People on fire with enthusiasm for the Church The Redemptorists were working in Brazil in 1929 in the border town of Bella Vista when Paraguayans, who had no priest in their town of Bella Vista across the Apa River, crossed the water and asked the Redemptorist Father to come to their town to celebrate Mass for a special feast day. That was the beginning of the order's ongoing mission in Paraguay. The mission flourished and today there are nearly 50 professed Redemptorists, most men from Paraguay, and 40 men in formation in the Vice Province of Asuncion. Over the years, many Redemptorists from the states served the people of Paraguay. Father Jim Gilmore, C.Ss.R., of the Baltimore Province lived and worked there for 20 years starting in the early 1970s. He spent 10 years on the Brazilian border and 10 in the capitol. "The people of Paraguay are very receptive and supportive of their parish priests," recalls the 58-year old who is now the pastor of a predominantly Hispanic parish in Baltimore, Maryland. "Working in Paraguay at that time was a great experience of the Church. There was a great deal of responsibility, but also the opportunity to take the creative initiative in ministry. We formed Bible study groups, started marriage encounters, and offered an intensive course in Christian theology. The people were on fire with enthusiasm for their Church." Exciting work Father Ron Bonneau, C.Ss.R., pastor of the Immaculate Conception parish, which is also predominantly Hispanic, in Bronx, New York, was in Paraguay for 24 years starting in 1972. He speaks of the challenging, but exciting world he found. "At that time, the country was not very developed. The border town where we worked was much like the Wild West. The parish was enormous-about 250 miles long and 50 miles wide. We traveled every week to minister to the people in the rural countryside where there were no paved roads and most towns did not have a chapel. We said Mass and slept in the school. It was very exciting for a young missionary." In addition to preaching, both Baltimore Province Redemptorists taught school when they lived in Bella Vista. Father Bonneau helped set up agricultural co-ops so the people could sell what they grew and use the proceeds to buy basic necessities for their community. Forming the next generation of religious When they moved to the capitol of Asuncion, Fathers Gilmore and Bonneau took part in the creation of the Institute for Religious Life, an intercongregational program for the formation of religious novices. Both were deeply involved in providing spiritual direction to those interested in joining religious life and also to those who had already made the commitment to the Church. The Institute has born much fruit. In fact, there are such a great number of vocations in Paraguay that the U.S. provinces no longer need to send men to the country.