9 / 16
Gulf Pine Catholic
•
July 28, 2017
9
Msgr. Flannery’s book tells history of mission in
Saltillo, Mexico
Msgr. Michael Flannery is pictured with his new
book,
“Saltillo Mission,”
in which he details how
the Catholic Church in Mississippi came to serve
the people of Mexico and delves into the life and
ministry of the mission’s founder, Father Patrick
Quinn, who faithfully served the people of this
poor, mountainous region until his untimely death
in 1997.
Photo/Terry Dickson
BY TERRY DICKSON
MADISON -- Msgr. Michael Flannery has written a
definitive history of the Saltillo Mission, which was
established by the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson in 1969.
In his book,
“Saltillo Mission,”
Msgr. Flannery,
who served in the mission from 1971-19974, tells how
the Catholic Church in Mississippi came to serve the
people of Mexico and delves into the life and ministry
of the mission’s founder, Father Patrick Quinn, who
faithfully served the people of this poor, mountainous
region until his untimely death in 1997.
Anative of Ireland, Msgr. Flannery, 77, was ordained
to the priesthood in 1964. His first assignment was as
associate pastor of St. Mary Parish in Jackson. In 1968,
he was appointed associate pastor of Our Lady of
Victories Parish in Pascagoula, one of the earliest and
staunchest supporters of the Saltillo mission.
Saltillo Summers
“Actually, Pascagoula was the first group that went
down there,” said Msgr. Flannery, alluding to the gen-
esis of the Saltillo Summer Experience.
“I was teaching the seniors religion and I challenged
them to do something for the poor. There were three
guys -- Robbie Goff, Cary Olsen and Donald Martin --
who volunteered to drive a nine-ton U-Haul truck filled
with clothes and medicine to the Mexican border. We
gave them $50 apiece for their own expenses and a
credit card to pay for their gas and hotels. They were to
leave the truck in Laredo. Father Quinn was on his way
to Ireland for vacation and was going to meet them at
Christ the King Church in Laredo. Well, they decided
to go into Mexico and visit the mission. Father Quinn
was not going to be there, but they went in anyway by
bus. They came back to Laredo and had enough money
to buy a bus ticket to New Orleans. When they got to
New Orleans, they met a lady who gave them a dollar,
which was enough money for bus fare to Hwy 90. From
there, they hitchhiked to Bay St. Louis. Cary Olsen had
an aunt in Bay St. Louis who fed them and got them bus
tickets for the rest of the way back to Pascagoula.”
By the time the three boys returned to Pascagoula,
Msgr. Flannery said, the three boys hadn’t shaved in a
week and were barely recognizable to their own par-
ents. However, their beards weren’t the only thing to
grow out of that initial trip.
“OLV was actually the first parish to send a group
of kids down there and that’s what started the summer
program,” he said.
“That really took off and became the best program
that we actually had for youth. Conservatively, there
were over 20,000 kids from all over the country who
visited the mission during Father Quinn’s time. It was a
game changer for most of those kids who went down
there.”
According to Msgr. Flannery, the first high school-
ers to visit the mission were OLV students Pat Stone,
Mary Evans, Kathleen Moore and Genevieve and
Yvonne Walker. In addition, Dr. Matt Kuluz, a
Pascagoula pediatrician and OLV parishioner, solicited
donations of supplies such as vitamins, proteins, baby
food, bandages, antibiotics and antihistamines to take
along on the maiden voyage.
In fact, Msgr. Flannery dedicated his book to Dr.
Kuluz, “who has supported the Saltillo mission more
than anyone I know.”
Msgr. Flannery notes that Dr. Kuluz has visited the
mission more than 30 times and “inspired other medical
doctors to join him in reaching out to the poorest of the
poor.”
Serving the poorest of the poor
In the book, Msgr. Flannery discusses his decision
to volunteer for service in the Saltillo Mission.
“I had been before and was inspired by what was
going on there,” he said.
“I came to Mississippi from Ireland looking for mis-
sionary work. If I had stayed in Ireland, the probability
is that I would have ended up teaching high school for
25 years. That did not appeal to me. There was more
variety in the work here. There was also a shortage of
priests here and that’s why I volunteered to come to
Mississippi. Most of my contemporaries went to places
like California and Florida because those were the
popular places to go. I chose Mississippi because it was
the poorest state in the union.”
The difference between Mississippi’s poverty and
Saltillo’s poverty, however, was very stark.
“In Mississippi, you have some resources. You can
call on welfare and get state and federal assistance,” he
said.
“In Mexico, there’s none of that. A lot of people
would live from hand to mouth. They didn’t know
where their next meal would come from, particularly in
these mountain villages. They were the poorest of the
poor. The lived in adobe mud huts. They had no run-
ning water and no basic amenities of life.”
One thing they did have was a deep faith in God. So,
whenever a priest would visit -- sometimes just once a
month -- the people would turn out for Mass and other
sacraments. In 1969, Father Quinn reported just over
500 baptisms. In 1978, he reported 1,416 baptisms,
1,200 First Communions and 256 marriages.
“The mountain villages had been neglected,” Msgr.
Flannery said. “Some of these villages hadn’t seen a
priest in ten years, yet the faith was alive, which was
strange enough. Mexicans are religious people, basi-
cally. They might live in a mud hut, half the size of my
living room. But, generally, in the corner there is a
statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s a sacred space.
That’s very important to them. They have a deep faith
response. It’s very different from ours, but, if you could
take the best of their faith response and add it to ours,
you’d really have something going.”
Father Quinn
By the time of his arrival in 1971, Father Msgr.
Flannery said the number of villages being served by
the mission had grown from 44 in its infancy to 62.
“Father Quinn could never say no to anyone,” Msgr.
Flannery said.
“Initially, Father Quinn made a commitment to stay-
ing in Mexico for five years and ended up staying for
30 years. After five years, Bishop (Joseph) Brunini
asked him to stay on and he was happy to do that. By
the time of his accident (which is detailed in the book),
he was so enamored with the people that he didn’t want
to go back to the United States for medical treatment.
He nearly died down there because he got two pulmo-
nary embolisms”
Father Quinn initially refused to go to the United
States for treatment, Father Flannery writes, “on the
grounds that this service was not available to the people
he served and he should show good example by staying
and accepting what was available to a regular patient.”
Copies of Msgr. Michael Flannery’s book,
“Saltillo Mission,”
($15) are available in the
office of the
Gulf Pine Catholic
, located inside
the Diocese of Biloxi’s Pastoral Center, 1790
Popps Ferry Road, Biloxi. Msgr. Flannery is
also planning to bring the book to the Diocese of
Bioxi later in the fall to offer at several parishes.
Check the
Gulf Pine Catholic
for more details.
Proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit
St. Anthony School in Madison.
SEE SALTILLO MISSION, PAGE 12