Mission Office

The Partnership	Mission Statement	Reflection Resources	Visits - Delegations	MISSIONERS to MN and Maracay	Sister Parishes	Support	Connecting Teens and Kids
"If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time...But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." - Lila Watson

Members of the 2005 delegation with friends in Maracay

Latest News in the Maracay - St. Cloud Diocesan Partnership:

A delegation just returned from Maracay, Venezuela. 12 delegates representing a wide range of our diocese made this pilgrimage June 3-13th. Please join these individuals, their families and parishes in praying for the continued success of the partnership and solidarity following their experiences.

Download our Maracay Partnership Brochure

Thanks to a dedicated group of people, including Jim McAlister of Tell-A-Vision Productions in St. Joseph, MN, we have completed a DVD on the St. Cloud-Maracay Partnership. Copies are available for loan or purchase at the Mission Office. Preview sections of the video here:

• Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GyDMi6Rq3U
• Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-b_v_xmKKU
• Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zetvlbfcHEo

A bit of History on the Partnership's Travels:

The partnership between the Dioceses of St. Cloud and Maracay has a long history dating back to 1964, when 2 priests from the St. Cloud Diocese went to Maracay to live and serve. Today, this diocesan partnership has also evolved to the sending of missioners from Maracay to serve and walk in faith with the people of the Diocese of St. Cloud, as well as sending many short-term missioners through delegations to-and-from one another's dioceses. The people of the St. Cloud Diocese are also becoming more engaged in this partnership by becoming delegates to Maracay and hosting delegates from Maracay in their homes and parishes. This travel is now set-up on a 3-year cycle: we travel there one year, they travel here the next, and we postpone travel the following for a year of implementation of jointly-defined goals and projects; and then we begin the cycle again. Recent travels include:

A delegation of 12 people from throughout the St. Cloud Diocese made the journey to Maracay in June of 2008.

A delegation from our partner Diocese of Maracay, Venezuela visited us here in the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota in mid-October 2006. The delegation was comprised of 6 people from priests to laity, permanent deacon to journalist, teacher of children's catechism to teacher of teachers. This varied group brought MANY gifts to us!

Summer of 2005 Fr. José Gregorio Bracamonte journeyed to the St. Cloud Diocese to be in mission to us. He will be living and ministering in the diocese for 5 years, and is currently serving as the Diocesan Hispanic Minister.

In July of 2005 several members of the St. Cloud Diocese traveled to Maracay for 2 weeks to experience prayer and liturgy, family life and ministry in their diocese.

A delegation also traveled to Maracay in summer of 2003, and there was a delegation to St. Cloud in fall of 2004. Sister Parish specific delegations have traveled from St. Cloud to Maracay in January of 2004 & 2005 also.

Contact us if you are interested in interacting with future delegations or traveling on delegations to Venezuela.

For more info on the Partnership...

• Invite a missioner or past delegate from Maracay to come give a presentation to your parish, school, or group about this partnership.
• Check out other mission office educational resources on Venezuela and/or other topics.

Or view fuller highlights from past delegations...

• The October 2006 Delegation visiting our St. Cloud Diocese
• The July 2005 Delegation to Maracay, Venezuela
• The January 2005 Delegation to Maracay, Venezuela
• The October 2004 Delegation visiting our St. Cloud Diocese
• The January 2004 Delegation to Maracay, Venezuela
• The August 2003 Delegation with founding missionary, Fr. Minette.

To learn more about
other St. Cloud Diocesan Global Partnerships and relationships;
return to the Global Solidarity Web Page