Catholic Charity Work in Mexico

On November 5^th, Andres Hernandez, a local evangelizer welcomed the 10 families, 30 displaced people in all, into his home and sheltered them from further harm. 37 people under one small roof! What a beautiful testament to love thy neighbor. CWM partnered with Arch Bishop Fabio Martinez Castillo to send food relief to help feed these 30 refuges and others throughout the seven affected municipalities of Chiapas and Tapilua. These resilient communities responded. Everyone pitched in to help unload trucks and distribute the dry goods and supplies received through your generosity and CWM partners, helping those who lost everything.

Touched by the generosity of Catholic World Mission partners and your continued donations to our general fund, some Santa Cruz families were moved to write letters of appreciation and gratitude. Their smiles are a testament to what you can change through Catholic World Mission.

San Patricio (St. Patrick) Catholic Church

The San Patricio church is located in a newly-constructed area called “Avenida Fuego” in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. This rapidly growing community is home to approximately 30,000 people within the lower-middle and middle-class. Because the population is expected to grow by 30% within the next few years, Fr. Patrick intends on finalizing the construction of San Patricio so it can serve as the spiritual heart for the community through masses, retreats, and catechism programs.

Six years ago, the structure of San Patricio Catholic Church was made up of three components: some columns, a few beams, and a roof. Although the church was originally a skeleton structure, its potential was gradually revealed throughout the years because of your generous donations and support.

Now, San Patricio has a stable foundation, a sacristy, a storage area, finished restrooms, and a second building with 5 classrooms intended for retreats and a CCD program for the community children.

Unfortunately, the church has low attendance because it still lacks some essential, final elements. Currently, their scarcity of tolerable seating forces the community to travel far distances to attend mass elsewhere or to not attend mass at all.

San Patricio Catholic Church hopes to flourish into a reliable, spiritual beacon for the community by finalizing its construction with proper flooring, wooden pews, and wall-coverings around the precious altar.

Scroll and Click to see the progress of San Patricio throughout the years:

San Patricio Parish Responds to COVID-19 with Solidarity Supper

Unfortunately, a health-crisis such as a pandemic affects us all, especially those who were already battling poverty. Unexpectedly, one’s current needs are amplified while new, additional needs arise unfulfilled. Across the US, we have seen an increasing struggle to provide families with basic necessities like food and toilet paper. A similar struggle exists in a subdivision called “Mundo Habitat” in the region of Playa del Carmen in Quintana Roo, Mexico. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic in mid-March, parishioners of Sagrado Corazon were turning to the church to relieve both their increased spiritual and physical hunger.

With the combined efforts of volunteers, community families, missionaries, and local restaurants, the parish created a community kitchen called “Cenas Solidarias” (Solidarity Supper).

The self-made community kitchen distributes food baskets, costing approximately $180 pesos ($7.82 US). The food comes from multiple generous resources including a local Spanish restaurant who donates prepared food daily, local taco and fish-fry restaurants, and individual families who contribute anything they can from bread to drinks to desserts. The kitchen provides double servings to about 140 people a day and is run by the community 7 days a week.

Solidarity Supper was fully curated because of generous hearts in the Sagrado Corazon community. It alleviates the weight of hunger and financial burdens during the unpredicted pandemic. However, the kitchen wanted to feed the mouths beyond the immediate community.

Families in the surrounding, rural communities (referred to as communities “of the woods”) lack the means to travel to Solidarity Supper. Instead, missionary Victor Manuel Becerra hand delivers the food directly to their homes.

The community intends on continuing the kitchen for the next 7 ½ months, but they currently lack enough resources to feed the snaking lines. To sustain the Solidarity Supper throughout the pandemic, they humbly ask for your support today.

Scroll and Click to see more pictures of the Community Kitchen:

“Whatever you did to the least of my brothers that you did unto me”
-Matthew. 25:40

“There is no ulterior motive to feeding the hungry and giving a cup of cold water to the thirsty than to be faithful to the Lord’s teaching.”
-Fr. Patrick Butler, LC

Celebrating Two Years of Solidarity Suppers 2022

Thanks to your support, the community kitchen called Solidarity Supper has been serving the surrounding community of Playa del Carmen for two years! Since its start, Solidarity Supper has fed thousands of families, provided household necessities for those most in need, and joyfully uplifted the community’s faith in Christ and in one another.

Families gathered in their Sunday best to celebrate Solidarity Supper’s two-year anniversary in the nearly-completed San Francisco Chapel. Although the chapel is still waiting on finishing touches, it has already been an anchor of faith and fellowship.

We express our heartfelt thanks for your generosity which has allowed Solidarity Suppers and the San Francisco Chapel to provide physical and spiritual nourishment to this deserving community.

Fiesta de San Nicolas 2021

This December, the Sagrado Corazon parish hosted a Solidarity Suppers’ Fiesta de San Nicolas! Crowds of parishioners and families of neighboring communities eagerly lined up to partake in the celebration. Solidarity Suppers created a joyful space with live music, festive decorations, piñata games, and a visit from St. Nicholas.

Families were provided with homemade meals, bags of essential household items, and a toy drive for the children. The self-made community kitchen continues to serve as a beacon for physical and spiritual renewal. Thank you for all that you do to keep Solidarity Suppers alive!

You can give now to this worthy project by clicking here.

Donors Serve at the Sacred Heart of Jesus 

Grace and her family had the opportunity to serve at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Grace cites this experience as amazing as she was able to reach out to the community in need. The family lent a helping hand at the church’s Soup Kitchen by assisting in meal prep and filling up care packages for the local families involved with the school. Grace praises the Parish’s welcoming and helpful presence towards the volunteers, and encourages others to donate their time, talent, and treasure at the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

You can give now to this worthy project by clicking here.

Día del Niño 2021

Solidarity Suppers never stops serving, and that includes holidays! The kitchen served over 200 meals on Day of the Child (día del niño); a holiday celebrated in Mexico.  A generous supporter bought pizza and a parishioner made a Cookie Monster cake for a kid-friendly menu.  The children got to partake in other fun activities such as outdoor games and playing with toys given to them by generous donors. 220 children showed up and were able to enjoy being young thanks to charitable people around the world.

You can give now to this worthy project by clicking here.

September 2020

The Solidarity Supper Community Kitchen is going strong! People in Cancun are still in desperate need of hope and a meal. Fr. Patrick just sent us this video last week.

You can give now to this worthy project by clicking here.

Read Bishop Navarro’s plea to Catholic World Mission to gain support for evangelization in one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico here.

Bishop Navarro has met with the people of Michoacán who do not want their city to remain under the rule of the gangs and drug cartels. His plan is to promote the Gospel of Peace bringing peace and hope to men, women and children all across Mexico.

For the Gospel of Peace to prevail Bishop Navarro urgently needs funds for the formation of missionaries to spread the Gospel. The missionaries will be trained through the ETC program to be evangelizers, with the goal of keeping people in the area while creating a safe atmosphere. These missionaries will be sharing the news of Christ through their works, sheltering the homeless, feeding the hungry, and educating and protecting the most vulnerable and the forgotten.

Already Bishop Navarro has had great interest in the Gospel of Peace. More than 100 people showed up at a Eucharistic Adoration event to pray for their city, and to learn more about being evangelizers to the people of Michoacán.

Evangelizers at Home

In the San Francisco de Asis Catholic Church over 100 lay people came to learn how to be evangelizers in their homes, communities, and even their churches.

The torch in Michoacán has been lit, but it is not enough. The Gospel of Peace must reach other parishes. Other parishes, priests and bishops have seen how contagious the Gospel of Peace movement is and they want to bring it to their parishes, diocese, and communities. There are 300 volunteers ready to be trained to be evangelizers in their communities. They are without tools though, and need guidance and strength when faced with oppression.

The Bishops have called, and shared that the Gospel of Peace has been a success in Michoacán and three more communities are ready to pick it up! They are in desperate need of hope. Not everyone wants to join drug cartels, but they need affirmation that there is a better way. Gangs are responsible for kidnapping Catholic priests, and many young people who stood up to them.

Your donation today will go to support six evangelizers and the materials to train more than 300 people to bring the Gospel of Peace to their communities.

Our Visit to Michoacán

In May 2015, Executive Director of Catholic World Mission, Deacon Rick Medina, and Operations Manager Stephanie Lange visited Michoacán, Mexico to see the need themselves. They found the situation much worse than expected, but could see that the Gospel of Peace program was making a positive, lasting impression in the hearts of so many broken people. There was still so much need, but the people inspired us to keep standing against the violence and pursecution in Mexico.

On the trip we learned the need at San Francisco de Asis convent for mattresses for the evangelizers, who stayed on urine-caked ones every month for the Gospel of Peace program. We were able to assist their need thanks to a generous donor. We were also able to begin expanding the mission to reach more people in remote areas who need the Gospel alive in their hearts and communities.

Hear the lay evangelizers give their thanks for your support below.

Finish church for local workers and tourists!

Corpus Christi construction is well underway. It is already 45% of the way done, and the roof is half finished as well. Fr. James and his parishioners need your help to finish their new parish home.

Take a look at the pictures below to see the progress made so far, and at the virtual renditions of what the church will look like when it is completed!

As the local people have come to know Jesus and fall more deeply in love with him, they have been inspired to help build Corpus Christi parish, both figuratively and literally. Corpus Christi parish will serve as the spiritual hub for thousands of resort employees and tourists from around the world in Playa del Carmen. It is already the place where people from all walks of life and countries of origin will get to encounter the living Jesus in a real, life-changing way.

The witness of Playa del Carmen’s residents makes a huge impact on visiting tourists. Their example of simple faith, hospitality, and generosity has impacted many visitors to deepen their own Catholic faith, and makes them realize that they, too, need a friendship with Christ. Your help is needed to finally make the plans for Corpus Christi a reality.

Click through the images below to see photos of construction progress, and virtual models of how Corpus Christi will look when it’s finished!

Give now to build a spiritual home for thousands of people

The people of Playa del Carmen have done a lot to fund the building of their church including countless fundraising events: bazaars, dinners, breakfasts, and special collections. With your gift today, you will not only evangelize internationally, but you will also help empower the people of Playa del Carmen, who are already working hard to build their church!

The residents of Playa del Carmen have raised nearly a third of the funds needed to build the church! They need your help to raise the remaining $632,000. They have shown us that with consistent effort, and a lot of faith, that when we all work together we can do great things. Here are some tangible ways you can help finish Corpus Christi parish:

• $10 provides one 50 kg bag of cement
• $50 buys 25 bricks, which are about $.50 a piece
• $162 pays for one cubic meter of concrete
• $200 pays one week’s wages for one construction worker

Fall 2018

Great progress is being made on Corpus Christi parish. Thanks to your support, this church is getting closer to being finished every day!

Click through the photos below to see the progress.

Restoration

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church suffered greatly when Hurricane Wilma came through. The stained glass windows were completely destroyed, and the floor and ceiling were damaged. Fr. Bernard Quinn, LC, knows the parish is important to the locals. It gives them hope and offers a place to gather strength. He worked hard to make sure that his parishioners will have a functioning church again.

Thanks to your generosity, the parish has gone through quite a few renovations recently. Donations helped repair the windows, ceiling and floors. The parish is home to 20,000 people.

Education

A small school is located next to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.

There, Fr. Quinn is always making improvements. The school next to the church serves elementary children during the day and high school students at night. Fr. Quinn actively participates in the children’s education. He wants them to be able to escape the extreme poverty they live in and not fall prey to drinking and drugs. Fr. Quinn teaches classes and advocates for providing the children with the resources they need to succeed in the classroom. His latest request helped build science and technology classrooms.

Evangelization

The people of Our Lady of Guadalupe live in deep poverty. This leads them to become addicted to drugs and alcohol when they feel hopeless. Unfortunately, it can begin at a very young age for some residents. Fr. Quinn is fighting to combat this trend.

The current goal is to build a new chapel on the other side of the highway for the other side of town to attend Mass. Many of the locals are Catholic but rely on walking to get anywhere, and very few people in the town have cars. The new chapel will allow those people on the other side of town to attend Mass without walking all day to get to Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is exactly the kind of thing that brings people hope and meaning to their lives.

Recently…

The second church in Playa del Carmen (still to be named) is under way! The building is progressing nicely. Click through the carousel below to see photos of the construction. You can also see a photo of the outdoor pavilion where Fr. Quinn celebrates Mass until the new church is finished. Please keep this project, Fr. Quinn, and the residents of Playa del Carmen in your prayers.