Raúl Gómez González, Bishop of Tenancingo, México blesses the new facilities alongside Mother Irene García de Prado, founder of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.

By Chris McLaughlin

Celebration of God’s love last Thursday exploded into spontaneous rejoicing and elation when more than 250 lay missionaries, benefactors and religious were dedicating the new Sisters of the Good Samaritan Casa de Los Enfermos in Malinalco, México.

The Casa emerged from the spiritual endeavors of hundreds of Catholics and members of society with diverse charismas, most of whom met over decades of missionary work to the poor in México, and who attended from as far away as New Zealand, South Africa, Chile and the USA.  It is the culmination of a remarkable and fateful series of spiritual journeys, sacrifices, and generosity involving the lives of a half-dozen families, mostly unknown to one another. As each responded over a span of 25 years to the beckonings of the Holy Spirit and the consolations of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the dream of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan to better be able to serve the acutely poor and terminally ill citizens of central México became closer to reality.

Joining the Sisters was the Most Reverend Raúl Gómez González, Bishop of Tenancingo, México, several priests of the Augustinians, Legionaries of Christ, and dozens of Regnum Christi missionaries traveling from six continents.

The Casa features two 40-bed

	A group of Malinalco missionaries and benefactors pose in front of the newly constructed clinic and chapel.

dormitories, a full-size day clinic with eight examination rooms staffed with two medical doctors and two nurse practitioners, pharmacy, a cafeteria and dining hall serving meals to 200 children of poor families daily, a lovely chapel, administration offices and residence rooms for the sisters themselves. More than two dozen local and Mexico City suppliers, civil engineering firms, construction companies and project management firms donated untold materials, equipment, expertise and months of hard work, along with the $5M of financial contributions from virtually hundreds of large and small benefactors to construct the Casa on donated land in Malinalco.

Mass and Festivities

The highlight of the Casa dedication was Mass in the new chapel celebrated by Bishop Gomez who delivered a magnificent homily on the merits of Christians taking care of the poor – using the example of the good Samaritan in the Gospel of St. Luke. Following were a ribbon cutting ceremony, facility tours and a festive banquet that included a traditional mariachi band adding music to the glee of hundreds of rejoicing friends. 

Mission Malinalco

Joining the rejoicing multitudes were 36 members and friends of the Atlanta GA (USA) based nonprofit group Mission Malinalco who also made pilgrimages to the Basilica

	Mother Irene Garcia de Prado (sitting), Founder of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, opens gifts at the dedication banquet.

of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, and the Augustinian Church and Holy Shrine in Chalma, México - a short distance south of Malinalco. The Augustinians have been the ordained shepherds to the local citizens of the Malinalco Valley and surrounding communicates since the 1500s.

The Mission Malinalco missionary group also renewed its promises of spiritual and humanitarian support to the people living in the nearby small and desolately poor town of Tlecuilco. The tiny chapel in Tlecuilco has twice been the focus of the Mission Malinalco’s international annual Holy Week mission. In turn, the townsfolk of Tlecuilco have adopted as their spiritual children the prisoners in the maximum-security prison in Angola, Louisiana (USA). The prisoners returned that gift by making Tlecuilco a beneficiary of their sacrificial sufferings while incarcerated in the largest (5200 inmates) maximum-security prison in the USA. Visitors to the Tlecuilco chapel can see the Angola prison uniform the grateful prisoners gave, along with an authentic key to one of the isolation cells at the prison. 

The celebration was the first of two dedications - the second was for the entire town of Malinalco which enthusiastically supports the mission of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan. The new Casa replaces a tiny, aging clinic the Sisters had been using to serve the poor and infirm of Malinalco since coming to Mexico from Chili seven years ago.