Retired priest promotes Sudanese saint with billboard ads

Published: 2004-02-10

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (CNS) -- Father George Joyce wants to get the word out about a saint he considers wonderful. To that end, he has put up five billboards that read: "From Slave to Catholic Saint, St. Josephine Bakhita." The signs promoting the saint can be seen throughout Springfield and Chicopee. The 88-year-old retired priest, who lives at Our Lady of Hope Parish in Springfield, explained his interest in an African saint who is not well-known in Massachusetts. "I do whatever I am led to in prayer," he told The Catholic Observer, newspaper of the Springfield Diocese. He explained that for almost three years he has used personal funds, donations and a collection to pay for various billboards and posters as a means of evangelization. His first was a picture of Jesus knocking on a door with the message that people should let him into their lives.

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