“Where are my people?”: The Dorthea Project Answers Prayers
by Diocese of Des Moines | October 6, 2026
By Laura Catherine Carruthers-Green
“Where are my people?” I lamented to my spiritual director last year during one of our sessions.
The “people” for whom I was searching were Catholic women who felt strongly about how our faith compels us to work for peace and justice and how living the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching are inextricably linked.
Of course, my spiritual director wisely suggested I bring this question to God in prayer, which I did, although not optimistically, I admit. Despite my lack of trust and faith, the Holy Spirit worked through Instagram’s algorithm to connect me with The Dorothea Project (TDP).
Named for Servants of God Dorothy Day and Sr. Thea Bowman, The Dorothea Project (TDP) is a national grassroots movement of Catholic women animated by the Gospel and formed by Catholic Social Teaching, who are called to speak truth and defend human dignity. Formed by the wisdom and Tradition of the Church and fueled by a deep desire for justice, The Dorothea Project exists to empower communities to defend human dignity and respond to injustice with courage and love. Since launching in spring 2025, its members’ actions include 300 plus letters written to church leaders, 30 plus public witnesses hosted in defense of human rights, 16,000 plus Hail Marys prayed for the vulnerable and imprisoned, and numerous intercessory prayers to its three patrons: Servant of God Dorothy Day, Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman, and the Sorrowful Heart of Mary.
After attending just one of TDP’s monthly Zoom meetings, I realized this was the answer to my prayers. Here were my people and I did not hesitate to join in their work. One way I got involved was by starting a chapter in Des Moines to support national Dorothea Project campaigns while also seeking ways to work locally. So far, our Des Moines chapter has spoken on Iowa Catholic Radio on the feast of St. Óscar Romero, partnered with St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Des Moines to pray the Stations of the Cross with immigrant stories from the Mexico and United States border, hosted a screening and discussion of the movie Cabrini, and held a public witness at the state capitol in July.
Because of my TDP involvement, I was invited to join 20 other women of all ages for the first Dorothea Project retreat and training last July. We spent the weekend in community at a Passionist monastery on a hill overlooking Pittsburgh praying, breaking bread, worshiping, learning, laughing, crying, and planning. We learned about and discussed the intersection of community organizing and Catholic Social Teaching, all to be more fully equipped to go back to our own communities and continue our work to bring about God’s kingdom here on Earth.
While we were gathered, we also had the chance to meet with Fr. Mattia Ferrari, coordinator of World Meeting of Popular Movements, who was on a tour of U.S. cities with two Catholic companions, Luca Casarini and César Piscoya.
“The World Meeting of Popular Movements was first convened at the Vatican with Pope Francis in 2014, and since then the Vatican's Dicastery for Integral Human Development has ‘accompanied’ the initiative, which emphasizes poor and marginalized people as ‘protagonists’ in the fight for justice,” journalist Aleja Hertzler-McCain wrote in her July 14, 20206, article about the movement in the National Catholic Reporter.
During this part of our training retreat, called Encuentro (Spanish for “encounter”), we broke into small groups, each with one member of Fr. Ferrari’s delegation, and shared the stories and challenges of working for justice in our professional and personal lives. Each delegate listened deeply and pastorally to what was on our hearts, as they have with many other Catholic grassroots movements throughout their U.S. tour. This part of the training retreat was especially powerful, particularly knowing that Fr. Ferrari, Casarini, and Piscoya undertake this work with the blessing of Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican.
Overall, my experiences with The Dorothea Project at the retreat, virtually, and locally have answered my prayers in more ways that I could have anticipated. I have found a beloved community with whom I can work to live out our Catholic faith and work for a more just world in which all may flourish.
The Des Moines chapter of The Dorothea Project invites all interested Catholic women to our monthly meetings on the second Saturday of each month, 10:30 a.m., at Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart.
More information can be found at www.dorotheaproject.com. Or contact Laura Catherine Carruthers-Green at dorotheaprojectdsm@gmail.com.