RIO DE JANEIRO — After nearly two years of preparation, Father José Almy Gomes, 40, almost wasn’t ready for Pope Francis’ World Youth Day pilgrimage to Rio de Janeiro.

A student at Rome’s Patristic Institute Augustinianum from 2003 to 2007, Father Almy was the pastor at St. Dominic Church in Perdizes — a  rural neighborhood in the Brazilian metropolitan city of São Paulo. He worked from June 2011 to August 2012 organizing a group of more than 100 international pilgrims, including 20 Americans, for a three-week Catholic dream experience: seven days of tourism and cultural immersion in São Paulo, a week of mission work in Rio’s favelas and seven days of WYD celebration on Copacabana Beach.

His only hope, for the sake of the project’s success, was not to be transferred before then.

But in February 2013, less than five months before WYD, Rio’s Archdiocese of St. Sebastian came calling. Father Almy was assigned to Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, just two blocks from where Pope Francis would stand on Copacabana Beach.

Shaken by his transfer, Father Almy faced the immediate challenge of building his new parish’s volunteer efforts almost completely from scratch.

“We had just one volunteer signed up when I arrived,” he said in Portuguese, his native language. “World Youth Day just didn’t seem very important here.”

Located in the Rio favela (shantytown) of Babilônia, Our Lady of the Rosary has long been a controversial setting in the heart of a neighborhood searching for a faith identity.

 

Favela Violence

Of Rio’s 976 recognized favelas, Babilônia is among the most famous for its violent history. A subject of the internationally popular Brazilian film Elite Squad, the favela was governed exclusively by Rio de Janeiro drug-trafficking cartels for nearly 80 years before government police pacification forces took over in 2009.

According to Father Almy, residents lived amidst frequent gunfire and constant law changes when new cartels assumed control of the neighborhood. Babilônia’s laws included a 6pm curfew and restrictions on religion. Violators of the law were often executed.

Favela law nearly shut down Our Lady of the Rosary, as Mass was permitted only on church grounds. For three years before pacification, priests were prohibited from celebrating Mass in public areas or visiting Babilônia’s residents in their homes.

“To pray here with residents, the archbishop would have to ask for permission from a 17-year-old boy guarding the favela entrance,” Father Almy explained. “And the boy would normally grant permission, but only if priests used archdiocesan automobiles to enter the neighborhood instead of their own.”

 

‘Magical’ Faith

Though the majority of Babilônia’s residents are Christian, their beliefs are often radical and come from a variety of cultures from across the world, said Father Almy. Popular religions within the favela include Pentecostalism, practiced only by an estimated 11%-15% of all Brazilians, and the Afro-Brazilian religions of Candomblé and Umbanda, practiced by less than 5% of the country’s population.

Among Babilônia’s Catholics, Father Almy emphasizes the need for a stronger spiritual formation to fight what he calls a collective “magical” view of Christian faiths. The combination of extreme “devotionalism” (exaggerated worship and emotion but little understanding) with non-Catholic beliefs such as reincarnation, he says, has mixed Catholicism with other favela customs and traditions.

“Spiritually, our community needs to have a stronger Catholic connection,” he said. “It’s important not to overrationalize things, but to have a sound spiritual education.”

A recent opportunity for such formation occurred when a statue of Our Lady of Fatima passed through Babilônia, as part of a three-year celebration in Brazil for its upcoming 100-year anniversary in 2017. In honoring the Virgin Mother, Father Almy stressed the importance of thinking beyond pure devotion.

“It’s important to be devout, to pray the Rosary, but also think beyond the image — what did Mary do? What qualities did she have that we can imitate?” he said.

By educating residents in the Catholic faith, Father Almy is exercising new legal rights for Babilônia clergy members: the freedom to evangelize and participate in the favela’s community life. His involvement includes celebrating Sunday vigil Mass every Saturday in Babilônia’s community center, attending interfaith community meetings, visiting residents’ homes biweekly and participating in the leadership of new seasonal Church activities, like the Christmas novena and an annual "Emmaus Walk."

“My goal is to speak the language of our neighborhood and give a reasoned perspective,” he said. “I want to translate a high level of theology into a language that’s more accessible, and being a consistent presence is one way to do that.”

 

Making It to WYD

Last year, with just one volunteer registered less than five months before World Youth Day, Father Almy put his new parish to work. He formed WYD community groups among Our Lady of the Rosary’s 300 parishioners and made announcements at Mass about WYD. By May 2013, he had recruited an additional 10 WYD volunteers from the favela.

Yet Father Almy still felt unprepared to host the 70 French and Portuguese pilgrims scheduled to lodge in the parish two months later.

“I thought people here were still closed to the Holy Spirit in the months before World Youth Day,” he said. “[It was as if] no one really wanted this experience.”

But as Father Almy’s community groups continued to grow, so did Babilônia’s participation in WYD-related preparation. By July, Our Lady of the Rosary had 15 registered WYD volunteers, and an additional seven parishioners offered to help out part time.

To make the church suitable for visitors, Father Almy used parish funds to rent eight toilets, adding to Our Lady of the Rosary’s one single bathroom, and he solicited food donations from the parish.

“Food was probably our biggest concern,” he admitted. “We wanted to at least be able to offer snacks to our pilgrims.”

As parishioners divided responsibilities, food donations picked up, and it appeared that the church would have enough food to feed all of its WYD visitors. 

 

Unexpected Visitors

But when Our Lady of the Rosary opened its doors to pilgrims on July 19, it wasn’t 70 French and Portuguese pilgrims, but 141 people who arrived expecting WYD lodging. An additional group of French journalists also lobbied for a spot at the parish in hope of easy access to Copacabana Beach.

“It was difficult,” Father Almy recalled. “We thought we were pretty well-organized, but there was certainly confusion at the start.”

With more pilgrims than parish space available, some visitors were left to sleep on the floor in Our Lady of the Rosary’s church and in Babilônia community centers. As demand for lodging picked up, favela residents also stepped up. A total of 45 pilgrims were given housing by Our Lady of the Rosary parishioners in Babilônia, the neighboring favela of Chapéu Mangueira and the surrounding neighborhood of Leme.

The combined effort of the parish and community successfully provided lodging and food for everyone who asked for it, Father Almy said.

“Who are we, as the Church, to say No to someone in need?” he said. “We always asked ourselves: What can we offer so that other people can be taken care of? We may not have had the resources right away, but we provided for everyone who needed our help.”

After eight decades of violence, a favela once known for suppressing Catholicism played a key role in the success of one of WYD’s most relevant host churches in Rio’s largest ever Catholic event.

“I was happiest about the way people were welcomed here,” Father Almy said. “I think the way our community opened its arms to our visitors was the most important thing.”

 

Lasting Lessons

The success of WYD 2013 has brought a greater awareness of Pope Francis’ teachings to Babilônia and Our Lady of the Rosary, according to Father Almy.

As Catholic residents grow stronger in Catholic faith formation, he believes the Holy Father’s presence in Brazil and his Latin-American roots will provide an opportunity for a closer connection with residents and parishioners.

“I think the Pope’s effect, more than anything, was that people here learned to see themselves in him and really love him,” Father Almy said. “He knows how the Church here functions and the perspective of our people.”

Lucia Kiris, one of the parish’s 15 registered WYD volunteers and hostess of two French pilgrims, agreed, adding that Pope Francis’ example of acceptance and welcoming is becoming more characteristic among the favela’s residents.

“He reminds us to stay true to our identities,” she said, “as grateful, caring and loving people.”

Another Babilônia resident, David Bispo, owner of an internationally awarded restaurant in the favela, attests to a lasting spiritual impact from WYD that remains nearly 11 months after Pope Francis’ pilgrimage to Rio.

“Pope Francis passed a strong energy through here, a happiness and a simplicity,” Bispo said. “His presence rings strong in our neighborhood and across all of Rio de Janeiro.”

As the community’s pastoral presence, Father Almy continues to celebrate weekly Saturday Mass in the favela, attend community faith dialogues and make visits to sick parishioners’ homes. His presence, Father Almy said, is based on WYD’s mission to “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

“After WYD I decided, from now on, I’m really going to communicate the Word of God to all of his creatures,” he said, “because, through dialogue, a person grows closer to others and makes friends. Then, after, that person can listen and teach.”

 

A Positive Vision

Father Almy speaks especially about a weekly women’s community group, composed of eight Babilônia residents from Catholic, Pentecostal and Afro-Brazilian faiths, among others. Though often criticized by non-Catholic group members, Father Almy values the chance to facilitate faith-based conversation and clarify misunderstandings among group members.

“These opportunities only exist because I’m present there,” he said. “Because I studied the word, I studied theology, I can give people a stronger perspective. This small contact is important, because if I wasn’t there, people wouldn’t be able to ask these questions.”

Thanks to WYD and his involvement in the community, as well as the recent improvement in basic amenities available to residents — like computers and Internet access — Father Almy said that more people in Babilônia follow Pope Francis on a consistent basis, and he’s receiving more questions than ever about the Holy Father’s teachings.

“Even if I don’t talk about the Pope, they still ask about him,” Father Almy said. “When I’m asked, ‘Pope Francis said this: What does it mean?’ I’m honored to answer. The fruits of WYD gave people here a new, more positive vision of the Church — a vision we needed for a reasoned, authentic view of the Catholic faith.”

Chris Kudialis writes from Detroit. He attended WYD 2013 in

Rio de Janeiro and reported on the event for the Register.