Mass Stipends for Priests in the Congo

The Diocese of Lolo is in a primarily rural part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are no major urban centers, and most of the population is poor, with around 95 percent living on subsistence farming, livestock, and fishing. Given the lack of urban centers, transporting their produce is difficult, and in any case, there are no large markets where people can sell the food they produce. Then there is climate change, which makes life still more difficult. Whereas in the past, it only rained in the wet season, now it rains more often, and not infrequently there is flooding, which destroys the crops. 

Life is particularly hard for the priests, who are not paid a regular salary. Many of them even have to grow their own maize and rice, on top of their work for the faithful. But this is not a solution to all their problems. In many places, the people have helped to build dwellings for their priests, often at great personal sacrifice. And where there are no priests to minister to the faithful, sects can quickly fill the void. And so, the Church is trying to promote as many communities as possible to a quasi-parish status, so they can have a permanently present priest. In this way, Church life can be maintained and invigorated. But in this situation, supporting their priests remains a major challenge. 

And so, we have proposed to send some of the Mass stipends you have generously offered to the 44 priests of the Diocese of Lolo. This will also include the nine priests teaching at the minor seminary and the propedeutic, or pre-seminary. We have now approved a total of 28,427 dollars. Will you help us?