The Catholic Services Appeal plays an integral role in funding the ministries and services provided by the Archdiocese of Louisville. In addition to serving the spiritual needs of the nearly 200,000 Catholics living in the 24 counties of Central Kentucky, the Archdiocese also addresses many of the temporal and human needs of thousands of families and individuals. The following is a sampling of the work accomplished by the Archdiocese of Louisville throughout the past year.

Social Services and Charitable Outreach

• Catholic Family Counseling services provided more than 5,200 hours of counseling to families and individuals. 
• The Sister Visitor program, part of our local Catholic Charities Office, responded to 34,000 requests for assistance with basic needs such as clothing, personal hygiene supplies, rent and utility assistance, and prescription medicines.
• Catholic Charities provided 7,200 people in need with information and referrals for community- and government-sponsored services.

Vocations and Lay Ministry Development

• Welcomed six new seminarians, bringing the total number of seminarians to nine. The Office of Vocations also visited 3,000 students in 22 schools and parishes to discuss vocations to the religious life.
• Ordained 13 men to the permanent diaconate and continued formation for two classes of candidates scheduled for ordination in 2008 and 2010.
• Launched the Archdiocese of Louisville Ministry Institute, offering ministry training in eight specializations. This past year, 191 people participated in the Institute.

Pastoral Care

• Members of the pastoral care team ministry at Baptist East and Kosair Children's Hospitals visited 1,256 patients and families.
• The Tribunal trained 65 advocates and auditors to work with people in the parishes to prepare marriage cases for review by the Tribunal.
• Conducted two Gennesaret Retreats for 24 individuals challenged with serious or life-threatening illnesses

Lifelong Formation and Education

• The Office of Lifelong Formation and Education conducted 82 professional development workshops for Catholic school educators with more than 1,500 participants.
• The Office of Lifelong Formation and Education sponsored catechist certification classes for 578 catechists and enrolled 95 new catechists in the certification program.

Evangelization / Ecumenism / Communication

• Welcomes 560 new members into the Church at the Rite of Election
• Our multicultural ministries continue to expand and flourish with the growth of our African-American, African, Haitian, Hispanic, and Vietnamese communities.
• The Record received five journalism awards in recognition of their outstanding work.

Parish and Family Life

• The Office of Worship conducted workshops for more than 375 Eucharistic ministers as well as providing liturgical formation and training for 158 people.
• 26 parishes received consultation and assistance on strengthening the effectiveness of youth ministry.
• Served nearly 500 engaged couples through the Foundation for Marriage and Engaged Encounter programs. 

Last year, 97½ cents of every dollar raised through the Catholic Services Appeal went to support the work of the Archdiocese, while only 2½ cents was used to fund the Appeal expenses (primarily printing and mailing costs).

To view a list of archdiocesan agencies, click here.

To view a list of archdiocesan services, click here.