FATIMA PILGRIMAGE
A walk down Memory Lane… January 2026
This year, our MSC Missions Office on the Western Road, Cork, marks 60 years in operation. Together, we’re celebrating 60 years of prayer, of fundraising (in countless creative shapes and forms!), of local and global outreach, of friendship, of unity, of faith, of hope, and of love. Many of the mission friends that support us today are carrying on the long-standing tradition of their parents and grandparents, and we are so blessed and privileged to benefit from generations of this friendship and support, with our sincere and heartfelt gratitude.
The MSC Missions Office on the Western Road, Cork, celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2026.
In the spirit of our anniversary year, we will take a look back through the archives over the coming months, and explore just some of our missionary work and local activities throughout the years.
We begin in the Spring of 1981, when the MSC Message featured a piece on our Venezuelan mission, which had begun 13 years previously. Fr John Jennings MSC was among the team out there at the time, and now, over 40 years later, he continues to live with the people of Maracaibo and Caracas, accompanied by Fr Tom Jordan and Fr Tom O’Brien in his daily ministry.
Article from the MSC Message newsletter, Spring 1981
Our Spring 1981 newsletter also provided recipes for scrambled eggs and homemade pizza – an interesting precursor to today’s vigilance around the necessity of fresh foods over processed!
Finally, a familiar face pops up in an edition of the MSC Message covering the events of 1982/1983… Our very own Fr John Fitzgerald, current director of the MSC Missions Office, is pictured taking a break for tea. It’s nice to see that some things don’t change!
The MSC Missions Office is not a stand-alone entity, but rather a real and living part of our extended Sacred Heart family – a family that includes our missionaries all over the world, the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, lay workers and volunteers, and the mission friends and benefactors that make it all possible. It is quite simple – without your support, we could not do what we do, and for that, we are so truly grateful.
Celebrating the new OLSH Kiribati Province Mission in the Pacific Islands
Congratulations and blessings to the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the Pacific Islands! The OLSH Sisters have officially marked the beginning of the Kiribati Province Mission in Tonga, an island located in the South Pacific Ocean.
In a Facebook post by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, the OLSH Sisters wrote:
“With the support of the Australian Province, on Monday 12 January we joyfully celebrated and commemorated the beginning of the Kiribati Province Mission in Tonga.”
“We give thanks for this exciting new chapter in the life of our Congregation,” they continued, “and pray that Our Lady of the Sacred Heart will continue to guide and inspire this mission in Tonga, so that all may come to know the love of the Heart of God through the charism and mission of the Daughters.”
They finished with a fitting quote from MSC founder Fr Jules Chevalier: “With faith and love, nothing is impossible.”
Our extended Sacred Heart family have long been present in the Pacific Islands, with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart ministering in the region since 1888, while the official erection of the MSC Province of the Pacific Islands was celebrated in May 2021.
We send our heartfelt good wishes to the OLSH Sisters at the beginning of this new mission, with every blessing to them as they start this exciting new chapter.
Images via the Facebook page for the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Australia.
Welcoming 2026 at the Holy Family Care Centre
As another new year begins, we’re glad to share news from Sr Sally and our friends at the Holy Family Care Centre in South Africa.
The Holy Family Care Centre is located in Ofcolaco, in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, and is run by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart with a dedicated team who provide residential care for up to 80 sick and vulnerable children. Many of these children are living with chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDs, TB, and other critical conditions. Many of the children have lost their parents, and all are extremely vulnerable, so the Holy Family centre is a true home to them. Here in the Irish Province, our mission friends and extended Sacred Heart family are glad to be able to provide long-standing friendship and support to Sr Sally and the OLSH Sisters in Ofcolaco.
The new toddler room at the Holy Family Care Centre, supported by the generosity of our mission friends and benefactors in the Irish Province
Throughout 2025, our mission family and benefactors here at home have given invaluable support to our friends at Holy Family, with our Camino pilgrimage in September raising €13,000 for the children in their care. The generosity of our mission friends in the Irish Province has also contributed to a special new dormitory dedicated to the toddlers and pre-schoolers at the centre, who had previously been sharing a room with older children up to the age of 10. Sr Sally has sent us a wonderful video of the Holy Family toddlers enjoying their new space, and their smiles and songs say it all!
It hasn’t been all fun and games at the centre, as January has brought with it rain and floods that have blocked the road leading to the facility, certainly making life more challenging for the Holy Family team
As we begin to journey together through another new year, we thank you, with grateful hearts, for your continued friendship and support of our mission projects, and we wish Sr Sally and all the Holy Family community a happy and healthy 2026
MSCs celebrating Christmas around the world
What a great joy and blessing it is to see photos of Christmas celebrations from our MSC communities around the world!
2025 Christmas celebrations at the Fr Jules Chevalier Mission Centre in the Cebu District of the Philippines. (Image via the Facebook page for the Fr. Jules Chevalier, MSC Mission Center)
Noche Buena Baskets in the Philippines
December saw our brothers at the MSC Missions Office in the Philippines carrying on their annual tradition of spreading Christmas spirit, through the community’s Share a Christmas Basket programme.
Just before Christmas, MSCs and local volunteers worked together to pack care packages containing groceries and Christmas provisions for a phenomenal 1,000 families. Fundraising took place throughout December, with each donation for a Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) basket marked at a value of 500 Philippine pesos, meaning that 1,000 family Christmasses were transformed for a little over €7 per household. The community reached their goal of 1,000 baskets on December 17th, yet donations continued to come in, and this continued generosity meant that extra provisions of rice could be added to each family’s package, giving the priceless gift of a happy Christmas to hungry families.
The MSC Missions Office in the Philippines posted their gratitude to all donors on their Facebook page:
“Thank you so much to all our generous donors and supporters of our Christmas Noche Buena Basket Project,” they wrote.
“Because of your kindness, we are now preparing for the distribution of Noche Buena baskets to 1,000 families. We are also happy to share that a pack of rice has been included in each basket, bringing more comfort and joy to our beneficiary families this Christmas.”
“From the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, thank you for sharing love and hope this Christmas season. May God bless you abundantly.”
“Nourishing bodies, spreading love”
An outreach programme also took place at the Fr Jules Chevalier Mission Centre in the Cebu District of the Philippines in the days before Christmas, sponsored by the generosity of the Lumongsod Family. The Facebook page for the Fr Jules Chevalier, MSC Mission Centre shared photos from the day, with the heartfelt caption, “Nourishing bodies, spreading love”.
Christmas in Fiji
Festive celebrations abounded in the MSC Province of the Pacific Islands, with their Facebook page sharing wonderful photographs from their Christmas gathering in Fiji (with photo credit to Martin Everi and Josephine Brown).
“The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart hosted a joyful Christmas celebration at the Sacred Heart House, Bhimji, with the Chevalier Family, friends from Holy Spirit and St. Agnes Parishes, Admin Staff, CTC Wainadoi, and the Kiribati Rabi Catholic Community,” the post read.
“The MSC community expresses deep gratitude to everyone for their continued support and prayers. Wishing all a blessed and holy Christmas season! Ametur.”
With the spirit of Christmas goodwill still in our hearts, we send our continued blessings to our MSC brothers all over the world, with prayers for all those they serve and the daily challenges they face. May God continue to bless us all on our shared journey, and may the spirit of the season continue to fill our hearts and homes as we begin a new year and a new chapter together in 2026.
Images via the Facebook pages for:
MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc.
Fr. Jules Chevalier, MSC Mission Center
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart – Province of the Pacific Islands (with photo credit to Martin Everi and Josephine Brown)
“No-one left behind”: Critical aid in the Philippines throughout 2025
As we look back at 2025, we have received these powerful photographs from Fr Edwin Borlasa in the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines, documenting the relief aid in four regions following natural disasters earlier in the year.
“In response to a series of devastating natural calamities and fires across August and September, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart through the MSC Mission Office mobilized a comprehensive, four-part relief project providing critical aid to communities in Brgy. 160 Libis Baesa, Caloocan City; Brgy. Landayan, San Pedro, Laguna; and the West Riverside area of Tatalon,” reads the report from the Mission Office in the Philippines.
“In total, 492 families, who had lost their homes and belongings to severe flooding and destructive fires, received essential support.”
The relief operations were carried out throughout August and September in response to several crises that that left hundreds of families displaced from their homes and in urgent need of aid. “These events included widespread flooding from Typhoon Crising, destructive fires, and a severe flash flood from an overflowing creek,” reports the Philippines Mission Office. “The primary objective of the project was to deliver immediate relief, addressing the basic needs of the victims while offering a beacon of hope during their time of immense hardship.”
The first stage of the relief operation was initiated on August 2nd, in Brgy. 160 Libis Baesa, Caloocan City, “delivering aid to 65 beneficiaries who were doubly impacted by severe flooding from Typhoon Crising and a devastating fire that had destroyed their homes”.
No-one left behind
The second stage of the outreach programme took place in the same barangay on August 7th, “providing relief to 77 families who had lost everything in a large fire on the night of August 2, helping them secure essential supplies for the days that followed”.
“Everybody Happy! No One Left Behind!,” posted the Facebook page for the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc on August 7th, with pictures of the relief aid in operation.
The third stage was carried out with the help of the TFUC group on August 9th, in Brgy. Landayan, San Pedro, Laguna. “Here, 150 families whose lives had been disrupted by severe flooding caused by Typhoon Crising received critical assistance to help them cope with their losses.”
“Led by our devoted Provincial Superior, Fr. Edwin Borlasa, MSC, and Fr. Ben Roquero, MSC, the mission reached 150 families affected by the recent floods. ,” posted the Facebook page for the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc on August 9th. “From our hearts to yours — thank you for being a beacon of hope in these challenging times! 💖”
The fourth and final relief operation was the largest, taking place on September 7th at West Riverside, Tatalon, again with the assistance of the TFUC group. “This crucial mission assisted 200 families after an overflowing creek caused floodwaters to rise to a staggering height of five meters, completely submerging their homes and washing away their possessions,” the Mission Office reports.
Collective compassion and swift action
Through emergency fundraising, local support, and assistance from other MSC Provinces, the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines were able to act instantly to support the hundreds of families and individuals who had found themselves devastated by floods and fires, “significantly alleviating their immediate suffering and providing a foundation for recovery”.
“The missions were met with immense gratitude from the beneficiaries and stand as a powerful testament to the impact of collective compassion and swift action in times of crisis,” write the team in the Philippines.
Once again, we see the tremendous power of compassion and togetherness in action – none of this is possible alone, yet together, our MSCs across the world, encouraged by the support of our benefactors, can continue to change lives and save lives in the most critical situations.
Images via Fr Edwin Borlasa MSC and the Facebook page for the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc.