What do Birthline, Holy Family Shelter and Catholic Charities’ Senior Companion Program have in common? They are archdiocesan ministries whose mission includes assisting our brothers and sisters in need.

It’s an unusually cold morning on Nov. 10, and Mary is bundled up as she enters the Cathedral Kitchen in Indianapolis. “It’s the first place I come in the morning before I go about my day,” says Mary, a woman short in stature but warm in nature who calls the streets of Indianapolis her home.

The Indianapolis Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) is inviting nominations for the position of council president for the 2026–29 term. As current president Paul Ainslie completes his six years of service, the council seeks a faith-filled leader devoted to serving those in need and experienced in the Vincentian way.

NEW ALBANY—In 2019, Dorcas Marrero was a stay-at-home mom in Jeffersonville with two little boys in diapers. “Almost everything was going good,” she says. “But there were some things I was battling that I knew I had to get away from.”

Sarah Mundell Spencer and Julie Reyes, members of the archdiocesan Creation Care Ministry, walked away hopeful and motivated after attending the Raising Hope for Climate Justice Conference held in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on Oct. 1-3. The event celebrated the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home.”

Sometimes, a blessing comes along that changes the course of a person’s future, allowing them to become the full person God intended them to be. Perhaps that blessing empowers a single mother raising two boys—including one with autism—to find independent housing and a good job.

The weekend of Nov. 8-9 is the archdiocesan annual United Catholic Appeal (UCA) intention weekend in parishes across central and southern Indiana. The goal for this year’s appeal is $6.3 million. The money will benefit ministries and organizations throughout the archdiocese that meet needs no single parish or deanery can independently address, such as seminarian and diaconate formation, care for retired priests, Catholic Charities, the support of college campus ministry to keep young adults engaged in the faith, homeless shelters and more.

All are invited to attend the Cathedral Kitchen Ministry Open House and Blessing behind SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, 1347 N. Meridian St., in Indianapolis, at 1 p.m. on Nov. 8 in celebration of nearly 100 years of service to area community members experiencing poverty and homelessness. Themed “Renewed to Serve, United to Nourish,” the event will highlight recent Cathedral Kitchen restorations, including upgrades to electrical, plumbing and structural systems. It will also introduce its new partnerships with St. John the Evangelist Parish’s Emmaus outreach, Midwest Food Bank, Papa Johns and Second Helpings, all in Indianapolis.

FORTVILLE—The weather was glorious on Sept. 4, a fitting state for the archdiocese’s annual Mass for the Season of Creation, celebrated this year at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Fortville. The annual liturgy marks the global Season of Creation from Sept. 1—the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation—through Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

Feeding those in need is a daily mission for Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Hunger is a universal concept—but for families living on the edge, it’s a relentless cycle of impossible choices: heat or food, medicine or groceries. September marks National Hunger Awareness Month, a time to reflect on the complexity of hunger and the many faces it wears.

Scrolling through his phone, Jamarson Fitzgerald shares shots of a good life: smiling with his three daughters, posing while on the job, a photo of a newspaper clipping from years ago when he made the Indianapolis All-City Boys High School Basketball Team. But life has not always been good for Fitzgerald. From the time he was a teenager until recently, he was in and out of prison for selling guns and drugs.

Alice Whitney began volunteering with the Senior Companion Program (SCP) after she retired, and she enjoyed helping and visiting with her assigned seniors. But after several years, she was still searching for a calling in her retired life.

—Replace incandescent lightbulbs with LED lighting. —Shop at thrift, re-sale and consignment shops. —Use a cup instead of a plastic bottle of water.

A Creation Care Endowment Fund was created through the archdiocesan Catholic Community Foundation. Its purpose is to provide financial support to archdiocesan parishes, schools and agencies for capital improvements or lasting projects that enhance or support the care of God’s creation for the benefit of their campus, facilities or property.

In response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical ‘Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home,” parishes throughout central and southern Indiana have taken steps to become better stewards of their resources, making their campuses more energy efficient—and saving money along the way. Below is a list of a few of those parishes and some of the projects they’ve implemented, as well as some parish creation care ministry efforts.

Ten years ago, in June 2015, Pope Francis issued his landmark encyclical, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home.” In it, the pope made this stark proclamation: “The pace of consumption, waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet’s capacity that our contemporary lifestyle, unsustainable as it is, can only precipitate catastrophes, such as those which even now periodically occur in different areas of the world. The effects of the present imbalance can only be reduced by our decisive action, here and now” (#161).

Residential programs: 177 women and children housed by four residential programs: maternity home, women and children emergency shelter, domestic violence transitional housing, and affordable supportive housing

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—With the Ohio River more than 23 feet above normal in Louisville on April 10, the bottom level of The Galt House Hotel’s two parking garages were nearly submerged. That evening, safe and dry two floors higher in the hotel, people shared stories of challenge, of hope, of lives changed.

Congregations have long been a cornerstone for unity, compassion and resilience within neighborhoods. Now, with the availability of community grants, congregations can expand their impact by offering essential services, programs and initiatives that transform lives. Congregations with Community (CWC), a division of the Indianapolis-based Center for Congregations, envisions a surge of active partnerships between congregations and their communities, strengthening their social fabric through collective action, said McKenzie Scott Lewis, senior director of CWC.

The Catholic Church is among numerous advocates opposing an 11th-hour effort at the Statehouse to re-introduce legislation criminalizing homelessness in Indiana. After a similar, more comprehensive bill died earlier in the legislative session amid fierce opposition, some of its language was revived and inserted as an amendment to an unrelated measure on April 7 with no opportunity for public testimony. The amended Senate Bill 197 would make sleeping or camping on public property a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine or 60 days in jail if a first warning from a law enforcement officer goes unheeded.