WASHINGTON — The National Catholic Educational Association in Washington has issued an invitation to students in Catholic schools, parish religious education programs, colleges and seminarians around the country to do voluntary acts of service in honor of Pope Benedict XVI's 81st birthday.
The pope's birthday is April 16, the second day of his six-day visit to the United States.
The project is called "Birthday Blessings for Pope Benedict XVI: A Gift of Public Service From U.S. Catholic Youth and Students." It includes service projects conducted between Feb. 25 and May 31.
NCEA has established a Web site,
ncea.catholic.org, to help schools, parishes and individuals learn more about the effort and to register their volunteer hours. Students must register for the project through an online pledge form by April 11; hours are to be completed by May 31, but must be pledged by April 11.
By March 12, at least 23,961 students had pledged 174,722 service hours.
Pledged service hours and hours already completed will be tallied and indicated on a document to be presented to the pope during his U.S. visit.
Student choose how to spend their volunteer hours. Acts of service are broadly defined as anything that helps another person or improves the environment. Student are encouraged to conduct canned food drives, visit nursing homes, write letters to those in military service or to shut-ins, raise money for a charity or clean up a local park.
"Young people have a passionate desire to make a difference," said Karen Ristau, NCEA president. "They are very creative and often know exactly what they can do to help someone or make an impact on their corner of the world."
The project's Web site will gather information about the number of participants, the total hours volunteered and the kind of service provided.
A running tally of the number of participants and the total number of hours pledged will be displayed on the site.
© 2008 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
