Catholic Home Missions Subcommittee Announces 2011 Grants

362 projects in 88 dioceses approved for funding

WASHINGTON (November 23, 2010)—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions has announced its 2011 grantees. A total of 362 projects in 88 “home mission” dioceses were approved at the subcommittee’s meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 27-28. Grants were made to 73 Latin dioceses and 15 Eastern Catholic eparchies.

“Home Missions” is the name for dioceses and parishes in the United States and its territories and dependencies, which cannot provide basic pastoral services to Catholics without outside help.

Bishop Michael Warfel, chairman of the subcommittee said, “The subcommittee is pleased to be able to offer assistance to our brothers and sisters in home mission dioceses. The Church in these areas is impacted by challenges of geography, low Catholic population, a lack of pastoral resources and parishioner poverty. Through the generosity of Catholics to the annual Catholic Home Missions Appeal we can provide funds that keep vulnerable parishes open and support catechesis and evangelization to strengthen the Church here at home.”

The breakdown for the $8,474,500 in approved grants is as follows:

• 149 evangelization projects (including campus ministry, communications, general evangelization, Hispanic ministry, migrant ministry, ministry with handicapped people, prison ministry and youth and young adult ministry); 41.2 percent of total funding.

• 41 projects for mission parishes (buildings and properties, personnel); 11.3 percent.

• 58 projects for religious education (Catholic schools, parish religious education); 16 percent.

• 114 projects for training for ministry (including clergy continuing education, diaconate training, lay ministry training, seminary education and vocations); 31.5 percent.

Grants from the USCCB Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions are ordinarily capped at $125,000. However, due to the needs of a number of home mission dioceses this year, the subcommittee awarded an additional $10,000 to 21 dioceses with the greatest needs. Two dioceses were funded for the first time: the Archdiocese of Agana in Guam and the Diocese of Gaylord, Michigan.

In addition, the subcommittee approved a $40,000 grant for the newly created Apostolic Exarchate for the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in the United States. Bishop Warfel presented the check to the exarchate’s first bishop, Bishop Thomas Naickamparampi, at the subcommittee’s November 16 meeting during the bishops’ Fall General Assembly in Baltimore.

Approximately 90 of the 200 Latin and Eastern Catholic dioceses in the United States, about 45 percent, are unable to provide the ministries of word, worship, and service for their people without outside help. To provide a continuing source of support for needy local communities the bishops of the United States created the Catholic Home Missions Appeal in 1998. The annual collection is usually taken up on the last weekend in April.

For more information on funded dioceses and the Catholic Home Missions visit our website.
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Keywords: home missions, Catholic Church in the United States, Bishop Michael Warfel, National Collections, Catholic Home Missions Appeal, USCCB Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions