Fund the Training of Seminarians in Brazil
Friday, May 23, 2014

Project Code: 212-02-79

The people who live in the northeast of Brazil do not have an easy life. They are generally poor and often have to contend with drought conditions. Many people are leaving the area, in the hope of finding a better life, however modest, elsewhere. They generally find their way to big cities, which are growing rapidly as a result.

Often these disillusioned and uprooted people are easy prey for the many sects that are springing up in the suburban slums. In some cases, one can find a dense network of as many as 50 or so of their temples in a relatively small area. Their message can be an attractive one, often too good to be true, and as a result many people fall for their easy promises of instant salvation. On Mondays there is a prayer service for material prosperity, on Tuesdays another for a good job, on Wednesdays one for health, and so forth. But so often, hope springs eternal… and many people living in these slums continue to cling to this last illusion.

The Catholic Church is trying to address not only the visible, material needs, but above all to help people out of their spiritual poverty, since this is frequently far more urgent and devastating. But there has to be someone there to proclaim the Good News in the first place.

For the millions of Catholic faithful in Brazil (estimates vary widely, from 130 million to 155 million) there are only 18,000 or so priests available. Generally, the parishes are enormous and some even serve over 100,000 Catholic faithful. As our Lord tells us in the Gospels, "The harvest is great, but the laborers are few," and this is especially true of Brazil. That is why here, as in numerous other countries, helping for the formation of priests is a priority for ACN.

In the Archdiocese of Feira de Santana in north-east Brazil, there are currently 31 young men preparing for ordination. Archbishop Itamar Vien has their formation very much at heart. He is already looking forward to this year's ordinations and is delighted that the number of vocations in his diocese is growing. He has once again turned to ACN for help for the studies of the 31 seminarians, counting as always on the goodwill and generosity of our benefactors. We share his confidence in you, and so we have already promised him $7,900. Will you help fund the training of seminarians in Brazil? We are sure they will gratefully remember you in their prayers.

Aid to the Church in Need commits to invest your funds where they will have the greatest impact for the Church that we serve. Funds donated to Aid to the Church in Need’s projects will be used towards the greatest need in our programs to help keep the Faith alive.

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