As head of the Catholic Community Services of Miami he recommended the establishment of the Centro Hispano Católico, which opened its doors to the influx of Cuban refugees in 1960 year in which he founded and directed the Pedro Pan Operation which received 14,048 unaccompanied children escaping communist indoctrination in Cuba. The program placed the children in schools, orphanages and foster homes throughout the U.S. until they could gain the age of majority or be reunited with their parents.