a gofundme page has been created. Thank you Nini and Pete Deluca for caring and for all you do to help others.
Bishop Jude, who served as Pastor of Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church in Elmsford, is trying to improve the lives of his parishioners.
Nini and Pete Deluca are special people. They are active in the Elmsford community. Both have devoted their lives helping others. Pete has led the Elmsford Volunteer Fire department and has been one of the hardest working Volunteer firefighters around. He is always willing to get out of bed in the middle of the night -responding to fires and emergencies. During the pandemic Nini made 3 layered masks and donated the masks to the elderly in the community and to nurses and doctors at White Plains Hospital. Both of done so much more for the community. They are caring people who have made a very positive difference in the lives of others. They don't only care about their neighbors. Both are helping a former Pastor of Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church in Elmsford Fr. Jude who now is the Bishop of Ondo in Nigeria.
On June 5th during a Sunday morning Mass at St. Francis Church which is in Ondo Diocese, terrorists attacked parishioners, killed 41 and severely wounding upwards of 100 others. Of the deceased, many were husband and wife - leaving so many children orphans. In other instances, we have wounded who have had serious spinal injuries such that they can no longer walk. Some have lost limbs and most have lost their capacity to work.
A gofundme page has been set up if you'd like to help.
Go Fund Me Page, organized by the New York Office of Ondo Diocese:
PAUL FEINER, Greenburgh Town Supervisor
Dear Paul - as you requested, here is our story ... "DO OTHERS CARE ABOUT AFRICA?"
We are life long residents of the Town of Greenburgh and parishioners at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Elmsford. In 1997, we became friends with the then Fr. Jude, from Nigeria. In 2010, Fr. Jude was elevated to Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ondo, back in his home country of Nigeria. We were so joyful to have attended his Episcopal Ordination in Nigeria. The occasion was extremely special for us - to see our dear friend become a Bishop in the Catholic Church. At the same time, we absolutely fell in love with the people of Ondo State, Nigeria who were so completely welcoming. We also would add - all inclusive too - the local Iman and the local Rabbi - all work so nicely together, as a united community.
Since that first visit in 2010, we have visited Nigeria two more times. Each time -10 other parishioners from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel join us. We were scheduled to visit in 2020; however, Covid prevented that visit. Throughout these past 12 years, we assisted with many projects, some of which include:
- the building of the Sancta Maria Hospital and Chapel
- the building of the Seat of Wisdom High School; securing 12 smart boards and 3,000 library books (all donated by Hamilton HS and Maria Regina HS) which were shipped from here to Ondo.
- the enhancement of the Pre-k and K program at the Bishop Hughes Elementary School, in Loving Memory of Tyler Rush of Elmsford
- the building of a Pastoral Centre
- the renovation of an Akure city based hospital
- the sending of a retired Elmsford Fire Department Ambulance - to the new Sancta Maria Hospital
The joy of helping has been tremendous; however, on June 5 of this year, the Catholic Diocese of Ondo experienced what has been called, "Their own 9/11 !". During a Sunday morning Mass at St. Francis Church which is in Ondo Diocese, terrorists attacked parishioners, killed 41 and severely wounding upwards of 100 others. Of the deceased, many were husband and wife - leaving so many children orphans. In other instances, we have wounded who have had serious spinal injuries such that they can no longer walk. Some have lost limbs and most have lost their capacity to work.
Bishop Jude, who has dual citizenship, has been on a mission of World-wide awareness - both in Nigeria, the USA and Europe. He organized an all regional (Yoruba) Bishops meeting to address the situation, with many political figures in attendance. He recently attended the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, DC - with many congressmen in attendance and will be in Rome next month - presenting to the International Catholic Legislators Network (CLN). The Church in Need organizations continues to work with the diocese, in bringing international awareness - throughout the world.
From our end, we continue to support Bishop Jude - as he attends his meetings and have set up a Go Fund Me Page (see below) to assist him with the care of hundreds of children in Nigeria, who no longer have parents. Funds also help pay for the funerals and medical bills. In Nigeria, there is no Health Insurance, nor Social Security. Bishop Jude is responsible for the complete care of all of those afflicted by this horrific act of terrorism.
We often pause to ask ourselves, "Do others care about Africa?". Sadly, the answer is often no. Therefore, we have taken up a 'Mission of Awareness' from our end here in the USA. We feel a passion to let our amazing community of Greenburgh and beyond - that we need to care about Africa, we need to care about those who are less fortunate - they need to be put at the forefront of the minds of those who want to help.
Many thanks, Paul - for your caring and desire to help Bishop Jude and the good people of Ondo, Nigeria. Pete and I are free to go on your show, for further exposure, whenever it works for you.
On behalf of Bishop Jude, Fr. Augustine (from Ondo Diocese and has been at Mt. Carmel Church 5 years assisting Fr. Bob) and all in Ondo Diocese, we applaud you Paul - for CARING ABOUT AFRICA!
Blessings for you and your family!
Go Fund Me Page, organized by the New York Office of Ondo Diocese: