Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
March 2024
Greetings to you as we approach the emotions of Holy Week and the bright hope of Easter!
With the approach of Holy Thursday, we also dive deep into the importance of the ministerial priesthood and the role of priests in our world.
While the total number of priests worldwide is in decline, vocations are on the rise in many areas, in particular, young Churches around the world. God’s call for priests, deacons, women, and men missionaries and lay Catholic leaders is being heard – and answered with great enthusiasm. The Society of St. Peter the Apostle (SPA) ensures that these precious vocations are met with the critical resources they need to flourish into lives of priestly ministry and missionary work to benefit local communities and, indeed, the universal Church and the entire world.
In the Archdiocese of Quito in Ecuador, for example, seminarians of the Santa María la Mayor Seminary prepare themselves for a life of service in the Indigenous and peasant communities of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Beyond the standard formation for priestly life, these young men are preparing to be the hands and feet of Christ in remote mission territory.
Your support and donation to the Society of St. Peter the Apostle helps seminarians in young Churches like the Amazon complete their formation. But that is not all. SPA is also one of the four mission societies of the Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS). So, when you support SPA, you are also helping us to stir up zeal for the faith here at home where TPMS is working to enliven the missionary spirit in our Canadian Church.
Whether we are in a parish in Canada or in a mission in the Amazon, we all depend on good priests to strengthen and sustain us as we shine the light of Christ to the world. Help our Church thrive and grow by investing in our most precious resource.
At this special time of the year, please help us maintain and expand this momentum with the gift of your prayers and, if possible, a donation to the Society of St. Peter the Apostle today.
With sincere thanks and prayer,
