Children in Catholic schools in the 1940s, 50s and 60s spent much time raising money to “ransom pagan babies”. But the work of the HCA, the Holy Child Association, was about more than baptism – it was about children helping children.
Links:
Holy Childhood Association – Official website of the HCA in the US
HCA Kids – website of the Holy Child Association with activities and information on the missions
Rerum Ecclesiae – Pope Pius IX’s encyclical on the importance of the missions and the work of the HCA
Account of one Catholic who met her “pagan” brother and how it inspired her faith
Mission Together – HCA website for the United Kingdom
Images and holy cards related to the work of the Holy Child Association in France in the late 19th and early 20th century
Audio interview with former Secretary General of the HCA
Sources:
Harrison, Henrietta. 2008. A penny for the little Chinese:The French Holy Childhood Association in China, 1843-1951. American Historical Review 113, no. 1: 72-92.
Manna, Paolo. The conversion of the pagan world: a treatise upon Catholic foreign missions. Society for the Propagation of the Faith, 1921
Robert, Dana Lee. American women in mission: a social history of their thought and practice. Mercier University Press, 1996.
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One Comment
anyone remember the song that went with HCA? it seems it was sung at school rallies when they came in to show a film and raise money. Something about knights of christ being on the march….I think…..and I seem to recall mention of ” the mustard seeds of christ are spreading.” Anything? Ring a bell?