Over the next two episodes, host Eric Clayton is going to take you on an adventure. We’re going to travel to Central America, to a small country on the Caribbean Sea. A country that is both ancient and relatively new. A place that is both a melting pot of so very many cultures and ways of life, and yet is also the least populated country in all of Central America.

We're going on pilgrimage to Belize.

Eric was there earlier this year visiting the Jesuit communities. Jesuits have been in Belize since 1851, when members of the English Province came over from nearby Jamaica. Ever since, Jesuit have played a foundational role in the development of the Catholic Church in the country — even before it was a country.

And that last bit is important. The Mayan people lived and thrived in that land for centuries before Europeans arrived in the early 1500s. But when the Spanish conquistadors arrived — and soon after, British pirates — the Mayan people suffered, dying from conflict as well as disease.

The country as it’s known today became independent in 1981. Before then, since 1862, Belize was declared part of the British Empire and known as British Honduras. As a result of the relative new-ness of the country, Belizeans are still in the process of discovering their own identity, of making known what it means to be a citizen of Belize.

So, what role are the Jesuits playing in all of this? As you'll hear from today's guest, Fr. Brian Christopher, SJ, the superior of the Jesuit community in Belize, the Jesuits are called to accompaniment. Fr. Brian is focused on walking with Belizeans in discovering what it means to be Catholic and Belizean is this moment.

This is part 1 of a two-part series on Belize. Next week, we'll journey to a different part of the country. In the meantime, check out this video featuring Fr. Brian and some of the lay leadership in Belize: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cLzGsVsxRs