After an unsuccessful quest to find Eucharistic Adoration during the chaos of World Youth Day 2023, my friend and I were sitting on a curb in a crowded street in Lisbon, Portugal eating pizza that we had just acquired from a local restaurant, before we planned to head back to our room for the night. We noticed a French priest from the Congregation of Holy Cross, whom we had met earlier that week at a gathering with different members of Holy Cross ministries from around the world, walking toward us with a group of teenagers he ministers to.
We tried our best to call out to him, but he did not seem to notice us. Exhausted from our walk around the city and keen on waving to him before we lost him in the crowd, we cried out as loudly as we could the Congregation’s motto, “Ave Crux, Spes Unica!” In that moment, he must have known what Samuel felt like when he realized God was calling him, because he frantically looked around him with his hands held together in a prayerful posture, saying, “yes… yes… yes!”
It might be safe to say that he was disappointed to find two young American women waving to him while eating pizza on the curb, and not a divine calling. But I learned two things that day. First, screaming “Ave Crux, Spes Unica” will effectively grab the attention of any Holy Cross religious in the vicinity, and second, Holy Cross men are prepared, even at a moment’s notice, to drop everything and follow the hope of the Cross.
Being Missionary Disciples in the world is an integral part of the Congregation of Holy Cross. This plays out in a myriad of ways, big and small—from the momentary readiness of the priest from France to respond to the motto, to Bishop Vincent McCauley’s arrival in Uganda.
As I was reading Romans 8:26-30, I reflected on the Congregation and its missionary works. Men are sent out into the world to seek out hearts which long for Christ. They are intentionally present to those in front of them, following the movements of the Spirit in order to prayerfully care for the souls entrusted to them. The Lord intended for them to be there, much before they even discerned a life dedicated to Him.
How wonderful it is for Holy Cross religious to look to the missionary nature of the Cross, choosing to die to their own desires and seeking to love their sheep as Christ loves His flock. They are conformed to the image of the One who died for us, redefining the meaning of suffering and turning it into one of Hope.
Ave Crux, Spes Unica. Hail the Cross, our only Hope.
Provided by Maria Kangapadan, Outreach Coordinator, November 2025
