Mission Appeal: Eastern Maine
- USCCA Digital Communications Coordinator
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
by Margaret Smetana, USCCA Board Member
On the weekend of August 17, 1,258 miles from Chicago—where US-China Catholic Association (USCCA) board members Fr. Ed Griswold, Fr. Hugh O'Donnell, and Tom McGuire recently gave USCCA Mission Appeals—Rev. Rob Carbonneau, CP joined Fr. Cyprian Tatah Ferdzefer to concelebrate Mass at Our Lady of the Eucharist Parish, serving the communities of Lincoln, Howland, and Danforth, Maine.
Though the congregations at St. Mary of Lourdes and St. Leo the Great Masses were small, parishioners were fully engaged as Rev. Rob shared the history, mission, and ongoing work of the USCCA. Thanks to Fr. Cyprian’s faithful announcements of the Mission Appeal over the past three weeks, parishioners offered Rev. Rob a warm welcome.
On Sunday, Rev. Rob celebrated Mass at St. Leo the Great in Howland (8:00am), St. Mary of Lourdes in Lincoln (10:00am), and then traveled an hour north to St. Anne’s summer chapel in Danforth (12:30pm).
These communities—Lincoln (population under 5,000), Danforth (population 636), and Howland (population of about 1,200)—lie in rural eastern Maine, not far from the Canadian border: a region of lakes, rivers, streams, and vast woodlands. Even in these remote parishes, the mission of building bridges of friendship and faith with the people of China is both welcomed and alive.
My time with the parishioners and pastor of these Maine communities deeply enriched my understanding of the USCCA's mission and its impact on their lives. Their genuine interest and engagement with Rev. Rob and his stories—as well as their beautiful choirs, heartfelt singing, devotion to Mary, and strong sense of community—left me with lasting impressions of their Catholic faith.
Margaret Smetana is an Associate Director on the USCCA Board. Margaret brings a lifetime of experience in organizational and educational leadership to her role supporting the 2024 Conference communications, the 2025 USCCA Mission Cooperative Program, and the 2026 Conference.
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