The Poor of Jesus Christ, founded in Brazil in 2001 by Fr. Gilson Sobreiro, pjc, seek a life of simplicity; as the poor, with the poor, and for the poor, living by the providence of God. Our spirituality is Franciscan, with Sisters, Friars, Priests, and Lay-Associates. We go out to the poor wherever they may be. Our Charism seeks to be the hands and heart of the Lord, offering our lives in His service, to spread His love to others through Street Ministries. We go out to the homeless on the streets, under bridges, wherever they may be, taking them food, clothing, personal hygiene items, cutting hair and doing manicures. But, most importantly, to establish friendships and giving them the opportunity to know the love of God. Through Be Sober Ministries where our Friars and Sisters gather together men who struggle with alcohol and drug addictions, giving them support, and the skills to begin to change their lives and break the chains that bind them. The Prison Ministries as we go out to the prisons to pray with the prisoners, celebrate Holy Mass, and let them know they are not alone or forgotten. The Houses of Recuperation in farms outside of the cities, Friars, (or Sisters if they are women) offer free of charge rehab programs. Praying together, cooking and cleaning together, with labor therapy, the 12-step program, and volunteer professionals, giving them the opportunity to become clean and return to their loved ones and re-enter society. Evangelization: We evangelize with retreats, preaching, and events for couples, youth, and young adults. We balance our lives between service to the poor and evangelization, and prayer. Religious life cannot be sustained without a deep life of prayer, individual, communal, and Liturgical. The Religious who embraces concretely a life of total consecration is called to know the risen Lord by a warm personal knowledge, and to know Him as One with whom he or she is personally in communion. We have a Special Funds Account that is specifically for needs of our poorest missions, emergency needs of our missions, and is financially assisted by funds provided by Missionary Cooperative Programs of Dioceses in the USA, and other occasional donations. Funds are only dispersed from this account when authorized by our Founder, Fr. Gilson, for the most urgent needs. Many needs in Mission territory have been met with financial support like the establishment of a pre-school at our mission in Mozambique, Africa, a project for malnourished children and their mothers, building and remodeling of various Houses of Recuperation, sewing and embroidery machines for making altar linens. Sadly, right now what little funds we have are being used for funeral expenses for relatives of our Friars and Sisters from poor families who have died from the Coronavirus. Also, for medicine for many of our Friars and Sisters who have become infected with the virus. We firmly believe that by being faithful servants to the Lord in helping those who He has called us to serve, He blesses us, and provides all that we need to serve the poor and those who are lost in the darkness, who need His love, and to know that they are worthy of His love as beloved children. The work is the Lord’s, we are His servants. He raises up new Religious Communities within the Church to serve a need that He wants to fulfill. He hears the cry of the poor, and the unspoken cry of those whose hearts are empty and sad because of not knowing Him. Please consider donating to fund our ministry to the poor, the homeless, prisoners, and evangelization to youth, young adults, and couples, in the 18 countries where we serve.