MISSION AND HISTORY
Mission
We respond to the underserved community’s need for health and well being. We share God-given resources, connect people to community services, and assist individuals and families towards independence and full participation in the community. We do this to fulfill the mission of Jesus Christ and in the spirit of the Sisters of the Holy Cross.
Vision
Holy Cross Ministries will be distinguished by an unrelenting, adaptive focus on building and celebrating just, compassionate, sustainable, and inclusive communities made up of individuals who, through their life and work, contribute to the benefit of all.
History
Holy Cross Ministries’ history of providing services to vulnerable families in this community dates back to 1875, when the first two sisters of the Holy Cross traveled to what would later become the state of Utah to establish a hospital for injured miners and railroad workers. They were met by a community that had diverse and serious needs, so they set to work immediately. In their first three months of service, the sisters opened a hospital and a grade school. The sisters established an innovative prepaid health plan for miners and others in which participants contributed $1 a month while in good health, which entitled them to free admission. By 1882, efforts were underway to establish a larger hospital and as the hospital grew, sisters from across the country were drawn to serve in Utah, their pioneering spirits driving them to find new ways to educate girls and women, care for orphans, and heal the sick. For decades these women filled the critical needs of the community that no others were prepared to meet.
Over the years, as the healthcare environment and delivery system in the United States became more complex, the sisters decided to move away from the acute hospital setting and to look at new and innovative ways to reach out to the underserved and under-insured. In 1994, the Sisters created Holy Cross Ministries (a 501c3 nonprofit organization) to continue their tradition of compassionate service. Through innovative services and programs, Holy Cross Ministries and its collaborative partners in the community, has been successful in delivering compassionate service and effective programming driven by the commitment to serve those in need.
More than 140 years later, Holy Cross Ministries continues to serve the poor, underserved and marginalized, especially women and children in Utah. These services are provided without regard to age, gender, faith, race, ethnicity, or ability to pay. We conduct this work through prenatal, early childhood, and youth education; information and referrals; legal immigration assistance, primarily for victims of crimes such as domestic violence; and bilingual outreach services in partnership with low-income clinics, which help people connect with community resources.
SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS
HOLY CROSS MINISTRIES IS A 501(C)3 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT IS SPONSORED BY THE SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS
Holy Cross Ministries, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization serves families in Utah regardless of their religion, and is currently sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. The Sisters of the Holy Cross are a Roman Catholic congregation of women religious who engage in ministries that “focus on building communities of justice and love, eradicating material poverty and ending gender discrimination against women.” There are approximately 400 Holy Cross sisters ministering across the world. They are located in eight countries and four continents (Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, India, Mexico, Peru, Uganda, and the United States) and as an expression of their mission to respond to the unmet needs in Utah, the sisters decided in 1994 to create Holy Cross Ministries to continue outreach services to the poor and under-served in this community. At Holy Cross Ministries, there are two Sisters of the Holy Cross on staff, and four Sisters of the Holy Cross on the Board of Trustees.