Our Story of Faith and Service
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You Are Part of This Story
You may not know it yet, but your generosity is already part of this story.
It can be found in a school rebuilt after a typhoon, a clinic opened in Ghana, or a mother who returned home from the hospital with her child alive in her arms.
This is more than the history of Catholic World Mission. It is the story of what happens when faithful people encounter the Church’s mission at the ends of the earth and choose to respond.
1998 | What If We Just Asked?
While watching Mano Amiga Catholic schools struggle with limited funding, Fr. Luis Garza Medina LC asked a simple question:
“What if we just asked?”
Catholic World Mission was incorporated in New York that year by the Legionaries of Christ. Bishop Pedro Pablo Elizondo LC became the organization’s first chairman of the board.
From the beginning, the name reflected a bold vision: a mission universal in reach and unmistakably Catholic in identity.
We bring fish. We teach to fish. And above all, we bring the poor to The Fisher of Men.
1999 | Building Faith and Opportunity
Construction began on a Catholic church and school in Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Catholic World Mission also supported Mano Amiga scholarships and the work of ETC lay evangelizers, who served full time alongside priests and bishops in communities with few clergy.
2001 | From Rubble to Resurrection
After earthquakes devastated El Salvador, CWM responded with emergency assistance.
Six months later, a new Living Stones community emerged from the rubble:
200 homes
A parish church
A Mano Amiga school
A medical clinic
Access to clean water
That same year, CWM expanded scholarship support to Mano Amiga schools across Latin America.
2002 | Medical Missions Begin
Medical missions to Brazil began through Helping Hands Medical Missions, an outreach program inspired by Regnum Christi.
CWM also continued shipping medications and medical supplies directly to communities in need.
2006 | Reaching One Million People
Under Executive Director Kenneth Davison:
Lay missionaries supported more than 600 parish priests.
CWM’s programs reached one million people worldwide.
Twenty-four Mano Amiga schools educated more than 12,000 children.
CWM shipped $15 million in medications to communities in need in one year.
“All Catholic World Mission projects deal with poverty that affects the entire person: poverty of body, mind, and spirit.”— Kenneth Davison, Executive Director, 2006
Early Global Impact
During these foundational years, CWM supported:
Scholarships and schools across Mexico and Latin America
Earthquake recovery in El Salvador
Schools and shelters for young mothers in Brazil
Food and medication delivery in Mexico
Disaster relief in the Philippines
Lay evangelizers serving communities without a permanent priest
2007–2010 | A Season of Transition
Following Kenneth Davison’s tenure, CWM continued operating within the broader structure of the Legionaries of Christ’s development office in Connecticut.
With Tom Clements providing interim leadership, CWM began establishing its own institutional identity and organizational foundation.
2010 | Responding to Haiti
After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, CWM provided:
Food
Temporary shelters
Medications
Basic necessities
2011 | A New Chapter Begins
Rick Medina was appointed executive director in September 2011 and began relocating CWM’s team and operations to Georgia.
Around the same time, Fr. John Connor LC became chairman of the board and introduced stronger nonprofit governance, including formal meetings, documented resolutions, and structured oversight.
CWM was becoming an independent and mature Catholic nonprofit organization.
“Catholic World Mission shines in bringing together God’s love and material support in a very beautiful way.”— Fr. Lino Otero LC
Expanding Across the World
During this period, CWM supported:
A hospital and medical clinic in Ghana
Earthquake recovery in Haiti
Tsunami relief in Japan
Flood relief and evangelization in the Philippines
Disaster relief in Myanmar
School construction in Guatemala
Food and medicine distribution in Mexico
Drought relief in Kenya
2011–2017 | Strengthening Accountability
During Rick Medina’s leadership, CWM transformed its internal operations and expanded its global reach.
He:
Rebuilt the Catholic World Mission brand and website
Strengthened fundraising and direct-mail programs
Established a formal project evaluation process
Required local episcopal endorsement for projects
Introduced stronger documentation and reporting
Personally visited communities to verify the use and impact of donations
Built lasting relationships with bishops and religious congregations
Accountability to the poor is not simply a policy. It is a posture.
A Truly Global Mission
CWM expanded beyond its early Regnum Christi partnerships and began working more extensively with dioceses and Catholic leaders across:
Sub-Saharan Africa
South and Southeast Asia
Eastern Europe
Latin America
Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Cameroon became central parts of the mission.
Bringing Christ to the World
Projects during these years included:
Medical equipment for hospitals in Nigeria
Ebola relief in Liberia
Hospital and school construction in Cameroon
Typhoon-damaged school reconstruction in the Philippines
Seminarian formation and evangelization in India
Water wells and church construction in Ghana
Hospital construction in Chile
Orphanage support in Congo
Support for a girls’ orphanage in Bangladesh
Formation programs in Sri Lanka, Poland, Malawi, Cuba, and South Africa
Monstrances for dioceses across Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean
Fr. Lino Otero LC served as secretary of the board throughout this period, supporting CWM’s growth alongside Fr. John Connor LC and Rick Medina.
2017 | New Board Leadership
On November 13, 2017, Fr. Daniel Brandenburg LC became chairman of the board.
A new board began to take shape, bringing together priests, physicians, attorneys, financial executives, and mission-minded Catholic lay leaders.
Under their leadership, CWM strengthened:
Board oversight
Professional governance
Organizational policies
Financial accountability
Long-term mission planning
2019 | CWM Comes Home to Georgia
Catholic World Mission completed its reincorporation in Georgia, officially closing its New York chapter and establishing its permanent home in Roswell.
2019–2022 | Deepening the Mission
During this period, CWM continued supporting:
Seminarian formation across Africa
Church construction in Ghana
Nursing care provided by religious sisters in Nigeria
Safe water projects in Ghana and Kenya
Mano Amiga scholarships in Asia and Latin America
Educational programs in India
Medical supplies for hospitals and clinics
ETC lay evangelizers
Monstrances for dioceses in need
2022 | Honoring Eleven Years of Leadership
Rick Medina concluded his tenure as executive director in October 2022 after eleven years of service.
He departed to serve the Archdiocese of Atlanta, leaving behind a stronger organization and enduring relationships with Catholic leaders around the world.
2023 | New Executive Leadership
James Flanagan became executive director of Catholic World Mission in January 2023.
Under his leadership, CWM has:
Strengthened donor relationships
Expanded its fundraising capacity
Deepened its programmatic focus
Increased its commitment to Sub-Saharan Africa
Continued building partnerships with dioceses, religious communities, and lay movements
The Trinitarian Method
Today, every Catholic World Mission project brings together three essential partners:
A generous donor
A trusted local Church leader
The community being served
The donor gives from a generous heart. The local partner brings knowledge and proximity. The community contributes its labor, participation, and ownership.
This is more than a practical framework. It is a model of communion.
Genuine mission is not aid delivered across a distance. It is communion entered into together.
2025 | Welcoming Maternal Life International
In 2025, Maternal Life International, a Catholic nonprofit serving mothers and babies in Sub-Saharan Africa since 1997, asked CWM to acquire its programs.
This brought two proven initiatives into the CWM mission.
SAFE PASSAGE
Safe Passages trains midwives, nurses, and physicians in remote communities to recognize and manage obstetrical emergencies.
In rural Uganda, nineteen-year-old Florence and her baby survived life-threatening complications because a midwife trained through Safe Passages knew how to respond.
THE FAITHFUL HOUSE
The Faithful House strengthens marriages and families through Catholic formation.
The program has documented improvements in:
Marriage and family stability
Food security
Parenting
Communication
Reduction of domestic violence
THREE PILLARS, ONE MISSION
CWM organized its work around three interconnected pillars:
Family
Education
Evangelization
Together, they express an integral vision of human dignity: people need to be loved, formed, and brought into a living relationship with God.
TODAY | Serving More Than 46 Countries
Catholic World Mission now serves communities in more than 46 countries.
Its work includes:
Education projects in Peru, Mexico, Zambia, Brazil, and beyond
Family initiatives in Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, and Kenya
Evangelization and religious formation around the world
Support for priests, seminarians, sisters, and local bishops
Monstrances that make Eucharistic Adoration possible in underserved dioceses
“Catholic World Mission builds bridges. We seek to bridge the gaps between the physical and the spiritual, between the rich and the poor, between today and tomorrow, and between all of us here on Earth and the eternal life in Heaven for which we strive.”— Fr. Daniel Brandenburg LC, Chairman
More than twenty-five years after its founding, the heartbeat of Catholic World Mission has not changed:
We bring fish. We teach to fish. And above all, we bring the poor to The Fisher of Men.
The names change. The countries multiply. The programs deepen. But the conviction remains the same: the Church’s mission to the poor is not charity delivered from a distance. It is a bridge we step onto together in faith.
You are not simply supporting a mission.
You are joining one.
Let’s Build More Bridges
Explore our programs, discover the communities your generosity can serve, and become part of the next chapter of the Catholic World Mission story.
Give today and help change a life forever
MAKE A DIFFERENCE TODAY
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