Catholics gave a record amount to this year’s Annual Catholic Appeal, supporting important ministries across the archdiocese.

This year, the appeal raised $16.8 million from pledges and other sources. Including estate gifts and anticipated matching gifts, the total exceeds $17.1 million. The goal was $15 million.

According to data from the ACA, nearly 37,000 households participated, 129 parishes exceeded fundraising goals and 82 parishes reached their challenge goals. Also, 69 parishes achieved their goals for new donors, and 54 parishes improved participation.

“Thanks to the prayers and generosity of our volunteers, pastors, and donors, thousands of our brothers and sisters will find hope and healing through the ministries supported by the Annual Catholic Appeal,” Archbishop Mitchell T.

Rozanski said. “When we answer God’s call to share His gifts with those most in need, we grow closer both to Him and to them, united as one family, Brothers and Sisters All.”

The ACA is an important tool for evangelization in the archdiocese, uniting Catholics in the work of bringing Christ to all, said Brian Niebrugge, executive director of the Annual Catholic Appeal.

“The Church is the Body of Christ, but it can be invisible to the world,” he said. “What the appeal does is take the invisible mystical Body of Christ and make it visible to the world in a way they understand. So, it helps evangelize people and help people understand what the Church is and what it does here in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.”

At Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Ferguson, parish participation increased by 6 percentage points this year. Parish chair Gerry Bucher grew up watching his father go door-knocking for ACA

contributions, and he’s glad to continue the legacy of service.

“We’re a small parish, but we have a very generous community,” Bucher said.

The ACA has now raised more than $500 million since its inception in 1954.

“It’s a privilege to serve the Annual Catholic Appeal, because we’re serving the mission of the Church,” said Dr. Michael Conoyer, this year’s ACA chairman.

The ACA directly supports programs across Catholic education, ministries promoting human dignity and social responsibility, and missionary discipleship and leadership efforts. For a detailed list of ACA-supported programs, visit archstl.org/annual-catholic-appeal/ programs-we-support.

Addressing homelessness in Lincoln County

A sum of $50,000 from the extra funds raised by the ACA will support the Lincoln County Housing Task Force.

The task force was formed in the summer of 2021 to address rising homelessness in Lincoln and surrounding counties. The group is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and composed of members from Sacred Heart Parish in Troy, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service, the Lincoln County Health Department, Lincoln County Resource Board and other civic and faith organizations.

Sacred Heart Parish and its St. Vincent de Paul conference have seen the need for housing firsthand, said pastor Father Mike Lydon. Last year, the St. Vincent de Paul conference gave out $73,000 for temporary hotel stays and utility costs; currently, the conference is getting requests for temporary housing assistance from three to five families or individuals every week.

“I see folks every Saturday, and we really feel their need,” said Chris Schieffer, president of Sacred Heart’s St. Vincent de Paul Society and a member of the task force. “To be awarded this money from the ACA affirms that we’re going in the right direction and we’re doing the right thing.”

The task force’s first priority is opening an emergency shelter/crisis stabilization center for men, women and families called Bridge of Hope. The Lincoln County Commission has donated property in the Troy area and agreed to construct a 5,000-square-foot building to serve as the center, which it will loan to Bridge of Hope for $1 per year. The city of Troy will help furnish the building.

The ACA funds will go toward other startup costs for Bridge of Hope, including hiring staff. Initially, Bridge of Hope will offer emergency shelter, services including laundry facilities and computer access, and connections to further resources, with hopes to expand wraparound services and case management.

Pam Struckhoff, executive director of Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service and a member of the task force, said the care service’s street outreach program sees several homeless individuals in Lincoln County with few options for shelter in the area. Because Lincoln County is mostly rural, accessing social services can also be difficult. She said that Bridge of Hope will fill that need for emergency shelter and other resources in one central place.

“It’s going to make a huge difference to those people who just don’t have any hope,” Struckhoff said.

The task force aims to break ground on Bridge of Hope in January with plans to open in fall 2023.

Expanding African ministry

A ministry to serve Catholic immigrants from Africa at St. Norbert Parish will receive $55,000 from the ACA’s overage funds.

St. Norbert pastor Father Peter Faimega, a native of Tor Donga, Nigeria, had discovered that African immigrants were having trouble finding a sense of community and missed the special cultural aspects of their faith, particularly through the celebration of Mass. Read more at stlreview.com/3dd25bs.

“I wanted to let them know that the Catholic Church is welcoming, and I want them to have a sense of belonging,” Father Faimega said.

Father Faimega connected with the St. Louis International African Catholic Community to offer St. Norbert as a home for African ministry, which previously was based at Holy Trinity Parish in St. Ann. An official kickoff was held Sept. 4, with Mass celebrated in Swahili. The 12:30 p.m. Sunday Mass will rotate in theme each week and include a Mass celebrated in French on the second Sunday, a Gospel Mass on the third Sunday, and a Unity Mass on the fourth Sunday.

The ACA funds will allow the ministry to hire an outreach coordinator to help connect recent immigrants with the Catholic community and resources and services to help them settle in St. Louis.

Helping Catholic Charities reach every corner

Catholic Charities of St. Louis will benefit from the ACA’s overage funds, receiving an additional $150,000. The funds will help Catholic Charities launch a “parish navigator” pilot program, which will place Catholic Charities “navigators” in parishes to work with pastors in finding and addressing the social services needs of the community.

Parish navigators will help connect people in the community with Catholic Charities’ existing agencies and services, like emergency housing for someone in need or Saint Louis Counseling mental health services at a parish school. They will also help provide educational opportunities on Catholic social teaching issues.

Placing trained navigators in parishes across the archdiocese is another step to ensuring Catholic Charities services reach people in need across all 11 counties, said Catholic Charities President Jared Bryson.

“We are the social outreach arm of the Catholic Church, not just in the city or St. Louis County — we exist wherever the Church exists,” Bryson said.

Navigators will also work alongside the volunteer parish ambassadors already present in many parishes. The pilot program will begin by employing two parish navigators with plans to expand in the coming years.

Catholic Charities also plans to use some of the additional ACA funding to hire a director of pastoral care to implement a pastoral care program reaching people at all agencies and the Language. Access. Multicultural. People. (LAMP) program.

---

>> WHO THE ANNUAL CATHOLIC APPEAL HELPS

HUMAN DIGNITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Catholic Charities $1,500,000

Respect Life, Family and Social Responsibility $450,000

Regina Cleri Priests Retirement Home $418,000

Hispanic Ministry $200,000

Office of Peace and Justice $140,000

Rural Parish Clinic $125,000

Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service $125,000

Our Lady of Guadalupe Convent $100,000

Criminal Justice Ministry $85,000

Office of Racial Harmony $65,000

Parish Food Pantries $50,000

Immigrant and Refugee Support $40,000

Archbishop’s Charity Fund $30,000

Peter and Paul Community Services, Shelter at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish $15,000

CATHOLIC EDUCATION

Elementary School Assistance $2,000,000

Archdiocesan and Parochial High Schools $1,410,000

Continuing Formation for Priests $440,000

Special Education $300,000

Newman Centers on College Campuses $267,000

Today and Tomorrow Educational Fund $150,000

Permanent Diaconate $100,000

One Classroom $20,000

MISSIONARY DISCIPLESHIP

Care for Active and Retired Priests $860,000

Adult Faith Formation $335,000

Catholic Deaf Ministry $110,000

St. Charles Lwanga Center $100,000

Catholic St. Louis Magazine $80,000

Catholic Renewal Center $60,000

Basilica of St. Louis, King of France $50,000

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis $50,000

Rural Parish Workers $50,000

Messengers of Peace Mission Work $25,000

CULTURE OF LEADERSHIP

Archdiocesan Seminary $525,000

Evangelization and Discipleship $425,000

Stewardship and Development Support for Parishes, Schools and Agencies $400,000

Vocation Programs $380,000

Natural Family Planning $210,000

Religious Formation $200,000

Parish Emergency Assistance Fund $100,000

Elementary Teachers Educational Fund $75,000

High School Stewardship Essay Program $55,000

Office of Youth Ministry $20,000

Support for Religious Orders $10,000

OTHER

Annual Catholic Appeal Expenses $1,500,000

Reserve for Unpaid Pledges $900,000

Archdiocesan Services $450,000

* None of the money raised by the Annual Catholic Appeal is used to defend or settle criminal or civil lawsuits related to the clergy abuse scandal.