MCP 2021: Diocese of Kumbakonam
On this page you'll find information about Group 74: Diocese of Kumbakonam
Mission Appeal Text
Mission Appeal Images
Below are some images from the mission group.
(If you are a parish representative and would like the images emailed to you, please contact wmo@archmil.org)
To download the image files (.jpg format), please do the following:
On a PC
- Hover your mouse over the name link under Image Description (orange text to the left of the thumbnail)
- Right click on your mouse and choose, "Save Link Target As" or "Save Link As"
- Your file directory will open up
- Choose where you wish to save the file
On a Mac
- To open a new tab of the image, simply click on the name link (orange text to the left of the thumbnail) -or-
- To open a new window of the image, hold down the Shift key as you click on the file name link
- Then, in the new tab or window, under the File menu, choose "Save Page As" to save the file to your computer.
Donation Link
We now offer a secure, online system to process your MCP donation. Please click here to donate by credit card to the MCP appeal for Group 74: Diocese of Kumbakonam
If you prefer to donate at Mass or through your parish, please make your check payable to your parish and mark the memo MCP Group 74. Please contact your parish office directly to inquire how to turn in your check.
Mission Appeal Text
Diocese of Kumbakonam
Our 2021 Missionary Cooperation Plan Appeal
Message from Rev. M. S.Selva Raj:
I humbly request you to publish this for a short message on Mission Appeal in your parish bulletin. The universal human tragedy, loss of life and financial resources, pain and deprivation of all sorts, caused by Covid-19 pandemic is beyond my description. Therefore, the mission Diocese of Kumbakonam needs your prayerful and financial help all the more.
With deep and prayerful gratitude,
Rev. M. S.Selva Raj
The Propagation of the Faith office of our archdiocese has invited the Diocese of Kumbakonam, India to participate in the Mission Cooperative Appeal in our parish this year. Here is an overview of the missionary assets, activities, challenges and the needs of the Diocese of Kumbakonam.
This Diocese, started in 1899 in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, has an area of 7,824 sq.km and a Catholic population of 213,000 (6% of the population), living in 94 parishes and 618 missions, served by 218 diocesan and 68 religious priests, 620 nuns,12 trained catechists and 330 untrained lay catechists and two social service centres.
These are the most pressing missionary needs:
- Establishing 10 more new parishes, each with a new church and rectory. The large missions need to be made independent parishes with the resident priest for better pastoral ministry, but the people are unable to give financial support, for such pressing pastoral projects.
- Providing the 136 Catholic schools and 36 Orphanages in the missions with better facilities, building, infrastructure, educational and technical tools, children’s Bibles, a projector, catechetical materials in the form of videos, pictures, text-books and workbooks to improve the quality of religious and faith formation of Catholic and non-Catholic students in mission-schools. Schools are our main means of ushering in progress at all levels. Education is a main means of evangelization and boosting the future prospects of the youth.
- Enabling 480 nuns and 2955 Catholic Teachers in charge of catechetical, educational, medical and social ministers throughout this rural diocese, to educate the children and adults in the Catholic faith and to help the people, particularly the poor and the marginalized for their integral development, through annual seminars on Scripture and Catechetics.
- Projecting the healing touch and loving care of the Divine Healer through our diocesan hospitals for lepers, homes and schools for hearing impaired children, children of HIV patients and the many rural medical clinics.
- Education of more young men in the seminary since the diocese abounds in vocation to priesthood and religious life so that some could be sent as missionaries to missions abroad where there is a shortage of priests. Note: Every year an average of 120 young men and women go out of this diocese to other missions and religious orders in India and abroad as missionaries.
- Educating 4800 very poor or orphan children, from families of single mothers and widows, and of addictive and abusive fathers by providing them with free board & lodging, in order to eradicate child labor. Such children are forced to tend cattle, work in hazardous conditions in factories, hotels or farms in order to eke out a living for the family.
All the above mission projects are 80% dependent on MCP funds, Due to acute poverty of 65% of the Catholics the diocese depends mostly on funds from annual mission appeal for the pastoral, educational. medical, and socio-economic emancipation of the marginalized and poor converts.
Your Christ-like intervention and sacrifice of:
- $20 will feed a poor child or an orphan for a month.($200 annually).
- $50 will enable a single mother or widow to feed her family of 3 for a month.
- $100 will go for monthly pay for a catechist.
- $250 provides 4 goats to maintain a family of four.
- $500 will educate a physically challenged child (annually).
- $600 will pay the bill for healthcare and family maintenance of a leprosy patient for a year.
- $700 will fix the roof of a poor man’s hut .
- $800 will provide a cow to feed an entire family of 5 or more.
- $900 will provide a grocery store, and employment to feed a family of 10 with elderly parents and grandparents.
- $1,000 will be used for treatment and rehabilitation of a leper.
- $2,000 to sponsor a seminarian for a year.
- $6,000 will provide a home for a family.
- $25,000 will build a mission chapel.
You may please offer a donation through your parish.
Thank you!
Appeal submitted by:
Rev. M. S. Selva Raj
Mission Director
Diocese of Kumbakonam, India.