The CARF Foundation organizes pilgrimages to Rome, Pamplona, ​​and the Holy Land. But this Christmas, they have prepared a very special and personalized trip. They invite you to spend Christmas in Nigeria (with Father  Emmanuel ), Angola (with seminarian Gonçalves), Venezuela (with Father Humberto), and China (with seminarian Xudong).

The rise in vocations in Nigeria and religious persecution

Emmanuel Enwenwen  is a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Ikot Ekpene, Nigeria. He has been studying Institutional Communication in Rome for several years, thanks to a scholarship from the benefactors of the CARF Foundation.

Despite all the difficulties and persecution in Nigeria, vocations in the country are increasing every year. “A few years ago, we were beneficiaries of missionaries who came to evangelize us.  Today, many Nigerians have become missionaries in different parts of the world,”  he notes.

However, the Catholic Church in Nigeria faces numerous challenges in its efforts to fulfill its spiritual and social mission. One of the main problems is insecurity. Violence from insurgent groups, bandits, and kidnappers targets clergy, laity, and even places of worship, disrupting pastoral activities and sowing fear. “In some parts of the country, the Church has become an easy path to martyrdom,” Emmanuel laments.

But even so, this young priest studying in Rome recalls that the future of the Catholic Church in Nigeria has profound significance, not only for the faithful, but for the very soul of the nation.

“Thanks to a young and dynamic population, the Church has the capacity to reshape the moral landscape of the nation. Moreover, with the many young people in seminaries and convents, there is great hope for continuity in the future,” he affirms.

The CARF Foundation supports seminarians, priests, and religious in 130 countries. This Christmas, they invite benefactors, friends, and their families to remember the most vulnerable, those in the forgotten countries of the world: to think of them, pray for them, and contribute to their needs, so that, after receiving a solid formation, they may celebrate Christmas this year and in the years to come with their people, to whom they will explain that God became man to bring light, warmth, and hope to homes throughout the world.

About :

The CARF Foundation was born on February 14, 1989, inspired by Saint John Paul II and driven by Blessed Álvaro del Portillo, with three aims: to pray for priestly vocations; to promote the good name of priests throughout the world; and to help in the integral formation of seminarians and diocesan priests and religious men and women to better serve the Church throughout the world.

From its inception to the present day, thanks to the support of its benefactors and friends, the CARF Foundation has funded scholarships for nearly 30,000 students from low-income families in 130 countries to enhance their intellectual, human, and spiritual formation at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome and at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Navarra in Pamplona. Among them are 129 students who have been ordained bishops and four who have been created cardinals.