St. Patrick Parish in Yorkville is many thousands of miles away from the Abana Mission in Kibeho, Rwanda. But, the distance between the two has been made much shorter due to a connection between St. Patrick Parish’s Rev. Matthew Lamoureux and Rev. Leszek Czelusniak who serves as director of Marian Evangelization in Kibeho, Rwanda.
The two priests belong to the same religious order, the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, a congregation of about 480 Catholic priests and brothers in 19 countries around the world.
Leszek is one of seven Marian priests serving in Rwanda. However, this past month he traveled to St. Patrick Parish for the second time to shed light on the mission and the Marian’s work in Rwanda.
Although Leszek was born in Poland, he has lived in Rwanda for the past 25 years with the exception of a period in 1994 when he fled the country during a time of war.
Through a special collection at Sunday Mass, members of St. Patrick Parish donated $7,000 to help Leszek continue his work.
The money raised will be used to help build a water system, bathrooms, a sports area, teacher dormitories, and a medical center in Kibeho.
It also will provide two meals per day to children including about 150 blind children.
But, the Yorkville parish of about 1,700 families isn’t stopping there. Now it is joining forces with a Minnesota church to send a group of 10 parishioners on a mission trip to Rwanda next spring as part of Pope Francis’ upcoming Year of Mercy beginning in December.
“Our mission as a parish is to love God and one another, so this is a great opportunity to focus on not only those in our midst, but those beyond our borders,” Lamoureux said.
“This mission trip is a great opportunity for us to go somewhere and not just help others,” he said.
He said his parish is active in the Yorkville community through ministering to the sick and supporting St. Vincent DePaul and the Knights of Columbus, but the mission trip will allow the parish to reach those in need around the world.
The two-week mission trip also will be a learning experience for those traveling to Rwanda, he added.
“We are learning about their culture and situation, while also growing our faith,” he said.
Lisa McGill, a member of St. Patrick Parish in Yorkville, hopes to be part of the mission trip to Rwanda next spring.
As a third-grade teacher, McGill is looking forward to meeting the students in Rwanda and teaching them about our culture.
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“When we go, it will be a medical and teaching mission,” McGill said. “We also will be helping with the food program.”
She said children from St. Patrick Parish and children from Kibeho will participate in a “prayer partner program.” Students will be matched up with a student of their own age, she added.
McGill said she hopes to share her experience with her students at St. Mary’s School in Plano about the culture and struggles that exist in Rwanda.
“Not everyone around the world is as fortunate as we are,” she added.
Cathy Janek is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News