Page 19 - Catholic Extension Magazine Summer2020

Extension | Summer 2020 19

Catholic Extension
supports 15 parishes
and missions on
Navajo Nation,
including Our Lady
of Fatima in Chinle,
Arizona, which was
built in 1904.
Residents of Navajo Nation face extreme
poverty with many residents lacking basic
resources, such as electricity. Additionally, a
third do not have access to clean water.

NAVAJO NATION REACHES HIGHEST INFECTION RATE IN U.S. outside the parish doors for people
to use for personal prayer.
In terms of mental health, the
sisters note an increase in depres-
Sister Michelle sion in their community members.
Woodruff, ASC, Moreover, they fear an outbreak of
who serves St. post-traumatic stress among med-
Paul Church in ical staff and first responders could
Crownpoint, New occur. They are overworked at their
Mexico, extends
pastoral care 76-bed regional hospital, where
and kind words the National Guard has provided
“virtually” to reinforcements.
her community The sisters know their mission
during the is to provide hope. With other pas-
COVID-19 crisis.
toral leaders on the Navajo res-
ervation, who are also supported
by Catholic Extension, they are
demonstrating in powerful ways
that even in this time of shelter-
in-place, the Church is still pres-
ent, especially in the poorest
with our limited resources find ing electric bills for the poor. The communities.
some means to facilitate the Holy sisters want to ensure that as the The response of the Church on
Spirit’s action.” pandemic subsides, parishioners Navajo Nation is a vivid example
Some 211 miles away in Tuba have a vibrant Church community of what “going to the peripher-
City, the Daughters of Charity con- to welcome them back. ies” looks like in our country, and
tinue their life-saving work, pri- Physical closure of the parish why it is so important to ensure
marily at St. Jude Parish. Catholic has not deterred these sisters, who that we have vibrant and transfor-
Extension has supported the sis- range in age from 77 to 79. They mative Catholic faith communities
ters during their 20-year tenure in “visit” by phone, which is not an entrenched in areas like these, to
this area. In addition to pastoral easy task when 40 percent of the accompany the oft-forgotten peo-
work, the sisters support charitable people lack electricity. Streaming ple of our land who face immense
causes through the parish, includ- Mass has been nearly impossible, challenges.
ing food distribution and fund- so they simply leave missalettes