The Mission Office of the Augustinian Friars has been an important part of the work of the friars for many decades. Traditionally, the primary purpose and responsibility of the office has been to raise money for the support of the missions and the missionaries. The financial support remains an important ministry of the Mission Office.  As all must constantly self reflect and change as the times change, so too has the Mission Office undergone a redefinition in the past few years. Two year... [More]

The Mission Office has always been involved with Mission Appeals in parishes throughout the country. The Appeals are a means of sharing the story of the foreign missions of the Augustinians and are also a means of soliciting financial support for the missions from people of the parish. Traditionally Mission Appeals have been preached by friars, some from the missions and some who have never been to the missions yet who wish to support this ministry by giving their time on the weekend. In recent ... [More]

[The following reflection was written by Fr. Masaki Imada, O.S.A., a friar in Japan] One of the phenomena that has received increasing media attention in Japan is that since 1998 more than 30,000 people have committed suicide every single year in the country.  Of the suicides whose principal cause has been more or less identified, they say the most common is depression.  According to a recent survey, the incidence of suicide in Japan is 25.2 to every 100,000 people, which is over twic... [More]

This past weekend, the Augustinian Volunteers hosted a retreat in Ocean City, NJ for the eight individuals who will be spending a year in our missions.  At the conclusion of the retreat, they departed for their respective sites of Peru and South Africa.  The volunteers will be serving in those locations for the next eleven months, until they return to the US in mid-December.  During their volunteer year, they will be working side-by-side with our Augustinian Friars, forming ... [More]

Peru is one of the most geographically diverse countries in the world with distinct coastal, desert, mountain, and jungle regions.  The country boarders the Pacific Ocean to the West.  The mighty Amazon River begins in Peru.  The Andes Mountains stretch from north to south through the entire country.  This variety in Peru's geography also leads to a great amount of biological diversity.  Peru ranks as one of the world's 10 "megadiverse" countries based on plant and anima... [More]

There are more people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa than anywhere else in the world.  According to reports from 2009, there are approximately 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, and about 5.6 million of those infected are living in South Africa (www.avert.org). This has a direct impact on the Augustinian Missions which are located in the South African province of Kwa-Zulu Natal.  Based on a department of health study at antenatal clinics, this province has the hig... [More]