Fabian Arias, a Lutheran pastor of Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan, performs an in-home service beside the remains of Raul Luis Lopez who died from COVID-19 the previous month in the Corona neighborhood of Queens.
COVID-19 | A PRIEST’S MISSION
MAY 2020, The Associated Press
ADMIST THE DEATH AND FEAR ENGULFING NEW YORK CITY, Fabian Arias, a beloved Lutheran pastor tending to a largely Hispanic community, risks his life in service tending to the anxious and the grieving as COVID-19 sweeps the region.
Fabian Arias arrived in New York City from his native Argentina for what was supposed to be a six-month trip. But the hardships of the Latino immigrant communities he encountered overwhelmed him, and inspired a life-long mission.
“I was young and upset and I listened to God’s voice, and he said that this is my place in this moment in my life,” Arias said.
Eighteen years later, he’s an ordained Lutheran pastor of Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan. And he reflects on the pressures of consoling the living and performing funeral rites for the dead during a pandemic that has disproportionately affected the city’s Hispanic community.
Arias touches rosary beads he hangs from his rearview mirror while on a food donation delivery run to Harlem.
As businesses remain shuttered, many have begun to rely on makeshift food donation programs such as the one Arias operates six days a week with the help of a small legion of volunteers fanning out across the boroughs.
Arias records videos for social media that serve as evidence for hesitant members of his community, many of whom are undocumented, that the donation system he supports is legitimate and safe. The COVID-19 pandemic sent shock waves through New York’s social strata, bringing into sharp relief the inequalities burdening families that are the backbone of the city’s essential workforce.
“IT’S VERY HARD FOR OUR COMMUNITY. FOR ALL LATINOS, WHEN OUR PEOPLE DIE, THEY RECEIVE A BLESSING. WE SAY THE LAST GOODBYE AND PRAY TOGETHER. IT’S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US.”
— Fabian Arias
On Sundays, Arias offers services from his spartan apartment in the Bronx via live stream. As of May 12, the death rate of the 400 Spanish-language congregants at Saint Peter’s Church neared 10%. It is here that he leads grieving families in prayer in the face of the stunning losses.
For those congregants with the resources to book a funeral home, Arias performs socially distanced services. On May 11, 2020, Arias led prayers for the family of Argentine-born Héctor Miguel Cabaña, who died at 74 from COVID-19 in Brooklyn.
The previous day, Arias provided an in-home funeral service for the family of Graciela Ruiz Martinez, who died of COVID-19. Unable to book funeral services and fearing for Martinez’s soul should she not receive proper funeral rites, her loved ones turned to Arias to visit their modest apartment in Queens.
“EVERYBODY IS AFRAID, NOT ONLY FOR OURSELVES, BUT FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND ESPECIALLY FATHER FABIAN AND ALL THE SERVICES HE’S DOING. BUT HE’S HERE FOR US.”
— Sara Cruz, sister of Raul Luis Lopez. Lopez passed from COVID-19.