Schwenksville Man Traveling to India as Lay Missionary

“I want to use the gifts that God has given me and the training that I have received from my Catholic education to help further the education of those less fortunate in India,” Pirrall said, according to Catholic Philly.

Eight men and 20 women commissioned come from 17 states, a Canadian province and Puerto Rico.

This year the missionaries come from 17 states, a Canadian province and Puerto Rico, hailing from 24 dioceses and archdioceses, to be part of a worldwide missionary enterprise on behalf of poor young people.

The eight men and 20 women range from age 20 to 68, with an average age of 25.

They were commissioned as Salesian Lay Missioners for service in 15 mission sites on four continents, including three sites in the U.S., during a Mass Saturday, Aug. 17 at the Don Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw-Stony Point, N.Y.

The Salesian Lay Missioners group of 28 prepared to leave for their volunteer service following a retreat and commissioning Mass Aug. 17 at Don Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw-Stony Point, N.Y.

Posted in Local Catholic News, on August 28th, 2013

Salesians send out three local young adults among 28 lay missionaries

BY FATHER MICHAEL MENDL, S.D.B. 

Natalie Baker of Springfield, Delaware County, Matthew Pirrall of Schwenksville and Patrick Sabol of Wayne were among three of the 28 mostly young women and men commissioned Aug. 17 as lay missionary volunteers by the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Baker, 23, and her parents, Edward and Denise Baker, are members of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Morton. Her mother is the parish secretary at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Philadelphia.

Baker graduated from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., majoring in psychology and sociology. In her mission work she will serve as a caretaker and mentor to orphans ranging in age from newborn to 17 at Hogar Sagrado Corazon in Montero, Bolivia.

She joined the Salesian Lay Missioners because “throughout my life helping people has been a passion of mine,” she said. “When learning that the SLMs’ main focus is being present to youth, spreading the word of God and helping people, I knew that it was the right mission program for me.”

Natalie Baker of Springfield, Delaware County

Pirrall, 22, and his parents, Lou Ann and Robert Pirrall, belong to St. Mary Parish in Schwenksville.

He graduated from DeSales University in Center Valley, Pa., with majors in marketing and TV/film. He will serve at the Salesians’ BREADS (Bangalore Rural Education and Development) program in Bangalore, India, helping with video marketing and possibly teaching.

“I want to use the gifts that God has given me and the training that I have received from my Catholic education to help further the education of those less fortunate in India,” Pirrall said.

Sabol, 22, and his parents, Jack and Betty Sabol, belong to St. Katharine of Siena Parish in Wayne.

He graduated from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, majoring in finance.

Sabol will serve at the Salesian mission in Gumbo, South Sudan, a suburb of Juba, the capital, as a school teacher, youth minister and assistant in the parish. After leaving for South Sudan Aug. 28, Sabol intends to blog about his experience at sabolsoulsafari.blogspot.com.

He “joined the SLMs because I wanted to dedicate a year of my life to the Lord through serving His children,” Sabol said.

Patrick Sabol of Wayne

This year the missionaries come from 17 states, a Canadian province and Puerto Rico, hailing from 24 dioceses and archdioceses, to be part of a worldwide missionary enterprise on behalf of poor young people.

The eight men and 20 women range from age 20 to 68, with an average age of 25.

The missionaries serve in Bolivia, India, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Cambodia, New York, Virginia and Louisiana. 

Father Thomas Duune, S.D.B presided over the commissioning mass.

Duune likened the sending of missionaries to the early Church’s practice as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, and expressed the hope that these missionaries, like the apostles, would build up the local churches to which they are being sent.