Ss. Peter and Paul focused
on spiritual outreach

By George P. Matysek Jr.
Review staff correspondent
© 2002 The Catholic Review

CUMBERLAND – Fresh back from a harrowing trip to his church’s sister parish in the Diocese of Les Gonaives, Haiti, Father James Kurtz, O.F.M., Cap., was still shaken by the dire poverty and miserable living conditions he witnessed there.

Just to get to the remote Haitian parish, the pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul in Cumberland had to navigate muddy, unpaved roads that were sometimes obstructed by rocks. Fighting tropical temperatures and persistent mosquitoes, he then had to hike on foot to reach St. Joseph and its 12 missions – a trip that took more than six hours in total.

"You see all these pictures but when you get there what really amazed me was that the conditions were pretty bad – there was so much poverty," said Father Kurtz, who delivered the proceeds from a special collection his Cumberland parishioners had contributed to benefit St. Joseph’s 400-student elementary school.

"But what really impressed me was the people, the spirit and the faith of the people and the simplicity of the people," he added. "Even though it’s a place of poverty, there’s certainly a richness there."

Mary Ann Peer, a Ss. Peter and Paul parishioner, was one of the key forces behind starting a sister parish relationship in October. Members of the Cumberland faith community worked with Dr. Rodrigue Mortel, director of the archdiocesan Baltimore-Haiti project, to make it a reality.

Over the next few years, Father Kurtz said the two communities will pray for one another. There is also a possibility that Father Leroy Jean-Baptist, St. Joseph’s pastor, might one day visit Ss. Peter and Paul, he said.

"I think it’s a real beneficial relationship," said Father Kurtz, who wears the brown, hooded robes of the Capuchin Franciscan priests who have staffed Ss. Peter and Paul since 1875.

"It’s not just giving money," the Pittsburgh native explained. "We benefit too from the prayers that they offer us and just being able to be in contact with the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere."

The newly-launched sister parish relationship is only one example of how Ss. Peter and Paul is committed to spiritual outreach, long a hallmark of this 1,045-family parish in the mountains of Western Maryland. For the last several years, the parish has supported an adoration chapel during the week where people can pray in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.  More than 50 parishioners attend morning Mass – what the pastor called an "amazing number."  And committed volunteers regularly bring Holy Communion to the sick and shut-ins.

One of Ss. Peter and Paul’s most visible ministries is St. Anthony Place, a food pantry that last month served more than 142 families in need. Because the economically depressed community of Cumberland is suffering from a declining population, Father Kurtz said he has noticed a growing demand for the pantry’s services and a "steady flow" of people there.

In a recent bulletin announcement, Darlene Collins, volunteer coordinator of St. Anthony Place, noted that the number of people who turn to the outreach program is increasing "at an alarming rate."

"The lack of meaningful employment in our area is of great concern to all the people who staff St. Anthony Place," she said. "We are trying to find ways to continue to care for the needs of these families."

In addition to serving as pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul, Father Kurtz also heads the nearby faith community of St. Ambrose, a 350-family parish in Cresaptown. As leader of both parishes he has tried to encourage the two to work more closely together. Both share an RCIA program. They also recently launched an apologetics course held at St. Ambrose that attracts 30 people interested in learning how to defend their Catholic faith.

"Sometimes parishioners are up against people from other faiths who have questions about what we believe," said Father Kurtz, noting that there remains some misunderstanding about Catholicism.

"It’s important for Catholics to know what we believe and to explain what we believe and also to evangelize," he said.

The roots of Ss. Peter and Paul’s spiritual outreach go back to the Redemptorist priests and brothers who first staffed the parish.  Redemptorist St. John Neumann, C.Ss.R., served the parish in its early years, selecting the site for what was then a predominantly German parish. Another Redemptorist, Blessed Francis X. Seelos, C.Ss.R., served as pastor from 1857-1863.

Following a brief period in the 1860s and 1870s when the parish was staffed by Carmelites, the Capuchins have led the faith community since then with a lot of help from the Ursuline Sisters who once staffed the parish school and now are represented at the parish by Sister Rita Dressman, O.S.U., the director of religious education.

St. John Neumann School, located on the parish grounds, closed last year and relocated to Bishop Walsh School on Haystack Mountain. The parish uses the building for events like dinners and bazaars, as well as religious education programs.

For the future, Father Kurtz said he would love to one day convert the adoration chapel into a perpetual adoration chapel by working with the neighboring Catholic parishes. He would also like to see a prolife monument erected on the parish grounds.

"Our parishioners are very loyal," said Father Kurtz. "They take pride in the history of the parish."