MERRILLVILLE – You do not have to travel to another country to become a missionary; you simply have to open your heart to the person God places before you. That is the message many missionaries from the Diocese of Gary share upon returning from a mission trip to Mexico City, Oct. 8-13.
“I believe that as Catholics, we are called not simply to talk about the love of Christ, but to make that love visible through our actions, our presence, and our willingness to encounter others,” said Claudia Sadowski, coordinator of intercultural ministry.
Sadowski said the annual mission trip to Mexico City is not about going somewhere to "help the poor," as though they have everything to give and nothing to receive. It is quite the opposite. She shared that it is about recognizing the dignity of every human being, especially those often overlooked, forgotten or pushed to the margins of society.
For the past three years, through Hope of the Poor, members and friends of the Diocese of Gary have had the opportunity to encounter Christ in their brothers and sisters experiencing poverty, homelessness and other difficult circumstances. Sadowski said that sometimes the greatest gift individuals can offer “is not something material, but our time, our attention, a genuine smile, a conversation, or simply the reassurance that someone sees them, values them, and loves them.”
Sadowski added that she believes that missionary discipleship knows no geographical boundaries. Whether missionaries serve someone on the streets of Mexico City or accompany a family in Northwest Indiana, she noted the calling is the same: to love as Christ loves.
What Sadowski enjoys most about mission trips is encounters with people and witnessing the transformation that takes place in the hearts of the missionaries.
“There is something profoundly beautiful about watching people arrive with a desire to serve and gradually discover that they themselves are being evangelized by those they came to accompany,” she said.
Sadowski loves seeing the barriers disappear. Differences in language, culture, background, and life experiences “become so small when we recognize that we are all children of the same loving Father.”
She also enjoys watching the missionaries grow together as a spiritual family. People who may have barely known one another before the trip begin praying together, serving together, sharing their vulnerabilities, laughing, crying, and discovering Christ in one another.
“By the end of the mission, you realize that something extraordinary has happened,” Sadowski said. “We may have traveled to Mexico as 36 individuals, but we returned as a family united by faith, love, and a shared experience of God's grace.”
Sadowski stressed that the mission does not end when they return home. She prays every missionary brings that same spirit of compassion, humility, and encounter into their families, parishes, workplaces and communities.
The 36 missionaries from the Diocese of Gary represented different ages, backgrounds, and life experiences, united by a common desire to serve.
Melissa Canelo, mission coordinator at St. Matthias in Crown Point, became interested in the trip while completing a summer internship with the Office of Missionary Discipleship and Evangelization. Sadowski asked for her help with the logistics, and she was thrilled to help.
As they talked about the trip, Canelo shared experiences from her first mission trip to Belize with FOCUS at Indiana University. It didn’t take long for Sadowski to ask her, “Well, why don’t you come on this one?”
“There was no hesitation in my ‘yes,’” Canelo said. “I love, love, love mission trips! The mission trip to Belize changed my life, and I wanted to continue serving and encountering God in that way.”
Before the trip, Canelo worked behind the scenes, helping coordinate logistics and payments. During the trip, she attended Mass with the sisters at the convent, played with children at the park, prayed with people on the streets and saw the love of God in every person they encountered, including her fellow missionaries.
“I really enjoyed growing closer to my St. Matthias team and having time to talk to God,” she said. “Being able to encounter His children in such a beautiful way was something I deeply appreciated. It reminded me that we can continue doing these things in the States.”
Visiting Mexico City was especially meaningful for Canelo because it made her parents’ childhood stories come to life. She now better understands the circumstances they grew up in, and has a deeper admiration for everything they have overcome and all that God has done to bring them where they are today.
“Visiting the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe was also amazing,” Canelo added. “I was captivated by her image and loved learning about its symbolism, its history, and what Our Lady means to the people of Mexico.”
Around July 2026, Dr. Jorge Peña felt drawn to learn more about Our Lady of Guadalupe. Although the Assistant Superintendent of School Operations was familiar with the conquest of the Aztec empire, he knew little about her apparitions to St. Juan Diego in December 1531. Through articles and YouTube videos, he learned how the Aztec people and neighboring Indigenous communities “read” the imagery on the tilma.
Peña was deeply moved by the thought that our Holy Mother not only appeared to St. Juan Diego but also left her image on the tilma for all to see. He wanted an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in his home, so he added one to his Amazon cart. But when Peña heard a voice say, “Don’t order yet,” he moved it to “Save for later.” A week later, on Sept. 1, Sadowski stopped by his office at the end of the day. She explained that she was looking for additional people to join the mission and pilgrimage and that he had come to mind during her prayers. When Peña told her about the image in my Amazon cart, she replied, “Well, you can purchase it in Mexico City!”
“I prayed to discern whether joining the trip was God’s will,” he said. “One by one, the obstacles I thought would prevent me from going fell away, and I attributed that to our Holy Mother’s intercession. In the Angelus, we pray, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to Thy word.’ With that same spirit of trust and commitment, I said yes. It became my first visit to Mexico, where I saw the tilma bearing our Holy Mother’s image and felt her love.
Peña said the trip was life changing. Praying with people experiencing homelessness and serving them a meal moved him deeply. As an educator, he also valued the opportunity to spend time and speak with people living in a group home who have cognitive disabilities, physical challenges, or both. Peña offered words of encouragement and hope to two leaders serving with Hope of the Poor. Another meaningful experience was spending time with two biological sisters who are also Franciscan sisters living in a women’s shelter.
“Our conversations about Jesus and our faith were so special that I wanted to bring them home with me,” he said. “Daily Mass and Holy Hour strengthened my faith as we worshiped together. Father Alex’s and Father Declan’s homilies inspired me, as did their love for our faith and for God’s people.”
