In his message “To All Christians on Love for the Poor,” Pope Leo XIV wrote, “The poorest of the poor — those who lack not only material goods but also a voice and the recognition of their dignity — have a special place in God’s heart.”
They also have a special place in the hearts of people who support children, families and older adults on their paths out of poverty. Many who offer that support through Unbound learned of the opportunity at Mass, and they share their resources and prayers as an expression of faith.
Grounded in faith and motivated by Catholic social teaching, Unbound listens to and learns from those we serve so their voices are heard, their dignity is acknowledged, and they have what they need to chart their own way forward.
Pope Leo said that “caring for the poor is part of the Church’s great Tradition, a beacon as it were of evangelical light to illumine the hearts and guide the decisions of Christians in every age.”
He goes on to say that “we must feel bound to invite everyone to share in the light and life born of recognizing Christ in the faces of the suffering and those in need.”
One of the 45 priests representing Unbound is ready to share that invitation with your parishioners on a weekend in 2026, so that they may be harbingers of hope and see, as Pope Leo says, “Love for the Lord, then, is one with love for the poor.”
Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Naumann receives Pilgrimage of Faith Award
Unbound recognized Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas with its Pilgrimage of Faith Award at a ceremony Oct. 16 at the organization’s Kansas City headquarters.
The award included a wood cross hand-carved by the father of a former sponsored child and scholarship student who is now an Unbound staff member in El Salvador.
For nearly 20 years, Archbishop Naumann has supported Unbound’s mission working with families and communities around the world on their paths out of poverty. He has also been a sponsor for 19 years — sponsoring 12 seminarians from five countries through our vocation sponsorship program.
The Pilgrimage of Faith Award was established in 1996 following Unbound co-founder Bob Hentzen’s Pilgrimage of Faith walk from Kansas City to Guatemala. The award honors individuals or groups who show outstanding commitment to supporting the world’s poor and marginalized people.
Archbishop Shawn McKnight visits Unbound headquarters, offers his support
Archbishop Shawn McKnight, who was installed as the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas in May, visited Unbound’s headquarters in August to learn more about our work with families and communities around the world.
The visit included a tour of the Unbound Experience visitor’s center and highlights from our 44-year history, along with meeting our parish outreach team and fellowship with the organization’s leadership.
Archbishop McKnight has offered his support of Unbound, as did his predecessors Archbishop Joseph Naumann and Archbishop James Keleher.
"The Catholic faith calls on us to draw close to the poor, vulnerable and marginalized,” Archbishop McKnight said. “Unbound exemplifies respect for the inherent dignity of every person while its compassionate donors and sponsors — people of goodwill of all faiths — walk alongside families experiencing poverty. I proudly support the work that Unbound does, and I hope priests preaching for Unbound will be warmly welcomed to share this work with the larger Catholic community."
Archbishop Shawn McKnight is pictured with Unbound President and CEO Ashley Hufft.
Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Naumann
Priests share their motivations for preaching on behalf of the world’s poor
Coming from places across the U.S. and around the world, Unbound's 45 priests bring wide-ranging cultural and ministry experiences to their work.
Their reasons for preaching on behalf of the world’s poor are different for each one. Yet they share common threads in Catholic social teaching principles such as dignity, solidarity, working for the common good, and ensuring everyone has a voice in decisions that affect their lives.
Here are four of their stories.
Father Mike Rieder
Sponsoring someone in need changed his life
One simple decision years ago to respond to an invitation to sponsor someone through Unbound has had a profound impact on Father Mike Rieder, a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York.
“There is a part of my heart that I didn’t know existed that is beating with life because of this experience,” Father Rieder, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Ronkonkoma, New York, said.
Traveling and bringing others on awareness trips with Unbound to witness the organization’s
work up close helped him see beyond the poverty people experience. Now he recognizes their potential to overcome difficult circumstances with the right support and can share that through his preaching.
“Thanks to my experiences with Unbound, I can hear so many stories of hope coming from people in situations that I might have thought looked pretty close to hopeless, and I can hear my heart opening to begin to understand that there really is no such thing as a godforsaken place,” Father Rieder said.
Father George Knab, O.M.I.
Helping
people connect is a ‘dream job’
For Father George Knab, preaching for Unbound gives him a proven way to be part of the solution to world poverty.
“For me, it’s a dream job,” said Father Knab, a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate living in Illinois.
Father Knab has worked in school, hospital and parish ministries and served as a pastor. On weekends sharing about Unbound sponsorship at parishes across the country, he hears Confessions, preaches the Gospel message, celebrates the Eucharist, and
invites people to go forth and do good in the world.
“They have the opportunity right at the table at the back of church to make their decision to sponsor,” he said. “They grow in holiness, go from good to better through that relationship that’s mutually enriching for the sponsor and the sponsored child.”
More than 800 million people in the world live in extreme poverty — on $3 a day as defined by the World Bank. With over 8 billion people on the planet, Father Knab sees a lot of opportunity for those with resources to help one child and family or one older adult in need of encouragement and support. He believes it’s an approach that could help solve world poverty.
Doing the work of Jesus
We connect with the Gospel when we connect with a fellow human being who is struggling, said Father Thomas Joseph, a Franciscan Capuchin from the Indian Capuchin province.
Father Joseph, who lives in Connecticut and is active in prison ministry, said giving
someone a hand up is different when you know the person. And it’s one of the reasons he chose to connect sponsors with sponsored friends through Unbound.
"If I am going to be like Christ, I have to do the work of Christ,” he said.
Father Charles Hammond Father Thomas Joseph, O.F.M. Cap.
A chance to change two lives
Father Charles Hammond, a priest of the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan, began preaching for Unbound out of a “growing awareness that my life is not about me. It’s about being with others and for others.” He sees connecting a sponsor with a sponsored friend in another part of the world as an opportunity to change two lives for the better.
“For me, a big blessing is that Unbound is inclusive and universal in the spirit of Jesus and St. Paul,” said Father Hammond, who served for seven years as a missionary in Latin America.
“It’s inclusive because it goes beyond all boundaries of country, politics, religion, and all that matters is outreach and compassion for the poor.
“The ultimate goal for me, and I think for the sponsors, is to identify with the poor because that’s what Jesus did.”
The highly personal nature of sponsoring someone, he went on to say, means it’s “not just to help the poor but to be companions on their journey out of poverty. That’s why I’m so grateful to be part of this.”
Priests connect the faithful with Christ in the poor
Unbound priests:
Since 1991, more than 140 priests have chosen to serve the world’s marginalized people as preachers for Unbound. Our priests travel to parishes across the U.S., inviting the Catholic faithful to sponsor a child or elder in Africa, Asia or Latin America, to support and encourage them on their path out of poverty.
• Preach as often as their schedules allow.
• Never have to deal with second collections.
• Receive just compensation as independent contractors.
To learn more about preaching for Unbound: Call 1-800-466-7672 Email parishcontact@unbound.org
Forming bonds through Unbound sponsorship
Lasting connections prove compassion and love know no distance
Childhood sweethearts Jimmy Arreaga and his wife, Yvonne, had what many would call a love of the ages.
The two met in elementary school, and fate brought them together again when their paths crossed later in life and they began dating as adults.
A person of great faith and compassion, Jimmy had a dream of adopting children from a young age. His parents reminded him that realizing his dream would depend on his future spouse sharing in that same dream.
The dream found a foundation when Jimmy married Yvonne, who had also dreamed of adopting. As Jimmy and Yvonne built a life together, they found a way to make their dream a reality. They adopted two children — a boy and a girl — now in their 40s.
Once their children were grown, Jimmy and Yvonne looked for other ways to share their love and make a positive impact in someone’s life.
Another prayer was answered when the couple discovered sponsorship with
Unbound a dozen years ago through their parish.
They learned how personal relationships are at the heart of Unbound and its work to provide personalized support to children, elders and families who are building their paths out of poverty in communities across Africa, Asia and Latin America. They learned how sponsorship connects individuals across geographic, economic and social barriers, and encourages learning about others through listening and mutual respect.
This introduction offered Jimmy and Yvonne an opportunity to share their hearts through sponsorship, and they chose to help a young boy from Guatemala named Lisandro.
“Opening our hearts and home to our children was a love-filled experience,” Jimmy said. “When we learned about Unbound, we knew instantly we wanted to sponsor a child in need.”
BONDS FORMED THROUGH WRITING LETTERS
Sponsorship offered Jimmy and Yvonne a platform to create a connection built on trust and learning through the simple act of sharing through letters and photos. They loved corresponding with Lisandro. As their personal relationship developed, they also got to know his family, including Lisandro’s younger sister, María Alexandra.
After Lisandro graduated from the Unbound program, Jimmy and Yvonne wanted to stay in touch with the family, so they began sponsoring María Alexandra, who was 6 years old then.
Because of their regular correspondence, Jimmy and Yvonne stayed informed of the family’s needs and their efforts to build a path out of poverty.
With the Arreagas’ support, the family purchased a goat and a cow, which would be a reliable source of nutrition for the family. When the animals needed shelter, Jimmy and Yvonne helped with funds to build it.
[Top] María Alexandra (left), who has four siblings, helps her mother, María, with house chores each day, while her father works in agriculture.
[Right] María Alexandra, 17, has dreams of one day being a doctor.
Sponsor Jimmy Arreaga holds up a gift he received while in Guatemala to meet his sponsored friend, María Alexandra (right), and her family.
Each contribution helped the family move closer to a long-held dream of sustainability and self-reliance.
Now more than 10 years later, that partnership continues to provide kindness and caring, and María Alexandra, now 17, is continuing the flow of correspondence with letters that share messages of hope, resilience and possibility.
FINDING ‘FAMILY’ BEYOND BORDERS
A short time ago, María Alexandra’s family found themselves sharing an unexpected loss with Jimmy when he wrote to them about the passing of his beloved wife, Yvonne. For Jimmy, this act of sharing was an important reminder that love, in its many forms, knows no bounds.
short walking distance from Yvonne’s final resting place.
Adjusting to life without Yvonne has been challenging, but Jimmy continues to find solace in relationships with family and friends, including the years of sponsorship and the resulting friendship.
The bonds of this friendship also enabled Jimmy to take another important step that would bring him even closer to the family in Guatemala he and Yvonne had become so close to over the years.
In February 2025, Jimmy joined Unbound for an awareness trip to visit Guatemala and learn firsthand how María Alexandra and her family are using sponsorship to build a path out of poverty.
On his visit, Jimmy was accompanied by Unbound staff members to meet María Alexandra and her family in person. Jimmy was warmly welcomed and found himself overcome with joy and sadness as María Alexandra gently reminded him, “Yvonne is in your heart — she is with us.”
Throughout his eight-day visit, Jimmy met other families like María Alexandra’s who were building their way out of poverty and creating brighter futures for themselves and their communities.
elements such as helping the community harvest coffee or vegetables on local farms and grind corn for tortillas.
Following his return from Guatemala, Jimmy was moved to do even more, and he provided support for the construction of a detached cinderblock bathroom, complete with shower, toilet, sink, water tank, water heater and electricity hookups.
Through sponsorship, Jimmy will continue to accompany María Alexandra and her family, with Yvonne remaining present in memory.
Jimmy already has plans to return to Guatemala in two years to personally congratulate María Alexandra upon her graduation from high school. He looks forward to this as an opportunity
to encourage her to continue her studies and pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.
“I am still adjusting to a life without my love,” Jimmy said. “But I have found renewed purpose and passion in the family Yvonne and I have been supporting and walking alongside for 12 years.”
Jimmy and Yvonne serve as shining examples of the lasting impact sponsorship can have on everyone involved.
In the future, Jimmy hopes to share his experience with his parish so that others can experience the joy and fulfillment of creating meaningful relationships and connections through Unbound sponsorship.
One of his letters also included the news that he was selling the home where he lived with Yvonne in order to relocate to a peaceful spot near the church where she was laid to rest. The move would enable Jimmy to be a
He and his fellow travelers were welcomed into these families’ homes where they learned more about each one’s daily challenges, joys and dreams. The trip also included experiential
Jimmy and his late and much beloved wife, Yvonne.
[Left] Unbound sponsor Jimmy Arreaga plays a game with his sponsored friend María Alexandra (center) and her mother María during an Unbound Awareness Trip to Guatemala in early 2025.
[Right] María Alexandra completes her homework each day after finishing her chores. She enjoys communicating regularly via letters with Arreaga, whom she calls her “godfather.”
