Father Americo Santos recently came to Saint Peter Parish and is now our pastor. Here are some Fun Facts about him!

• He is from El Salvador.

• He used to study Theology La Universidad Centroamericana "UCA."

• In 2012, he attended St. John Seminary and worked as a parochial vicar in East Boston. He then served in Ontario for a few years and came here!

Fr. Americo states, "With joy, I look forward to my new assignment at Saint Peter's Parish and School in Cambridge, MA." He is the new pastor and will be doing the masses for the parish following his installation on the 16th of June.

He also says that Fr. Javier Guerra inspired him to become a priest in El Salvador. Father Americo Santos also taught theology at his local parish, inspired by Fr. Javier Guerra. He said, "Everything was pushing me in that direction, but I still hesitated." But that year, he went to Massachusetts to visit friends who had recently become priests, and soon enough, he became one after his ordination in 2017 from Saint John's Seminary.

Here are some questions the 4th grade had for him!

  Guillem- What is your favorite book?   

The City of God, by Saint Augustine.

Enzo- What church were you at before you came to St. Peter’s?

Kingston, Ontario; The Blessed Sacrament Church.

Halle- What is your favorite color?

Blue.

Halle- What is your favorite song?

I live for the music: Andrea Bocceli.

Andreas- Do you play any instruments?

No instruments. Played trumpets before.

Isla- What is your favorite quote?

2nd Book of John “God is Love.”

Katie- Do you have any pets?

No. Maybe in the future I could get a small dog.

Debi- Why did you become a priest?

Because I was trying to find a vocation to fulfill my heart. When I finished school, I was trying to figure what to do in life.

Michael- What is your favorite Bible story?

The Road to Emmaus.

Eamon- What is your favorite food?

Indian food. I am Latino, but Indian Food is my favorite.

Simon- Where did you go for seminary?
I went to one in El Salvador, then I moved to the U.S. and went to a St. John’s Seminary in Boston.

Ian- What was your favorite thing to do as a kid?

Playing with my friends after school. We used to play hours and hours with each other.

Paul- How many churches have you been at? (as a priest)

Three churches:

-Most Holy Redeemer in East Boston

-Blessed Sacrament in Ontario, Canada

-Saint Peter’s

Declan- Do you have a favorite sport?

I like to run, hike, and walk.

Viyaan- what was your favorite subject in school as a kid?

Biology, I was interested in animals.

Viyaan- What is your favorite sacrament?

The Eucharist. 

Lucia-What is your favorite part about being a priest?

Providing sacraments (all of them)

Maddy-Was being a priest always your dream job?

No. When I finished High School, my dream was to go to Medical School. But I wanted something deeper in life, such as happiness and joy.

Olivia-Do you have a favorite movie? If so, what is it?

My favorite movie is TROY, because it is about mythology and history.

Fr. Americo Santos has been assigned to our church, and he says,"I look forward to this assignment with joy." So, let's try to be as welcoming as possible to welcome him to the Saint Peter's Parish and School Community.

And that's...

Fr. Americo Santos,

Our New Priest!

“What are your favorite hobbies?” 

“I love long walks, I love going to daily mass, I love reading saint stories, and I love card games."

“What is/are your favorite sport(s)?”

 “My favorite sports to play are tennis and water skiing.”

"What is your favorite subject to teach?” 

“My favorite subject to teach is theology.’”

“What is your dream place to live?” 

"My dream place to live is on a farm on Lake Michigan with my family.”

“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?”  

“I would love to go to Switzerland and Portugal.”

“Where do you live currently?” 

“I live in Brighton.”

Questions From Our Class:

“Do you like Harry Potter?” 

“No I do not.”

“What is your favorite movie?” 

“One of my favorite movies is “It’s A Wonderful Life.” 

“Do you like spicy stuff?” 

“I do like spicy stuff.”

“What classical music would you play in the background for our class?”  

“I would probably play a mix of classical music Gregorian Chant.”

This summer, I visited Sri Lanka, a small island off India. You may not know much about it, so I will tell you a  bit about it.

Sri Lanka is a tiny island shaped like a teardrop off of India. It has a tropical climate so it is pretty hot all year round. The island is split into two major cultures: Tamil and Sinhalese. The majority of Sri Lanka’s population is Sinhalese and,  only a bit of the population is Tamil. 

The British ruled over Sri Lanka from 1815 to 1948. Back then it was called Ceylon. It was almost all Buddhist Sinhalese and a bit of Hindu Tamil. Then when the British gave Sri Lanka their independence the Sinhalese people basically took over. They started to discriminate against the Tamils and they made Sinhalese the official language making it very hard for Tamils. Soon enough a harsh civil war broke out. The Tamil Tigers killed 13 sinhalese soldiers, and that's when the feud really started. Many Tamils were killed and others fled to Tamil populated areas. The war sadly only ended a few years ago, And the country is still recovering.

When me and my family went to Sri Lanka we traveled  all around the country. We went to a school in eastern Sri Lanka called Valathapitty government Tamil mixed school. My grandmother,  Gnanie Panch, started to teach the 5-8 year old children English so that it would be easier to get a stable job. Then she realized that it was very difficult to teach the children English, so she decided to teach the teacher instead. She thought that it would be easier for the teacher to teach the children English instead of her.  

The school doesn’t have enough books, which means they don’t really know how to read. When we went there all the kids were at their desks with their mothers who were dressed in their very best clothes. My grandmother told us that they didn’t have books so me and my sister, Jeanie in third grade, found our old early reader books and brought them to Sri Lanka to give to the school. We also brought tons of pencils and notebooks. 

We thought they would deeply appreciate one  early reader book from each k2- 2nd grade student. It is a bit important that the books are picture books because if they're too complicated they might just put them in a corner because the books are too advanced.  A few weeks ago my sister and I presented a slide on the book drive to the k2- 2nd grade classes. We told them about the book drive and about the little notes they would make. The notes contained the kids favorite color, their name, and a picture of them, et cetera. 

We hope that each kid will bring a book to brighten a kid's day. We would also like to thank Mrs. Gaudette for help in making the book drive possible.

Almost all the people in our 4th grade class are contributing in a kids-directed play called “Miners to Survivors”. That’s right, kids-directed. That means no adults involved. The last three plays we directed got too out of hand within a few weeks. This was mainly because we didn’t have enough dedicated people, props, and too much time spent on just one thing. But this is a new year! No bossy directors, no not getting enough done, and no dawdling! Let me introduce you to the students playing a part in the play or working behind the scenes. 

Miners:

Katie Rouse-Irwin

Andreas Philippakis

Lucia Panch

Debi Teferi

Narrator:

Olivia Blake

Mr. Mustachio:

Declan Caffrey

Goblins:

Mathilde Saint Pere 

Isla Noll 

Enzo Migliazzo

Backstage Helpers: 

Michael Joyce (dinosaur) 

Olivia Blake (prop maker)

Isla Noll (prop maker)

Guillem March (curtain person and stage manager)

Ian Prost (stage manager)

Simon Estifanos (music and sound effects)

This play is about four professional miners who have been assigned a mission by their boss. They must go to Mt. Fuji to find the ancient prophecy that says if no human has possession of the prophecy by 2025, an evil monster will dominate all of humankind. It’s a perilous journey! The miners must outrun goblins, avoid deadly traps, and defeat the monster. Can they do it? This has been a long process for us to be able to perform, make props, costumes, and the script all for a wonderful audience to come and watch. Please do consider being part of the crowd! Come to our play on June 13 in the gym to watch us perform! (Time and more details may be added later in an email sent by Ms. Carmony.)

Mercy Works will have a big sale on the store website; all profits fund local works of mercy projects. We will be selling many chaplet bracelets and earrings. All of the gemstones used have special meanings in the Bible and spiritual writings of St. Albert the Great and St. Hildegard.

Here is a list of gemstones with their months or meanings, as you will probably see them at our sale:

January

Garnet

Perseverance; constancy.

February 

Amethyst

Peace of mind; also sincerity

March

Hyacinth

Moral beauty—Moral Goodness

April 

Diamond

Purity and Fortitude

May

Emerald

Faith in God and Faithfulness in friendship

June

Pearl

Faith and Innocence

July

Ruby

Success and Devotedness to Duty

August

Sardonyx

Felicity and Conformity to the Will of God 

September

Sapphire

Divine Love in Mercy. Love and Repentance in Man.

October

Opal

Happiness of pure life and also hope

November

Topaz

Divine Providence, resignation, and fidelity.

December

Turquoise

Piety, fervor in God's service, prosperity