Easter Week 2023: Catholic

NATHAN LEDOUX ’26, DIOCESE OF PROVIDENCE

“I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink” (Matthew 25:35).

On the morning of April 10th, a group of NAC seminarians and priests, as well as staff from Catholic Relief Services arrived in Jijiga, Ehtiopia for a week-long journey to visit communities effected by a three-year drought. We learned about ongoing projects addressing local needs and returned home to share the good news—the Church in America is living the Gospel the world over!

We visited several kebeles (villages) and spoke with communities affected by drought. The communities and partners of Catholic Relief Services shared their top three needs: water, water, and water. Without access to water, these communities cannot produce crops or maintain their livestock. Without water, these communities lose not only their work, but also their livelihood.

In the first kebele, the entire community greeted us—waving palm branches, singing, and leading us to the water supply tank that transformed their farmland into a thriving land. Collaborating with CRS and local partners to build a water scheme and plant drought-resistant crops, this kebele is one of the hundreds of communities that the work of Catholic Relief Services has touched with the mercy of Jesus Christ.

One day we met a community with over 20,000 people awaiting the opening of a well planned for two weeks after our visit. They shared that this will be the first time they have ever had constant access to clean water for their households. Until now, women travelled with donkeys for up to six hours each day to fetch water. When we asked what they were looking forward to with the new water supply, one woman simply said, “time to be with my family.” I think this speaks to the very heart of the Gospel message: bringing justice and mercy together.

Our Church’s work through Catholic Relief Services is justice oriented because we go to those most in need of the basic necessities of life. We