Feb 26, 2026
This month, we’re looking back at an issue of the MSC Message from 20 years ago, in 2006.
Blessings from the Sacred Heart Church
The newsletter welcomed newly appointed parish priest at the time, our very own Fr John Fitzgerald MSC, who has come full circle and is now parish priest at the Sacred Heart again, 20 years later! He was pictured with another familiar face here on the Western Road, former Missions Office Director Fr Michael O’Connell MSC, as they placed a box of benefactors’ petitions on the altar for the 2006 Novena to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
Direct from the MSC Mission Fields
In a page dedicated to stories from the MSC Mission Fields, we read about MSCs Fr Vinnie Screene and Fr Adrian McHugh, who were ministering in Venezuela and South Africa respectively.
“Fr. Vinnie Screene, msc – a native of Skehanagh, Co. Galway – is seen here with volunteer helpers in one of our Soup Kitchens in Maracaibo, Venezuela.”
“Whilst on holiday in Ireland recently Fr. Vinnie told us that one of his big tasks on his return to Maracaibo would be assisting poor families with the cost of school books. MSCs regard education as the foundation to enable poor people to better themselves. Distribution of food parcels to sustain poor families is a regular part of missionary work.”
Fr Adrian McHugh, from Swinford, Co. Mayo, was pictured with a group of very vulnerable children receiving warm blankets in Musina, South Africa.
“Whilst South Africa is known for its blistering heat, the temperature can drop well below zero during the winter. The cold added to poor diet and nutrition along with bad housing creates great hardship especially for children and old people. At St. Martin’s School vegetables and maize are cooked in large pots in the yard to provide a nutritious meal for children. Fr. Adrian is now planning a Drop-In Centre for AIDS sufferers and their families.
AIDS is a huge problem. Africa has 10% of the world’s population but 90% of AIDS sufferers.”
Prayers & Reflections
Finally, the MSC Message also featured some particularly lovely prayers and reflections that stand the test of time, and are equally powerful today.
One, from William Penn, speaks of the value of kindness: “I expect to pass through life once. If therefore there is any kindness I can do to any fellow human being, let me do to any fellow human being, let me do it now, as I shall not pass this way again.”
Another, from St Therese of Lisieux, is especially beautiful for this time of year, as we welcome Spring:
“Happiness – people search for it
in vain: it’s not on earthly ground;
With me, it’s quite the opposite –
it’s in my heart that joy is found.
This joy – don’t think it comes and
goes:
Coming to me, it came to stay.
Delighting like a fresh spring rose
it smiles upon me every day.”
Twenty years on, tradition – and the heart of our mission – is still going strong. We’re looking forward to our 2026 Novenas to the Sacred Heart and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart later in the year, while our ministry in Venezuela and South Africa continues, with our MSCs on each mission ministering to the changing needs of local communities in today’s society.
Apr 15, 2025
Our friends at the Holy Family Care Centre in the Limpopo Province of South Africa have been in touch with an update from the centre, where new solar panels have been installed thanks to the support of our mission friends and benefactors here in the Irish Province. The centre is run by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and here, they provide dedicated care for orphans, and sick and vulnerable children, with approximately 75 children in residence at any given time.
In our 2024 World Projects Appeal, we asked if you could help to raise €9,900 for the centre to install solar panels. Due to “load shedding”, it is an unfortunate fact that the centre’s electricity is frequently cut, and the emergency generator is expensive to run. The solar panels will power the unit’s bore water well and sewerage pumps, ensuring savings on power and the prevention of major system failure with when the electricity cuts out.
The solar panels have now been successfully installed, and the community at Holy Family are already reaping the benefits of having a dependable and sustainable source of power for the centre. As ever, we join our voices with our OLSH Sisters in thanking our mission family sincerely for your continued friendship and support, which makes such a great difference to the Holy Family children.
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Apr 11, 2025
Back to School for Exams
The Catholic University of South Sudan, Rumbek Campus experienced a good, but challenging semester. For fourteen weeks, lectures were held in a local Catholic secondary school. This return to familiar surroundings was a nostalgic experience for some students, allowing them to reconnect with former teachers and cherished memories. While the hospitality was appreciated, the school’s simple facilities and limited resources presented some challenges. Fitting adult students into the smaller desks required some adjustments, but everyone quickly adapted.
Late-Night Study
The students have done their best to make time to study, not easy in a country where less than 9% of the population has any access to electricity and the sun sets every night by 6:00pm. Up until recently, students would study at home with only the light of the mobile phone to read. We upped our Late-Night Study programme to three evenings a week, allowing students to work until 8:00pm in our library. Initially, only men attended, as in the culture it would be considered inappropriate for women to stay out late; however, over the last few weeks, more and more of our female students have been able to attend. Our University Librarian stayed with them and provided them with support when needed. It has been a real success, and we plan to continue the programme into next semester.
Exams in a Heatwave
Currently, we are dealing with an intense heatwave in South Sudan. For the past two weeks, all schools have been closed by government order, with daily temperatures ranging from 39°C to 42°C. Despite these conditions, we have had to conduct our end-of-semester exams. Even with a schedule pushed to late afternoon, the heat remains a significant factor. The students’ resilience has been truly commendable, as they have not voiced a single complaint! However, all good things come to an end and so too do exams. Tomorrow will be their last day before a two-week break and then we are back into Semester Two.
Step-Free Access for All
As you are probably aware, the source of our displacement is the ongoing renovation of our lecture halls. The work is progressing well, with ceilings already in place. Previously, the hall only had a corrugated metal roof, which made the room into a sauna during hot days, and when it rained you could hear nothing at all. We are only halfway through the project, and already the changes have made a huge difference. Now we are getting ready to install the pipes for the electrical system and plaster the walls. We are also using the opportunity to make the building step-free, getting rid of ramps and raising the floor to allow anyone with physical disabilities to study freely. As a Catholic university it is our goal that anyone who wants to study and has the academic ability should be able to undertake third-level studies.
Nhialic ke yin,
Fr. Alan
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Read more from Fr Alan’s missionary journey in South Sudan:
