Man hears God’s call in tomato fields of rural Florida

 IMMOKALEE  |  Lucas Benitez, 16, left family behind in Guerrero, Mexico, and moved to the “Land of Opportunity” following his dream of working, prospering and having a family of his own.

But stepping onto America’s farmlands, he experienced God calling him in another direction.

“We all witnessed abuse of both men and women,” he said. “No one could speak up. … If you tried to protect a woman being abused, you and her would be fired. The perpetrator was allowed to keep working. I wanted to help.”

The call of God that Benitez heard came as a whisper when he stepped onto the tomato fields of Immokalee 45 miles from Naples was 30 years ago. The call grew louder as he met fellow workers, who later became friends and community. 

He shared an overcrowded trailer with laborers paying $25 a week rent and rode a white labor bus to the fields at sunup earning 35 cents per bucket of tomatoes picked kneeling and stooping under the Florida sun and “incredible heat,” he said. 

The cool spray that trickled from the air and sprinkled on Benitez’s skin as he sweated and toiled “felt good,” and he welcomed the mist from heaven not knowing that it was actually from pesticide sprayers.

Benitez didn’t find the joy on the farms that he felt back home working in the fields with his father, who taught him about the pleasures of growing things.

Peace came to him on visits to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in town where he could pray and ask God for guidance. He took a leap of faith and a bold move in 1993 to help start the Coalition of Immokalee Workers with fellow laborers. That move changed his life. 

“Somehow, I think, God called Lucas to a prophetic role in his community, as I think God calls all of us; the difference being Lucas responded, said Oblate Father Patrick O’Connor, pastor of Jesus the Worker Parish in Fort Myers. He had served Our Lady of Guadalupe in Immokalee, where he first met Benitez. 

“I think when we respond to the call, the Spirit helps us — gives us words, gives us strength, gives us wisdom, knowledge, passion, and insight,” Father O’Connor continued. “I think that describes what happened to Lucas.”  

When he was 17, Benitez possessed a dynamic drive and personality that was a driving force to unite people and motivate them to come together to work for justice and share in the struggles. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers organized and began initiatives putting rural Immokalee on the map.

It is hard to imagine the courage that it took, when Benitez and the other laborers organized a hunger strike on the fifth anniversary of the coalition in hopes of persuading growers to dialogue about wages that remained the same for two decades. 

The strike titled “call to conscience” drew national media attention and support from former President Jimmy Carter and the late Bishop John J. Nevins, founding bishop of the Diocese of Venice. 

“The hunger strike lasted 30 days with six farmworkers,” said Lucas. “It gained a lot of attention.”

When the strike ended, growers still had not come to the negotiation table, but with media overwhelmed by the strike and news, the event was not a loss. 

That year, Benitez was recognized during a meeting of the U. S. Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C., and presented a distinguished social justice recognition by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

The recognitions kept coming. In 1999, Rolling Stone magazine named Benitez one of the nation’s 10 best community leader for his efforts to secure employment rights and wage increase for farmworkers. The national youth leadership organization “Do Something” also recognized Benitez, then 23, for the work he had done as co-director of the coalition.

“Mr. Benitez is a model for people working for social justice,” said Bishop Nevins, during a Florida Catholic interview. “I hope he lives a long life. The effects of this will be felt by farmworkers around the country.” 

Over the years, Benitez won numerous local, national and international awards even a presidential award at the White House. The coalition continued to build community and support and advance the justice cause.

Father O’Connor kept a close eye on Benitez and the progress the coalition was making. He felt the call to join the laborers giving spiritual support and his presences at events.

“This meant a lot to the workers to have a priest present, since most of them are Catholic,” he said. “To see the concrete good they were doing to help the members of this poor community, was for me, so meaningful to witness.”

A major milestone came in 2000 when Benitez and others organized a 234-mile march from Fort Myers to Orlando. The walk of laborers and supporters resulted in industry-wide raises for farmworkers boasting spirits. The following year the Campaign for Fair Food launched that brought the fight for fair wages and better working conditions directly to the big corporations that depend on the food that farmworkers help. 

The campaign resulted in the Fair Food Program, a model for social responsibility based on partnerships among farmworkers, growers and buyers. Benitez spoke about the program in front of the United Nations in November of last year at the 2022 Business and Human Rights Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, a long place from home.  

“It is incredibly inspiring to us that this model that came out of this small town is now a model for everyone,” said Benitez.

Now approaching midlife, Benitez said that he looks back on his journey, but looks forward moving ahead in mission to expand efforts in other countries and industries where workers experience injustices.

“We have moved from night to day,” he said. “Work is still to be done.” 

Did he accomplish his vision of having a family? Lucas married Veronica 20 years ago. They have two sons Itzael,16 and Edahir, 14, who attend Donahue Catholic Academy of Ave Maria Parish in Ave Maria. The family is active at St. Joseph the Worker where the boys received their sacraments.

Lucas struggled to make ends meet in the early days. When he and Veronica married, they both worked hard and saved. She stood at his side supporting him as he pursued his mission of serving others as well as providing for his family. 

Today, the couple own a small Mexican restaurant in Immokalee called Mister Taco, which Veronica runs. Lucas’ elderly mother and father live with the family now. Lucas and Veronica made space in their lives to care for the aging parents, who raised him, loved and taught him about the faith and what truly matters walking on life’s journey.

“I always say we carry a piece of God within us, and that God helps us to do our mission that he made for us to accomplish,” he told the Florida Catholic about carrying out God’s call and Christ’s Gospel message. 

Benitez said he developed a special friendship and respect for Bishop Nevins who was known for his outreach to the poor and those who suffered injustices. He died in 2014, but his memories live on inspiring all who knew him.

“He was the first faith leader to come with us in this work. He was always there to help those most in need, and he was with us at his final Mass in Immokalee. All of us felt very blessed,” he said.

Bishop Nevins celebrated Spanish Mass Jan. 14, 2007, at Our Lady of Guadalupe. In his homily, he said, “I feel very close to your hopes and dreams as well as the hard work of the field and the sufferings that you endure as immigrants in the United States of America,” he said. “God bless you all, dear ones. I will always remember the people of Immokalee.” 

For information on the drive, visit https://www.thefloridacatholic.org/news/advocacy/long-sleeve-relief/. Collection and distribution sites are listed here.

For more information, contact us by email at LSR@thefloridacatholic.org, call 407-373-0075 or toll free 1-888-275-9953.

To make a monetary donation, make your check payable to the Florida Catholic and mail to: Long Sleeve Relief, P.O. Box 4993, Orlando, FL 32802-4993 or donate online at https://donorbox.org/long-sleeve-relief-drive-2-2

In addition to long-sleeve cotton button-down shirts, the Florida Farmworker Association are also requesting the following supplies. Please only drop these items off at the Florida Farmworker Association offices after contacting Finn at FWAF_AmCorps@floridafarmworkers.org

• Other clean and gently-used clothing items, with children’s clothes being the greatest needs;

• Diapers and baby supplies;

• Household items;

• Children’s toys;

• Food donations of beans, rice, tortillas, maseca, cooking oil, and canned soups