By Deacon Gary Keepes
Catholic Healthcare
I realize that this is an article dedicated to Catholic healthcare, but I hope you will allow me to deviate from that topic this one time. Our family recently traveled to the great South American country of Colombia, and I would like to share some of my experiences and observations with you.
I’m sure most of you are like me. When I travel, I love to explore the Catholic history of the area and visit the Catholic churches there. Well, the beautiful country of Colombia offered an abundance of Catholic riches for us to experience. We flew into the city of Cartagena, which is located on the northern coast of the country on the Caribbean Sea. Our hotel was right on the water and offered beautiful views of the ocean. The most interesting part of the city is referred to as the Old Town or the walled part of the city. This area is surrounded by massive coral limestone walls that were built in the 16th century to protect the city from foreign invaders. Today, the area is filled with colonial architecture and open plazas. There are vendors selling their wares, quaint shops and great restaurants.
Cartagena is a city of one million people, but for New Year’s, it was expected to draw another 1.6 million visitors. It was crowded; shoulder to shoulder people throughout Old Town. Rather than this being an inconvenience, it added to the pleasure of the trip. When surrounded by a mass of humanity, you can’t help but feel connected to those around you. I felt like Thomas Merton on the corner of 4th and Walnut in Louisville when he said, “I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers.”
It was with that great sense of unity, as we were walking through Old Town, that we then discovered the Sancturio de San Pedro Claver or the Church of St. Peter Claver. What a great joy this was. St. Peter Claver has long been one of my favorite saints. This faithful man of God met slave ships daily at the harbor coming over from Africa in the 17th century, went down into the hull of the ship and ministered physically and spiritually to the African people, many who were sick, malnourished and dying. He did this for 40 years. We were able to visit where he lived and died. In fact, his bones are under the altar of the Church. We were given a tour of his monastery and the Church by a wonderful older Colombian gentleman (side note: he was a big fan of the Cincinnati Reds; especially Johnny Bench).
From Cartagena, we then flew to Medellín, Colombia. This is located in the middle of the country and is surrounded by mountains. It is nicknamed “the City of Eternal Spring” because of its temperate climate. We stayed in an Airbnb in the middle of the city and were able to experience the local food and culture. We explored the infamous Communo 13 area, made famous by Pablo Escobar and the drug wars of the 1970s and 1980s. It is now quite the lively area with street art performances, graffiti, bright colors and salsa music. Cable cars took us up the mountainside and gave us a spectacular view of the city and the surrounding mountains.
The catholicity of the city was evident everywhere. There were statues of Jesus and Mary, often depicting the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Communo 13 is also known as St. Javier (Xavier). One Communo is named John XIII. Medellín is also the place where liberation theology was born. This branch of theology emphasizes liberation of the poor from social, political and economic oppression. The Second Episcopal Conference of Latin America was held in Medellín in 1968 and was attended by Pope Paul VI (now Pope St. Paul VI). At this conference, the groundwork was laid for liberation theology to take root. It should be mentioned that liberation theology has some troubling associations with Marxist thought. Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict commented multiple times on it and tried to steer it in the right direction. However, it is interesting to think of this great city playing a central role in theology that affected the universal church.
Our time ended in Medellín, and we flew back to the USA. It was nice to get back to our routine life in southern Indiana, but the trip gave me great joy. I felt a unity with the Colombian people. It reminded me that people are good, no matter where you travel. We are made in the image and likeness of God. We all have a desire for holiness deep within us. We are all connected to each other in the Mystical Body of Christ. This thought is very consoling and should bring us all great joy and peace. Praised be Jesus Christ.
Dr. Gary Keepes serves as a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Evansville. He is assigned to Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Petersburg and Blessed Sacrament Parish in Oakland City. He is also a member of the Southwestern Indiana Guild of the Catholic Medical Association.