The Association for the Propagation of the Faith (APF), now more commonly known as MISSIO, assists every one of the Catholic Church’s 1,069 mission dioceses in providing pastoral care and preaching the Gospel effectively.
It was founded in 1822 by Pauline-Marie Jaricot,
a young woman in Lyons, France. She persuaded local working people to give a farthing a week in support of overseas mission. A century later, the organisation was established in almost every country in the world. Pope Pius XI made it the official mission-funding society for the Catholic Church.
St Simon Stock Parish is a significant contributor to MISSIO giving some £1,909 through its red box collections in 2017, the most we have ever collected in a single year and 11% up on 2016. The boxes are collected at Masses every quarter during the year: in January, April, July and October and returned during the week following their collection.
For those who are not aware of the work of MISSIO, its aim is to bring the hope of the Gospel where there is turmoil, poverty and uncertainty in the world, and where the Church is new, young or poor.
Your prayers and contributions through the MISSIO red boxes help to continue to sustain missionary priests and sisters around the world who are helping those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees and marginalised who may find welcome and comfort in our communities.
Here are a few of the projects being undertaken by MISSIO thanks to the donations made through the red boxes:
- £245,000 raised through the Red Box is supporting three diocese in Rwanda with the reconstruction of churches destroyed during the genocide;
- the Peace Village in Kuron in South Sudan is an oasis of peace in a Country at war and received funds from MISSIO to develop the vocational training programme which has expanded the philosophy of peace. Whilst the conflict in South Sudan is likely to continue, the local people and the local Church remain hopeful, and with your prayers and support, will eventually triumph;
- in the forgotten slums of South Tel Aviv, eight babies in just over a year have died in illegal “baby warehouses” where one person attempts to care for up to 40 children. They are victims of a system that force parents, mainly immigrant families who struggle to earn enough to survive, to choose between destitution and illegal childcare services. Father David Nehaus, an Israeli Jesuit, decided with MISSIO help to start parish-run day care centres. Two crèches were set up in 2017 with one staff member to every six children – the centre provides healthy meals and snacks giving vital nutrition for the children as the buying fresh food is too expensive for some families;
- in Amman, Jordan, MISSIO is supporting a project to help Iraqi Christian refugees who have been driven from their homes;
- life in Cambodia is rife with difficulties, including crime and prostitution, drugs and economic struggle. Many children are unable to attend school because of the long distances involved in travelling. So, the sisters, Daughters of Charity, came up with the idea of a travelling school. The mobile school uses a tuk-tuk, a motorcycle-based vehicle, adapted to carry both the educational material and the teacher.
Without your prayers and support none of this would be possible. Thank You. Should anyone want a red MISSIO box please contact Adrian Hockney (01634 862877 or e mail adrianhockney@btinternet.com).