The Archdiocese of Philadelphia Highlights Five New Missionaries from The Culture Project International

These missionaries will educate young people about the importance of self-respect and living chaste lives.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is pleased to welcome five new missionaries from the Culture Project International for service in the five-county region. They are Juliet Alise, Benjamin Colombo, Patrick Kilgannon, Emily Najvar, and Nicky Orozco.

The Culture Project (CP) was founded in 2014 by Ms. Cristina Barba Whalen, a graduate of Archbishop John Carroll High School. This initiative of young people set out to restore culture through the experience of virtue is headquartered in Philadelphia.  

In 2021, Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez approved the establishment of an official Culture Project International chapter to serve in ministry throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Since that time, ten missionaries have served the local Church and conducted more than 540 presentations to young adults as well as middle school and high school aged students who attend private and Archdiocesan elementary, secondary school, and PREP programs.

Over the next year, these vibrant young men and women will build on the work of two missionary teams that served the local church over the past two years. They will educate youth and young adults throughout the five-county region about the dignity of every human life as well as the freedom and beauty of living out virtue and authentic love. Their work is rooted in Catholic social teaching and Saint John Paul II’s legendary work, Theology of the Body.

Background Information on the Culture Project Missionaries

Juliet Alise recently graduated from Tulane University with a Master of Science Degree in Behavioral Health. She has a deep passion for understanding and helping people, which led her to pursue a graduate degree in psychology. This same passion drew her to the mission of the Culture Project. “People have a desire for love that is embedded in their human nature. The only way to truly understand this desire is to encounter Love Himself–our Lord Jesus Christ. I feel called to help young people understand themselves more fully by having a relationship with God and experiencing His authentic love.”

Benjamin Colombo graduated in 2023 from Angelo State University with a B.A. in History and minors in Communications and Sociology. While in college, a mentor introduced Ben to the Culture Project and recommended that he apply. While substitute teaching at a public middle school, Ben saw young people struggling with their identity and taking extreme measures to try and change how God made them to be. “If only they knew how much God loves them, sees them, they would be fully alive.” I became a missionary to prime the hearts and minds of youth to let God act in their lives.

Patrick Kilgannon graduated in 2023 from the University of Virginia where he studied Economics. The Church’s teachings on human dignity and sexual integrity, the same teachings that inspire the Culture Project’s mission, are what brought Patrick back to the faith in his third year of college. He met The Culture Project at SEEK23 in Saint Louis and answered the call from Christ to give a year of his life to serve others as a Culture Project missionary. “We are all made for a life united with the Trinity. I hope to expel Satan’s empty promises and be a light that brings young men and women into a life of true joy through Jesus Christ.”

Emily Najvar graduated cum laude in 2022 from the University of Dallas with a B.A. in Theology. She grew up in Houston with ten siblings and rode horses competitively for more than 10 years. Emily served as a missionary in the summer of 2020 with Dumb Ox Ministries. She discovered her passion for sharing the message of the dignity and beauty of the human body and sexuality with many different people and watching them come alive as they embraced this truth for themselves. She heard about the Culture Project through her time with Dumb Ox, various SEEK conferences, and her brother, who encouraged her to apply. The message of the beauty, truth, goodness, and immense value of the human person is something she longs to pass on to others. After much discernment, Emily answered the call to give her life in service as a missionary for a year with the Culture Project. “I have never seen people come more alive than when they hear this message. They truly find joy within themselves. “I became a missionary to take this message to those who struggle to see their dignity and the beauty of what it means to be human as created by God.”

Nicky Orozco graduated in 2022 from Franciscan University of Steubenville with a B.S. in Social Work. She grew up in Southern New Hampshire, worked as a karate instructor, and served in various high school and college ministries. While in college, Nicky was part of a women’s community inspired by Saint John Paul II’s teachings and dedicated to the pro-life cause. When Nicky met the Culture Project, she felt the saintly pontiff tugging at her heart again. The Culture Project’s focus on beauty, dignity, and hope, compelled Nicky to answer the call from Christ to give a year of her life to serve others as a missionary. “Christ set me free from a life of despair and continues to be the keeper of my heart. Now, the Culture Project allows me to share the freedom that Christ brings with others.”

# # #

Editor’s Note: To learn more about the Culture Project International, please visit https://thecultureproject.org/.  To learn more about the Culture Project in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, https://archphila.org/thecultureproject/.

facebook Archdiocese of Philadelphia
twitter ArchPhilly
instagram ArchPhilly

Contact:
Alaina Longo
Deputy Communications Officer
215-587-3747 (office)