This June, I had the opportunity to visit Canto Grande, Peru, in my capacity as Assistant Director for Community Engagement at the Holy Cross Mission Center. The purpose of the trip was twofold: to deepen our connection with the Holy Cross ministries serving this vast district on the outskirts of Lima, and to accompany Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, Californai) during their first immersion experience in the region.
Quite quickly, I saw how Holy Cross in Canto Grande is present in many forms: in the joyful liturgies of Parroquia Señor de la Esperanza (Lord of Hope Parish), in the compassionate care offered through the Br. André Parish Clinic, in the accompaniment of families with children with disabilities through Yancana Huasy, in the community life that comes together at the Centro Patricio Peyton (Patrick Peyton Center), and in the holistic education of young people at Colegio Fe y Alegría No. 25. All of these, and the 18 parish chapels that are scattered throughout the hills of Canto Grande, are within just a 15-minute drive
One of the highlights of my visit was participating in “Techo para mi Prójimo”—“Roof for My Neighbor”—a Campus Ministry initiative that brings together youth from Colegio Fe y Alegría No. 25 to construct simple homes for families in need. Alongside approximately 20 Fe y Alegría students and the seven students from Notre Dame High School, I helped begin construction on a home for a single mother and her third-grade daughter. The site was about a mile from the school, situated in a very poor hillside neighborhood marked by unpaved roads and strewn with trash and detritus. From there, we ascended roughly 150 concrete steps to reach a small ledge carved out of rock, just large enough to support the home’s modest cement foundation. The experience was both physically demanding and spiritually moving, a shared labor that reflected Holy Cross’s call to be educators in the faith—in this case, very much a faith that must be incarnated as much as cognitively received. (Catholic scholar Richard Reichert has described such experiences as constituting a “catechesis of discipleship,” one that teaches the Christian Catholic faith through experiences rather than explanation alone.) And remarkably, the cost to build this home, including all materials and local paid labor, is just $2,700, which was generously donated by the NDHS community as part of their Twinning partnership with Colegio Fe y Alegría No. 25. What we offered together—sweat, companionship, encouragement, frustrated cries of “a la derecha!” and “Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!”, etc.—was an expression of faith not just spoken or taught, but quite literally built into the hillside..
Other highlights came in the humble community moments I got to experience at Casa San Jose, the House of Formation in Peru, where Fr. Jim Gutiérrez, C.S.C., Fr. Elmer Caro, C.S.C., and two Notre Dame students, Braedan and Mark, lived. Braedan and Mark were midway through their summer immersion in Canto Grande, living alongside the Holy Cross religious and working within their ministries. They joined the priests for their morning and evening prayers in the chapel, solemn and ancient forms of communal prayer for Catholic religious. Fr. Jim and Fr. Elmer had evidently made Mark and Braedan feel at home, as the dinner conversations were always lively, full of both laughter and the friendly jibes that are typical among men in community. For those of us who do not live in religious communities, the routine of morning prayer, daily ministry around Canto Grande, community meals, and evening prayer is enough to understand why men of faith may be interested in a Holy Cross vocation.
One detail that really stood out to me during my visit, though, was how physically integrated the 3 Holy Cross ministries are in Canto Grande. The Capilla de los Mártires Latinoamericanos (Chapel of the Latin American Martyrs), the main chapel for Lord of Hope Parish, is connected by open walkways to both Yancana Huasy and the Br. André Clinic. From the chapel, one can step directly into the rooms where the sick are treated and where children with special needs receive physical and occupational therapy, assistive technologies like wheelchairs, and instruction. These architectural connections are not ornate, but they are profoundly meaningful. They embody a core truth of our Catholic faith: that our worship of Christ at the altar must flow into how we love and serve others.
In fact, the very layout of these buildings could be called catechetical. Even without words, the physical connection between chapel, clinic, and classroom teaches those who gather there what it means to “go forth, glorifying God by your life,” as the priest says at the conclusion of Mass. It is a quiet but powerful invitation to see faith in Christ not as something reserved for Sundays, but as a relationship with the God of Love who asks us to live in service to others, especially those most in need.
As the Holy Cross Mission Center continues to support these ministries through our donors’ generosity, I returned home grateful not only for what I witnessed but for how clearly the mission of Holy Cross is alive in Canto Grande.
Published by Michael Jezewak, Assistant Director for Community Engagement
July 2025
