Collection benefits Black, Native American, Latin American Church

By ANGELA CAVE- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Parishes across the Albany Diocese will take up a combined collection for the Black and Native American Missions and the Church in Latin America the weekend of Feb. 25-26.

The Black and Native American Mission collection advances the Church's mission of evangelization by supporting social programs in high-need areas of the Diocese. The Collection for the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean helps rebuild the Church where natural disasters have devastated it - for instance, in Haiti - and improve catechesis, education and priesthood formation.

In his pulpit letter, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard reminded Catholics that "the Lord's missionary mandate is grounded in the eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity.

"Pope Benedict reminds us that St. Paul 'dedicated himself to the spreading of the good news to all peoples,'" Bishop Hubbard wrote. "We evangelize by the witness of our faith and by our sacrifice for others."

Last year, the Albany Diocese received a grant of more than $40,000 for its evangelization efforts with minority populations. Previous collections have benefited Catholic Charities' New Day Art after-school program for children in Albany's South End; projects at the diocesan Black Catholic Apostolate, based at St. Joan of Arc parish in Menands; and Catholic Charities' social justice projects in Troy and Albany.[[In-content Ad]]