“My priests and I cannot thank you enough for your great generosity, and so we ask God to bless you and reward you for this wonderful gift, which will be shared out equally among all our priests.” Bishop Paul Mea of Kiribati
For priests in many parts of the world, Mass stipends are the sole source of income. When you submit a Mass Offering, you are supporting a priest in need in one of the more than 140 countries in which we work, while at the same time, a Mass is being celebrated for your special intentions. Thank you for your support!
Latin America is generally considered Catholic, but Uruguay, its second smallest country, has a long secular history. In the 19th century, public expression of religion was banned, and the government made numerous provocations against the Catholic Church. For example, on Good Friday, a day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics, the government would arrange free barbecues.
Few people have summarized the importance of the priesthood more trenchantly than Saint Jean Marie Vianney, the famous Curé of Ars: “Without the sacrament of ordination, we would not have the Lord. Who placed him in the Tabernacle? The priest!”
Ever since 1948, an on-again-off-again conflict has been dragging on in the state of Balochistan between the Pakistani government and rebel groups fighting for autonomy of the province, which lies in the southwest of the country.
The commitment to teaching and formation also means these priests do not have any other opportunities of earning an income in order to support themselves, such as by working in a parish. As a result, they are very much dependent on Mass stipends.
Having a Holy Mass celebrated for a particular intention is a long and venerable tradition. The gift, or “stipend,” given to the priest by the person concerned is in no sense a “payment” but rather a gesture of love and gratitude and also of financial support for the individual priest.