Franciscan Works

Franciscan Works is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is led and run by Catholic laity. We serve the poor and vulnerable in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. Since 2003, Franciscan Works has provided financial and operational support to Liberia Mission, a community of love, learning, and prayer for the poorest of the poor in Liberia, West Africa. Liberia is among the poorest countries in the world, and Liberia Mission is one of only two Catholic missions in Liberia that cares for orphaned and abandoned children. Liberia Mission’s 25-acre campus includes:

• Residential homes for 32 poor, orphaned, and abandoned Liberian youth
• St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School that serves over 500 students annually in preschool-high school
• St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Chapel, a church that welcomes and serves the community at large
• St. Isidore farm and student-run piggery that teach animal husbandry, farming, and business skills to beneficiaries

Working together, Franciscan Works and Liberia Mission empower young Liberians to break the cycle of poverty and become faithful adults of character and integrity who can support themselves, their families, and their country. This challenge is very real in Liberia, a country that experiences intergenerational poverty, poor healthcare, and lack of infrastructure, much of which stems from a military coup d’état, two brutal civil wars, and a deadly Ebola outbreak, all within a 36 year time span.

Funds from mission appeals will be used for operational support of Liberia Mission. This includes housing, food, electricity, hygiene supplies, medical care, and clothing for residential children, salaries for program staff, support for Liberia Mission’s evangelization ministries, and the upkeep of the chapel, farm, dormitories, classrooms, security fences, water tower, and vehicles.