Donations of cattle and crops help parish build new church

(June 15,2010) Donations of crops and cattle during the popular feast of Saint Anthony of Padua, are helping a church in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab, construct a new building, says its parish priest. Antoniabad villagers, offer food and cattle to St Anthony’s Church during the feast, which can generate an income of up to 500,000 rupees, says Father James Archangelus. “The donations continue pouring in during the harvest season for at least two months, he says, and we gather up to 20,000 kilograms of wheat every year.”Stating that such donations are helping the church construct a new building, the priest says “It is better than begging for money from abroad.”
This year, as the church bells pealed on June 12 to mark the feast, villagers started arriving in vehicles and carts laden with rice, grains and vegetables. Others herded buffaloes, goats and sheep into the church compound. Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad and Father Archangelus blessed each offering as the people poured into the church for Mass.
Antoniabad village, named after Saint Anthony, has about 450 farming Catholic families. Capuchin missionaries founded the village in 1913, and the parish plans to hold centenary celebrations in 2012 when the new church building is expected to be completed.