by Fr. Dennis Donovan, S.D.B.
Jaci, in the third grade, lives in Grant Park, a neighborhood with a higher than normal crime rate. This causes her some anxiety when she comes home from school, because her mom works late each day. But Jaci discovered a Salesian oratory*, just a few blocks from her home, where she can meet her friends and be safe…
Jason is a 14-year-old with Autism. It’s been a struggle for his parents to obtain an environment appropriate for Jason’s learning ability. But at the Salesian oratory there is a school designed specifically for his needs. After school he enjoys going to the Salesian Youth Center where the Priests, Brothers and other professionals guide him to learn the lessons of life… |
These and hundreds of other success stories are told daily by young people of all ages who have found a home away from home at Mary Help of Christians Center in Tampa, Florida. For more than 80 years it has been an oasis of hope where young people can learn to pray, worship and discover their God given calling in life.
“Mary Help,” as it is popularly known, was first opened in 1928 as an orphanage. Over 10,000 young people have passed through her doors. Many attest that this was the only real home they ever knew. They learned a trade or gained a skill that would carry them through life. In 1948 a summer camp was added.
As times changed, so did the call for an orphanage. The center was gradually converted to a day school by 1998. Then, declining enrollment caused the Salesians to reconsider their work in Tampa. With the approach of the 150th anniversary of the Salesians in 2009, it was time to get back to their roots, to examine how they could best serve the young, especially those who were poor and abandoned. On May 24, 2006, the feast day of Mary Help of Christians, the school was closed and a new era began to cultivate Mary Help into an oratory with the same spirit that was found in Valdocco, the oratory founded by St. John Bosco in Turin, Italy. Since then Mary Help of Christians Center has evolved into something even bigger than before:
• The school is now a charter school serving nearly 200 children diagnosed with Autism and other learning disabilities, in grades one through twelve.
• The school chapel has been rededicated as Mary Help of Christians Church, a parish serving the Catholic community in the East Lake region of Tampa… providing young and old alike with many opportunities to worship, pray and receive the sacraments.
• The summer camp has expanded from a simple 4-week summer activity to a year-round opportunity. In 2008 over 1,000 children enjoyed Mary Help of Christians during a 10-week summer season. Daytime and weekend youth retreats continue throughout the year, helping young people to become, in the words of Don Bosco, “Good Christians and honest citizens.”
• Last September, a new 6,000 square foot youth center was dedicated to serve more families, providing young people, especially the poorest of the poor, with a safe place, caring adults and opportunities for growth.
The key to success at the oratory is the ability of the Salesians to partner with other professionals in the field of youth development. For example, the school is run by Educational Services of America, a non-profit organization that specializes in helping children with Autism and other learning disabilities. The after school program operates in partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay.
By partnering with these organizations, the Salesians are providing high-yield learning experiences for youth by professionals skilled in youth development. Leaving the work of administration to lay people, some of them Salesian Cooperators, allows the Priests and Brothers to dedicate much of their time to the children…many of whom are just looking for someone to talk to or listen. This devotion to the welfare of the young shows them that the Salesians truly care.
The presence of the Salesians with the young and their families has led to an increase in vocation prospects, greater involvement of the youth in the Sunday liturgies, and a return to the Church for many families that had fallen away. Our overall mission at Mary Help of Christians is the same as it was for the past 80 years: To help young people discover their calling in life.
Now the Salesians of Tampa have plans to convert a series of old shops into a retreat center for young people. The number of requests for spiritual retreats has grown considerably and funds are needed to make this part of the strategic plan a reality. |
Mrs. Mavis Smith cuts the red ribbon to open the new Garry
and Mavis Smith Salesian Boys & Girls Club at Mary Help of
Christians Center. (Photo by Bro. Joe Ackroyd, SDB)
Sr. Rufina Delgado, FMA, spends time sorting Lego blocks
with the younger children during summer camp at
the Center. (Photo by Fr. Dennis Donovan, SDB)
Teens gather regularly in Mary Help of
Christians Church while attending retreats.
(Photo by Fr. Dennis Donovan, SDB)
View of Mary Help of Christians Center – church to
the left; administration building center and parish hall
to the right. (Photo by Fr. Dennis Donovan, SDB)
For additional information about Mary Help of Christians Center and the devoted work of the Salesians in Tampa,
please visit
www.mhctampa.org |
