Main Home : Con-solatio

Con-solatio is a Brooklyn-based non-profit organization rooted in the Catholic faith.

We reach out to people from every walk of life, especially those most socially isolated, in some of the world’s most troubled areas.

MISSION

Walking with those whose hearts are wearied by loneliness, we seek to offer the comfort, consolation and hope of God’s abiding Presence through personal life-transforming relationships that reveal the beauty and dignity of each person.

VISION

Our vision is rooted in Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Spe Salvi :

“The true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer. This holds true both for the individual and for society. (…) To accept the “other” who suffers, means that I take up his suffering in such a way that it becomes mine also. Because it has now become a shared suffering, though, in which another person is present, this suffering is penetrated by the light of love. The Latin word con-solatio, “consolation”, expresses this beautifully. It suggests being with the other in his solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude.”

By offering our simple, self-giving and faithful presence, we strive, as God’s instruments, to bring both the balm of Christ’s mercy and love, and of Mary’s compassion and consolation.

130

North-American Volunteers since 2005

Local partner non-profits in 18 countries

3000

People Visited in 2022

6380

Benefactors since 2003

CON-SOLATIO AT A GLANCE

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WE PUBLISHED A BOOK

Come Abide compiles excerpts of Con-solatio volunteers’ hundreds of raw and consoling letters. These true stories of life-transforming relationships witness to the healing power of a simple presence.

Order it!

“Come Abide draws away the veil from the hearts and minds of young volunteers who have joined themselves to the mission of Con-solatio. Their testimonies are filled with faith, friendship, zeal, and self-discovery. Each in their own way, the contributors have discovered the beauty of friendship with Christ and those to whom He sent them.”

REV. PETER J. PURPURA, Diocese of Brooklyn

“Christ surprises Con-solatio volunteers by meeting them in the people they serve; He teaches the volunteers to look for, recognize, and welcome Him everywhere and in everyone they encounter. Unexpectedly, His wisdom speaks through the voice of street children. His humanity and thirst for love shine through the gaze of the derelict and the abandoned of the world. His mercy flows through the generosity and friendship of the poorest of the poor.”

LAURA RITA FEOLA, Italian teacher

“Come Abide offers an inspiring and fascinating look into the personal lives of young volunteers. There are many intense, dramatic encounters of Christian unconditional love in action, with the poorest of the poor in their darkest times, that are seen and felt in the Con-solatio volunteer program. They live it all through a deep spirituality with the love of Christ, in his sufferings.”

JOE CAMPO, director of St. Francis House

“Come Abide will take you to faraway places—Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, and deep into the thirsting heart of Christ.”

RITA A. SIMMONDS, author of Convicted by Mercy