Diocesan parishes’ special collections to aid recovery from storm damage in Guatemala total $35,175. As a group, parishes in the Kalispell Deanery collected the largest sum: $12,173. By parish, the largest amount of money came from Kalispell’s St. Matthew, which collected $6,538.

The figures are from the Guatemala Mission office at the Chancery. Tropical Storm Agatha punched Central America on May 29-30 and hit Guatemala particularly hard, dumping as much as 3 feet of rain on some parts of the country, and triggering floods and mudslides. Dozens of deaths in Central America were attributed to the storm. The diocesan mission’s medical clinic saw an increased demand for services, and storm damage included breakage of the main water line serving the mission’s school, which enrolls about 600 children.

In a letter June 3, Bishop George Leo Thomas encouraged parishes to conduct special collections June 5-6 and June 12-13. It also was possible to give money online via the diocesan website.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 8, August 20, 2010.