Who Are We?
The Social Catholic was founded in the summer of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Jethro Higgins and his wife, Lizanie, wanted to do their part to help Catholics continue to grow in truth and virtue while the Catholic community was deprived of access to the Eucharist. At first, we sought to do this by promoting devotional prayer through little-known devotions such as the St. Benedict Chaplet and the Flying Novena.
We were founded in the second year of Jethro’s studies at the Augustine Institute, and our mission quickly expanded to include creating digital content to help Catholics learn more about their faith and grow together in virtue. We distribute that content through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X (Twitter), TheSocialCatholic.com, podcast services like Apple & Spotify, and here on substack.com.
The name ‘The Social Catholic’ was chosen for a couple of reasons. First, we were founded to share the faith. You’ll notice that the keys in our logo are turned 90 degrees to resemble a share icon. Second, we believe that true Catholic social teaching — not the popular caricature created by politics, the media, and celebrity Catholics — can be a stabilizing force in our Church and in our world, helping reduce unnecessary conflict. And third, we observed that social media — and online content in general — can be an incredibly toxic force, absent the transcendentals of truth, beauty, and goodness. We want our work to contribute to an opposing force, bringing the transcendentals into a space that desperately needs them.
Our Founders
Jethro was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, when the Pacific Northwest was known as the “unchurched belt.” His faith was forged in the fire of constant challenges to defend his beliefs. In the 90’s, Eugene held the title of the most unchurched city in the most unchurched state. Jethro received his undergrad degree from the University of Oregon in Religious Studies. He would go on to receive a Master's degree in Business from The Catholic University of America, and a Master’s degree in Theology from The Augustine Institute. Jethro is a 4th-degree Knight of Columbus. He has been involved in liturgical music for 32 years, and currently serves as a cantor for the 8:00 A.M. mass at their parish.
Jethro has been a youth ministry leader for 25 years—primarily in the LifeTeen model— and has taught catechesis for the last 20 years. In that time he has also worked with, and for, many Catholic organizations including The Augustine Institute, Source & Summit, The National Eucharistic Revival, Formed, Word of Life, Ignatius Press, The Amen Prayer App, Oregon Catholic Press, OpusFidelis, Aleteia.org, The Archdiocese of Arlington, and dozens of Catholic schools and parishes in Oregon and along the East Coast. Jethro met his wife, Lizanie, through Catholic Match and likes to joke with his kids that he searched the entire planet to find the very best mama for them in the entire world. Jethro and Lizanie have been married for 15 years and have six kids on earth, and number seven is heaven — St. Ezekiel Michael, pray for us! They live “out in the sticks” in a small town south of Eugene, Oregon, where they homeschool their children and enjoy handicrafts and homesteading projects.
Lizanie was born in the Philippines in Mandaue, Cebu. With 80% of Filipinos being Catholic, the Philippines has the third largest Catholic population of any country in the world, with 93 million Catholics — behind Brazil (140 mil - 46%) and Mexico (103.3 mil - 67%). Lizanie was heavily involved in youth ministry as a teen and a young adult. She was a leader for her Youth for Christ chapter in Mandaue, part of the parent organization of Couples for Christ. Lizanie was a cheerleader and a Girl Scouts of the Philippines Cadet — the equivalent of an Eagle Scout for girls. She never once heard about cookies during her days as a scout, but she learned bushcraft, martial arts, and how to decipher and communicate using various codes.
Lizanie received her Civil Engineering degree from the Cebu Institute of Technology University in 2006, and worked for nearly six years in the Philippines as a Civil Engineer. Lizanie immigrated to the United States in January of 2012 — 17 months after her marriage to Jethro. Ask her sometime about the transition from tropical 90-degree weather in the Philippines to winter in Northern Virginia. Lizanie currently works as a homemaker and a teacher to their six homeschooled children. She enjoys baking and crafting. Lizanie prefers to work behind the scenes so you won’t see her much on camera, but she produces the majority of the handcrafted products available on thesocialcatholic.com.
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