February 17, 2012
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Imagine 770 children lined up to receive the Eucharist for the first time. St. Blaise, a parish in El Pozón, Colombia, recently prepared such a group for first Holy Communion aided by the generous support provided through the Collection for the Church in Latin America. Boys and girls attended Religious Education classes led by trained catechists with the necessary materials to teach the faith in one of the poorest parishes in Colombia.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that “the disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it” (no. 1816). As we give generously to the Collection for the Church in Latin America, we keep the faith and help spread it with our support.
This Collection supports pastoral projects that enrich the lives of believers throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. They long to continue to build upon the traditions of their Catholic faith. In many instances, collected funds provide the only resources individual parishes have to sustain the development of their parishioners. Your vital contributions to the Collection help with the formation of seminarians, religious sisters and brothers, and lay leaders serving the Church.
A significant portion of this collection is also used to assist in the ongoing efforts of our own Diocesan Hispanic Ministry, which serves the large number of Hispanics living in the Diocese of Worcester. It is gratifying to see the life of faith flourishing in these communities as they are a blessing upon us all.
I encourage you to be generous in the special Collection for the Church in Latin America, which is scheduled to be taken at the Lord’s Day Masses in our parishes on February 25 and 26. Your support is essential. Please be assured of my appreciation for your generous response to this collection.
With every prayerful best wish, I remain,
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Robert J. McManus
Bishop of Worcester