Navigating Education in this Isolated Community in Lima, Peru

Santa Maria School is located in one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Lima, known as El Callao.

Ignacio Taboada has been a Catholic World Mission supporter for many years. Recently, he had the opportunity to visit a Catholic World Mission school project in Lima, Peru. The following is his reflection on that trip.

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In May 2025, I had the opportunity to travel to South America for the first time, visiting various countries, including Lima, Peru. I was aware of the Santa Maria School project that we were supporting through Catholic World Mission. Eduardo, a fellow Lumen brother, introduced me to the school project. The Santa Maria school is located in one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Lima, known as El Callao.

Sometimes we see pictures and videos of various projects around the world that evoke feelings of compassion and love, but you never get the same experience when you're there in person.

When I arrived in Lima, I called Father Matteo and we agreed to meet the next day. My driver told me to come only during daylight.

After I arrived at Santa Maria school, I called Father Matteo. He was finishing an exam. The first question he asked was, " Are you alone?" I told him that I was okay; the school was surrounded by a massive wall of tin metal, like a fortress, with thousands of small wooden and cardboard houses nearby. In Spain, we used to call them “chabolas."

Father came to meet all of us, and we moved inside the school. The moment I walked through that door, I felt an incredible sense of peace. Father had a wonderful smile and an even bigger heart, very humble yet full of inner confidence and faith, which can only come from God and the Holy Spirit.

Unfortunately, the school doesn't have the resources that we have in the United States. This area in the States will likely be prime real estate, featuring a beautiful church surrounded by lovely homes and parks.

Here, the school is isolated from the world, the politicians don’t care, and the police do not even come into many of the neighborhoods. The families that bring their kids to school are hoping to educate them, but also to protect them from the gangs and sexual predators, sometimes within their own families.

Father Matteo and the rest of the priests could be great teachers for many Catholic schools in Spain and the United States. Still, they have chosen the difficult road that many missionaries have taken for the last 2000 years, just like Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

The difficulties can be overwhelming, but these priests are full of light and love. The light that comes from the heart when you allow the holy spirit to work through us. We frequently discuss these core values in our Lumen studies and explore how to apply them in practice.

These priests are an accurate model of fortitude, courage, and magnanimity. All these priests from Mater Dei have taught me what it means to be compassionate and to love without conditions.

The families that bring their kids to school are hoping to educate them, but also to protect them from the gangs and sexual predators, sometimes within their own families.

It reminds me of Matthew 9:36 - 38:

At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few;

so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Saint Teresa of Calcuta once said:

“God has a reason for allowing things to happen. We may never understand his wisdom, but we simply have to trust his will!"

These schools could be the beginning of a change in this whole area over time, like an oasis in the desert. If you happen to pass through Lima, be sure to visit the school; you won't be disappointed.

Thanks to Catholic World Mission for its support of this project and many others.

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