NYC HOLY WEEK MISSION
click here for pictures, videos and stories from the 2012 mission!
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SUMMER MISSION- MANHATTAn

Registration information coming in 2012

When: July 20-23, 2011
Who: high school girls



















From July 14-17, 2011 a group called Mission Youth visited Holy Innocents Parish.  20 teenage and college age young women from various parts of the country and abroad were excited to be in New York City, but for a different reason to most young people.  We were not there to shop or see the sights, but to discover Christ’s love for us in a deeper way and to share that with everyone we met. On our first night we watched a very moving documentary entitled “ The Human Experience” in which 2 young men set out around the world to discover what makes each person’s life worth living, even if it is steeped in suffering.  This was a powerful way to begin our mission weekend.


On Friday, July 15, we worked with the Little Sisters of the Poor at their residence in the Bronx for the elderly.  We helped to organize a beach party, complete with a sisters vs. missionaries volleyball game!  We visited with the residents, attended Mass with them and made many new friends.  On Saturday, July 16, our mission was to help guide activities for children at the Children’s Aid Society in Central Park.  We played games with the kids, many of whom have broken homes and need love and attention. We were happy to give all that we had!

On Friday and Saturday some missionaries went to Times Square and also stood outside Holy Innocents as street evangelizers, handing out flyers from the parish with Mass times to all those who were interested.  On Saturday night we also went out to nearby street corners and played live Christian music with a guitar, a drum and many eager vocalists. Overall, the response from passersby was positive, even though some of the missionaries were ignored, laughed at or challenged about their Faith.

Later on Saturday night, we set out on a Midnight Run to give out clothing and food (300 sandwiches and drinks) to the homeless in the city.  We stopped at 5 different blocks between 12:00 am and 3:00 am.  We spent time talking to each person we met, trying to show each of them the dignity and care they deserve.  What an experience for each of the missionaries to realize that the homeless are people too, many of whom have a strong faith in God and live their lives with so much joy amid deep poverty.  At our last stop we ran out of food and clothing to hand out, and many of the missionaries cried because they wanted so desperately to help the people they met.  Our poverty met the poverty of the homeless in that final stop at 3:00 am.  A young woman from El Salvador who spent her summer being a missionary in New York said:  The midnight run was a shock to all the girls:  seeing so many people on the streets living out of boxes wasn’t normal! We gave everything possible to help the homeless get what they needed.

Sleeping on the basement floor of the parish hall and sharing one bathroom among 20 of us was a little sacrifice which we gladly offered for all the suffering souls that we met on our missions.

Another young missionary from Mexico who spent her summer serving in New York said: When I came to New York, my mission was to fill my heart with Christ so others could see him in me.  While on this mission, God gave me the grace to see this happen.  I saw the need and the pain.  Many people during this mission touched my heart and made me realize the beauty of self-giving. In four days Christ transformed my heart, and made me fall more in love with Him and all people.

We hope to do this mission again!  It was an experience we will never forget. 

Siobhan O'Connor
Consecrated member in Regnum Christi

We cannot encounter Christ and not want to make him known to others.
So do not keep ChrIst to yourselves! Share with others the joy of your faith.
POPE BENEDICT XVI