World Mission Sunday

DATELINE  Two years ago on World Mission Sunday, Pope Francis called for Extraor­dinary Missionary Month to be observed during October to foster greater awareness on those evangelized throughout the world because of the sacrifices made by missionaries. “This missionary mandate touches us personally: I am a mission, always; you are a mission, always; every baptized man and woman is a mission. People in love never stand still: they are drawn out of themselves; they are attracted and attract others in turn; they give themselves to others and build relationships that are life-giving,” he said. “As far as God’s love is concerned, no one is useless or insignificant. Each of us is a mission to the world, for each of us is the fruit of God’s love.”

The theme chosen for the month is “Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World” and the Paterson Diocese has a rich history of supporting worldwide missions. There are currently eight Paterson foreign missionaries who receive diocesan support each year. These missionaries either were born in the Pater­son Diocese or grew up here and they have become members of religious orders and at present are doing mission work outside the United States.

Mila Burdeos, diocesan mission director, said, “Every year, Bishop Serratelli sends them a Christmas message with a Christmas check coming from the Missionary Cooper­ation Plan of the Mission Office. It is a gesture of our diocesan support to whatever ministry they do outside the United States.”

The eight Paterson foreign missionaries are — Holy Family Sister Lois Ann Richardi, serving in Australia; Benedictine Father Peter Blue, serving in South Africa; Benedictine Father Damien Milliken, serving in Tanzania; Salesian Father Henry Bonetti, serving in the Philippines; Holy Cross Father Andrew Healey, serving in the Philippines; Sister of Charity Margaret Ann O’Neill, serving in El Salvador; Salesian Sister Virginia Bickford, serving in Kenya; and Maryknoll Father John Barth, serving in Uganda.

The support from the Diocese has helped these missionaries fulfill many projects in these remote and rural areas from evangelization and education efforts to feeding, clothing and housing the poor to capital improvements in the infrastructure.

In Uganda, Maryknoll Father Barth recently reported about the generosity of parishioners of at St. Mary in Denville, who helped the Maryknoll missioner contract a simple vented drift bridge across a stream that obstructs traffic in the rainy season when it reaches a meter deep.

Father Barth said, “It's a dirt road that connects my former parish of St. Therese's in Isohe to the rest of the world.”

Calling the bridge a “masterpiece,” each month Father Barth sends life-saving relief supplies and school supplies across the stream. These supplies keep the primary and secondary schools open and dissuades the teachers from taking their families to the refugee camps in Uganda due to the severe food shortage. Several development non-government organizations send their staff down this road daily as well as cars (four-wheel drive required) and an ambulance carrying patients to Uganda arranged by Father Barth for advanced medical treatment when the mission hospital in Isohe is not enough.

Father Barth has also spent time with refugees at the Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda, where many South Sudanese have fled.

On the same continent in Narobi, Kenya, Salesian Sister Virginia Bickford reports her province recently received a visit from Mother Yvonne Reungoat, superior general of the Salesians. She visited the Mutuni Educational Centre, which educates 250 boys and girls. The mother general also visited Rwanda, which also has a strong presence of Salesian sisters — so much so that she recently accepted five postulants to the novitiate in Rwanda. The two countries are near each other in East Africa.

Across the globe in Australia, Holy Family Sister Lois Richardi is grateful to the support of the Paterson Diocese. “On behalf of the thousands of children and their families that you nourished, clothed and educated, thank you,” she told The Beacon. “They came from small villages high in the Andes Mountains, South America; from the streets and alleyways of Kolkata, India and from the cities, towns, villages and the slums of the Philippines.”

Sister Richardi’s order, the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth are dedicated to spreading the kingdom of God’s love, particularly within families. The order does this through active ministry in child and age care schools, hospitals, parishes, retreats, prisons and social services agencies.

In Central America, Sister of Charity Margaret O’Neill, who earned her bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station, serves in the Diocese of San Salvador in El Salvador. She has been there since 1986 assisting refugees and accompanying them during the civil war at that time. Through her mission work, she began El Centro Arte Para la Paz, an educational and cultural center that promotes peace through dance, art and theological reflection. She also educated men and women in various stages of religious and lay ministry.

In the Philippines, where Holy Cross Father Andrew Healey and Salesian Father Henry Bonetti both are located, the two religious missioners serve in fostering vocations for their respective orders.

Father Healey serves at the Damien Formation Center in Quezon City while Father Bonnetti, serves as rector of the regional major seminary in Paranaque. The Salesian priest said, “The greatest miracle is that 10 different nationalities can get together so well. We have brothers from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, China, Korea, Japan, Cambodia and Thailand.”

This Sunday, on Oct. 20, the Universal Church will mark World Mission Sunday. Remembered will be these missionaries and all those worldwide who evangelize the Word of God in the remote corners of the continent. The Diocese of Paterson will mark the celebration at St. Gerard Majella Church in Paterson at noon. Bishop Serratelli will be the principal celebrant of Mass and students from around the Diocese will be honored for their participation in helping the missions.