IHMS Propaedeutic Summer of Service: Poverty Immersion

By Nicole Weninger, Marketing & Communications Associate of Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary & Catholic Foundation of Southern MN

Throughout the month of May, the Immaculate Heart of Mary propaedeutic seminarians dispersed in six groups of two to cities across the United States to participate in a poverty immersion. For three weeks, these men worked with the missionary group Christ in the City to serve and pray for the homeless of their assigned city. Two of our seminarians, Roy Graf and Joseph Bartosh, share their experience in Tampa, FL:

 

“On May 18th, we arrived in Tampa, Florida, for the Summer of Service program with the Christ in the City missionaries. This is a three-week mission focused on building relationships with the poor in the city of Tampa. Our team broke into three smaller ‘street teams’ that go to different parts of the city to interact with the poor each day. Our mission is to befriend these people as they go through troubling times and try to bring a little joy to their lives. On Wednesday evenings, we got to visit the poor at the parish hall and serve them dinner. We also made ‘blessing bags’ which contained simple snacks and water, so we may hand them out to the poverty-stricken individuals we came across.

In just a few short weeks, we have been blessed to experience and serve God through the poor and are beyond grateful for this opportunity.” ~Roy Graf

Fueling their Fire

Did you know the journey to priesthood is about 8 years long, taking about $427,000 in total investment?

Thanks to generous donations to the Seminarian Education Fund, dedicated men like Roy and Joseph can continue to serve and pursue their higher education towards priesthood. You can support this important cause by giving during your upcoming parish collection or online through the Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota at bit.ly/SemEd.