On Sunday 23 April, Fr Patrick Magro SJ and four other Maltese - Sarah Meli, Andrew Meli, Lisa Muscat and Francesca Montalto - tackled the 42.2 km London Marathon to raise funds for the valuable work of Jesuit Missions UK, with a focus on educational projects in South Sudan.

To raise awareness, University of Malta chaplain Fr Patrick, 53, ran the entire route wearing a rather bulky costume, of the Womble, which represents the mascot of the Jesuit Missions UK marathon team. "It takes courage and stamina to run the whole distance wearing a 6kg costume, but Jesuit Missions UK always sponsors very worthwhile projects and I was really happy to do my bit by running the marathon dressed like this! It was tough but worth it! The most interesting aspect was the awareness we generated . The Wombles are a very popular TV series in England and the costume is iconic: everyone loves to have their picture taken with the Wombles. This slows the pace, but gives the opportunity to learn about what has been achieved through the work of the Jesuits," stressed Fr Patrick.

One of the main objectives of this year's marathon was to promote education in South Sudan, the youngest and poorest country in the world. In South Sudan, only half of the teachers have completed secondary school. School infrastructure is poor and many students study in inadequate spaces.

A former rector of St Aloysius College for ten years, a former Jesuit provincial and currently a chaplain at the University of Malta, as well as running Dar Manwel Magri - a Jesuit residence that in recent years has been transformed into a drop-in centre for university students and other young people -, Fr Patrick is truly grateful to all those who have supported the cause. "We have so far raised € 13,000. But the race continues."

Videos of the event are online on Facebook "ChaplaincyUni"

To join the fundraising effort