May 28, 2026
This year, we’re celebrating the 60th anniversary of the MSC Missions Office on the Western Road, Cork, and as part of our anniversary commemorations, we’re looking back on old issues of our newsletter, the MSC Message, on a walk together down Memory Lane.
Nomafa’s Story
In the Summer 2011 edition of the MSC Message, we shared a letter from Nomafa Mabule, who was being cared for at Tshwaranang Hospice, located close to Ivory Park in South Africa. Nomafa’s words are particularly poignant, as she died just two weeks after writing this letter.
“They are like Florence Nightingale”
Hi people out there, I would like you to know something you don’t know. My name is Nomafa Eugenia Mabule, 57 years old. The doctor says I’m diagnosed with HIV & Kaposi’s Sarcoma Skin Cancer but to God everything is possible. When I came here to this Tshwaranang Hospice when people told me about it, I wanted myself here. I didn’t want me in my house. And every time I failed to get to the hospice here because of transport.
I was crying for a place I did not know, suddenly I came here stressed, did not eat well at home and not taking the medication well in time. When I came here after three days I was stress free and my family like it too.
This place is so cool and the Nurses sisters, Matron and all the staff are good, they all take good care of us. They are far better than the Nurses at the Hospitals; here they take good care of us.
They are really like the first Nurse I read about when I was schooling. Florence Nightingale; they are really volunteers of God, they serve God. To serve God is not only at church; even in places like this and people like them with their hearts.
At home our families are impatient with us especially because we mess ourselves up. We are here because people have dumped us. But when they come to visit us, they are glad that we are out of their hands, they really thank the staff of Tshwaranang, father Herman, the Matron, Sister, Caregivers, cleaners, and all who cook for us.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully
Nomafa Mabule
“Sadly Nomafa Mabule passed away on 11 December 2010, exactly two weeks after writing this note. Being HIV positive, she developed AIDS and Kaposi’s Sarcoma, a skin cancer typically associated with AIDS and always final. She spent two months at our hospice.”
Fr Herman van Dijk MSC
Project Manager Tshwaranang Hospice
Turning Sadness into Joy
Summer 2011 also gave us a lovely update from the Holy Family Care Centre in South Africa. Our mission friends will recognise the Holy Family community, and we still have a close friendship and support system with the Sisters in Ofcolaco 15 years later.
“Nestling under the majestic Drakensberg mountains lies Holy Family Care Centre; a little oasis for suffering and neglected children, run by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
In 2001 the OLSH Sisters took charge of the property and opened a Care Centre for people with HIV/AIDS and for orphans. Today there are over 70 children in residence. Many come here, little bundles of suffering and broken humanity, but with proper nourishment and care and lots of love a new life emerges.
One co-worker named the place ‘Paradise’ and so it is. In a loving and friendly environment the children blossom and the sound of weeping finally gives way to one of joy and gladness. People come from every continent and are bedazzled by the warm spirit and sense of family that prevails. The small children attend crèche on the property while the older children attend primary and secondary school in the local villages. The children keep in touch with their own language and culture through the teachers and the many workers who are employed at the Centre. In this way we try to offer them as near an ordinary life as possible.
Holy Family has become widely known and people come to help always leave with great praise for the children, the staff and the great family spirit here. More recently the Centre was honoured with the Mopane District ‘Platinum Award’ for excellence, shortly followed by the Limpopo Province ‘Platinum Award and Gold Cup’ also for excellence. This is an acknowledgement of the work and family spirit that characterises this great undertaking.
The most recent development is the construction of an all purpose hall that will shelter the children on very hot or very wet days. Many of the children need special protection from the elements for health reasons. The new building is named Chevalier Hall in honour and memory of the founder of the MSC Priests and Sisters who established and run the centre today.”
A Searcher’s Prayer
Finally, Winter 2011 gave us a beautiful prayer for those looking for guidance and courage in confusing or troubled times.
Jesus, light of the world,
Shine your truth into my
confused heart.
So many choices lie before me:
things I’d like to do and ways
I’d like to go.
Give me courage to follow
my dreams,
and the wisdom to be realistic.
As the years unfold,
I look to you
to guide my searching,
bless my working,
deepen my loving and keep me safe.
Amen.
May 21, 2026
Earlier in the year, our MSC brothers in the Pemba district of Mozambique joined with the Shepherd Sisters for prayer, reflection, and celebration in the Oratory.
The Facebook page for MSC Mozambique shared photos from the day in late February, explaining: “The Oratory was born from something very simple and very revolutionary at the same time: a priest who decided to love young people before trying to correct them. St. Philip Neri did not create a complicated method, he created an environment. He gathered children and young people to pray, sing, talk, laugh and teach. He spoke of God as one who introduces a dear friend, not as one who imposes an obligation. Faith there was not a burden, it was breathing.”
“Basically, the Oratory is this: a place where the heart learns before the head,” they continued. “It doesn’t start with rules, it starts with presence.”
Our MSC mission in Mozambique was established in early 2018 in the Diocese of Pemba, where families and communities struggle greatly with poverty and the effects of civil war. 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, and through the years, the friendship and support of our mission friends and benefactors here at home has helped thousands of people across the district of Pemba. Thanks to your compassion, we have been able to bring about positive change to disadvantaged communities and vulnerable families across the diocese. In recent years, we have been working alongside Fr José and Fr Eduardo 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.
The Mozambique mission continues, with Fr José Eduardo and Fr Roney responding to the changing needs of the communities in their care, and hope grows for the future with new MSC students beginning their missionary journey this year. As their Facebook page writes, “[We are reminded] that no one approaches God out of fear. He approaches through affection. And where there is true affection, faith flourishes almost without us noticing.”
We continue to journey alongside our MSC brothers in faith and affection, and we wish them every blessing and continues success on their mission.
Images via the Facebook page for MSC Mozambique.
HELP SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS PROJECTS
May 14, 2026
MSCs in India are working to help very vulnerable children in Karankadu, an extremely poor village located close to the Bay of Bengal and populated by just 468 families, with a Catholic community of 1,600 people. Karankadu is a fishing village, and due to its location, suffers badly from the damaging effects of monsoons.
Fr Regimus, parish priest at Our Lady of Angels Church in Karankadu, is working towards the repair and refurbishment of the local primary school, which is currently attended by 186 students (numbering 103 girls and 83 boys). There is no money for the decoration, repair, or refurbishment of the school, which has had very minimal maintenance completed since it was first built. Classrooms lack the most basic facilities, with children sitting on the floor and using their own school bags as desks. In such circumstances, it is very difficult for teachers to provide a high-quality education, feeding into the challenges the children face in progressing further and improving their quality of life as they grow.
The lack of classroom furniture causes several problems, including physical discomfort and development complications, hygiene issues, and considerable discomfort in the hot weather.
“This mitigates against the provision of quality education, which is so important at this stage of the child’s development, for enabling them to reach the maximum of their ability and for their future social and economic wellbeing,” writes Fr Regimus.
Building blocks for the future
One of the world’s most populous countries, India suffers with a tremendously imbalanced distribution of wealth and vast levels of poverty. Millions of children face various extremely difficult and complex challenges around homelessness, hunger, and access to education, leading to future issues with unemployment. The provision of a comprehensive education provides the children with both academic and social skills that will help them not only in their individual circumstances, but within their larger communities, and ultimately, for generations to come.
Fr Regimus has been able to raise half of the €20,000 needed to complete the necessary repairs to the school, and the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are helping Fr Regimus and the school community with the remaining funds, allowing them to plan for the refurbishment work during this year’s summer holidays, to purchase classroom equipment such as desks and chairs, and to improve the community’s daily life there. Updated facilities will have a hugely positive impact for the children, not only for their learning experience today, but also into the future. Their ability to gain a good education and skill set now will help these young people to avoid further issues further down the line, including unemployment, poverty, discrimination, child labour, and early marriage.
With the children of Karankadu facing so many significant challenges in their young lives, the support of our mission friends and benefactors in the Irish Province is nothing short of life-changing. We wish Fr Regimus and the school team every blessing with the success for their refurbishment work this summer, and we look forward to seeing their progress as they work to provide the chance of a brighter future to young people in rural India.
The school staff at Karankadu, with Fr Regimus in the centre.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT OUR GLOBAL MISSIONS.
May 7, 2026
Sincere thanks to everyone who came along to participate in our annual May fundraising event for the community of the Holy Family Care Centre, a dedicated facility for vulnerable young children run by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, with the support of the MSC, in Ofcolaco, South Africa. This year’s fundraising event took place at the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road, Cork, after Masses on May 2nd and 3rd, and raised a total of approximately €4,226.81 for the Holy Family children.
Each May, the Sacred Heart community comes out in force to raise funds for the ongoing work of the Holy Family team, with a local plant and cake sale that always receives wonderfully generous support from parishioners and mission friends. It is always a lovely opportunity for old friends and new acquaintances to chat over tea and home-baked treats, and every year is much-anticipated by MSCs, local mission friends, and Sacred Heart parishioners.
Just some of the wonderful team who participated in our annual Sacred Heart Parish Plant & Cake Sale in aid of the Holy Family Care Centre in Ofcolaco, South Africa.
The Holy Family Care Centre has been run by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in South Africa, with the support of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, since its establishment in 2002. Sr Sally Duigan FDNSC heads up the team at the centre, which is a true sanctuary and home away from home for young children who are very ill, and in many cases, do not have close family to take care of them. With many of the children being HIV positive, and in need of extremely specialised care, the demands on the centre are great. The Holy Family facility has resources to accommodate 70 children, yet Sr Sally and the team always do their best to accommodate every child that needs them, and so they often have 80 children or more in their care.
The availability of funding is a constant challenge, and the support of our MSC mission friends and benefactors here in the Irish Province is invaluable. Speaking of the long-standing friendship between the MSC Mission Office and the Holy Family Care Centre, Sr Sally said, “The children and staff have benefited enormously from the funding received from MSC Mission Office Ireland, and we are so grateful.”
“We continue to give our children love, security and care in the hope they will thrive. We want them to have the energy to enjoy playtime, be able to learn and live a happy life.”
Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who worked so hard to organise this year’s fundraising event, and to everybody who contributed and took part in even the smallest way, despite the rain and cloudy weather! Every little plant and every bun sold is part of a much bigger picture, connecting the Holy Family community in South Africa with the Sacred Heart family in Cork, and we are so very grateful for your ongoing friendship, generosity, and kindness.
.
Apr 25, 2026
Holy Week on our MSC Mission in Ecuador proved to be a very special time indeed, with a host of celebrations throughout the week culminating on the glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
“It was a beautiful experience; I loved living with my indigenous community,” writes Fr Marcelo Campoverde MSC. “Eighteen missionaries who came from Quito, the capital, also helped me; it was a beautiful experience for them too.”
“That’s all I can share with you,” he said. “The photos speak for themselves!”
Thanks to the support of our mission friends and benefactors here at home, we have been able to provide great help in recent years to Fr Marcelo and several indigenous communities in Ecuador. We are very grateful for your ongoing support and friendship as we work to help these communities in real and pressing need.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT OUR GLOBAL MISSION PROJECTS
Apr 23, 2026
On April 12th, the Venezuelan community marked Divine Mercy Sunday with a special celebration in the parish of La Santa Cruz. On this “day of love”, MSCs and volunteers from Mis Ángeles social visited very vulnerable families, delivering toys to the children along with clothing for the adults and food for each household.
“Under the motto of compassion, the team brought words of encouragement and hope to each home,” wrote Bro. Deiby Fuenmayor MSC. “These visits allowed faith to be translated into concrete actions, closely accompanying those who are going through moments of difficulty and loneliness.”
The outreach support was possible with the support and donations of “good-hearted people,” which allowed “God’s mercy to reach the most disadvantaged brothers and sisters in a tangible way”.
“The church parish is deeply grateful to the community for joining this noble cause,” finished Bro. Deiby. “As we celebrate this special day, we reaffirm our commitment to be instruments of peace and solidarity aid for the well-being of all our neighbours.”
As ever, our prayers are with our MSC brothers and the communities they serve in Venezuela – such wonderful pictures are testament to the uplifting power of faith, community, prayer, and love, even in the most challenging times.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT OUR GLOBAL MISSION PROJECTS
