(ANS - San Salvador) - During the Sunday Eucharist of 6 October, in the parish of Mary Help of Christians in San Salvador, 410 missionaries were sent out to bring the Gospel to every household in the parish.

This small army of evangelizers, ranging from 17 years up to old age, had been preparing for missionary service for a month.

The initiative involves all parish groups and associations. Each group will be assigned a sector and its members will visit every home.

In October the missionaries will make a first proclamation to all the people of the parish. The intention then is to develop this initial contact into a process of integration into parish life through different programmes of Christian growth.

"It is a response to the persistent appeal of Pope Francis to go out and bring Christ to the streets," said the organizers of the project.

In addition to the various lay groups of the Salesian Family, in the parish of Mary Help of Christians there are other groups of lay people who live and promote their Christian vocation. The Youth Ministry programme is well established and accompanies children and young people as they grow in the faith.

The level of social commitment in the parish is also remarkable. With the help of some volunteers, the soup kitchen provides breakfast and lunch to about a hundred elderly people every day. The Mary Help of Christians Clinic, with over thirty doctors, provides high quality medical services to patients from all over the country.  The Dominic Savio School, run by the Daughters of the Divine Saviour, gives a great service as the parish school, and on weekends the oratory attracts many children and young people from neighbourhoods where there is great poverty and violence.

Published 10/10/2013