For 28 years, during the Christmas period, hundreds of thousands of children and animators from the Mission Centers of the Pontifical Missionary Work of Children all over Poland have been participating in the Missionary Carolers.
Carrying the joy of the Gospel, carolers become missionaries. They remind visited families of the birth of Jesus Christ and sensitize others to the needs of children around the world. They take their time and donate talents to prepare costumes, decorations, a star, and to sing Christmas carols in their environments. Regardless of the weather and fatigue, they make an effort to sing Christmas carols in schools, parishes, nursing homes, hospitals and many other places.
Thanks to this action, children form themselves and their families spiritually and intellectually. Carol singers prepare for a long time before they set off with a scene and a message. They pray for missions and missionaries, learn about geography, other cultures, foreign languages, customs of the peoples of the world, and the situation of children in the world. They also learn to notice other people, open up to helping those in need, and broaden their horizons.
On December 26 or at any other time convenient for the parish and carolers, the missionary carollers are officially dispatched to the parish church. A missionary never goes alone, he is always sent by the Church. On the strength of this message, carolers go to parishioners to bring the joy of Christmas and talk about the needs of children in different parts of the world.
Father Maciej Będzinski invites everyone to join the Missionary Carolers 2021 campaign for children in Central Asia: “Dear missionary carollers, we need you and we count on you. The Pontifical Missionaries need you, the Holy Father needs you ”.
Missionary carolers bring a blessing to the visited families, the external sign of which is the family caroling souvenir that can be hung on the Christmas tree. It always refers to a specific project carried out in a given year. On the occasion of caroling, donations are collected to help children in various parts of the world.
The projects concern various areas of life. We divide them into: ordinary help, education, health care, orphanages and boarding houses, and diocesan and parish pastoral care. There are a lot of needs in these general slogans.
Last year, despite the difficult time of the pandemic, carolers managed to reach the faithful in many different ways (most often online), and the fruit of their efforts were collected victims. Together with other victims of children from PDMD, PLN 1,574,509.20 was collected in Poland. These funds, through the Congregation for the Evangelization of Nations, reached 9 countries (Burundi, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kazakhstan, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan) and helped in the implementation of 54 different pro-education and health projects for children up to 14 years of age.
This year's Missionary Carolers project aims to introduce countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to children and adults. In these former republics of the Soviet Union, children with disabilities are in a particularly difficult situation. They cannot attend state schools, and there are no other schools for them. The youngest are usually locked in their homes.
The big problem is also the lack of any activities for children and teenagers after school or during the summer holidays. And most of the time they spend their time in the streets, which doesn't lead to anything good.
Many families are in a very difficult economic situation. Lack of parents' job and livelihood means that children are left to themselves, brought up as orphans and social half-orphans.
Missionaries set up day-rooms, organize camps and summer camps, and try to provide education and fun for disabled children.
Together with the Holy Father, we awaken to mission!
