On April 15 took place the inauguration and blessing of the new Community Development Center that the Community of Saint Paul has established in the El Pesebre neighborhood of Bogotá (Colombia).
This Community Development Center has been baptized as “Casa Garavito”, in memory of Fr. Alfonso Garavito Rodríguez, a priest from Bogotá who from the mid-60s to his death in 2006 exercised his ministry, with exemplary dedication, in the southern side of the Colombian capital. For a time, he even resided in the house that, now, the CSP has rented and arranged to be used for pastoral purposes.
In the premises of the Center, the Sewing Workshop established by the CSP has already been in operation for several weeks. Thirty women are currently being trained there. Soon, we will also transfer there the classes we offer to a group of older adults in the neighborhood, as well as a small library, school reinforcement classes and catechesis for children and young people.
For the blessing of the Center we had the presence of Msgr. Alberto Forero Castro, Vicar of the Pastoral Region of Bogotá in whose territory is located the Pesebre neighborhood. A good number of neighbors and members of the local community also participated in the celebration.
It is our wish that the new Community Development Center “Casa Garavito” may contribute to the wellbeing of the section of Bogotá where it is located, becoming a place where many people may be trained to face, with the right tools, the many challenges that life poses to them.
