As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine marks its second year, an annual collection for Central and Eastern Europe’s Catholic churches will help “shine the light of Christ” in a region still scarred by the historical effects of communism, said Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton of Detroit, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Central and Eastern Europe.
On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14, faithful across the country are being asked to donate to the U.S. bishops’ annual collection for that region. Last year, $109,455 was collected in the Diocese of Camden.
Launched under St. John Paul II in 1991 as communist regimes collapsed throughout Europe, the appeal aids Catholics in 28 European countries in various stages of recovering from longtime totalitarian oppression. Today, the need is equally great amid Russia’s war and the long-running wounds of communism, said Bishop Monforton, who visited Ukraine in October 2023.
“The ministries that you support through this collection … bring food, shelter and love to the Jesus who suffers among the poor,” Bishop Monforton said. “They prepare young people, informed by Scripture, and inspired by the witness of priests, sisters and catechists, to tell their neighbors about Jesus. It is my hope that you give generously to the Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe.”
~ Compiled from staff and OSV reports
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
