Inside the Core Hosts Talk About Catholic Charities Working at the Border

Inside the Core we are very excited about our last special event of the academic year – a talk by Mary Peters, family faith coordinator at Immaculate Conception Church, St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish, in Montclair, about the work she and youth from this and other parishes have been sharing with Sister Norma Pimental of Catholic Charities in Texas. Mary will be giving a presentation on one of these trips to the border for Core faculty and students and the entire Seton Hall community at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1, in the Core Center (Mooney Hall, room 339) and also via Teams.

The group, in a ministry called Helping Hands, went to the border and worked with Sister Norma last summer as well as this spring, and they plan to go again this July. As Mary has shared with me, it has been an incredible experience working with Sister Norma, whom Pope Francis has said he loves for her important work among refugees. Sister Norma spoke at Seton Hall several years ago, and she also spoke at Immaculate Conception Church, St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish last year, and it was a powerful experience for all who attended. This happens to be my parish, and I am very grateful for its powerful witness to the Catholic Church’s commitment to social justice shown to those so very much in need. As Jesus said in Matthew 25, "I was a stranger, and you welcomed me." It is this very work that Sister Norma has been doing at the border, and Mary Peters, Father Benny Prado, pastor of the church, and the young people from this and other parishes, are entering into it fully and joyfully.

Sister Norma heads Catholic Charities, and she describes the ministry at the border in her own words on her website:

It is my pleasure to share with you Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley is committed to make the best effort in responding to the needs of people in our community. The social mission of the Church to help those in need is clearly advanced through services carried out by all who participate with Catholic Charities.

This comprehensive effort includes the staff of Catholic Charities who believe in what they do and are dedicated to serving those in need, the volunteers who give of their time to care for others, the partner agencies who join in the effort by networking together in responding to a need in our community, the funders who trust in the outcomes we deliver, and to all who in some way have supported the efforts of Catholic Charities in the Rio Grande Valley.

While we are very proud of our accomplishments, there remains much work to be done. I pray to our loving God that He bestows on us all the grace we need to continue carrying out the social mission of the Church with compassion and respect. Thank you again for being a part of Catholic Charities.

The trip last summer that Immaculate Conception Church, St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish and others from the Archdiocese of Newark have engaged in was written about in an article in Jersey Catholic, "Teens Provide Aid to Migrants." The article shows the enormous impact joining in this social ministry of the Catholic Church at the border has on the young people who participated. Mary Peters is passionate about bringing this type of experience to youth at our parish. It is part of her own faith and professional journey.

As a lifelong educator, Mary Peters has extended her teaching beyond the traditional classrooms to engage with communities on the Texas-Mexico border. In February 2023, she made a commitment with Father Benny Prado to raise awareness about border issues within their church community. Guided by Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, Mary has led numerous missions to McAllen, Texas where she witnessed the restoration of human dignity across the borders. Her position of faith formation coordinator at Immaculate Conception Church, St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish allows her to continue her ministry of advocacy for those in need as she works to inculcate those values in the young people she is now leading

Father Benny Prado was born in Nicaragua and came to the US in 1988, living in the Bronx. He attended St. John’s University in Jamaica, Queens, where he earned a B.A. in Philosophy and Theology. He then entered Immaculate Conception Seminary earning an M. Div. and M.A. in Theology and was ordained a priest on May 29, 2004. His first assignment was at the Parish of the Resurrection in Jersey City, followed by St. Peter and St. Paul in Hoboken from 2005 to 2012, where I first met Father Benny as that was my parish at the time, and the Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River from 2012 to 2017. Faher Benny has said about this important work with refugees, as quoted in the article in Jersey Catholic, "It is in my heart, it is in my life." The work he, Mary, and the young people are doing at the border, assisting Catholic Charities, is an example of caring for those "on the peripheries," so central to the message of Pope Francis.

We are thrilled to host this important event as we wrap up the semester’s work in the Core of looking at questions of values, meaning, good and evil, and the heart of the Catholic Church’s social teaching. Click here for the Teams event link if you wish to join us remotely.

Categories: Campus Life, Faith and Service