Mission Appeal 2025
The Arlington Mission Office invited over 40 missionary groups to the Diocese this summer to do the mission appeal at the parishes. These groups, combined with our mission in Bánica, inspire us with their stories and the tremendous work they do.
Pope Leo the XIV in his first greeting from the Loggia declared we are all called to be Missionaries. We are a missionary church. Not all of us can go to distant lands but we can be mission people by praying for and supporting our brothers and sisters who do.
The Sisters of Our Lady of La Salette
Some of the missionaries are right here in the Diocese doing their work in our schools, hospitals, and churches, but they also have missions across the globe. One such group is the Sisters of Our Lady of La Salette. The Sisters originated in France but serve in 11 different countries, including the Philippines, Madagascar, Myanmar, and Angola.
Different missions require the Sisters to configure themselves to best serve those around them. The sisters adapt to whatever environment they find themselves. But whatever those surroundings are the Sisters are always a witness to the Gospel to those they serve with and to the entire community.
Different places different missions
In remote areas, such as the Philippines and Madagascar, the pastoral care of the people requires farming and the raising of farm animals such as pigs and cows to teach the community to be self-sustaining. The Sisters and their community work side by side, tilling the land, planting the seeds, and harvesting the crops.
In Angola the people they serve often live at a great distance. The opportunities for education are limited. As distance is the largest barrier to education the Sisters built dormitories for the students to stay in. The Sisters are also administrators and teachers. The families pay with what they have, usually crops or animals.
Myanmar has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world, with little in the way of social services for the people. The Sisters stepped in and built five apartment buildings to house the blind and their families. This allows for a level of independence with some help from the families and the Sisters. The families do not pay the Sisters for the Sisters own the land as well. The only cost is to help with the maintenance of the facilities.
Thank you for your Generosity
The examples of the assistance given in schools, hospitals, serving as sanctuaries to local people affected by civil unrest, and those displaced by war and disasters, are too numerous to list but in every mission the Sisters offer pastoral care and empowerment. Their charism of “Reconciliation” is to encourage and to bring the message of Our Lady of La Salette by their lives of Christian charity. They, like all our missionaries, witness by example. The Sisters bring a sense of peace and hope to the people to whom they minister. Thank you for your generous participation in the MCP, through prayer and almsgiving, we truly become a Missionary Church.