The largest popular neighborhood in Caracas, Petare, mourned the death of Father Miguel Vargas for COVID-19. It has been a common story in recent months in Venezuela, a Catholic country, with high poverty, in which one in five priests has contracted the coronavirus.
“Father Miguel was a very happy man, very helpful and very open to the whole community,” said Father Arsenio Zambrano, who succeeded Vargas as pastor of Petare, who died on April 15 at age 51.
“He conveyed that joy a lot,” added this young priest, ten years younger than his predecessor, shortly before giving mass with his mask on in front of a group of parishioners in the neighborhood’s colonial-style church, built in the 18th century.
Petare is hit by poverty and crime, a reflection of the crisis in this Caribbean country of 30 million inhabitants.
The social work of organizations like Cáritas never stops in this community, in which a swarm of precarious houses made of cement blocks and zinc roofs crowd in the mountains that surround the colorful houses of its historic center and the buildings of its effervescent shopping area.
“There is rapprochement with the sick, with the most vulnerable people, with everyone who needs it,” said Zambrano.
Since the pandemic reached Venezuela in March 2020, “there are 439 infected priests among the 2,113 priests, of which 45 died,” the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference reported last week in a statement.
“Everyone here was very fond of him. I was too ill for (his death). Bad, bad, bad, “said Marbelis Turmero sadly, a 52-year-old neighbor in this neighborhood of 400,000 inhabitants.
The pandemic has hit the Venezuelan Catholic Church from its bases, with the death of men like Father Vargas, up to the top of his hierarchy, with the death of Cardinal Jorge Urosa Sabino on September 23, at the age of 73.
According to official figures, questioned by organizations such as Human Rights Watch for considering that they hide a high underreporting, Venezuela has suffered some 440,000 cases of COVID-19 and 5,000 deaths.
Risk personnel
In front of the Petare church, dominoes and chess players gather in the late afternoon, while teenagers exchange verses in freestyle rap battles. What happened there was not an isolated case.
“In 38 of the current 41 ecclesiastical circumscriptions of Venezuela, there have been members of the clergy who have suffered contagion,” indicated the Episcopal Conference. “In 17 dioceses there have been deaths.”
“We cannot avoid visiting the sick, being with people, it is impossible, therefore, we are risk personnel,” declares Father Carlos Márquez, vicar of the Archdiocese of Caracas and parish priest in Bello Campo, a middle-class area in Caracas. .
The government authorized the reopening of temples in November 2020, after seven and a half months closed for quarantine.
Set an example
Antibacterial gel and signs that ask to wear masks and respect social distancing are common at the doors of churches.
“I am very picky in that sense,” said Father Zambrano, who officiates a daily mass from Monday to Friday and three on Sundays in Petare. “You have to take care of yourself to be able to take care of others. You set the example ”.
The church of Petare has crosses made with adhesive tape on its wooden pews to remind the parishioners to keep distance between them and tries to offer more ceremonies to avoid crowds. The one in Bello Campo, meanwhile, blocks posts with yellow security tapes: “Danger, don’t pass.”
Vaccination has been essential, indicates Márquez on the other hand.
“We made a great effort to get vaccines not only for priests, but also for the people of God,” said the vicar, referring to vaccination days undertaken in temples with support from the Ministry of Health.
A query from the Archdiocese of Caracas found that 83% of priests in the capital have been immunized.
The government maintains that 80% of the Venezuelan population has been vaccinated, but the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) estimates that only a third have received two doses.
.
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
