Padre Roberto Lacasse Celebrates Golden Jubilee

This past summer of 2009 Padre Roberto Lacasse came back to his Prince of Peace Parish for 3 months to visit his family and parish to celebrate his 50th anniversary of his ordination as an Oblate Priest. His parish and the Holy Cross Knights of Columbus, Council 12652 organized a celebration for this occasion. On Sunday, June 28th a mass was celebrated with Msgr. Marc Caron and Fr. Daniel Greenleaf as co-celebrants with Padre Roberto's family and friends in attendance at Holy Cross Church. A reception followed in the church hall. A display of photos of Padre's history in his ministry was on display. The Knights of Columbus Honor Guards escorted Msgr. Caron, Fr. Greenleaf and Padre Lacasse into the reception hall. Padre Lacasse's brother Paul made a toast in his honor. A buffet was prepared by the Holy Cross Knights of Columbus. Guitarist Derek Thibault provided background classical guitar music while dining. 7 ice cream cake desserts were provided by Cold Stone Creamery.

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OUR NEW NAME!

Since we are now several churches under one Prince of Peace Parish, we asked Padre Roberto if he would consider changing the name from Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) to Comedor Principe De Paz (Prince of Peace) soup kitchen. This would be more inclusive of everone involved. Padre Roberto agreed. On Monday, February 9th, 2009 Betty Turgeon, chairperson of the Social Justice and Peace, met with 35 members of our new parish and it was unanimously agreed upon for the new name. Any posts after this date will refer to the soup kitchen with its new name. Any posts prior will have the old name. We welcome everyone to give ideas, comments and sign up as a blog follower. Because of this the URL for access to the page may eventually change. I will try to give ample notice if this should happen.

Art Auction and Renovation Update

The first two photos show progress of the renovations done at the soup kitchen since our visit in August. The SK was broken into and vandalized, therefore the new metal gate was added to secure the property. The second photo shows progress on the second floor of the SK. Padre and the sisters hope to have rooms on the second floor for classes, studies and research space. Note also in the far left corner of this photo that that the courtyard has been paved with cement. Prior to this the courtyard was dirt.











On November 15th, 2008, Jason Hall, one of the 9 people from the Lewiston/Auburn area, who visited Padre Roberto and the soup kitchen in Cochabamba, held an art auction at Sts. Peter and Paul Basilica in Lewiston. The art was the work of the children from Pardre Roberto's parish. 52 paintings were auctioned and raised $3970.00. This money was sent back to the children to help them with their studies and the soup kitchen. Part of the money will also be used to make renovations to the roof of the former Jesuit Chapel that now operates as the soup kitchen.

Below left is a photo of Miky, one of the artists, with Jason and Padre Roberto. Below center is a painting of Padre Roberto done by Miky. To the right, Jason is holding a portrait of himself also done by Miky.

Padre Roberto is anxiously awaiting his visit to the Lewiston area and the Prince of Peace Parish this summer to celebrate his Jubilee. This will give him a chance to personally thank all those who are helping his parish and the Santa Cruz soup kitchen.

IN THE BEGINNING

The "Santa Cruz" Soup Kitchen is located in Cochabamba, Bolivia in South America. The Holy Cross Social Justice/Peace Commission and the Holy Cross Knights of Columbus Council 12652 undertook the fundraising to help with the start up of the “Santa Cruz” Soup Kitchen. The goal was to have a direct and ongoing relationship between San Eugenio de Mazenod Mission and Holy Cross Church. The partnership has since grown to include all of the Prince of Peace Parish in Lewiston, Maine.

The idea for the project originated with Father Robert Lacasse who is a missionary and pastor of San Eugenio de Mazenod Mission in Cochabamba, Bolivia. A Holy Cross parish native, Father Lacasse spent December 2005 at Holy Cross Rectory assisting Father Dan with parish masses. During his time at Holy Cross Father Lacasse made his wishes known regarding starting up a soup kitchen in his Cochabamba parish.

Cochabamba is a city of 800,000 people in southern Bolivia. Fr. Lacasse’s parish ministers to 30,000 people in an area 3 miles long by 1 ½ miles wide. The children are in greatest need, over 60% are undernourished. Father Lacasse says, “We would like to start a soup kitchen to give these children ONE hot meal a day. I expect 50 of the neediest children to benefit initially and to expand as resources become available.” And so it was, the "Santa Cruz" Soup Kitchen became a reality and was named after Holy Cross Church.

FUNDRAISING AND SUPPORT

The fundraising for "Santa Cruz" Soup Kithen started and continues mainly during the Lenten season. During this time frame members of Holy Cross and Holy Family Social Justice/Peace commissions and members of Holy Cross Knights of Columbus Council 12652 collect donations at the church doors after every weekend mass. Some of the monies donated to the annual "Rice Bowl" program are also made available for the soup kitchen.

Since our original appeal generous parishioners and friends of the soup kitchen have made anonymous donations throughout the year. This past Easter funds in the amount of $300 were collected and pooled by "Trinity Catholic School" children and donated towards this cause - children helping children.

To get the soup kitchen up and running $1,000 was needed and supplied to Father Lacasse in Spring of 2006 to purchase kitchen appliances, pots/pans, dishes, utensils, and other supplies. Once off the ground it was estimated that $200 per month would be needed to maintain Father Lacasse's soup kitchen. The number of children being provided with a daily hot meal has increased since the first meal was served. With the purchase of additional food and inflation the cost of operation has increased to $300 per month - $3,600 per year - and the cost continues to climb.

The money collected is processed through Holy Cross Church and monitored by members of the Social Justice/Peace and the KofC Council 12652. The Knights have a bank account designated specifically for the "Santa Cruz" Soup Kitchen from which a check is sent to Father Lacasse on a monthly basis.

If you would like to make a tax exempt donation to help Fr. Lacasse's children, you can do so by sending your donation to:

HOLY CROSS KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS COUNCIL 12652

ATTN: SANTA CRUZ SOUP KITCHEN

c/0 Holy Cross Church

P.O. Box 1040

Lewiston, ME 04240-1040

Checks should be made out to:

Holy Cross Knights of Columbus Council 12652.

Be sure to indicate SANTA CRUZ SOUP KITCHEN on check.

Indicate if letter and/or receipt is needed to confirm your donation.

COCHABAMBA;Where is it you might ask?

(click on the map for a larger view)

Bolivia is sort of in the center toward the west side of South America, west of Brazil. It is a little less than three times the size of Montana. Cochabamba is located just southeast of La Paz. Bolivia has tall mountains, the Andes, and flat plains. It is one of the poorest countries in South America. They grow soybeans, rice, potatoes, corn, coffee, cotton, and cocoa. Bolivia has some mining and natural gas industry. Their seasons are the opposite of ours here in the U.S. as they are south of the equator. When we have summer, they have winter. The primary language is Spanish; 95% of Bolivians are Roman Catholic.