Collection this weekend benefits Retirement Fund for Religious

A special collection to benefit the Retirement Fund for Religious will be taken up during Masses in parishes across the Diocese of Trenton on Dec. 10 and 11.

Sister of St. Joseph Rose McDermott, diocesan delegate for religious, said she hopes this year’s retirement collection will prove a continuing comfort to the more than 300 senior Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests who live and serve within the four counties of the Diocese. Men and women religious in the Diocese serve mostly in the ministries of education, health care and social services.

The Diocese’s retired religious, she noted, are among 33,000 men and women who dedicated their lives to serving faithful around the United States in orders whose communities lack retirement savings.

Last year, the faithful in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties donated $372,553.99, a “wonderful reflection,” Sister McDermott said, of “our people’s generosity.” The Monastery of St. Clare in Chesterfield was among the communities receiving financial assistance made possible by the Fund.

The Catholic bishops of the United States initiated the collection in 1988 to address the significant lack of retirement funding among U.S. religious communities. Proceeds help underwrite retirement and health-care expenses. Nearly 95 percent of the donations directly support senior religious and their communities. The annual, parish-based appeal is coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office.

Last year, nationwide, the appeal raised $30.7 million in 2015, the sixth highest total in its history. As a result, the NRRO distributed $25 million to 401 religious congregations. These funds supplement the day-to-day care of elderly religious and help their congregations implement long-range retirement strategies. Throughout the year, additional funding is allocated for congregations with the greatest needs.

Learn more about the Retirement Fund for Religious and make a donation, HERE.