Another way to help the diocese is to have Masses offered for loved ones through the Vijayapuram Diocese. This is the main way that this diocese supports their Priests and lay catechists because they receive very little in the Sunday collection which is the main way we support our Priests.

Plus, our churches here usually have more than enough Mass intentions for each day, where in foreign missions, they do not. A Mass is the best gift we can give anyone and can be offered for any occasion (birthday, sickness, anniversary, Christmas) and especially important for a deceased person.

The stipend for a single Mass is $5.00. A set of Gregorian Masses are 30 in a row for one deceased person. The tradition of Gregorian Masses goes back to St. Pope Gregory the Great when a deceased monk told him he went to heaven after the 30th Mass offered for him. The Mass stipend for a set of Gregorian Masses is $130.00. This is a donation so more can also be given.

You can send for Masses in two ways.

1) You can send directly to Bishop Sebastian

If you do it this way, make the check out to "Diocese of Vijayapuram" with your intentions
and send to:

Bishop Sebastian Thekethecheril
Diocese of Vijayapuram
PB 82 Kottayam 686 001
Kerala, India

or

2) Send to Kathy Rennie and she will send it the next time she sends money to India.

Either way, make the check out to "Diocese of Vijayapuram" or to "WE SHARE" with your intentions. However, only if you make the check out to WE SHARE can you take a legal tax deduction.

Kathy Rennie
11125 Johnson Ave. So.
Bloomington, MN 55437