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PORTUGAL: Amazon missionary launches Heroic Priests book
By John Newton
John Pontifex, author of Heroic Priests, Father Peter Shekelton and Catarina Martins, national director of Aid to the Church in Need (Portugal) at the book launch in Portugal
An English priest whose missionary work in the Amazon earned him a place in a publication honouring heroic clergy took centre stage at the launch of the Portuguese version of the book last week.
Father Peter Shekelton was brought up in the Yorkshire city of Sheffield and worked as a firefighter in London before taking up his vocation.
He recounted his exploits in the remote region of Brazil at the release of Sacerdotes Heroicos (Heroic Priests), published by the Portuguese office of Aid to the Church in Need.
Father Shekelton also picked up a generous donation from an Aid to the Church in Need benefactor, who was moved by the story of his life and work told in the original English version of the book.
The book launch was held at Lisbon’s Santíssimo Sacramento Church last Thursday, 17th June.
Catarina Martins, national director of Aid to the Church in Need in Portugal, said Father Shekelton’s participation was “very important”, especially as his pastoral work in the Amazon receives funding from Aid to the Church in Need.
The charity’s help includes petrol for the boat he uses during his pastoral outreach up and down the banks of the Amazon.
Ms Martins added: “He is the only priest who visits this region once a year. With the help of a group of young people, he sets about evangelising the local population.
“For us at Aid to the Church in Need, it was very inspiring and rewarding to hear from him about his experience in the field.”
Father Shekelton is a priest in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, and his ministry includes work in the Favelas – the city’s slums.
During the summer he visits villages along the Rio Arari, a tributary of the Amazon river, preaching the Gospel and bringing the sacraments to those without access to a priest.
Each summer, he visits the Catholic faithful in more than 30 villages along the water’s edge.
Those living alongside the river are mostly subsistence farmers who make their living by selling vegetables.
Father Shekelton told listeners that when he first began visiting the water-side villages in 2003, Mass had not been celebrated in many places for two or three years. One village near Lago Canaçari had not seen a priest for five years.
Also speaking at the launch was the book’s author, John Pontifex, who is head of press and information for Aid to the Church in Need UK.
He underlined the importance of honouring exemplary clergy, especially during Pope Benedict XVI’s Year for Priests, which closed earlier this month.