even when faced with cultural and linguistic challenges.
“Language has always been a barrier,” said Sr. Higinia.
While English is the official language of Belize, two different languages are spoken by indigenous Maya in the Toledo District: Ke’kchi and Mopan. Sr. Higinia, herself a Maya speaker, knew the importance of finding local leaders who could communicate with all the members of the parish in their own languages.
“Several members of our team are indigenous,” says Sr. Higinia. “They help train catechists, and they do it in their language, and that is key.”
The new training program, conducted through regional retreats and class sessions called Cursillo, is “more participatory,” said Sr. Higinia. Over two and a half days, they gathered as small groups in a local church, to pray, learn and share meals together.
“We wanted to get to know them and wanted them to get to know us,” she said.
The training of catechists is both spiritual and practical, combining lessons on prayer and discernment of God’s call with others on conflict resolution or the nuts and bolts of offering communion services.
“It’s grounded in prayer,” Sr. Higinia said. “Each time we come together, prayer is always part of the training, getting in touch with how Scripture is speaking to us, what it is saying.” The celebration of Mass – typically a rare experience for the residents of remote villages – is an important part of the program.
Jesuit priests have been “crucial” participants, she says, both in offering the sacraments and in demonstrating co-responsible ministry. Sr. Higinia believes that seeing men and women work together in ministry, as she and Fr. Ruhl, Fr. Sam Wilson, SJ, Fr. Aric Serrano, SJ, and other Jesuits do, helps shift the culture of the local churches away from culturally typical male domination. Together, they reflect a church of the people.
This collaboration has yielded good fruit for the parish.
The group of catechists in formation, now 25 men and women strong, looks forward to completing their program and being commissioned by the local bishop as instituted catechists in May.
“I keep working with them calling them forth. Encouraging them,” said Sr. Higinia.
“It will take a while, but we have started.”
Featured photo: Sr. Higinia Bol, SCN, shares a moment with women preparing lunch for the cursillo catechist training in the village of San Vicente.
