Ronald Marin, age 30, left his home in Venezuela in 2018. He moved to Peru for health reasons. Formerly a teacher, he found work at a Catholic church and was soon asked to help comfort mourning families nearby. Marin later took vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, becoming a lay worker for his church. As the current pandemic grew, Catholic churches in Peru began closing their doors and restricting services to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Some of the devout, like Marin, continued to work with members of the community, administering funerals, comforting families, praying with the sick, and more. Rodrigo Abd, a photojournalist with the Associated Press, recently spent time with Marin in and around Lima, as he worked alone, supporting others, in a country hard-hit by COVID-19.
The Lonely Work of Performing Funerals in Lima, Peru
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Ronald Marin walks along a paved dirt road lined by graves, inside the Martires 19 de Julio Cemetery in Comas, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, on July 4, 2020. Wearing a white robe and shoes worn down by dust, Marin is one of the few who administers funerals in this cemetery far from the center of Peru's capital. #
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Aurora Davila (right) comforts her grieving 15-year-old granddaughter, Tatiana Palomo, as she lies on the grave of her father, who died from the coronavirus, during a burial service at the Martires 19 de Julio Cemetery on July 4, 2020. #
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Marin adjusts his protective face mask as he prepares to lead a memorial service marking the death of Julia Ascencio, who died from the coronavirus, in Lima, on July 21, 2020. Sometimes Marin is invited to pray at the homes of the deceased after the first month of death. #
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Marin prays over a coffin that contains the remains of Keizer Quinones and Sarai Araujo's unborn daughter, at a burial service in the Martires 19 de Julio Cemetery on July 21, 2020. #
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Marin sprinkles holy water on a coffin that contains the remains of 97-year-old Ruben Val, as granddaughter Leslie Gonzalez holds her cellphone in place so that her parents can take part in the service via videoconferencing in Comas on July 23, 2020. Val died of natural causes. #
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Marin carries his crucifix, a funeral ritual booklet, and an implement used to sprinkle holy water, at the end of a burial service on the outskirts of Lima, on July 4, 2020. #
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Marin prays over the freshly dug grave that contains the remains of 62-year-old Arturo Sotelo, who died due to COVID-19 complications, in the Martires 19 de Julio Cemetery in Comas, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, on July 18, 2020. #
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