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CV NEWS FEED // Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently attended a fundraiser at a golf club in Ponte Vedra Beach to support the Sisters of Mary World Villages for Children, a Catholic nonprofit dedicated to helping impoverished children worldwide.
Founded by Venerable Father Aloysius “Al” Schwartz, a current candidate for canonization, the Sisters of Mary provide free residential care, education, and vocational training to destitute children aged 12 to 17. Their mission is to “save the most souls possible” while breaking the cycle of poverty.
According to a press release from the Sisters of Mary, the Feb. 14 event raised more than $1 million to support the nonprofit’s mission.
Held at the Tournament Players Club Sawgrass, the event brought together notable figures including Cardinal Donald Wuerl, former archbishop of Washington, D.C., Bishop Erik Pohlmeier of the Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida, Bishop Barry Knestout of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, and Mother Elena Belarmino, superior general of the Sisters of Mary, along with four religious sisters from their international centers.
The Sisters of Mary operate 14 facilities known as Boystowns and Girlstowns across the Philippines, Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Honduras, and Tanzania. These communities are year-round residential schools where children not only receive academic education but also vocational training, spiritual formation, health services, music and sports opportunities, and emotional care.
“In the Church we talk about miracles, but if you visit Girlstown, Mexico, you see a miracle,” Cardinal Wuerl said, according to the release. “At Girlstown, we see God’s work through these wonderful Sisters of Mary and through His grace, examples of how miracles come to be. The Sisters give these children hope and a future and a sense of worth and identity.”
The Sisters of Mary have 170,000 graduates who maintain their faith and stay connected through alumni chapters worldwide.
