Subcommittee on the Church in Africa Awards over $1 Million in Grants

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Subcommittee on the Church in Africa approved 49 grants for a total of $1.17 million to support pastoral projects for the Church in Africa.

The Burundi Conference of Catholic Bishops received funding to provide mentoring and materials to ministry leaders about living the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The document Misericordiae Vultus will be translated and disseminated widely throughout the country. Meetings, reflection sessions and a retreat will be organized to study the document and inculcate its ideas in the Holy Year of Mercy.

The Kenyan Episcopal Conference received funding to provide a one year training for 60 new catechists and in-service training for 40 existing catechists. These catechists will assist educators in teaching the faith in Church and government schools. They will also work with youth to help form their faith.

"The generosity of Catholics across the United States has made a difference in the lives of so many Africans across the continent," said Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R of Indianapolis, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa. "The funding granted by the Subcommittee has increased the pastoral outreach and capacity of many dioceses as they work to provide for the spiritual needs of the rapidly growing Catholic population."

The grant proposals were evaluated and approved at the Subcommittee's meeting on June 12 in Huntington Beach, California.

Grants are funded by donations to the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa. The Subcommittee on the Church in Africa oversees the Solidarity Fund as part of the USCCB Committee on National Collections. The Subcommittee allocates the revenue received as pastoral grants to African episcopal conferences and their regional associations in Africa.

More information on the work of the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa can be found online at: https://www.usccb.org/africa  
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Keywords: Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin, Subcommittee on the Church in Africa, national collection, Burundi Conference of Catholic Bishops, Year of Mercy, grants, Kenyan Episcopal Conference, catechesis
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