The Parish Partnership Program was designed as a way to satisfy the desire of the Cardinal to increase the exposure of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Baltimore to the needs of developing countries. He designated the Diocese of Gonaives, Haiti as a sister diocese to Baltimore.
A total of eleven parishes have joined the Parish Partnership Program, six within the past year. However, the Office for the Propagation of the Faith continues to recruit other parishes in the program.
The Parish Partnership Program has four major steps:
- Parish Selection
- Spiritual Relationship
- Financial Assistance
- Two Way Visitation Program
A new parish is contacted and given information about participating in this type of outreach. Those parishes responding positively are the recipients of a presentation about outreach to Gonaives. The presenation is usually given to the Parish Council or other leading committees in the parish. Volunteers are then taken to Haiti to visit a number of parishes in the Diocese of Gonaives. The volunteers report back to the respective group at the parish about their findings with recommendations of which parish to partner with. The twinship of parishes must be approved by the leadership of the parish.
Visitors to Haiti have formed a Speakers' Bureau. They meet every two to three months to review the programs in place and to strategize the approach to non-participating parishes.
