Pittsburgh Delegation Provides Hands-on Care in Chimbote

The Diocese of Pittsburgh sent a group of priests, deacons, and lay individuals to the Chimbote Mission again in the summer of 2026.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh sends representatives to Chimbote, Peru each summer. In July 2026, three priests, two deacons, and two other individuals took the long flight from Pittsburgh to Lima and then seven-hour bus ride to Chimbote to serve the Center for Social Works.

The team was well-informed about challenges facing Chimbote’s poorest residents, with most of the group making return visits to the city and its people. The group included:

• Father Jeff Craig
• Father Tom Kadlick
• Father Manuel Avilés, OFM
• Deacon Tim Noca
• Deacon Frank Szemanski
• Pedro Olivera, and
• Gary Slifkey

“What impacted me the most was realizing that the partnership is about so much more than financial support,” says Slifkey, director of the Diocese’s Office of the Missions and administrator of the Chimbote Foundation. “It is rooted in faith, friendship, solidarity, and genuine love.

“The people of Chimbote are not simply recipients of our generosity; they are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and through this relationship, we have been blessed to walk together in the mission of the Church.”

During the nine-day trip, the group participated in one of the celebratory masses for the 60th anniversary of the Maternidad de Maria maternity hospital, conducted outdoors for employees and local residents.

Father Avilés, a Capuchin Franciscan friar and priest, was among those documenting the trip. His recent YouTube video vividly shows the Center and its programs at work and introduces some of its talented leaders, including Director Rosa Altuna Gonzalez and staff.

In addition to pastoral care, the diocesan group provided hands-on care at the Mission. They traversed Chimbote’s barrios to visit the sick and destitute with the Mission’s Home Visit Program. They visited mothers and babies in the Maternidad de Maria hospital. And they spent time with individuals coming to the Mission’s outpatient clinics and other programs.

“To finally travel across the Pittsburgh-to-Chimbote Bridge of Love and Hope after working in the Diocese of Pittsburgh for over 30 years was surreal,” says Slifkey. “The pictures I had seen over and over again came to life.

“Standing among our brothers and sisters whom our diocese has supported for over 60 years was both humbling and deeply moving. I was able to see firsthand how the generosity of people in the U.S. continues to transform lives in Chimbote.”