National Religious Retirement Office Distributes $25 Million to Support Elderly Religious

WASHINGTON—In June, the National ReligiousRetirement Office (NRRO) distributed $25 million to 390 religious communitiesacross the United States. The funding is provided by donations to the RetirementFund for Religious collection. The annual, parish-based appeal is held in most U.S.Catholic parishes each December and benefits more than 32,000 elderly Catholicsisters, brothers and religious order priests. The most recent collectionraised nearly $30.7 million and marked the second year in a row that contributionsexceeded $30 million.

"We areoverwhelmed by the generous support for senior religious and their communities,"said Presentation Sister Stephanie Still, NRRO executive director. "We areequally moved by our donors' ongoing gratitude for the ministry of religious,past and present."

The funding disbursed the week of June 19is known as Direct Care Assistance and represents the majority of financialassistance distributed by the NRRO. Religious communities combine thisassistance with their own income and savings to help meet such day-to-dayexpenses as prescription medications and nursing care. Additional funding willbe allocated through other NRRO programs in the coming months.

Catholic bishops of the U.S. launched theRetirement Fund for Religious in 1988 to address the significant lack ofretirement funding among the nation's religious communities. Traditionally,Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests—known collectively aswomen and men religious—served for small stipends that did not includeretirement benefits. Today, many religious communities lack adequate retirementsavings.

Despite ongoing generosity to the annualappeal, hundreds of religious communities struggle to provide for oldermembers. Recognizing the ongoing need, U.S. bishops voted to renew thecollection, which was previously set to end this year.

The NRRO coordinates the annual RetirementFund for Religious collection and distributes the proceeds to eligiblereligious communities. It also offers educational programming, services andresources that enable religious communities to evaluate and prepare for long-termretirement needs. The NRRO is sponsored by theConference of Major Superiors of Men, the Council of Major Superiors of WomenReligious, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the United StatesConference of Catholic Bishops.

More information is available at www.retiredreligious.org.

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Keywords: National Religious RetirementOffice, NRRO, retirement, eldercare, U.S. bishops

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