Retired religious to benefit from annual appeal
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
The upcoming 28th national collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious will be taken up in all parishes the weekend of Dec. 12-13 in the Diocese of Trenton. It benefits more than 33,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests, who, according to the National Retirement Religious Office (NRRO), account for two-thirds of U.S. religious. By the year 2025, it is projected that retired religious will outnumber those under age 70 by four to one.
The Diocese of Trenton contributed more than $335,000 to last year’s annual collection, which helped benefit those who have served in the four counties of Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean before retirement. After the national collection, the funds are distributed according to each institution’s need. The 2014 national appeal raised about $28.3 million, and the NRRO distributed assistance to 395 religious communities to aid senior religious.
St. Joseph Sister Rose McDermott, diocesan delegate for religious in the Office of Clergy and Consecrated Life, expressed her gratitude for the continued contributions to the annual appeal. She noted, “The Year of Mercy affords ample opportunity for all in the Diocese of Trenton to reflect on the service rendered by the religious of the 43 religious institutes that have served our Diocese over many years in the ministries of education, health care and social services. I know, as in the past, our people will be generous through their financial offerings… and I would hope, too, that they perform the spiritual work of mercy in praying for vocations to religious life.”
The U.S. Catholic bishops started the collection in 1988 to address the lack of retirement support among U.S. religious communities. Since its inception, Catholics nationwide have contributed $755 million, which is used to fund long-term care and prescription medicines; property planning and management, educational materials, programming and other services and resources for retirement communities.
Insufficient retirement savings, rising health-care costs, and declining income have all contributed to the religious retirement funding crisis. Traditionally, women and men religious worked for small stipends that cover only the basics of daily living. As a result, a majority of religious communities now lack adequate funding for retirement. At the same time, the cost of care continues to increase while the number of religious able to serve in compensated ministry decreases.
In 2014, of 548 religious communities submitting data to the National Religious Retirement Office, only 40 were adequately funded for retirement; 203 were 20 percent or less funded. The annual cost of care for the more than 33,000 men and women religious over the age of 70 last year was $1.2 billion.
For more information, see www.retiredreligious.org.
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The upcoming 28th national collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious will be taken up in all parishes the weekend of Dec. 12-13 in the Diocese of Trenton. It benefits more than 33,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests, who, according to the National Retirement Religious Office (NRRO), account for two-thirds of U.S. religious. By the year 2025, it is projected that retired religious will outnumber those under age 70 by four to one.
The Diocese of Trenton contributed more than $335,000 to last year’s annual collection, which helped benefit those who have served in the four counties of Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean before retirement. After the national collection, the funds are distributed according to each institution’s need. The 2014 national appeal raised about $28.3 million, and the NRRO distributed assistance to 395 religious communities to aid senior religious.
St. Joseph Sister Rose McDermott, diocesan delegate for religious in the Office of Clergy and Consecrated Life, expressed her gratitude for the continued contributions to the annual appeal. She noted, “The Year of Mercy affords ample opportunity for all in the Diocese of Trenton to reflect on the service rendered by the religious of the 43 religious institutes that have served our Diocese over many years in the ministries of education, health care and social services. I know, as in the past, our people will be generous through their financial offerings… and I would hope, too, that they perform the spiritual work of mercy in praying for vocations to religious life.”
The U.S. Catholic bishops started the collection in 1988 to address the lack of retirement support among U.S. religious communities. Since its inception, Catholics nationwide have contributed $755 million, which is used to fund long-term care and prescription medicines; property planning and management, educational materials, programming and other services and resources for retirement communities.
Insufficient retirement savings, rising health-care costs, and declining income have all contributed to the religious retirement funding crisis. Traditionally, women and men religious worked for small stipends that cover only the basics of daily living. As a result, a majority of religious communities now lack adequate funding for retirement. At the same time, the cost of care continues to increase while the number of religious able to serve in compensated ministry decreases.
In 2014, of 548 religious communities submitting data to the National Religious Retirement Office, only 40 were adequately funded for retirement; 203 were 20 percent or less funded. The annual cost of care for the more than 33,000 men and women religious over the age of 70 last year was $1.2 billion.
For more information, see www.retiredreligious.org.
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