Dear Parishioners and Visitors,
Every two years, Bishop Libasci asks that parishes throughout the Diocese of Manchester welcome a missionary to speak on behalf of the “Mission Cooperative Appeal.” Reflecting on the assertion in Acts of the Apostles, “We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20), Bishop states, “We encourage our parishioners to answer that call …by sharing our zeal. We can speak about our faith, about our passion for mission – and what support of this evangelizing work means for more than 1,100 mission dioceses.” Further, Pope Francis reminds us, “As Christians, we cannot keep the Lord to ourselves as we recall with gratitude all those men and women who by their testimony of life help us to renew our baptismal commitment to be generous and joyful apostles of the Gospel.”
This weekend, please join me in welcoming Father Michael Adebote to St. Joseph Parish. Father is a missionary priest of the Society of African Missions (SMA Fathers), whose mission organization is currently ministering to seventeen countries in Africa, primarily by providing basic needs of building schools, churches, water projects, health centers, and by supporting peace efforts in countries affected by war and in the most poverty-stricken areas.
With prayerful best wishes,
Fr. John Mahoney