by Dionel Rodriguez | Aug 12, 2026
In the rural community of Villa 14 in Chipiriri, Bolivia, the Catholic faith remains a vital source of hope and unity despite significant economic hardship. Most families in the area are small-scale farmers who work hard simply to meet their daily needs, leaving little margin for major construction projects, even ones as important to community life as a permanent church building.
Despite these constraints, parishioners have made remarkable sacrifices over time to advance construction of a church that reflects their strong faith and commitment to their community, contributing what labor, materials, and funds they could manage. Maryknoll is helping complete the construction and furnishing of the church, along with supporting the ongoing development of parish ministries that serve the wider community.
Sacrificial contributions of labor and materials from local farming families reflect the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Solidarity, a community pooling its limited resources for the good of all. Completing this church also carries forward Maryknoll’s charism of accompanying communities toward self-sufficiency, helping bring to completion a project the parish began and sustained largely through its own determination and faith.
Gifts to this project help complete construction and furnishing of the Villa 14 church, creating a permanent spiritual home where families can gather for prayer, the sacraments, and community life.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Aug 3, 2026
Young people in Chipiriri, Bolivia, like their peers in many communities, face pressures that can leave them feeling disconnected from their faith and from a sense of purpose and community. Without structured opportunities for engagement, adolescence and early adulthood can become a period where young people drift away from parish life at precisely the time they most need guidance and belonging.
Maryknoll helps youth in Chipiriri grow as disciples and leaders through a range of programs, including retreats, educational workshops, sports activities, faith-sharing events, and leadership development opportunities. These varied formats are intended to meet young people where their interests lie, whether that means athletic competition, small-group faith sharing, or hands-on leadership roles within parish activities.
Forming young disciples and leaders reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation, inviting young people in Chipiriri to take an active role in shaping their parish’s future rather than remaining passive observers of it. This project also carries forward Maryknoll’s charism of forming missionary disciples, cultivating leadership and faith together so that today’s participants become tomorrow’s catechists and community leaders.
Gifts to this project support retreats, workshops, and leadership programs that help young people in Chipiriri build confidence, deepen their faith, and grow into the next generation of leaders for their parish and diocese.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Aug 3, 2026
Bolivia’s vast rural geography, spanning highland altiplano, mountain valleys, and remote lowland villages, makes it impossible for priests to be regularly present in every community they serve. In many of these villages, lay catechists carry primary responsibility for sustaining parish life between the priest’s periodic visits, teaching the faith and preparing parishioners for the sacraments largely on their own.
Maryknoll provides structured training and ongoing formation for these lay catechists, equipping them with the theological knowledge, teaching skills, and spiritual grounding necessary to serve as effective evangelizers and local leaders. Through ongoing education and mentorship rather than a single training session, catechists build the confidence and competence to handle the wide range of pastoral situations that arise in daily parish life.
Training lay catechists across Bolivia’s vast rural geography reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation, entrusting ordinary believers with responsibility for sustaining the faith of their own communities. This project also carries forward Maryknoll’s evangelizing charism, recognizing that the Gospel travels farthest when carried by local leaders equipped to teach and witness long after any single missioner has departed.
Gifts to this project support the training and formation of lay catechists across Bolivia’s rural regions, helping ensure the Gospel and the sacraments reach even the most remote communities in the country.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Aug 3, 2026
In the rural community of Chipiriri, Bolivia, many families have long lacked consistent access to pastoral care and structured opportunities for faith formation, a gap that leaves parish life fragile even where the desire for spiritual community runs deep. Responding to this need, Maryknoll reached out to the Parish of Señor de Exaltación de la Santa Cruz to serve local communities and help revitalize the region’s spiritual life as shepherds of the community.
Through sacramental ministry, pastoral outreach, faith formation programs, and broader community engagement, the parish provides a welcoming spiritual home for individuals and families seeking to deepen their relationship with God. As a growing parish, it continues to require ongoing support to maintain its facilities and expand its capacity to serve the community.
Working in this parish reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation, giving a previously underserved community its own spiritual home and pastoral leadership. It also embodies Maryknoll’s founding charism of building up local Church structures where none previously existed, planting the institutions that allow faith to take permanent root rather than depending indefinitely on outside presence.
Gifts to this project help maintain and grow this emerging parish community, bringing consistent pastoral care, sacramental ministry, and faith formation to families throughout the Chipiriri region.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Aug 3, 2026
For many young people in Bolivia, opportunities to actively live out their faith through direct service remain limited, particularly for those from families with few resources for travel or extracurricular programs. Meanwhile, remote mountain communities across the country often have limited access to volunteers, catechists, or additional support for community projects and pastoral outreach.
Maryknoll’s Youth Mission Camp connects these two realities, giving young people from across Bolivia the chance to participate in an immersive mission experience that combines faith, service, and leadership development. Participants travel to remote mountain communities, where they work alongside local families, assist with practical projects, and share their faith through direct engagement with people whose circumstances often differ significantly from their own.
This program embodies the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Solidarity, forming young Bolivians in direct, personal encounter with communities whose circumstances differ from their own. It is also a clear expression of Maryknoll’s founding charism as a missionary sending society, extending the call to mission service beyond ordained missioners themselves and inviting a new generation of young Catholics to discover their own vocation to serve.
Gifts to this project cover transportation and meals for young people participating in mission camps, forming future Church leaders while bringing encouragement and practical support to remote Bolivian communities.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Aug 3, 2026
Devotion to the Blessed Mother holds deep spiritual significance in many Bolivian communities, shaping both individual prayer life and broader parish traditions. Yet many parishes lack a dedicated space that reflects and supports this devotion, one set apart specifically for prayer, pilgrimage, and reflection centered on Mary’s intercession.
Maryknoll is helping create a Marian grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, designed to serve as a lasting place of prayer, pilgrimage, and celebration for the parish community and visitors alike. The grotto will provide a physical, dedicated space where parishioners can come for quiet reflection, special devotions, and communal celebrations tied to Marian feast days throughout the liturgical year.
A dedicated space for prayer and devotion reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation, gathering the parish around a shared spiritual tradition that spans generations. In supporting this grotto, Maryknoll continues its charism of honoring and strengthening the popular piety already alive within the communities it serves, rather than imposing devotional practices foreign to local culture and history.
Gifts to this project help construct a Marian grotto that will provide a lasting spiritual home for prayer, pilgrimage, and devotion, inspiring generations of Bolivian Catholics through Mary’s intercession.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Aug 3, 2026
In Bolivia’s rural communities, families often face significant hardship and geographic isolation, with limited access to consistent pastoral care, social services, or economic opportunity. In these settings, faith frequently serves as one of the primary sources of stability and mutual support that holds families and neighbors together through difficult circumstances.
Maryknoll is helping establish and strengthen Christian Base Communities, small groups where families gather regularly for prayer, Scripture reflection, faith formation, and mutual support. These gatherings serve a dual purpose, deepening participants’ spiritual lives while also functioning as a practical support network for households facing poverty and isolation, an approach rooted in the long tradition of Christian Base Communities across Latin America.
Small faith communities gathered for prayer and mutual support directly embody the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Solidarity, a tradition with deep roots throughout Latin America, affirming that no family should face poverty or isolation alone. This project also reflects Maryknoll’s founding charism of walking alongside the poor in their daily lives, forming Church not from a distance but from within the ordinary rhythms of rural community.
Gifts to this project help establish and sustain Christian Base Communities that combine prayer, faith formation, and practical assistance, building stronger, more resilient rural communities rooted in shared faith and solidarity.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Mar 5, 2025
Deep within the Bolivian Amazon, many Catholic communities are separated by vast distances and challenging travel conditions, including rivers that can only be crossed by boat and roads that become impassable during the rainy season. These geographic realities mean that regular access to priests, sacraments, and organized parish life is far from guaranteed for many residents.
Maryknoll serves these communities directly through the parish ministry in SantÃsima Trinidad, bringing sacraments, faith formation, pastoral care, and community support to people who would otherwise have limited access to the institutional Church. Given the difficulty of travel, missionaries serving this parish often plan extended visits to outlying communities to make the most of each journey.
Serving remote Amazonian communities embodies the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Care for God’s Creation, recognizing that the wellbeing of these families is inseparable from the health of the rainforest surrounding them. This ministry also reflects Maryknoll’s founding charism of going to the peripheries, sustaining a committed presence in places that geography alone renders difficult for the institutional Church to reach on any regular basis.
Gifts to this project support pastoral outreach, sacramental ministry, and sustainable development efforts that keep remote Amazonian communities connected to their faith, to the Church, and to one another.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Feb 8, 2022
Families across Bolivia face a range of emotional, psychological, and spiritual challenges, from the strains of poverty to the effects of family separation and other significant life stressors. In many communities, professional mental health resources are scarce, and the stigma sometimes associated with seeking psychological help can further discourage individuals and families from pursuing needed support.
Maryknoll provides pastoral counseling and spiritual accompaniment to individuals, couples, children, and families navigating these difficulties. Working alongside professional counselors and psychologists, the ministry offers structured counseling services alongside complementary supports, including literacy programs, after-school assistance for children, home visits for families unable to travel, and broader outreach to vulnerable populations.
This ministry reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Life and Dignity of the Human Person, affirming that emotional and psychological wellbeing matter as much as physical health to a life lived in dignity, alongside the Call to Family, which holds up the household as the foundational unit of society. It also embodies Maryknoll’s charism of accompaniment, offering steady, compassionate presence to individuals and families navigating difficulties too often carried in silence.
Gifts to this project support pastoral counseling, literacy programs, and family outreach that help individuals and families find healing, strengthen relationships, and navigate difficult circumstances with renewed hope.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Feb 8, 2022
Inspired by Pope Francis’s call in Laudato Si’ to care for our common home, communities throughout Latin America face mounting environmental and social challenges that call for a response rooted in both faith and practical action. From deforestation to climate-related agricultural disruption, environmental degradation increasingly intersects with issues of poverty and social justice across the region.
Maryknoll supports missionary formation, environmental stewardship, and faith-based leadership initiatives designed to help address these interconnected challenges. Through workshops, retreats, and educational programs, participants are encouraged to integrate faith, social justice, and care for creation into their daily lives and ministries, rather than treating environmental concern as separate from spiritual or pastoral work.
Directly named for Pope Francis’s landmark encyclical, this project embodies the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Care for God’s Creation, forming missionaries and lay leaders across Latin America to see environmental protection as inseparable from social justice. It also reflects Maryknoll’s charism of prophetic witness, preparing a new generation to carry Laudato Si’s call for ecological conversion into the concrete life of parishes and communities.
Gifts to this project support missionary formation, reforestation, and leadership development that form disciples across Latin America committed to protecting the environment and building a more just, sustainable future for their communities.
