Fr. Joe Receives National Four Chaplains Award

Father Joseph Maurizio is also the Founder and President of Humanitarian Interfaith Ministries or HIM, for over 10 years he has been working with orphaned and abandoned children in Central America and directing an International Sponsor Child Program which works with approximately 200 children in three countries (Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua). Fr. Joe, through his HIM Ministries, has constructed and paid for most of a major orphanage in El Progreso, Honduras, with over 12 building and 100 children living in residency. He also supports a feeding program for street children in San Pedro Sula Honduras. Fr. Joe, through his HIM Ministries, has also helped to construct a large three story building with a major dormitory for street children in San Jose, Costa Rica. HIM Ministries working with two religious communities of Sisters, supports two other orphanages in Costa Rica that care for former boys and girls from the streets in that country. In Nicaragua, Fr. Joe and HIM Ministries, again works with Religious Sisters to cares for former girls of the streets which kept them from being kidnapped into the international slave market. There are approximately 100 former street girls in these programs. Over the last 10 years, Fr. Joe had been directing over a dozen mission teams to Honduras from the Johnstown as well as helping to coordinate some students from Saint Francis University, where they have constructed a many buildings at the home and education center for orphaned and abandoned children of the streets in Honduras. Some of the Father Maurizio mission teams have been over 50 people. He has made more than 30 trips to trips to Central America and has shipped over 150 tons of salvaged goods from Johnstown to Honduras for their sponsored orphanage. The mission trips continue to operate and expansion of HIM Ministries continues. See their web page at HIMministries.org.