by Sr. Mary Conrad Wiersteiner, OSF
The setting is Goianorte in the State of Tocantins - Brazil. Goianorte is a small, rural city in the northwestern part of the state. Far from the central highway and either one of the two rivers of the state, the Araguaia and the Tocantins, the city has little or no chance to grow in population, commerce or industry. Small farming is the mainstay of the city. There are primary and secondary schools; higher education can be gained through Internet. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish has almost weekly Mass celebrated by a Franciscan priest from Araguacema. The non-Catholics are served by the Assembly of Deus and a few other sects. A small community radio station, commanded by Ana Cristina Silva, is the principle means of public communication.
On August 2, 2005, Maria Margarida de Carvalho arrived in Goianorte with the due ecclesiastic credentials to administer the parish. In her first contact with the parishioners, she heard the lament, "Sister, our church is the ugliest in the city.” And it really was.
When Sister Margarida was well settled in her new mission and the parish was functioning smoothly, she remembered the lament, and set about preparing the groundwork to remedy the situation. Problems: money, architect, constructor, labor, building materials, supplies and equipment. Projects were written and sent to various charitable institutions and foundations. The parishioners became
super-active in holding special promotional events. The necessary donations and grants began to appear in small and larger amounts, slowly but surely. One by one, the problems were solved, and Margarida and her parishioners knew that God's hand was helping the construction to proceed.
The most difficult problem to solve was, of course, the building supplies and equipment. Commerce in Goianorte was unable to supply the demand. Margarida made many trips by bus to and from Palmas, the capital of Tocantins, as well as to and from Anapolis and Goiania in Goias. Each trip involved hiring a truck or trucks to transport the materials, an arduous and expensive task. But Margarida persevered and finally, the church was ready enough for Mass and other religious events. Then the work to raise the steeple began ...
The parishioners were excited. Our church is going to have a steeple! With a bell!
And thus it was: a steeple to be seen from afar when traveling to the city; a bell that rings the Angelus and calls the People of God to celebrate the Eucharist; a steeple that makes Our Lady Perpetual Help Church the picture postcard of the city; a true monument of GodLs love to the work of Maria Margarida, to the loyal parishioners and to all those who gave donations and grants.