Our Mission

The Mission of the Orange County Catholic Worker is:

• To be a community seeking God by living with the poor
• To share dignity through home-cooked meals, friendship, and
  the offering of shelter and other basic services;
• To resist the dominant culture of violence and addiction through adherence to Christ's law of non-violence, service and serenity
• To embrace the Gospel values of simple living and trust in
  God's providence
• To encounter God through prayer, liturgy, service, 
  and contemplation

About Us

We are four Catholic Workers, hundreds of guests and countless volunteers. We have been brought together in an attempt to discover, "who Jesus is" through action and prayer.

We have no program except to care for our brothers and sisters as we would care for Christ. We seek to offer sustenance for the body, but also for the heart and soul. We reach out to those who are forgotten and alone, hoping to offer healing through friendship and commitment. We try to help one another to be living signs of Christ's love by doing the corporal works of mercy at a personal sacrifice.

We do our work as a gift, and share the gifts we receive directly with the poor. We offer good food, over 3000 meals each week. We offer our home as a place where all can be transformed by serving those in need. We offer an open door to those most at risk on the streets. We offer clothes and other necessities to those facing homelessness.

Aware of our individual and societal illnesses, and through the gift of our faith in a healing God, we are encouraged to face pain, speak truth, and celebrate resurrection.

Our Catholic Worker History

The Catholic Worker Movement began simply enough on May 1, 1933, when a journalist named Dorothy Day and a philosopher named Peter Maurin teamed up to publish and distribute a newspaper called "The Catholic Worker." This radical paper promoted the biblical promise of justice and mercy.

Grounded in a firm belief in the God-given dignity of every human person, their movement was a committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, and the Works of Mercy as a way of life. It wasn't long before Dorothy and Peter were putting their beliefs into action, opening a "house of hospitality" where the homeless, the hungry, and the forsaken would always be welcome.

Over many decades the movement has protested injustice, war, and violence of all forms. Today there are some 185 Catholic Worker communities in the United States. Some people from the New York Catholic Worker started the Aamon Hennacy Worker in Saint Louis, Missouri, and some people from there helped Dan and Chris Delaney start the LACW over 30 years ago. About thirteen years after that, Jonathan and Rio Parfrey took $20,000 and their four kids, came to Santa Ana and opened Isaiah House.

Isaiah House of the Orange County Catholic Worker has served poor people with dignity since 1987. Located in Santa Ana's eastside barrio on Cypress Street, this house of hospitality is open to people in need. Respectful personal attention is at the heart of our service.

Isaiah House offers formal meals for the homeless, shelter, bags of food and clothing, showers, emergency assistance, a relaxing backyard, and always a friendly ear and kind words of support.

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