59th Annual Peru Mission Dinner
Our annual dinner was held on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at the Sheraton Hotel at Station Square. We are still accepting donations.
Our 2024 Chimbote Mission Dinner honoring life – the life-giving, life-sustaining and life-affirming ministry of our Catholic medical missionaries in Chimbote, Peru
“God, take our hands to serve with You, our feet to walk with You. Open our eyes to see Your good works, our lips to proclaim them with our lives and our hearts to be Your will. I thank God for your life and your friendship.”
That is a quote from one of our founders, Sr. Margaret Mary Birchmeier. It encapsulates our gratitude for the hundreds who gathered for our 59th Annual Peru Mission Dinner in Pittsburgh, along with many who could not make the event and contributed, to support the ongoing work for the people of Chimbote.
Thank you, Jesus, that through the work of so many, You have brought opportunity to our doorstep to be Your hands and feet for people in need. Thank you, Pittsburghers, for continuing to respond so generously.
Our dear friend of Chimbote, Mike Clark, distinguished news anchor for WTAE-TV, once again volunteered to be our dinner’s Master of Ceremonies for 2024. The evening’s presentations included updates from Very Reverend Thomas Sparacino, our Diocesan Rector and Director of Pre-Ordination Formation, who led six of his seminarians on a mission trip to Chimbote this summer, along with special remarks from Bishop David Zubik.
This annual night of celebration strengthens the Center of Social Works where there has now been more than 100,000 babies born at the maternity hospital, and where the health clinic is beginning to ramp up to its pre-pandemic volume of 1,000 patients per day.
Thank you for your prayerful support of the Church’s mission work! If you were unable to attend our celebration, but would like to donate to our work in Chimbote, you can do so here.
2024 Chimbote Mission Video
“Walking in the Footsteps of Saints”
Thanks to mission partners like you, in 2022, we were able to invest more than $200,000 in an Electrical Infrastructure Upgrade Project that included a generator and other critical upgrades. This year, again, due to your ongoing support, the board of the Chimbote Foundation approved an IT Renovation Project at an estimated cost of $500,000. As an example of why this too is critical, many of their current workstations are running unsupported Microsoft operating systems from the 1990s.
Thank You to Our 2024 Sponsors
Principle Dinner Sponsor
Most Reverend David A. Zubik and the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
Mission Sponsor ($5000)
Anonymous
Friends of Chimbote ($2500+)
Anonymous in Memory of Mary M. and Gerard H. Hungerman
Beth Hutter and Kenneth Roos
Mrs. Mary Carleen Ferry in Memory of Mr. James J. Ferry, Sr. and Mr. James R. Ferry
Chimbote Benefactors ($1000-2499)
Gregory Roos: In Memory of Kenneth and Msgr. Jules Roos
St. Isidore the Farmer Parish
Archdiocese of Washington / Cardinal Donald Wuerl
Ms. Diana Reed
Msgr. John Kozar
Mr. Patrick and Mrs. Barbara Hogan
Ms. Helen O’Hallaron
Mr. John and Mrs. Donna Rosser
Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish
Saints Martha and Mary Parish
Patrons of Service ($500-999)
Carole and Mark Shepard
Ms. Lorraine Hungerman
Dr. Patrick and Mrs. Rita Joyce
Salvatore and Diana Tresco
Mr. Edward and Mrs. Megan Grefenstette
Mr. Tom and Mrs. Rita Gurganus
Mr. Joel and Mrs. Anne Madison
Partners of Peru ($250-499)
Anonymous In Honor of The Employees at La Maternidad
Mrs. Sandra Foody
McAuley Ministries
Fr. Al Zapf
Fr. James Torquato
Anonymous
Mr. John Cvetic
Mr. Charles and Mrs. Joan Kilgore
Ms. Megan Roos Patterson
Mr. Pedro and Mrs. Marta Olivera
Mrs. Irene Lanza
Felician Sisters of North America
Good Samaritans ($150-249)
William M. Fronczek, M.D.
Mr. Steven and Mrs. Jeaneen Osborne
Anonymous
Mr. Regis F. Hoolahan
Faith Sisk in Memory of Matthew Clark
Fr. Robert J. Vular
Anonymous
Friends of the Poor ($100-149)
Deacon Rick Cessar
Anonymous
Theodore and Josephine Turchick
Mr. Paul and Mrs. Ann Francis
Fr. Richard Wesoloski
Fr. Robert J. Miller
Mr. John and Mrs. Denise McCarthy
Fr. Joseph Scheib
Alberto Davila
Deacon John Ragan
Anonymous
Mr. Gary and Mrs. Sharon Shannon
Mr. Richard and Mrs. Dolores Marusic
Anonymous
Anonymous
Mr. David and Mrs. Noreen Saville
Mr. Michael Boyle
Fr. Miroslaw Wojcicki
With Heartfelt Gratitude for the following table sponsors
Deacon Tim and Mrs. Lisa Noca
Saint Philip Parish
Saint Philip Parish
Anonymous
Ms. Milagros and Mr. Enrique Mu
Regina Coeli Parish
Catholic Cemeteries Association
Ferry Electric Company
St. Michael the Archangel
Mr. Patrick and Mrs. Carol Riley
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish
Mr. Richard and Mrs. Anna Marie Rettger
Triumph of the Holy Cross Parish
Mrs. Gretchen Roos and Mr. Scott Lane
Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Cheryl Shanahan
Saint Aidan Parish
Deacon Joe and Anna Marie Dougherty
Saint Oscar Romero Parish (1)
Saint Oscar Romero Parish (2)
Holy Family Parish (1)
Holy Family Parish (2)
Deacon Frank and Mrs. Norma Szemanski (1)
Deacon Frank and Mrs. Norma Szemanski (2)
Seminarian Table Sponsors
Mr. Keith and Mrs. Rosemary Boyce
Saint Philip Parish
Catholic Cemeteries Association
McGuire Memorial
Anonymous
Saints Martha and Mary Parish
Student Table Sponsors
Mr. Keith and Mrs. Rosemary Boyce
Mrs. Jean Comber In Memory of Mr. Gerald P. Comber
Mrs. Jean Comber In Memory of Mrs. Edna and Mr. James J. Ferry
Mr. and Mrs. Eugene McCarthy
Photos from the 2024 Annual Dinner
Follow the Chimbote Foundation
The Poorest of the Poor in Chimbote Thank You for Your Prayers and Support!
PODCAST
A Beautiful, Uplifting Story about Catholic Faith in Action!
Attorney Gretchen Roos and Deacon Tim Noca of the Chimbote Foundation board of directors discuss a half century of help and hope offered for the poorest of the poor in Chimbote, Peru. They were interviewed recently by Father Tom Burke for the diocese’s “Catholic Education Plus” radio program on KDKA-AM.