Holistic development — that is the operative phrase driving this socially active Catholic diocese, about a 90-minute drive from the Guatemala City airport. Or, as modern Catholic social teaching more often describes it, integral human development. The idea behind both terms is that the poor need more than full bellies, safe shelter or a basic education to truly thrive. The proponents of integral human development believe in equipping the poor fully so they can flourish economically, intellectually, physically, and spiritually.
Serving alongside Santa Rosa’s Father Rául Monterroso, we are working to reduce poverty and bring Christ-centered renewal to the most deeply impoverished corners of this Guatemalan diocese. This effort includes the provision of:
- ● Safe housing
- ● Clean water
- ● Agriculture support
- ● Children’s scholarships
- ● Land and a new school building for a Catholic school
- ● Construction of a new chapel in a poor, remote village
- ● Support for the formation and reinforcement of small missionary communities
- ● Operational support of the diocese’s Caritas organization