The Parish
Where is Santa
Rosa/Mazan - Get to map
Literacy of the People
Economics of the Region
The Amazon Religion
Catholic Religion
 Santa Rosa was, and still is, an emerging parish on
the Napo River, a tributary of the Amazon River in Peru. This parish is
centered in the village of Mazan, a city with a population of 4,500. As
the capital of a district comprising 56 native communities with a
combined population of over 12,000 people, Mazan functions as the center
of varied regional activities.
Click here to see a map of Peru and
the location of Mazan
In 2001, the regional Bishop consecrated a new church
in Mazan. This church is the center of efforts to serve the spiritual
needs of this dispersed district.
Mazan is one of the 16 parishes in the Apostolic
Vicariate of San Jose de Las Amazonas, a sprawling missionary territory
along Peru's border with Columbia, Brazil and Ecuador. The vicariate is
centered around Iquitos, a regional capital 50 miles by boat from Mazan.
Most of Santa Rosa's parishioners live in one of the 56
communities scattered along the banks of tributaries of the Amazon. This
is a very remote region and the means of communication among the
communities is by word of mouth. The primary means of transportation by
the natives of the region is by dugout canoe traveling along the Napo
River.
The Parish is completely rural, and one could say that
all the parishioners are peasants. They live off of fishing, or fish
farming, or farming of small plots of land. There are very few that have
other occupations such as teaching or government work.
An indication of the economic situation can be seen
when one realizes that one American dollar can purchase 36 loaves of
bread, 7 tomatoes, or one catechism.
The basic nutrition is not balanced, so it is a cause
of malnutrition. It consists basically of fish, manioc root, or cassava,
bananas, chicken, some pork, some fruits of the region, rice and beans.
The literacy rate in the provinces of the Vicariate
shows that there has been a significant reduction in illiteracy.
In the Mazan mission, 80% know how to read and write; however there is
always much need to broaden on/or improve the literacy programs putting
emphasis on women's literacy.
Much of the above is from a 2002 article in the
Catholic Observer written by Father Bill Pomerleau, of the Observer
staff, and also from a document prepared by Dominick Szkatula former
head of the missionary team at the Santa Rosa Parish.
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The Amazon Religion
The Amazon religion is more a lifestyle than a
structured religion. The people express their beliefs in rituals, songs
and dances, in the festivals. examples: the "Aya karana"
(the remembrance of the dead through a ritual of communion- food), the
viewing with the prayer-dance, the party of the Wayos with sacred
drink. The religious place of excellence is the mother-earth, where the
community lives rooted, and the jungle where the myths and rituals are
born. One can always notice and integration of the culture in religion:
dance, food, drink, family, community, festivals, songs.
They do not practice the proselytism of their
religion, but easily exhibit ecumenical attitudes of respect for all
expression of religion and intercommunion with any other neighboring or
dominant religions.
(From the writings of Dominick Szkatula, former head of the
missionary team at the Santa Rosa Parish).
The Catholic Religion
In their efforts to communicate the gospel message,
the Vicariate has adopted a concrete face that has impacted the
mentality of the jungle for more than fifty years of its presence. It
has been created in their minds, and continues to present in them, an
image of a powerful Church with financial resources, knowledge and
abilities in almost all fields. During many years, they have turned to
the "mission" to receive all kinds of help. Since the Amazon
culture is very traditional, the founding of mission posts has
introduced, at various points, elements of "progress and
development" awakened in people eagerness and desires to have the
same. In this phase of being the exclusive promoters of doing better,
thanks to the means and technological abilities, it remains in the minds
of the people that the mission can and should respond to their most
urgent needs.
In Mazan, the population consists of 80% Catholics,
however, the practicing are about 5%.
(From the writings of Dominick Szkatula, former
head of the missionary team at the Santa Rosa Parish)
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