Sharing Christ Across Faiths and Cultures
Final Vows and Ordinations to the Diaconate in Africa and Mexico City
New Xaverian missionaries for the challenges of a 21st global mission are celebrating their commitments through final vows and ordinations to the Diaconate. Please pray for them and all!
CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF MAKENI, SIERRA LEONE: DIACONAL ORDINATION
On Wednesday, December 03rd, 2025, at 11.00 am, in the Cathedral church of Our Lady of Fatima, our confrere Justin Bulonza Mpuruta will be ordained a deacon through the laying on of hands and the prayer of ordination of Bishop Bob John Hassan Koroma, bishop of Makeni, Sierra Leone.
XAVIER CENTER CHAPEL – DOUALA – CAMEROON: PERPETUAL PROFESSIONS
On Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 6:00 PM, in the Chapel of the Xavier Center, Douala, Cameroon, our confreres Denis Bacikuderhe Imani, Kizito Kushinganine Milenge, and Gratien Rivuzimana will make their Perpetual Profession.
CHRIST THE KING PARISH – MEXICO CITY – MEXICO: DIACONATE ORDINATION
On Saturday, December 6, 2025, at Christ the King Parish, Colonia Portales, Mexico City, Mexico, our confrere Pedro Viveros Viveros will receive the Order of the Diaconate through the laying on of hands and the prayer of ordination of Most Rev. Leopoldo González González, Archbishop of Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico.
Contact admin@hollistoninterfaith.org for more information. See more on the importance of Catholic Interfaith Relations
Launch of Episode 1 — “Taiwan: A Mosaic of Religions”
With this video, we launch the series “Taiwan, a Mosaic of Religions”, produced by MissioNET. The first episode, “Religious Diversity in Taiwan,” takes us into the island’s rich multireligious landscape, where syncretism is especially visible in the temples – places where different traditions meet and blend. Taiwanese people do not usually bind themselves rigidly to a single religion; instead, they prefer to preserve and practice their family‑inherited traditions, especially the veneration of ancestors.
Episode 2
Popular devotions to local temple deities sit alongside the calm of Japanese Zen, the non-dogmatic openness of Taoism, and Confucianism’s focus on human relationships. Together, they shape daily life in Taiwan.
Episode 3
In this third episode, “The Christian Faith in Taiwan”, we focus on the island’s first major religious minority: the Catholic Church, numbering about 300,000 faithful – less than 1% of the population. Small in numbers yet significant and well regarded, as described by Fr. Edi Foschiatto, a Xaverian missionary interviewed for this episode.
Episode 4
In this fourth episode, “Islam in Taiwan”, we meet another minority religious community after the Catholics: the Muslim community. Through the interview with Abdullah Cheng, imam of the Taipei Grand Mosque, we discover the rich intercultural variety of Taiwanese Islam: Indonesians, Taiwanese, Central Asians, as well as Muslims from Canada and the United States. The imam emphasizes that in Taiwan, the Muslim community can live its faith freely, both in daily prayer and in public celebrations.
LISTENING TO THOSE WHO LEFT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
In America, the landscape of the Catholic Church is changing dramatically, as is all religious communities and institutions. The new mission of the Xaverian Missionaries seeks to engage with our Catholic tradition to all outside of the church, Christianity, and even religion itself. The departure of those who were formed in the Catholic faith is felt in every parish. Disaffiliated families make up the majority of Catholic communities throughout the country.
We listen to those who left the church and sacramental practice with loving empathy.
We root ourselves in these departure narratives, learning about their world and how they walk in it.
We gain deeper insight into the needs, longings, and desires of young people and others. In dialogue with our tradition, we can change our pastoral maps and parish cultures, beginning in Catholic families.
Catholic Interfaith Solidarity
Check out the latest resources and opportunities for Catholics and others to share our lives, faith, and friendship with people of other faiths and traditions. Click here. Other resources for interfaith dialogue may be found here.
