MULLICA TOWNSHIP – At the end of last year, 60-year-old Noelia Hernandez Avila was given five months to live.
On Saturday, May 2, from Mullica Township to Egg Harbor City, she proved, step by step, that despite her diagnosis, the light of Christ shines bright.
“I don’t have the [cancer] treatments anymore … only my God,” said Hernandez Avila, who admitted she is tired all of the time due to cancer in her appendix.
Hernandez Avila was among 34 pilgrims who made the 8.5-mile walk from Saint Mary’s in the Pines Cemetery in Mullica Township to Saint Nicholas Church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, in Egg Harbor City, for the “Faithful Immigrants: a Historic Pilgrimage.
Starting with the group at 9 a.m. from the cemetery, Hernandez Avila thought she may only be able to walk only one mile of the trek. “But every mile, I just asked God, ‘One more, one more,’ and told Him, ‘I can’t, but you can.’”
The native of Mexico – and parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help for the past 15 years – said she undertook the journey “for the love of Jesus” – and He provided. Not only did she walk, she prayed the Stations of the Cross with her fellow pilgrims through the pines, surrounded by partly sunny skies and a cool breeze.
For all of the pilgrims, the day began at 8:30 a.m. with Father James Betz, a retired priest of the Diocese of Camden, sharing the history of the cemetery, which is the former site of Saint Mary’s in the Pines Church – the first Catholic Church established south of Trenton in the state – and imparting a blessing on the participants.
Shortly thereafter, the contingent turned left onto Pleasant Mills Road, led by Father Gerard Marable, Our Lady of Perpetual Help pastor, and Father Franklin Opara, parochial vicar.
“The day gave us an opportunity to say that our faith is important, our journey is important, our Eucharist is important,” said Danays Hernandez, one of the organizers for the event, who was also a pilgrim.
A vital part of the journey, she continued, was the Stations of the Cross, prayed every 0.6 miles along the way.
Another was the faithful witness. As a police escort marked the path in front of the pilgrims, and Christian music in both Spanish and English poured out of speakers, those along the way looked on in wonder.
“A crew of workers we passed, who were taking down a tree, asked where we were going,” Hernandez said, adding that another woman watching from her house asked if the group wanted water or tea.
In addition to prayer, one of the pilgrimage’s key components was to celebrate the past and present of the Catholic Church of South Jersey – the Irish and German immigrants who worshiped at Saint Mary’s in the Pines from 1830 until its closure in 1885, and the Hispanic, Vietnamese and Haitian Catholics who make up a large part of Our Lady of Perpetual Help today.
Hernandez was heartened to see youth join the pilgrimage and is hopeful of the seeds of faith planted. “They’ve learned the stories of the Catholics before them, and today is another story they’ll never forget.”
“They’ll have conversations with their friends about their experience here. The walk is a joy they’ll have forever,” she added.
Among those young pilgrims was 19-year-old Yaritza Cisneros, an Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishioner. Cisneros said she hopes to inspire others, including her peers, to get more involved in the larger parish community moving forward.
“I don’t want our parish to just be ‘this age group’ and ‘that age group,’ but one family,” she said.
She was also present to thank God for the “rocky road” of the last year, which included injuries to her back, neck and shoulder that made it difficult to stay active. During the walk, she said, “I praised Him for getting me through that.”
As the pilgrims contemplated, meditated and conversed amidst the greenery, fatigue set in. With a little over three miles left, though, a second wind came upon them.
“On Duerer Street, in the last leg, there was a burst of energy,” Hernandez said. “People started dancing, throwing their hands up, praising God.”
“It amazed us all,” she continued. “We thought we’d be tired on this difficult, impossible journey, but we weren’t. We all got the sense of, ‘Wow, we can do this.’”
Approaching Saint Nicholas Church on Saint Louis Avenue at 1:30 in the afternoon, there was no doubt who would walk through the church doors first.
Hernandez Avila crossed the threshold for the next phase of the day: prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
“God is very good. He gave me the strength. It’s incredible,” Hernandez Avila said, making one more prayer, and vow, in the pew. “If I’m here next year at this time, I will do this again.”
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