Fr. Vellenga accompanies Bishop to El Salvador

Bishop Richard G. Lennon wrote in the October 5 issue of the Catholic Universe Bulletin about his first trip to El Salvador to visit the members of the Cleveland Latin American Mission team (CLAM) and the three parishes that they staff.

Accompanying the Bishop was Fr. Steve Vellenga, who was an associate at St. Paul from June 1982 until July, 1987 when he was assigned to the Diocesan Team Mission in El Salvador. Fr. Vellenge was assigned to St. Barnabas in Northfield in 1995 until July 1997 when he was named pastor of St. Mary parish in Painesville.

“It was a remarkable trip, as I experienced the Church of San Salvador and the practice of Catholic faith,” the Bishop wrote. “ I found most remarkable the sincere faith and the deep joy that was evident in the lives of the people of El Salvador. Also, on a personal note, I was truly humbled by the warmth and the love that was extended to me and the real excitement and “fiesta” with which I was greeted.

“The whole trip for Father Edward Estok and Father Steve Vellenga who accompanied me and for me was a wonderful encounter we had with a gracious and good people. I am so grateful for their hospitality, their love of the Church, and their devotion to the ministries that our mission team members are building up throughout the coastal area of
southeastern El Salvador.”

The Bishop concluded his visit on September 27, the feast of St. Vincent dePaul, by celebrating Mass at the chapel which marks the gravesite of four American Church women slain in 1980.

“With sadness, respect, and love we recalled at the Mass in a particular way our two
sisters from Cleveland, Ms. Jean Donovan and Sister Dorothy Kazel, OSU. The Opening Prayer for the Mass for St. Vincent reads “God our Father, you gave Vincent de Paul the courage and holiness of an apostle for the well being of the poor..”. All of us who were present thought about these courageous women and the tragic price they paid for their commitment to the well being of the poor of El Salvador. May their lives be an inspiration to all of us to be generous and gracious in reaching out to those in need by lightening their burdens and making their yokes easy thereby enhancing their well being.”

A photostory about Bishop Lennon’s trip to visit the Cleveland Latin American Mission Team will run in the October 19 issue of the Universe Bulletin.