Church of San Francisco de Asis

Although the parish of San Francisco de Asís has 87 churches scattered over 248-square miles, the “mother church” is known as San Francisco de Asís and is located in the municipality of Reitoca, F.M., Honduras.  Even though it is the “mother church” of the parish, it is not the oldest church of the parish.  That honor goes to the church of San Lorenzo in Alubarén, which is more than 400-years old.

But, San Francisco de Asís is plenty old anyway.  The edifice of this church was created in 1777, and the church was remodeled in 1897.  Then, in the early 2000s, the inside was spruced up.  So, it seems the church gets a make-over of sorts every hundred years or so – whether it needs it or not!

Like all of the churches of the parish, San Francisco de Asís has services every Thursday and Sunday.  Because it is the “mother church,” the services are almost always Masses.  When the priests are on retreat, however, Delegados de la Palabra (Delegates of the Word) conduct Liturgy of the Word services.

The church is also used for other special Masses and celebrations, such as anniversary Masses for the deceased, gatherings of young people, missionary groups, or whatever.

And like other churches of the parish, San Francisco de Asís has many other ministers such as altar servers, lectors, Communion ministers, cleaners, sacristans, catechists, and the like.

And although the name of the church is San Francisco de Asís, believe it or not, the patron saint of Reitoca is St. Sebastian!  When I first came to Reitoca, I asked about that.  The people said that when Franciscans were here, they named everything San Francisco de Asís.  The people, however, had already established a close relationship with St. Sebastian.

So, on October 4, there is a parish celebration of St. Francis, and on January 20, there is a community-wide festival in honor of St. Sebastian.  Actually, the festival of St. Sebastian goes for a whole week, and we’ll learn more about this interesting celebration in January!