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The APF worldwide supports all of the 1,069 mission dioceses in the world. The contribution of APF members and supporters in England and Wales is essential to the mission outreach of the Church in the world and makes a vital difference to millions of people’s lives.
Your prayers and generosity bring God’s love and hope to many people across the world for whom the Church is a witness of our Lord’s kindness and compassion. As Missio we are privileged to share in his great work and we rejoice with all those with whom we share this love.
Red Boxes and World Mission Sunday
In 2009, the Catholics of England and Wales gave £2,450,184 to 41 dioceses across Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, India and Pakistan through the APF. This sum includes the money from both the Red Box collections and World Mission Sunday.
Some messages and reports from the people you help
A message from Bishop Dieter Scholz of Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe
‘We are grateful for your financial support and also for the friendship and solidarity from our brothers and sisters in England and Wales. Our diocese was recently at the forefront of caring for those affected by a cholera epidemic. We were able to look after over 700 people – none of whom died from cholera. Thank you for all you do to “walk the way” with us.’
Good news from Ghana from Matthias Kobena Nketsiah, Auxiliary Bishop of Cape Coast
‘The Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Coast has been very effective and prudent in its application of subsidies of $172,600. Projects have been completed but the local church will continue to depend on APF for its development’
Thanks to the support of APF, new church buildings are being constructed across the Archdiocese to replace dilapidated older structures. Eight new churches and chapels have been built right across the diocese. The Archdiocese also runs a secondary school, St Teresa’s at Amisano, Elmina, and APF subsidies have been used to support its continued maintenance. Your contributions have also
- Enabled the purchase of a Mother House for local religious sisters, the community Society of the Infant Jesus to support their community outreach programmes
- Made possible the construction of a multi-purpose complex for the Catholic Chaplaincy at the University (Christian leadership programmes for young people)
- Supported a school feeding programme at Ahotokurom Childcare Centre which is managed by the Daughters of Mary and Joseph
Support in South Africa from Bishop Stephen Brislin of Kroonstadt
‘There are many issues in this country which reflect breakdown in relationships, such our very high divorce rate and widespread abuse within families. A catechetical approach has been designed which is age-appropriate and can be used with children from 8-17 years.’
The diocese has also initiated a programme for Special Religious Development (SPRED). This enables children with disabilities to receive appropriate catechism and participate in Church life.
As well as this catechetical focus, the Diocese of Kroonstad has initiated a range of other projects supported by APF funding, which demonstrate the diversity of need .‘
Some facts and figures – on a world scale!
Through Missio, Catholics across England and Wales help the Churches of Africa and Asia in their responsibility for building faith communities, as well as supporting their 16,152 health care facilities, 4,346 orphanages, 2,848 homes for the elderly and disabled, 19,020,871 Primary School plus 9,875,709 Secondary and High School pupils.
Every year, the Vatican’s mission news service Fides, offers, with the help of a few statistics, a panorama of Catholic missionary activity all over the world in the fields of pastoral care, healthcare, education and assistance.
To help us understand these figures, in England and Wales we have 33 bishops in 22 dioceses and 2,659 parishes, with approximately 847 Catholics per priest.
Africa has a total of 657 bishops, 34,658 priests and 465 dioceses. There are 248 mission stations with a resident priest and 70,805 without a resident priest and, on average, a population of 4,759 Catholics per priest. Africa has 16,654 seminarians training for the diocesan priesthood, along with 8,075 who belong to Religious Orders and Congregations.
Asia has 732 bishops, 409 dioceses, 578 mission stations with one or more priests and 40,566 mission stations without a priest living on the premises. In spite of 52,802 priests and 14,966 diocesan major seminarians and 16,331 Religious seminarians, a single priest has, on average 2,290 parishioners.
The Fides statistics do not distinguish between the Americas or extract the Pacific Islands from the rest of Oceania. South and Latin America and the Islands would reflect a similar trend.
Supported by the SPA and Mission Together
The SPA and Mission Together are two branches of Missio and both have a specific focus for their support: last year Catholics in England and Wales gave £382,576 to the Society of St Peter the Apostle, supporting seminaries, seminarians and novitiates in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, India and Thailand.
Catholic primary school children contributed £56,947 to children’s projects in Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Indonesia, through Mission Together.
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