Our Brazilian Community

OUR LADY OF APARECIDA – PATRON SAINT OF BRAZIL

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THIS IS HOW WE STARTED THE BRAZILIAN COMMUNITY AT ST. JOHN, THE MOTHER OF ALL.

The Brazilian Community started on May 17, 1998. Prior to that date, some Brazilian parishioners of St. John took notice that many very devout Brazilians Catholics, who didn’t understand English, started attending to a Brazilian Protestant church next to the Fire Department on San Pablo Ave, not very far from us. They didn’t feel fulfilled attending mass in a language they didn’t understand. For them, it was if they hadn’t gone to mass at all.

Something had to be done to correct the situation. A few Brazilian Catholics had been gathering together on Fridays for a Bible Study with Father Antonio Reis. Then one member, Jose Freitas, brought to the group this concern and suggested if we could celebrate masses since we already had a priest in our midst. Fr. Antonio told him if he could find a place, he would celebrate Sunday masses every week. Then Jose, since he and his parents were parishioners at St. John, scheduled a meeting with Fr. John Maxwell, the pastor at the time, and explained to him the situation and the proposal of Fr. Antonio. Then, without any hesitation, he opened the doors for us saying that since the church wasn’t being used after the 12:30pm mass, we could have our masses celebrated any time we wanted. Jose then asked to have the masses celebrated at 5pm, the same time of the Saturday masses, which Fr. John agreed. He thanked Fr. John and left.

The news was received with great joy by the group. We didn’t hesitate a bit. We had decided to start celebrating our masses in 2 weeks. Jose met again with Fr. John Maxwell and this time Fr. Leo Assuncion, the parochial vicar, was also present. He told the priests that we would like to start celebrating masses 2 weeks later. Fr. Leo suggested to start, only celebrate masses once a month, because that would be too much at the beginning. Jose insisted that wouldn’t be enough, for people who are very devout, would still be going to the Protestant church. They agreed.

We advertised the masses to all people that we knew. During the first mass, we had 12 people attending the first mass plus Fr. Antonio celebrating. It was small but very holy. Over the years, many more people from other parts of the Bay Area, like San Francisco, Daily City, San Rafael, Concord, Oakland, Hercules, just to name a few, started coming, No other masses were being celebrated anywhere else in the Bay Area.

Then, some members coming from further away cities like San Francisco and San Rafael started complaining that they were coming from far away, had to drive through traffic, and pay tool for the bridge. Since the community was growing very fast, we had to structure ourselves so we could properly manage the growth. We formed a council with some key members. During one of our meetings, Jose brought the complaint over and it was discussed. Then he suggested that instead of bringing people to the church, we brought the church to the people The idea was very cheerfully welcomed. Then in the year of 2001, he scheduled a meeting with San Francisco Archbishop William Levada, brought the complaint of the people, presented to him the quick growth of the Brazilian Community on the East Bay, and asked him permission to start a Brazilian Community on his archdiocese. He welcomed the idea with open arms and told him to find himself a church. The first mass in San Francisco was celebrated by Fr. Eduardo, a visiting priest who came to lead a retreat, since Fr. Antonio was visiting Brazil at the time, on March 31, 2001, Saturday at 7pm, at Mission Dolores, one week before Holy Week.

The same complaint was coming from people coming from San Rafael, Corte Madera, and vicinity. We then on November 8, 2003, started a Brazilian Community at Mission San Rafael on Saturday evening, after we changed the mass in San Francisco to Sunday morning at a different church. Two years later, we started a Brazilian Community in Concord at St. Francis of Assissi, where they still celebrate masses.

PENTECOSTES