Nov 27, 2025
On Saturday, November 22nd, a team of MSCs and volunteers visited Nuestra Señora del Carmen Church, in the parish of La Santa Cruz in Propatria, Venezuela, to distribute care packages to hungry families.
With local communities facing on-going struggles with social and political unrest, poverty is a real and pressing issue in these barrios, urban neighbourhoods where families have very little income and often live in extremely overcrowded and uncomfortable conditions. Many families don’t know where their next meal is coming from, or how they are going to feed their children, and these care packages are a lifeline to them.
Bro Deiby Fuenmayor sent us some photographs of last weekend’s food drive, writing that it was completed “with the support of people of goodwill”, with thanks for their “cheerful hearts”. These pictures show more effectively than any words can describe the extremely difficult living conditions in the uphill region of Propatria, Caracas, where homes are the most basic shelters and accessibility is enormously challenging, especially for the elderly or infirm.
Irish MSCs Fr Tom O’Brien, Fr John Jennings, and Fr Tom Jordan continue in their ministry on the Venezuelan mission, working together with local communities across Maracaibo and Caracas to provide spiritual guidance and practical aid, including essential food and medical care, to those in great need. The social and political situation in Venezuela continues to be volatile, and it is the country’s people that suffer the effects of this with lack of employment opportunities, insufficient income, and a huge shortage of adequate food and medical care. We keep our MSC brothers, and the communities they serve, in our prayers as they continue to share God’s love in these regions of real and pressing need.
If you are able to help our ongoing ministry in Venezuela, please click here.
Oct 15, 2025
Welcome to the Winter 2025 edition of the MSC Message!
- Read a special greeting from Fr John Fitzgerald MSC, Director of the MSC Missions Office.
- Catch up on the latest news from the mission fields, including updates from our MSC brothers in Mozambique and the Philippines.
- Enjoy the latest updates from the Irish Province, with news of our fundraising hike through Gougane Barra and our annual Novenas to the Sacred Heart and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
- Read a special thank you letter from our OLSH Sisters, who are keeping us up to date on mission work completed with funds raised from our annual World Projects Appeal.
- Discover more about Irish Provincial Leader Fr Joe McGee’s recent visit to South Sudan.
- Find the latest pictures and updates from our ongoing ministry in Venezuela.
Please click here to read the Winter 2025 edition of the MSC Message
Oct 14, 2025
On September 30th, a devastating earthquake measuring at a magnitude of 6.9 struck the Cebu Province of the Philippines – reportedly the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Northern Cebu. The earthquake had a shattering impact, killing at least 75 people, injuring over 1,200, and causing huge infrastructural damage, with homes and businesses alike destroyed. Reported as the deadliest earthquake in the country since 2013, it has demolished buildings including churches and hospitals, and ruined countless livelihoods.
MSCs in the region have been providing emergency response aid to as many people as possible in affected communities, with the MSC Centre for the Poor working alongside the MSC Mission Office and several other support teams and volunteers. On October 7th, an outreach programme took place in Bogo City, providing emergency essentials such as food and safe drinking water to over 700 families in Brgy. Anonang Sur.
“The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart – Cebu District conducted a relief operation together with the parishes under their care (Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish-Babag, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish-Marigondon, Our Lady of Fatima Parish-Pusok, Nuestra Señora de Regla Parish National Shrine and San Roque Parish-Cordova) and with support from the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Fr. Jules Chevalier, MSC Mission Center, St. Alphonsus Catholic School and MSM Sisters,” reports the Facebook page for the MSC – Center for the Poor Cebu District.
Thanks to the continuing generosity of our mission friends and benefactors here in the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, we have been able to provide our MSC brothers in the Philippines with emergency financial aid to support their urgent relief projects in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. Please continue to keep them in your prayers as they work to help families and communities across the Cebu district to rebuild their lives in the ongoing wake of this natural disaster.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Images via the Facebook page for the MSC – Center for the Poor Cebu District
Jul 31, 2025
Welcome to the Summer 2025 edition of the MSC Message!
- Read a special greeting from Fr John Fitzgerald MSC, Director of the MSC Missions Office.
- Catch up on the latest news from the mission fields, including updates from the Holy Family Care Centre in Africa, from our MSC brothers in Mozambique, from the MSC Centre for the Poor in the Philippines, and from the Chevalier Training Centre in Fiji.
- Enjoy pictures from Holy Week and Easter celebrations and ceremonies around the world.
- Read a special tribute to the late Pope Francis, and learn more about our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.
- Fr Alan Neville MSC writes from South Sudan, where he is currently ministering with the Loreto team in Rumbek.
- Find the latest updates from the Province of the Pacific Islands, where this year so far has seen eight young men beginning their pre-novitiate journey, two MSC brothers undertaking their Perpetual Profession, and great celebrations for the ordination of Fr Richard Momo MSC.
Please click here to read the Summer 2025 edition of the MSC Message
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Jul 24, 2025
The MSC Centre for the Poor (MSC CFTP) was established in Butuan City in the Philippines in 2018, under the leadership of Fr Richie Gomez MSC. Dedicated to helping the poor and marginalised in society, it has a specialised focus on nurturing both the earth and the community in harmony.
The MSC Centre for the Poor Agricultural Cooperative (MSC CEPAGCO) followed in 2020. Now with over 300 members, and having received the award for most outstanding Civil Society Organisation in the country, the MSC CFTP and MSC CEPAGCO are going from strength to strength, with multiple community centres across the Philippines sharing their core vision:
“Care for the Earth, Care for the People, Share the Surplus.”
CAN YOU HELP US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES?
A SCHOOL OF LOVE
The MSC CEPAGCO works to advocate for the common good, ensuring food sustainability and empowering several marginalised groups including small-scale farmers, indigenous communities, repatriated overseas Filipino workers, and people struggling with personal challenges such as drug dependency.
With a focus on organic productions, they incorporate pigs, poultry, vegetables, rice, and fertiliser among their organic projects, as well as practical handiwork such as building furniture from wood.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT THE MSC CENTRE FOR THE POOR
CARE FOR OUR COMMON WORLD
The cooperative’s newest project aims to empower a “New Breed of Indigenous Farmers” who will focus on “ecological resilience” to “carry, care, and continue to provide the nation with affordable, accessible organic healthy food, and bring security and joy to every Filipino’s table.”
With a firm foundation well underway, the MSC CFTP and CEPAGCO are always looking to improve and expand to benefit as many people as possible. Their latest endeavours include collaborating with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) by applying to be an official TESDA assessment centre, and establishing additional vocational courses, as well as renovating and improving on-site buildings to become study and accommodation facilities for larger student groups.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR 2025 SUMMER APPEAL
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