Margaret Thatcher once said that Christmas is a time for meaning and tradition and for the youth of St Felix de Valois, Bankstown this could not be any truer.
For the past five years, members of the St Felix Youth and Young Adults group have joined Sydney-based Charity, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Association (QMHR) on mission to some of the world’s poorest communities over the Christmas season.
“Since 2013, some of our youth have gone annually on mission to Jamaica and the Philippines to help the Missionaries of the Poor look after those in need,” said Alison De Sousa, one of St Felix youth’s leaders.
“From their experiences came a desire to continue the mission with the youth in Australia by ensuring that during Christmas those abandoned and dependent know that they are loved and remembered.”
Last Sunday on the Feast of St Felix, youth members gathered at the Bankstown parish and joyfully got to work making the 1,300 Christmas cards they wish to send to Mozambique within the next two weeks.
Somascan Religious Deacon Chris De Sousa CRS, who has come to Sydney for a number of missions, is currently serving at a parish in Maputo, Mozambique.
The Parochial school, which is adjacent to their parish, has about 1,300 students and faces the daily struggle of educating the impoverished children with a lack of teachers and basic equipment.
“Though we’re unable to solve the problems that these communities in Jamaica, the Philippines and Mozambique endure, we can at least bring them some joy, even for a moment, and remind them that they are not forgotten,” Alison said.
The initiative by the St Felix’s Youth was started in collaboration with Somascan Movement Australia, a registered Association made up of both religious and laity.
If you wish to help St Felix Youth with their mission, why not make some cards with the family and send the children of Mozambique a special Christmas Message?
You can drop off or send in your homemade cards to St Felix de Valois Parish on Chapel Road in Bankstown NSW over the next two weeks.