Fr. Beyou, who was a visiting priest at St. Michael Church a few years, ago will be here on July 17/18 sharing his mission appeal for the diocese of Damongo in Ghana.
The funds from this Mission Appeal will be used in the following areas:
To support the training of seminarians.
To begin the foundation of the priests home.
To support the formation of our youth and children.
For the work of primary evangelization.
The Diocese of Damongo is located in the northwestern part of Ghana.
More than 86% of the diocese’s population lives in rural communities with populations under 1000 inhabitants.The diocese covers a land mass of about 25,906 sq. kilometers, with an estimated total population of 500,000 inhabitants, scattered over 600 settlements.
The economic and social infrastructure in the area is highly underdeveloped and there are practically no formal income and employment opportunities. The majority of the population (90%) in the area are subsistent farmers, who depend mainly on the seasonal rain for their livelihood. Due to the poor and irregular weather conditions the people hardly have sufficient food throughout the year to sustain themselves.
This makes it difficult for the faithful to support the church financially, despite their good will. More challenging is the fact that about 70% of the Catholic population of 26,504 in the diocese is made up of youth, who still depend on their families.
There are 13 rural parishes and 200 mission stations, which are growing.
They have 13 seminarians whose cost of tuition and upkeep is always a challenge for the diocese.
The upkeep and support of the pastoral work, health care and social security of the 47 priests who work for the people without any salary is another area of need for the diocese.
The area lacks drinkable water, health care facilities, schools and places of worship (chapels) in the rural communities. The pastoral priorities of the church include:
education and human promotion of the yout
provision of good drinking water (drilling of boreholes)
building of health care facilities in deprived communities
faith formation of the laity, youth and families
training of seminarians for the priesthood
formation of catechists for the work of primary evangelization
upkeep and support of the pastoral work of the priests
building of churches for worship in the mission stations
SUPPORT The Cause
Envelopes will be available at church the weekend of July 17/18. Your donation can be returned to church or the Parish Office.
Make a donation online here.