Catholic Extension

They provide funding and resources to dioceses and parishes through programs and services investing in people, infrastructure and ministries.

On June 7, 1907, Catholic Extension received its first papal approval by an apostolic letter of Pope Pius X addressed to the Archbishop of Chicago.

Almost exactly three years later, on June 9, 1910, the Pope issued a brief by which the society was raised to the dignity of a canonical institution directly under his own guidance and protection.

[1] Mission dioceses generally are rural, cover a large geographic area, and have limited personnel and pastoral resources.

[5] Large-scale raids conducted in August 2019 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement resulted in the arrest of 680 people at various food processing plants in the state of Mississippi.

[9] Every year, Catholic Extension's Lumen Christi award honors an individual or group working in one of America's mission dioceses who demonstrates how the power of faith can transform lives and communities.