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Missions History

We are working toward putting together a history of the Basilian Fathers Missions. This is a long-term project and will include the missions in Texas as well as those in Latin America. If any reader has a story to share about one of the early missions or missionaries, we would be delighted to hear it. You can mail it to mission headquarters in Sugar Land, or send it via e-mail to: Basmissions@earthlink.net.

John Henry Cardinal Newman

Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman, (1801-1890), the great English convert and theologian, penned the following prayer for the Poor Souls. Pray his prayer for the Poor Souls. It is a long held tradition to pray for the dead, especially during the month of November.

Cardinal Newman’s Prayer for the Holy Souls

O most gentle Heart of Jesus, ever present in the Blessed Sacrament, every consumed with burning love for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, have mercy upon the souls of your servants. Bring them from the shadows of exile to your bright home in Heaven, where we trust you and your Blessed Mother have woven for them a crown of unfolding bliss. Amen.

Prayers in the Panteon

Annually, at the end of October, the people of Latin America go to the panteons, or cemeteries, to clean up and decorate for the special Masses, services and prayers to be held there on All Soul’s Day. 

In our parish of San Lorenzo, Mexico, the people work hard to clean. Since it is a municipal panteon, even the government helps out by cutting the weeds and cleaning around the plots. After the families clean each space, they cover the graves with a carpet of flowers and other decorations in preparation for the big day. 

On November 2, the people are waiting when the parish priests, usually three or four of them, arrive to say Mass. After the Mass, the priests begin to move about the panteon, visiting with the families and sprinkling the graves with holy water as they ask God’s peace for the departed souls. Although the ceremony is solemn, the people are happy; their joy comes through faith and the promise of the Resurrection. 

Father José Isidro Castillo, CSB, a well loved and talented young Basilian who died in 1996 is buried at the Basilian plot at the Municipal Cemetery of the town of San Lorenzo, Mexico. His Basilian brothers never fail to stop by with a prayer on this day.