Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vienna (Fides Service-) - Every year on 24 July the feast day of St Christopher, patron saint of travellers, Austrian Catholics are asked to donate one cent for every kilometre travelled safely in order to purchase a means of transport for the missions. “Christopher Action” is an iniziative of MIVA (Missions-Verkehrs-Arbeitsgemeinschaft) which specialises in providing means of transport for mission territories as well as collaborating with development programmes in the poorest regions of the world.
Christopher Action now in its 46th year is a popular tradition for Catholics in Austria. MIVA invites car owners to share their mobility with the poor people of the world and to thank God when accidents are avoided. Christopher Action collections are taken in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy (south Tyrol), Slovenia, Poland and Slovakia. “We ask car drivers in our countries to think every time they put on their safety belts in their own car how important it is for a parish priest to have a car, a hospital an abulance, a school a mini bus, first aid workers a jeep, farm development programmes a tractor. Mobility can save and aid” the organisers say.
Since Christopher Action started in 1949, this Catholic organisation has supplied 17,000 vehicles to Africa, Asia, Latin American and eastern Europe for a total value of about 93 million Euro. Besides Christopher Action MIVA organises an annual May collection to supplì bicycles for “Delegados de la Palabra” (Word Delegates). MIVA collaborates with over 300 dioceses all over the world and various missionary institutes and organisations in in Austria. MIVA work is supported by the Pontifical Mission Societies in Austria (Missio Austria). (MS) (Agenzia Fides, 25/07/2005 - 24 righe, 302 parole)
See more info
www.miva.at/office@miva.at
