Saint Paul's Outreach | |
Abbreviation: | SPO |
Founders: | Gordy DeMarais, Christina Smith, Fr. Kevin Finnegan[1] |
Focus: | Campus ministry and young adult outreach |
Headquarters: | Mendota Heights, Minnesota |
Region: | United States |
Leader Title: | President |
Leader Name: | David Fischer |
Saint Paul's Outreach (SPO) is a Catholic missionary organization in the United States which serves college students and young adults. Affiliated with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, SPO describes its mission as follows: "to build transformational communities that form missionary disciples for life."[2]
SPO was founded as a private association of the faithful in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.where it reached students at the University of St. Thomas.[3] By 2016 it had mission centers in seven different parts of the country.
Affiliated with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, SPO is part of the global network of Kairos, which is the youth outreach division of the Sword of the Spirit.[4] SPO sees itself as a movement of the "new evangelization" popularized by Pope John Paul II.[5] Its ministry model is "reach, call, form, send."
In 2016, SPO's Kansas City mission center expanded to include the University of Missouri–Kansas City.[6] SPO's Florida region expanded to the University of South Florida in 2021.[7]