Diocesan Seminarian Education Fund Campaign

28^th July 2020

Dear friend in Christ

Peace be with you.

When the Son of God entered into His public ministry, He called to Himself the Twelve Apostles, upon whom He entrusted His own power and authority to cast out demons, cure diseases and to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal (cf Lk 9:1-2).Yet our Lord and His Apostles were not without support in their ministry.Certain women, some who were acknowledged by name, and many other people who were acknowledged anonymously, provided for them out of their means (cf Lk 8:1-3).To this day, our Lord continues to call certain men to Himself for the sake of priestly ministry, and the need for provision crucially remains, especially during the times of a man’s formal academic formation within the seminary system.

Since the ordination of the first diocesan priest, the Archdiocese of Suva with the help of the Catholic Womens’ League have supported the cost of our seminarian’s education.I am most grateful to Monsignor Brian Rayner of Saint Catherine Laboure Parish in Sydney who has been sending containers of second-hand materials to sell and the proceeds to help pay the seminarians tuition.

The education cost of each seminarian (tuition and board only) per year is $13,050.We have 11 seminarians at the Pacific Regional Seminary and 3 aspirants in the Come and See Program.

This year the total cost of the seminarian’s education is approximately$135,600 and is 10% of our 2020 budget.

Beginning this year, as your bishop, I invite you to be part of the journey of our future diocesan priests’ education.The memory Saint Jean Vianney, the patron of parish priests falls on 4^th August.During August the Archdiocese of Suva will carry out the Diocesan Seminarian Appeal and I ask all parishes to take up a special collection on Sunday 23^rd August.

You can also make a personal gift through the following:

1. Make a deposit into our Westpac RCA Office account 9461500 with the narration of “Diocesan Seminarian Appeal”, or
2. Send your gift to Nicolas House, P O Box 109, Suva.

I know we are facing hard economic times during the COVID-19 pandemic and your gift will be an act of love and kindness for God’s mission.

Sincerely in Christ

……………….…………….…………..

Most Rev Peter Loy Chong