Second collection supporting Church in Latin America set for Jan. 24, 25

A late January second collection supports ministries and evangelization efforts in Latin America. (OSV News photo/Pilar Olivares, Reuters)HOUSTON — Since 1965, Catholics in the U.S. have built relationships of unity and love with Catholics in Central and South America and the islands of the Caribbean through their participation in the annual special collection for the Church in Latin America. 

On the weekend of Jan. 24 to 25, Archdiocesan parishes will take up this collection in order to support ministries that bring Christ’s mercy to prisoners, train catechists in remote rural areas, and build up pastoral programs that address the crucial needs of refugees and victims of natural disasters.

In 2024, gifts to the Collection for the Church in Latin America from Catholics in dioceses across the U.S. enabled the U.S. bishops to distribute 344 grants totaling just over $8 million. Those gifts are creating greater opportunities to bring people to Christ and are empowering them to go forth with God’s help to build a better community and world. 

Nearly 90 grants, totaling more than $1.6 million, supported formation and education programs for priests, permanent deacons, seminarians, and consecrated men and women religious. More than 240 grants, totaling more than $5.4 million, funded evangelization, catechesis, and religious education ministries for prisoners, university students, and people from a range of ethnic groups as well as pro-life, marriage, family life and youth ministries.

Ahead of the recent events in Venezuela, years of economic and political hardship in the country have led working-age adults to emigrate — including parents who have exited the country but left their children with relatives. This poverty also prevents young people from learning their Catholic faith from catechists at the parish level, while the educational system lacks programs that pass along the faith in schools. 

To counter this phenomenon, the Archdiocese of Caracas, Venezuela, used valuable assistance provided by the Collection for the Church in Latin America to train three priests and 73 catechists in parish ministries that help adolescents between 11 and 17 years of age to encounter Christ in prayer, read Scripture, participate in community prayer and liturgical celebrations, and use digital media as a method of evangelization. 

Support for the Collection for the Church in Latin America helps Catholics in the U.S. to share their faith with their brothers and sisters in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

For more information about the USCCB’s work with the Church in Latin America and around the world, visit usccb.org/Latin-America.