In everything we do, Cross Catholic Outreach remains focused on the Gospel message of mercy. With our Catholic missionary partners around the world, we put Catholic social teaching into action by feeding the hungry, giving care to the sick and housing the homeless.

Each year, the Box of Joy ministry sponsors a Christmas gift program on behalf of the poor, organized by local Catholic schools, parishes and groups across the United States and facilitated by Cross Catholic Outreach. Box of Joy provides teachers, parish leaders and other Catholic groups a unique opportunity to participate in a simple and tangible service experience that has both a material and a spiritual impact on the poorest of the poor in developing countries.

Last Christmas, seminarians from Theological College in Washington D.C. were blessed with the chance to serve as Christ’s hands and feet to poor Guatemalan children. The effort began with a Cross Catholic Outreach Box of Joy packing event, where they helped prepare gift boxes of toys and other special items for children who might otherwise get nothing at all for Christmas.

Cross Catholic Outreach depends greatly on the openness of pastors throughout the country to host an Outreach Priest at their parishes, thereby inviting parishioners to unite with its mission partners through their prayers and financial support. These parish visits are crucial to the ability of Cross Catholic Outreach to carry out its fundamental mission and ministry.

Recently, our Clergy and Diocesan Relations department (CDR) had the opportunity to speak with Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi, the Archbishop of Mobile, who also serves as Chairman of Cross Catholic Outreach’s Board of Directors. He shared with us his thoughts on the importance of helping the poor and how every gift we receive can make a difference in the lives of those suffering the bondage of poverty.