The 31st annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection will be
held Nov. 10-11 in the Diocese of Arlington. Coordinated by the National
Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) in Washington, the appeal benefits 31,000
elderly Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests.
The diocese donated $466,243.32 to the last collection. In 2018,
the following religious congregations with central houses located in the
diocese received financial support made possible by the Retirement Fund for
Religious: Dominican sisters, Holy Cross Abbey and Missionhurst CICM. Almost 94
percent of donations aid senior religious and their communities, with the
remaining funds used for administration and promotion of the national appeal.
The 2017 collection raised more than $28 million and the NRRO
disbursed $25 million to 360 religious communities for the direct care of
elderly members. Communities combine these funds with their own income and
savings to help furnish necessities such as medications and nursing care.
Throughout the year, additional funding is allocated for congregations with
critical needs and for retirement planning and educational resources.
Religious communities apply annually for financial support from
the national collection and distributions are sent to each eligible community’s
central house. Although women and men religious often minister outside their
home dioceses, they may benefit from the allocations disbursed to their
individual orders.
“Donations to the Retirement Fund for Religious have a
far-reaching impact,” said Presentation Sister Stephanie Still, NRRO executive
director. “Most importantly, they help communities care for aging members, but
they also underwrite initiatives aimed at addressing the underlying causes of
the funding shortages.”
Catholic bishops of the United States initiated the national
collection in 1988 to help address the deficit in retirement funding among
religious communities. Since the collection was launched, U.S. Catholics have
donated $844 million to the appeal, helping many communities stabilize their
retirement outlook.
Find out more
Go to retiredreligious.org.
