Lenten campaign 2026
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César Lagos is Honduran, a new husband, and a new father ready to welcome his first child. He’s also a Catholic missionary to his own people.
César lives in the same aldea – or village – in the hills outside of Comayagua, Honduras, as he did growing up. Like three-fourths of the country, the aldea El Volcan is mountainous, home to about 1,000 people in 300 homes. Officially, Honduras is approximately two-thirds Catholic, but César explains that identifying Catholic doesn’t always equate to discipleship. In general in Honduras, as in much of Latin America, a lack of educational opportunities also means a lack of formation in the faith.
My family did practice the faith, but it was a faith out of tradition and respect, without a personal relationship with Jesus. However, we did go to church. I liked going to church for catechism classes. I remember during my preparation for First Communion, we had catechism classes in a small, humble kitchen at the church, and there was a ladder that I liked to climb because I didn’t like the chairs. It was fun because there were lots of kids in a small space.
Honduran villages may have a place to worship, but priests are few and far between. Catholics in the mountains of Honduras may only have the opportunity to attend Mass and receive the sacraments a few times per year. For example, in César's diocese of Comayagua there are about 3/4 of a million Catholics, served by around 70 priests. That results in more than 10,500 people per priest.
Faithful per priest ratios
Milan's average is 2,086.
The small diocese of Wichita, Kansas, which has the highest rate of new priests in the USA has an average of just 933 Catholics per priest.
The Archdiocese of Mexico has 3,481.
Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of Congo has 10,352 faithful per priest.
The Pope's former Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru has 10,730 faithful per priest.
César’s village is a bit closer to a city, only about a half hour’s drive, first on a dirt road, but one that eventually gives way to a newly paved road leading into the city. César explains that it was a priest who encouraged him in his faith when he was a teenager.
“I’ve always been Catholic, but it wasn’t until I was 17 that I really became aware of my faith and what it meant, thanks to the constant invitations from the priest at my parish.”
César refers to this deepening of faith as a true conversion and said after that, he had a deep desire to serve, not just his own village, but the Church as a whole. In 2009, he met the Missioners of Christ.
Sharing the faith
The Missioners of Christ is a Catholic community founded in Virginia Beach in the United States that has had a presence in Honduras for about 17 years.
While the missionary community was founded by Americans, many (the majority) of missionaries in the community are now Honduran.
It was the missionaries’ joy that drew César years ago,
I loved seeing young, joyful people like me evangelizing. I said to myself, “I want to be like them.” But because of my studies, I couldn’t join them that year. It wasn’t until 2011 that I went on my first mission, and from that moment on, I’ve been a missionary -- up to the present day.
The Missioners’ life is centered in prayer and they strive to be a community that “disciples others to live out the Great Commission, bringing the Gospel to all peoples and loving those in greatest need.”
Hope in difficulties
Honduras is a beautiful country, full of picturesque mountains, fruit trees and coffee beans. The people are well known for their hospitality, always offering their guests fresh coffee, or a glass of fruit juice, even if they have very little to give. Of course, like any other country, Honduras has its fair share of challenges, the two most obvious perhaps being poverty and lack of access to medical care. César shares,
The Catholic Church in Honduras in recent years continues to see a decrease in the percentage of Catholics due to the rise of other Christian denominations, political divisions, and social problems. There isn’t a true missionary identity or discipleship.
But I feel there is always hope, especially in the Church of the young — a new generation that renews, and one that we need to focus on.
There is indeed hope as missionaries like César share a revitalized faith with their countrymen. Just one story of many, César shares:
I met a student who was studying to become a lawyer; her name is Stephanie. She was an atheist, indifferent, and harsh toward the Church — possibly because of bad experiences with Christians. She started coming to our events and Bible studies through the invitation of her friends.
We became friends, and little by little she started to grow and learn about the faith. She even became a missionary who shared the Gospel with other students. Today, she is a woman with a very intimate relationship with Jesus, a missionary, and we still maintain a good friendship.
Individual stories like these, as well as programs such as retreats, scholarship programs, classes for men and women, are just a few ways permanent missionaries in Honduras evangelize.
Sharing with those from the USA
Missioners also host missionary groups from the United States who accompany them on home visits and often run Vacation Bible School programs for village children. Priests who come down on mission are busy, helping to supplement the work of local priests by providing the sacraments, particularly Mass and Anointing of the Sick, to people in the aldeas.
Last year, César married another missionary, Morgan, who comes from the United States but has been serving in Honduras for several years. Now expecting their first child, the couple plans to stay in Honduras and continue their work.
Morgan says, “I hope and pray that our family can help shine and share hope in Jesus and His faithfulness. Financially, politically, and socially, it can be difficult to live in this country but I know that God has us here now for a very particular reason.”
For Morgan, she has found that it is the small things that have the biggest impact and they continue to seek little ways to serve as they start their family in El Volcan.
When asked what his hopes were for his daughter as she grows up, César says,
As a father, I only wish for my daughter to grow up in an environment of peace, faith, and love. Where she not only hears about God but also feels and sees Him reflected in her family. And no matter what vocation she is called to, I hope she will also be an image and light of Christ for others — a source of hope for the world.
