How our local Catholic community is helping build our Church overseas

Around the world, priests and sisters are doing everything they can to bring the love of Jesus to communities in great need. They dedicate their lives to God, and to the service of others, offering our sisters and brothers the opportunity to encounter Christ. They often act as the first port of call for practical, as well as spiritual, needs. That’s why sponsoring a future priest can be such a powerful way to create hope for our world.

In our most recent Mission Today Magazine, we shared the story of Christiane and Jack, who began a sponsorship group in their Portsmouth parish after reading about another parish in Birmingham who chose to support  students studying for the priesthood in one of our partner seminaries.

Now we have news of a parish in Nottingham which has been inspired to come together as a community to support future priests overseas!

A personal witness in St Winefride’s

On 7 February, St Winefride’s parish in Shepshed launched a parish ‘sponsor a seminarian’ initiative. Over some cheese and wine, parishioners gathered to listen to Fr Patrick Bassey, who himself attended Bigard Seminary in Nigeria and was sponsored through Missio’s programme.

Fr Patrick is now the parish priest of St Winefride’s. He shares the moment when he first received a personal letter from his sponsors:

‘It was in 1996 that I got to know the good [people] who had been sending funds to support my priestly formation. Their names were Mr and Mrs Mackey. The first time I got a personal letter from that family, the man and his dear wife sent a beautiful picture to me. For me, it was an honour and a thing of great joy to be able to put a face to the name… this family that supported me throughout my formative years.

‘I never got to meet them in person, but I’ve never ceased to pray for them, begging God to reward their good works and to also bless their children.

‘In my wildest dream, I must say I never imagined that I would end up in the land of the people that supported my training!’

Paying it forward

Now, Fr Patrick is passionate about paying the gift he received forward and hopes other parishes will support vocations through Missio. He told us:

‘The Wine and Cheese event gave us the opportunity to socialise as members of the parish and to raise funds to sponsor the training of at least one seminarian to become a priest. The project aims at deepening our diocesan sense of missionary discipleship, strengthen solidarity with the universal Church and support priestly formation where the Church is young, growing and in need of resources.’

Marion, the Red Box Local Secretary at St Winefride’s, shared:

‘The evening was a great success, everyone said how much they enjoyed spending time with other parishioners, watching a video about the seminary in Nigeria which Fr Patrick attended. They really enjoyed his presentation about himself and his journey to priesthood and eventually to us. They seized the opportunity to ask lots of questions too.’

The evening was also an opportunity to start fundraising for the project. Marion shares:

‘We made over £500! Everything we made was profit as parishioners had donated all the produce and raffle prizes, along with additional donations too.’

Thank you!

A huge thank you to everyone at St Winefride’s for helping seminarians in mission countries to fulfil their vocations and become true agents of peace in our future Church!

To find out more and to get support in starting a similar project in your parish, family or as an individual, click here>>