The Society of St. James' understanding of the term evangelization means the proclamation of God’s word and sacrament together with the implementation of social and community work projects. Both of these aspects complement one another. Without the Gospel, there can be no energy to bring about the transformation of the person and the community through social action.

Our founder, Cardinal Richard Cushing, recognized that without the presence of priests the Eucharist and the Sacraments cannot be celebrated. There were thousands of people in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador who had not heard the Gospel message, nor had they access to the Sacraments due to the shortage of priests. The role of the missionary is to go to those remote country villages and the barrios of the large cities where native priests would be unable to survive. The Society can be credited with the introduction of family catechetics, which aims at evangelizing the whole family and not just the children who are preparing for the sacraments. Throughout the years, parishes have been developed and handed over to the local diocese. There are always new places in which to begin all over again.