Each month the diocesan magazine, The Central Minnesota Catholic plans to present and recognize a person who shares their experiences of faith in the Diocese of St. Cloud. To suggest someone for this recognition, please email us with the following information at kbanders@gw.stcdio.org.
Name: Maritza Caricote de Franco and Angel Alberto Franco
Parish: Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Morris
MARITZA
Occupation: Morris Area School-Food service worker. University of Minnesota Morris-Food service worker.
Hobbies / Interests: I like sewing, especially by hand because it is a way to de-stress and I collect key rings.
Tell us a little about yourself and / or your family.
Housewife, Venezuelan by birth, married to Angel Alberto Franco for 47 years. Mother of four wonderful children: 2 girls and two boys. Since August 2015 we are legally residing in the United States and living in Morris, MN.
My husband and I met very young and got married in 1973 in the church that would later become our parish for many years: Iglesia de San Judas Tadeo, Maracay-Aragua, Venezuela, and with which even, through technology , keep in touch. Our church of San Judas Tadeo, like the church of San Bartolome and the church of Santa Ines, in Maracay, were founded by extraordinary missionary priests from the Diocese of Saint Cloud who in the 60’s went to our city of Maracay to mission in the Diocese of Maracay, due to the lack of local priests; In addition to founding and building the headquarters of the churches mentioned above, they formed apostolic groups and helped us to grow spiritually and to be servants and promoters of the Kingdom of God in our communities. Among the missionary priests who went to Maracay from the Diocese of Saint Cloud, was Father Todd Schneider, current pastor of our parish here in Morris.
What do you like best about your parish community?
Upon arriving in Morris, we quickly incorporated ourselves into the city’s Catholic Church, where we found local and Latino faithful who opened the doors of their homes and their hearts to us, making us feel at home. Being part of this community has helped us to know, participate and share with other Latin American customs and to participate in cultural and religious activities of our own and others that have been incorporated into the Assumption church parish.
What is your favorite prayer?
The Holy Rosary, The Creed and the Magnificat
Who is your favorite saint? Why?
Saint Jude Thaddeus. Because being the saint of lost, desperate or impossible causes, he has helped me in many situations in my life. He was always a disciple who was at the side of the Lord, serving him constantly and quietly, he liked to be prayed for and that gave him strength for their service.
Name one way you are living your faith in your daily life.
Through the daily prayer of the Holy Rosary asking the Virgin for her intersection for me, my husband, children, family, friends, my country of birth and for this country that has opened its doors to us. Also through the daily reading of the Word that helps us find comfort, hope, strength and peace.
What inspires you to speak out and share your experiences of faith with others?
Having had an encounter with Jesus. Knowing that we have a heavenly Mother, Mary, who intercedes for us and knowing that the Holy Spirit gives us the courage to continue on our path of conversion. The fact of having God in our hearts gives us the necessary strength in our married, family and social life.
ANGEL
Occupation: Morris Area school-Food Service. Morris Coop Association-Station Attendant.
Hobbies / Interests: Woodworking and collecting minerals and rocks
What do you like best about your parish community?
The Catholic community in Morris has been very open and welcoming to me and my wife Maritza, and this has particularly allowed me to actively participate in different parish activities as a member of the Knights of Columbus; And as part of the Latino community, it has been possible for me to relate and understand the parishioners of Latin American origin and customs. In addition, our parish priest, Father Todd Schneider, is a priest who speaks the Spanish language and gives us Holy Mass in Spanish every weekend, which has allowed the Latin American faithful to gather in the Church not only to attend and participate in the Mass in Spanish, but also to share in different religious and cultural activities typical of Latin America.
What is your favorite prayer?
The Holy Rosary and Make me an Instrument of your Peace, from Saint Francis of Assisi.
Who is your favorite saint? Why?
My favorite saint is San Francisco de Asís, founder of the Franciscan order and the feminine order of Las Clarisas. Because Saint Francis found the grace of God when, leaving a wealthy and worldly life, he decided to listen to the call of God and follow Christ, taking the path of humility, simplicity and poverty. His mission and preaching led to the renewal of thirteenth-century Christian spirituality in the midst of a decaying church.
Name one way you are living your faith in your daily life.
Daily prayer, especially the rosary. Praying to God that through the Holy Spirit he grants me the grace of an ever deeper and more firm faith that is expressed in a life full of charity and humility through the testimony of the simplicity of service.
What inspires you to speak out and share your experiences of faith with others?
My own experience of the encounter with Jesus and the Holy Virgin Mary, mainly through the Sacrament of Matrimony and prayer, with the certainty that God grants us the grace to discern and understand that married life sanctified as a matrimonial sacrament, leads us to bring to the full our vocation of family and be a fundamental part of our ecclesial and social community that allows us to serve in the construction of the Kingdom of God.