Fr Gerry Campbell
Local priest Fr Gerry Campbell will undertake a diocesan run this weekend to help raise awareness of modern day trafficking.
The parish priest of Kilkerley, Fr Campbell will start from the Bann and run to the Boyne from Sunday until Wednesday in support of Act to Prevent Trafficking (APT).
A native of Magherafelt in Derry, the former St Patrick’s parish administrator, is no stranger to running the length of the Archdiocese of Armagh.
His first diocesan walk/run was in 2013 when a team of runners and walkers joined him at various parts of the archdiocese to raise funds for Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Last year he ran the same route in support of the Trócaire’s 2014 Lenten Campaign, which highlighted the global water crisis.
Fr Gerry will commence his cross-border run in Newbridge, Co Derry on Sunday and will arrive in Kilsaran on Tuesday. On Wednesday he will run from St Mary’s Church in Kilsaran to St Peter’s Church in Drogheda.
He will be joined by supporters along the running route and locals are encouraged to show him their support when he comes through Dundalk on Tuesday.
In welcoming Father Campbell’s initiative Archbishop Eamon Martin said: “In recent days the large scale loss of life in the Mediterranean Sea has once again highlighted human trafficking as a real and present problem which needs be addressed locally, nationally and internationally. As a start we need a personal awareness of what trafficking is, and how it can be prevented.
“I warmly welcome Father Gerry’s initiative which seeks to raise public awareness about this form of human exploitation and aggressive family displacement. I ask the faithful to remember in their prayers all people who have experienced trafficking, and I invite anyone who can to come out and support Father Gerry on his route.”
Those who wish to support the local priest can contact him via email at gerrycampbell65@gmail.com
