Catholic Extension Society

09/06/2026

The faith that Martin Noriega once searched for is now the faith he shares with those on the peripheries. For nearly two decades, this year’s Lumen Christi Award finalist has led the John XXIII Movement in the Diocese of Savannah through retreats, ongoing formation and personal accompaniment. Along the way, he has built a thriving community of disciples.

Two days into a weekend-long retreat, one man had heard enough. The talks about God and inner wounds were too uncomfortable and meaningless for his lost

09/05/2026

Mother Marla Marie Lucas, one of our eight Lumen Christi Award finalists, describes the order she founded as a “start-up” and an “uphill adventure.”
As the only women’s religious congregation in the United States serving Lebanese American communities, the sisters do it all—from religious formation to works of mercy.
Read how the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light are building a promising future for Lebanese Catholics in the U.S.

“We’re on-the-go because our churches are all over. We’re not letting the grass grow under our feet,” said Mother Marla Marie Lucas, referring to the

09/04/2026

The search for community becomes something much more at the University of Nevada, Reno's Wolf Pack Catholic! At this thriving campus ministry supported by Catholic Extension Society, students feel at home, grow in faith and discover new ways to serve others. https://bit.ly/4qM3qHC

09/04/2026

Nurturing the potential of our young people is essential to the future of our Church and society. Our president, Father Jack Wall, describes how our founder’s teenage experience in the 1880s at St. Dunstan’s College on Canada’s Prince Edward Island influenced the future of the Church in America.

09/03/2026

What does it look like to be “on call” for God’s people? Deacon Enrique Peñúñuri has spent over 25 years across the Diocese of Laredo bringing the healing love of Christ in places that are so often overlooked, from prison cells to lonely highways.

Read about the powerful ministry of this year’s finalist for our Lumen Christi Award that is sparking personal transformations.

Inside prison cells, grieving homes, or on lonely highways, Deacon Enrique Peñúñuri has spent more than 25 years bringing the compassionate presence of

09/02/2026

Our fall 2026 issue of Extension magazine is here! Father Joe Walsh, who serves at a Catholic campus ministry we support in High Desert Catholic - Diocese of Reno, saw a familiar face while flipping through the pages. You can read the whole magazine online at catholicextension.org/magazine.

09/02/2026

From an overflowing Sunday Mass to 230 students showing up at the welcome BBQ, the growing Wolf Pack Catholic community at the University of Nevada, Reno started the school year welcoming waves of young people! We are thrilled to support this thriving campus ministry.

It is the first week of school for many college campuses. It is a busy, chaotic time as students move in and classes start. But for the Catholic campus

09/01/2026

Bridgette Mouton works extra hours at her neurosensory nursing job to fund her ministry to young people. Recently, to make a retreat possible for confirmation students, she calculated how many clients she would need to take on and committed herself to the work so she could pay for the retreat.
Read about this Lumen Christi Award finalist’s incredible dedication to young Black Catholics in the Diocese of Lafayette https://www.catholicextension.org/stories/she-works-extra-hours-to-fund-black-catholic-youth-ministry/

08/31/2026

Msgr. Arturo Bañuelas’ enduring legacy is a generation of Catholics who see themselves not as helpers, but as missionaries. Read how Msgr. Bañuelas, a finalist for this year’s Lumen Christi Award, has inspired and motivated every day people to take ownership in the Church and help shape its future: https://www.catholicextension.org/stories/a-pastors-storied-ministry-began-with-a-message-from-our-lady-of-guadalupe/