Founded in 1966 and entrusted to the Redemptorist Missionaries, the parish celebrates six decades of evangelization, pastoral service, and missionary presence in Juazeiro (BA).
It was March 6, 1966, when Bishop Tomás Guilherme Murphy, C.Ss.R., the first bishop of the Diocese of Juazeiro (BA), established the parish of Santo Antônio. Its mother church was still small and very simple, but the faithful who attended made it magnificent.
Aware of the people’s motivation and the fruitful work of the leaders, Bishop Tomás founded the new parish, entrusting it to the Redemptorist Missionaries, in the person of its first parish priest, Fr. Martin van der Hoorst, a Dutch missionary.
The Parish Foundation Charter states: “with the desire to satisfy the great spiritual need of the faithful of the popular neighborhood of Santo Antônio, as well as of the interior of the municipality of Juazeiro, we hereby officially erect the chapel of Santo Antônio as a parish seat, with all the rights and duties in accordance with Canon Law”.
Many years have passed. Diocesan priests and religious have worked in this field. Since then, the hearts of the people of Juazeiro continue to grow more fruitful every day. The collective efforts and campaigns, celebrations, processions, penances, and prayers have been characterized by abundant testimonies of brotherhood and a joyful Christian life.
The Return of the Redemptorists
In 2021, at the request of then-Bishop Carlos Alberto Breis Pereira, OFM, we returned to Juazeiro to continue our pastoral work. Today, the Parish of Santo Antônio comprises 33 communities, eight of which are located in the urban area and 25 in the rural area.
The challenges are enormous, especially regarding the evangelization of rural communities. Some are very remote and have rocky roads; others become impassable during the rainy season. In some places, a priest can only be present once every two months. Families earn their living by working in agribusiness, which is widespread in the region thanks to irrigation projects on the São Francisco River. These are the same “goat farmers” of old that Alfonso de Liguori met while climbing the mountains of Scala. Urban communities, on the other hand, are more structured and maintain their growing ecclesial vitality.
God, in his inscrutable plans, willed that we Redemptorists serve this parish in this Jubilee of the 60th anniversary of its foundation. What was once a grove is now concrete, and the rose bushes have given way to families who have become a sort of “well-watered garden,” keeping alive the legacy of faith in Christ, guided by Saint Anthony and the Mother of Perpetual Help.
Thirteen days of Jubilee
The thirteen days of Jubilee will be celebrated from May 31st to June 13th, with the motto: “Guided by the gaze of Saint Anthony, we celebrate sixty years of mission.” These are days of intense devotion, reflection, and community life, celebrating six decades of evangelization, sharing, and love for others. The spirituality of “gazes” will be present every evening, inviting the faithful to celebrate the missionary journey through the metaphor of Saint Anthony’s gaze: a gaze that humanizes, welcomes, and transforms.
For this reason, we want to remember these people who built a parish that leaves in its faithful the footprints of the merciful God with the help of its patron saint. In this Jubilee, the welcoming gaze of the saint intercedes with the grateful gazes of the faithful, ensuring that the history begun 60 years ago continues to be written by today’s young people and children.
This Jubilee moment is an opportunity to contemplate a beautiful journey of faith that is consolidating as a true missionary network. Overcoming geographical distances and adverse weather conditions, the faithful and we, Redemptorist missionaries, renew our commitment to evangelize and welcome those most in need, under the protective gaze of Saint Anthony, witness to the divine grace of Redemption on the banks of the great river known as the “Velho Chico.”
Fr. José de Lima Torres, C.Ss.R.
