Feb 5, 2025
The Catholic Church in South Sudan is at the forefront of pastoral ministry in both education and health. Our impact is easily quantifiable by the number of students taught or patients treated. However, one of its most important roles is perhaps the most difficult to measure, peacebuilding. Grounded in the teaching of Jesus, it is the call of Christians everywhere to be peacemakers, fostering reconciliation and healing in our communities, giving witness by our lives to a different way that is grounded in justice and mercy.
This ministry in South Sudan is complex, to say the least. Following five decades of fighting for freedom from Sudan, 2011âs independence was a time of optimism for a wounded society. However, the ensuing civil war in 2013 saw over 400,000 people being killed, millions become displaced, and countless men, women, and children left traumatised. According to the UN, over a million people have fled here from war-torn Sudan since April of last year. It is, in many ways, the making of a perfect storm. But violence is like that, destructive, loud, and indiscriminate. How could you possibly respond to something so big that it is almost an act of God, although it is definitely not! Well, you could go for a walk.
The Diocese of Rumbek Pilgrimage of Peace first started in February 2023. The idea came from Sr. Orla Treacy, a Loreto sister, who thought it would be a good idea for young people to walk from the centre of South Sudan to Juba to welcome Pope Francis during his first official visit to the country. Working with the youth team of the Diocese, it was an incredible success and captured the hearts of the people. The Pope even requested to meet the group personally when they arrived. Since, then it has continued to grow, with another pilgrimage in the west of the Diocese in 2024.
This year the pilgrimage was organised, not by the priests and religious of the Diocese, but by the youth themselves. Young men and women, veterans of last yearâs pilgrimage, planned, organised, and implemented everything, from the beans we ate, to the route we took, to the places we slept. This gave us, as sisters, brothers, and priests, the opportunity to really journey with the youth, listening to their stories and sharing their hopes. On our first day we began with Mass in the Cathedral of Rumbek and were joined by the newly appointed Apostolic Nuncio to South Sudan, Archbishop SĂ©amus Horgan (from Co. Clare), and our own Bishop Christian Carlassare.
Our route would take us through the south of Lakes State and into Western Equatoria, from Rumbek to Malou, Wulu, Mvolo, Mapourdit, and finally to Aluakluak, covering a distance of over 125km. We slept each night in the simple classrooms of local schools, although many of us opted to spend the night camped out under the stars. Possibly the one advantage to only 8% of the population of South Sudan having electricity at home is that the night skies are awesome in the truest sense of the word.
Each day we would rise at 5:30am, take a few minutes for warming up, and then hit the road. In the course of our pilgrimage, we would stop and speak with those we met along the way. Such a large and exuberant group caused a lot of comment. What were we doing? Why were we walking, when you could drive? How does a pilgrimage really help to promote peace?
The last question really touches into the heart of what we were trying to do. Not so long ago, many of the roads and paths we walked were impassable due to insecurity. Violence, theft and shootings were commonplace. To be able to walk now, without weapons, police, or security signalled loudly more than words could express that something different, something new was happening.
In addition, our group was made up of young people from around the Diocese, drawing from groups that have been traditionally hostile to one another. Their ability to walk together and work for peace re-enforced our message of hope. As the sun set, we were joined by the local people as we celebrated Mass and shared a simple meal of rice and beans together.
By the end of the week, we were blistered and, in my case, a little sunburnt, but happy. One of the group calculated that, between all of us, we had walked 27,000,000 million steps. New friendships had formed that would have been quite impossible before. We made our way home, with perhaps a renewed appreciation for running water and corrugated metal roofs. Above all, our time together and with the people we met was a quiet, but joyful witness of what could be, peace for a people weary of war and ready for a new beginning. It just takes a step.
Nhialic ke yin,
Fr. Alan
Read more from Fr Alanâs missionary journey in South Sudan:
Jan 16, 2025
What a wonderful way to begin the new year, with a very welcome update from our friends at the Holy Family Care Centre!
The Holy Family Care Centre is located in Ofcolaco, in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, where it provides residential care for up to 80 orphans, and sick and vulnerable children. Many of these children are living with chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDs, TB, and other critical conditions. The children are mostly orphaned, and all are extremely vulnerable, so the Holy Family centre truly is a life-saving refuge for them. We at home in the Irish Province have long enjoyed an enduring friendship with Sr Sally and the Holy Family team, and our mission friends and extended Sacred Heart family here at home have provided invaluable support to the OLSH Sisters in Ofcolaco throughout the years.
Back at the beginning of 2024, we asked our mission friends here at home to help the Holy Family community to raise funds to improve the dormitory facilities at the centre, and to build a new toilet block for the toddlers and younger children in their care.
Prior to this, the boysâ dormitory was home to 23 children and two staff members, with beds packed together side-by-side to fit everybody in. The Sisters were hoping to replace the 15-year-old bedding, and buy sets of bunk beds to create more space in the dormitory. Thanks to the generosity of our mission friends here in the Irish Province, the dormitory renovation has been a success, and the boys now have a far more comfortable space for rest.
The Sisters also wished to raise funds to build a toilet block for the 25 younger children in the crĂšche facility, with smaller, junior-sized toilets to help the toddlers with toilet training. The new toilet block has now been constructed, and is a great success with the younger members of the Holy Family community!
âMost sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the 2024 World Projects Appeal,â writes Sr Jenny Christie FDNSC, International Development Officer for the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. âWhat a difference your support has made!â
We join Sr Jenny in thanking you, wholeheartedly, for your continued friendship and support, and we wish all at Holy Family a very happy, healthy, and peaceful 2025!
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Jan 9, 2025
On the final Sunday of 2024, MSCs on our Mozambique mission celebrated a very special ceremony to mark the beginning of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope. MSCs Fr José Eduardo Paixão and Fr Roney Lima prayed together with the parishioners of the Diocese of Pemba, along those that had travelled from neighbouring areas to be part of this wonderful celebration filled with joy and hope.
Our MSC mission in Mozambique was established in early 2018 in the Diocese of Pemba, which is a very poor part of the country. The need for help in the region is very real, and the mission is continuously working to adapt and respond to serve the many and changing needs of the vulnerable and displaced, from emergency response to natural disasters, to the brutal impact of violence and political unrest.
The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart has a long friendship with our Mozambique mission, with the compassion and support of our mission friends and benefactors here at home touching the lives of thousands of people across the district of Pemba. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of our extended mission family here at home, we have been able to bring about positive change to disadvantaged communities and vulnerable families across the diocese. Civil war in the region has caused significant suffering, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes and their lives since 2017, and many others killed or reported missing. In recent years, we have been working alongside Fr José to raise funds to support those in real and urgent need, helping to provide essential aid and more hopeful prospects for those struggling in their circumstances.
Let us all be pilgrims of hope in this Jubilee Year, carrying the spirit of faith, hope, and perseverance in our hearts.
Images via the Facebook page for MSC Mozambique, with credit to Abudo Manara.
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Jan 2, 2025
As we neared the end of December, the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines once again carried out its annual tradition of Christmas unity, sharing, and togetherness, with its Share a Christmas Basket programme.
Just before Christmas, a tremendous group of local volunteers worked together to pack hundreds of baskets of groceries and Christmas provisions in preparation for the programme, which benefitted a total of 750 families this year. Each donation for a basket was marked at a value of 549 Philippine pesos, which meant that an entire familyâs Christmas could be transformed for a little under âŹ10 per household.
The MSC Mission Office in the Philippines posted their gratitude to all of their donors on their Facebook page, heading their post âA Moment to Rememberâ.
âThe Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, through the MSC Mission Office, would like to express our deepest gratitude to the following donors for their generous support of our âPaskong Handog: A Christmas Noche Buena Basket Projectâ,â they wrote.
âThanks to [our donorsâ] passion and generosity in helping the needy, the project was a resounding success! With their unwavering support, we were able to distribute 750 Noche Buena baskets to families in need in the following areas: Bataan, Triala, Nueva Ecija, San Anton Mission Station, Butuan, Cebu, Libis Caloocan, and various areas served by TFUC.
We are deeply grateful for your partnership in bringing joy and hope to so many families this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas & a Prosperous New Year to Everyone!!
From your MSC Familyâ
Well done to all involved in this wonderful project, which gave the priceless gift of a happy Christmas to hundreds of families in the Philippines. With the spirit of Christmas goodwill still in our hearts, we send every blessing to our MSC brothers in the Philippines and the communities they serve there.
“Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with joy, laughter, and endless possibilities.
May this year bring you peace, prosperity, and all the good things you deserve.
Cheers to a fantastic new year!!!”
~ MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on Facebook
Images via MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on Facebook
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Dec 18, 2024
Please note that the MSC Missions Office will be closed over the Christmas period,
from 3.00pm on Monday, December 23rd to 9.00am on Thursday, January 2nd.
With warmest wishes to our mission friends everywhere for a happy, healthy, and safe Christmas season.
Dear Friends,
BeannachtaĂ na Nollag oraibh go lĂ©ir – Christmas greetings to you and yours! We have come to the end of another year, and what a great blessing it is to be here writing to you as we look ahead with hopeful hearts to 2025.
This year marked 170 years since the foundation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, and 60 years since we set up our MSC Missions Office for the Irish Province here in Cork City. Time goes on, generations come and go, challenges arise and are met, and new ones take their place. Throughout it all, there is always a need, there is always a call. Be it 170 years ago, 60 years ago, or today â people remain in real and great need of our ministry. From pastoral support and care, to the provision of the most basic necessities such as clean water to drink or a safe place to sleep, our MSCs continue on our shared mission to help those in need, and you, our mission friends, are a powerful and invaluable force in allowing us to do so.
Recent months allowed me and a team of MSCs to meet with many of our mission friends and benefactors across the Irish Province, and what a great pleasure and privilege it was. The sense of community and the sheer generosity of spirit are a tremendously powerful and wonderful force, particularly in the face of all the fear, sorrow, and violence that plague our world in current times. Your compassion extends to people at the other side of the world, to friends you will never meet, but whose lives have been and will be changed immeasurably because of the kindness of strangers.
Of course, Christmas can be a difficult time for many; to all who find themselves struggling for any reason this Christmas, be it with loss or illness or personal challenges, please know that you are in my prayers this Christmas, and in the prayers of our MSCs everywhere.
Pope Francis has described Christmas as âan inner joy of light and peaceâ, and that inner joy, that peace of mind and spirit, is my prayer for you this Christmas time. Our mission friends have been and continue to be instrumental in bringing the joy of progress and the light of hope to so many needy people and vulnerable families in so many different places, and it is with a truly grateful heart that I thank you for your kindness, on behalf of our MSCs all over the world. May the spirit of peace, goodwill, and the Lordâs love fill your heart and your home this Christmas, and may God bless and protect you and your loved ones throughout 2025.
Wishing you a happy, holy, and peaceful Christmas,
Fr John Fitzgerald MSC
Dec 17, 2024
Itâs all excitement in the Catholic University of South Sudan for the start of 2025. We are moving! Thanks in large part to the generous support of the Mission Support Officeâs benefactors, we will shift all our lecturers and students to a local Catholic secondary school for the next four months. This will allow for the complete renovation of our existing halls, including lights and fans. We will be able to develop a programme of evening classes and extend our popular late night study sessions.
The building we are currently using is a repurposed youth centre, lacking ceilings, windows, and any electricity. As we move into the dry season, dust becomes a real problem and on a windy day it can feel like a scene out of Lawrence of Arabia minus the camels and sweeping vistas. During the rest of the year, when it rains it pours and students had to move to the centre of the classroom to avoid getting drenched.
Many of our students actually came from that school, so it will be a chance to revisit the past and see if they can fit back into the small desks. It will take a considerable amount of effort, but it will be worth it. In future, we also want to use the new building as a training centre for existing teachers to upgrade their skills and support their work.
Thanks in a special way to all of you who have supported our ministry here and on behalf of everyone in the University we wish you a joyful Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
Nhialic abi thiei,
Fr. Alan
Our Students: Meet Helena and Isabella (Our newest student â just 2 months old)
Helena is 25 years old and is in her second year of a four-year Bachelor of Business Administration Degree. She has three other children along with Isabella. Only 4% of the population of South Sudan has access to electricity, so being able to study at night is a real challenge.
âI like to study in the Catholic University because there is availability of internet, to allow us to access new information. We have a little library and we have five computers. We now have night-time study twice a week and when my baby is old enough I can take part in it. During the day it is hot. Our temperatures can go up to 42C, so it is difficult to study. Our lecturers are very committed and we donât miss a single class.
The Universityâs partial scholarship for women is encouraging us, as the full fee would be too much for us to pay, as many of us are not working. When you are pregnant in other universities you are suspended as a student, but here we are allowed to bring our babies with us and this is really helping us.
I study at night when the baby is asleep. When Isabella is awake she wants to know about everything I am doing. I have to get up at 2:00am and study until 4:00am using a torch. Then I start preparing for my other children to go to school, lighting the fire, and making the porridge.
My hope for the future is to open up my own school, to ensure that education reaches more children in South Sudan. In our primary schools we have a lot of students, up to 150 children in a class with one teacher and those teachers often are not well trained.
With everything that is going on here the number of students will increase next year. Our sisters are admiring how we going and they hope to join us.â
Read more from Fr Alanâs missionary journey in South Sudan:
