The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has launched its 2023 Annual Appeal, which provides key funding for more than 70 archdiocesan ministries and programs. That religious, educational and charitable outreach supported by the Annual Appeal makes a difference in the lives of thousands of people every day throughout the Washington area and in the five surrounding Maryland counties that are within the archdiocese.
In a letter in a brochure mailed to local Catholics promoting the appeal, Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory noted, “Our theme for the 2023 Annual Appeal is Many Ministries, One Church as a reminder that each of us is an essential member of the Body of Christ that is our Church. Our charitable works are strengthened when we work together and when we work toward heaven.”
David C. Cook, the director of the Annual Appeal, in an email interview noted that the appeal in its 54th year has a mission that remains the same, “to work together to accomplish what no one parish community could provide on its own.”
Commitment weekend for the 2023 Annual Appeal is Feb. 11 and 12 in parishes throughout the archdiocese. Cook noted that the theme for this year’s appeal, Many Ministries, One Church offers “a reminder that we are at our best when the many good works of our Church are accomplished in unity with one another as one Body of Christ.”
Cardinal Gregory in that letter thanked people for their generosity toward the 2022 Annual Appeal. Last year’s appeal attained its goal of $11 million in commitments. About 20,500 families and individuals donated to the 2022 Annual Appeal.
The Annual Appeal’s impact
Noting part of the impact of last year’s Annual Appeal, the cardinal wrote, “In 2022, we ordained 10 new priests, supported 12 local crisis pregnancy centers, welcomed more than 800 new Catholics into the Church, educated more than 25,000 youth in our schools, and ministered to countless more families and individuals throughout our archdiocese. We could not accomplish this without your incredible generosity.”
Cook also praised the generosity of local Catholics, saying, “On behalf of the ministries supported by the Annual Appeal, we express profound gratitude to the faithful of the archdiocese for their unwavering and prayerful support in 2022.”
The appeal’s director pointed out that, “In 2022, as in 2021, opportunities to support the Annual Appeal during our February Commitment Weekend were significantly curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Undeterred, donors nonetheless reached out to us online, through mailed gifts, and through their parishes to ensure our archdiocesan ministries continued to receive the essential funding they need. We were truly overwhelmed by people's generosity.”
Emphasizing the vital outreach that the Annual Appeal supports, Cook noted, “The marked growth in the Annual Appeal in 2022 also demonstrates the important role people see the Church playing in the times we live. Now, more than ever, we need holy and faithful priests. Now, more than ever, we need vibrant schools and catechetical programs that reach all families who desire a Catholic education for their children. Now, more than ever, we need effective outreach and evangelization programs that shine the light of the Gospel in all the places within our communities and society that may have gone dim.”
The theme for the 2022 Annual Appeal was From God’s Abundance, Our Gifts of Charity, and Cook said, “Our people responded to this call with such faith and hope, demonstrating to the world and to our Church that God will not be outdone in His abundance.”
The 2023 Annual Appeal has a goal of $11.4 million. The Annual Appeal brochure notes that could provide $4.2 million for vocations, seminarian education and clergy and religious support; $2 million for Catholic education and catechesis; $1.8 million for social justice and outreach ministries; $1.5 million for chaplains for campus ministries, hospitals and prisons; $1.2 million for pro-life and family ministries; and $700,000 for communications outreach.
Vocations efforts
In the area of vocations, the Annual Appeal provides support for current and future generations of archdiocesan priests, deacons and religious, including providing for living expenses for seminarians at the archdiocese’s Saint John Paul II Seminary, and ongoing support and formation for priests.
Father Mark Ivany, the Director of Priest Vocations for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, said in an email interview that the Annual Appeal has a “huge impact” on the archdiocese’s vocations programs. The archdiocese now has 72 seminarians studying for the priesthood.
The priest said that in addition to supporting the cost of seminarians’ tuition, the appeal also supports spirituality and educational programs for seminarians, and funds vocation promotion initiatives like the Quo Vadis summer discernment camp for young men, which had a record 90 participants from area high schools this past summer; and also the men’s discernment retreat.
“Giving to the Annual Appeal is an investment in the future of the Church,” Father Ivany said. “Without financial support of current parishioners, there will be less priests to serve their children and grandchildren in the future.” Reflecting on the appeal’s impact on the archdiocese’s vocation efforts, he said that supporting the appeal is “like planting a seed that one will not see come to full growth, but one knows will bear fruit in the lives of those who will come after them.”
In the area of Catholic education and catechesis, the Annual Appeal provides support for forming youth in the faith at Catholic schools, in parish religious education programs and through youth ministry, and also supports programs for people preparing to become full members of the Catholic Church.
For pro-life and family ministries, the Annual Appeal supports local crisis pregnancy centers and archdiocesan Office of Family Life programs supporting marriages and families through workshops, retreats and other outreach.
The Annual Appeal supports the archdiocese’s Catholic Charities which provides help and hope to people in need, and it also supports the archdiocese’s Deaf and disabilities ministries, its outreach to different ethnic communicates, and its evangelization programs.
The communications outreach supported by the Annual Appeal includes archdiocesan digital media initiatives, and traditional media efforts sharing stories on how the faith is being lived in this community.
Campus ministry
The Annual Appeal also supports chaplains ministering to the sick and dying at hospitals, chaplains serving people incarcerated at local detention centers, and chaplains serving six local college campuses.
In an email interview, MaryRose Depperschmidt, the Catholic Seahawks campus minister at St. Mary’s College of Maryland in St. Mary’s City, said campus ministers at local colleges are grateful for the support that their programs receive from the Annual Appeal. She said that support helps to pay for retreats, transportation costs, books and spiritual materials, social events, food for dinners, guest speakers and other community events.
“The students I’ve encountered are extremely hungry for both spiritual growth and Christian community. Many of them have gone from casual or intermittent Sunday Mass attendance to (being) daily Mass-goers,” she said.
Depperschmidt added, “College is such a ripe time for young adults. Many young people are already disenchanted with what the world has to offer and desire a more fulfilling way of life. The Catholic Campus Ministry at St. Mary’s College and other public colleges plays a huge role in evangelization.”
The brochure for the 2023 Annual Appeal notes that 15 University of Maryland Catholic Student Center alumni are currently in the seminary or religious life.
Vital needs supported by Annual Appeal
Encouraging people to support this year’s appeal, Cook said, “The 2023 Annual Appeal comes at a time of heightened responsibilities for our local Church. First and foremost, there is the ever-present call to spread the Good News in all places and at all times. Second, there is the opportunity to live the Gospel of Life more intentionally, ensuring that all women, mothers and babies receive loving care and support, and that resists the culture of death. Third, there is the solemn obligation to be better stewards of the Earth, acting against a throwaway culture that harms the environment, especially within our poorest communities. These and many other needs are all touched by the Annual Appeal, which uplifts our local communities of faith to serve these needs.”
He noted that every dollar given to the Annual Appeal directly supports local Catholic ministries. For more information on the 2023 Annual Appeal, go online to appeal.adw.org.
