Jul 29, 2021
Welcome to the Summer 2021 edition of the MSC Message!
This summer’s edition of the MSC Message is a slightly different one, as we share just some of the ways in which our MSCs have been working to provide COVID relief aid around the world.
• Read a special message from Fr Michael O’Connell MSC, Director of the MSC Missions Office.
• Find out more about the ways in which MSCs are protecting lives from COVID-19 in India, with reports from Fr Darwin Thatheus MSC, Regional Superior in Bangalore.
• Read about MSC COVID outreach in Brazil, from the distribution of basic care packages to the provision of safe and secure housing for families who have lost their homes.
• Learn more about MSC COVID relief aid in the Philippines, where communities are struggling desperately to fight the pandemic in the wake of appalling typhoons.
• Meet the new MSC Vocations team.
• Read a message from Bro Giacomo Gelardi MSC, who has been ministering throughout the pandemic in Killinarden, Dublin, an area already plagued by issues such as violence and drug and alcohol abuse.
Read the MSC Message Summer 2021
Jul 29, 2021
It has been impossible to avoid news reports of the horrific effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Harrowing images of overcrowded hospitals and mass open-air cremations have appeared in our newspapers and on our television screens. The disease has run rampant throughout the country, infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands. MSCs in India have been doing their very best to help those in desperate need; however, it is often a case of trying to do an awful lot with very little.
“In India, the situation has become worse,” writes Fr Darwin Thatheus MSC, Regional Superior in Bangalore. “In many areas, daily life has come to a halt.”
The Indian government has put in place an ongoing lockdown with an advisory to stay at home, and so many people, including daily-wage labourers, have lost their livelihoods. They now have no income at all and are locked in a serious struggle to meet their daily needs.
MSCs in India have been providing a rapid response programme to ensure that those in need have essential relief supplies, including dry rations and basic hygiene necessities.
To date, the MSC Mission Office in India have provided help with:
- Food for daily-wage workers who have lost their income.
- Groceries and dry-ration supplies for poor families and migrant workers in Bangalore City and beyond.
- Dry-ration relief supplies for rural parishes ministered to by MSCs.
- Food and provisions for widows and elderly women.
- Medical assistance for COVID-19 patients.
- Dry-ration supplies for school staff at the Chevalier Academy. The school caters for students in a rural parish, where poverty is rife. The school has not been able to function properly during the COVID pandemic, and so the staff have been out of work, without pay. The MSC Indian Mission Office have supported 57 teachers and staff members with food and essential provisions.
- Distribution of hand wash, face masks, and sanitiser for residents of homes for the elderly, along with nutritional food such as eggs, buttermilk, and Ragi, a whole-grain which is rich in fibre, calcium, and Vitamin D.
“We have helped those affected by the pandemic in whatever way we could help,” writes Fr Darwin. “While adhering to all safety and hygiene measures, we began our relief service by providing a meal or packed grocery kits to the marginalised and the low-income segment of our society, which is largely made up of daily-wage workers, migrant labourers, construction site workers, and needy people at old-age homes and night shelters in the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.”
“We want to continue to help people during this ongoing lockdown situation,” says Fr Darwin. “We want to provide them with food and other provisions as much as we can. But due to a lack of funds, we have not been able continue our service for the people.”
“These are unprecedented times and we are a close-knit community in the Heart of Jesus. We would greatly appreciate it if you will help us to fight against this pandemic with whatever you can.”
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have carried out COVID relief for those in need with dry rations, medical aid, and educational help for disadvantaged children. Unfortunately, we have not been able to continue our relief work due to a lack of funds.
It would be a great blessing for the poor people if you would help us to help them.
Together, we are stronger. Together, we can overcome.
Big or small, every effort counts and it will all have a great impact on someone’s life.
Individually, we are just one drop.
Together, we are an ocean.
– Fr Darwin Thatheus MSC
Regional Superior in Bangalore
Can you help our MSCs to protect lives in India?
PLEASE SUPPORT MSC COVID-19 RELIEF IN INDIA
May 17, 2019
Welcome to the Summer 2019 edition of the MSC Message!
• Read a special summer greeting from Fr Michael O’Connell MSC, Director of the MSC Missions Office.
• Catch up with the latest news from the mission fields, with updates from our ongoing projects in South Africa and India.
• Find out about this year’s MSC pilgrimage to Lourdes.
• Read all about Fr Michael O’Connell’s visit to our MSC parishes in Venezuela.
• Enjoy updates from World Youth Day 2019 in Panama, where Fr Alan Neville MSC and the MSC Vocations Team celebrated earlier this year.
Read the MSC Message Summer 2019
Feb 13, 2019
In the summer of 2018, we reached out to our mission friends to support our MSCs and local parishes in Kerala, India, where the worst flooding in almost a century caused untold devastation. Heavy rainfall wreaked havoc across the state, and the MSC Kerala House suffered from severe water damage.
Fr Richard Suresh MSC has been in touch from Kerala to update us on the ongoing repair work in the Sacred Heart Seminary in Kanjoor. “Painting work, roofing work, and pathway repair has been going on,” he writes. “It is very difficult to get workers in Kerala, as there are many, many houses that need workers to carry out repairs. We have not yet been able to finish the repairs as we had planned, due to the lack of workers available, but we are still working on it.”
The flooding hit Kerala in August 2018, killing hundreds and forcing millions to flee from their homes. Cars, livestock, homes, and businesses were washed away in the deluge.
The Sacred Heart Seminary in Kerala was severely affected due to its close proximity to the River Periyar, and is currently undergoing the repairs outlined by Fr Richard. At the seminary, MSC students journey together on the path to priesthood, and the house serves as a local foundation for parish outreach and ministry. The repair works are essential to ensure the safety and security of the MSC community in Kerala, allowing them to continue their vital work in aiding local families who have suffered terrible losses in the floods.
“Thank you for all your support, concern, and love towards our Indian MSC community,” writes Fr Richard. “Please keep us in your prayers, and we assure you that you are in our prayers also.”
PLEASE HELP OUR MSCS IN KERALA
Read more about the damage caused by the Kerala floods
in a letter from Indian Union Secretary Fr Syam Kumar MSC.
Jan 22, 2019
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been working in India for over 30 years. MSCs currently minister in seven parishes in rural India and one parish in Bangalore.
Presbyteries in Mulakaluru and Janakipuram
In Mulakaluru and Janakipuram, two parishes made up of six villages, MSCs are ministering to marginalised Catholics who are challenged daily by prejudice and poverty. Since 2010, local MSCs have been renting houses to allow them to be close at hand to these Catholic communities. The presence of MSCs in these areas, ministering to the spiritual, social, and political needs of local Catholics, has been extremely rewarding and empowering.
Rent for each house is 6,000 Indian rupees, or approximately €75, per month, and MSCs often have to move when landlords take the properties back.
Facilities in these rented accommodations are extremely poor, and MSCs struggle to do their best with the little that they have.
MSCs in Mulakaluru and Janakipuram are in great need of dedicated presbyteries, where they can live, work, and pray. The money currently spent on rent will be put to far better use, while the MSC communities will be able to conduct more effective mission outreach from a secure space and proper living conditions.
Without MSC ministry in these areas, local Catholics have little chance of being able to practice their religion in freedom and security. Can you please help us to give them an opportunity to flourish?
Mysore House & MSC Formation Programme
In summer 2016, mission friends in the Irish Province helped us to raise funds for the construction of the formation house of Hridhayala, or the “Temple of the Heart”, in Mysore.
There are currently 24 candidates for the priesthood studying at Hridhayala, led by three formators.
Mysore student ministry includes parish ministry, education for underprivileged children, youth ministry, visits to the elderly, and prison visits.
While great work has been done thanks to the generosity of our mission friends, the formation house remains unfinished. We need your help to complete the construction work and create a safe, secure space for students and their teachers to learn and pray.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN INDIA
