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Abbreviation | SPO |
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Established | 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 |
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]
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]