Mexico: A Story of Mission (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781456348182)

Father Edward Walck, M.M., of Yonkers, N.Y., was assigned to Bolivia following his ordination as a Maryknoll priest on June 9, 1956. For the next twenty-four years he worked in the cities of La Paz and Cochabamba. As pastor of Santa Ana parish in Cochabamba (1964-69) he concentrated on leadership training and community development. He also served as diocesan director and assistant national director of the Christian Family Movement. Fr. Walck returned to the United States to work in Maryknoll's New York City development office (1969-71). Reassigned to Bolivia, he became pastor of Christo Rey parish in La Paz and was a member of Maryknoll's Bolivia Regional Council. Assigned to Mexico in 1980, he served two terms as assistant regional superior while working in parishes in Yucatan and Mexico City. He focused on youth work, the training of lay leaders, and the formation of base Christian communities in the outstations of his parish. For ten years he was vicar for youth ministry in the Diocese of Veracruz, where he founded and directed a youth center. "A missioner must have the patience to listen to the people and let them express their own needs, dreams and desires," said Fr. Walck, reflecting on his long career. "At the same time, the Church needs to be more open to lay ministry."