Projects in Need
Mass Stipends for Priests in Zimbabwe
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For the Church, Africa is a continent of hope. Not only is the number of faithful growing, but the number of priests is, too. In fact, many priests worldwide now come from Africa. The priests live their vocation with joy and commitment, though their conditions are often difficult. In the Diocese of Masvingo, in south-east Zimbabwe, there are just 65 priests for about a quarter of a million Catholic faithful, and the region is over 27,000 square miles. The distances ...
Three Motorized Rickshaws for Pastoral Work in Colombia
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The Apostolic Vicariate of Mitú lies in the Amazon region of eastern Colombia, in an area covering over 21,000 square miles (54,000 km²). Roughly a third of its population lives in the town of Mitú, and the remainder are scattered throughout the jungle-clad region. The majority of them belong to one of the 26 different indigenous tribal groups, each with its own language and its own particular customs. Pastoral outreach is difficult here, due to vast distances, and the Church ...
Help to Build a Parish Church in Indonesia
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With 272 million people, Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world. But its religious make-up varies from place to place. The island of Flores, for example, is mainly Catholic. The parish of Copang in western Flores was established in 2017 and today has a population of over 7,800 Catholic faithful that grows annually. This is a very lively parish; Holy Mass is well-attended; and the people genuinely strive to live their faith every day. The parish has ...
Help to Repair a Church Tower in Ukraine
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Sudowa Wyschnja is a small town in West Ukraine. Its Latin Catholic parish and two sub-parishes are very lively and run by the Franciscans. There are about 350 parishioners, with many young families and different parish groups. The members of the Franciscan Third Order, or lay Franciscans, lovingly care for their church and help to make sure that the liturgy is celebrated well. There is a “living Rosary” group that prays the Rosary daily, and another group involved in social ...
Help 30 Seminarians in Uganda
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The Diocese of Nebbi is in northern Uganda, in a region that suffered greatly from years of internal warfare, between the Ugandan government and a rebel group called the Lord’s Resistance Army. The fighting began in 1987 and ended in 2006, but its consequences are still evident. Ordinary people have barely managed to build new lives. The Catholic Church in Uganda is not only very poor, but challenged in its pastoral work. Within the Diocese of Nebbi, there are many ...
Support the Life and Ministry of Sisters in Colombia
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The sisters of Saint Vincent have been working in southwest Colombia since 1997. Their mission in this mountain region covers eight indigenous reserves and 36 villages. Distances are long, and the roads are difficult. Even with a car, it takes two to three hours to reach some villages. And there is only one bus a day, meaning that the sisters often have to journey for hours on foot. The ordinary people have suffered greatly from armed conflicts, past and present, and from ...
Support for the Apostolate of Sisters in Cameroon
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The congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Divine Providence was founded in Nigeria in 2000. The sisters visit the sick and the elderly, caring for them and bringing them Holy Communion. They also offer practical help and advice to families and women, and are active in youth work and catechesis. For the past 10 years, the sisters have worked in Cameroon as well. Three of them are currently stationed in the parish of Ngondzen, in a remote northern region. Only ...
An Educational Program for Laypeople in Bangladesh
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Almost 90 percent of the 170 million people in Bangladesh are Muslim. Christians account for just a tiny minority of well under one percent and generally belong to disadvantaged ethnic minorities. Such is the case in the Diocese of Rajshahi, in northern Bangladesh. There are over 20.4 million people here, 71,000 of whom are Catholic. Most of them are poor, with very few educational opportunities, and forced to toil as day laborers or small traders, or scrape a living from ...
Help for the Training of Seminarians in Mexico
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Mexico has the world’s second-largest Catholic population, but that group is gradually shrinking. Almost 96 percent of the country identify as Christian, but only around 72 percent are Catholic. Sects, Pentecostalist groups, and occult movements are spreading everywhere. And priests in Mexico are victims of murder, abduction, and other violence. It takes a lot of courage to be a priest here – and yet there are still a number of young men ready and willing to follow the call of God. At ...
Help for the Training of Seminarians in Bosnia
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Many Catholics from Bosnia and Herzegovina have now left their country. Since the last Bosnian war, which ended in 1995, the Catholic population has decreased by roughly 50 percent. Today, there are only about 400,000 Catholics left, accounting for barely 15 percent of the total population. Sadly, this wave of emigration continues, and most of the people who fled the country have not returned. Indeed, for Catholics here, life is becoming more difficult. Despite this, many families do find the ...