Our History
Author: Mission Youth

Mission Youth was founded in Bethesda, Maryland in 1995 and has organized over 700 parish missions in the United States and internationally. So far, Mission Youth has knocked on over 200,000 doors with over 7,000 missionaries.

Extreme Missions
Each year, Mission Youth organizes international mission trips to Mexico. Missionaries construct churches, organize Eucharistic and Marian processions, and serve according to the needs of local pastors. Mission sites have expanded to include the Philippines, the Bahamas, Eastern Europe and Africa.



Holy Week Missions
In 2000, Mission Youth organized the first Holy Week Missions in the Catholic Diocese of Denver. Today Mission Youth carries out Holy Week Missions in eight dioceses throughout the United States and Canada. At several parishes in each diocese, 20-30 missionaries spend the week volunteering at a parish, inviting parishioners to join in the activities. Missionary youth and families serve by promoting and participating in parish liturgies, conducting youth events and kid's camps, and inviting people around the community to come back to the sacraments. The 2010 Holy Week Missions will focus specifically on reaching out to Hispanic populations around the United States.



World Youth Day
Mission Youth Missionaries played a vital role at the World Youth Day Celebrations in Paris (1997), Rome (1999), Toronto (2003), Cologne (2005), and Sydney (2008). Young men and women spent one month before the celebrations volunteering on behalf of the International World Youth Day Committee. Missionaries prepared venues, meals and lodging for WYD attendees, served as ushers for special events and as promotions coordinators for the vocation.com coffeehouse.



Mission Hope Louisiana
Throughout 2005 and 2006, Mission Youth missionaries participated in Mission Hope Louisiana, an outreach to victims of Hurricane Katrina based in New Orleans. Over 1,000 missionaries participated in helping to rebuild Catholic schools, gutting homes, clearing debris, and restoring furniture for local parishes and convents.