where two or three are gathered...

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.–Matt. 18:20

One of the most interesting things about being in Chile is seeing the relationship between the Catholic Church and the people here. The Church has incredible influence over governmental politics, entertainment and many aspects of life here. However, while over 70% of the nation would consider themselves to be Catholic, it is estimated that only 10-20% actually attend mass regularly or consider themselves to be "active" Catholics. This came as quite a shock to me. I was really excited to come to a country that was so Catholic and experience what its like to live in a world that is so "dominated" by religion. But what I have found is a Church that seems very out of touch with the people, or perhaps a people that are out of touch with the Church. It is something that disappoints me a bit but I am trying very hard to understand. Regardless, I think I will keep trying to learn more about this relationship and save my thought for another day. Right now I would like to share one of my most positive experiences with Catholicism here.

I have been attending Pastoral here at PUCV (my school) on Thursdays. Pastoral is basically my Chilean St. Tommies. It's a group of Catholic students who get together to talk about faith, have mass, plan activities or just socialize. While it's not nearly as organized or active as at home (we only get together on Thurdays and do one of the above mentioned activities) it still has been so nice to be involved in a group full of people who are active in their faith. All of them are incredibly friendly and nice, putting up with our sometimes shaky Spanish and including us in their activities even though they have known each other for years and we (my friend Katie and I) are only here for the semester. One of their biggest activities for the year, la Caminata, occurred this weekend and has honestly been one of the most amazing experiences I have had in Chile.

La Caminata is a 27km hike to the church of Saint Teresa de los Andes that is attended by roughly 70000 people. Saint Teresa is the only Chilean saint and therefore is incredibly loved and respected here (not to mention that saints and the Virgen are regarded much more highly here to begin with). Every year there this hike is held in her honor and is attended by groups from all over Chile. Schools, Youth Groups, Pastorales, Religious Orders, there were all types. Especially fun was looking at all the different orders of nuns, with their different habits, tennis shoes and baseball hats :) So basically we hike along this old mountain road, up to the top of a big hill where there was a huge cross and you could look out over everything, and back down then hill then along the highway to the church. People were singing, chanting and praying the whole way. We prayed a rosary on the way down. I cannot even express what it felt like to be walking this with all the people. I don't even think I can express how many people where there, it was like nothing I have ever experienced before. It was kind of like CYC with a hike X 100 or something like that. Once we reached the church we were exhausted. But there was even more, there was a celebration with music and dancing and then a mass. We got a chance to visit the tomb of St. Teresa and explore a bit. All in all it was amazing and I am so glad that I got to be a part of it.

For just a small glimpse of what it was like, you can see my pictures here. May God Bless You All!