WWW.SHAKER.LIFE | FALL 2020 61
How did you establish the relationship with the sister
parish in El Salvador? What does that involve? I have a
friend who runs an organization called International Partners
in Mission who helped me organize our first trip in 2004.
I was interested in El Salvador because of Sister Dorothy
Kazel, a nun from Cleveland who was martyred there. I put
an announcement in our church bulletin and 14 people
signed up.
The very last day we were there, we rode in a truck up
to the top of a mountain and saw this church called Santo
Domingo. I said, “I think that means St. Dominic. We have to
stop.” There was a priest and nun there from Cleveland, and
I asked if we could bring people back for another visit. They
said, “Sure – but nobody ever comes back.” We’ve now
had more than 1,000 parishioners go there on medical and
service trips.
Over the years, we have helped them expand their
school by building a library, new classrooms, and a
computer lab. We’ve hired local laborers to build 200
homes and 350 outhouses for better sanitation; we’ve sent
115 of their students to college in San Salvador, supported
local food delivery programs for residents with no income,
and we collected $85,000 for chicken coops. That’s a lot
of chickens.
You recently dealt with cancer, and thankfully you’re now
in good health. What was it like to be on the receiving
end of the type of pastoral care you’ve been providing to
others for most of your life? To say I was overwhelmed is an
understatement. The St. Dominic community is truly a family
and they acted that way, supporting me every step of the
way with meals, rides to chemotherapy, thousands of cards,
and of course, a multitude of prayers. Many of my neighbors
on Winslow Road are not members of St. Dominic, yet they
were also there to give support. I also received amazing
medical care. At the first meeting with my oncologist, as I was
sitting there in his office, he said, “Mr. Fanta, you just look
so familiar.” I said, “You sit in the back of the church on the
right-hand side.”
As the only priest serving a large parish, you probably
don’t have a lot of downtime. What do you do to restore
the work-life balance? How do you unwind and relax?
In a typical year, we have 20 weddings, 100 baptisms, 15
funerals, and I celebrate three Masses each weekend. I don’t
own a TV. I much prefer to read. I spend a lot of time with
my family on the West Side; I have 14 nieces and nephews,
and 7 great-nieces and -nephews. I love to cook; I find that
very therapeutic. Every day, I make and serve lunch to my
staff at 12:15.
I also like to have people over on my patio and grill out.
Since I’m a cook, I like to have fresh ingredients, so I started
a garden with my next-door neighbors, Joel and Erica
Serrano. Joel is our head of maintenance, and Erica works in
the aftercare at our school. They’re both from Mexico, and
they’re teaching me to cook Mexican food. We’re growing
Mexican peppers, cilantro, cucumbers, and tomatoes.
Here’s something people might not know about me: I
love Las Vegas, because I like to gamble. I also like going to
Thistledown, where I see a fair number of other parishioners.
Page 60 & 61: Scenes from El Salvador provided by Thomas G. Fanta
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