Today, mission means not only proclaiming the Gospel but also safeguarding creation and promoting social justice. Father Juan Goicochea, a Comboni missionary, is working on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, to combine Gospel values with human development.
The Comboni parish on the outskirts of Lima, where Father Juan serves, has a congregation of 100,000 faithful and is divided into 13 Christian communities. Each community comprises 15 to 18 pastoral areas where the faithful carry out various pastoral and social ministries.
The missionary has launched specific projects and views it as his particular mission to encourage people to take responsibility for and care for their own communities. At the same time, he has been tasked by the Archdiocese of Lima with coordinating and overseeing numerous human development initiatives.
One such initiative is the “House of Talents”, a facility that promotes cultural activities – including music, dance, art, cooking, and craft workshops – as well as computer training, religious services, and pastoral activities. Notable among these efforts are the “community kitchens”: 24 kitchens run by groups of women to serve those in genuine need. These kitchens utilize, among other things, produce grown by the mothers themselves.
The Christian communities welcome many migrants and offer them shelter, especially those arriving from Venezuela. Another project involves building housing for families in need; this program is supported by Adveniat, the German Catholic Church organization dedicated to fostering solidarity in Latin America and the Caribbean. The project primarily targets those in extreme need, such as families with children and the elderly.
A pharmacy accessible to needy families at minimal cost has also been opened; launched during the Covid-19 pandemic and aimed largely at impoverished children and the elderly, it provides – among other things – essential medicines and diapers that are otherwise difficult to find in the city.
Furthermore, during the months of preparation for First Communion and Confirmation, the children joyfully carried out their own project to plant new trees. Together with their group leaders, they took on concrete responsibility regarding the environment and ecology.
Another project focuses on plastic recycling; many people – both within Christian communities and in other groups – have become involved in collecting plastic materials. This initiative has led to the production of items such as colourful benches, and many responded to Father Juan’s appeal to 3,000 schoolchildren, encouraging them to bring in even just a single plastic bottle cap – a small gesture that nonetheless helps raise awareness of the issue.
Also related to environmental protection and integral ecology is the “School/Academy of Integral Ecology” project, launched and managed by Father Juan. The project aims to translate the message of Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato si’ into pastoral and social action—within churches, education, and daily life. As the Comboni missionary emphasized: “The course is designed primarily for pastoral workers, members of religious orders, educators, and other leaders in Peru. Beyond providing theological and spiritual foundations, it aims to offer practical approaches for integrating environmental protection and social justice into pastoral work.”
“Over 150 people participated in the first year. The in-person study sessions and workshops – Juan continues -, conclude with participants developing concrete action plans to incorporate into the pastoral care of their own parishes such as initiatives for waste reduction, reforestation, and environmental education in schools.”
Given the initiative’s success, plans have been made for in-person seminars in various regions of Peru, including the Amazon. The project has obtained university accreditation from the Ministry of Education and is promoted and presented during catechetical courses and liturgical celebrations. (G.C.) – (Photo: Father Juan Goicochea with a catechist. Adveniat/Mareille Landau)
