How prayer and practicality mean so much to the poor of Argentina

PRESIDENT McAleese smiled down as our neighbour lifted the tarantula. He did it so effortlessly.

Two fingers thrust forward surgically, squeezing the spider just enough to grab him but not so tight as to kill. Transferring the creature to a piece of paper. Followed by a graceful removal to the priest’s garden.

It’s great the way locals are so casual. When my fellow volunteer announced, “er, there’s a rather large spider in here”, the missionary was all reassurance. But when Fr Liam Hayes put his head around the door, spotting this furry creature about the size of a digestive biscuit, the diagnosis changed somewhat. “Oh, that one could bite you all right. Hold on. I’ll get a neighbour. Don’t kill it. They do a lot of good, you know.”