Apr 9, 2026
There’s something powerful about these wonderful pictures shared by the Facebook page for the Fr Jules Chevalier MSC Mission Centre in the Philippines.
Together, the community at the Centre, which is located in Lapu-Lapu City, celebrated Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28th. This year’s Earth Hour was a particularly special one, as it marks the 20th anniversary of the event, which encourages people all over the world to switch off their lights for one hour, instead learning about, promoting, or helping the environment in ways that have a positive impact on the world around us.
“The MSC Center joined Earth Hour last Saturday from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM. We turned off all lights, using only candles and a bonfire to create a calm and reflective atmosphere,” posted the Facebook page.
“The evening began with the Holy Rosary, followed by a sharing on how we can help care for the Earth, and concluded with a joyful praise and worship through song. It was a meaningful reminder of our faith, unity, and responsibility for creation.”
Earth Hour is a particularly meaningful event for the community in the Philippines, where the MSC Centre for the Poor and their accompanying agricultural co-operative are devoted to creating sustainable and self-sufficient lifestyles, nurturing our natural world and living in harmony with the earth. Earth Hour is the perfect opportunity to join in with a global movement championing our environment and our world, and to pause for prayer in a moment that is so beautiful in its simplicity.
Images via the Facebook page for the Fr. Jules Chevalier, MSC Mission Centre.
Apr 8, 2026
It is with joyful and grateful hearts that we thank everyone who took part in our Holy Week and Easter ceremonies and celebrations this year, at the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road, Cork.
Our well- beloved Easter Dawn Mass took place once again this year, with mission friends and parishioners gathering to pray together in the light of the rising sun on Easter Sunday.
Over 7,000 people prayed with us via our live stream over Holy Week and Easter, including viewers from Ireland and the UK, across Europe, America, Canada, and Australia, and far-flung corners of Asia, India, and Africa. On Easter Sunday, over 1,100 people tuned into our live stream to join in with our Easter celebrations, beginning with our Easter Dawn Mass at 6.30am.
“The dawn is the most wonderful feeling in the world.”
Director of the MSC Missions Office, Fr John Fitzgerald, celebrated this year’s Easter Dawn Mass with Fr Seamus Kelly MSC. This beautiful ceremony was a truly uplifting reflection on hope and light, and the dawning of the light, both literally and symbolically, on Easter Sunday morning.
“No matter where we started from this morning, we started in the dark,” said Fr John. “And there was an expectation that the sun would rise again this morning, and it has, it’s getting brighter and brighter here.”
“The dawn is the most wonderful feeling in the world,” he continued.
In a thought-provoking reflection about nature, hope, and the Risen Christ, Fr John explored the idea of the dawn in all its different iterations.
“You know, there’s a verb and there’s a noun, but when something dawns on us – even if it is something that’s wrong – when it dawns on us, there’s a truth in it.”
“This kind of dawning is wonderful for us,” reflected Fr John.
He went on to say, “Every night that comes in nature, whatever way the world turns, or whatever way the world was made, a new dawn comes into our life if we are alive in the world.”
“These dawns, they should be massive things in our world, because we don’t usually see the dawn. We live in a world of artificial light, in a world of artificial news.”
“But the real truth is in the dawn itself, because no matter what we do, no matter how we cover off the windows, the dawn is there, the sun is somewhere in there in the cloud, and the brightness is happening.”
This very special message of Easter hope and light came to us as the sun lit up the sky on Easter Sunday morning, a glorious dawn indeed, bringing the grace and hope of the Risen Christ into our spirits and lighting up the shadows that we all find blighting our worlds at times.
Easter traditions at the Sacred Heart Church
In keeping with tradition, our annual Easter Garden lit up the altar of the Sacred Heart Church, while our outdoor Easter Garden at the MSC House and Missions Office was in full bloom. This garden stands on the Western Road year-round, and visitors are always very welcome to come to pause and pray here. As always, we are sincerely grateful to everyone who took such great care with the construction and maintenance of our Easter Gardens, inside and out, adding such beauty to our Holy Week and Easter ceremonies. The Family Tree of Life Book also took its special place on the altar, in a celebration of the joy, love, unity, and strength to be found in family, as our MSCs prayed especially for all those enrolled in this year’s prayers.
Filled with the hope and gladness of Easter, we welcome the light and brighter days ahead with joyful spirits. With every grace and blessing of the Sacred Heart to our mission friends everywhere, this Easter season and throughout the year ahead.
Click here to watch a recording of our 2026 Easter Dawn Mass.
Apr 2, 2026
As we approach the blessed season of Easter, we are glad to share these beautiful pictures of Lenten celebrations at the parish of St John the Evangelist in Palmira, Ecuador.
Here, Fr Marcelo Campoverde MSC commemorated Lent with his indigenous community, with a particularly special ceremony marking the beginning of the season.
“We started with a large gathering, where more than 600 people participated,” Fr Marcelo wrote. “It was a beautiful experience, a truly beautiful encounter with God.”
“We don’t have a parish kitchen or dining hall here,” Fr Marcelo continued. “You’ll see from some of the photos that the women cook in an open space. But the weather was kind to us; if it rained, we wouldn’t have eaten. It was a unique experience.”
“My next dream is to see if we can build a kitchen and dining hall for these events,” Fr Marcelo finished. “I’ve placed this dream in God’s hands; we’ll see what happens in the future. In the meantime, with great joy, I want to share our Lenten celebrations with you.”
We are very grateful for the support of our mission friends and benefactors here at home, which goes such a long way in helping Fr Marcelo and indigenous communities in Ecuador. May God bless you all, with our heartfelt wishes for a blessed Easter season.
Mar 19, 2026
Our own Fr Alan Neville MSC has been in touch from Rumbek, South Sudan, with a special message for our mission friends and benefactors here in the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
Last summer, our mission friends here helped us to raise funds to support Fr Alan and the team at the Catholic University of South Sudan in Rumbek in their untiring efforts to support education, particularly for young women, in the region. In a country that has suffered so greatly, young people, especially young women, need to work extremely hard for their education, yet the benefits will help to build a brighter and stronger future for the next generation in Rumbek and beyond.
“This is a message of thanks to everybody who has been so generous in supporting the Mission Support Centre appeal last year for the Catholic University here,” says Fr Alan. “As you can see in the background, we are currently digging the foundations for a new teacher education block. Education here has a long way to go, there have been many decades of under-investment during the time of the Sudan government, and now the people are working very hard to build up primary and secondary education, and here we are working too to train secondary school teachers so they can go back to their communities and they can really lift up the young people they have there to help them to build their country.”
We join our voices with Fr Alan’s in thanking you all for your generosity and your solidarity, and we look forward to hearing more from the university as the progress continues.
Read more about Fr Alan’s ministry in South Sudan
Mar 11, 2026
While we are now well into spring, time, distance, and technical difficulties mean that we have just received these wonderful Christmas pictures from our MSC brothers in Ecuador, and they are a joy to see at any time of year!
MSCs have been ministering in Ecuador for almost 30 years, since 1998. Currently, Fr Marcelo Campoverde and Fr Jose Baak are working across two mission areas in the parishes of San Francisco de Asís and San Juan Evangelista, ministering to more than 30,000 people across over 50 communities. These indigenous communities are extremely poor and live in very isolated rural locations, and our MSCs work to support them through many and varied challenges including malnutrition (especially in children), poor educational and employment opportunities, and the difficulties of living in remote areas with harsh desert climate.
In recent years, our mission friends and benefactors here in the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been greatly compassionate in their support of our mission in Ecuador, raising funds for a new parish kitchen, repairs to the church, pastoral centre, and parish house, and food baskets for hungry families.
“I send warm greetings from Ecuador,” writes Fr Marcelo, who himself comes from an indigenous background. “It may have been a long time, but I wanted to share with you all some of the activities we’ve had during Christmas, as you are such generous supporters of our parish.”
“Now we are in another beautiful season, and I wish you a blessed Lent.”
All images were kindly sent from our Ecuador mission by Fr Marcelo Campoverde MSC.
