Our Catholic Missions Projects in India

In northeast India, the Trinitarian Fathers recently opened a new school in a poor community. On the first day, 110 students were immediately enrolled. They were so excited to get their uniforms and start a brand new adventure!

Or so they thought.

Since then, monsoons, floods, and other dangers have kept the students from coming to school.

This is a poor rural village. People here are often worried about having enough to eat. Yet their main priority is to ensure their children get a quality education. They want a better life for their children, and they know school is the best way to make this happen. So you could say they’re desperate for their children to go to school.

So, even though the school house is a humble thatched hut, and there are many items the school and students will eventually need…the number one priority right now is to make sure the children can get to school in the first place.

That’s where you come in.

Our partner, Fr. Joseph Muthuplackal, told us, “Right now the children have to cover miles walking to reach the school. But because of monsoons, flooding, drought, and other dangers, they often cannot come. A school bus to bring them safely back and forth would be a great blessing. […] I am praying Catholic World Mission can help us.”

That’s right, the number one need for this humble school is as simple as it is big: a bus!

Fr. Joseph has found the bus he hopes to buy for the school. It costs $21,476.

Some of us may see that number and think, “That’s impossible for me to make a difference.” But together, we can do so much. Today, we invite you to consider what your yes can make possible—as small or large as that yes may be.

Click here to donate now.

The Trinitarian Fathers were founded in the 12^th Century. Originally founded to help ransom Christian captives as well as to perform works of mercy, redemption and mercy have been central to the Trinitarian way of life from the beginning. Their distinctive red and blue cross can also be traced to the order’s founding.

To learn more about the Trinitarians, click here.

One bus has been purchased to bring 72 children to school safely. Thank you!

There are still over 50 more students that do not have proper transportation to school. Many walk at least 5 miles to get to school in rough conditions every day.

Help us get another bus today. Any dollar amount you can give will make a difference.

• Can you give the full $21,476? Give with ease right here.
• Can you give $15,000, $10,000, or $5,000? That would be a huge blessing for these little ones!
• Can you give $1,000, $500, $200, or even $25? That’s the beauty of the Catholic World Mission family of donors—many generous people come together with gifts of all sizes and make a positive impact on the world, one dollar of a time.

Be part of something bigger today and give right now.

Giving a poor family a goat is a long-term solution to their poverty. Raising a goat is inexpensive, and the products families can sell from their goat–including goat milk, goat cheese, manure, and eventually, kids (baby goats) and meat–are easily marketable.

Jeevana will choose 70 families–called beneficiaries–based on various criteria, including how great their need is and how dependably they will care for a goat. Jeevana will teach the beneficiaries how to tend the goats, raise them, care for them when they’re sick, milk the goats, and breed the goats. Jeevana will provide veterinary care and conduct monthly field visits to see how the goats and their new families are doing.

$127 covers the cost of the entire program for one family–the cost of the goat, all training sessions, and vet visits.

That’s a small investment with a huge return. Please, give hope and a goat today.

Just like goats, chickens provide a long-term solution to a family’s poverty. Since 2018, you have empowered women and poor families in Kerala with the gift of a homestead poultry farm. Chickens provide recipient families with economic stability, self-sufficiency, and a way to generate income and food for themselves. Families are able to eat and sell eggs, collect and sell chicken manure to local farmers, and eventually breed their chickens and sell the chicks.

$124 provides recipient families with several chicks, a specially designed chicken coop, and training for every woman or family to learn how to sustain their brand new poultry homestead.

Jeevana plans to choose 100 more families to receive chickens–families who have never before received aid from them!

Each woman will recieve skill and vocational training for a year, giving her the opportunity to learn how to be a tailor, caterer, hair dresser, or health worker. She will learn finance and resource management and other skills necessary to successfully run her own business.

Throughout the two-year program, each woman will also have access to job placement services and have the opportunity to join a small group made up of other women embarking on the same journey. They will learn from each other and support one another as they all work to make a better life.

One of the most exciting things about this program is that once they’ve graduated, the women get to mentor and help the women who come after them. The women of Kerala give back and commit to be an ongoing part of the solution to change the social climate in Kerala.

Margaret, 47, has faced her fair share of hardship. Her husband died 10 years ago, leaving Margaret to provide for their two children on her own. Because of the disdain with which widows and single women are regarded in India, it was very hard for her to earn sufficient income to pay for her children’s daily needs as well as their education.

Cochin Social Service Society enrolled Margaret in their career training program, offered her support and community. Today, after a lot of hard work and perseverance, she owns a successful tailoring business. She supplements the family’s income by raising cows and poultry.

With the confidence and financial freedom she’s gained, she is able to pay for her children to go to college–her son, Jesu, is studying engineering and her daughter, Mary Anita, is working toward a degree in business communications.

Margaret gives back to the women of Kerala by leading training seminars for other women. She is a great inspiration, mentor, and guide to others following in her footsteps.

Daphny, 55, was young when her parents died. They were very poor, and their deaths left her and her brother with no inheritance. Without an inheritance, there was no way she could pay for a dowry. Without a dowry, there was no way she could ever get married.

As an adult, Daphny has lived with her brother and his family. He was recently diagnosed with a heart condition that prevents him from working, putting his family in danger of living in unbearable poverty. After receiving career training from Cochin Social Service Society, she started a catering company and opened a business as a tailor.

She has been so successful that she has become the primary earner in her family, taking care of her brother, sister-in-law, and nieces. She also employs other members of the community!

Daphny’s story is not uncommon. Thankfully, her brother and his family received Daphny into their home graciously, but many single women in Kerala aren’t so lucky. Many widows and women without dowries are neglected, abused, harrassed, and generally considered to be second class citizens. Sadly, many of them are treated this way by the extended family members they rely on for protection!

The classes and support the Cochin Social Service Society provides are a source of true hope for the women of Kerala. With help from CSSS, they begin to believe in themselves and their abilities, and with practical training they are finally able to put their belief in themselves into action!

When we believe in each other, the possibilities are endless.

Moly, 57, has never been married. After years of living in poverty with no community or family to help support her, she was able to enroll in several of the programs offered by Cochin Social Service Society. She took classes, worked hard, and now owns her own house and beauty parlor. She recently expanded her beauty parlor and continues to work hard, helping other women realize their inherent beauty and dignity.

Mrs. J’s family is very poor. Although her husband works as a farmer, he battles chronic illness and needs a lot of medical care. The cost of his treatment is high, and his wages aren’t sufficient to cover them. Manu and Akhila also have school expenses, which the family struggles to pay as well. Mrs. J was so grateful to receive a goat!

Mr. W’s wife, Jancy (38) and two sons, Joy and Manuel (9 and 7) were recently injured in an animal attack and hospitalized. One son was in serious condition and transferred to a government hospital in Calicut. As a result, Mr. W couldn’t work (he normally works in agriculture), which left him with no way to pay for his family’s medical expenses. His family just received a goat! We wish Jancy, Joy, and Manuel a speedy recovery and we send our thanks to you, our donors, for helping Mr. W’s family through this difficult time.

Weeks of torrential rains caused catastrophic flooding and landslides in Kerala. Initial reports estimated that at least 800,000 people were displaced and 350 died. These numbers are sure to increase.

While the situation is bleak for our brothers and sisters in Kerala, there is reason to hope. Catholic News Agency reported that in the immediate aftermath, a Muslim congregation brought food, water, and medicine to a Catholic parish where 500 people sought shelter after fleeing from their flooded homes.

Deep within a country that has made economic leaps and bounds over the past decade, lies tens of thousands of people lacking basic needs.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a union territory just north of Mumbai on the west coast of India. Occupied by the Portuguese until 1954, this once dense forest area has been inhabited by tribals for centuries. Today the tribals make up about 60% of the population. The people here live in mud huts, with no utilities or sanitary water. Most tribal people live on subsistence farming, with the vast majority living “hand to mouth.”

Along the west coast of India in the areas of Goa and Daman, tribal villagers and impoverished communities live without running water, electricity, adequate access to medical care and education for their children. Student hostels house hundreds of children without adequate facilities.  Homes to care for the sick and disabled are in disrepair and in need of funding.

The need is great in this area of the world, but so are the hearts of the missionaries leading a concerted effort to lend dignity and spiritual uplift to the many people in need.

The Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, supported by missionaries of St. Francis Xavier, commonly known in India as the “Pilar Fathers,” have mapped out a strategy to allow communities to help themselves: a plan for pooling resources and utilities, encouraging family interaction within the villages.

The plan starts with the construction of community centers for the dozens of tribal villages speckled throughout the Nagar-Haveli area. While tribal villagers live in huts made of mud, these community centers will be the only facility within reach where children can study with electricity, and families can meet and help each other, and missionaries can minister.

We urgently need funding for more Community Centers – will you help?

The Catholic Church in India is persecuted every day. Areas that were once Catholic are no longer because of the pressure to “reconvert” to Hinduism, their homeland’s faith. Many continue to stand strong in their faith in Christ, despite the social stigma and pressure to reconvert. They pursue their faith even more by taking theology courses and being active participants in evangelization and communion. Your generosity has changed the future of these communities. We must work together to get these community centers off the ground and build up the Church up in India.

Click the green “Give Now” button above to make a lasting, impacting gift today!

A tiny Christian community in this remote Indian village has been holding onto faith since 1850. Back then, a priest visited just once every three (3) months to celebrate Mass in Latin. The sacristan would translate the Mass into the local language, Konkani.

In between Masses, the villagers would gather at the tiny mud chapel to pray the rosary and sing hymns.

Thankfully, since the 1960s, Mass has been celebrated here once a month instead of once every three months. The people are so grateful!

But the chapel here is very old. During the rains, the walls and roof leak, but the villagers still come to pray. Talk about a deep faith!

Your generosity made it possible for the people of Kalambist to build a brand new church last year!

Click through the carousel below to see photos of the construction process.

Your generosity was instrumental in building churches in rural India. The faithful in these communities are extremely poor, but their faith is deep. Your support for them is having a deep impact.

Help more villages have a spiritual home of their own. Click the green “Give Now” button to donate today.

Porvorim Clergy Home

A family in Porvorim, Bardez Goa has already come forward and donated a small house and plot for the deserving priest community. Their generosity, and yours, will give men dedicated to serving Jesus Christ a place to rest after countless years of service to the Church in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman. Once completed, the Clergy Home will serve over 20 senior citizen priests and provide space for a small staff to care for them.

The land donated for the construction of the Clergy Home was cleared in October of 2015. Only a year later, we can see how far your generosity has gone to construct this new Home. Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrão can be seen blessing the ground with fellow priest Fr. Valeriano Vaz, and stepping in to survey the progress. The building will have three levels and include a chapel, kitchen, bathrooms, as well as over 20 rooms to accommodate the retiring and ailing priests from the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman!

Your generosity and support is still needed in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman to finish constructing and furnishing a home for ailing and retiring priests! After countless years of dedicated service to the community our priestly brothers in Christ need a safe place to rest before entering the Kingdom of God. Your generous gift today builds a home for eternal life.

Give now to build a place for priests to rest their heads.

272 children are schooled and housed in a sparse hostel. Away from their parents, they study 7 days a week with limited furniture, and without a cafeteria, they now finally have a place to bathe. The children in Dudhani are no strangers to hunger. The children are left at Dudhani for most of the year, and go home to see their parents only once.

Their parents work long hours and entrust their children to the missionary priests of St. Francis Xavier because they will get better care in school, and it prevents them from “roaming with the cows” in their free time which is very dangerous for them to do. “Roaming with the cows,” means that the children go off into the woods to look for basic needs, the priests and Catholic World Mission want to give them a safe place to be where all their basic needs met.

Christmas 2016

You surpassed all expectations to bring love and support again this year to the children in India! Your generosity let 2,827 children experience Christ in Christmas! These children live far away from their parents for most of the year, only visiting for a few weekends – all because their parents must work constantly to provide for their children. Your generosity gave the children the wonderful gift of chicken and apples to supplement their regular meal of watered down peas on Christmas day. In addition, the children received a small gift of a blanket. You went even further above and beyond in your giving: there was even left over to purchase the children ice cream!

2017

Fr. Seby’s Big News

Fr. Sebastião Mascarenhas, whom you know as Fr. Seby, was recently elected to be the superior general of his order, the Missionary Priests of St. Francis Xavier! You know Fr. Seby for his untiring work in India, where he has been our partner for projects like our yearly Christmas Miracle food program and supporting the many initiatives we have for children in India.

Congrats, Fr. Seby! We are so excited for you and the next phase of your journey. We thank you for your love and dedication to Jesus, and everything you have done to spread the Gospel and meet the material needs of people in India!

Read more about this development here.

Only with your help can we bring a smile to these needy children in India!

Please help us provide the children with:

1. Reliable Jeep: A lifeline to bring sick children to clinics and to deliver life-saving medical supplies to the children in Khanwel. A reliable jeep will serve the needs of 500 children.
2. New School Flooring & Electrical Wiring: serves over 600 students in the village of Sindoni.

Just $50 per year can sponsor local laity from the parishes in Goa to enter a 2 year formation program in order to be able to spread the faith to their home parishes.

To continue supporting authentically Catholic evangelization in India consider giving now.

The Tractor

Life in the seminary is not all glory. You might never know about their poverty, and their plight. At Catholic World Mission we want to share with you an impactful story about the seminarians of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS).

The seminarians at MSFS are very poor, but blessed by God. They work hard and long hours to subsidize the cost of the seminary. The seminarians run a small farm where they grow rice, all their food, and raise pigs and chickens. Every year they produce enough for them and more to sell locally.

For years the seminarians have done all the work by hand. Recently, they asked for our help in buying a tractor. The tractor would help the seminarians work faster, harvest more land, and provide for more seminarians. With joy we are thankful to have fulfilled their request with the help of our donors!

Just $85 per month or $1000 per year can sponsor the formation of a seminarian to tend to the spiritual needs of tribal villagers.

Will you support a seminarian in India today with a monthly gift?

Father Balappa Selvaraj knows first-hand the blessings and protection received from the Little Flower herself, St. Thérèse of Lisieux. What he didn’t know was that this same saint would eventually guide his vocation and ambitions years later. Father Selvaraj was born in Bangalore, India in the state of Karnataka.  With 65 million people in the state, only 2% of the population is Christian.

At age 23, he was a young seminarian, well on his way to living out his faith. He had already completed three years of minor seminary, three years of philosophy and one year of theological study. It was during this time of intense training that he suffered a life-threatening injury from a motorbike accident. Originally taken to St. Theresa’s Catholic Hospital, the young Brother Selvaraj fell into a coma. Doctors predicted a less than 10% chance of survival from the accident. His superior, Bishop Rajappa, from the Diocese of Kurnool, requested the Sisters of the cloistered Carmelite order pray for Father’s healing through the “Novena of the Little Flower.”