Father Paul Treacy, pastor of Assumption in downtown St. Paul, and Julie Malecha, administrator, work together to coordinate the parish’s effort to collect donations to the Retirement Fund for Religious. Father Treacy said “this collection does stand out from others; we do not collect a similar amount with other national appeals.” DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
It’s a startling statistic: today, Catholic sisters, brothers and priests who are past age 70 outnumber those in religious orders under the age of 70 by nearly 3 to 1.
Even more surprising is that for most of their lives, these elder religious worked for little to no pay. And there were no retirement plans or options such as a 401(k) or pension.
But parishioners in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis can help Dec. 11-12 while showing their gratitude for aging members of religious communities — close to home and across the country — through the Retirement Fund for Religious annual appeal.
At Assumption in St. Paul, which numbers about 2,700 families, the appeal provides parishioners a chance to say thank you and help care for the religious who have cared for the Church for so many years, said Father Paul Treacy, pastor.
“I have to say that Assumption parishioners are very generous to all causes, but this collection does stand out from others; we do not collect a similar amount with other national appeals,” Father Treacy said.
“I believe parishioners are compelled to donate from the understanding that the religious of a certain generation didn’t have an opportunity to plan for their own retirement; they served selflessly, without thoughts to their own future,” he said.
The U.S. bishops established the Retirement Fund for Religious in 1988. To date, more than $786 million has been distributed to support day-to-day care of elderly religious, and an additional $102 million has been allocated for collaborative health care facilities and other projects initiated by religious communities.
“Last year’s appeal in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis totaled $420,300 — the fourth largest of the 169 dioceses participating,” said School Sister of Notre Dame Lynore Girmscheid, archdiocesan coordinator of the Retirement Fund for Religious.
“‘Generous giving honors generous living’ as we like to say; people want to support the good that was done for so many years,” she said.
“We are very blessed in this archdiocese to have had such strong Catholic education and hospital systems,” she said. “And a lot of people have priests and other religious who are friends or members of their families.”
Personal connections inspire many to give, said Father Tom Walker, pastor of St. Michael in Prior Lake, which has 2,800 registered households.
“The School Sisters of Notre Dame founded our school in 1960 and have always been a key part of our community,” Father Walker said. “Many members have long-term relationships with one or more of the sisters, even long after they left St. Mike’s or retired, and I suspect both those relationships and an overall respect for the work done by religious is behind the strong support for the appeal.”
According to Sister Lynore, local parish contributions to the Religious Retirement Fund range from an annual gift of $5,000 up to those giving in the $25,000 to $28,000 range.
Assumption and St. Michael are among the highest giving parishes, and a total of seven parishes have collected $10,000 or more annually in recent years, she said.
She noted that several local donors have earmarked Retirement Fund for Religious donations through the Catholic Community Foundation as part of their inheritance.
“That’s remarkable to me, and it’s grown,” Sister Lynore said. “People do want to feel that their charitable giving is going to a good need.”
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