LAKE CHARLES – The Rev. Msgr. Daniel Torres, diocesan Vicar General and pastor of St. Henry Catholic Church, commissioned this year’s Abrazando Cristo missionaries on Sunday, June 22 - The Feast of Corpus Christi - during a liturgy at St. Henry Church.
Along with and Msgr. Torres, the two dozen missionaries from various parts of the diocese will journey to Nicaragua to spread the Good News of Salvation by being “ambassadors of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20), leaving on June 28 and returning on Sunday, July 6.
(In the photo at left, Msgr. Torres presents a wooden cross to one of the 24 missionaries)
The Abrazando Cristo Mission Program, which operates under the auspices of the Diocese and the spiritual direction of Msgr. Torres, was formed after the devastation Hurricane Mitch wrought on the Central American countries of Nicaragua, Honduras, and parts of El Salvador.
This year marks the 12th mission trip to Nicaragua.
The weeklong mission/retreat offers communal prayer, daily Mass, daily recitation of the Rosary, helping with the construction of the Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in the Diocese of Matagalpa - three hours northeast of the Managua, the country’s capital, as well as the building of the priest’s residence, painting, Vacation Bible School, working at a makeshift medical clinic, evangelizing the Catholic Faith, feeding the poor, and simply sharing the love of Christ.
(In the photo at right, some of the missionaries are shown following the Sunday Mass during a reception in the St. Henry Community Center.)
