(OSV News) — A new project has been launched to revitalize and rebuild the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico, following a number of natural disasters that have battered the island in recent years.
On March 31, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago joined Archbishop Roberto González Nieves of San Juan at that city’s Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist to unveil the interdiocesan effort, which will renew more than 600 Catholic churches, over 25 schools and other church structures across five dioceses.
Joining the cardinal and the archbishop at the event were Puerto Rico’s bishops, laypeople, public officials and leaders from the private sector.
Archbishop González welcomed participants to the cathedral, originally constructed in 1521 and ranking as the oldest Catholic church built in U.S. territory.
‘Faith of Our People’
He pointed to the “faith of our people,” which “has endured and sustained this cathedral for more than 500 years.”
“If it were not for the devotion of our people to the Eucharist, to the Virgin Mary and to the successor of St. Peter, it would not be possible for us to be sitting here today in this five-century-old cathedral,” he said.
The island-wide interdiocesan rebuilding initiative was established with the aid of the Catholic Extension Society and will span a period of five to seven years. It marks a robust public-private partnership, with more than $400 million in funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and private donations.
“We have supported the church on the island for at least 120 years,” said Cardinal Cupich, referencing Catholic Extension, which he serves as chancellor. The Chicago-based nonprofit founded in 1905 organizes support for some 15 million faithful whose Catholic communities are in the poorest regions of the U.S., including offshore U.S. territories.
Generate 7,000 Jobs
In addition, the effort will generate some 7,000 jobs, while enhancing the Catholic Church’s infrastructure for pastoral and humanitarian aid in Puerto Rico, where about 43% of the population lives in poverty — a rate far higher than that found in any U.S. state.
The pastoral facilities will expand the church’s operational footprint, while offering enhanced shelter amid hurricanes and earthquakes, which have hammered the island in rapid succession of late — with cascading effects on infrastructure, the economy and social well-being.
Last August, Ernesto struck Puerto Rico as a tropical storm, then strengthened into a hurricane the following day as it moved toward Bermuda.
The island’s energy grid remains fragile after multiple impacts from natural disasters.
‘Left in the Dark’
In September 2017, Hurricane Maria resulted in the nation’s longest blackout, with “almost the entire island … left in the dark,” according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Some households were not reconnected to the power grid until almost a year later, and nearly 3,000 died in the months after the storm as basic services and infrastructure were impaired.
Compounding that damage were a series of earthquakes and aftershocks that began in late December 2019 and continued into 2020, with a magnitude 6.4 earthquake striking southwestern Puerto Rico Jan. 7, 2020.
The cardinal noted he has been regularly reporting to Pope Francis on the progress of church and school restoration overseen by Catholic Extension’s recovery program.
The island-wide program was set up after Hurricane Maria at the request of Puerto Rico’s dioceses, which despite limited resources continued to operate and provide humanitarian aid, even without electricity.
Tangible Results
“That’s why I stand here with great joy in my heart, and as I begin to see the physical and tangible results,” he said.
He noted that “tears, sweat and determination on the part of so many” had “brought us to this long awaited moment of restoring our churches.” He added, “This is really not a landing strip, but a launchpad to begin.”
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.
