You Can Support These Servants of God 

At an age when most people would kick back and enjoy their retirement, Fr. Andy Chalkey, O.M.I. is accepting new challenges to serve people in need.  Recently he became a chaplain at the St. Clair County Jail in Belleville, Illinois. 

 Father Andy celebrates Mass for inmates several times each month.  He also offers counseling to anyone who wants to talk to a non-judgemental person.  Mass is celebrated at the jail in a courtroom.  Father Andy finds it ironic that the courtroom and the church have many similarities.  There are benches and a podium.  Participants even follow a pattern of sitting and standing at certain times.

Father Andy brings international missionary experience to his work as a prison chaplain.  For two years he ministered at the largest prison in Copenhagen, Denmark.  For 17 years prison work was part of his ministry on the remote island of Sibutu in the southern Philippines.

“I’m just so thankful that I have been able to minister in so many wonderful places, and that I can still minister today,” said Fr. Andy.

In the United States there are 85 fully retired Oblates and 33 Oblates in reduced active ministry.  Like the people they served in the missions for so many years, these men require medical care, food and shelter.  Having lived lives of poverty and mission, they do not have the means to live on their own.

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate need your support… your donation truly makes a difference for our retired priests and brothers.

• $25 can supply personal hygiene items for one month.
• $50 can provide transportation needs for one month.
• $100 can cover prescriptions not paid by insurance for one month.
• $200 can cover the cost of supplemental medical insurance for one month.
• $300 can provide food for one month.
• $500 can provide room and board for one month in an Oblate community such as a parish, shrine or retreat house.
• $1,000 can provide room and board for one month in an assisted-living facility.

The retired Missionary Oblates have touched the lives of countless men, women and children through their years of dedicated service in God’s name.  Please send your prayer intentions so these men can remember your needs at Mass and in prayer.