La Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) is the Archdiocese of Milwaukee's Sister Parish in the Dominican Republic. It is also the sister parish of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. It has been the missionary outreach of our archdiocese since 1981 and our sister parish as of March 2017. That's over 40 years of shared faith and friendship!
The parish is located in the province of Azua, in the southwest region of the Dominican Republic. It serves 30,000 people living in 22 towns and villages. Sabana Yegua is the largest town, with a population of approximately 10,000. The parish center, with its main church, offices, and parish hall, is located there.
To attend to the many needs of the parish, two priests from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee work with a pastoral staff and dozens of volunteers from the region (all of whom are native to the Dominican Republic).
In addition to nurturing the spiritual needs of the parish through evangelization, catechesis, the celebration of the sacraments in every village, prayer groups, adult and youth formation, and leadership training, the priests and the staff strive to address the various material needs of parishioners. Endemic poverty, lack of proper health care, insufficient educational opportunities, and inadequate housing are only some of the challenges facing our parishioners in La Sagrada Familia.
The comfort and confidence a well-constructed home with strong walls and a roof provides is incalculable and invaluable for many in our sister parish community. A home can afford a much-needed layer of stability to a family in which job insecurity, feeding children, and housing are basic issues to contend with. Providing homes has improved the lives of families in this regard. The need still persists and continues to grow. Previously constructed homes have led to direct and tangible benefits, such as bringing joy and pride to an elderly man who has planted a plantain garden next to his home. A family is adding a second level to their home for their growing children. Additionally, another home went to a family whose parents are both HIV positive, allowing them to be in a safe place and minimizing the chance of infections. The housing needs of the poor and vulnerable are basic yet go a long way to providing security, self-confidence, pride, and happiness. We often think of warm-weather countries close to the ocean as paradise, but the reality is that in our sister parish community, a lack of good job prospects to support a family and a weak social security system can severely stress a family already stressed by not having good and basic housing.
-Hans Higdon, Cathedral Parishioner and Sister Parish Committee Member
The weekend of October 26-27, the Cathedral, along with the other parishes in our cluster, will be holding its annual mission appeal for the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, to promote and assist in the operations of missions throughout the world. Envelopes for your financial contribution will be available with the bulletin or at each of the Cathedral's entrances. We thank you in advance for your support of our sister parish, La Sagrada Familia.
Sister Parish Commission
The weekend of October 7-8, the Cathedral, along with the other parishes in our cluster, will be holding its annual mission appeal for the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, to promote and assist in the operations of missions throughout the world. This year Dolores Puértolas, Pastoral Associate from our sister parish, La Sagrada Familia, has recorded a video which will give you a glimpse of why she became involved in missionary work, along with the ongoing needs of how your financial assistance will make a difference for children, youth, older adults, and those in prison. You will find an envelope in the bulletin this weekend or near each of our exits in which you can contribute to sustain these vital ministries for sisters and brothers in the Dominican Republic. Pressing needs at this time are care packages for the elderly, which cost $15 per month, and school tutoring for children, with a cost of $600 per year.
As always, a heartfelt thanks for your continued support,
Sister Parish Commission
Rev. Javier Guativa-Rozo
Rev. Javier Guativa–Rozo
Priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Ordained to the priesthood in May of 2011. Fr. Javier is a Member of the Community of St. Paul where he served the people of La Sagrada Familia in formation from 2003 to 2005. Fr. Javier was born in Columbia, Villavicencio, “el Llano.” He is the youngest child and only son of his family. Fr. Javier was Associate Pastor of St. John Paul II for 4 years, and 1 year at St. Adalbert Milwaukee. Fr. Javier served as Administrator /Pastor for St. Lucy and St. Sebastian Parishes in Racine for 4 years.
Rev. ThomasNadiu MMI
Rev. Thomas Nadiu MMI – Associate Pastor
Rev Thomas Naidu was born and raised at Chennai in India on October 25, 1973. His parent’s names are Joachim and Regina Mary and he has only one younger sister who is married. As he was educated in several Catholic schools in his city, he was inspired by priests, religious and missionaries and joined in the seminary to become a Missionary after the graduation from school in June 1992.
After twelve years of formation with international communities, he was ordained priest on December 21, 2003 for the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate – MMI. He served in Brazil and India for the first twelve years and has an opportunity to work for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee since June 2015.
As an associate pastor, he completed five years of his ministry at Holy Family Parish in Fond du Lac WI and presently continues to serve at La Sagrada Familia, since July 2020 as an associate.
Deacon Domingo
Deacon Domingo
Presides over funeral services, visiting and celebrating the liturgy of the Word in some of the parish communities and doing ministry at the prison. D. Domingo visits the prison every other week. Scooter was a gift for his ministry from the Deacons of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Dolores Puértolas Cibrián
Dolores Puértolas Cibrián – Pastoral Associate
Originally from Barcelona, Spain, Born in 1968.
Degree in English and German language and literature. Various courses on non profit management and development and social projects. Member of the Community of Saint Paul since 1989 Youngest of four children, parents and one brother deceased.
Ministry in different positions and countries: Kenya, Bolivia, Mexico, Germany, Spain and the DR (for ten years now). My work has been both pastoral and social, mainly dealing with children, women and youth in education, health and nutrition but also dealing with water supply and different integral development projects.
Dear Parish Family and Friends,
As Lent approaches and we likewise reflect on our own lives and do away with what is unnecessary and distracts us from God, it is likewise important to consider what others need to assist them in making their life less difficult to live. For the poor, difficulties can be found at every junction, whether in finding good work, growing food, or in raising a family, for example.
In the last year, the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist and Holy Apostles in New Berlin sponsored the building of a reservoir in the community of Barrera. Barrera is part of the greater La Sagrada Familia parish community and is especially poor. Prior to the reservoir, the forty-five farmers struggled to channel and collect water from the highlands for irrigating their crops. A reservoir was needed to collect and store the water. This will dramatically better the lives of many families who had resorted to making charcoal to make ends meet at the expense of the neighboring forests. You can view a video providing more detail on this project on this page.
This year, the Cathedral is seeking to build simple but sturdy houses for at need families. There are several families living in shacks with dirt floors and without sturdy walls. The cost per house is approximately $7,000 and will go a long way to making the lives of a head of household and respective children much easier.
Sincerely your servants in Christ,
La Sagrada Familia Commission
Mission Appeal Stories
We the sister parish commission, would like to share some stories of some of our parishioners, who traveled there in March of 2018 and how it has transformed their lives. Please click on the photos below to read their stories.
