In our series on the caring side of our 3 Churches parish life we come to one of our most successful works, in fact so successful that we are 1st and 3rd out of the top 3 parishes in our diocese for the amount raised. In 2016 we gave the extraordinary amount of Christ the King £4,939.48 + St Brigid/St Paul £3,447.40 = Total £8,386.88. So what are the famous Red Boxes all about?
Since 1922, Missio has been the Catholic Church’s official charity for overseas mission, bringing the hope of the Gospel where there is turmoil, poverty and uncertainty in the world, and where the Church is new, young or poor. Missio empowers local people to form and sustain communities of faith and trains and nurtures future leaders so that the vital work of the Church in the world can take place.
Probably the best known wing of Missio is the Association for the Propagation of the Faith (APF). The APF assists all of the Catholic Church’s 1,069 mission dioceses to provide pastoral care and preach the Gospel effectively. It was founded in Lyon, France, in 1822 by a young French woman, Pauline-Marie Jaricot. She began by persuading local working people to support overseas mission by giving a farthing a week. A century later, when the organization was established in almost every country in the world, Pope Pius XI made it the official mission-funding society for the Catholic Church.
In England and Wales, funds for overseas mission are collected through the famous Red Boxes. These can be found in over 200,000 homes and they have helped raise millions of pounds for the missionary Church. The APF in England and Wales works collaboratively with the Mill Hill Missionary Society; the only major missionary society to have been formed in England. Mill Hill Missionaries are sent to the most remote places in the world to share the love of Christ with those who are in need, both spiritually and materially. Find out more at www.missio.org.uk
To all our box-holders, collectors and organizers – a huge thank you!

Fr Matthew