Basilian Fathers In Mexico 

In the fall of 1961, Fathers Max Murphy and Frank Launtrie traveled to

, Fathers Murphy and Launtrie formally took charge of the parish of San Juan Crisóstomo and missions at La Providencia and La Pradera, in the barrios of San Juan de Aragon, 4 and 6 miles from the church. The Catholic population within the boundaries of the parish was 10,000 people. Their work began among the rural people who had migrated to the city and found only poverty, illiteracy, and a lack of religious training instead of the better life they had expected.

In 1962, construction of a catechetical center began under the direction of Fathers Max Murphy, Robert Hall, and Frank Launtrie.  The building was to be used for religious education. 

One of the great achievements of the Basilians in

In 1965, the Mexican government granted the use of a parcel of property for a new church in Unidad Siete, where celebration of an 8 a.m. Mass and construction of a church began almost immediately.  The church is named “Jesus Obrero”, Jesus the Worker.

 Father Tom Dugan arrived at San Juan Crisóstomo in 1966 to help serve the expanding Catholic population in the parish. Later, Father Tom assumed responsibility for Iglesia Jesus Obrero in Unidad Siete where he was joined by Father Jack Broussard in 1970

Realizing that one of the greatest needs was for Christian leaders, a house of studies was opened in Mexico City in 1967 where poor boys who showed promise and a desire for a higher education could be helped. Centro Cultural Aragón was in operation here until 1978. 

Fathers Joseph Shannon, Tom Dugan, Ray Jackson, Frank Launtrie, Jack Broussard, and John Boscoe as a deacon, staffed the parish and missions of San Juan Crisostomo in 1971, where a small social center was built in one of the poorest areas of the parish from which social workers operate and a dispensary provides medical help.

In addition to staffing Centro Cultural in the mid-70’s, Fathers John Boscoe, Tom Sepulveda and Harold O’Leary also served as Chaplains to two convents of the Missioneras del Calvario, and helped at the parishes of Jesus Obrero and San Juan Crisostomo.  The center also hosted weekly meetings of a Charismatic Prayer Group made up of young people in the neighborhood.  The students in the center tutored those in secondary and preparatory education.

Father Bernard “Jess” Owens joined Father Jack Broussard at Iglesia Jesus Obrero. Parish organizations include Socias de Sagrado Corazón, Catequesis Familiar, Concilio Parroquial and Escuela de Religion.

Father Dan Porter was ordained on April 26, 1975 by Bishop Francisco Orozco Lomelin at San Juan Crisostomo Church and went on to perform chaplaincy services to the local social security hospital.

At that time, Father Tom Dugan’s duties included co-director of the confirmation program and spiritual director of the Charismatic Renewal. Father Ray Jackson was Director of Vocations in Mexico and director of the Student Aid program.  Father Bill Frankenberger was co-director of the first stage of the Catequesis Familiar program and First Communion program, and acting Pastor of San Juan Crisóstomo Church.  Father Rafael O’Loughlin was co-director of the second stage of the Catequesis Familiar program within the parish and acting bursar.

Father Frank Launtrie assumed the duties of acting pastor of the parish of El Divino Salvador.  Father Frank was also responsible for the publication of the catechetical materials of which 120,000 have been printed.

In the state of Puebla, the Basilians have a novitiate at San Lorenzo, Tehuacan, and administer the Parroquia de San Lorenzo and its chapels, Capilla de Nuestra Señora de Carmen in Colonia del Carmen, Capilla de la Señora de Guadalupe in Colonia de Porvenir, Capilla de Santa Cecilia in Colonia de Santa Cecilia, Capilla de San Juan Diego in Colonia de Vista Hermosa, Capilla de Santa Catalina in Colonia de Santa Catalina, and Capilla del Señor de Tejalpa in the Colonia de Los Manantiales. The parish is staffed by Basilian Fathers Alejandro Romero, Jess Owens, Tom Dugan, Alberto Ferrara, Dan Porter, and Roberto Rojas. San Lorenzo Church dates back to the seventeenth century and contains religious art objects of great historic and cultural value. The building is so small that the overflow of parishioners at many Masses extends out onto the atrio. One of the larger rooms was used as the town jail from the end of the 17th century until 1978. A new church is being constructed under the supervision of the Basilian Fathers to replace the existing building.

Father Ricardo Ramirez left his mission area to help direct the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio, Texas.  On October 18, 1982 he was named the first Bishop of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The following year, the parish in Unidad Siete, Jesus Obrero, was turned back to the Archdiocese of Mexico, and the Basilian Fathers assumed pastoral responsibility for Santa Maria de la Asuncion Church, located in the rural mountainous municipality of Caltepec about 30 miles southwest of Tehuacan. Of the nineteen towns in the parish, there are five main centers: Caltepec, Santiago Acatepec, San Luis Atolotitlan, San Juan Acatitlan, and San Pedro Atzumba. The parish was staffed by Fathers Max Murphy, Donald Mooney, Lawrence Moran, and William Frankenberger. The apostolate is Centro de Experimentacion Catequetica, Experimental Family Catechetics.

On June 6, 1987, René Javier Espejel González and Marco Antonio Hernandez Molina were ordained to the Priesthood by Bishop Ricardo Ramirez in San Lorenzo parish.

On June 2, 1990, Marciano Dominguez and José Isidro Castillo were ordained to the Priesthood by Bishop Ricardo Ramirez in San Juan Crisostómo parish.

A Parish Center has been established where medical, legal, psychological, and other services are available to those of limited resources. The poor come from their colonias to receive healthcare and packages of items for cooking, household, and personal use, prepared by volunteers at the Parish Center and subsidized by benefactors of the Basilian Fathers Missions.

Once a week, one of the Basilian Fathers goes to the local radio station in Tehuacán. "Radio Popular" 1420 on the AM band, to offer a religious reflection over the airwaves.

You may notice that our priests in some of the photos taken in the rural areas are not wearing a Roman collar. This is a custom throughout the country and is a holdover from the religious persecutions. Article 130 of the Constitution of 1917 prohibited the wearing of clerical garb in public. Article 130, along with other anticlerical articles, was only stricken from the constitution in 1992 in order to pave the way for establishing diplomatic relations with the Vatican. Today, although clerical garb is not still strictly forbidden, only the bishops and members of a few religious orders are seen in public in the traditional habits or collars.

in 1961.

                              

50 Years in Mexico

On October 22, 2011, seventy five years after the humble beginning of the Basilian Fathers Missions in Houston, Texas, Basilian Fathers George Smith, Superior General, and Paul English, Fourth Councilor, met with the Basilian Fathers of Mexico to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the day that Fathers Max Murphy and Frank Launtrie formally took charge of the parish of San Juan Crisóstomo and missions at La Providencia and La Pradera, in the barrios of San Juan de Aragon. Pictured are (L to R) Basilian Fathers (seated) Dan Porter and Jess Owens,  (standing) Tom Dugan, George Smith, Alberto Ferrara, Roberto (Beto) Rojas, Paul English, and Alejandro Romero.

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