Fr. Lino Otero, LC

May 1
3 min read

A Mission to Share the Love of Christ

Fr. Lino Otero always had a desire to be part of something bigger than himself. Growing up in Nicaragua, he was struck by the plight of the people around him who suffered from war and poverty and wondered what he could do to bring them to the love of God.

After his family moved to Florida when Fr. Lino was a teenager, he received an answer to this question while on retreat with his parish youth group at a Trappist monastery.

“It changed my life. The experience that I had of God’s love touched me so profoundly that I could not envision doing anything but giving my life to God. And that’s where it started.”

Fr. Lino followed God’s call to the seminary, and he was ordained a priest of the Legionaries of Christ in 2001. This apostolic vocation, as well as his involvement in Regnum Christi, further defined Fr. Lino’s mission to evangelize society and to make the world a better place by walking with others through their suffering.

His journey led him to serve others in many capacities, including pastoral work, administration, and spiritual direction. He earned degrees in Business Administration, Theology, Psychology, a Certificate in Spiritual Direction, and is currently working towards his doctorate in Social Philosophy. For fifteen years, he worked in very poor parishes with Hispanic immigrants, serving communities in New York and California. In 2024, he joined Divine Mercy University – a Catholic graduate university of psychology and counseling – as Director of the Lifelong Learning Institute.

“There are two passions that I have. One is the integration of psychology with spirituality, and Divine Mercy University is known for this. The other has to do with the plight of the poor. It has to do with how to understand the world is such a way that we make it a better place.”

Through Catholic World Mission, Fr. Lino found one means of doing exactly that. He witnessed the birth of the organization and supported it as it grew. From the beginning, he understood and emphasized the great importance of uniting evangelization with material support.

“We’re passing through this world. Through the material support we reach people’s souls, but the biggest poverty that we can have is the lack of knowing God. Catholic World Mission shines in bringing together God’s love and material support in a very beautiful way.”

When Fr. Lino was a thirteen-year-old in Nicaragua, he had the opportunity to teach a seventy-year-old gardener how to read and write. This experience opened his eyes and gave him a new appreciation for the gift of something so seemingly simple as being able to read and write.

“Sometimes we take these things for granted. Many of the people we serve at Catholic World Mission don’t know how to read and write. They don’t know how to live a decent life. They don’t have clean water or access to the most basic medical care,” says Fr. Lino. “Being able to provide for their families, for their children, for a better future, is transforming the lives of so many people. And that’s what we’re here in this world for.”

Catholic World Mission thanks Fr. Lino Otero for offering himself so generously to the mission of alleviating suffering and sharing the love of God with the world.

Join us to share the love of Christ. Support Catholic World Mission and help bring hope, dignity, and faith to those who need it most.