by Dionel Rodriguez | Aug 3, 2026
The Gospel reaches people in many forms today, and increasingly, digital and broadcast technology plays a significant role alongside traditional in-person parish life. For homebound parishioners, young adults with busy schedules, and others who may not regularly attend Mass in person, technology offers a meaningful way to remain connected to their faith community.
Maryknoll is helping expand parish outreach in Brazil by supporting livestreamed Masses, digital faith formation programs, and broader digital evangelization efforts. Improved communications technology allows the parish to maintain a consistent connection with parishioners who cannot regularly attend in person, whether due to illness, mobility limitations, distance, or scheduling constraints tied to work or family responsibilities.
Expanding parish outreach through digital tools reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation, ensuring that homebound and distant parishioners remain genuinely connected to their faith community rather than gradually drifting away. This project also carries forward Maryknoll’s evangelizing charism, adapting the Church’s oldest mission, spreading the Gospel, to reach people through the communication tools of the present day.
Gifts to this project support livestreaming equipment, digital faith formation resources, and evangelization efforts that extend the reach of the Gospel and keep parishioners connected to their faith community, both online and in person.
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
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 Maryknoll Society | Mar 30, 2023
Formation for ministry does not end at ordination or the taking of vows; effective Church leadership requires continuing education throughout a person’s ministry, particularly as pastoral, theological, and administrative challenges evolve over time. Across East Africa, many priests, religious sisters and brothers, seminarians, catechists, and other Church leaders have limited access to structured opportunities for this kind of continuing formation.
Maryknoll supports ongoing education programs designed to strengthen the theological, pastoral, and professional skills of Church leaders throughout the region. These programs help experienced ministers stay current with pastoral best practices, deepen their theological understanding, and develop practical skills, ranging from counseling to administration, that make them more effective in responding to the needs of the communities they serve.
Continuing formation for clergy and religious reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation, recognizing that effective Church leadership must keep pace with the evolving pastoral needs of the communities it serves. This regional program also carries forward Maryknoll’s charism of strengthening the local Church across borders, investing in the leaders who will shape Catholic life throughout East Africa long after any single mission assignment ends.
Gifts to this project support continuing education for priests, religious, and catechists across East Africa, strengthening Church leadership and its capacity to serve local communities effectively over the long term.
by Dionel Rodriguez | Feb 22, 2023
The future vitality of the Catholic Church in Tanzania depends significantly on the formation of a new generation of priests prepared to serve God’s people for decades to come. In the Diocese of Shinyanga, a meaningful number of young men are discerning and pursuing a vocation to the priesthood, a hopeful sign for the local Church, but one that comes with substantial financial demands.
Seminary formation is a lengthy and costly process, encompassing years of academic study, spiritual direction, pastoral training, and daily living expenses, costs that quickly outpace what many families or the diocese alone can sustain. Maryknoll helps bridge this gap, ensuring that seminarians in Shinyanga receive the spiritual, academic, and pastoral training necessary to become effective and faithful priests.
Forming future priests reflects the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation, since ordained ministers serve as the primary shepherds of the parish communities that anchor Catholic life. This project is also a direct expression of Maryknoll’s founding charism as a missionary society dedicated to building up the local Church, investing in indigenous clergy who will carry the faith forward long after Maryknoll missioners have moved on.
Gifts to this project provide housing, education, and formation support for future priests of the Diocese of Shinyanga, helping ensure the Church in Tanzania continues to be served by well-prepared, faithful clergy.
