Fr. Matt Ruhl, S. J., will bicycle from Maine to California starting in July 2025 to raise funds and awareness for education in the Central American nation of Belize. St. Joseph, Wauwatosa, will host a fundraiser with Fr. Ruhl on Oct. 18. (Submitted photo)
In Belize, a small country in Central America, there are 432 buildings that house 32,000 students and 1,500 faculty in 112 Catholic primary schools.
A lack of funding means children are being educated in buildings infested with termites, swarmed by bats, and with walls and roofs destroyed by 150 inches of annual rainfall. These buildings are unfit environments for learning.
St. Joseph in Wauwatosa is holding a fundraiser in support of Catholic education in Belize on Oct. 18, “Brats, Beer and Belize.” Fr. Matt Ruhl, S.J., will be there and will speak about the situation in Belize Catholic schools and the inspiration for the Lighthouse Ride, which will raise funds and awareness for Catholic education in Belize.
Belize City is home to Baron Bliss Lighthouse, a historical structure dating back to the 19th century. The lighthouse inspired the name, the Lighthouse Ride.
Fr. Ruhl and other supporters will bicycle from Brunswick, Maine, to Santa Monica, California (more than 3,500 miles), starting July 15, 2025. Each of these locations is also home to a beautiful lighthouse.
Fr. Ruhl has been a Jesuit for 40 years and a pastor for 30. He’s been living in Belize for more than 15 years and is the pastor at St. Peter Claver Parish in Punta Gorda in the Toledo District of the country. Additionally, Fr. Ruhl is the Chairman of the Bishop’s Commission on Education. In Belize, educating children is a joint effort between the government and the Catholic Church. The government pays the salaries of all faculty and staff, while the Church pays for building upkeep, school supplies, technology, furniture and lunch programs. All schools are free to students and without any fees coming in, the Church cannot keep up with the needs of the students and the schools.
This fundraising activity is a joint effort with the office of the General Manager of Catholic Education and the Bishop’s Commission on Education. It is fully supported by the Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Technology for Belize. In fact, every year on Valentine’s Day, the local schools and communities sponsor a “Little Lighthouse Walk” in which the children walk to raise funds and awareness of the needs of the schools.
You can learn more about Fr. Ruhl, the Lighthouse Ride and the education system in Belize at lighthouseridebelize.org.
St. Joseph has been a twinning parish supporting Belize since 2004. Contact Jim Schwai at jschwai@yahoo.com for more information.
