“Anger is not a good counselor, neither is hatred,” Father Alexis Bastidas told the faithful on Sunday, September 17, as he celebrated the annual Our Lady of Coromoto Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Born in Venezuela and pastor of St. Teresa Church in Lower Manhattan, Father Bastidas served as the principal celebrant and homilist of the Mass in honor of the patroness of his native country. He was ordained in his native Venezuela in 1982 and incardinated into the Archdiocese of New York in 2009. 

During the homily, he noted that too often over the years, societal decisions in Venezuela have been made based on angry and hateful impulses. He spoke of the significance of having the kind of faith and spiritual fortitude that Chief Coromoto, an indigenous leader to whom the Virgin Mary appeared, developed in Venezuela in the 1600s.     

“We continue to suffer the consequences of decisions made in our country, Venezuela – decisions not made with wisdom and love, but with anger and hate, and vengeance; all the things that impoverish a country,” Father Bastidas said, citing the decline of Venezuela’s oil industry. 

He spoke of the importance of communities and nations living and proceeding with societal efforts based “on the Holy Gospel, which tells us to love one another…The Virgin of Coromoto will always be for Venezuelans a permanent reminder that one should seek the Gospel and the fortitude to live by and to transform the country.” Father Bastidas noted that societies can be transformed for the better through compromise and unity, through humane and Christian values. 

“It frightens me, what has been happening here in the City of New York,” the priest said, citing the influx of Venezuelan immigrants since last year, but also asserting the importance of trust in the Lord and the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

In his closing remarks, Father Bastidas offered words of special gratitude for the massive assistance and support that the archdiocese and Catholic Charities of New York have provided for Venezuelan immigrants during the latest wave of migration. 

“This is an important Mass here at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the Venezuelan community and the community in general,” Oly Salales, president of the archdiocesan Our Lady of Coromoto Committee, told The Good Newsroom after the Mass. “Every year the community is invited to participate to help keep our community united. And we always have the support of the Archdiocese of New York and the (archdiocesan) Office of Hispanic Ministry.” 

Like Father Bastidas, Ms. Salales said her committee is very grateful for the massive assistance and support that the archdiocese and Catholic Charities of New York have provided to Venezuelan immigrants. 

The story of Mary under the Coromoto title comes from her appearance to Chief Coromoto of the Cospes tribe near Guanare, Venezuela, first in 1651 and again the following year. 

After the second apparition, a small painting of her was discovered, depicted with the Child Jesus on her lap. In 1942, Our Lady of Coromoto was declared the patroness of Venezuela. Venezuelans celebrate their patroness each year on February 2, September 8, and September 11.