GARDEN GROVE, CALIF.— About 275 people from California and beyond recently came here for the Pilgrims of Hope: Serving the Vulnerable conference that celebrated the state's Catholic social and health care ministries.
The title of the conference reflected Pope Francis' theme for the Jubilee Year 2025. Organized by Catholic Charities of California, the Alliance of Catholic Health Care, the Knights of Columbus, Mercy Housing, and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Los Angeles, the conference was a first and highlighted contributions of those and other organizations.
Participants heard from leaders at the forefront of Catholic services, including health care, nutrition security, immigration, housing and disaster relief. The gathering was Oct. 9-10 at the Christ Cathedral campus of the Diocese of Orange.
In his welcoming remarks, Msgr. Gregory Cox, the president of the executive committee of Catholic Charities of California and executive director of Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, pointed out that California, with a population of more than 39 million, has 49 Catholic health care systems and hospitals, which served more than 9.9 million people last year. Catholic Charities of California served more than 1.2 million people in 2023, according to its website.
Msgr. Cox talked about how the giant sequoias in Northern California have roots that go barely below the surface, yet they withstand strong winds. The trees grow only in groves, and their roots intertwine underneath the surface.
"Like the sequoias that grow in groves, Catholic health care and Catholic social services grow in communities of faith," he said. "Together, our roots of faith and love for the poor and vulnerable are intertwined with each other, so that when the strong winds of lack of resources, legal battles and challenges and despair come, we hold each other up."
Here are some takeaways from Catholic health care providers at the conference:
- Erik Wexler, president and CEO of Providence St. Joseph Health, and Julie Sprengel, president and CEO of CommonSpirit Health California Region, interviewed one another during a session on the history, mission and challenges of Catholic health care. Wexler spoke about health care facing a "poly-crisis" of issues, including cutbacks from federal programs, commercial payers reimbursing at low rates and the workforce shortage. But these are also the best of times, Wexler said. "This is when we can truly transform, but we've got to keep ourselves focused in a way that we continue to serve those who are vulnerable," he said. Sprengel said she was concerned about new work requirements for Medicaid recipients, and the administrative burden that will require. "All of us are going to have to think differently, and I think that's one important way where we can collectively come together," she said. "How do we ensure that those who are eligible for coverage are able to make that happen?"
- Kenya Beckmann, chief philanthropy and health equity officer of the Providence South Division, pointed out that 90% of new information has been generated in the past few years, and that she, like others, is overwhelmed. "When I think about the value proposition of Catholic health care and why that's important, and of Catholic social services, is that there's a permanency about it," she said. "Those aren't things of the day. Those are things of eternal, right? Those are things of human dignity. Those are how we work together and how we show up."
- Rachelle Reyes Wenger, system vice president of public policy and advocacy engagement at CommonSpirit Health, encouraged all present to see each other as not just as an arm of Catholic health care, but also as one body that is the healing ministry. "The world needs us so very badly right now," she said. "Julie and Erik have very much told you, in a very nice way, how much we are in peril. You guys are feeling it. It's real. The pain is so real right now, and our body is so strong when we are doing things together."
- Gabriela Robles is president and chief executive of the St. Joseph Community Partnership Fund, the grant-making foundation of Providence, and chief mission integration officer for the Providence South Division. She spoke about growing up in the 1980s in a large immigrant community in Los Angeles, where the challenges of legal status, poverty and language barriers were similar to those of today. The church was the center of everything, she said. "So while we had challenges, we had assets: We had faith, we had hope," she said. The charisms of Providence's founding sisters have influenced how she handles her dual roles, she said. "It's about bringing people together. It's about setting the table and having people come to the table. It's really identifying challenges in partnership with others."
- Tammy Shaff, director of community health at Dignity Health St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton, California, spoke about a program called the Connected Community Network that helps clinicians easily link patients to resources such as housing and food assistance. The closed loop referral system allows everyone to see if a service provider has followed up with a family or individual. There are nearly 1,000 different programs on the network, she said. "The beauty of the CCN is that it brings the community together, because collaboration is key," she said.
- Jennifer Tanner, system director of real estate growth for CommonSpirit, said the system partners with organizations like Mercy Housing to address the need for affordable and senior housing. Rising construction costs challenge everyone, but she finds hope in the fact that she's hearing more people outside the health care setting talking about social determinants of health, and that others are learning that having stable housing is the best preventive health care. "There are a lot of minds trying to get creative," she said. "And I do like when real estate minds get around and start talking about it, so that gives me hope that something's going to happen."
