10/07/2026
What a beautiful night for St. Maria’s Home!
On September 10, our community gathered at for our Building Hope Gala, an evening filled with faith, hope and incredible generosity. Together, we raised more than $150,000 to help bring Portland’s only Catholic maternity home to life.
We are so grateful to David and Margaret Bereit for joining us and sharing such an inspiring message. Margaret shared stories of transformation from her years serving mothers and their children at Mary’s Shelter in Virginia, reminding us that there is a proven and successful way to walk alongside women who need support, stability and a place to call home.
We also heard from Marie Barzen about the heart and beginnings of this mission, Helen Heller about the vision and goals for St. Maria’s Home, and Claire Anctil-Cathey, who shared a reflection on motherhood and the importance of surrounding women and their children with meaningful support.
It was especially beautiful to have over 200 friends and supporters from parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Portland gathered together in support of this mission, along with six of our local priests. We were also grateful to Fr. Eric Andersen for opening the evening in prayer.
Thank you to every guest, sponsor, volunteer, speaker and friend who made this evening possible. We are so grateful for this community and look forward to sharing updates as we continue bringing St. Maria’s Home to life.
St. Maria Goretti and St. Joseph, pray for us!
