Catholics for Courage Catholics for Courage
Guiding young global leaders of faith by providing the door to a university education.
Sponsor a Student Our PartnershipCatholics for Courage was founded on three guiding principles.
The Catholic faith has always upheld education as a means of realizing the God-given dignity of every person — a path by which individuals, and whole communities, can rise out of poverty into fuller and freer lives. Speaking to the Dicastery for Culture and Education in November 2024, Pope Francis said education should form "people capable of helping the world turn over a new leaf by eradicating inequality, endemic poverty and exclusion."[1]
College-educated leaders in every field require a moral foundation rooted in Catholic social thought. Catholic social teaching insists that knowledge and achievement are never ends in themselves — they carry a responsibility toward others, especially the poor and marginalized. Its core principles — the dignity of the human person, solidarity, the common good, and a preferential option for the poor — give future leaders a compass to use their education in service of justice rather than personal advancement. As Pope Francis asked students in 2015, "How can we help make their education a mark of greater responsibility in the face of today's problems, the needs of the poor, concern for the environment?"[2]
True charity honors the dignity of those it serves. C4C does not treat poverty as a condition to be pitied, but as a challenge to be overcome — by the very people living through it. We sponsor students not as passive recipients of aid, but as capable young leaders equipped to transform their own families and communities for generations to come. We support Catholic students with a strong faith foundation and a history of academic achievement. As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops teaches, "The primary purpose of this special commitment to the poor is to enable them to become active participants in the life of society."[3]
Read together, these three principles trace an arc: what we're breaking (the cycle of poverty), how our students will lead (with an ethical foundation), and how we walk alongside them (as partners, not patrons). Courage runs through all three.
Catholics for Courage partners with Young Life's Developing Global Leaders (DGL) program. DGL provides full-ride, 4-year university scholarships to Young Life leaders in developing countries — young people who are already leading in their communities and simply need the opportunity to earn a degree and go further. Because DGL already covers a scholar's tuition and university costs, Catholics for Courage focuses specifically on identifying Catholic Young Life leaders and nurturing their faith and connection to the Church throughout their university years.
In collaboration with the director of the DGL program, Catholics for Courage selected three students to sponsor through university. Their scholarships cover tuition, and in return they stay active in local Catholic Young Life ministry — multiplying the impact of every gift.
Joy grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and said "yes" to Jesus at her first Young Life Club at age 13. Now a Developing Global Leader, she's studying Microbiology at Bells University of Technology while serving as a Campaigner Leader in Young Life's high school ministry.
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Raised by his grandmother after overcoming childhood poverty, John rose from a "lost kid" at his first Young Life camp to Team Leader and Area Leader across Manyoni. Now a Developing Global Leader, he's pursuing software development and IT to serve businesses across Tanzania.
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After years of skepticism toward God following a hard childhood, Carlos found Jesus at his first Young Life camp. Now a Club Director in Duitama and a Developing Global Leader, he's studying Social Sciences at UPTC, aiming to become a teacher and researcher.
Learn MoreDonations to sponsor our students are processed securely through Young Life's giving platform, not by Catholics for Courage directly.
Questions about Catholics for Courage or our three sponsored students? Email us at info@catholicsforcourage.org.
For questions about DGL sponsorship itself, contact Young Life DGL directly at dgl@younglife.org.