Faith

Eugenio Fernandez, MCCI, Bishop Emeritus of Esmeraldas, Ecuador happily watches his TPMS visitors board his boat to tour projects along the then-relatively clean River Esmeraldas.

Propagation of the Faith

Missionaries: Helping People Stay Afloat Before and After Disasters

Friday, June 27, 2025Faith

Early in my ministry with The Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS), I had the opportunity to travel to Ecuador with other TPMS leaders.
We visited with missionaries who worked with street children in Quito; toured schools, day care centers, and a seminary in the remote Amazon region; and saw the work being done on the coast in Esmeraldas. The missionary bishop at the time, Msgr. Eugenio Fernandez, MCCI, was well known to the people. Though the streets were plagued with gang violence, we walked outside safely at night, led by this shepherd, easily recognizable in his white cassock. Former gang members approached him with thanks -- for their new job, their children's education, and sometimes the food on their table. He was always quick to point at us saying, "Don't thank me. Thank them!"
Of course, it wasn't us, either. It was YOU, our donors, that he depended upon to do the great work.
One day, after visiting a TPMS supported school, he led us down to the River Esmeraldas where he said "the bishop's boat" was waiting. He roared with laughter as, one by one, he saw our faces register what we were about to set sail in - a dug-out tree turned into a wooden canoe with an outboard motor. Our seats were plastic lawn chairs with their legs cut off, so we sat low in the boat.
We squeezed in, headed towards more TPMS funded projects. Why in a boat? Bishop Eugenio explained to us that there were no roads for other vehicles where we were going. The River Esmeraldas was not just a waterway; it was the road. It was people's lifeline and livelihood: where most people made a living from fishing. Goods were brought to town to sell or barter by boat -- the river was full of canoes like ours. Even children had their own miniature versions.
River water was used for cooking, cleaning clothes, bathing, and recreation as well.
It was with great sadness that I learned a few months ago, a pipeline carrying oil across the Andes mountains to Esmeraldas had ruptured. Witnesses reported seeing a "geyser" of oil which traveled fifty miles up the river, killing fish, wildlife, and a way of life. More than half a million people have been affected by the disaster.
To add insult to injury, the area was hit by an earthquake just a month later. Thanks to Irish Salesian missionaries, fishermen are receiving kits with nets and hooks to try to salvage their livelihoods. Building supplies are arriving for those whose houses were damaged in the quake.
Life on the river will never be the same, but one constant remains: the missionaries.

- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.