Our History

July 1996:  Mission to Mexico (MTM) ministry was founded to provide for the needs of the “poorest of the poor” in the colonias of Mexico.   The ministry is dedicated to a colonia, known as Voluntad y Trabajo III, located on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo. The little church in the colonia is called Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles. The priest who served the church, as well as several other little churches in the colonias, was Padre Antonio Galindo, a Franciscan friar who played an integral part in defining the needs of the community and identifying local resources available to build a true cross border collaboration.

The initial roots of the MTM ministry can be traced back to the colonias in the canyons of Tijuana, Mexico, just to the south of San Diego, California.   Terry and Anita McDonough had the opportunity to serve in the Tijuana Outreach ministry of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for five years prior to moving to Austin and joining St. Catherine of Siena in 1993. The seed planted in the McDonough’s was brought to St. Catherine’s and the Mission to Mexico ministry was formed in 1996 through the combined efforts and passion of the McDonough’s and Rachel and Mike Fannin. 

April, 1997 - Enclosed the church: A group of men from St. Catherine’s with construction talent enclosed the partially constructed church in just three days. In the early days of the community, Padre Antonio could not say mass when it rained. 

1996 to 1999 - Visited a juvenile detention center in Nuevo Laredo.  50 to 75 children between the ages of 8 and 18 were incarcerated for various crimes. Some of the Spanish-speaking Mission to Mexico volunteers would give motivational talks to the children. Due to local politics, groups were prohibited from visiting the facility in 1999. 

1996 to 2009 - St. Catherine’s Involvement: St. Catherine Parishioners, and other gracious donors, kept the program going through their generous donations. Volunteers from parishes throughout the Austin diocese as well as other dioceses throughout the state have participated in one or more mission trips. Fr. Oliver Johnson, former pastor of St. Catherine’s, has supported the program from the very start.

1996 to Present: Approximately 25 – 40 volunteers per trip have traveled back to the colonia every other month. One of MTM’s faithful contributors is the St. Catherine of Siena, Knights of Columbus, Council #8156. 

2008 - MTM expands donor sources:  In addition to the strong support from the Catholic community, the level of support from other denominations both in Austin and throughout the state has dramatically increased.  Most of MTM's support comes from very generous donations from individuals.  

July, 2008 - Sponsorship Program Formed:  Advance team visited colonia to collect student applications for sponsorship. Approved candidates were added to roster. Relevant census data was collected for each student (shoe size, shirt size, grade level, age, names, photos for ID cards). Sponsors identified for all 50 student applicants for the 2008 – 2009 school year. 

August 18, 2009: Status Change Missionaries of Mexico [aka Mission to Mexico] became an independent 501[c]3 nonprofit corporation. Relocated storage to private facility 

2009:  Support in the local community of the colonia increases as our Austin volunteer base decreases. Board initiative to increase Austin volunteer base to help transport “love” cargo to the colonia. 

2011:  Launched a new website and email broadcast platform, created an online donation utility and grew the sponsorship program to 200+ students.

2012:  Due to increasing violence in Mexico, bi-monthly mission trips were suspended as the Board evaluated alternative support models. 

2013 - present:  The bi-monthly mission trips resumed with an alternative delivery model including increased support of local volunteers in Nuevo Laredo.  We also eliminated transporting cargo across the border making cash donations even more important.