Saint Paul's Outreach

Saint Paul's Outreach (SPO) is a Catholic missionary organization in the United States which serves college students and young adults.^[3] Affiliated with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, SPO describes its mission as follows: "to build transformational communities that form missionary disciples for life."^[4]

Saint Paul's Outreach

Abbreviation	SPO
Established	1985; 40 years ago (1985)[1]
Founders	Gordy DeMarais, Christina Smith, Fr. Kevin Finnegan[2]
Focus	Campus ministry and young adult outreach
Headquarters	Mendota Heights, Minnesota
Region	United States
President	David Fischer
Website	spo.org

Description

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.^[2][1] By 2016 it had mission centers in seven different parts of the country.^[2]

Affiliated with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, SPO sees itself as a movement of the "new evangelization" popularized by Pope John Paul II.^[5][1] Its ministry model is "reach, call, form, send."^[2]

In 2016, SPO's Kansas City mission center expanded to include the University of Missouri–Kansas City.^[3] SPO's Florida region expanded to the University of South Florida in 2021.^[6]

Current chapter locations

• Arizona
  • Arizona State University
• Florida
  • University of Central Florida
  • University of South Florida^[6]
• Kansas City
  • Benedictine College^[5]
  • Johnson County Community College^[5]
  • University of Missouri–Kansas City^[5]
• Minnesota
  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities^[1]
  • University of St. Thomas^[1]
• Ohio
  • Ohio State University
  • University of Cincinnati
• Northeastern United States
  • Northeastern University
  • Rutgers University^[7]
  • Seton Hall University
• Texas
  • Texas State University

Notable former members

• Andrew H. Cozzens, bishop of the Diocese of Crookston^[8]

See also

• Catholic Christian Outreach
• Fellowship of Catholic University Students
• NET Ministries