Collection for Church in Central and Eastern Europe Takes Place on Ash Wednesday, February 14; More Than $9.1 Million Awarded in 2017 Will Fund 318 Projects

WASHINGTON—The annual collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe will be held in most parishes on Ash Wednesday, February 14.

The collection supports pastoral, evangelization, and construction projects, as well as educational scholarships in Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. Other areas of funding include lay and religious formation, poverty outreach, and communications.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe awarded over $9.1 million in grants last year for 318 projects in support of the Church in formerly communist countries of the region.

"For decades, our brothers and sisters in Central and Eastern Europe faced a test of faith as they suffered religious and political persecution under oppressive regimes," said Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago and chairman of the Subcommittee. "We rely on US Catholics' generosity to this collection to support these communities as they rebuild their faith and continue to be modern witnesses of the Gospel message."

The Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe oversees the collection and an annual grant program as part of the USCCB Committee on National Collections. More information about the collection and what it supports can be found at www.usccb.org/ccee.Shareable resources to promote it can be found at www.usccb.org/ccee/collection.

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Keywords: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Cardinal Blase Cupich, Subcommittee on the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, religious persecution, political persecution, solidarity, faith communities, Gospel message, evangelization, education, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, poverty, outreach, reconstruction, national collection

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