CARF Foundation: 35 years collaborating with 1,256 dioceses and 300 religious orders CARF Foundation's Social Action Board, all for priestsThe CARF Foundation, which helps seminarians, priests, and religious from 130 countries, organizes pilgrimages to Rome, Pamplona, and the Holy Land. But on this occasion, it wanted to prepare something more special: spending Christmas learning about the reality of priests and seminarians who live their vocation in some of the most vulnerable countries in the world: Nigeria (with Father Emmanuel), Angola (with seminarian Gonçalves), Venezuela (with Father Humberto), and China (with seminarian Xudong).
A trip to Nigeria
If we travel to Ikot Ekpene (Nigeria), we will meet Father Emmanuel Enwenwen. Thanks to the financial aid provided by the benefactors of the CARF Foundation, he is currently studying Institutional Communication in Rome.
Emmanuel highlights the contrast between the severe religious persecution suffered by the Catholic Church and the growth of vocations in his country. “A few years ago, we were beneficiaries of missionaries who came to evangelize us. Today, many Nigerians have become missionaries in different parts of the world,” he says.
The Church in Nigeria faces numerous challenges in fulfilling its spiritual and social mission. The main one is insecurity. Insurgent groups, bandits, and kidnappers attack clergy, laypeople, and even places of worship. They use violence to disrupt pastoral activities and sow fear. “In some parts of the country, the Church has become an easy path to martyrdom,” Emmanuel laments.
Despite this context, Emmanuel emphasizes that there is hope: “Thanks to a young and dynamic population, the Church has the capacity to reshape the moral landscape of the nation. Furthermore, with so many young people in seminaries and convents, there is great hope for continuity in the future.”.
The CARF Foundation, which supports the training of seminarians, priests, and religious from 130 countries, encourages us not to forget the most vulnerable during this Christmas season. Its invitation is clear: think of them, pray for them, and contribute to their needs so that, “after receiving a good education, they can celebrate Christmas this year and in the years to come, together with their people, to whom they will explain that God became man to bring light, warmth, and hope to homes around the world.”.
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