May 2007 - Sister Pat Godri
Sister Pat Godri, SC, sees her role at St. Anne parish in Carthage, Mississippi, role as a "very real way to live the Gospel."
She runs a food pantry stocked by the St. Francis parish in Madison, Mississippi. It's open every day, whenever the need arises - unlike another area food pantry that is open only one day a week. "Hunger does not take a holiday," Sister Godri said. "We tell people what we have, and then go back and get those things for them."
("For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink…)
A grant from Catholic Extension allowed the parish to obtain this property in a wooded, tucked-away rural area, where numbing poverty is a fact of life among the struggling residents.
The church opened a day care center in the wake of a tragic accident a while back in which a child choked to death while his mother was working at a chicken processing plant.
Determined, Sister Godri said, "We cannot let this happen again."
Children are truly multi-cultural, from Argentina, Guatemala, Vietnam, America (Native American Choctaw, African American, and Caucasion), and Mexico. The school can only accept 20 children now. On the hallway of the day care center, Sister Pat has painted an underwater scene that stretches on for more than 12 feet. Plastic fish are pressed into the underwater scene, some of them in realistic "schooling" formation.
"I remind the children that God is as close to us as water is to the fish," Sister Godri said.
Sister also runs a thrift store at St. Anne's, with big trucks full of donated clothing arriving every month from generous folks in the Diocese of Paterson. Kid's clothing is 10-cents each. All adult clothing items are 25-cents each. The thrift store is open on weekends and, as is Sister Godri's inclination, "Any time to meet emergency needs."
(For I was . . . a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me…")
St. Anne parish is dependent on outside financial help for its very existence. The Mission Fund of the Diocese of Jackson contributes $868.00 monthly to the parish. But it is far from enough. Sunday collections average $1,600 monthly. Church expenses amount to over $4,000 a month. The balance of the income is sent to use by out-of-parish donors.
In 1994, major renovation and repair work were desperately needed on the church building, old convent and rectory. The parish received a grant from the diocesan mission fund, and they had to use the rest of their savings to get the work done. Operational funds are needed to keep this mission going. St. Anne's is still not self-supporting today, and those who are joining the parish are among the poorest of the local poor.
Thankfully, they have just been paired with a new Parish Partner, St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, very recently, but more help is needed.
Sister Pat and many other dedicated missionaries work hard to bring comfort, education, and living necessities to America's poor and struggling Catholics. Will you consider helping them with a gift today? Please donate now securely. Thank you.