CNEWA

CNEWA Donor Meets Priest She’s Supported for 20 Years

CNEWA donor Mabel Caron finally meets her "priest son."

Some inspiring news, courtesy of The Catholic Miscellany, the diocesan newspaper of Charleston, South Carolina:

Mabel Caron celebrated her 90th birthday surrounded by her family and friends, including the “priest son” she’d never met.

Father Antoine Rizk isn’t her flesh and blood, but she has corresponded with him and helped support him in his vocation for 20 years.

She said it started in 1992, when she contacted the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral support that serves the Middle East, northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe.

She wanted to support the church and the priesthood by contributing to a priest in need. It turned out that the priest assigned to her care was from Lebanon, just like her.

Mrs. Caron said after her family emigrated, she grew up in Lancaster, where her father helped found St. Catherine Church. She has fond memories of the Maronite services, and loved hearing the Mass spoken in Aramaic, the language of Christ.

Knowing her “adopted” priest was also from Lebanon gave them an instant connection.

“I still call him my priest son because I always hoped I’d have one,” she said. Mrs. Caron has two daughters and five sons, but none of them were called to the religious life.

To find out how you can support a seminarian, visit this page.

Greg Kandra is CNEWA’s multimedia editor and serves as a deacon in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.

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