Limón Family: Praying Together to Stay Together
By Matthew Shibler
As I prepared for a Fatima home visit last February 2008 in Austin, Texas, I noticed that the street name and the host’s name matched. “What a coincidence,” I thought. Then, as we turned into Limón Street and observed the hosts’ relatives converging from neighboring homes, surprise set in. My cousin Peter and I were taking Our Lady of Fatima to the famed Limón family of Austin! In fact, we were visiting just a small part of the family, for there are over 2,400 relatives in the Austin area.
Johnny Limón and his mother Eloisa, 94, hosted the visit at their home. The house swelled that day with the warmth and love of over sixty-five relatives. “No doubt, I had to limit how many I invited because our house only fits so many,” chuckled Johnny, “but I was very happy that everyone I invited was able to come. They were all thrilled and felt blessed to attend.”
The Limón family’s motto is Siempre Unidos (Always United) and they have stayed true to that motto for six generations ever since José Limón came from Mexico in 1889. Every year the family has gathered for a three-day reunion. They gather up to 2,500 people, of which 1,500 are Limóns. The others are in-laws and family friends. Our Lady of Fatima said the “errors of Russia,” one of them being the breakup of the family, would spread throughout the world. In contrast to the fragmentation of the family so common nowadays, it was refreshing to see the Limóns together.
This family is an example of the age-old proverb, they stay together because they pray together. After our Fatima home visit, Johnny and his mother started the Five First Saturdays’ Devotion at their home, inviting relatives to come and fulfill Our Lady’s request as a family. “The devotion gives us a reason to get together and the Blessed Virgin plays a big part in keeping us in the Faith,” said Johnny.
As Peter and I left Limón Street, we could not help but be thankful for families like the Limóns who not only strive to stay together as a family, but also to pray together and keep their hearts open to Our Lady’s message.
From Crusade Magazine: May / June 2008
Header Image: Johnny and his mother Eloisa Limón hosted the Fatima Home Visit and started the Five First Saturdays devotion with relatives and friends.
