KENYA: Bishops Conference to Launch Missionary Rosary Marathon, Appeals for PMS Donation

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA

The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) through the office of Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) is set to launch Missionary Rosary Marathon on Sunday, August 15, and is appealing for contributions from people of good will so as to support needy dioceses within the conference.

In a statement addressed to the clergy, Religious and people of God, the PMS National Director Fr. Bonaventure Luchidio noted that the Conference in Kenya will launch the Marathon prayer with the intent of praying for “Missionaries working in remote areas,” as they appeal for generous donation in favor of the Holy Father through PMS.

Highlighting the need for financial support the cleric said, “For the Mission entrusted to the Church to succeed, we need to engage the Holy Spirit in prayer and sacrifices through our donations in charity for the local churches in geographical peripheries.”

He expressed that the Covid-19 pandemic has “destabilized the social, economic and religious functions in the whole world including closure of churches and regulated in-person worship “especially, during the crucial months when the PMS activities were to take place,” hence “collections at the International Secretariat dwindled tremendously.”

In the statement dated Tuesday, August 10, Fr. Luchidio of Kakamega Diocese disclosed that before the pandemic in 2019, the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of Faith Universal Fund, whose role is to assist needy churches, “raised USD $ 89,191,743.25 from all the Churches in the World (which were) distributed as Ordinary and Extraordinary Subsidies for all projects from the 1,200 dioceses under PMS.”

Due to Covid-19, the funds have declined to USD $ 64,398,266.67 in 2020 and still needs to be shared out as ordinary subsidy to the 1,200 dioceses, and 2,646 projects.

Fr. Luchidio noted that this sharp decline of funds from the universal kitty will lead to the suffering of “very needy dioceses in Kenya and other countries because they are not able to sustain their annual budgets.”

“All hope is not lost,’ the cleric said. “We have an opportunity to redeem the situation by coming together as people of God with a big heart and support the Holy Father in his work of Evangelization by praying daily the Missionary Rosary as a means of imploring God to come to our aid as well as donating generously to the PMS so that we are able to avail the offered donations to needy dioceses in November 2021 and June 2022.”

The donation can be channeled to KCCB-PMS restricted fund whose bank details can be accessed through the KCCB Secretariat. Alternatively, the contribution can be done through Church kitty during Holy Mass for World Mission Sunday to be held on 24th October 2021 in all the Catholic Churches worldwide.