On May 15, the Lay Mission-Helpers Association commissioned José (Chuy) Mu√±oz and Marco Svoboda as missionaries to Cameroon during a ceremony at St. John the Evangelist Church in Los Angeles.
Father Anthony Madanu, SDV, was the main celebrant for the ceremony, which was the culmination of a four-month formation program to help prepare the young lay missionaries for their roles. The program also focused on spiritual, cultural and personal development.
Mu√±oz will serve in the Archdiocese of Kumbo as administrative support in the diocesan health secretariat. “Some of the clinics are very remote, so I will be traveling a lot,” he said. “The need is great and I am excited to be able to help.”
Muñoz, a member of Sacred Heart Church in Ventura, left for Africa May 18.
Svoboda will serve in the Archdiocese of Bamenda as a campus minister at the Catholic University of Cameroon, working to strengthen the faith of college students. “I look forward to building relationships,” Svoboda said. “Africans have a unique ability to put relationships above tasks.”
Svoboda, a parishioner of St. John Eudes in Chatsworth, leaves for Cameroon in August.
For more than 60 years, Lay Mission-Helpers has sent individuals, couples and families for three-year terms abroad to serve the poor. Current missioners serve across the continent of Africa. The organization is currently exploring sites in Papua New Guinea and South America.
For more information about the organization, visit laymissionhelpers.org.
