Diocesan seminarians Matthew Waldman and Zack Goodchild spent the past summer working on their Spanish language skills as part of their formation for the priesthood.
Bishop Earl Fernandes has identified an urgent need for Spanish-speaking priests in the diocese to minister to the rapidly expanding Latino population in the diocese.
As National Vocation Awareness Week begins Nov. 3, Waldman and Goodchild shared their summer experiences in Brooklyn, New York, and outside of Lima, Peru, respectively.
Waldman and Goodchild are both in the Configuration stage of seminary, which is the third stage of formation that includes the study of theology and pastoral formation, at the Pontifical College Josephinum.
Matthew Waldman in Diocese of Brooklyn
I had the opportunity to spend eight weeks in the Diocese of Brooklyn at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Corona, New York (Queens) this past summer.
The parish is home to the largest Hispanic community in the Diocese of Brooklyn, averaging about 10,000 people each weekend during the year (except during the summer months when many native Spanish speakers travel back to their home countries and the attendance is cut in half to about 5,000 every weekend).
The parish has a pastor, three full-time parochial vicars and various other priests that come to assist throughout the year at 12 weekend Masses (two in English, 10 in Spanish; 3 for the Saturday Vigil and nine on Sunday).
There are two daily Masses (both in Spanish, one in the morning, one in the evening) and confessions are available Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 6 a.m. to noon. Confession was most popular on Sunday.
There are various devotions that take place throughout the week and a Perpetual Adoration Chapel.
I served Mass every day in Spanish (with the exception of my day off). I had the opportunity to serve as lector and made several announcements to the faithful in Spanish.
I attended various prayer groups, youth programs and also was able to visit the school to spend time with the Our Lady of Sorrows Academy students. The children mostly preferred to speak in English, but their parents spoke Spanish primarily.
It was a unique opportunity for me to participate in a Spanish Immersion program outside of the Diocese of Columbus. This was my second Spanish Immersion program during my time in seminary. The first was last summer (2023) when I participated in a local Spanish Immersion program here in the diocese.
The priests and I gathered for lunch Monday through Friday. I also had the opportunity to pray the Liturgy of the Hours with the pastor at least once a week.
I visited parishioners’ homes and tried to meet with a parishioner for a meal at least once a week.
My biggest role was as the coordinator of altar servers. Upon arrival at the parish, I was tasked with implementing a new scheduling system and new altar server training guidelines. The parish has over 150 active altar servers, so this was quite the task to undertake!
I was affectionately known as “Mateo,” which is ‘Matthew’ in Spanish. Many of the parishioners called me “padrecito,” which is a term of endearment. The literal translation is “little Father.”
It was an extremely difficult summer for various reasons, but I was able to get a lot of experience with the Hispanic community. I also was blessed to visit my family on Long Island during my day off.
I received 1:1 tutoring from a native Spanish speaker twice a week for a couple of hours. We mainly focused on improving my conversational Spanish skills.
Prior to going on this unique Spanish Immersion, I had taken four semesters of Spanish (in seminary) and did a local Spanish Immersion program here in Columbus.
I am definitely more comfortable speaking the language now. I made several mistakes (and still do!), but it is the best way to learn a language.
I would already consider myself bilingual, but I hope to further develop my Spanish skills so that I can be even more confident in the future.
I did have the opportunity to see Bishop Robert Brennan several times! We are both native New Yorkers, and he was the Bishop of Columbus when I first entered the seminary, so it was great to reconnect with him. He is doing well!
Bishop Brennan came to Our Lady of Sorrows multiple times during my time there to celebrate Holy Mass. I also was blessed with the opportunity to have dinner with him for my birthday at a nearby Brazilian restaurant. It was delicious, but more importantly, I was grateful that the bishop had taken time out of his busy schedule to celebrate my birthday. Father (William) Hahn and Father (Adam) Streitenberger of our diocese were also present for the occasion.
Some of the interesting experiences included:
– A 1.5-hour Eucharistic procession through the streets of Corona. We made a few stops at altars set up outside of parishioner’s homes.
– United weddings “Bodas Unidas” — 10 couples were married during one Mass.
– Attended the funeral, alongside Bishop Brennan and Father Manuel Rodríguez (pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows) for a young girl in her early teenage years who died in a horrific accident involving a New York City bus.
I have found that parish assignments are the most enjoyable as a seminarian summer assignment. You get a feel for what future ministry might be like and get to experience things that you can only experience in a parish and not in the seminary.
I most enjoyed getting to know the staff and some of the parishioners of Our Lady of Sorrows. It is difficult because you only have eight weeks to develop these relationships, but they often turn out to be some of the best. I still remain in contact with my Spanish tutor, the clergy and staff of the parish, as well as some parishioners.
The most moving experience was during my farewell celebration. Members of each of the parish groups took turns speaking (in Spanish, of course) about how I impacted their specific group or the parish in general. I had no idea that was going to happen and was very humbled by their words.
The most moving, however, was when the altar servers spoke. I couldn’t help but smile and feel a deep sense of gratitude to know how much they appreciated the changes that we implemented and my presence during the summer.
I then had the opportunity to address all of them in Spanish. I hadn’t prepared anything and don’t quite remember what I said, but thankfully everyone was able to understand me!
Zachary Goodchild in Peru
I spent 2 ½ months just south of Lima, Peru, on the Pacific Coast at an orphanage called Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II. It is a mission funded by the people of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The mission was started by a priest named Padre José Walijewski in the 1980s who had a desire to help the kids living in the streets of poor and rural Peru. Nowadays, there are eight families that consist of two “maestros” (adults/married couples) and about eight foster children each. The kids range from 7 to 18 years old. Many of them have families, but their living situation at home is rough due to poverty, drugs, abuse and/or crime.
Although many of these kids have families, I only met or heard of a couple good male influences in their lives. Part of my mission became trying to be a positive and loving male influence in the lives of these children.
Much of this was making time for the kids by taking interest in their lives. Many of the boys liked to play “fútbol” (soccer), and some liked to play guitar. Because I play guitar, we bonded over that. We spent many evenings after dinner just jamming on the guitar, playing everything from music for Mass to Christian contemporary to American Rock and Roll. I laughed so much singing/screaming “Born to be Wild” with a few of them one evening.
Other than this, I spent time under the wing of the priest there, Padre José Hirsch, who is from the Diocese of La Crosse. He is a true missionary and has a true fire for the Lord in him. He works so hard to help direct these kids toward normal lives.
The kids went to Padre José whenever they needed to talk. I learned a great deal from being with Padre José. I saw how he sacrificed his time, energy, comfort, and routines for the kids. He was always available to them. They were his priority, like a good father.
I visited the local seminary and met the seminarians of the Diocese of Lurin (the diocese where Casa Hogar is located). I met many of the priests in the diocese at gatherings. The priests and seminarians there do not receive financial help from the diocese, so they live much simpler lives. Their faith and witness amid poverty was eye-opening.
I spent a few weekends in an area called Pampapacta, a rural village, with a priest named Padre Miguel. He was the first priest to live in this village, and he had only been there two years when I arrived.
We taught the children in the town each Saturday small articles of the Catholic faith. I had never experienced a place where the faith was so new. We were teaching basic things about God to kids who were not baptized. I learned how slow a process it takes to educate and share the faith in an area where there is little to no faith background
Overall, the experience was not like I expected. And I am glad! I was going there to learn Spanish, but it became so much more.
I learned what it was like to be in the minority, not speaking the language that well and not knowing the norms and culture.
I also learned how missions ought to be. They should not simply give money and things to people in need. They need to be a mix of that while helping to educate and lead people to take care of themselves. Simply giving to people in need can often create a disposition (especially in children) of always receiving and never giving. Man is made to give of himself, and missionary efforts need to move people toward that.
My favorite part of the summer (winter down there) were the last few weeks when we began to walk to the houses of some of Casa Hogar’s neighbors. We would pray the rosary with them and bring them food or clothing. Some of the kids would come with us, and I hope that this gave them the experience and feeling of giving to another in need.