Hogar Santa Teresa del Niño Jesús
May 11, 2010
In Fr Liam’s priestly work going around the huge parish, he came across abandoned, disabled people at the side of the road or in fields. ”What drew my attention to them was the fact that, in the tropics, one is tormented by mosquitos and other insects and many of them were unable to move their hands to aleviate their suffering” relays Fr Liam. They were also undernourished and dehydrated. He could not sleep at night, thinking about those poor unfortunate people and it so happened that the then bishop, Monseñor Carmelo Juan Giaquinta, came on an intensive pastoral visit to the parish for 24 days. Fr Liam, told him about his concerns and took him to meet the people himself. The bishop responded that …
we cannot be authentic Christians and let our brothers and sisters love and die in such sub-human conditions.
It was then that Fr Liam´s Congregation was asked to allow him to begin work on helping. Fr. was granted this request and so the plans for the Santa Teresa home came into being.
On the 15th May, 1993, the first home was completed and opened its doors to 3 residents, who are all still with us. These were very difficult days. There was no income. The reality of providing medicines, food and emergency aid became apparent very, very quickly. Fr Liam was very fortunate to have a great local helper, Maria De Ramires. Maria did everything from cleaning to cooking to going from door to door looking for money and food to keep the home alive. Maria was indispensable. Ironically, Maria herself later suffered a terrible car accident, and tragically became quadriplegic and herself needed intensive care in the home for the two remaining years of her life. This was a huge blow to the home but lead the staff to become trained in catering for even the most severe disability. This has lead to developing a great nursing and caring tradition in our homes.
The home now consists of
- Sitting room and recreational areas
- A rehabilitation centre including therapy pool
- Cooking and laundry facilities
- Massage room
- Specialised nursing station
How the home became to be named St Teresa
Santa Teresita, in the original Spanish, means ‘little St Teresa’. One night Fr Liam was called to baptise the most deformed baby he had ever seen in the local hospital. He gave her the name Teresa, in honour of Teresa of the Child Jesus (The Little Flower). Teresa was totally abandoned and nobody was taking responsibility for her, so Fr Liam offered to take responsibility for her. This was before the home was in existence. ”Just as I did this, she passed to eternal life, but this spurred me on to creating the home” says Fr Liam.
Julio’s Story
Julio’s story illustrates the sadness and joy of journeying with our residents in the Santa Teresa Home. Julio came from a large and very poor family. We found him in the local hospital, after he had suffered a serious diving accident. He had misjudged the depth of the water in a river where he was diving and his head struck a rock. His swimming companions thought he was playing a joke, and threw themselves on top of him. As a result, he was left quadriplegic at the age of twenty.
Julio was brought to the state run hospital in Posadas, the capital of Misiones province and about a 100km from Oberá where we work. He was neglected in hospital, as can happen so often in state run hospitals in Argentina.
Julio spent two years in this hospital, but his health went from bad to worse. His parents begged us to help them, so we brought them to the Hogar Santa Teresita. Fr Liam remembers his first evening in the home. His body was covered with sores, some of which were ulcers. He had to be fixed up in a special position to rest and he had to lie facing the floor for many months. The assistants put cushions on the floor in order to face him while chatting to him. That loving gesture was typical of their great love, compassion and hard work for the residents.
Julio improved by leaps and bounds. He underwent two more operations in order to transfer skin tissue from one part of his body to another part. The sores healed and closed during his three years with us.
Thanks to a generous donor, he enjoyed using an automatic wheelchair. He got a diploma as an amateur radio operator. And he became well known and popular and a most loved person in the city of Oberá. He attended the telephones and received people visiting the Hogar St. Teresita. He was overjoyed with the news that the president of Ireland, Mrs Mary McAleese was to visit the home. He had even begun visiting and inviting the neighbours to come and meet her.
Sadly, Julio never got to meet the president. He died suddenly six weeks before she was due to arrive.
All were numb with the shock.
And they cried profusely and experienced sensations of void and emptiness; everything seemed to change. They found it very difficult to continue. For Fr Liam personally, it was a terrible blow. Each year before he left to fundraise in Ireland, Julio Mario would see him off at Posadas airport, shedding many tears and reminding the priest not to stay away too long.
In the days that followed Julio Mario’s burial, everyone connected with the home reflected upon and evaluated his short life. He loved the home of St. Teresa. He lived for it. He was most happy when we rescued some abandoned person and brought him or her to live with us. When was the home was approached to help 10 year old Mario in Eliseo, Julio did not rest day or night, until this abandoned child safely arrived.
Julio’s death brought the work of the poet Mark Van Doren, about the sudden death of the great priest Fr Thomas Merton to mind:
The best bottle of the best wine
Tipped over all at once and spilled
catch it, save it, but nobody could , comma
nothing left but the fragrance …
All the assistants and residents, despite their great sadness, knew that the best way to honour Julio’s memory, would be to continue the mission of the St Teresa Home and reach out and help as many people as possible.
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