International Catholic Charity Targets Institutions Dedicated to St. Joseph in Latest Aid

In Malawi’s Diocese of Mzuzu, the Pontifical charity has embarked on a project aimed to save the roof of the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Worker, which is located in a region riddled with earthquakes and other natural disasters.

The Vicar General and Cathedral Administrator, Msgr. Denis Chitete, told ACN, “In January 2018 we started noticing some wet marks on the ceiling of the Cathedral… After inspection of the roof, we found out that some parts of the roof were open, and that the rainwater was dripping through these openings onto the ceiling.”

ACN leadership notes that temporary measures designed to halt the damage’s progress proved ineffective after the intense heat from the sun caused the band tape sealing the gaps to shrivel.

While ACN leadership is facilitating the procurement of the material needed to renovate the roof, parishioners are expected to contribute the needed labor.

“Parishioners are going to be involved in all the work that can be done by unskilled labours – by pitching in, they’re following the example of St Joseph the Worker,” Neville Kyrke-Smith says.

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Mr. Kyrke-Smith, the national Director of ACN (UK), which is supporting the initiatives says, “These projects will transform the lives of the local Catholic communities struggling to live out their Faith.”

The ACN official adds, “St Joseph was a carpenter, but the Greek word we translate as carpenter – tecton – probably means he was a woodworker constructing roofs and other vast structures… So the building projects ACN is backing, such as the new roof for Malawi’s Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Worker in Karonga, are very appropriate.”

Other institutions dedicated to St. Joseph, which the Catholic charity is supporting include the Jesuit-run St. Joseph’s Church in Beirut, St. Joseph in Lavelleja Catholic Church in Uruguay, South America and Convents under the patronage of St. Joseph in Russia and in Ukraine.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.