Success Story: A New Chapel for a Village in Bangladesh

Sonka is the poorest and remotest of the 35 villages of the parish of Nijpara in the Diocese of Dinajpur. While it is more than 11 miles from the main parish center, there are 20 Catholic families living there, devout believers who are actively involved in the life of the Church.

Until recently, the village only had an old, mud chapel. It had already become too small for the growing number of the faithful, and it was then rendered unusable by the heavy rains and bad weather. For a  long time, the local faithful had longed to have a new chapel where they could gather for prayer and for the celebration of Mass. Most of the people here are extremely poor, living from hand to mouth. Many are simple day laborers who can barely manage to feed their families as it is. As a result, there was no way they could find the money to build a new chapel.

The parish priest turned in trust to ACN, asking for our help. Thanks to your generosity, we did not have to disappoint him and his faithful but were able to give $12,600 for the construction of a new chapel. To the great joy of the whole community, this chapel has been consecrated, so now the people are able to pray and worship there more often than before.

Father Narayan Singh, their parish priest, wrote to thank us: “The people of Sonka are overjoyed at the sight of the new chapel in their village. It is wonderful for them to have this good atmosphere for their prayer and liturgy.”

“The whole community is very grateful to you and is praying for you all.”

Aid to the Church in Need commits to invest your funds where they will have the greatest impact for the Church that we serve. Funds donated to Aid to the Church in Need’s projects will be used towards the greatest need in our programs to help keep the Faith alive.

Code: 342-01-19