Millions of Catholics worldwide will this weekend celebrate World Mission Sunday when the chance is offered to show support for missionaries working alongside some of the most vulnerable communities.
World Mission Sunday is coordinated by Missio, a registered charity that helps local missionaries to work alongside global communities that are poor or in need, regardless of their background or belief.
“It is a moment of grace to express solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ, especially those who are living in situations of poverty, violence, and oppression,” said Missio in England and Wales, which is focusing on the lay missionary work at the Kidist Mariam Centre, or Blessed Mary Centre, in Meki, Ethiopia, a place where vulnerable people receive skills training.
Missio cited the example of one woman who was unable to find employment locally so had travelled overseas and became a domestic worker to help support her family living in Meki. Abused and exploited, she became “mentally unwell” and returned to Ethiopia.
A friend who introduced her to a local Catholic priest who encouraged her to seek help through the Kidist Mariam Centre. The centre has helped train more than 3000 people so far.
The woman said: “I think that without this centre, we would be out on the street. Because there was no alternative.”
She said her faith had been crucial to her recovery.
“I believe that God is always before you and behind you in all your troubles. He is prominent for a person like me, who has fallen in life. He is my life. God is my life and my everything.”
Missio uses donations to help keep health clinics and schools open as well as train the next generation of priests and Religious. Examples of work done by the charity include giving a motorbike for a priest to celebrate Mass in remote villages, buiulding a community hall so people can gather together and providing vaccinations to protect vulnerable children. The World Mission Sunday collection is one of just three personally requested by the Pope each year and takes place on the penultimate Sunday in October.
Last year’s World Mission Sunday collection in parishes across England and Wales raised £483,798.
Loading ...
