SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Dr. Michael Mahoney has searched since medical school for the perfect opportunity to meld his professional training and personal drive to improve lives and conditions for people living in areas devastated by poverty, disaster and despair.

Almost five years after participating in his first mission trip to Honduras with a group from Georgia, he has launched In Nomine Patris, a Spanish Fort-based nonprofit organization dedicated to delivering care and assistance to impoverished nations abroad, and the group’s first official trip to Haiti is slated for mid-June.

Mahoney incorporated In Nomine Patris — from the Latin for “In the name of the Father” — in October and said he was shocked to learn as he filed his first batch of paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service Sunday that the fledgling nonprofit has already raised $8,000 toward the inaugural mission.

Although 50 area residents have expressed interest in participating, Mahoney said conditions dictate only 12 will make the trip organized by Grace Missions in Linbe, Haiti.

“We will be working in conjunction with the Oaks of Righteousness from Satellite Beach, Fla., and our long-term goal is to help establish and support a nursing home in Linbe,” Mahoney said.

The Starkville, Miss., native said he moved to south Alabama 11 years ago to take a job and “fell in love with the Eastern Shore.”

Mahoney opened a Spanish Fort clinic three years ago but said the pull to continue mission work remained so strong he began researching protocol for establishing his organization.

Editor's Note: This is the first in a three-part series examining In Nomine Patris, a Spanish Fort-based international-aid organization founded by Dr. Michael Mahoney.

See the full story in the Feb. 23 edition of The Bulletin.