Projects in Need
Four Motorcycles for Priests in Burkina Faso
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The Diocese of Tenkodogo was founded just 13 years ago and is therefore still slowly becoming established. It covers an area of just under 4,000 square miles, which is bigger than many small countries (such as Lebanon, for instance). But so far, it has only 12 parishes, comparable in size to many European dioceses, and only 200,000 Catholics, who are widely scattered and ministered to by a total of 35 priests. The priests must inevitably travel long distances in order to reach the villages within their respective parishes. And needless to say, some of these outposts are extremely ...
Mass Stipends for Priests in Colombia
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Ever since the mid-1960s, there has been violent conflict in Colombia. During this time, around 6 million people were uprooted from their homes, and around 200,000 were killed. A further 60,000 people are still registered as missing. Despite a peace accord in 2016, many areas of the country remain controlled by armed groups, and the violence has, in fact, escalated since last year. In the more rural regions, the growing of coca for the drug trade has all but wiped out the traditional agricultural cultivation. The situation is also exacerbated by a large influx of immigrants from neighboring Venezuela, thereby further intensifying the people‘s poverty. For ...
Psychological Training for Priests in Ukraine
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Whereas in the early days of the war, the emphasis was on direct material support for refugee families, who desperately needed to be housed, fed, and given medical care, it is now increasingly shifting to the need for psychological and spiritual support for the many people who have suffered deep emotional trauma as a result of the frightful things they have experienced. About 80 percent of the Ukrainian people have suffered some form of trauma, according to Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Often, it is the priests who are the first and sometimes ...
Support for the Life and Apostolate of 54 Sisters in Ukraine
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The congregation of the Holy Family has 54 sisters in Ukraine. They have nine convents altogether and perform a range of different duties, including running an orphanage, a retreat house, and a center offering psychological and spiritual help and accompaniment to those in need. They also work as catechists and sacristans in the parishes, while some work in the hospitals or care for handicapped children. Three of the sisters are lecturers at the Catholic University in Lviv. And since the ...
Mass Stipends for Missionaries in Ethiopia
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Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic state. In the Horn of Africa, no fewer than 80 different ethnic groups live together, speaking as many different languages. And Christianity in Ethiopia has almost 2,000 years of history. Roughly 45 percent of the population belongs to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, whereas Catholic Christianity is still relatively young in the country, and Catholics today account for an extreme minority (just one percent) of its 112 million people. Yet while Christianity in Ethiopia has ...
Help to Repair and Extend a Church in Zambia
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The Spiritans, or Holy Ghost Missionaries, have been working in Zambia since 1971. The congregation sends its priests wherever pastoral work is particularly difficult, especially in remote and underdeveloped regions. In the Diocese of Ndola, a new parish was recently established in the village of Baluba, which is under the care of the Spiritan Fathers. The number of believers is growing rapidly in this overwhelmingly rural region, and many people there are very involved in the Church. But their modest ...
Help for the Training of Nine Seminarians in Burkina Faso
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Ever since the end of 2015, northern and eastern Burkina Faso have been the focus of violent Islamist terrorism. Today, two-thirds of the West African nation is suffering from this terrorism, and two million people have been forced to flee their homes. In 2019, attackers began deliberately targeting the Christian faithful and their churches. And the violence of the jihadist attackers against priests, religious, and ordinary Christian faithful has steadily increased in intensity ever since. Yet despite this threat to ...
Retreat Days and Spiritual Accompaniment for People in Lebanon
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For over five years now, Lebanon has been going through a profound crisis. Many people have become impoverished and are experiencing feelings of anger, helplessness, and despair. Many families are suffering great tensions, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has only brought them greater fears. People are leaving the country whenever they can, and sadly, the suicide rate has also increased. Mother Maguy Adabashy, the general superior of the Missionary Sisters of the Most Blessed Sacrament, has written ...
Support for Religious Sisters Caring for Vulnerable People in Guatemala
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The congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and Saint Catherine of Siena was established in 1914 in Colombia. As a young teacher, Laura Montoya – who was canonized in 2013 – felt the call to care for the indigenous tribal peoples in the Colombian rainforest and teach their children. Together with five other women, including her own mother, she devoted herself to this demanding task. Initially, she was met with great opposition in society, and many ...
Refurbishing a Seminary Kitchen and Refectory in Sarajevo
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Thanks to your generous help, we have been able to support the seminary in Sarajevo for many years now. First established back in 1890, it has lived through difficult times. Under communism, it was closed, and although it was able to reopen following political changes, with the Bosnian war from 1992 to 1995, the situation quickly became too difficult, and seminarians were forced to continue their studies abroad. Today, the seminary is once again a beacon of light for the ...