The Conchita Initiative is an informal prayer collective for Catholic women dedicated to prayer and sacrifice for the sanctification of priests
Our hope is to gather like-minded women to pray and offer daily sacrifices for the specific intention of the holiness and protection of our Catholic priests.
“How I would love it if all the Christians in the world would pray that priests might devote themselves irrevocably to this consecration. I think that women have a special role to play in this prayer. In a mysterious spiritual maternity,
they must carry the priests of the whole world...”
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No formal sign up is necessary, unless you would like to receive monthly email reminders and find out about online prayer sessions. We commit to the following on a weekly basis:
1). daily prayer of a decade of the Rosary
2). daily prayer for priests (we have different prayers that you can pick from— from St. Therese, St Faustina, Bl. Conchita de Armida, St. John Vianney and others)
3). fasting from meat on Thursdays
In addition to these three things, we invite you to consider a “fresh offering” for the intention of our priests—one week it may be no sugar, the next it may be 15 minutes of an extra workout, or no complaining, among other things. Ideas can be found on our Linktree which you can find below. Take your pick for a new, small sacrifice each week if you feel inspired to offer more.
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No matter where you are in the world, we have all witnessed the wounding of the Church both from within and without. The abuse scandals have rocked both the faithful and the priests who remain in the aftermath.
We commit to prayer and fasting for our priests so that they may be protected and strengthened to face temptation, find healing when it is needed, and most especially, remain close to Jesus—the source of all holiness and of all of our merits.
As women praying for priests, we take on the role of spiritual mothers, as the first and best spiritual mother: Mary. Our offerings, united with the Suffering, Death, and Resurrection of Christ, “make up for what is lacking” (Colossians 1:24), namely, our cooperation.
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Our sweet Lady, Mother of all priests, is our first inspiration. She awaited with the apostles in the upper room, as they were “all together in one place” (Acts 2:1) and her faith and hope in the fulfillment of God’s promises must have drawn them all deeper in their faith and devotion.
As our name entails, we are also inspired by the life and witness of Blessed Concepcion (Conchita) Cabrera de Armida who was a loving wife, mother, and laywoman in Mexico. She dedicated herself lovingly to her family and daily duties yet not without great intimacy with the Lord and offering everything she could for the sanctification of priests. You can read more about her here and find her biography here.