supported by the Missionary Cooperation Plan (MCP) Appeal.
The Missionary Cooperation Plan (MCP) Appeal began in the 1930’s to centralize the efforts of international missionary organizations that wish to appeal for assistance from Catholics in the United States. In our Diocese, 38 missionary organizations are selected and approved by Bishop Ricken to visit our 157 parishes. These mission visits and the MCP Appeal are held May 15th through September 15th each year.
In recent years, the average amount raised has been approximately $375,000. After fees for this Collection have been addressed, the total is split evenly amongst the 38 missionary organizations. This ensures all the missionary organizations receive the same amount, regardless of the size of the parishes they visit.
This organization educates over 450 students and provides a loving home for 32 resident students.
The benefit of the MCP Appeal can be felt by both the missionaries and parishioners. There is the obvious benefit of prayers and financial support for missionaries, but parishioners can also benefit by hearing the missionaries’ stories.
Some missionaries provide cleft palate surgeries. Others help break the cycle of poverty by educating children. There are also missionaries caring for the neglected elderly and providing infrastructure for basic needs such as water and food. As these missionaries share their stories, they also share hope for a better future. Not every story has a happy ending, but you can change that. We need your help to pave the way for a brighter future.
We may not all be called to serve as foreign missionaries, but we can support mission work by using the gifts God has given us. As 1 Peter 4:10 states, “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
Missionaries serve as the hands and feet of Jesus, spreading the Gospel to all corners of the world. We too must answer that call to stewardship by sharing our prayers and gifts. Please prayerfully consider sharing a generous gift to the 2024 MCP Appeal to help these missionaries share God’s grace with our brothers and sisters throughout the world.
Thank you for supporting our Catholic missionaries through prayer and financial contributions. It is greatly needed and appreciated by our MCP missionaries to continue serving the most desperate communities. Without you, this essential work would not be possible. These missionaries can continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus for those most in need because of you. May God bless you abundantly.
