A group of big-hearted Confirmation students in Portarlington have embraced the Christian spirit of the Sacrament of Confirmation by donating a portion of the gifts they received to other children in need in troubled parts of the world.
Following their Confirmation, the Sixth Class pupils of Scoil Phádraig were so impressed by the generous financial gifts of their friends, relations and neighbours that they decided that they wanted to give something back.
They approached school secretary Ailish Ridgeway, who also helps prepare the boys for the Sacrament and with faith formation, and Ms Ridgeway suggested they could donate to Aid to the Church in Need, a charity very close to her heart that works with vulnerable and suffering Christians in 140 countries.
Between them, the boys raised €500 for the vital work of Aid to the Church in Need, which is supporting vulnerable communities in war-torn places like Gaza and Ukraine.
“Faith is such a gift, and even though it is a human right to practise, this is not something that can be said in every part of the world,” Ms Ridgeway said of her suggestion to the pupils that they choose Aid to the Church in Need for their generous donation.
“It is not something that we can take for granted. Aid to the Church in Need works with those suffering and marginalised Christians.
“In Ireland, we are going to see fewer priests, we are going to see fewer Masses said and I think it is going to become more difficult to practise the faith in Ireland.
“Within a generation, we may find ourselves in need of aid as a persecuted Church. I hope that never happens, but I think it is important not to prepare for that.”
Director of Public Affairs with Aid to the Church in Need, Ireland Michael Kelly said the charity was “bowled over by the generosity of the boys”.
“Sometimes we hear people complain that the Sacraments today are all about the party, or all about how much money the children get,” he said.
“Here we have a group of boys filled with the Holy Spirit after receiving Confirmation whose first thought was to be generous. And that is a wonderful thing to see.
“The boys are a huge credit to their parish, their parents, their teachers and the entire school community.
“I really want to thank the teachers, staff and pupils of St Patrick’s boys’ national school for their generosity, and especially to Ailish Ridgeway who inspired the boys to think of suffering Christians for their generous donation.”
The charity, Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN International) – which was founded in the aftermath of the devastation of World War II – now supports some 5,700 communities in close to 140 countries reaching some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people in the world.
Last year, thanks to the generosity of benefactors, ACN International funded activities to the tune of more than €148 million.
The most recent annual report of ACN International showed that the charity spent more than a quarter of the funds raised by its 23 National Offices on the construction and renovation of churches and church buildings for vulnerable communities.
In addition, ACN used more than €15 million responding to acute crises with emergency measures in areas where Christians are threatened by violence and displacement.
A further €15.7 million was used for proclamation of the faith, information work and advocacy for disadvantaged and persecuted Christians worldwide.
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