In response to the annual Black and Indian Mission Collection held the first Sunday of Lent, which this year was March 5, the faithful in parishes across the Diocese donated $113,660.36 to help communities build the Church and preach the Gospel among African-American, Native-American and Alaska-Native peoples.

In a letter to Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., Father Maurice Henry Sands, executive director of the Black and Indian Mission Office, thanked the Diocese’s faithful for their generosity, saying, “This collection so clearly authenticates Pope Francis’ call to us as pastor to work as a family to help all of our brothers and sisters and to share the love, faith and hope of Jesus Christ.”

Father Sands, a Native American belonging to the Ojibway, Ottawa and Potawatomi tribes, and priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, explained that the collection was established as a National Collection in 1884 at the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore and has proven itself to be a successful vehicle to mobilize the Church’s resources to provide for those most in need.

Funds raised by the National Collection go toward providing grants to dioceses across the country to operate schools and parishes and undertake missionary outreach and evangelization programs.

Among the priorities of the Black and Indian Mission Office are enlivening parish life and catechesis, helping educators reach children, encouraging vocations and empowering evangelizers.