Born with spina bifida, Mariamawit takes determined steps of faith during physical therapy at a Brothers of Good Works rehabilitative program in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In many developing countries, families face a daily struggle to access basic healthcare. Remote villages are often hours from the nearest clinic, essential medicines are scarce, and trained health workers are in short supply. For people struggling to secure simple food and shelter, adequate care can be impossible to afford even when it is available. Children miss school because they are too weak to attend, while elderly people often suffer in silence without treatment or support.
Your compassion can help change this reality. Your support will provide our Catholic ministry partners with the funding and supplies to serve the poor through hospitals, health clinics and mobile outreaches that bless even the most isolated communities.
Please consider making a gift today to bring essential healthcare and relief to families in need.
Cross Catholic Outreach is supporting trusted ministry partners across Asia, Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico to bring reliable healthcare to the most vulnerable communities. By equipping Catholic clinics and hospitals with essential medicines, supplies and trained health workers, we can help families access care when they need it most. Together, we can strengthen local health systems by ensuring clinic shelves remain stocked, that health workers are well prepared and supported, and that families can receive lifesaving care in the communities where they live.
Provide expectant mothers and newborns with essential care, safer deliveries and early treatment, giving babies a healthier, stronger start in life.
Give children with disabilities the care, equipment and support services they need to improve their daily function and find strength through community.
Help women access gynecological care and screenings for breast cancer, diabetes and anemia, promoting early detection and providing lifesaving support.
Our trusted network of local ministry partners is dedicated to helping the most vulnerable members of their communities gain access to lifesaving, locally led healthcare where options are limited and the need is urgent. Here are three examples:
Since 2019, The Pearl Association (Asociación La Perla), a Honduran faith-inspired humanitarian NGO, has served vulnerable communities. They’ve worked hard to improve lives through health initiatives, education and food security. In partnership with Cross Catholic Outreach, the organization helps deliver essential medicines, medical supplies, food assistance, hygiene items and construction materials to clinics, hospitals and schools. They are especially driven to reach isolated communities that have limited access to public services, strengthening local capacity and care networks. Guided by values of solidarity, compassion and service, this dedicated ministry partner strives to be a channel of hope and practical love for families in greatest need.
The Daughters of the Redeemer is a Catholic congregation founded in Zambia with a simple but powerful mission: to serve their neighbors in need by showing them holy compassion. They provide medical supplies and improve access to healthcare, dental care and maternity services through St. Thomas Mission Hospital and Mangango Catholic Mission Hospital, which serve a collective total of about 25,000 patients each year. Their ministry began with a humble desire to listen, understand and meet people where they are. What they encountered was often heartbreaking: mothers who lost babies due to lack of prenatal care, families struggling with hunger and entire villages marked by hardship. Yet through this suffering, they also witnessed resilience, faith and deep gratitude for life. Supported by Cross Catholic Outreach since 2016, their work has helped expand medical care, improve nutrition and bring hope to some of Zambia’s most vulnerable communities.
Cross Catholic Outreach has partnered with the Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu in Guatemala since 2019. What started as a simple food distribution project has now expanded into a comprehensive effort to improve healthcare and water systems, provide agricultural training, build new homes, and award scholarships that empower families to end the cycle of poverty. “God has given us all dignity, and nobody can take it away from us, whether we are rich or poor,” said Director César Castillo. “I thank God for the opportunity to serve my brothers and sisters in the part of Guatemala where I grew up.”
In Zambia, a young boy named Solomon lay on a narrow bed just outside a surgical wing, his father, Matthews, by his side. Only hours earlier, Solomon had stepped out at dusk to fetch water when he encountered a black mamba near the doorway to his family’s home. When it struck, his cries brought his parents running. For a child, a bite like that can become fatal very quickly. Matthews explained their home is just a 15-minute walk from St. Thomas Rural Health Centre. As soon as they arrived, the staff administered injections and an IV.
That quick care saved Solomon’s life.
“I am very grateful,” Matthews said. “They were fast in acting. If I had to go farther, it could have been a different story.”
Without St. Thomas, the nearest clinic would have taken much longer to reach. In a case like this, that distance matters. For this family, the clinic is not new. Both of Matthews’ children were born there. His mother once came for treatment when she was seriously ill and recovered.
“It has helped a lot of people,” he said. “My prayer is that they continue in the same way.”
In developing countries, many families live great distances from reliable medical care. A simple illness, injury in the field or complications during pregnancy can quickly become life-threatening when the nearest doctor is hours away — or when a clinic lacks essential medicines, equipment or staff.
For many parents, finding care for themselves or their children is not a matter of choice but of distance and cost. Some delay treatment until conditions become severe. Pregnant women may go without regular checkups. Children with disabilities go without strengthening support. Elderly family members endure chronic pain, without diagnosis or treatment. Sadly, far too many people are not able to access the care they need in time.
Cross Catholic Outreach hopes to help change this reality for thousands of families around the world. By equipping local ministry partners with medicines, supplies and support for frontline health workers, we can reach vulnerable families closer to home. At the same time, we can strengthen clinics so they are better prepared to respond when and where emergencies happen.
Karen, a health program technician, joyfully interacts with a young child outside a community health cabinet in rural Guatemala. In the Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu, access to healthcare is limited, making this facility an essential resource for local families.
Cross Catholic Outreach and our local ministry partners serve on behalf of the Church’s mission of healing. Your support makes critical health projects possible. Your prayers and generosity help bring care to communities where access to basic services is often out of reach. Your compassion equips trusted in-country ministry partners with the medicines, supplies and resources needed to serve children, mothers and families in developing countries. Please join us in this effort and help bring quality medical care to our brothers and sisters in Christ who need it most!
Use it for reflections and notes to grow in your spiritual life. You’ll also receive a prayer request form to mail back so that we can pray for your needs. In effect, this creates a spiritual bridge to connect you to our sisters and brothers in Christ in the developing world!
Cross Mission Partners also receive a semiannual Mission Update with news, insights and information about the good work and accomplishments made possible by your support.
Every dollar helps us bless the least of our brothers and sisters throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Mexico & Central America and South America.
Thank You for Your Special Commitment to Serving the Poor!
The Cross Catholic Outreach Christmas Catalog makes it fun and easy to extend the joy of Christmas to the poor. Instead of being filled with retail items, the catalog contains meaningful gifts for some of the world’s most impoverished families. Some gifts are lifesaving items such as Food, while others are large projects such as Safe Homes or Clean Water. All gifts are sent on your behalf to grateful families in developing countries.
It’s easy to shop through the Cross Catholic Outreach Christmas Catalog. Simply browse through the categories and choose an item within your budget and close to your heart, such as Box of Joy or Catholic School Scholarships for children. Select and sponsor one or more of these gifts, and you’ll make a meaningful impact on the life of a needy child or family overseas. It’s that simple!
Blessing the poor happens year-round. Some gifts in our Christmas Catalog are sourced locally, so there is no need to worry about international shipping. For items that require shipping, Cross Catholic Outreach works with partners in every country we serve to ensure Christmas Catalog gifts are delivered in a timely fashion.
Yes! Making a gift in honor of a friend or family member is a fun and easy way to share Christmas joy. Once you complete the checkout process, let them know by sending a printed certificate or e-Card.
Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2027, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.
