Dear Friend:

The words ???Adunu Maleng Pa Yesu??? mean ???Sacred Heart of Jesus??? in the native language of our people???the Acholi. We are one of the many tribes in Uganda. We live in the northern part of the country bordering the southern Sudan.

Long before the missionaries brought Christianity to our country in the early 1900???s, the Acholi people had their own traditional religion based on a creator spirit. Petitions were made to a creator spirit named ???Jok???. Therefore, it was not difficult for our people to accept Christianity upon the arrival of the missionaries in Acholiland. Since then Christianity has developed deep roots in the Acholi people and the mission of Christ continues to spread. Vocations to the priesthood in Uganda are plentiful. Every year we are able to accommodate up to 160 minor seminarians from our Archdiocese to prepare them for the priesthood. Thank God for the gift of these priestly vocations.

Our world today is in urgent need of dedicated spiritual leaders for the conversion of the world back to God. The whole church is charged with the responsibility of forming future priests through prayer and sacrifice. Since the average family in our area lives on only about $100 per year per family, it does not leave much to support the basic needs of our seminarians. There is a great need for financial support to overcome this poverty. You can become a co-worker with Christ in building a living church by your prayers and your generosity.

An additional problem we have is that so many refugees and orphans now depend on the Catholic Church for their daily sustenance. They come by the thousands every day for help. The war that has forced over 1.5 million people into refugee camps has been going on since 1986.

Please consider joining our monthly sponsorship program and our refugee assistance program. Your regular gift will enable us to educate a young man to the priesthood who might otherwise be unable to realize his priestly vocation. Your gift to the refugees and orphans will save our starving homeless people.

We shall pray for your continued blessings.

Yours in Christ and Mary,

Monsignor Matthew Odong
Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Gulu and Rector of Sacred Heart Seminary