In top photo, Father Peter James Alindogan, diocesan missions director, center, is pictured with Father Jack Bogacz, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Moorestown, and Cynthia Smith, principal of Our Lady of Good Counsel School, who accept an award on behalf of the school that earned first place in per capita contributions to the missions. Carol Olivieri photo
By Carol Olivieri
For two years, Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Moorestown has invited missionaries to visit so students could “understand how children live in other countries,” said Principal Cindy Smith.
PHOTO GALLERY: World Mission Sunday Mass
One result was that this year, the school had the highest per capita collection for the Missionary Childhood Association. The collection was part of the Diocesan activities marking the 100th anniversary of World Mission Sunday, celebrated worldwide Oct. 20.
Student Mission Leader Caroline Bigos of OLGC explained: “We develop empathy by imagining what it is like to be in someone else’s shoes, and we learn compassion by watching our teachers help others every day. At OLGC, we are taught to love everyone, just like Jesus. We don’t help others just to get recognized or receive an award. We do it because it is the right thing to do and because Jesus showed us how to love and care for others.”
Nativity Parish in Fair Haven received first place in diocesan collections among parish religious education programs. Director Angela McAvoy said the students collect money during the summer intensive program, instead of during the school year. Throughout the year, she said, students participate in and observe many parish activities that demonstrate the works of mercy, so helping the missions is natural.
World Mission Sunday is the pope’s annual celebration of prayer, solidarity and support for missionary life. It is coordinated worldwide by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization and The Pontifical Mission Societies, one of which is the Missionary Childhood Association.
Pope Leo’s appeal
At the diocesan celebration Mass at the Church of St. Ann, Lawrenceville, Oct. 18, Pope Leo XIV spoke in a prerecorded video message. Reflecting on his own experience as an Augustinian missionary, Pope Leo stated: “The prayers and contributions of the faithful encouraged and sustained my missionary work in Peru as well as that of countless others throughout the world. For this reason, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported World Mission Sunday throughout the years.”
Father Peter James Alindogan, diocesan director of missions, was principal celebrant at the St. Ann Mass. Concelebrants included Father Leandro Dela Cruz, pastor, and missionary priests of the Diocese. Missionary religious sisters and priests who attended were among those who visit parishes and schools throughout the year to share what life is like in mission countries, what the missions are accomplishing and how important it is to support the missions.
In his message for World Mission Sunday, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., said: “We may never meet the people who will be helped by what we give today. We may never see the chapel that was built, the seminarian who became a priest, the child who learned to pray, or the family that discovered Christ. But God sees them.”
Recognizing the financial pressures people are facing, he went added: “I am especially grateful for whatever sacrifice you are able to make. No gift offered in faith is insignificant.”
During the diocesan celebration, Lea Mae Marquez, a seventh grader at St. Jerome School, West Long Branch, was honored for receiving an honorable mention in the national Missionary Childhood Association’s Christmas Artwork Contest. Lea is one of 26 national winners. Her artwork will be displayed during Advent at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.