With many Americans suffering through an affordability crisis, the Winter 2025 Franciscan Challenge could not have come at a better time.  

The Franciscan Challenge – run by Franciscan Friars Charities, the charitable arm of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe – is a bi-annual fundraising campaign that supports the works and ministries of the Franciscan friars in the United States, Puerto Rico and Cuba, as well as our Franciscan mission in Jamaica. 

Through The Franciscan Challenge, Franciscan Friars Charities can beg for those too busy surviving to beg for themselves and 'challenge' those with God’s grace in their hearts to perform small acts of kindness for those in need.  

Helping present this challenge to donors are emotionally stirring video testimonials featuring people served by our ministries. Each video is part fundraising appeal, part evidence that the funds raised by the Challenge bring food, clothing, and care to the over 5 million people who seek the friars’ help each year. Funds raised by the Challenge also assist in educating young friars and caring for elderly friars who have cared for so many for so long. 

A new Franciscan Challenge video launched on Dec. 2, featuring Jessica, a widow from Philadelphia. Every day, Jessica is desperate to feed her two children. She constantly worries about their safety and education. More than anything, she wants them to feel like the world cares about them. She finds this care at the Franciscan-run St. Francis Inn in South Philadelphia. 

“When I don't have it, if I need help, this is what I depend on,” shares Jessica. At the St. Francis Inn, her desperation subsides, her worries fade, and she and her children feel loved.  

Every Tuesday from Dec. 9 to Dec. 30, The Franciscan Challenge will share more video testimonials from Franciscan ministries in Cincinnati, St. Louis, Detroit, and Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.  

Per Franciscan Friars Charities, “The Challenge recognizes that not everyone has the time or ability to help the poor and marginalized in person. Not everyone lives near a place of great need or is comfortable approaching someone they’ve never met to give them a blanket, sandwich or cup of coffee. When people see these powerful video testimonials, they can see how their donations can work—how they can set in motion the physical act of giving, feeding, sheltering, and accompaniment.”  

To learn more about and to take The Franciscan Challenge, visit https://challenge.franciscanfriarscharities.org/