By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
(From the issue of 7/10/03)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

The conclusion of the month of June this year brought with it a virtual completion of the active period of solicitation for the Rooted in Faith-Forward in Hope Capital Campaign which has shaped so much of our recent diocesan history and which will shape so much of our future. Each parish has participated at some point within the last two years in this impressive program, and at the time of this writing, with only two parishes still actively engaged in fund raising, it appears that over $110 million will ultimately be pledged for the support of the diocesan and parish initiatives placed before you for consideration during that time period. Of that $110 million total, approximately $43 million will assist in providing for the capital needs of your own parishes.

It would be an understatement to say that I am pleased by the tremendous response to this capital campaign. However, as I have often said when speaking with groups or individuals throughout the campaign, the gifts that comprise this enormous undertaking are not gifts to me, but a sharing of resources for the good of the whole diocesan family. While my proximity to every aspect of the campaign and the innumerable hours I have dedicated to it these past two years may make my personal sense of satisfaction more keenly felt, we should all take great satisfaction in knowing that we have united ourselves for the support of worthy causes and demonstrated a spirit of Christian sacrifice in our efforts to transform those ideals into realities.

This kind of success would not have been possible without strong leadership and broad based participation. I am most grateful to the pastors and administrators who coordinated efforts within each of the parishes, but their efforts would not have been nearly so fruitful, if they had not enjoyed the support of all the priests and deacons associated with our parishes. In every case, the leadership of clergy required the tireless support and collaboration of a truly dedicated team of parish lay leaders and volunteers. For their hard work and commitment, the whole diocese is greatly indebted. I do also, of course, express thanks to all who participated by making a sacrificial gift to the campaign. Those gifts are the most tangible demonstration of support, and I look forward with all of you to the time when those pledges will be sufficiently redeemed to permit new high schools, a retirement home for priests, increased shelter for the homeless, a spirituality center, an enlarged pool of tuition assistance and hosts of parish structures to emerge on the diocesan landscape as further proof of our common dedication to these needed initiatives.

While the active solicitation of funds may be essentially completed, the influence of Rooted in Faith-Forward in Hope on the life of the diocese is far from complete. Throughout the course of the next several years, you will be periodically updated about the status of funds collected and expended, as well as informed about the continuing progress of each of the diocesan-wide initiatives under way. I hope that over the next several years, you will share my enthusiasm at seeing the living history of the diocese unfold around us through such reports.

In this year of the Holy Rosary, we should trust in a particular way in Our Lady of the Rosary. I gratefully commend to her intercession the particular needs which you and those who are dear to you are experiencing, while at the same time asking her to intercede for the whole diocesan family in a way that shall bring all our efforts to a successful completion for the glory and honor of Her Son, who is our Lord and Savior.

With renewed gratitude, I remain,

Faithfully in Christ,

Most Rev. Paul S. Loverde

Bishop of Arlington