[1] In 1970, Reilly joined the ministry team at St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church, where she met many young, illiterate mothers, who were unsupported and expressed hopelessness.
[1] In 1975, Reilly helped build McAuley Ministries, which provides various services to low-income people, including a housing and workforce development program for single mothers and their children.
Sophia Academy received full accreditation through the Association of Independent Schools of New England, who praised "their unique and comprehensive social justice program".
In July 2016, Malala Yousafzai visited Sophia Academy, to showcase the school as an example of educational equity for girls from low income homes.
[1][3] In the 1960s, Reilly spent six years as a missionary in Honduras and Belize, which exposed her to the crisis of poverty in developing countries, especially among women, and sharpened her "feminine consciousness".