On a sunny day in Mattawa, Washington, over 100 parishioners of Our Lady of the Desert stood outside celebrating Mass. Every pew and aisle inside the church was occupied. Overflowing Masses are not uncommon in this rural parish.
Yet there’s no stopping a church with big dreams.
For the past 13 years, parishioners have been fundraising for the expansion of this church, located in the Diocese of Yakima in the center of the state. Catholic Extension Society first supported its construction in 1987 and today is helping this expansion project.
It’s the answer to their prayers: a welcoming spiritual home filled with the presence of God and a vibrant community of young families.
Furthermore, the expansion symbolizes an “investment in the future of the faith.”
Growing and dreaming together
Mattawa was a modest town of 300 back when the mission-style church was built through the hard work of seasonal Hispanic farmworkers.
Within 10 years, the town boomed as more families came, outgrowing the church.
Today, Mattawa is home to 3,500 people. Acres of lush orchards and sloped vineyards greet visitors to Our Lady of the Desert—a cornerstone of the town shaped over the years by the toil and faith of farmworker families who have labored there. The church continues to embrace them as well as those from nearby communities.
Father Lalo Barragán, pictured below, was once in their shoes. Born in Michoacán, Mexico, he began picking apples and pears when he moved to Washington at age 15. Years later, he entered the seminary, and he was ordained in 2014. Catholic Extension Society supported his seminarian education and advanced theology degree.
Two and a half years ago, he arrived in Mattawa to shepherd this tight-knit parish family. He sees the church as a home for these easily overlooked workers:
Each picking season, thousands of migrant workers who need pastoral care return to the area and find the parish to be an island of peace and connection while they are thousands of miles from home.”
As a former field worker, Father Barragán can relate to their experience. This is evident in the turnout for the church’s four Sunday Masses, which welcomes 1,400 faithful, exceeding capacity on a regular basis. They must often celebrate Mass outdoors under a tarp.
Father Barragán had to add one more Mass. Still, this isn’t enough. The parish’s most popular events, such as the Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration, draws as many as 1,700 people—half the town! Devotees must brave the cold to attend.
Busy bees
Beginning 13 years ago, parishioners have poured their time, money and skills into fundraising efforts. From tamale and taco sales to hosting parish festivals, every campaign, no matter how simple, has been edging them closer to the dream.
Most recently, Our Lady of the Desert found the sale of local honey to be successful.
A parishioner donated one year’s harvest of honey, worth $400,000, toward the project. This unique initiative quickly became a “win-win,” according to Father Barragán, garnering widespread support from the community and making a profit for the church.
“Every parishioner has either bought a jar of honey or has sold a jar of honey,” he said. This includes the children in the religious education program, who earned service hours by selling honey jars like overzealous Girl Scouts.
For his part, Father Barragán is helping drive this fundraiser by promoting honey sales across the diocese. He has also secured over 300 pledges.
While more funds are needed, the journey has been a “blessing,” he said. It’s not lost on him as a former field worker that his flock is contributing what they can while simultaneously raising their families as they work from sunrise to sundown in the fields. Nonetheless, his “confidence in the Lord is so great.”
With all hands on deck, and a new matching challenge from Catholic Extension Society committed, the church can begin breaking ground in early spring 2025.
A sacred vision
Ample space will allow Our Lady of the Desert to welcome more people and offer more outreach programs for the community.
But for many, a church is more than a building.
Isabel Mejía, a 25-year parishioner, knows what she wants:
“I dream of a space that enables all of us to gather in a warm and welcoming environment, where we can hear the word of God and feel His presence in our lives.”
She continued,
Our church will truly become a center of encounter, where the faithful can share their lives, joys and sorrows with each other.”
For Mayola Madrigal, a parishioner for more than three decades, the expansion is an investment for future generations. Engaging young parishioners in a new, supportive space “where children can learn about Jesus, where young people can find a place where they belong” will ensure they can flourish in their faith.
Breaking ground will mark the start of a new story for the parish. The new church will seat 600 people, but still, it won’t be as big as the hearts and hopes of its parishioners who will call it home.
Father Barragán is grateful for not only the physical but the spiritual impact the church expansion will have in creating a more inclusive environment for this deeply faith-centered community:
Catholic Extension Society works in solidarity with people to build up vibrant and transformative Catholic faith communities among the poor in the poorest regions of America. Your support of our mission helps build churches like this!
