Every year, the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois invites Catholics to support essential diocesan, national and international collections. This calendar outlines opportunities so you can plan your giving and support the causes most important to you. You can make a gift via any of the giving links below or via your ordinary Sunday giving envelopes that correspond to the particular giving fund. Please contact the Office of Parish Vitality and Mission Advancement by reaching out to Katie Price, [email protected] with any questions.
JAN
FEB-MAR
LENTEN OPPORTUNITIES
APR
EASTER OPPORTUNITIES
Catholic Times
The Catholic Times is the official magazine of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. The bi-weekly magazine communicates Bishop Paprocki's columns, diocesan wide announcements, highlights the inspirational stories of people, parishes, and schools that are building up the Kingdom of God, and offers articles that are forming disciples daily. The magazine is one of the best tools our diocese has to communicate to the faithful and enrich the lives of Catholics. A copy of Catholic Times goes to every Catholic household in the diocese. The magazine relies on advertisements and generous individual donations to support this effort. The annual household cost for this magazine is approximately $20, please consider a donation to cover that amount for your family today! 100% of your donation is used in support of the Catholic Times initiative.
Church in Latin America
The Collection for the Church in Latin America supports pastoral programs as awarded by the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Projects include the work of evangelization, formation of laity, religious and seminarians, as well as youth ministry and catechesis. Funding is limited to programmatic expenses and excludes building construction except in cases of emergency.
Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe
This collection provides aid by the Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe through bishops' conferences of Central and Eastern Europe and the ex-Soviet Union to meet the needs of rebuilding the Church. It focuses on training seminarians and lay leaders, supporting social service programs, youth ministry, pastoral and catechetical centers, schools, church construction and renovation, and evangelization through Catholic media.
Catholic Charities (Second Sunday of Lent)
This collection supports the programs and services of Catholic Charities throughout the Springfield Diocese. As the official social service arm of the Church, Catholic Charities ministers to the poor and disadvantaged in our society providing basic needs and professional services to the "least of our brothers and sisters" in need. For over 100 years, the Mission of Catholic Charities is to extend to all the healing and empowering presence of Jesus.
The Catholic Relief Services Collection (formerly the American Bishops' Overseas Appeal)
This collection provides funding for Catholic Relief Services, the USCCB Secretariat of Justice and Peace, Department of Migration and Refugee Services, and Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church, the relief work of the Holy Father, and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.
Operation Rice Bowl (Holy Thursday- Throughout Lent)
Operation Rice Bowl is a Lenten program that runs in schools and parishes. Catholic Relief Services' Rice Bowl provides funding for Catholic Relief Services' food security projects, which support agriculture, nutrition, education, and self-sufficiency in communities worldwide. The collection provides 75% to CRS for overseas projects, and 25% may be retained in the diocese for local antipoverty programs.
Pontifical Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land
This Pontifical Collection collects funds for support of the Holy Places, and for those pastoral, charitable, educational and social works which the Church supports in the Holy Land for the welfare of their Christian brethren and of the local communities.
Seminarian Support
This collection helps form and educate the future priests of the diocese. Additional funding and support for this effort is provided by the Good Shepherd Society for Priestly Vocation Members and Friends.
Catholic Home Missions
Launched in 1998, the Appeal strengthens the Catholic Church in the United States and its territories in 85 Latin and Eastern Catholic dioceses. The Subcommittee on the Catholic Home Missions funds a wide range of pastoral services, including evangelization, religious education, and the maintenance of mission parishes, the training of seminarians and lay ministers, and ministry with ethnic groups.
MAY
JUN
PENTECOST OPPORTUNITIES
SEPT
Catholic Communications Campaign
The essential mission of the CCC is to contribute to the process of evangelization by fostering activities in relation to television, radio, internet, and other media, and through special projects of the Catholic press. An annual collection is taken up in the dioceses, which remit 50% of the funds collected to the National Office. From these funds, grants are made by the USCCB Subcommittee on the Catholic Communication Campaign. The remaining portion of the collection is retained by the dioceses for use in local communication projects.
Retired Diocesan Priests (Pentecost)
Honor a lifetime of service of our retired priests through your gift today. Our priests enrich our lives in many ways: they baptize our children, comfort us in the confessional, witness our marriage vows, and hold our loved ones as the Lord calls them home. Consider a gift to these faithful men by assisting in the dignity of their retirement and honoring their lives of service through support of the annual Retired Priests Collection. Your gift remains 100% in our diocese, contributing to priests who have served in the parishes of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.
Peter's Pence (Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul)
The Peter's Pence Collection fulfills two aims set by the Holy See: "(1) To support the Holy Father's mission, which extends throughout the entire world, from the proclamation of the Gospel to the promotion of integral human development, education, peace, and brotherhood among peoples: thanks also to the many activities of service carried out by the dicasteries, bodies and organs of the Holy See that assist him every day; and (2) To support the numerous charitable works in aid of people and families in difficulty, populations afflicted by natural disasters and wars, or who are in need of humanitarian assistance or support for development."
Catholic University of America (CUA)
Catholic University of America (CUA)
The collection for The Catholic University of America supports the national university of the Catholic Church in the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., CUA forms students in faith and reason, preparing future priests, religious, and lay leaders for service in the Church and society. Your gift helps provide scholarships for students—especially those from dioceses with limited resources—and supports academic programs, research, and the formation of leaders who will serve the Church across the country.
Church in Africa
Through the Pastoral Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa provides grants to finance pastoral projects that support the maintenance and growth of the Church in Africa. Funded projects include outreach programs, schools, evangelization, and education of clergy and lay ministers. 100% of your gift goes to the Office of National Collections Pastoral Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa.
OCT
NOV
DEC
CHRISTMAS OPPORTUNITY
World Mission Sunday
In 1926 Pope Pius XI instituted Mission Sunday for the whole Church with the first worldwide Mission Sunday collection taking place in October 1927. The Mission Sunday collection is always taken on the next to last Sunday during the month of October. That day is celebrated in all the local Churches as the feast of catholicity and universal solidarity so Christians the world over will recognize their common responsibility with regard to the evangelization of the world.
Triennial Collection for the U.S. Military Archdiocese
The Archdiocese for the Military Services is responsible for providing pastoral care and services to active-duty men and women serving in all six branches of the United States Armed Forces stationed at home and abroad, enrolled in U.S. Military Academies, undergoing treatment at any of the 153 Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, working in civilian jobs for the federal government beyond U.S. borders - and their families. For more information about the Archdiocese and its pastoral programs and services, visit www.milarch.org.
Campaign for Justice and Hope
The Diocesan Campaign for Justice and Hope (DCJH) is an effort by the Diocese of Springfield of Illinois under the direction of Bishop Thomas John Paprocki to promote justice and hope for the poor. DCJH puts into practice Catholic teaching on life and dignity of every human person and the Gospel command to care for "the least of these" (Matthew 25). Drawing inspiration from the Corporal Works of Mercy, DCJH seeks to address the systemic injustices that contribute to poverty in our diocese and to provide financial support for local programs and organizations that give realistic hope for the poor to break out of the cycle of poverty through effective and efficient interventions.
Retirement Fund for Religious
The National Religious Retirement Office coordinates the annual national appeal for the Retirement Fund for Religious and distributes financial assistance for retirement needs to eligible religious institutes. The National Religious Retirement Office and the Retirement Fund for Religious are sponsored by the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. NRRO strives to support, educate and assist religious institutes in the United States to care for their elderly and frail members now and in the future. NRRO aims to: raise funds for retired religious; help religious institutes realistically assess their current retirement needs and implement planning; educate religious institutes to allocate assets realistically; develop educational tools, programs, services and resource materials that enable religious institutes to address retirement wisely.
Catholic Children's Home - Christmas Collection
The Christmas special collection helps support the ministry of the Catholic Children's Home, Alton, which provides a special education school and a residential program (which offers emergency shelter care, long-term residential care, supervised independent living, and special programs for abused and abandoned children).