Mission Center

Our Full-time Missionaries

Romain and Renaildes de Chateauvieux are the two full-time missionaries in the mission Center.

 Background of the project

Georgia is home to the second largest Spanish speaking population of the US, of which a large percentage live in Gainesville, 45 minutes from Atlanta. Gainesville is a city with 35,000 registered inhabitants and an estimated 30,000 undocumented inhabitants. Of all Hispanic workers, 36% lack a high school degree, compared with fewer than 9% of all non-Hispanic workers, the highest rate among all ethnicities in Georgia (2002-2003 Office of Student Achievement Report Card, Georgia Department of Education, February 2004). The low educational level translates into a concentration in relatively low-skill jobs (Pew Hispanic Center, Trends 2005). In Gainesville, the low-paying jobs in poultry plants and other low-wage jobs are drawing thousands of Mexican families to the community each year.

A report on the economic development in Hall County – of which Gainesville is part - indicates an increase of the poverty rate especially among the Hispanic community. The increased poverty rate signals a growing need for new or extended programs to help improve self-sufficiency. There is evidence that in Gainesville the increased poverty rate has increased the rate of teenage-pregnancy, high school dropouts and single-parent households (Georgia Tech’s economic development institute, 2004). As head of their households, men are forced to have two jobs or endure difficult working conditions. Speaking little or no English, children enter under-funded American schools that struggle to educate them. Hispanic families have expressed social, educational, legal and economical needs. More specifically these entail:

§   Social/educational: language barriers, educational assistance for the youth, religious education, marriage/sexuality education, transportation services to f.e. medical clinic, church.

§   Economical/legal: employment, legal status assistance.

In Gainesville there are several outreach ministries giving assistance to low-income families. Most of them are protestant. Many Catholics we encountered during the March 2006 Emmanuel Community & St. Michael’s Parish mission expressed their concern about getting involved in non-Catholic language classes, etc., because of proselytizing protestant churches offering help. Catholic outreach programs are offered mainly by Catholic Social Services (CSS), and now the John Paul II Center. Their mission is to strengthen low-income families by helping them to overcome language barriers, understand U.S. laws and culture, address legal issues, and support families and children. In many ways, JP2TC is a good partner for Fidesco. Fidesco volunteers would work in professional development programs which aim to empower towards self-sufficiency. CCS Gainesville is already working with different sources of volunteers: university intern programs, the Jesuit Corps Volunteer Program, Catholic Campaign for Human Development and Hands on Atlanta.  JP2TC will also be involved with these programs.

Vision and Aim of the proposed project

Vision: The overall vision of the JP2TC is to become the Sacred Heart of Jesus to those we encounter everyday.

Aim: The project has a twofold aim. The first is to reach out to the most vulnerable and most in need and to empower them to become self-sufficient. The second is to bring those in need of its sacraments closer to the Catholic Church.