A Car for Sacred Heart Sisters in Southern India

The Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in southern India wrote to ACN, “Our community here is still only in its beginning, and so we are really struggling financially. We have no source of income, which is why we are asking your help, so that we can purchase a vehicle.” 

The Diocese of Vellore is in India, in the state of Tamil Nadu. They turned to us, and our benefactors, for help, since the area they minister to is vast, remote, and underdeveloped. They didn’t even own a vehicle, and they needed one to visit the villages.

The congregation was founded in India in 1952, and today, it has 300 sisters who work with the poor and the disadvantaged. They care for the sick and elderly and for mentally handicapped children; they teach those who have been forced to miss or drop out of school; they run schools and kindergartens in remote villages; they organize prayer meetings and catechetical sessions and prepare children for their First Holy Communion. They also teach sewing and weaving to girls and young women who have not had the opportunity to attend school, so they can help support their families. 

Without a car, it was very hard for the sisters to work in their diocese. But thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, we were able to send the sisters $11,600 so that they could buy a car. 

Sister Arokia Selvi wrote back to us, saying joyfully: “The incredible support we have received from ACN has brought an enormous improvement to the lives of the local people, especially in those areas where we had no means of reaching them before. The vehicle is of great use to us in our many varied activities in the villages, and it can help us to make great changes in these communities.

We are quite sure that our work in the Catholic villages will be strengthened as a result, and it will enable us to improve the education, healthcare, and living conditions of all the people, especially the poorest children, and help us to reduce school dropout levels in the near future.”

We want to take this opportunity to thank all your benefactors and supporters for their generosity. We are so grateful for the gift of this vehicle for our Catholic mission.”

A warm thank you to all who helped!

Aid to the Church in Need commits to invest your funds where they will have the greatest impact for the Church that we serve. Funds donated to Aid to the Church in Need’s projects will be used towards the greatest need in our programs to help keep the Faith alive.

Code: 317-05-29