The new St. Martin’s means so much to the people of Iztapalapa. As Father Jesus explains, “It means everything to them. It gives them an identity.
The good people of Saint Martin of Tours parish in Iztapalapa, Mexico, are pleased to share the news that their new church is nearing completion. This project began many years ago. Father Jesus Ramirez, S.T., remembers arriving in Iztapalapa in July 2006 and finding some of the poorest people who had come to the capital area to find work. These hardworking people arrived with the barest necessities. They had no shelter and started off living in shacks made of poles planted in the ground with sheets of corrugated metal for walls and a roof.
The local church ― St. Martin Tours ― plays a significant role in the daily lives of this faithful community. In 2007, the roof of the church collapsed, but this did not deter the faithful from celebrating Mass. They simply built a makeshift chapel and began plans to build anew.
The new St. Martin’s means so much to the people of Iztapalapa. As Father Jesus explains, “It means everything to them. It gives them an identity. Most of these people come from very rural areas in Mexico ― Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla and Veracruz ― where the church is the most important building in the community. That’s why these poor find ways to give to build their church.”
This new structure will serve the nearly 10,000 people who call this area in Iztapalapa home.
The estimated cost to build the new church is over $300,000 (US). Everyone has made sacrifices to contribute their pesos each week to the building fund, and the women of the parish still sell tamales to the townspeople to make money for the church fund.
The new St. Martin of Tours stands on the same grounds as the previous structure. This new structure will serve the nearly 10,000 people who call this area in Iztapalapa home.
By supporting the good works of Trinity Missions, you make projects like St. Martin of Tours possible. You bring hope to the hopeless and you prove that dreams can come true!
