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Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries

How Your Gifts Are Used

When you support the Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries, you are strengthening a host of ministries that enliven our parish communities, that provide spiritual and material comfort to those in need, and that spread the Good News of the Gospels to our neighbors yearning to welcome it into their hearts.

Catholic Charities 

A significant portion of funds from the Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries support Catholic Charities of Baltimore’s many programs of outreach, including but not limited to Our Daily Bread, Sarah’s House, St. Edward’s Workforce Development Center, Christopher Place Employment Academy, My Sister’s Place Women’s Center, the Esperanza Center and Head Start of Baltimore City, Carroll and Harford Counties.

Parish Rebates

One-quarter to one-half of every Appeal gift is rebated back to the parish of its donor. Parishes use these rebated funds for a wide variety of purposes as designated by pastors and their leadership teams. Some parishes uses these funds for capital projects, others to help build endowment, and still others in support of parish partnerships. Your gifts to the Appeal strengthen these communities of faith.

Vocations

The Annual Appeal supports the ongoing priestly formation of the Baltimore Seminarians, as well as their basic costs, such as tuition, housing, health insurance, and textbooks. Freed up from worrying about these matters, Seminarians are able to concentrate on their studies and on being the Priests God intended.

O’Dwyer Retreat House

The Monsignor O’Dwyer Retreat House provides for the personal and spiritual development of youths and young adults (8th grade through college) in parishes and Catholic high schools, enabling them to grow in their relationship with God. Weekend, weekday and overnight retreats, confirmation retreats, and days of reflection are offered. The House is also used by school faculties and parish staffs for retreat days too.

Religious Education

The Archdiocese’s Division of Catechetical and Pastoral Formation accompanies parish and school leaders in forming missionary disciples who love Jesus and his Church and guides pastoral staff in their own on-going formation.

“The O’Dwyer Retreat House uses the Annual Appeal grant to help offer retreats at a discount rate to groups in need of assistance.  Without this money many groups who certainly need and deserve to have a quality retreat simply could not afford it and their young people would not have the Encounter with Jesus in the same way as a retreat provides.”

Phil Howard
Director
Monsignor O’Dwyer Retreat House

St. Vincent de Paul, Baltimore

Explores innovative ways to ensure individuals and families can achieve and sustain permanent housing, children can access fresh and healthy foods, adults are prepared for a career that provides a living wage for their family, and children are prepared for a lifetime of learning, breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty.

Black Catholic Ministries

Black Catholic ministry  in the Archdiocese of Baltimore recommends strategies for sharing the Gospel with the Black Catholic community to archdiocesan leadership, agencies, and institutions. Encouraging leadership among Black Americans, the Office of Black Catholic Ministries supports programs that will plant and nourish the seeds of the Gospel in ways most suited to the cultures and traditions of the local Black Community.

Apostleship
of the Sea

The Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization that offers a genuine welcome and safe haven to mariners, fishermen, their families and all who work and travel on the waterways of the world. AOS Chaplaincy in the Port of Baltimore provides seafarers with the Sacraments, spiritual renewal and other pastoral needs, and works to ensure a safe work environment for them and communication with their loved ones back home.

Hispanic Ministry

The Office of Hispanic Ministry supports the ecclesial movements and provides information, assistance, and training to parish pastoral leadership, archdiocesan agencies and offices regarding the evangelization of Hispanics.  Works closely in collaboration with other diocesan offices and parishes to support the evangelization initiatives for the Latino/Hispanic community.

PRIDE Program

P.R.I.D.E. (Pupils Receiving Inclusive Diversified Education) helps meet the needs of students with learning disabilities. PRIDE students benefit from smaller classroom sizes and lesson plans adapted especially for their needs.

Cathedrals

The Archdiocese is blessed to have two cathedrals that also serve as active parish communities, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. Appeal funds help preserve these icons for future generations of Catholics and for the community-at-large.

“Without the Appeal, we simply would not be able to run any of our programs. All evangelization, catechesis, and formation programs that help Hispanic Catholics in our archdiocese would come to a halt. There simply would not be enough resources to provide assistance to parishes and pastors in their accompaniment of Latino Catholics and to integrate them in the life of the Church. The Appeal is imperative to our ministries.”

Lia Salinas
Director
Hispanic Ministries

Youth Ministry

The Catholic Church is emboldened by the leadership of young people. When the young church gathers, they bear witness to their missionary discipleship and offer a living testimony of their love for Jesus Christ and their Catholic identity and community. Appeal grants help pay the salaries of many parish youth ministers.

Camp GLOW

Camp G.L.O.W. (God Loves Our World), fosters a loving environment in which adults with disabilities strengthen their relationship with the Lord through the celebration of Mass and other spiritual activities. Music, swimming, hiking, sports, arts and crafts, movies, parties, dances, and a talent show all contribute to the joyful atmosphere here.

Hospital Chaplaincy

Appeal gifts make it possible for priests in our Archdiocese to provide compassionate care through their chaplaincy ministries at area hospitals, whether counseling the terminally ill or offering solace to grieving families. 

Tuition
Assistance

Appeal funds allocated for tuition assistance afford more than 400 children the opportunity to attend one of our academically excellent, Christ-centered Catholic schools, where they are given the building blocks that will help them thrive in high school, college, and their post-academic careers.

Prison
Ministry

Prison ministry in the Archdiocese of Baltimore provides easy access for inmates and their families to get effective help from ministries which best serve their needs. Counseling services and prayer support are offered.

“Without funding raised through the Annual Appeal, 20% [of our students] would not receive tuition assistance to attend our Catholic schools.  This would impact the enrollment of our Catholic schools and possibly force the closure of a few of them.”

Ashley Conley
Director
Parish and School Finance

Retired Priest
Care

Our retired priests have committed their lives to supporting the people and parishes of our Archdiocese. Funds raised from the Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries help us provide for their care in their advancing years.

Respect Life Programs

Archdiocesan respect life programs support parish respect life ministries and work collaboratively with other archdiocesan offices and partner ministries to provide education and resources on a range of life issues from womb to tomb, including unplanned pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage, domestic violence, adverse prenatal diagnosis, chastity and physician-assisted suicide. 

College Campus Ministry

College Campus Ministry brings the presence of the Church to college and university campuses by offering spiritual, liturgical, social, service and educational experiences to the campus communities of non-Catholic academic institutions within the Archdiocese.

Holy
Father

Much like a parish’s cathedraticum is paid to the Archdiocese each year, Annual Appeal funds help the Archdiocese meet its yearly obligation to the Holy Father in Rome.

 

Clergy Special Assignments

Appeal funds help underwrite the salaries of our Clergy to help cover the cost of a temporary replacement when a parish priest serves in the armed forces, goes on sabbatical or requires extended medical leave.

Child Abuse Center

“It bears repeating that Appeal funds are never used for purposes other than those stipulated in the [Appeal] Spending Plan, which does not include costs incurred by the Archdiocese for any reason.”

James Hamilton
Chair
Annual Appeal Allocations Oversight Committee

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