We are thrilled to welcome Fr. Joel Flores, the pastor of San Pedro Catholic Church in the Diocese of Brownsville, TX. Fr. Joel shares some of the innovative ways his parish has responded to the needs of the community throughout the pandemic, including transforming a trailer into a mobile chapel. He also reflects on his ministry of burying indigent or unclaimed bodies in the parish cemetery. We talk about our experiences presiding at funerals in the Rio Grande Valley, which include cultural touches like mariachi bands and wailing women.

We are excited to welcome Brendon Tucker from Global Response Management, an organization that delivers emergency medical care in crisis situations around the world, including in northern Mexico along the border. In his interview, Tucker talks about how he got so involved in a medical organization without a medical background, and the drastic medical needs in Reynosa right now. We share about our experience of “caring for the sick” at the hygiene counter in the Humanitarian Respite Center of Catholic Charities in McAllen, TX. While we are only dispensing over-the-counter medication, it still causes us both to work up quite the sweat. We’re priests, not doctors!

We are delighted to welcome Vero Dimas from the Brownsville Wellness Coalition, an organization that offers programs that promote nutrition and healthy lifestyles. Brownsville has high rates of obesity and diabetes, and it’s one of the nation’s poorest cities by per capita income. The Brownsville Wellness Coalition addresses these issues by running a local farmer’s market, encouraging local produce growers, and offering lessons in healthy eating.

Vero Dimas, Executive Director of the Brownsville Wellness Coalition and a Brownsville native, talks about the wealth of the people, even among the poverty and low health marks. She emphasizes the value of not just feeding the hungry, but providing access to healthy food for everyone. We share a story about a meal with the family of the local car guard in Reynosa, who provides us with more than just parallel parking advice (although he provides that too!).

We are excited to welcome Chloe Rastatter and Christa Cook from Solidarity Engineering for our first episode of Season 2. Chloe and Christa are two of the three engineers who founded Solidarity Engineering, an organization working on the border to provide engineering solutions to water and sanitation problems, among other things. In this episode, they talk about the complexities of something as basic as providing clean drinking water, and what it’s like to work as women and engineers on the border. We share about the ways we’ve seen both the great needs for water for people in Reynosa, Mexico, and how water can make things more complicated, like when it rains!

Louie Hotop, SJ, and Brian Strassburger, SJ, are two Jesuit priests working on the US-Mexico border in the diocese of Brownsville, TX. This podcast explores the humanitarian response along the U.S.-Mexico border from a Catholic perspective.

Season 2 will focus on the Corporal Works of Mercy, and include interviews with organizations who are putting them into practice in very challenging conditions. The first episode of Season 2 will be released on Tuesday, March 1st. You can find the podcast in this feed and on our website (www.TheJesuitPost.org)

This podcast is edited and produced by the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the U.S. and hosted by The Jesuit Post. And it is definitely NOT sponsored by Amazon or Toyota.

It was our great pleasure to welcome Sr. Norma Pimentel, MJ, the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley for the last episode of Season 1. Sr. Norma works tirelessly on behalf of the most vulnerable on the US-Mexico border, and she is a well-known advocate for migrants and asylum seekers. If you enjoyed hearing from her in Episode 6, here is the full interview. Sr. Norma reflects on her own call to serve the poor and marginalized as a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, and she calls on all people of good will to "come and see" how Christ is present along the border. The full interview includes insights into her own prayer life and how she handles the pressure that comes with being a high profile advocate on the border.

We were honored to have Bishop Daniel Flores for our first interview. As the bishop of Brownsville, TX, Bishop Flores is deeply invested in and knowledgeable of the border reality. If you enjoyed hearing from him in Episode 1, here is the full interview. Bishop Flores shares his reflections on the dignity of the human person, especially from the perspective of the poorest among us. The full interview also expands on the history of the Diocese of Brownsville and dives deeper into his own philosophy.

For our final episode of the first season of The Jesuit Border Podcast, it is our pleasure to welcome Sr. Norma Pimentel, MJ, the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. Sr. Norma works tirelessly on behalf of the most vulnerable on the US-Mexico border, and she is a well-known advocate for migrants and asylum seekers. She was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2020. The Humanitarian Respite Center that Sister started several years ago helps hundreds of migrant families every week, and it has been an essential part of our ministry in the Valley.

In this episode, Sr. Norma reflects on her own call to serve the poor and marginalized as a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, and she calls on all people of good will to "come and see" how Christ is present along the border. We also share the challenge of prioritizing the needs of the most vulnerable in the camp and highlight the generous cocineras that we depend upon!

This week on The Jesuit Border Podcast, it is our pleasure to welcome Felicia Rangel-Samponaro, the co-founder of The Sidewalk School, a school for migrant children in the Reynosa encampment, along with other sites in northern Mexico. Felicia is a strong advocate for asylum-seekers, and she is particularly focused on amplifying their voices and creating opportunities to exhibit their talents.

In this episode Felicia shares from her own experience of living in solidarity with asylum-seekers and offers reflections on the border reality. We also share about Pastor Hector, founder of the “Senda de Vida” shelter in Reynosa, who really exemplifies solidarity with the most vulnerable.

We are delighted to welcome Ofelia de los Santos who works for the Diocese of Brownsville, TX. Ofelia is the Director of Jail Ministry, the Director of Stewardship, and the liaison for Catholic Relief Services. In a word, she wears many hats! In this episode Ofelia shares from her experiences of accompanying detained men and women as a lawyer and as a chaplain. We also share about our ministry with unaccompanied minors, including insights into what it’s like to offer counseling during confessions in a different language and through a mask.