A pastoral centre for the parish of Boqueirão
The parish of Boqueirão belongs to the Diocese of Campina Grande in the impoverished northeast part of Brazil. It is around 60 years old and is dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Desterro (Our Lady of the Flight)—a reference to the flight into Egypt by Our Lady and Saint Joseph with the Christ Child, to escape King Herod’s executioners. Within the town of Boqueirão itself and in all the surrounding area, there is a lively devotion to the mother of God under this title.
The parish itself covers 40 villages and outstations, most of them in the outlying rural areas. The long distances and the unmade roads are a major challenge for the pastoral outreach here. Father João Igor Pereira Alves de Sales has only overseen the parish since July 2023. He spent the first few months of his ministry travelling throughout the region, visiting every community to get a better idea of the situation and to listen to the cares and concerns of the local people.
The good news for Father João was that this is a lively and dynamic parish, with great potential for development. The downside was the discovery that the parish has very few resources, and above all a lack of space, not only for the many pastoral initiatives he was planning to introduce, but for ongoing ones as well. For example, there are at least 20 catechism groups, but in order for them to meet, he has to make do with improvised spaces or borrow rooms from local schools. And there are no suitable premises even for the regular soup kitchen, which provides meals for 50 of the poorest families each week. He has many other pastoral initiatives in mind—for children, youth, and adults, for couples and for families… He would like to introduce a prayer apostolate and also strengthen the charitable commitment to those most in need.
What he needs is a pastoral centre where these many events and activities can be held. His parishioners have already started fundraising, but because they are so poor, it is just not enough, despite all their enthusiasm. And so Father João has turned to us for help. We are hoping to be able to support him with $44,100 for the construction of this centre, which will undoubtedly lend new wings to his evangelization work. Will you help us?
