CONTINUED “BIO” FOR REVEREND JOSEPH UHEN
Father Joe was introduced very early on his Priestly formation to the Piura parish of Santisimo Sacramento during a week sabbatical week-long to Peru while he was studying at the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. During this sabbatical, he met Father David Becherer, the former priest and pastor of Santisimo Sacramento Parish, who was about to retire. After Father Joe completed his studies in Rome, he was drawn back to Piura, Peru on August 22, 1993 where he was, subsequently, ordained deacon in the Church of St. Martin. A couple of years later, he was ordained priest on April 1, 1995. Later he was assigned pastor of the Parish of Santisimo Sacramento in July 1998.
Early on, Father Joe knew of the many challenges he faced ahead with the Piura parish’s population of close to 40,000. And he also faced an unfinished sanctuary.
Father Joe said as an anecdote, “Every morning the Lord woke him and deprived him of sleep. Then he got up, sat on a bench and watched the sanctuary and he imagined how he must plan and try to apply everything he had learned about the infrastructure that a parish should have to truly serve the community.”
Although the construction of the sactuary rose gradually, it was finally completed in 2000, and since then, the parish has expanded to include a Friendship (Parish) hall, staff offices, and rooms for priests and missionaries. Today, the Parish is a campus, which includes a Pastoral Assistance Center, a clinic and operating room, as well as multiple rooms for Bible studies and lessons.
Presently, under the guidance of Fr. Joe, 25 other small community chapels have been built in and around the city of Piura. Father Joe says he never tires of building more. Many have been constructed with U.S. support, and in many cases, Piura residents have built their own chapels with help from the parish. The many American parishes & organizations that support the Piura Parish include: Saint Ann’s Parish in Texas; Parish of Christ the King of Oklahoma; Parish of San Juan Bautista in Oklahoma; St. Monica Parish in Oklahoma; St. Anthony Parish in Wisconsin; St. Patrick in Chicago, Illinois; Sacred Heart College in San Francisco, California; University of Notre Dame; Mundelein Seminary; and Creighton University.
Throughout the year many missionaries arrive from American parishes to work in solidarity to help those in need; especially in servicing the poorest of the poor. Father Joe travels once a year to the U.S. to thank the parishes and also to motivate missionaries to come to Piura. Father Joe has built special rooms for the missionaries to stay in while missioning in Piura with the capacity for up to 60 people. Other various projects and initiatives Father Joe and the Santisimo Sacramento Parish team have accomplished in the past 28 years include the following:
Mary’s House (Casa Maria): A shelter for women and their children who are facing domestic abuse. They are given a home with a living room, kitchen, bathroom, etc., along with love and understanding for a month until the parish legal team can find the viable resources so they can transition into a safe environment. The shelter is a 20-bed facility.
Chapel of San Miguel National College: Built on the campus of 3,000 male students where students can receive counseling and spiritual guidance. Holds effigy of St. Michael the Archangel.
St. Lucia Clinic: Missionaries who travel from the U.S. twice a year between May and August provide care, free of charge to those in need and do not have resources. These missionaries are professionals in medical care, dentistry, nursing, midwifery, and volunteers. This clinic also holds the free medical clinic, a Pro-Life Office and Project Rachel office that provides spiritual and moral support people who have been affected directly/indirectly by a desired/unwanted abortion.
The John Paul II Pavilion in the Village of Le Legue: This facility provides a gathering place for the residents, especially the 100-150 elderly who meet monthly for a community lunch and activities.
The Angels (Los Angeles): Hospice for the terminally ill. This facility provides spiritual support and medical care to patients with serious, terminal medical conditions who have no family, or have been abandoned, and/or require medical assistance that cannot be provided.
Saint Santa Rose Home and Mother the Redeemer Home Orphanages and Children’s Homes: Aids in providing food and basic needs for Santa Rose for 60 children; Mother of Redeemer Home for 70 girls.
Christ the King School (Colegio Cristo Rey): Donates school supplies and daily breakfasts for primary school for those in need in the town of San Jacinto.
Drug Rehabilitation Center and Alcoholics New Life in Christ (Nuevo Vida): A residential home for young people who have fallen into drug/alcohol abuse where they can achieve their recovery and reintegration into society. 12-step program.
Family to Family Program: Initiated in 1999, now more than 1600 families benefit from $30 monthly packages of emergency supplies, most of which have U.S. benefactors.
The Villa San Jacinto Spiritual Retreat House: The facility provides a beautiful atmosphere of peace, tranquility and spirituality. It has spacious rooms and dormitories for up to 90 beds with entirely free usage.
“Mother of Good Counsel” School: The school provides education to more than 700 students from pre-kindergarten, primary and secondary.
Daily breakfast for children: More than 16 soup kitchens provide a daily breakfast up to 1600 children Monday through Saturday.
Santa Margarita Cemetery: Available for use to the poorest of the poor.
Farm Loan Program: More than 200 farmers benefit from loans to plant products.
Wheelchair and crutches loans: This medical equipment is provided where 70% of the price or where people pay what they can.
Refuge El Buen Samaritano: Shelter for homeless people
San Miguel Mental Health Center: Free psychological counseling
Beata Margarita de Castillo Center: Physical Therapy trainging and recovery
Program grants: Containers arrive from the U.S. to parish four times a year full of clothing, shoes, medical equipment, chairs, school supplies, toys.