St. Peter Claver Parish Church
Catholics make up a plurality of Belize's population at large, but they command a majority in this region, with Maya and Garifuna elements incorporated into the liturgy. Punta Gorda's Catholic church may not be architecturally distinctive, but it is notable for its masses in the Garifuna language the second Sunday of each month and in the Mayan language the fourth Sunday of the month. The Jesuit priests here also provide outreach to 36 area Maya and Garifuna communities that lack their own churches. St. Peter Claver, the church's patron, was a 17th century Spanish missionary who advocated tirelessly for the rights of indigenous peoples in the New World.
