St. Mary and St. Joseph Inter-Parish Religious Formation (IPRF) Contributes 308 Service Hours in Honor of Pope Benedict XVI

Dozens of young people from the religious education program at Appleton, Wisconsin's St. Mary and St. Joseph parishes are preparing for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the U.S. by volunteering in the community in honor of his birthday on April 16. A total of 308 hours of service are pledged by 42 students from the parishes to be completed by May 31.

This service project is part of a national effort by Catholic schools, colleges, parish religious education programs and seminaries called, “Birthday Blessings for Pope Benedict XVI: A Gift of Public Service from U.S. Catholic Youth and Students.” To see the current tally, visit the “Birthday Blessings” website.

In late February, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), a national organization representing Catholic education at all levels, issued the invitation to Catholic young people to do voluntary acts of service in honor of the pontiff’s birthday. Pope Benedict will turn 81 on April 16, the second day of his six-day visit to the United States April 15-20.

The “Birthday Blessings” project allows each student to choose how to spend his or her time volunteering. Acts of service are broadly defined as anything that helps another person or improves the environment. Service is already a component of the faith formation program and many public schools. The service that the young people do will be enriched by prayer. Before engaging in the service, students are encouraged to pray a brief prayer, asking God to bless the pope. Some of the ways students at IPRF, who range in age from 5 to 17 are volunteering include: visiting a nursing home, participating in “Sack-it to Goodwill,” collecting books for a children’s hospital, making food for the warming shelter, helping at St. Vincent DePaul, collecting food for St. Joseph food program, collecting clothes for Community Clothes Closet, collecting items with a Girl Scout troop for an orphanage in Zambia, traveling with a group to our sister parish to deliver clothing, participating in a run/walk to honor cancer patients, helping the elderly with yard work, and various projects for Earth Day.

“Our parishes and the people in the Fox Cities give great examples of service,” said Andrew Russell, Director of Religious Education, “These young people have learned the importance of service and are realizing that it is a response to their faith. Our pastors and parishes are very proud of all our young people.”