The Project Rachel Prayer Team: Hidden Friends of a Holy Work

The Church has always known that apostolic ministry is sustained by hidden prayer. Behind every work of healing and mercy, there are those who intercede quietly, unseen, carrying the weight of the ministry before God. This is the heart of the Project Rachel Prayer Team — and we are inviting you to become one of these hidden friends.

Through the Project Rachel ministry here in the Diocese of San Angelo, we offer a ministry of healing to women and men who have had an abortion experience, including weekend retreats, resources for professional counseling, ongoing accompaniment, and a dedicated team of clergy. At the very center of this work, invisible yet indispensable, stands the prayer team. What you do in secret, God sees — and it is what makes everything else possible.

A Hidden Ministry for a Hidden Wound

As you can imagine, this ministry is highly confidential, and the prayer team's hiddenness is not merely a practical necessity — it reflects the very nature of contemplative intercession itself. You will not receive names. You will not know the full details of what God is doing. You will simply pray, in faith, trusting that your offering is received and that lives are being changed by it. We will keep you updated on the activities of Project Rachel and notify you when retreats are being held, though never with times or locations.

What We Ask of You

Ongoing Commitments

• A weekly Holy Hour offered for the ministry of Project Rachel (before the tabernacle or in adoration is preferred, but not required).
• Pray for the priests associated with Project Rachel and our team of volunteers and donors.
• Pray for the women and men God is calling to come to our retreats, and continue to pray for those who have found healing through Project Rachel.
• Request Masses at your home parish to be offered for Project Rachel on an occasional basis.
• Pray at least two Rosaries per week for the healing of all men and women in our area who have been affected by abortion.

During Retreat Weeks

• A novena will be sent to you to pray for the team and the retreatants throughout the retreat.
• Please pray a Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet every day of the retreat weekend.
• We ask that you offer an additional Holy Hour during the retreat weekend for the team and retreatants. We typically hold three retreats per year.
• An additional prayer will be included in the email sent to you, which we ask you to pray daily — before the Blessed Sacrament if possible.

All of this is done according to your personal schedule. Should some members of the team wish to pray together, you are more than welcome to organize that — it would be a beautiful way to enrich your family prayer life as well.

An Invitation Worth Saying Yes To

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who never left her cloister, was named a patron of missionaries because the Church understands that intercession is not secondary to the apostolate — it is the apostolate, carried out in a different mode. In joining the Project Rachel Prayer Team, you are not supporting this ministry from a distance. You are at its very heart, doing the work that no one else will see and that God alone will reward.

If you are willing to join our team or have any questions, please email us at projectrachel@sanangelodiocese.org. Thank you so much for your consideration and your prayerful support.