Join Catholic Extension Society on October 23, 2025, at The Metropolitan Club, as we honor
Mario J. Paredes
Mr. Paredes, a native of Chile and a naturalized US citizen, has over 20 years of experience as an executive in healthcare administration and has extensive experience as a leader in business development. His expertise encompasses international diplomacy, finance, philanthropy, business development, and healthcare. He has worked extensively with nonprofits, governmental organizations, and religious entities.
He has headed the operations at SOMOS since 2015, when the first network of primary care providers in the City of New York, with over 2,500 members and 800 practices of private physicians, was established. Mr. Paredes oversaw grants worth over $700M from the State of New York for reforming the Medicaid health system; he was a key facilitator during the discussions between the respondents to the COVID-19 pandemic and health authorities in the State and the City of New York.
Before joining SOMOS, Mr. Paredes served at Merrill Lynch as Vice President of Business Development in April 2001. He was later appointed Director of the U.S. Hispanic Market for the Multicultural & Diversified Business Development Group in 2002. In February 2007, he moved to their Corporate Division.
Previously, he served as a consultant for Latin America under President Ronald Reagan, overseeing elections and political transition to democracy in Suriname, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Haiti. He participated in the peace processes in El Salvador. Under Mayor Edward Koch, he served as Commissioner for the Charter Revision of New York City.
-
Read More
Mr. Paredes served as personal advisor to John Cardinal O’Connor, Archbishop of New York. He has served as a consultant to the Justice and Peace Commission of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops and the Vatican Commission for Latin American. Mr. Paredes was also the founder and first director of the Regional Center established by the Catholic Bishops of the Northeast to care for Spanish-speaking immigrants. Mr. Paredes served in this capacity under Cardinals O’Connor, Law, Hickey, Bevilacqua, and O’Malley. He is a published editor of scholarly scriptures, and his writings and videos have been shared on the world’s most critical Catholic media platforms.
Mr. Paredes has also coordinated relief programs for hurricane victims in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, and Honduras. Also, he has collaborated with Caritas Dominicana in the health field and created a co-management to administer the children’s hospital Robert Reid Cabral known as La Angelita. For years, he has supported this entity in collaboration with Saint Claire Hospital of the New York Archdiocese and developed plans to build a new children’s hospital with Mr. Oscar de la Renta and Cardinal John O’Connor.
Mr. Paredes is a co-founder with Archbishop José Gómez and Chairman of the Board for Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL) and is today its Chairman Emeritus. He is founder of the national weekly El Visitante Dominical in USA and El Visitante de Puerto Rico. Mario has served as an Editorial Board Member of El Diario-La Prensa, Catholic New York, The Tablet and El Pregonero. He continues his affiliation with American Bible Society (ABS) as a member of the Board of Trustees after serving for seven years as its Presidential Liaison to Roman Catholic Ministry from which he retired in 2015.In 2018 he was awarded by the Government of Chile the Order of Merit Gabriela Mistral. He is Treasurer and former Vice President of the Gabriela Mistral Foundation, Inc. In 2017, he received a “Doctor of Liberal Arts” degree from The Catholic University of America. Mr. Paredes was created Knight Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem (K.G.C.H.S.) in 2012. He is also President of the International Academy of Catholic Leaders and a member of the Board of Directors of America Media. He is a Director and former President of the North American-Chilean Chamber of Commerce of New York, a Director of En Familia Radio and Notes for Growth.
Mr. Paredes earned his Master of Philosophy at the Catholic University of Argentina, his Masters in Religious Education at Loyola University Chicago, and his postgraduate studies at Georgetown University.
Among his many honors and commendations, he received the Catholic Press Association Award, the Archbishop Patricio Flores Medal from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB), the Fr. Joseph Fitzpatrick, SJ Award from Fordham University, The Pierre Toussaint Medallion by the Archdioceses of New York in New York, and the 2024 Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Award by the Support Our Aging Religious (SOAR!) organization. The Holy See awarded him the highest decoration for a layman, the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (“For Church and Pope) an honour awarded by the Pope to members of the clergy and laity for service to the Catholic Church.
The Spirit of Francis Award
The Catholic Extension Society Spirit of Francis Award recognizes an individual or group who has made a significant impact on the mission of the Catholic Church in America through service or philanthropy. Spirit of Francis Award recipients are laudable for their commitment “to reach out to the margins of society” in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis, and the founder of Catholic Extension Society, Father Francis Clement Kelley.
Event Beneficiary
Proceeds from this Spirit of Francis Award Dinner will support the Ministries and Education of Latina Religious Sisters.
Eleventh Annual New York Spirit of Francis Award Dinner
Thursday, October 23, 2025
6:30 PM | Reception
7:30 PM | Dinner and Award Presentation
Venue:
The Metropolitan Club
1 East 60th Street
New York, NY 10022
New York Spirit of Francis 2025 Reservations
INSTRUMENTS OF CHANGE ……………………………$50,000
In the spirit of Pope Francis
• Table of 10 with prime seating
• Personal recognition at the event from the podium
• Acknowledgment in the Dinner Journal and on-screen at the event
• Full-page advertisement in the Dinner Journal
• Prayers will be offered in an Extension diocese for you and your loved ones
• Sponsorship acknowledgment on Catholic Extension’s website
VISIONARIES …………………………………………………..$25,000
In the spirit of our founder, Father Francis Clement Kelley
• Table of 10
• Acknowledgment in the Dinner Journal
• Half-page advertisement in the Dinner Journal
• Prayers will be offered in an Extension diocese for you and your loved ones
BUILDERS OF FAITH …………………………………………$15,000
In honor of those who change lives in Extension dioceses
• Table of 10
• Acknowledgment in the Dinner Journal
• Prayers will be offered in an Extension diocese for you and your loved ones
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS …………………………………………$1,500
Dinner Journal Advertising:
Journal Advertising Deadline October 9, 2025
BACK COVER ………………………………………………………………….. $3,000
INSIDE COVERS ………………………………………………………………. $2,500
FULL-PAGE ……………………………………………………………………… $2,000
HALF PAGE ……………………………………………………………………… $1,000
AD SPECIFICATIONS:
To sponsor a page, please provide a high-resolution full-color PDF (300 pixels per inch) with no bleed and all fonts outlined.
AD DIMENSIONS:
HALF PAGE: 4.5” wide X 3.5” tall
FULL PAGE: 4.5” wide X 7.5” tall
Submit ads to: CatholicExtension@DaylaArabella.com
Click here to learn more about Catholic Extension Society.
For additional information or to make a reservation, please contact Catholic Extension Society’s Event Office at CatholicExtension@DaylaArabella.com or call 617.449.7384.