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Redemptorist Foreign Mission Appeals

Nigeria

In 1987, the Denver Province established a Mission in Nigeria which was so fruitful that it soon became a vice-province. The missionary life of a Redemptorist in Nigeria is daily filled with contrasts – from established parishes in crowded, modern cities to travels via bus, motorcycle and foot to remote outstations where rural communities gather to worship. A Redemptorist missionary in Nigeria may find that his “parish” is an ever-growing circle of far-flung shacks where wealth in the spirit vastly outshines the simple facilities.

There are thirteen Redemptorist communities in Nigeria and parochial ministry is our first priority. We are working to develop mission preaching and have an organized team that preaches in areas where they have been invited. Devotion to Mary is also being promoted and we have acquired land from the Bishop of Enugu to develop a National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.

We have a dedicated retreat house and our formation houses are filled with students preparing for missionary work. In the area of initial formation we are collaborating with the Redemptorists of Ghana. As Redemptorists, we continue our commitment to the most abandoned, both economically and those suffering spiritual abandonment. Our parish in Abuja has an orphanage as well as working with orphans we engage in apostolic work with the destitute, and prisoners. We have a Redemptorist Youth and Vocations Ministry which is established in all our parishes and a group of lay people, known as Friends of the Redemptorists, support and assist us in our apostolic works.

Brazil

Brazil is a country of continental proportions and ranks as the fifth largest country in the world, approximately one hundred times the size of Ireland. Its population, at the last count, was 215 million, which puts it in the seventh place in population rankings. There are various climate zones, ranging from equatorial in the north through tropical in the much of the country and temperate in the extreme south. Portuguese is the language spoken throughout the country. The Redemptorists have been in the country since 1893 when Dutch arrived to be followed a year later by a group from Germany. Currently, the Redemptorists throughout Brazil are
undergoing restructuring. Over the decades, many young Redemptorist missionaries have accepted the challenge of ministering to villages up and down the mighty Amazon River. They have endured heat, humidity and insects. Many of our missionaries have contracted malaria, dengue or hepatitis. Some have died while others have returned to the USA sick or aged, but their ministry of bringing Christ’s plentiful redemption to the poor and most abandoned continues to this day. The Lord continues to call young Brazilian men to be trained as Redemptorist priests and brothers.

On December 8, 2023 the former Redemptorist Vice-Province of Manaus, unified with the Redemptorist Provinces of Campo Grande and Porto Alegre. This new unit, named the Province of Curitiba, remains committed to announcing abundant redemption in Christ, through explicit preaching, evangelical charity, pastoral goodness and missionary solidarity. They recognize the many challenges, from violence and corruption, to rapid secularization, and are responding to the needs of those excluded from society and forgotten by the Church. Our generous benefactors and the grace of God make all this possible.

The Denver Province Foreign Mission Appeals will continue to support two mission Dioceses in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Both dioceses are led by Redemptorist bishops, and are in need of continued support. The diocese of Coari is led by Polish born Bishop Marek Marian Piatek, C.Ss.R., and the Diocese of Borba is led by Brazilian Bishop Zenildo Luiz Pereira da Silva, C.Ss.R. Both Coari and Borba are located in the equatorial State of Amazonas.

A large portion of the population of Amazonas lives within the vast rainforest. The poor in the present-day rural zones are difficult to reach, and the main means of transportation to visit the people continues to be done by boat. In the Diocese of Coari alone, there are nearly 200 small jungle communities. Visits to these communities are limited by manpower and finances. Redemptorists are still working the muddy rivers of the Amazon as they have done since 1943. Our brother Redemptorists who are bishops are leading dioceses along these same waters.