Update on the Spiritans in Haiti from Fr. Benjamin Osio, C.S.Sp.

Six months later, St. Martial Collège, like the entire city center, is still under the control of the attackers. 

Our hope, as well as that of an entire country, rests on the national and international will to take control of the situation to neutralize the armed gangs and restore the population’s freedom of movement. Unfortunately, despite hopeful decisions, the international force mandated to support the Haitian police is slow to deploy on the ground and generate real change. 

We remain waiting, disappointed but standing in hope. 

We were able to temporarily relocate the college to two different quieter schools:  one is run by another religious congregation that generously accommodates us and the other, disused, was rented by us. It is a testimony of resistance in a chaotic universe. 

Prayer and fraternal support are more necessary than ever in these difficult times, but also donations. Nothing that is received is useless, although it is put aside for the moment in order to use it constructively when the time comes when we can recover the places abandoned to the bandits. 

We plan to mobilize our support to obtain a new residence, where we can accommodate the confreres who, since the attack, have been temporarily housed by other congregations. 

In the short term, part of the donations will be used to help parents who are materially unable to pay their children’s school fees. We hold their hand, so that, even in times of crisis, they are not abandoned.

Life will start again, even more beautiful; that is our hope.

Thank you for your support and trust.

Fr. Benjamin Osio, C.S.Sp.

Complete the Priests’ Residence for Spiritans in Zimbabwe

The priests’ residence in Mutare, Zimbabwe, built in 1943, was literally crumbling around and on top of the missionaries living there. The new building is in progress, but the Spiritans in Zimbabwe need help to complete it.The Spiritans arrived in Zimbabwe in April of 1984 at the invitation of the Bishop Patrick Mutume. Two Spiritans, Fr. Isaac Madu, C.S.Sp., and Brother Joseph Ofomadu, C.S.Sp., became the first to be appointed to the newly formed Province.

Today seventeen Spiritans work in the country. They serve four parishes in the Harare and Mutare areas, and manage three schools, also in the Mutare region. Other Spiritans serve as military, school and university chaplains.

The new Provincial headquarters and residence is currently in construction. Roofing, electrical wiring, security, windows and door, and furniture, fixtures, and equipment installation still need to be completed.

The completed building will include six bedrooms, kitchen / dining, laundry room, welcome / conference room, chapel and two offices. The cost to complete this work is $27,708. An additional $4,500 for furniture, fixtures and equipment brings the total to be raised to $32,208.

Teach a Woman to Farm, and She Feeds her Family for Life

A SOMA project grant was provided to enhance irrigation and agricultural productivity for the 150 women and their families of the Dinka culture in Malou, South Sudan. The Dinkas are one of the largest tribes in South Sudan, known for their traditional forms of agriculture and livestock raising. Women have historically been the earners and agricultural laborers in the Dinka culture.

The purchase of a combination power tiller, harrower, and ditcher along with a solar water pump, inverter and panels will provide food security, increase household incomes and foster self-reliance among women in Malou.

A Christmas Letter from Fr. Mike

We at the Spiritan Office for Mission Advancement (SOMA) wish you the blessings of Christmas.  We celebrate that God IS with us. Jesus is our Light and our Salvation!  

Last month, I visited our young provinces in S.E. Asia: in Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines.  It was an honor to meet more than fifty of our seminarians, most of whom are Vietnamese.  Donations from Spiritan friends here in the U.S. in large part funded the building of the houses for our Aspirancy (entrance years), Postulancy, and Novitiate in Vietnam.  The same is true for our House of Theological Studies at the Jesuit Ateneo University in Manila where 18 Spiritan scholastics (they have taken first vows) study with students from 44 countries!  This is just one of the countries where gifts from U.S. donors support Spiritan students. Ghana, Dem. Rep. of Congo, and Uganda are just a few more.
Assisting food and economic security, this year, SOMA provided a woman’s farming co-op in South Sudan with a combination power tiller, harrower, and ditcher along with a solar water pump, as you read about above. This is just one of the projects in Spiritan communities around the world that your donations helped to fund in the last year. 

During this Christmas season, will you please consider a donation or a legacy gift to support SOMA’s efforts?  Your gift will enable us to: Train new generations of missionaries; Build chapels, schools, and clinics; and Provide emergency relief to those affected by crises!  

May you have a very Blessed and Merry Christmas,
Fr. Michael Grey, C.S.Sp.
Chief Development Officer
Spiritan Office for Mission Advancement        

Since 2014 the Spiritan Office for Mission Advancement has distributed over $3.2 million to 29 countries animating the U.S. Province’s mission priorities of priest formation, evangelization, education, health & wellness, economic development, social justice and emergency response.

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