When a group of Province educators was in Belize for a service-immersion experience in the summer of 2021, Fr. Matt Ruhl, S.J., the pastor of St. Peter Claver parish in Punta Gorda, challenged the group – “It is great that your schools come to Belize City to work. What about coming to help at my school?” Scranton Preparatory School responded.

Seventeen rising Scranton Prep senior boys and girls were fortunate to be the guests of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Punta Gorda, Belize, this past July. Traveling with this group were Prep’s President, *Father A.J. Rizzo, S.J., Principal, Kristin Cupillari, and College Admissions Counselor, Todd Bailey.

The parish, directed by Father Matthew Ruhl, S.J., serves over 30 local villages as well as 30 schools, which educate over 5,000 students. Living in the parish guest house, the enthusiastic rising seniors spent the week constructing a 100-foot sidewalk and a footbridge for Saint Peter Claver School, as well as landscaping the campus, and providing support in the parish office for families who were seeking assistance with uniform orders, textbooks, and scholarships.

In addition to evening reflections at the parish guest house, the group celebrated Mass at the parish and at the home of the parish mission director. In their non-working time they had the opportunity to visit the town market area, a local water fall, and a local Caye. Prep will return with a new group in June 2024.

*Fr. Angelo Rizzo, S.J. had been in southern Belize during his pilgrimage experience as a novice and was able to introduce the Scranton Prep group to the area and culture in this first step of building a new relationship between these two communities.