Father Rafael García Molina doesn’t want to just tell people about God. He wants them to encounter God—through their actions.
He leads his parish, Santa Luisa de Marillac (first, below) in a simple mission: being good neighbors. The parish is next door to a low-income housing complex (second, below) which is home to 600 people.


Father Molina does not approach the housing community as something to be avoided, or to be afraid of. He already understands the painful realities of poverty and the afflictions that so often coincide with it. His own brother lost his life to drug addiction just two years ago. He witnessed firsthand the suffering that addiction caused to everyone who loved his brother, especially his mother. “To me this subject is not only pastoral. It’s also personal.”
Father Molina says he is not here to “fix” the residents of the low-income housing community. The interactions between the parish and housing community are not one-way. Rather, the relationship is reciprocal—an opportunity to walk together. He believes these neighbors are bringing the face of God to his parish and the wider community:
Now, he is spearheading a program that recognizes the gifts of the parish’s neighbors, and provides them uplifting opportunities.
Elevating people socially and economically
Many people in the housing community struggle to care for themselves and others. About 100 residents are elderly. Some lack mobility and struggle with cleaning and obtaining essentials such as groceries. Other residents are single mothers who need help with childcare, especially those whose children have special needs.

Father Rafael García Molina is a finalist for our Lumen Christi Award, our highest honor given to people who radiate and reveal the light of Christ present in the communities where they serve. Click here to read the stories of our eight finalists this year.
Father Molina’s program, which is operated in partnership with the housing authority, pays other residents within the low-income housing community to provide these services to their neighbors in need. For example, a young person can be paid to cook meals and tidy up for an elder with poor mobility who lives just a few doors down. This arrangement builds community, trust and fellowship, while also providing jobs for many of the residents. It’s a system that elevates the entire community socially and economically.
Father Molina says the residents understand this work is more than just a paycheck.
He said,
They have this sense that they work for God.”
The staff at the housing community are enthusiastic about the program, and love having the church as a neighbor. They say that whenever there is a need, the parish shows up.

Ada E. Claudio, below, has lived in the housing community for 40 years. She cares for her adult disabled son, Alex. At 53, he struggles to walk even from his bedroom to the kitchen.

Claudio is limited by her diabetes and a bad ankle. “Even though I go to appointments, waiting for a bus is nearly impossible with our situation,” she said.
Through Father Molina’s program, her neighbors can transport her and her son, attend to him in the apartment so she can go out, and help her keep up with housework. She and her son can live in a dignified home, and her neighbors are better able to support themselves financially.
Managing the program requires much patience, organization and, of course, funding. However, Father Molina, who previously served at an extremely poor parish, knows that God will provide.
“I’ve never been afraid because I believe that God, if He wants it, makes things happen,” he said.
Catholic Extension Society has been walking with Father Molina for years. Before he was ordained in 2015, we supported his seminarian education. Now, we are funding the wages of the housekeepers and caretakers in his program.
A bustling parish
This type of innovative ministry does not emerge from a spiritually sleepy parish. Father Molina knows this well. If the church is going to be a transformative force in the community, then it must be spiritually well fed.
Santa Luisa de Marillac Parish has grown quickly since Father Molina’s arrival two years ago. Under his example of grace, care and love, a growing number of families began to embrace their faith actively. Today, seats in his pews can be hard to find.
This faith community is bustling—and not just on Sundays. Practically every hour, one of the parish’s 23 groups is making use of the church space during the week. Many of these faithful are children and families gathering to learn their faith, so that they can live their faith outside the parish.

Father Molina said,
This is a parish that takes very seriously the love of God. It’s very generous and committed.”
Here’s one way they have measured the growth: Previously, they could order 5,000 hosts for holy Communion and it would last them half a year. Now, they are lucky if that lasts them a month. His people truly are being fed spiritually. And when people are spiritually full, good things begin to happen.
“Charity doesn’t have a creed,” Father Molina said. “But in doing it we see God.”
Click here to read the stories behind all eight of our Lumen Christi Award finalists.
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