Pope Leo XIV has donated $US100,000 ($140,000) to provide access to clean water in El Salvador, supporting a program launched by the papal nuncio to that nation and by the US-based Catholic Relief Services. Source: NCR Online.
The gift was announced yesterday in a press release issued by CRS, the official humanitarian and development agency of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the apostolic nunciature in El Salvador.
The funds will help expand the clean water project Agua Segura (“Safe Water”) to four of the eight dioceses in El Salvador – Chalatenango, Santa Ana, San Miguel and Sonsonate – through the installation of chlorination devices and the construction of water treatment plants.
“Clean water is life,” said CRS president and CEO Sean Callahan, noting he and the agency were “deeply honoured” by Leo’s donation.
An estimated 50,000 people living in rural areas are ultimately expected to benefit from the initiative, with about 7500 directly impacted by the papal contribution.
Archbishop Luigi Roberto Cona, apostolic nuncio to El Salvador, launched Agua Segura in December 2025 with his own $US35,000 ($49,000) in seed money, having seen firsthand the devastating effects of water insecurity on human health.
Archbishop Cona recalled a 2024 pastoral visit to a small village in Metalío – which is in the district of the port city of Acajutla, located in the Diocese of Sonsonate – where he witnessed the dire situation of rural families affected by storms.
“We were going to distribute food aid to the farmers who had been left with nothing – not only without food, but also without seeds, since they had lost everything in the torrential rains,” he said.
Compounding that disaster was another, one that some researchers have called “a silent massacre” in Central America: chronic kidney disease among adults and children alike – with data indicating, among other factors, a link to unsafe water.
CRS said only about 10 per cent of El Salvador’s surface water – drawn from streams, rivers and lakes – was safe for human consumption. The danger is due to heavy contamination from both industrial and domestic waste.
About half of the households in rural areas lack access to potable water, placing them at higher risk for waterborne illness.
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Pope Leo donates $100K to CRS clean water project in El Salvador (By Gina Christian, Marietha Gongora V and Maria-Pia Negro Chin, OSV News via NCR Online)
