Faith

Maureen Crowley
Heil

Hanging above my office desk is a marvelous statement made by Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Evangelii Nuntiandi (Evangelization in the Modern World): "Modern men and women will listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if they listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses." (E.N. 41) In my heart and soul, I've extended those words to include children as well.
The Missionary Childhood Association (in some places called the Holy Childhood Association) is our Church's gift to us as we show children the pathway to missionary discipleship. Little ones go beyond memorizing facts, by understanding their baptismal promises, and living them out daily, wherever God puts them. We help to make them faithful witnesses.
Nowhere has this lesson been seen more powerfully than in the Holy Childhood members of the Holy Family Elementary School/ Matli Parish in the Diocese of Hyderabad, Pakistan.
On December 26, 2024, just a day after sharing a joyful Christmas celebration in their classroom, which becomes the parish church each weekend, a fire broke out because of an electrical short circuit. Despite the efforts of the parish priest and parishioners, all school and Mass supplies were a total loss.
In a place where only 0.2 percent of the people are Catholic and the literacy rate is about 34 percent, the loss of the combination classroom/church is catastrophic.
The Diocese of Hyderabad is located in southeastern Pakistan, about a two-hour drive from the border with India. In square miles, it is huge: the ecclesial area is 53,065 square miles, which is about twenty-one times the size of the Archdiocese of Boston. According to catholic-hierarchy.org, fourteen diocesan and twenty-four missionary priests serve the area.
One of those missionaries is Father Rebenie "Rebby" Madar, MHM. Father spoke to me a few days after the fire, conveying the loss felt by all, especially the children. "We are having Mass outside now," he said. "But the children must also have their classes outside. We want their education to continue." While Father Rebby is grateful for the help coming from donors in Boston, he continually calls out the faith of the children in his parish, especially that of the Holy (Missionary) Childhood members.
Just one month after the destruction, they refused to put off their annual door-to-door collection. Would the funds go to rebuilding? No, they'll go to the missions, because there are children poorer than they are for not knowing how much God loves them. Thanks to our programs, the children are faithful witnesses.
Last year, the children of Pakistan sent $6,194.23 to the General Fund in Rome. Join them: propfaithboston.org/donate-to-missionary-childhood-association.

- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.

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