The Annual Catholic Appeal is all about being Catholic, all about being part of a Church that stretches far beyond the reach of our own parish. The Annual Appeal acknowledges that no parish – not even a great one like St. James Cathedral – can possibly accomplish the entire mission of the Church. Although we do many good things, thanks to your generous support, there are many things still left to be done. There are future priests to be trained, social services for the poor to be offered, foster care and adoption services to be provided, Catholic schools to keep going, retired sisters, brothers, and priests to support in their old age.

This year your generous contribution to the Annual Catholic Appeal is as important as it has ever been. Maybe more!  Costs are increasing. They are for you; they are for the Archdiocese.

• In the 1960’s, seminary costs (tuition, board, room, travel) for the year were about $1,500. Now they’re $30,000 a year! Multiply that by four years and then by 35 seminarians and you see how big the challenge is.
   
• Sisters and priests used to have no funding whatever for retirement. They died with their boots on. Now we are faced with funding pension plans retroactively – in large amounts. And, of course, people are living longer…!
   
• Most people regard our Catholic schools as the very best schools around. But most of them are struggling to stay alive because of the enormous costs of lay salaries and the challenges of aging facilities with deferred maintenance.

These are just a few examples but you get the idea. The Annual Appeal helps fund these are many other important parts of the Church’s mission – things a parish can’t do by itself. The amount required to meet all the needs this year is $10 million and, of this amount, our own parish of St. James Cathedral is being asked to contribute $231,000.

As in years past, everything given over and above the goal given us by the Archdiocese will come back to us for our own parish needs. This year we will use any “rebate monies” to help pay for our annual support of the Rainbow Catholic Schools, a program whereby some 60 of our own Cathedral children are able to receive a quality Catholic Education at St. Edward, St. George, St. Joseph, St. Paul, or St. Therese Schools.

The Commitment Sunday for the Annual Catholic Appeal is Sunday, April 30. Thank you in advance for your generous support of the Appeal!

For more information, contact Maria Laughlin, Office Manager, 206-622-3559.