Bishop Koenig has appointed Deacon Austin A. Lobo, Ph.D., as the new director of the Diocese of Wilmington Missions Office.
The Missions Office is responsible for the annual World Missions Sunday special collection held this year Oct. 21-22 in all the Catholic Churches in Delaware and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Additionally, the office organizes and administers visits to diocesan parishes of international missionaries who come to the diocese to raise funds and awareness of their work with the poor around the world.
Deacon Lobo and his wife, Vinita, have two children and live in Claymont. He holds a B.Tech degree in electrical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, two master’s degrees in computer engineering and computer science, and a doctorate in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was ordained to the diaconate for the Diocese of Wilmington in 2013 and serves in parish ministry at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Church in Greenville.
“We are grateful that Deacon Lobo is taking on the important tasks of our Missions Office,” said Father Joseph W. McQuaide IV, chancellor of the diocese. “It is important for all of us to always remember that we are part of the global church and share responsibility to help the poor around the world. The diocesan Missions Office plays an integral part in raising this awareness.”
World Mission Sunday is an annual global celebration within the Catholic church, observed on the second to last Sunday of October. This special day is dedicated to the support of the missionary work of the church through prayer and sacrifices.
Established by Pope Pius XI in 1926, World Mission Sunday is an opportunity for every church community worldwide to express solidarity with those living in mission territories in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands and parts of Latin America and Europe, according to the Pontifical Missions Societies’ website.
