Baltimore Spiritan Mission Experience 2026

Who are we?  

We are seven Duquesne University undergraduate students and two Spiritan Campus Ministers who are preparing to travel to serve two communities and grow in our relationship with God by serving others. We are grateful to be able to continue the work done by previous Duquesne Spiritan Mission Experiences (SMEs). Like the many groups who have come before us, we will be supporting parish ministers in any way we can while also learning about the neighborhoods and community members. We will be putting our faith into action as we serve! 

When and where are we going?  

We will be traveling over our Spring Break (February 28th- March 7th)  

In west Baltimore, we will serve three parishes; New All Saints, St. Ursula, and the first all black Catholic parish in the U.S., St. Francis Xavier 

In Baltimore, we will work with three parishes that are resource- poor but are welcoming and have many long-time attendees. While there, our group will assist with maintenance and upkeep for their parish buildings, including tasks like painting and cleanup as well as serving food. We will also come to understand their parish community, who have overcome great obstacles of poverty in the West Baltimore area.  

In Arlington, we will serve at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish. Our Lady Queen of Peace is also a historically African American parish with a very involved congregation and a strong interest in social justice work. Arlington is in the middle of a transformation, so we will also be learning about the changes brought to the parish. While there, we will assist in the Matthew 25 free store where donated items are distributed to those in need at no cost to them and preparing food for outreach programs. 

In both places, we will support Spiritans as they invest in communities for the long term. We will also learn from the wisdom and experience of the congregations and those who run the ministries we will serve.  

How can you help? 

All the money raised through our crowdfunding campaign will help all the parishes we visit in different ways. Some of the funds will be used to get paint supplies to assist in Baltimore as well as to fund other needs of the parishes. The rest of the money raised will help enhance our ministry efforts with Our Lady Queen of Peace. 

We thank you in advance for anything you can contribute. We are so grateful for your help!