Success Story: A Riverboat for Pastoral Outreach in Brazil

Father Washington Dioleno Araújo Taveres is a happy man. Thanks to your generous help, he now has the riverboat he so urgently needs for his ministry to his Catholic faithful. His parish of John the Baptist, in Curralinho, is situated in Brazil‘s Amazon delta region. The distances he must travel are vast, as he has 57 scattered riverside settlements to minister to along the river and its adjoining waterways.

Until recently, Father Vageres had to navigate these waterways with a small and aging wooden craft, a dangerous, exhausting and time-consuming activity. This waste of precious time and energy meant the loss of many vital opportunities for evangelization. And wherever the Church cannot be present, the sects tend to spread rapidly. Floodwaters, floating tree trunks, alligators and the sudden vagaries of the weather frequently made his pastoral journeys in the small wooden craft a perilous and life-threatening undertaking.

Now, thanks to your generosity, we were able to help him with $14,500 for this metal-hulled riverboat, which makes it so much easier for him to minister to his scattered flock. Our heartfelt thanks likewise to all of you who have helped!

Bishop Teodoro Mendes Tavares is also very grateful that you were able to help Father Washington, and he expresses his thanks to everyone who helped. “Once again we would like to express our gratitude, for this support will be of fundamental importance to our evangelization work. Thanks again for everything! And we ask Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the protectress of our diocese, to bless 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: 212-01-29