St. Jerome Catholic Church

Description

My name is Steve Taylor, I’m providing an overview of this year’s Lenten offering that begins this week and continues through 9 April. This year we have the opportunity, to once again, support Sister Mary and her Little Angels Orphanage in Hyderabad, India.
 
St. Jerome previously supported this orphanage in 2018, the Knights of Columbus in 2022 and the Jayne and I over the past 10 years, to include three visits; most recently, last month. I was asked to participate in the ribbon cutting of the expansion of the orphanage, which was necessary to comply with new national and state COVID requirements.
 
The ribbon cutting and a Mass signified the end of construction but the children will not come until June to coincide with the school year. Prior to this, there is much to do and significant financial need to be truly ready to support the increased number of children; going from 10 to approximately 22 children. The children will consist of true orphans and semi-orphans, which is defined as having one parent but insufficient resources to fully support their child, especially their education.
 
To accommodate the new Covid type requirements, three additional floors were added and Sister had to prayerfully take out a personal loan and get assistance from just a couple of donors to make that happen. The high interest loan is still outstanding and there are insufficient funds for this and to cover this year’s operating expenses for food, medical costs, new beds, utilities and tuition for St. Peter’s Catholic school. There is great need, with great reward; Jayne and I have seen first-hand these needy children flourish in this loving, close knit and family supported environment.
 
I’ll be in back today, this weekend and hopefully in the coming weeks to answer any questions you have or to provide additional insight into what makes Little Angels special. Thank you for your attention and generous contributions. You can contact me at 757-869-2952