One Faith, Many Cultures
By Fr. Aric Serrano, SJ
On February 10, Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, superior general of the Society of Jesus, presided at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist at St. Peter Claver Parish, in the Toledo District of southern Belize. His visit and presence were received with deep gratitude by the local Jesuit community and by the faithful of the parish. The parish was founded by the Jesuits in 1862 and serves a wide network of rural and Indigenous village churches.
The liturgy was marked by a prayerful expression of inculturation, highlighting the living faith of the Maya and Garifuna peoples. A Maya elder offered copal incense during the Mass, symbolizing the prayers of the people ascending to God. Copal is a tree resin and has deep cultural significance for the Maya people as a sign linking the physical world with the spiritual world.
The Garifuna community contributed to the liturgy through the use of traditional drums, whose rhythms served as a form of communal prayer. In Garifuna spirituality, the drum carries memory of ancestry, suffering, resilience and hope. Integrated into the Mass, its rhythm drew the assembly into deeper participation and expressed a faith embodied in sound and movement.
Together, the Maya elder incense and the Garifuna drums offered a powerful sign of the Church’s commitment to authentic inculturation—recognizing God at work within the culture.
The celebration reflected the Jesuit call to listen attentively, to accompany peoples in their concrete realities, and to discern God’s action within diverse histories and traditions.
Through this Eucharistic celebration, the Church in southern Belize bore witness to a faith that is both local and universal. The presence of the superior general underscored the unity of the Society of Jesus across cultures and continents and affirmed the importance of mission carried out in humility, closeness to the people and fidelity to the Gospel.
Father Aric Serrano, SJ, is a Jesuit of the USA Central and South Province. Born in Pecos, Texas, he was missioned to St. Peter Claver Parish in Punta Gorda, Belize after his ordination in 2023. This story originally appeared on the website of the Jesuit General Curia.
