Franciscan Works is a Chicago-based Catholic non-profit 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 poor and orphaned children in Liberia, West Africa. Liberia Mission educates over 450 students and provides a loving home for 30 resident students.
Liberia Mission was founded on November 3rd, 2003, just as the dust was settling from the Second Civil War. The Mission consists of a secure 10-acre campus and an adjoining 15-acre farm property. The main campus houses St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School, St. Michael the Archangel Chapel, a student-run piggery, separate residence buildings for boys and girls, and accommodations for program managers and volunteers.
The school is staffed by Liberian administrators and teachers, and accredited by the Liberian Education Council and the Ministry of Education. Liberian houseparents, cooks, and security guards staff the residential program.
Working together, Franciscan Works and Liberia Mission empower young Liberians to break the cycle of poverty and became faithful adults of character and integrity who can support themselves, their families, and their community. This challenge is very real in Liberia, a country that experiences intergenerational poverty, poor healthcare, and lack of infrastructure from two civil wars (1989-1996 and 1999-2003) and a deadly Ebola outbreak from 2014-2016.
