Photos by Ron Wu/Courtesy of Catholic Extension
CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
GREENFIELD — Father Enrique Herrera, pastor of Holy Trinity Church, the Catholic parish in Greenfield, recently received Catholic Extension’s 2017-2018 Lumen Christi Award.
Father Jack Wall, president of Catholic Extension, traveled from Chicago to present his organization’s highest honor to Father Herrera during an outdoor Mass at Holy Trinity on Dec. 10. The Mass followed the parish’s annual Our Lady of Guadalupe procession through the streets of Greenfield.
“Lumen Christi” is Latin for “Light of Christ.” This year marks the 40th anniversary of the award, which honors an individual or group who demonstrates how the power of faith can transform lives and communities. Recipients are recognized not just for the hope they bring but for inspiring others to be “Lights of Christ” as well.
Father Herrera is the third recipient from California. Past honorees have hailed from 23 states, ranging from Alaska to Georgia, Texas to Minnesota and Kentucky to South Dakota.
Catholic Extension is a Chicago-based papal society that works to build up vibrant Catholic faith communities in the poorest regions of the United States. Based in Chicago, it raises and distributes funds to support the work of the Catholic Church in America’s 90 “mission dioceses.”
Presenting the national award, Father Wall said, “Like pilgrims of old, we have traveled from the East, from Chicago, to Greenfield to proclaim to you that we have seen Christ’s light shining brightly among all of you in your love, your care, and your compassion for one another in this wonderful community.”
He added that Catholic Extension was honoring Father Enrique “for your loving service as pastor and for your great personal and passionate commitment to nurture the light of Christ among Greenfield’s most vulnerable citizens. We are especially touched by your devotion to the poor, to youth, to families, to students, to DREAMers, to workers, to migrants and to immigrants. In your ministry you ignite the spark of faith that truly transforms hearts and communities and our very society.”
As part of the award, a crystal cross, Father Wall also presented a $25,000 check to Father Herrera and another $25,000 to the Diocese of Monterey. Bishop Richard J. Garcia of Monterey, who also participated in the celebration, passed the diocesan check on to Father Herrera as well.
Father Herrera said he would use the money to expand the parish’s evangelization and Bible study programs to further align people’s lives with the values of the gospel and thereby further transform their community.
Catholic Extension’s history with the Greenfield parish reaches back to 1934, when Catholic Extension helped with the construction of the original Holy Trinity Church.
Father Herrera said, “I am so happy for the community because this is a great opportunity for them to reflect on their experience of the light of Christ in their own lives and in their families.”
The day’s procession, Father Herrera said, was “a march that publicly expresses our faith. We always look forward to this annual event because we get the opportunity to walk down El Camino Real and to manifest our Catholic faith and then to celebrate in a big, big party Our Lady of Guadalupe. Ninety percent of this community have their roots in Mexico.”
He added, “This morning showed that there is a lot of hope and a lot of opportunity here, especially with our youth here in our community. I am so happy and thankful for Catholic Extension’s presence here today because you are helping us to continue our mission here in town, and your recognition is a good sign, an encouragement for us to continue on this path.”
The colorful procession through the city of Greenfield honored both Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Juquila, the patroness for people from the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Holy Trinity has welcomed and integrated a large Oaxacan migrant population, who speak Triqui and other indigenous languages. They are the most recent large group of immigrants to come to work in the fertile fields of the Salinas Valley.
Dressed in bright red traditional garb, an Oaxacan parish group marched behind a banner that read “Triqui Community, Oaxaca” with a statue of Our Lady of Juquila that was dressed in the same traditional indigenous dress.
Thousands participated in the procession, which included 25 parish and community groups — ranging from First Communion and Confirmation classes to a large Aztec Dance Group made up of several hundred teens and children and some two dozen caballeros on horseback.
The procession followed the route of the historic El Camino Real, the same road on which St. Junípero Serra had traveled. In fact, St. Junípero participated in the procession in the form of a relic of the saint that the Diocese of Monterey had brought to the celebration.
A vibrant parish transforms its community
When he arrived at Holy Trinity in 2008, Father Herrera saw that many residents of Greenfield were struggling, immersed in poverty and with few opportunities for a brighter future.
He believed that the church could make life better and understood that his parish had to go beyond just the spiritual needs of the residents and also address the economic and social challenges of their daily lives. And, he learned that the best way to reach his parishioners and to motivate them, particularly the young ones, is to respect them.
“The people know that I am here to serve them,” Father Herrera said. “I am the son of a migrant farmworker myself. I am part of the family. We are brothers and sisters. And if I have a voice as a priest, I would like to be a voice for the voiceless.”
Over the past nine years, Holy Trinity parish has thrived and grown into a bustling community, with more than 2,000 people attending its six Masses every weekend and hundreds coming during the week for programs and classes that keep young people safe, educated and focused on faith.
Most parishioners are farmworkers, working long days for low wages and leaving children to fill many hours on their own. Life is not easy, and many of the city’s young people have come to rely on Holy Trinity.
“It’s difficult growing up in a low-income community, with parents who are away in the fields and pressures to do well in school and to help the family by working in the fields during the summer,” said parishioner Jaime García, who is planning to become a teacher and coach in Greenfield. “Just as Father Enrique has been a mentor to me, I want to be a mentor to young people in our community.”
Strengthening the community and promoting education
Father Herrera motivates young people to become involved in the church, not only because it provides them a home and refuge during their tough growing-up years, but he also believes that “if they fully participate in the parish when they are young, they will stay active as adults.”
This year more than 400 children received their first Communion. He has also ramped up the number of teenagers, now in the hundreds, who are confirmed at the parish each year and encourages and recruits many of them to lead the parish programs for younger children.
With Catholic Extension’s help, the parish started a new summer camp for children this year that focuses on faith, music and science. It was a hit.
For adults, Father Herrera works around their demanding schedules. When agricultural fields are dormant, he holds Bible classes. He also started a group of “Soldiers of Christ” who help at the parish with painting, fixing pews and other small repairs as well as work at the youth retreats.
The parish has English, nutrition and parenting classes, a food bank and immigration assistance. Father Herrera has worked with Catholic Charities and the Mexican consulate to assist many of Greenfield’s young people in obtaining their DACA status.
Every spring break, 300 high school students attend anti-bullying and anti-violence classes. And, the parish has created sports and after-school programs to keep young people busy and out of trouble.
