Bloomington, IN. The priest, in a special way, is called to evangelize. In 2010, speaking of the three offices of the priest, Pope Benedict XVI said, “The Lord has entrusted a great task to priests: to be heralds of his word, of the Truth that saves; to be his voice in the world to bring what serves the true good of souls and the authentic path of faith (cf. 1 Cor 6:12).” Here is a testimony from Father Ignatius, a Franciscan priest:
“The campus of Indiana University. Ever since I found out about St. Paul’s Street Evangelization, I have loved it, but never actually had the opportunity to join a team and evangelize. That all changed with my recent transfer to the Marian Friary of Our Lady Coredemptrix, which happens to be located just up the hill from the SPSE headquarters in Bloomington, IN. Low and behold, I get my first opportunity to evangelize with the founder, Steve Dawson! It was incredible. A beautiful, but cool, autumn day in the middle of the IU campus. So many students. So many souls in need of Truth and Grace. Most did not want a free rosary. Of those that did, most were Catholic and not going to Mass on a regular basis. I tried to gently explain the importance of remaining in the state of grace, of getting to Confession regularly, of abstaining from Communion until after absolution. A friar’s day is divided between prayer and work, which includes the apostolate. I can hardly think of apostolic time better spent.
Fr. Ignatius M. Manfredonia, FI”
Thank you, Father Ignatius! We look forward to hearing about more of your outings as you continue working with the IU SPSE team! … And as for you, will you join Fr. Ignatius and thousands of other evangelists in bringing the good news to the world? Join or start a team!