Catholics in some of the most impoverished regions of Latin America will benefit from more than $2.5 million given by parishioners in the United States, as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America awards grants to promote solidarity throughout the hemisphere by supporting pastoral projects and strengthening social ministries.
Funding for 135 projects supporting local faith communities stretching from the Caribbean to the Andes was made possible by the generosity of Catholic parishioners who gave to the annual Collection for the Church in Latin America. Grant recipients were chosen during a meeting of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America on June 14.
“The Church in Latin America has suffered greatly from political oppression, civil war, economic turmoil, and societal neglect of those on the margins,” said Bishop Octavio Cisneros, retired auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America.
“After the Second Vatican Council, Catholics in the United States answered the call of the Holy Father to support ministry to our sisters and brothers there through the Collection for the Church in Latin America. Our Church is currently blessed to have a pope from Latin America, who has lived among the poorest of the poor and renewed the call to solidarity with them. Donations from Catholics in the United States not only strengthen Catholic ministry from Cuba to Peru, but they also demonstrate a love that strengthens the kingdom of God.”
Examples of projects supported by the recent grants:
- In Cuba, the Diocese of Pinar del Rio will revive a magazine that has been a crucial source of evangelization and spiritual enrichment in a nation where Catholic communications are limited.
- In Haiti, the Congregation of the Little Sisters of St. Therese of the Child Jesus will provide basic spiritual formation for 13 new and not-yet-fully professed religious sisters, and continuing formation and retreats for 93 other sisters.
- In Paraguay, the Roman Missal will be translated into the language of the indigenous Guarani people, enabling them to worship in their mother tongue.
- In Peru, Catholics who participate in national conferences on topics ranging from biblical interpretation to human rights will receive help to implement what they learned. The grant will also fund education and dialogue for clergy and lay leaders on religious and social topics of critical importance in Peru.
- In Venezuela, older teens who are discerning a call to the priesthood will attend retreats to help them on this spiritual journey. In addition to participating in sacramental experiences and prayer, youths will learn about Catholic theology and social doctrine to better engage in community outreach and evangelization.
“These grants, and more than 130 others, support Catholic ministry among people who have no way to raise such funds themselves,” Bishop Cisneros said. “Gifts offered to the Collection for the Church in Latin America are ultimately measured in the eternal value of souls saved, faith lives renewed, vulnerable people protected, and love shared.”
For more information, visit https://www.usccb.org/committees/church-latin-america.
