Roman Catholic 
Diocese of Ogdensburg

Past Mission Columns

Mission Column October 10, 2025

World Mission Sunday Rosary

Join The Pontifical Societies of the Diocese of Ogdensburg, INC. this month and year-round in saying the World Mission Sunday Rosary in support of the Pope’s missions around the world!  

The World Mission Sunday Rosary is a special rosary created by Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen in 1951.  Each decade represents a different part of the world and allows you to pray for the entire world at once.  

The GREEN decade symbolizes the forests and grasslands of AFRICA
The BLUE decade is for the ocean surrounding the ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC 
The WHITE decade symbolizes EUROPE, home of the Holy Father, shepherd of the world 
The RED decade shows the fire of faith that brought the first missionaries to the AMERICAS 
The YELLOW decade is for the morning light of the East, symbolizing ASIA.  

World Mission Sunday takes place on Sunday, October 19.  If you feel called to donate, please use the qr code above or use the link on our website at www.rdcony.com/mission under “Society for the Propagation of the Faith”.  Your prayers and support are what keep the Pope’s missions going and provide physical and spiritual support to struggling Catholics worldwide!  

Please remember the Pontifical Mission Societies of the Diocese of Ogdensburg INC. when writing or changing your will.  

Mission Column October 3, 2025

The Beginning of Mission Month

October marks the beginning of Mission Month in the Catholic Church.  All this month, leading up to World Mission Sunday on October 19, the Pontifical Mission Societies invites you to join us in revitalizing our baptismal call to be missionaries.  

This month leading up to the appeal, join us in praying the World Mission Sunday Rosary each day in support of the Pope’s Missions!  

Beginning on Friday October 10th, Cardinal Luis Tagle will be leading a novena to Saint Terese of Lisieux, the patroness of the missions, on the Hallow app for the success of the World Mission Sunday Appeal.    

World Mission Sunday, promoted by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of four Pontifical Mission Societies, was established by Pope Pius XI in 1926 as the day of prayer and giving for missions. From the moment it began, this day has been rooted in the work of our foundress, Blessed Pauline Jaricot, who established prayer circles through which she sent thousands of pennies to the Church in the United States throughout the 19th century. 

The World Mission Sunday collection supports 1,124 mission territories, places where the Church is young, growing, poor, persecuted, and in need of support. This collection funds the formation of seminarians, catechists, and religious sisters, builds churches and schools, and sustains healthcare and social outreach programs. 

In his message for this World Mission Sunday, Pope Francis urges the community of the baptized to “participate actively in the common evangelizing mission of the Church by your witness of life and prayer, by your sacrifices and your generosity.” Pope Leo XIV, echoing that call, reminds us that The Pontifical Mission Societies are “the primary means for awakening missionary responsibility among all the baptized [and for] supporting ecclesial communities in areas where the Church is young.” 

Find more information on our website, www.rcdony.com/mission under “Society for the Propagation of the Faith.  Your prayers and support are what keep the Pope’s missions going and provide physical and spiritual support to struggling Catholics worldwide!  

Mission Column September 26, 2025

Humanitarian Aid in Pakistan 

Since the end of June, when very intense monsoon rains began [in Pakistan], more than six million people have been affected by the resulting floods, killing nearly 1,000 people, including 250 children. Some 2.5 million people have been displaced; many have found refuge in government-run camps or with host families. The internally displaced have not yet returned to their homes, and when the water levels recede, they will find their homes and livelihoods destroyed. The floods have inundated large parts of Punjab province, the "breadbasket of Pakistan," and experts fear a significant impact on the food security of more than 5 million people. 

"The extent of the destruction is indescribable. In some areas, the water level is now gradually receding, but thousands of people are stranded and do not know where to go. Their crops have been destroyed, their homes and livestock swept away. Their hardship is enormous, and this is just the beginning. We must think about the future. We must help millions of people get back on their feet after they have lost everything," Michelle Chaudhry, President of the Cecil & Iris Chaudhry Foundation, told Fides. 

The foundation launched an assistance program for displaced people after Pakistan was hit by heavy rains and floods in the past three months. "We want to contribute to helping the suffering people. Millions of people have been affected by the torrential monsoon rains and floods. Villages and towns have been swept away, and millions of citizens have lost all their belongings. The floods have destroyed crops, homes, roads, the electricity grid, and the water supply. As Christians, we feel called to roll up our sleeves and show our solidarity," Chaudrhry continued. 

"We have reached out to approximately 75 affected families in the villages around Kartarpur in the Narowal district of Punjab. These families live in extremely difficult conditions and are destitute. We have provided them with packages containing dry food, basic medicines, drinking water, clothing, and hygiene items. This is just a drop in the ocean, but it is something," she emphasized. "We thank all donors who are making it possible for us to reach the most affected families and show them that we care. At this time, humanitarian aid is a source of comfort for them and a way to demonstrate our care," concluded Michelle Chaudhry. 

Article from FIDES missionary news service of the Pontifical Mission Societies.  

Mission Column September 19, 2025

Thank you to all Priests

We are grateful for all our priests and their continued service to the church.  It is only with their ongoing hard work and support that we can complete the work we do every day.  We are especially grateful for their efforts with this year’s MPDO and Missionary COOP appeals.    

We would like to specifically thank Bishop Terry LaValley, Reverend Joseph Morgan, VG, Reverend Daniel Chapin, and Reverend Kevin O’Brien for supporting us on our Board of Directors.  Both your guidance and the time and effort you put into helping us is invaluable.  

The priests in our diocese and diocese around the world work hard every day to fulfil their vocations as priests.  We pray for the priests in mission territories working to distribute the sacraments in areas torn by war and violence.  We pray for the priests striving to keep their people fed and clothed in the face of poverty and corruption.  We pray for priests fighting for the dignity of those who are not granted it by society.  

As we come out of MPDO and Missionary COOP and move towards Extraordinary Mission Month, may we keep in mind -all those men called to service in the Church with a vocation to the holy priesthood.  We are especially grateful for those who spend their lives as missionaries.  Because of them, we can become more interconnected with the rest of our church family and better live out our vocation of missionary spirit.  We thank all priests in our diocese who served at our former mission parish in Mollendo, Peru for their faith, dedication, and hard work.  We also thank those priests that have come to us from other countries and who share their culture, faith, and spirit with the people of the Diocese of Ogdensburg.  

We pray that God blesses all of you abundantly.  

Mission Column September 12, 2025

First Church Dedicated to St. Carlo Acutis

While on Sunday, September 7, in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV canonized Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, in India, the Archbishop of Verapoly, Joseph Kalathiparambil, consecrated and inaugurated with a solemn Eucharistic celebration a church dedicated to Saint Carlo Acutis: the first in the country - and in the world - dedicated to the young Italian saint.

“It was a very significant moment for our community and for our young people,” Msgr. Michael Antony Valungal, Auxiliary Bishop of Verapoly, told Fides. The archdiocese…[is located] in southern India, where the Catholic presence is strong and represents more than 13% of the population, a percentage much higher than that of other Indian states.

The Church of St. Carlo Acutis … "aims to be a parish focused on youth ministry." "Our local Church," the bishop stated, "hopes that St. Carlo's life will inspire young people seeking to combine spirituality and modern technology; the new church should give new impetus to this journey." Regarding Acutis, he added, "we are impressed by his extraordinary love for the Eucharist, which he lived intensely and which he also knew how to transmit through the web."

Regarding the situation of Indian youth, Bishop Valungal stated: "Our young people are very active. They live in a cultural, social, and professional context marked by new technologies; they are digital natives, and in this context, we hope that Acutis can be an inspiration for them. The Italian saint reminds them that holiness is possible today." The auxiliary bishop is intimately familiar with the youth situation, having served as parish priest, director of the St. John Minor Seminary in Kakkanad, and spiritual director of the St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary in Alwaye, in the same archdiocese of Verapoly.

The parish priest of the church, Fr. Sojan Micheal, reported that devotion to the young saint is already widespread among the local faithful. "People pray the novena dedicated to St. Carlo, and many present requests for intercession, especially to entrust him with the future of young people or their difficulties. St. Carlo is already an example for Indian youth and a reference for all of us," he stated.


Article from FIDES missionary news service of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Please remember the Pontifical Mission Societies of the Diocese of Ogdensburg INC. when writing or changing your will. 

Mission Column September 5, 2025

Missionary Experiences in Haiti

"I spent three days visiting the Chapel of St. Bernard on the occasion of the patron saint's day. A difficult and tiring journey, which, on the one hand, demonstrates how difficult it is to make progress in a country under such conditions, but, on the other, also demonstrates once again the strength and courage of the people who move with heavy burdens through an extremely impassable area without roads. Four hours from Pourcine-Pic Makaya to Nan Myiel, first upstream and then along a path that leads to the village," [said] Father Massimo Miraglio, Camillian missionary and parish priest in the village of Pourcine-Pic Makaya, [Hati]. 

"The chapel where we celebrated Mass on Saturday morning, August 30th, is very modest, but the faith is full of hope, and the welcome was very warm. The community made a great effort," the missionary continues, "to celebrate their patron saint in a very makeshift setting, but one marked by warmth and piety." "Following the celebration, the obligatory soccer match took place, with one peculiarity: In the middle of the field lay two huge boulders that seemed to have fallen from the sky... and that could not be moved, despite the great danger they pose to the players," Father Miraglio explains.

"On the afternoon of August 31, I set out again, accompanied by a delegation of believers. Although we had changed our route, the difficulties did not diminish," the missionary recalled. "We climbed a steep mountain, along a narrow path and over huge boulders left there by the 2021 earthquake. With great difficulty, I reached the summit, a third of the way there. Amidst the low vegetation stood a single house, a family: mother, father, grandparents, a young man with a serious foot injury, and three children, one of whom was severely mentally disabled. Meeting this family freed me from all the hardships of the journey."

"I saw with my own eyes something I will never forget: the will to persevere, to continue living even in the most difficult situations. The mother had just returned from the Mass I had celebrated, carrying a bucket of water that she had brought up from the valley on her head, and she thanked me. What a joy to celebrate with these courageous people!" Father Massimo concluded.  

Article by Cosimo Graziani from FIDES missionary news service of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Please remember the Pontifical Mission Societies of the Diocese of Ogdensburg INC. when writing or changing your will. 

Mission Column August 29, 2025

Church Building Destroyed but Hope Remains

"They destroyed the walls of the church, but not the faith. Our faith remains strong, the people of God in Falam continue to believe and hope. The faithful will rebuild the Church of Christ the King, everyone will do their part," said Msgr. Lucius Hre Kung, Bishop of Hakha, in the Burmese state of Chin, in northwestern Myanmar, during a visit to the ruins of the Church of Christ the King, which was destroyed by airstrikes by the Burmese army in April of this year. 

The church was completed and consecrated in November 2023 by the Catholic community of the town of Falam, about 1,000 faithful, and then found itself in the crosshairs of the fighting between the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) militias, which had emerged in Chin State, and the Burmese army. The CDF—part of the People's Defense Forces, which opposes the military junta—took control of Falam, whereupon the army began bombing the area, which also affected the church. 

Only now, months later, was the bishop able to visit the site, assess the damage, and comfort the local population. "It was a very beautiful church, and the parish was happy to take care of it. I hope it can be rebuilt soon. I look with sadness at pictures of priests of the diocese being ordained there," recalls Father Paulinus G.K. Shing, a local priest. 

The Myanmar army also damaged the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Mindat, another town in Chin State, with airstrikes. The church was to become the cathedral of the newly founded Diocese of Mindat, which was established on January 25 of this year. According to the Chin Human Rights Organization, at least 107 religious buildings, including 67 churches, have been destroyed by army bombing in Chin State since 2021 during the civil war…  

"In this moment of suffering and trial, we remain firmly anchored in prayer and united with the Heart of Christ and the Heart of Mary, who take upon themselves all the sufferings of humanity. Jesus and Mary give us the strength and hope to continue and hope for a future of peace," said the bishop, who regularly visits the families of the displaced and the faithful in need, bringing them, as he says, "the consolation of the Lord." 

Article by Cosimo Graziani from FIDES missionary news service of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Please remember the Pontifical Mission Societies of the Diocese of Ogdensburg INC. when writing or changing your will. 

Mission Column August 22, 2025

Food Shortage Leading People to Eat Animal Feed 

In the tragedy of the conflict in Sudan, the Darfur region is one of the hardest hit. In particular, in North Darfur state, the siege of the capital, El Fasher, by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has brought the population of the city and the Zamzam refugee camp on the outskirts to their knees for months. The siege is blocking the arrival of food and raising prices, which are now the highest in the country. The population is exhausted; throughout the city and in the refugee camp, the number of malnourished people is increasing day by day, and the only means at their disposal is to cook food normally intended for cows. 

The animal feed is called ambaz and is the residue from the processing of sunflower seeds, peanuts, and sesame. Food waste, which for years was used as a supplement to livestock feed because it was rich in protein and inexpensive, is now the only food available to a population exhausted by the conflict and siege. 

Like any substitute food, ambaz is not only incomplete but even harmful. The problem lies in its lack of vitamins and other nutrients, as well as the fact that it develops a carcinogenic toxin if improperly stored. The harms posed by this forced choice include malnutrition, liver damage, and in some cases even cancer. These problems are exacerbated by the fact that ambaz is mainly consumed by children. 

As the newspaper "Dabanga" reports, it is primarily widows with children who use this type of remedy to combat food shortages by cooking it like porridge. Since in some cases it is the only food for all meals, all the children who consume it suffer the consequences. 

The state governor has appealed to humanitarian organizations to intervene in the region, where prices for the few available supplies have become extremely high. The World Food Program suspended food deliveries in February due to the deteriorating security situation. In previous months, in addition to direct food deliveries, food vouchers were also distributed to families, but only 60,000 vouchers were issued last month. 

According to sources in the government of North Darfur, whose capital is Al Fasher, the cause of the humanitarian crisis is middlemen and traders who deliberately block food supplies to drive up prices. The governor announced the creation of an ad hoc commission to monitor the markets and uncover those involved... The governor himself has attempted to force the release of the blocked food stocks by threatening to confiscate them and distribute them free of charge to the population. 

Article by Cosimo Graziani from FIDES missionary news service of the Pontifical Mission Societies.

Mission Column August 8, 2025

God loves us, God loves you all, and evil will not prevail!  …So, let us move forward, without fear, together, hand in hand with God and with one another!”   -Pope Leo XIV, First Speech

When Father Edwin Vasquez Ghersi enrolled in a college medical program at the age of 17, he had no idea how God was going to change his life.    

In 1963 the Diocese of Ogdensburg founded the parish of San Martin de Porres in Mollendo, Peru, building the church stone by stone.  Over the course of 40 years, 19 diocesan priests and numerous other religious and lay people traveled to South America on behalf of our diocese to help provide for the spiritual and physical needs of those in the area before the parish was turned over to the local church.  

I myself spent two weeks in the parish assisting with day-to-day activities and working with the children.  Peanut butter was our main protein source.  The kids loved peanut butter and popcorn.  We would bring over-the-counter medications with us to stock up the clinic.  They told us there was a ‘pain in their heart’ when we left.  

Father Edwin grew up in a religious family that attended the parish of San Martin de Porres.  His parents were devout and helped establish the parish.   Father Edwin credits many sources for his vocation, including the Carmelite nuns, Franciscan, Capuchins, Jesuits, and priests from our very own Diocese of Ogdensburg.  He says that our priests were patient, listened, and were understanding to him throughout his discernment.  

He entered medical school at the age of 17.  In the coming years things became difficult with the student riots, but luckily the area was spared from terrorism.  At the age of 23 Father Edwin decided to join the Jesuit missionaries and begin his formal training to become a priest.  His parents were hesitant to see him give up school for such an unclear future but were supportive of his vocation.  He was ordained a priest in 1996 in Lima, Peru at Our Lady of Fatima Parish.  Father Edwin was one of the many vocations that came from the Parish of San Martin de Porres.  

God plants vocations like Father Edwin’s all over the world.  Often, these vocations cannot flourish due to lack of money and extreme poverty.  Through your donation to the Saint Peter Apostle Appeal you will be helping people just like him to realize the call that God has for them.  Priests in developing countries often do not receive a salary and instead live off donations.  

The Saint Peter Apostle Appeal now supports over 38,000 seminarians worldwide with an annual subsidy of $700.  It also supports 400 seminaries and nearly 10,000 men and women religious novices.  Your support of the Saint Peter Apostle Appeal is instrumental in helping those with vocations to be able to pursue the calling that God has for them without fear.  

God Bless   

Sister Mary Ellen Brett, SSJ  

From left to right: Sister Mary Ellen Brett, SSJ – Director, Father Daniel Chapin, Father Edwin Vasquez Ghersi, Ms. Alexis Michael- Secretary 

Mission Column July 25, 2025

"Vincentian Tea"

Saint Vincent de Paul bore witness to Christ's charity by offering food to the hungry and care for the sick in 17th-century France. Today, following in his footsteps, the parishioners of the Longwan Church dedicated to him, in the diocese of Wenzhou, offer a cup of fresh tea to those who must work hours and hours outdoors in the Chinese coastal province of Zhejiang.

Food delivery workers, postmen, bricklayers, and messengers of various kinds have had to work even on the so-called “dog days,” the 30 hottest days of the year, when the humid heat becomes oppressive and everything becomes more tiring. The fresh tea offered by the parish community to all those in need of refreshment has become a simple and appreciated sign of how Christian charity recognizes and embraces the needs, even physical needs, of all.

In winter, in the same parish, those suffering from the cold can always find a steaming cup of hot tea. The parish of Longwan has become famous for its concern in bearing witness to and proclaiming faith in Jesus, also through many social works. In addition to the distribution of "Vincentian tea," members of the parish community maintain a service of regular, free medical visits for those most in need.

They also organize sacred music concerts, pilgrimages, and social gatherings for groups of the elderly, young people, and children. All of this is inspired by devotion to the Patron Saint Vincent de Paul, in accordance with the ever-helpful suggestion of the Didache: "Seek the faces of the Saints every day and find rest in their words."


Article from FIDES missionary news service of the Pontifical Mission Societies.  Please remember the Pontifical Mission Societies of the Diocese of Ogdensburg INC. when writing or changing your will.

Please remember the Pontifical Mission Societies of the Diocese of Ogdensburg INC. when writing or changing your will.       

Please remember “The Society for the Propagation of the Faith” when writing or changing your Will. 

https://www.rcdony.org/mission.html