Privacy Policy

Mater Misericordiae Catholic Church (“we”, “us”, “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you provide when you use our website and related online services.

This Privacy Policy explains what information may be collected through the Mater Misericordiae Catholic Church website, how that information may be used, how it may be protected, and the choices available to you.

By using this website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

1. Information we may collect

Depending on how you interact with the website, we may collect information that you voluntarily provide to us. This may include:

• Name
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Address or location information where voluntarily provided
• Information submitted through contact or enquiry forms
• Information submitted when applying to join a church group or society
• Information submitted through Pius Society membership or application forms
• Information provided when registering for church activities or events
• Information contained in messages, Mass intentions, volunteer applications, membership registrations, sacrament bookings, baptism, wedding, or funeral requests
• Donation details such as donor name, email, telephone number, gift amount, and giving category, where you choose to give online
• Account details if you create a member portal login, such as name, email address, and profile information
• Other information you voluntarily submit through the website

We may also collect limited technical information automatically when you visit the website, such as:

• IP address
• Browser type
• Device type
• Operating system
• Pages visited
• Approximate usage information
• Date and time of visits
• Referring pages

The exact information collected depends on the features you use. The public forms currently available on this website collect only the fields shown on each form.

2. How we use your information

Information collected through the website may be used to:

• Respond to enquiries and requests
• Communicate with visitors and parishioners
• Process applications to church groups and societies
• Follow up on Pius Society applications
• Manage church activities, events, and sacrament bookings
• Process membership, volunteer, baptism, wedding, and funeral requests
• Receive and record Mass intentions and prayer requests
• Provide requested church resources
• Provide downloadable materials
• Process online donations where that feature is enabled
• Maintain member portal accounts and related pastoral records
• Improve the website and user experience
• Maintain website security
• Prevent fraud, abuse, or unauthorized activity
• Maintain appropriate administrative records
• Provide information about church activities where you have requested or consented to receive such communications
• Comply with applicable legal and regulatory obligations

We will not use personal information for purposes unrelated to the reason it was collected unless permitted or required by applicable law.

3. Information provided through forms

When you submit information through a form on this website, the information you provide may be accessible to authorized church administrators or personnel who need it to respond to your request or perform the relevant church function.

The website currently includes forms for contact and enquiry, Pius Society applications, parish membership, volunteer service, Mass intentions, event registration, sacrament booking, baptism applications, wedding applications, funeral requests, obituary condolences, and online donations.

Please do not submit sensitive personal information through a website form unless the form specifically requests it and the information is necessary for the stated purpose.

4. Pius Society applications

If you apply to join a Pius Society group through this website, we may collect information such as your name and telephone number, together with an optional email address, optional notes, and limited technical information such as IP address for security and administrative follow-up.

This information is used for purposes such as:

• Processing your application
• Contacting you regarding your application
• Connecting you with the appropriate Pius Society group
• Administrative follow-up

Pius Society application information is not published on the public website and is not included in public search. It is accessible only to authorized administrators or church personnel who have a legitimate need to process the application.

5. Downloads and church resources

The website may provide downloadable church resources, including documents, music, prayers, publications, study materials, bulletins, audio, video, and other resources.

Only published resources are available to the public. Draft, unpublished, or administrative files are not offered through the public downloads library.

Where download statistics are collected, they are stored as a simple count of how often a published resource has been downloaded. This information is used to understand which resources are useful to visitors and to improve the resource library. The website does not use download counts to identify individual visitors.

6. Cookies and similar technologies

The website uses cookies and similar technologies that are necessary for website functionality, security, authentication, language preference, and other legitimate purposes. These include session cookies, security (CSRF) cookies, authentication cookies if you sign in, and a language-preference cookie if you choose a locale.

Your browser may also store a local theme preference (light or dark) on your device. That preference is stored locally in the browser and is not used for advertising.

The website does not currently use third-party advertising cookies, marketing pixels, or optional analytics cookies from advertising networks.

You may be able to manage cookies through your browser settings. Disabling necessary cookies may affect website functions such as signing in or remembering your language preference.

7. Analytics and website usage

The website records limited first-party usage information to help authorized administrators understand general website use. This may include the page path visited, the date of the visit, and a hashed visitor identifier derived from technical information such as IP address, browser, and session data.

This information may be used to understand:

• Which pages are visited
• How visitors navigate the website
• Website performance
• General usage trends
• Technical problems
• Ways to improve the website

This first-party usage recording is not a third-party advertising or marketing analytics service. The website does not currently use Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, or similar advertising trackers.

8. Third-party services

The website may integrate with third-party services to provide certain functionality. Depending on the features currently enabled, these may include services used for:

• Website hosting and email delivery
• Maps and location services, including an OpenStreetMap embed and links to Google Maps on the Contact page
• Video, audio, or live-stream content, which may include YouTube, Facebook, or Zoom when those links or embeds are published
• Daily Scripture readings retrieved from an external liturgical readings service
• Optional calendar subscription or display through Google Calendar when that feature is configured
• Web fonts loaded from a third-party font service
• Payment processing for online donations, where enabled
• Security and spam-prevention measures built into the website

Where third-party services are used, those providers may process information in accordance with their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party service you choose to use, such as a payment provider, video platform, or mapping service.

9. Payment information

The website includes online giving. When this feature is configured, donation information such as donor name, email address, optional telephone number, gift amount, giving category, and a payment reference may be stored by the parish for administrative and receipt purposes.

Payment card details are processed by the selected third-party payment provider. The website is integrated with Stripe, Paystack, and Flutterwave; the provider actually used depends on which service the parish has enabled. The church does not store full payment card numbers on its own systems.

The relevant payment provider’s privacy policy and terms may also apply to the payment itself.

10. How we protect your information

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information collected through the website against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure.

Security measures may include:

• Access controls
• Authentication
• Authorization
• Secure connections
• Server and database security
• Input validation
• File-upload security
• Administrative controls
• Regular maintenance and updates

However, no internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

11. Data retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, legitimate administrative purposes, legal obligations, dispute resolution, security, or other lawful purposes.

Retention periods may differ depending on the type of information and the reason it was collected. Where information is no longer required, it may be securely deleted or anonymized where appropriate.

12. Who may access personal information

Personal information submitted through the website may be accessed by authorized church administrators, staff, volunteers, ministry leaders, or other persons who have a legitimate need to access the information for the purpose for which it was collected.

Access is limited according to role and responsibility. Personal information submitted through applications, enquiries, donations, and pastoral forms is not publicly displayed unless there is an appropriate reason and authorization — for example, a published obituary or a Mass intention you asked to be shared.

13. Your privacy rights

Depending on applicable law, you may have rights concerning your personal information, which may include the right to:

• Ask what personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of information where appropriate
• Ask us to restrict certain processing
• Object to certain processing
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Request information about how your data is used

To make a privacy-related request, please use the official Contact Us page on this website. We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.

14. Children’s privacy

The website may provide information and resources intended for families, young people, children, and youth ministries. Some forms, such as baptism applications or family membership registrations, may include information relating to children where that information is necessary for pastoral care or sacramental preparation.

Where personal information relating to children or young people is collected, it should be handled with particular care and in accordance with applicable laws and safeguarding requirements.

Parents or guardians should encourage children to avoid submitting personal information online without appropriate supervision. The website should not knowingly collect unnecessary personal information from children.

15. Links to other websites

The website may contain links to external websites, social media platforms, videos, resources, or services that are not operated by Mater Misericordiae Catholic Church.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, security, or policies of external websites. We encourage visitors to review the privacy policies of external websites before providing them with personal information.

16. Social media

The website may contain links or integrations with social media and video platforms, including where clergy profiles, live streams, or parish media link to those services.

When you interact with those platforms, your activity may be subject to the privacy policies and terms of the relevant platform. We encourage you to review the privacy settings and privacy policies of the social media services you use.

17. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our website, services, legal requirements, or privacy practices.

When changes are made, the updated policy will be published on this page with a revised effective date or last-updated date where appropriate. We encourage visitors to review this page periodically.

18. Contact us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the way your personal information is handled, please contact Mater Misericordiae Catholic Church through the official Contact Us page on this website.

Please use that page for current parish contact details rather than relying on an address or telephone number copied from an older document.

19. Governing law

The parish is located in Nigeria. The applicable privacy and data-protection laws should be confirmed by the church’s legal or privacy adviser. This section is provided for administrative completion and should not be treated as legal advice.