Live the Spes

Who We Are

A Spes Unica Associate is a person who feels a calling to live according to the ideals, spirit and charisms of the Congregation of Holy Cross. The Associate is called to embrace the heritage and charisms of Holy Cross and commits to live them out everyday, in their work, their ministry and their daily life. Associates form relationships with each other and with vowed religious colleagues through association and sharing in the spirituality, hospitality, mission and family spirit of Holy Cross

Our Mission:

Grow spiritually,

form community,

and serve others.

What We Promise

Spes Unica Associates make yearly commitments to live out their mission.

Grow Spiritually

Sharing gifts of faith, love, and mutual support, Spes Unica Associates work as individuals and in community to grow and nurture a spiritual life that leads to a deeper relationship with Christ.

Build Community

Spes Unica Associates nurtures members and also reaches out to the wider world. Striving for a family spirit of love and inclusiveness that binds minds and hearts, Associates are committed to building and supporting just, humane, and faith-filled communities that enable people to “see how they love one another.”

Serve Others

Service is central to the identity of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Spes Unica Associates accept a call to serve while also seeking new opportunities that support, promote, and expand this essential Holy Cross value: to share the Light of Christ by building a more humane world.

Guiding Statement

Rooted in our Catholic Holy Cross tradition, our mission is animated through our commitment to grow spiritually, form community, and serve others as we endeavor to make God known, loved, and served. We are apostolic communities of hope with zeal for service. Our spirituality is informed by the gift of the cross and the promise of the resurrection, as articulated in our motto “Hail the Cross, our Only Hope”–Ave Crux, Spes Unica!

Core Values

Trust in Divine Providence

… that makes us dependent upon God in all things.

… that binds our minds and hearts, in joys and sorrows, so that people will “see how they love one another.”

… that recognizes the presence of Christ within and among us.

… that shares, even as Jesus and Mary did, in the lives and sufferings of others.

… that risks all for the kingdom of God.

… that sets our hearts on fire, the audacity to make all things new, to make Christ known and loved.

… that marks every aspect of our ministry.

… and concern for the poor.

… to the people we serve.