Vesperados Ministry on the go

By Tanya Connor | the catholic free press

BOYLSTON - Look OUT!  Outside of the church, outside on the road, outside in your yard.
That’s where you’ll encounter the Vesparados.
No, not the Desperados. They’re not characters in a movie or motorcycle club members. But they are a scooter duo, a priest and a permanent deacon who’ve turned a hobby into evangelization during the coronavirus pandemic.
Come along for a ride and see what happens.
It’s July 16, a bright, clear morning. Father Juan Echavarria, pastor of St. Mary of the Hills Parish, and Deacon Richard Martino, who serves there, are outside the rectory, with their Vespas ready to roll.
Deacon Martino says the Vespas are scooters, not motorcycles, since they have 50 cc engines, not 150. They are registered and insured, but have “limited use” license plates – they aren’t permitted to travel on highways.
He says he told Father Echavarria about his blue classic model, which he got in 2007, and the priest, who enjoyed riding Vespas in Rome when studying there, got a black Sprint model last year.
Father Echavarria says they began riding together for fun, and discussed using the scooters to make home visits too.
Then the coronavirus hit.
“Because of the pandemic we decided to … call our parishioners to see how they were doing,” Deacon Martino says.
During those calls and at Masses – televised, online and now also in person – they’ve informed parishioners about their hopes for the St. Mary of the Hills Vesparado Ministry. (Deacon Martino says he’d heard of an unrealized attempt to start a Vespa riding group called the Vesparados, and from that the ministry’s name was born.)
They offer to ride their scooters to the homes of parishioners who request it, to bless the people and houses from a safe distance outside.
They got started five or six weeks ago, around the time public Masses resumed, and have visited approximately 15 homes to date, Father Echavarria says.
He says the ministry is to maintain relationships and create new ones, when some people are still not comfortable returning to church, and some aren’t churchgoers. If they visit a home where one of the three residents attends Mass, “now we’re seeing the three of them,” he explains.
It’s a way to evangelize?
“Absolutely!” Father Echavarria says. People get used to a model of church where people come to a church building.
“We wanted to go to them as well,” he says.
“Blessing homes is something very popular in Colombia (where he’s from) and Italy (where he studied),” he says. Now it’s catching on with St. Mary’s parishioners.
They call excitedly to request a visit, and “when we get there they are excited,” he says. “They pray with us.” But it’s not just the brief rite of prayers, Scripture reading and blessing.
“It’s the whole atmosphere that it creates, being able to talk before the prayer, sharing afterwards,” Father Echavarria says. “We love it!”
Today they ride to Worcester first, to see James and Margaret Latessa, who are waiting on their porch. (St. Mary’s has parishioners from several places besides Boylston.)
Mrs. Latessa says she thinks the ministry is a great idea.
 “My first question was, ‘Will you come to Worcester?’” she says.
She also talks about missing personal interaction with people while working from home.
“It becomes very isolated,” acknowledges Father Echavarria.
“See you on Sunday,” she says, as the visitors prepare to leave.
“It was really nice to have a blessing on our house,” she tells The Catholic Free Press.
“I feel special,” adds her husband.
Now it’s on to Boylston homes.
Matthew and Marie Phillips and their sons Myles, 16, and Matthew, 13, stand in the yard for the blessing of the house they recently enlarged. (Marielle, 10, isn’t home from an outing yet.)
“It feels like a new home to us, and now extra special, now that it’s blessed,” Mrs. Phillips says. She says her grandmother in Florida and her husband’s aunt in California “kind of planted that seed” about getting the house blessed.
The couple notices the windbreakers the pastor and deacon are wearing, with the name of the ministry and images of their scooters facing each other and a cross – at close range.
“The Vespas – they aren’t social distancing,” quips Mr. Phillips.
“Father’s goes a little faster uphill – he’s pulling half the weight,” jokes Deacon Martino, alluding to the difference in size between him and the priest. (The two frequently tease each other.)
At the next stop they park on the street and walk into the back yard, where Gary and Carol Anderson have lemonade and pastries waiting. Their friend Letty Ridinger is visiting, and gets in on the blessing too.
Getting in on a blessing at the next stop is Agnes Johnson, a St. Mary’s parishioner and neighbor of Russell and Michelle Taintor, who’ve scheduled a visit for today.
“I was surprised,” says Mrs. Johnson, after talking with the riders. “It was very nice that they came around.” She says that when she was in Pennsylvania a priest did house blessings, but stayed only five minutes.
“It’s nice that they want to come here,” Mr. Taintor says. “We have a nice relationship with them at the church,” where he and his wife serve in various ways.
Today’s last stop is the home of Robert and Janice Mecca, also active in ministry. Speaking of the invitation for a house blessing, Mrs. Mecca says, “They mentioned it and I said, ‘Sure.’”
Father Echavarria says later that they still have a few requests for visits through this novel, seasonal ministry and he expects more requests to come in as the virus dwindles.

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