From staff reports

In response to the annual Black and Indian Mission Collection held March 10, the first Sunday of Lent, the faithful in parishes across the Diocese donated $96,923.02 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 national Black and Indian Mission Office, thanked the people of the Diocese for their generosity.

Father Sands said, “Here at the Mission House, we continue to be led by the missionary spirit of St. Katharine Drexel … The grace of the Holy Spirit and the charity of the people of God enable the continuation of the work of evangelization and ministry in our Native American and African American communities. Please continue to encourage your clergy, religious and laity to strengthen our efforts through the offering of their daily prayers, financial offerings and other forms of spiritual and material support.”

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.