By Jessica Able, Record Staff Writer
Last year’s Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) — which funds dozens of archdiocesan and parish ministries — was the most successful campaign since the annual appeal began in 1968.
And the staff of the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Office of Mission Advancement said they hope to build on the “tremendous success” of last year’s campaign. The number of reported gifts and pledges for the 2014 appeal totaled $3,245,000 — 10 percent more than the original goal.
“I want to assure the people of the archdiocese that their gifts are being used to make a difference, to carry out Christ’s ministry,” said Matthew Schuhmann, coordinator of annual giving.
The goal for the 2015 campaign — which officially begins this weekend — is $3,250,000 or five percent more than last year’s $3.1 million goal.
The theme — Bringing Christ to Others — and the accompanying quote by Pope Francis — “Go and bring Christ into every area of life” — serve as a call to action for Catholics in central Kentucky, Schuhmann said.
The appeal is “about sharing Pope Francis’ message to all Catholics. We should be going out and providing for others,” Schuhmann said in an interview at the Chancery last week. “Pope Francis really is a pope of action, and the CSA allows us to be Catholics of action.”
The annual fundraising effort — the archdiocese’s largest free-will offering — provides critical support and resources for more than 100 ministries, services and programs. Following is a sample of the work accomplished with gifts from the 2014 campaign:
- Provided formation for 16 seminarians and welcomed four new priest-candidates.
- Provided help with rent, utilities, food, clothing, personal and household items and prescriptions to 5,949 individuals.
- Provided eight training programs for more than 650 Communion ministers.
- Offered 132 catechist certification classes for 695 catechists. Forty-seven catechists completed certification at the associate level, 16 at the advanced level and 11 at the master’s level.
Parishioners can expect to receive CSA letters from Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz next week and will likely hear their pastors or parish representatives speak about the appeal in the coming weeks. Visit www.archlou.org/CSA to read more about the appeal and the different ways to give.
