Newspaper Page Text
The Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Savannah
Vol. 100 No. 17 Thursday, August 20, 2020
Put Faith in Your Opinions
southerncross-sav.org
Father Rafael Estrada, seated at his living room table, conducts his daily radio show on Radio Mision Catolica, a 24-hour internet radio show that
caters to a Spanish-speaking audience, from his home in Baxley. Photograph by Donnell Suggs.
Three churches, three counties,
one priest: a long day
serving the people
BY DONNELL SUGGS
BAXLEY, GA - It is mathemat
ically impossible to get more than
24 hours in a calendar day. That
said, Friday, August 14 might
have done a lot to prove what a
man could achieve if there were
possibly a few more hours in
a day. Maybe just a half-hour
more if nothing else. Father
Rafael Estrada, who normal
ly has his hands full as the pas
tor of a trio of small parishes on
the southeast comer of the dio
cese, allowed the Southern Cross
to follow him on what became
a very busy morning, afternoon
and evening, and a perfect exam
ple of what a day-in-the-life of
a pastor can embody. All of the
attributes necessary for serv
ing God and his people: prayer,
patience, compassion, intelli
gence, wit, humor and a good
sense of direction came into play
on this day.
9:30 am - “Come in, come in,
the door’s open” said Estrada,
45, from the living room of his
house in Baxley. The native of
Columbia and pastor at St. Rose
of Lima Church, Baxley, Good
Shepherd Church, Hazlehurst
and St. Francis of Rome Church,
Alma, has been at the helm of
the three parishes for the past
11 years and he’s quite com
fortable in his surroundings. “I
guess I like it here,” he said with
a laugh. Estrada has been here
longer than the past two pas
tors combined. With less than 20
miles separating all three par
ishes, he has found a way to cel
ebrate Mass among the majori
ty Hispanic parishioners numer
ous times a week while also tend
ing to his flock according to their
needs and wants. It can be diffi
cult but the youthful, energetic
and athletic Estrada - there are
weights and workout equipment
scattered around his living room
- seems to be enjoying the ride.
“Three parishes, three counties,
one priest,” said Estrada.
He was a half-hour away from
starting his hour-long radio show,
loosely translated in English
to mean ‘Word of God every
day” on Radio Mision Catolica,
a 24-hour internet radio net
work that caters to Spanish
speaking parishioners here in
Georgia and around the world.
The radio station has a huge fol
lowing on Facebook and can also
be accessed via their mobile app.
Estrada knows how important
it is to reach Hispanic parishio
ners in as many ways as possible.
“I like the work we do at Radio
Mision Catolica a lot,” he said.
“It was a project that I had been
See THREE CHURCHES page 4