The CatholicWorker.org domain name was acquired by Jim Allaire (co-founding member of the Winona Catholic Worker) in 1995. His goal was simple: to help people learn more about the Catholic Worker Movement, especially through the writings of Dorothy Day in The Catholic Worker newspaper. With the help of many volunteers, he digitized those writings and made them available in a searchable database on the website. A directory of all known Catholic Worker communities was added soon after; the directory made it easier for people to connect with Catholic Worker communities at a time before social media or the wide adoption of websites by individual communities.
Today, CatholicWorker.org continues to document the Catholic Worker movement in all its diverse expressions around the world. The purpose of the project is twofold:
- To communicate the ideals, aims, and means of the Catholic Worker movement, especially as set forth by its founders.
- To encourage the growth of the movement by documenting the activities and ideals of contemporary Catholic Worker communities and by maintaining an up-to-date directory of all known Catholic Worker communities.
After twenty-seven years as architect and webmaster, Jim passed development and management of the site to Jerry Windley-Daoust.
CatholicWorker.org is an independent project in the service of the Catholic Worker movement. It is not affiliated with any national organization or individual Catholic Worker community.
About Jim Allaire
Jim Allaire is a retired psychologist and software developer. In addition to raising two sons with his wife, Barbara, he co-founded the Winona Catholic Worker (Winona, Minnesota). At about the same time, he began developing CatholicWorker.org with the help of many volunteers. He is also the author of two books: Praying With Dorothy Day (Word Among Us Press, 1995) and Costly Grace (iUniverse, 2009), a mystery novel. He currently resides in Newton, MA, near Boston.
About Jerry Windley-Daoust
Jerry Windley-Daoust is a writer, editor, and website developer. He and his wife have raised five children in Winona, Minnesota, where he was an early live-in volunteer with the Winona Catholic Worker. He owns a small publishing enterprise, Gracewatch Media, and is the author of more than two dozen books. You can read more about him at Windhovering, his portfolio website.