Bridging communities through faith
By YADIRA SANCHEZ OLSON
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ELGIN – Communities thrive when cultures mesh well and everyone gets along.
This takes leaders, faithful followers and, perhaps, a divine connection between the two.
The Rev. Jesus Dominguez was that connection for the people who attended St. Mary Catholic Church in Sterling.
He was appointed St. Mary’s associate pastor in November 2003 and, while there, he made a mission out of bringing the Hispanic community together with his non-Hispanic flock.
Now, he has a new mission in a different city.
Father Jesus recently became the first Mexican parochial administrator at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Elgin. He has replaced Father John Earl, who resigned.
And the work Father Jesus did for nearly seven years in Sterling is the work he hopes to continue in Elgin.
“When I was in Sterling, it was my job to build bridges between the two communities and make it into a family,” Father Jesus said.
But in Elgin, that family is a much bigger one.
St. Mary’s holds four masses in English and one in Spanish.
St. Joseph’s holds 12 masses, with three in English and nine in Spanish.
And although Father Jesus doesn’t officiate all of the masses, his number of parishioners has doubled in size.
“It’s a great responsibility because I have a lot of souls to watch over. It’s going to take time,” Father Jesus said. “ I use to know everyone in Sterling; where they sat and who missed the mass.”
And although new responsibilities and different faces will take time to get used to, establishing a bond between the parishioners is something he’s not worried about.
“Twelve years ago, I was a seminarian here. I gave my first mass here,” Father Jesus said. “I have that foundation so I don’t feel like a stranger.”
“It’s like he’s home,” said Leonardo Porras of Elgin.
Porras and his family have been attending St. Joseph since his daughter, 21-year-old Jasmine Porras, was a little girl.
“He’s one of us,” Jasmine said, after the Mother’s Day mass on Sunday, May 9.
And even some new faces already have taken a liking to him and his ways.
“He’s very nice,” said Alejandro Perez of Elgin, who attended the Mother’s Day mass with his 1-year-old daughter, Janahi Perez, and his sister Emilia.
“He talks from the heart, not just from the bible,” Emilia said.
The siblings met Father Jesus last week when he officiated their father’s funeral.
After the mass, Father Jesus stood outside the church and shook hands with everyone who stopped to talk with him. He wants to slowly get to know everyone who attends his masses, and says that he has many plans for his new church.
“I see the need for a bigger church building, but first we have to build a community,” Father Jesus said. “I’m a pastor of both cultures. The first, most important thing is to get to know all of my sheep, and have them get to know me.”
