Holy Week Missions 2023: Over 2000 Missionaries Share Christ’s Love

Regnum Christi worldwide has a tradition of engaging in Holy Week Missions, uniting in a special way to Jesus’ self-gift through his Passion. Over the Easter Triduum, over 2000 Regnum Christi Holy Week missionaries across over a dozen localities around the United States, Canada, and Asia shared Christ’s love and served others in their communities – here are just a few of the missions that took place this year!

 

Regnum Christi Atlanta

Regnum Christi Atlanta had over 400 youth and adult missionaries turn out for missions at four locations in and around Atlanta. The Church of the Good Shepherd in Cumming, GA, hosted the Good Shepherd Catholic Church Holy Week Missions, and Mercy Missions Atlanta, a division of Mission Youth, put on a Holy Week Mission where nearly 200 youth and adults participated in missions from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday in downtown Atlanta. St. Brendan the Navigator Catholic Church, which is served by Legionary priests Fr. Matthew VanSmoorenburg, Fr. Michael Shannon, and Fr. Paul Alger, hosted a variety of events, including an ECYD Middle School Holy Week Mission which included an Easter Egg Hunt after one of the morning Masses. Lisa Satory, an active Regnum Christi member in Atlanta, took the Holy Week Family Missions at St. Brendan’s to a senior living facility in Cumming, where they served lunch (with mimosas and a visit from the Easter Bunny!). Fr. Juan Pablo Duran, LC, led The Sermon in the Lot in downtown Atlanta, and missionaries also brought Easter cards and treats to 350 prisoners in the county prison.

 

Regnum Christi in North Carolina

St. Joseph Catholic Church in Raleigh had nearly 150 people come out for Holy Week Missions with Fr. Peter Devereux, LC, making sandwiches for those experiencing homelessness. In Cary, St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church hosted a Door-to-Door Prayer Mission.

 

Regnum Christi Chicago

Chicago’s Holy Week Missions took place at Everest Academy in Lemont, and the surrounding parishes, with over 100 missionaries, who filled approximately 260 Buckets of Hope to be sent to the recent tornado victims, and made over 300 lunches for Morning Star Mission in Joliet to feed the hungry. They also cleaned the grotto area at St. Mary’s retreat center for future retreatants, and visited and served the residents of Franciscan Village with a beautiful Easter lunch, where they distributed Easter baskets, played bingo, and prayed together. During a Cross Walk, missionaries knocked on doors and asked for prayer intentions, bringing the message and mission of Easter to downtown Lemont.

 

Regnum Christi Dallas

Fr. Benjamin O’Loughlin, LC, who serves as the RC Young Adult Team Director in the national RC Life Department and Director for the Regnum Christi Young Men’s section in Dallas, ran the young adult track for the Dallas Holy Week Missions, with nearly 100 people participating. The family and high school track, which included over a hundred participants, led by Fr. Jared Loehr, LC, out of St. Cecilia Catholic Church presented a living Stations of the Cross at a senior living center.

 

Regnum Christi North East Ohio

On Good Friday, members of St. Rose Catholic Church, Apostolado de la Cruz, and Family Mission Toledo performed a living Stations of the Cross through downtown Perrysburg, Ohio. They also visited Sunshine Communities, a nonprofit organization located in northwest Ohio that supports people of all ages with developmental disabilities, and held an Easter Egg hunt with the patrons there.

 

Regnum Christi Detroit

St. Damien of Molokai Parish in Pontiac, Illinois, hosted the 2023 Greater Detroit Family Mission. Approximately 100 missionaries participated in a variety of activities, which included visits to a shelter, soup kitchen, nursing home, and youth treatment center, as well as door-to-door evangelization, live Stations of the Cross, and a Seven Church Adoration pilgrimage.

 

Regnum Christi Houston

This year, Regnum Christi Houston celebrated 30 years of missions, and kicked off their Holy Week missions with Mass and a commissioning ceremony, which included a blessing of mission crosses, on Palm Sunday at All Saints Catholic Church in Houston. Fr. Eamonn Shelley, LC, led a pilgrimage that started at the grotto at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, and ended with lunch at Rita’s Cantina Mexican Kitchen. Nearly 500 missionaries signed up for missions in the Houston/Spring area – activities included packing and handing out lunch bags to individuals experiencing homelessness in downtown Houston, a live Stations of the Cross, a Cross Walk, and a Kids’ Festival on Easter Saturday.

 

Regnum Christi New Orleans

The Holy Week Mission in New Orleans began with a Missionary Commissioning Mass at Holy Name of Mary Church. Holy Thursday Events included a service project at Hotel Hope, which aims to move families from homelessness to self-sufficiency by providing a variety of aid and resources, followed by Mass of the Lord’s Supper and Operation Adoration at St. Louis Cathedral, during which passers-by were encouraged to come in and light a candle. On Good Friday, missionaries performed a live Stations of the Cross beginning at St. John the Baptist Church, and participated in a Cross Walk in Jackson Square. On Saturday, they served at New Orleans Mission.

 

Regnum Christi at Benedictine College

Benedictine College’s Regnum Christi section started Holy Week Missions in Atchison, KS serving the community with street missions, helping with local home projects, and visiting the elderly. Their section also connected with the Kansas City RC section for a day of street missions in downtown Kansas City.

 

Regnum Christi Kansas City

The men’s and women’s section of RC Kansas City, along with the young men’s and women’s groups from Benedictine College joined together for outreach in the downtown Kansas City, accompanied by Fr. Brett Taira, LC, and Fr. Ryan Richardson, LC. The Kansas City mission divided into four saint-inspired groups, who took four different paths. For example, the St. Augustine map led into the bar district where many young professionals were enjoying a Friday evening drink; the missionaries were a reminder of the true meaning of Easter, and the death and resurrection of our Christ. Meanwhile, the St. Francis of Assisi map brought missionaries into the area of Kansas City with the highest population of people facing homelessness; here, the Missionaries brought relief of food and water, along with a smile and offer of prayers. On Saturday, the Kansas City RC men’s & women’s sections performed service at their host parish of St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church, spending the afternoon collecting cans for the food pantry, and going door-to-door sharing an invitation to the upcoming Easter Masses, and an offer of prayer. Missionaries involved in the work project cleaned up the rosary garden, front lawn, and landscaping of the church, as well as removed large tree branches that were obstructing the view of the church.

 

Regnum Christi Philadelphia

Palm Sunday in Philadelphia introduced a week of missions! Monday began with meal service at Sarnelli House, a community in Kensington that provides free food, clothing, haircuts, and hospitality for the homeless and abandoned. The day in Kensington continued with a Cross Walk and Mass. On Tuesday, missionaries served at St. Peter Church in Coatesville, and on Wednesday, they prayed outside of an abortion clinic in Camden for those suffering from the trauma of abortion, and participated in a Cross Walk across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Holy Thursday was spent back in Kensington, with a live Stations of the Cross, Cross Walk, Last Supper celebration, and adoration. On Good Friday, missionaries prayed for the respect for life at all stages, praying at a Planned Parenthood clinic and joining together to pray a Rosary for Life. Participants in the Philly missions had the option of staying overnight at Lady of Peace Parish in Folsom, PA all week long.

To find out more about Mission Youth and upcoming missions, visit their website at missionyouth.com.