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In preparation for confirmation, a class of students at one Manhattan parish learned about the corporal works of mercy, and put those works to practice. As part of a service project dedicated to “Give drink to the thirsty,” the students raised money for a water purification system in Cambodia.
The nine youths from St. Francis Xavier parish raised $8,500 quickly, in only 15 days, for a water purification system that will provide clean water for 1,000 people for the next decade.
“We weren’t a big confirmation class, and knowing we could raise all that money in less than three weeks was pretty cool,” said Angelica Benares, 13. The experience helped her learn that “when you all work together, and if you really want something, you can get it done,” she said.
Auxiliary Bishop Gerald T. Walsh, rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, confirmed the class on Pentecost Sunday, June 12. As part of the students’ preparation for the sacrament, they had to complete seven service projects, each focusing on one of the seven corporal works of mercy. The corporal works of mercy are: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the imprisoned, visiting the sick and burying the dead.
The class, under the direction of catechist Paul Kelly, worked with Planet Water, a nonprofit organization that installs low-cost, sustainable water purification systems around the world. The organization also provides a water health and hygiene program for children. Nick Hill, executive chairman of Planet Water, visited the students to discuss the plight of those without clean water.
Kelly told CNY that when the class decided to take on the fund-raising project, they had completed all the required service projects. “We had completed the seven projects for the seven works of mercy, but we still wanted to do this,” he said, stating that the students were enthusiastic about taking on the additional project. Other projects included volunteering at a local food pantry, donating clothing and distributing water at an AIDS walk, among others.
The money raised will be used to install a water purification system in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and will be maintained by a Jesuit-run Catholic parish there. (St. Francis Xavier parish is also Jesuit-run, but the placement of the water purification system in Cambodia at another Jesuit parish was coincidental, Kelly noted.)
To raise funds, the students worked with Planet Water to set up a Web site for online donations (www.FrancisXavierCleanWaterProject.org). The students also called and wrote letters and e-mails to family members and friends, and posted requests on Facebook. “We got a lot of responses really quickly,” said Beatriz Benares, 13, twin sister of Angelica. She said launching the Web site was an experience she will remember. “The first week after the Web site launched, we were always e-mailing each other—the parents and the kids. It was really exciting,” she said.
“The response we got from people really motivated me to go further,” she explained. The class decided to continue raising funds through the Web site for another water purification system. Graham Nelson, 12, said that the ongoing water purification project “is a good thing to still be thinking about.”
“It wasn’t just a project for confirmation,” he said.
Luz Marina Diaz, director of religious education at the parish, told CNY how proud she was of the students. “The students’ taking on such an important project generated compassion and a desire to continue helping people. One of the things that impressed me is that they received confirmation and want to continue with the project.”
“The whole project captured our hearts,” said Kelly, who noted that the service project taught the children about their important role in the Church and in the world. “When the kids saw the response, they saw that they were part of a community that could make a difference,” he said.
He said, “It turned all of the theories we talk about into reality.”
Father Joseph Costantino, S.J., pastor of St. Francis Xavier, remarked on the water purification fund-raising, as well as the seven other service projects completed by the confirmation class, and said that participating together in such service “helps them to become energized in doing works of mercy and charity.”
He said, “The idea of being a Catholic is very much to go out like St. Francis Xavier himself, as a missionary, to help others come to know Christ. And a good way to come to know Christ is to do corpor
