SAN JUAN DE LA MAGUANA

Once again, students from Holy Ghost Preparatory School in Bensalem, Pa., departed from JFK International Airport in New York, on Sunday, June 12, for an annual mission trip to San Juan de la Maguana, in the Dominican Republic.  HGP students have been going to the Spiritan mission in the Dominican Republic for nearly 10 years, helping to change the lives of young people on the Caribbean Island nation.

After an orientation session with Fr. Don McEachin, C.S.Sp. — pastor of the parish of Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza (Our Lady of Hope) in Villa Liberación, in the northern sector of San Juan — and Dominican camp counselors at the beginning of the week-long mission trip, HGP students operate a sports camp during the day for the children of the Spiritan mission in San Juan de la Maguana. Baseball, soccer, volleyball and basketball camps and games are organized and run by the HGP students for the mission children during the morning hours.

In the afternoon, the HGP students conduct arts and crafts stations, as well as supervise music and dancing sessions, followed by swimming in the pool with the campers, site-seeing and other activities.

The mission concludes with a farewell Mass on June 19, and a return trip to the United States on June 20.

Holy Ghost Prep was founded in 1897 as Holy Ghost Apostolic College, a six-year seminary for the education of the Holy Ghost priests and brothers. HGP today is a vibrant community of more than 500 young men from more than 100 elementary feeder schools from throughout metropolitan Philadelphia counties and New Jersey. HGP students prepare for college and adult life through a challenging program which stresses the cultivation of students’ unique gifts and talents, academic excellence, and generous service to the poor, forming young men morally, intellectually, and spiritually in the Spiritan tradition.