The couple founded the Casa Alma Catholic Worker in Charlottesville, Virginia, after returning from mission in Chile.
By Angela Turner
Maryknoll Lay Missioners has named Steve and Laura Brown of Charlottesville, Virginia, as the recipients of the 2026 Bishop John E. McCarthy Spirit of Mission Award. The award was presented on August 30, 2026, by Elvira Ramirez, Executive Director of Maryknoll Lay Missioners, during a virtual ceremony.
The Browns, members of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners Class of 2005, served in Chile from 2005 to 2009. Upon returning to the United States with their three children, they founded Casa Alma, a Catholic Worker community in Charlottesville dedicated to providing safe, stable and affordable housing to families experiencing homelessness. Over the course of 15 years, Casa Alma grew into a thriving community that has housed and supported dozens of families, combining housing, urban farming, prayer and neighborly hospitality on a shared half-acre property in the heart of the city.
“Steve and Laura Brown are examples of living the call to mission as a family and what it means to bring mission home. Returned missioners impact their communities by sharing in global mission. They returned from Chile and built something lasting, not just a program but a genuine community rooted in faith, hospitality, and encounter. Their work at Casa Alma is the joyful story of God’s love, told one family at a time,” Ramirez said.
The Browns founded Casa Alma within four months of returning from Chile, driven by a desire to continue the integration of faith, family and work that Maryknoll Lay Missioners had made possible. Steve describes that sense of purpose as immediate and clear. “We had gotten so much from our time in Maryknoll [Lay Missioners] of really being able to blend our calling with our work that we didn’t want to return and just go back to regular jobs that felt removed from our lives with our children and that combined work and mission,” he said.
Laura began convening neighbors and friends to explore what a new Catholic Worker community might look like, identifying safe and stable housing for families experiencing homelessness as the most urgent unmet need in Charlottesville. What followed surprised even them. “In a true whirlwind of grace, we founded Casa Alma and purchased the three Nassau Street properties within four months of our return,” she said.
Over the following 15 years, Casa Alma grew to include Carlton House, a 10-unit building acquired in 2021, as well as the Christ Rooms program, which connects community members who have extra space with individuals and families in need. The property also features extensive gardens, fruit trees, laying chickens, miniature dairy goats and honeybees, tended as part of a shared commitment to sustainable, community-rooted living. In recent years, the Browns have transitioned the administration of Casa Alma to new leadership, though Laura remains actively involved. Their three children, Emily, Anna and El, grew up within the Casa Alma community.
The Bishop John E. McCarthy Spirit of Mission Award is conferred annually to a returned Maryknoll lay missioner who demonstrates ongoing passion and dedication to living out their mission vocation. The award was first presented in 2019 and is named in honor of the late Bishop John E. McCarthy of Austin, Texas. A tireless champion of social justice and Catholic Social Teaching, Bishop McCarthy was a fervent supporter of Maryknoll Lay Missioners and a powerful voice for the rights and dignity of migrants and refugees. He was among the founders of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, launched in 1970 as the U.S. bishops’ landmark domestic anti-poverty effort.
The award was presented following the Maryknoll Ecclesial Assembly, a gathering of the broader Maryknoll family held from August 28 to 30, 2026.
Angela Turner is communications managers for Maryknoll Lay Missioners.
Featured image: Returned Maryknoll Lay Missioners Steve and Laura Brown, of the Class of 2005, were awarded this year’s Bishop McCarthy Award. After serving in Chile, the couple started Casa Alma, a Catholic Worker community in Charlottesville, Virginia, which offers housing to families experiencing homelessness. (Maryknoll Lay Missioners/U.S.)
