Projects in Need
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 ...
A Minibus for Refugees in Ukraine
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The Archieparchy of Ivano-Frankivsk is in western Ukraine, where many refugees from elsewhere in the country have fled to for safety. The local Church cares for these refugees, and they need a vehicle so they can transport both people and goods. Unfortunately, their old minivan is 21 years old and now beyond further repair. So they must get a reliable vehicle that will not constantly require repairs and add to their total expenses. Many refugee families are currently housed ...
Renovation of a Formation House in Costa Rica
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The monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe is in the city of Belén in Costa Rica, and it also serves as a formation house for the order of the Franciscan Friars Conventual in Central America. There are currently six brothers there, four postulants and two of them fully professed. But the monastery has space for 16. Its superior, Father Andrés Quesada Soto, has written to us: “We are hoping that the vocations apostolate will bear fruit in the coming years ...
Mass Stipends for Priests in Mexico
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Mexico is a land of contrast. Some parts of the country are popular tourist destinations, while others are torn apart by drugs, abduction, murder, and theft. And though the country has a relatively strong economy, large swaths of the population still live in deep poverty. The Mexican Diocese of Tapachula has its own unique challenges, too. It shares a border with Guatemala and is crossed by many migrants on their way to the United States. The Church offers pastoral support ...
Support for the Benedictine Sisters in Benin
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The Benedictine convent of Notre-Dame de l’Ecoute was founded in 2005 in northern Benin. Originally, all the sisters were from France, but now, there are also African sisters, and there are more young women from Benin interested in the Benedictine life. But in 2022, the sisters had to leave their monastery because it was located on the border with Burkina Faso and at risk of attack from jihadists. They were transferred to the Archdiocese of Parakou, which is further south ...
Support for 30 Sisters in Brazil
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The Diocese of Cajazeiras is in northeastern Brazil, widely regarded as one of the poorest parts of the country. It faces severe droughts, and the people in this very rural area are, for the most part, impoverished. And due to a shortage of clergy, each priest must minister to 7,000 Catholic faithful, who are scattered over a vast area. At more than 5,500 square miles, the diocese is roughly half the size of Belgium, but has only 80 priests to ...
Help for the Training of Seminarians in Ukraine
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The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic seminary in the archeparchy of Ternopil-Zboriv has been open since 1993. It is named for Cardinal Josyf Slipyj, the great hero and Confessor of the Church, who spent 18 years in Soviet prison camps. Today, there are 138 men preparing for the priesthood in the seminary. They include men from seven different dioceses, or eparchies, and some of them belong to the Studite Order. In addition to their studies, the seminarians are involved in the parishes – ...