By Michael Morse, Executive Director of the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida Inc.
Throughout the Diocese of Venice, generous parishioners provide ongoing annual support for their Parish by way of their offertory gifts and for the Diocese by way of the Catholic Faith Appeal. This annual support is so appreciated and so critical to the Catholic Church’s mission of spreading the Gospel, educating the faithful and serving those in need.
However, on multiple occasions, devoted Catholics have expressed concern about what would happen to their Parish, school or favorite Diocesan program after they have passed away. They have worried about whether or not the next generation will be as devoted to their Catholic Faith, whether they will attend Mass, send their children to Catholic School or be willing to support the programs and ministries of the Church.
Unfortunately, this concern may be well-founded. According to the Pew Research Religious Landscape Study, 35% of Baby Boomers and 28% of Generation X identify as Catholics, however, only 11% of Millennials identify as Catholics. This trend is not unique to the Catholic Church. Every major religion included in the Pew Research Study showed similar declines in religious participation by subsequent generations.
To help address their concerns as they look to the future of the Church, Catholic families and individuals are now looking to blend their current annual giving with a future gift in their will or trust to establish an endowment. An endowment fund provides a perpetual source of revenue to the Catholic organization of their choice. This helps ensure the long-term sustainability of their Parish, school or Diocesan program about which they care most.
For example, Susan donates $1,000 per year to her Parish through the offertory and would like to continue this support after she is gone. Susan works with her estate planning attorney to include a provision in her will to fund an endowment with the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida with a gift of $25,000.
When Susan passes away and the endowment is funded, the Foundation will use a portion of the endowment each year to replace her $1,000 annual support to her Parish. The remainder is invested in Catholic-screened investments, which allows it to grow and support annual payouts to the Parish forever. By establishing her endowment, Susan has helped ensure that her Parish can serve as the hands and feet of Christ to those in need for generations to come.
In addition to endowment funds, the Catholic Community Foundation offers a wide range of gifting options for Catholics including scholarship funds, donor advised funds, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts and more. The Foundation works with each donor individually to first understand what they want to accomplish and then determine how best to accomplish it.
To learn more about the Catholic Community Foundation, please contact Michael Morse at 941-441-1124 or by email at Morse@dioceseofvenice.org. You can also visit the Foundation website at www.CCFDioceseofvenice.org.
For those who struggle paycheck to paycheck or are on the brink of homelessness, thanksgiving has a different meaning. It can mean loneliness, despair and hunger as most places that would offer a caring meal are closed for the holiday weekend.
To meet the need in Manatee County, the St. Joseph Food Pantry in Bradenton uses the first three days of Thanksgiving Week to distribute special bags of food to more than 1,200 individuals and families.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane was in Sarasota on Thanksgiving Day where he joined the Knights of Columbus Council 3358 for the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner for the community.
In Immokalee, the faithful of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Naples offered “Thanksgiving in the Park” which provided more than 2,000 hot meals. Some 100 volunteers helped prepare the meal and even more served the food on Thanksgiving Day in a spot adjacent to the Immokalee Airport.
Catholic Schools throughout the Diocese participated in these efforts with food drives that benefited Catholic Charities, the St. Joseph Food Pantry and other community feeding programs.
Part of that celebration was the Nov. 23, “Enchanted Sea – Second Annual Saints and Sinners Gala” at the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village which brought together parents, faculty, staff and supporters of the school for an evening of fun and relaxation.
The event was supported by priests from several local parishes as well as the principals from Bishop Verot Catholic High School and St. Francis Xavier Catholic School, both in Fort Myers.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane led a prayer service for the staff of the Catholic Center in Venice on Dec. 1. The prayer service included the blessing of the Advent Candle, Christmas Tree and Nativity scene which will be on display in the lobby throughout Advent.
The Mother Frances de Sales Auxiliary to the Homeless held its Fourth Rose Ball Nov. 30 at the Naples Grande Beach Hotel and Resort where 22 young ladies were recognized for their commitment of volunteer service and formation. The event benefited four organizations in Collier County that work to help break the cycle of homelessness. Bishop Frank J. Dewane presented each young lady with a silver Rose Ball medallion of the organizations’ patron, Mother Frances de Sales, known as St. Leonie Aviat, who was canonized on Nov. 25, 2001. The ladies, known as Rose Girls, committed to a two-and-a-half-year volunteer and personal formation program where they make pledges of dignity, charity, and purity and were presented to those gathered as Dignified Ladies of Volunteer Service.
From humble beginnings in 1959 in the Beall Plaza in downtown Sarasota to the evolving vibrant campus at its location today, Cardinal Mooney has provided a college-preparatory education centered on Gospel values for thousands of students over the past sixty years. Embracing the uniqueness of each student entrusted to our care, we provide an educational experience which culminates with graduates who are committed life-long learners ready for college and active examples of their Catholic faith ready for service to the community.
The closing Mass was celebrated at nearby Sacred Heart Church. A time for Eucharistic Adoration led by the Bishop was followed by a public Eucharistic Procession through the streets of downtown Punta Gorda as the youth recited the Holy Rosary and sang hymns. At the church, to accommodate the vast number of participants, an overflow of youth was ushered into the Parish Hall where the Mass where the was live-streamed.
The Taylor Tripodi Band performed throughout the day, opening the Youth Rally and then performing leading up to adoration. Taylor explained that she uses her talents as a singer and a musician to glorify the Lord and to inspire others to feel the same way she does about her faith. The band also served as musicians during the closing Mass.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane noted the Mass was celebrated at the historic location, in front of a Holy Eucharistic Memorial, which was built in the 1960s to commemorate the 1539 Spanish Expedition of Hernando de Soto. The group purportedly landed nearby and included 12 priests and two brothers. Appropriately, there were 12 concelebrating priests and two deacons present for the Mass.
“You must publicly respond and live the answer as a Disciple,” the Bishop continued. “Do this by setting an example to those around you so that others – through your invitation, through your example, through your words, and through your deeds – can understand your answer.”
As the principal of Epiphany Cathedral Catholic School, I am often asked – why Epiphany? Why Catholic education? My answer is rooted in the Catholic belief beautifully articulated in our Catechism.
Representatives of the San Marco Knights of Columbus Assembly 2514 presented a check for $2,000 in October to Collier Lee Honor Flight. Collier Lee Honor Flight was established in 2013, its mission is to transport veterans from Collier and Lee counties to Washington, DC to visit the memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices. A typical mission will visit the World War II Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Marine Corps Memorial, and Arlington Cemetery. Top priority is given to World War II and Korean War era veterans, and to any veteran of any war that has a terminal illness. Veterans travel by a chartered commercial jet, and police escorted buses while on the ground. A typical mission will have 70 to 75 veterans. Trips are provided at no cost to the veterans.
St. Agnes Parish held its annual White Mass for medical professionals in Naples, on Oct. 18, the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist and patron of doctors. A lecture titled “Spirituality and Health: Complete Doctoring” presented by Dr. Michael Gloth followed in the Parish Hall.
Father Augustine Twum Obour, Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of the Angels Parish in Lakewood Ranch, blesses the new Mobile Medical Clinic of Community Pregnancy Clinics on Oct. 20. The van, which offers free ultrasounds to pregnant moms, was made possible by a donation from the Knights of Columbus and will be used throughout the region.
