Aid to the Church in Need: Columbia: A herd of cattle to support the seminary in Giradot

Columbia: A herd of cattle to support the seminary in Giradot

Posted by Project of the Week on 2/11/2009, 7:10 am
Message modified by board administrator 2/11/2009, 2:04 pm

COLUMBIA

Helping the seminary of Girardot to help itself

For the present, the seminary in Girardot, a town some 82 miles (132 km) southwest of the capital Bogota, on the Rio Magndalena, is still in need of outside help. In this it is no different from hundreds of other seminaries around the world, in that without outside support it would simply not be possible for it to train, house and support the young men within it who are preparing one day to serve as priests at the Altar of the Lord. But sometimes Providence shows us new ways, and there is now a chance that cattle could provide this seminary with the means of supporting itself in the future.

It all came about in this way – a Catholic cattle ranching family offered the seminary 500 head of cattle at a very modest price. Thanks to this offer, the seminary would be able to produce milk and rear cattle for beef, some of which could then be sold on. In the long term this could well be a profitable source of income that in some years at least could render the seminary largely financially independent.

At the same time the seminarians would, in addition to their academic learning and spiritual formation, acquire valuable practical experience of cattle rearing and dairy farming which they could possibly one day pass on to their parishioners in rural areas. For in many impoverished parts of the world it is not enough for the parish priest simply to be a good priest; instead he often needs to be able to help people in practical matters too.

However, the seminary first of all needs help in order to be able to purchase the cows. As this project is close to the heart Bishop Héctor Julio Lopez Hurtado of Girardot is counting on the support of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). He writes, "May God grant that you are able to support this project, which is a great hope for the future".

ACN has promised the bishop a grant of $16,000 so that the seminary can purchase this herd. The charity believes that it is a wonderful and creative example of the way in which a seminary can strive to support itself. It will then need less help in future and so other, more needy seminaries can be helped which do not have the same opportunity to support themselves.

To help this cause please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

Some of the seminarians in the Girardot seminary
(Code: 214-02-79)

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org