US bishops urge faithful to participate in fundraiser for Catholic Church in Latin America

Bishops in the U.S. are encouraging the faithful to participate in the annual collection for the Church in Latin America, which supports ministries in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, SDV, of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, and chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America, said that the collection reflects the spiritual journey of Pope Leo, who spent years as a missionary in Peru. 

“Pope Leo XIV’s faith journey embodies the spirit of why the bishops of the United States created the Church in Latin America program six decades ago to make an impact in Latin America,” Bishop da Cunha stated. 

Grants from the Collection for the Catholic Church in Latin America helped then-Bishop Robert Prevost in building his diocese of Chicaylo, Peru. 

In 2024, the collection raised $8 million and funded more than 300 projects, including faith formation for teenagers in Caracas, Venezuela; prison ministry in the Litoral Penitentiary of Guayaquil, Ecuador; and preparing lay faith leaders in the Archdiocese of Havana, Cuba, despite the communist repression of the faith in the country. 

“All of these projects represent the types of initiatives that inspired Father Prevost to go to Peru as a missionary,” Bishop da Cunha said. “In supporting the Collection for the Church in Latin America, we are able to honor Pope Leo XIV and, above all, serve the Lord who calls us to love our neighbors.”