Each year, the Shalom Catholic Community has sought to respond to the Church’s call in the most diverse places on the planet. Four new mission houses will be founded in different countries.
Shalom in New York
New York, the most populous city in the United States (USA), will gain four more new inhabitants. It is the missionaries of the Shalom Catholic Community who will arrive shortly to carry out evangelization work, announcing the Risen Christ. Father Cristiano Pinheiro, missionary of the Life Community, will be responsible for the foundation in American territory.
With many green areas, the city is full of parks and squares. It is also known for having a significant number of immigrants from various parts of the world. Among the main sights are: Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Times Square and Fifth Avenue.
Shalom in the land of WYD 2023
Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, will receive six missionaries to compose the World Youth Day (WYD) 2023 office. Father Cristiano Pinheiro, international assistant, says that one day before the Vigil in WYD in Panama, one of the auxiliary bishops of Lisbon asked that the Community contribute to the organization of the event in Portugal. “We were happy with this invitation and began a dialogue with the Lisbon Patriarchate and so everything was formalized”.
Also, according to the priest, the missionaries will focus on WYD. After this period, the Community will develop its evangelizing actions in one of the main capitals of Europe. This will be the third mission of the Community in Portuguese lands. It is already present in the dioceses of Setúbal and Braga.
Shalom in the Far East
In the octave of Easter 2018, Father Cristiano was invited by some bishops from Taiwan to present the Shalom Vocation and the evangelization work of the community with young people. After this meeting, a dialogue began to establish a mission house in the diocese of Hsinchu.
After Manila, in the Philippines, this new mission house reinforces the presence of the vocation in the Far East. “Taiwan is a country with many young people, with few Catholics, few Christians, but with great freedom for evangelization.” The community will be installed in the region of a parish dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, which is located in front of some universities where about twenty thousand students pass.
Shalom on the island of Cuba
According to the International Assistant, the Community has been in dialogue for some years with the archbishop of the diocese of Santiago de Cuba. The city it is located in the eastern part of the island and is considered one of the most important.
The expectation is that the Community will soon be present in another country in Central America carrying out its evangelization actions, as it did in Panama in starting from the preparation for WYD 2019.