The archbishop of Mandalay in Myanmar led the distribution of food supplies to poor families and patients in a hospital in the villages of Ye Nan Thar and Si Daw Gyi during the holidays.
“Since I became a priest, I gathered lepers inside the cathedral compound and offered meals and distributed gifts on Christmas Day,” said Archbishop Mark Tin Win of Mandalay.
“When I became parish priest, I used to visit prisoners in jail and gave them Christmas presents and presided Mass for them,” he said.
Because of the pandemic, the prelate said he could not host parties so he collected the money for Christmas gatherings and donated it to the poor.
With the help of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Apparition, the prelate visited a hospital for lepers and distributed gifts.
“We are helping other refugees and those in need in various parts of the country,” said a nun who joined the archbishop.
Because the congregation was founded on Christmas Eve in 1832, the nun said Christmas is the “birthday of our community.”
“For this reason, we do community charity together,” she said, adding that due to the pandemic, “it is not possible to go very far.”
The sisters distributed blankets, bottles of oil, rice packs, and other gifts to parishioners.
