Where Our Mission to Serve Has Taken Us
The Holy Cross Mission Center, which began as the Holy Cross Foreign Mission Society, Inc., was established with its initial purpose to support the missions in East Bengal (now Bangladesh). In 1986, the Holy Cross Foreign Mission Society, Inc., merged with the Holy Cross Mission Center which was established to support Holy Cross efforts in Latin America, and East Africa.
Today the Holy Cross Mission Center supports the following jurisdictions: Province of East Africa; Sacred Heart of Jesus Province of Priests & St. Joseph Province of Brothers in Bangladesh; District of Chile-Peru; and Region of Mexico. Currently, the Holy Cross Mission Center also has collaborative relationships with Holy Cross communities in Ghana and Haiti.
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Asia
In 1851, Propaganda Fide, the Vatican congregation that oversees the Church’s missionary work, asked Blessed Basil Moreau if Holy Cross would assume responsibility for the Church’s mission in East Bengal. Whereas other congregations had refused because of the region’s poverty and difficult climate, Moreau accepted. After the first group to set sail was forced to turn back in December 1852 due to a storm, a second group of priests, brothers, and sisters arrived to Calcutta on May 20, 1853. They made their way to Dhaka and Noakhali by June.
Africa
Holy Cross established a presence in East Africa in 1958 in response to a general invitation by the Holy See to organize the Church’s missionary activities around the world. The first group of Holy Cross religious in East Africa was led by long-time missionary Rev. Vincent J. McCauley, C.S.C., who later became the first Bishop of Fort Portal Diocese and whose cause for sainthood was introduced in 2006. The Holy Cross religious settled in the northern portion of the Mbarara Diocese in Uganda, which later became the dioceses of Fort Portal, Hoima and Kasese.
Latin America
Three Holy Cross religious arrived in Santiago in 1943 to administer Saint George’s College. They believed they were going to do university work. Little did they know that “college” actually meant a school of pre-kindergarten through 12th graders.
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Interested to learn how your Holy Cross parish or educational institution might partner with the Holy Cross Mission Center? Together through prayer, fundraising, and cultural exchange opportunities, we can foster our love for Christ with our neighbors around the world.
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“In order to be a foreign missionary, one must know the mystery of the cross. From the mystery of the cross, the missionary must draw the apostolic strength of those generous imitators of Jesus Christ, whose life below was but a continuous martyrdom.”
Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C.

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With your prayers and financial support, we can continue to have a lasting impact in supporting the poor and vulnerable at our international missions.

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