Punta Arenas was established in 2013 as an International Mission entrusted to the care of the Province of Chile. It is made up of two centers: the parish of San Miguel, which has three missionaries and is hoping for a fourth; and the distant “Isla Porvenir” with two parishes that are large in area, but small in population. The difficult thing about this mission is the weather. The cold and the wind mean that in the “severe months,” normal pastoral action is almost impossible, leaving only three or four months available. Pastoral work is slow, from person to person, reduced to collaborating on various issues with the diocese: care of the sick, vocation ministry, associations and movements in the parish, and helping elderly pastors.
Work on the island is arduous, not only because of its precariousness, but also because of the need to travel to very remote places (some 400 kilometers away). Some scandals in the local Church have created a strong distrust for priests. Therefore, much care is required, especially in dealing with children and young people. The Mission is young and difficult. It needs strengthening and consolidation.
