The 120 national directors met in the annual plenary assembly last week in Lyon, France. The meeting coincided with the inauguration of the restored lifetime home of Pauline Marie Jaricot (1799-1862), founder of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
The assembly discussed pastoral questions, and decided on the allocation of the Universal Solidarity Fund that received $193,656,477 this year from dioceses to finance 10,000 pastoral projects.
The directors allocated $123 million to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, $50 million to an organization supporting vocations in mission countries, $20 million to the Society of Holy Childhood which is dedicated to helping children.
Special financial help was allocated to countries hit by the tsunami in Southeast Asia in December, which will go toward the reconstruction of places of worship.
