Annual Catholic Appeal - 2024

Support this Year’s Catholic Appeal

A gift to the appeal becomes a lifeline for families in need, supports the education of our youth in the faith, and empowers individuals on their journey to become religious leaders, such as Deacons and Catechists, serving our parishes and communities with wisdom and faith. Your support also sustains our retired priests, allowing them to continue to offering guidance, and provides essential resources to our Catholic school principals and teachers, ensuring an education grounded in faith and values.

By donating to the Annual Catholic Appeal you make a lasting impact! PLUS...15% of the collected goal amount comes back to our parish and 50% of the overage is also returned for repairs/restoration projects, new areas of growth, or ministry development, as well as other needs.
Prayerfully consider making a donation—a pledge or one-time gift by:

• Returning the offering card inserted into today’s bulletin
• Dropping the gift in the weekend collection marked “Annual Catholic Appeal”
• Making the gift “on-line” by visiting the Diocesan website: www.dioceseoftrenton.org.

Important! Please make checks payable to Annual Catholic Appeal, not to Our Lady of Sorrows - St. Anthony or OLS-SA.

View Bishop O’Connell’s Video Message

English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LoR7BYp2hk
Creole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHeEtKJ9REo
 

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The Annual Catholic Appeal provides funding to:

• Families, Youth, and Young Adult Ministries
• Catholic Social Services (Mount Carmel Guild)
• Pastoral Care (Prison Ministry; Respect Life, Grief)
• Outreach to the Poor and Vulnerable
• Finding and Forming Priests (Vocations Recruitment & Seminary Preparation)
• Retired Priest Care
• Preparation of Deacons
• Support of Religious Women and Men
• Evangelization and Communications Outreach
• Religious Education for Children and Rite of Election of Adults
• Catholic School Programs
• Professional Development for Educators

We can only reach our parish goal if all of our parishioners contribute according to their means.
And when payments reach our goal, our parish will receive 15% of that goal. Should payments surpass the goal, we would also receive 50% of payments over that goal.

Ways to Give

Online
Scan the QR code or visit dioceseoftrenton.org/catholicappeal to make a gift using major credit cards, ACH bank draft, PayPal, Apple Pay or Venmo.

Mail
Send check, cash, or money order payable to Annual Catholic Appeal to

Diocese of Trenton
PO Box 70170
Newark, NJ  07101

Text
ACA to 53555

Additional Gift Options
Gifts of stock, IRA distributions, Bequests, Charitable Annuities, and Cryptocurrency can be coordinated by contacting the Department of Development at 609-403-7197.

Diocese of Trenton
609-403-7197
701 Lawrenceville Rd, Trenton, NJ 08648
[email protected]  | dioceseoftrenton.org/catholicappeal

Parish

If we reach our parish goal ($100,000), we receive a rebate! Our rebate is even greater if we should surpass the goal. This we can surely do if every working person was to make a gift to the Appeal as his or her means permit.

Donors may wish to designate their gift to fund ministry in any of these areas or may simply indicate that the gift go to the ministry in most need.

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Please Contribute

As members of our diocesan family, we are called upon to love and serve all of our brothers and sisters – both within our Catholic community and beyond. Your contribution to the Annual Catholic Appeal allows our diocese to continue to serve as a resource to the parishes and other organizations in their efforts to provide service, evangelization and outreach to people throughout Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

Please make checks payable to Annual Catholic Appeal, not to Our Lady of Sorrows – St Anthony. Thank you!
If you have not already pledged, please prayerfully consider doing so. Participating is simple. You can drop your gift or pledge in the regular collection and the parish will forward it to the Appeal Office. Please mark your envelope: "Annual Catholic Appeal."

A gift by check or money order may be made payable to
Please enclose a pledge card or the following information: When making out a check, be sure to make it payable to Annual Catholic Appeal, not to Our Lady of Sorrows - St. Anthony.

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The Annual Catholic Appeal in Action

Your gift to the Catholic Appeal goes directly to the support of important ministries and its outreach to the needy in our Diocese of Trenton:

• Formation of seminarians, priests, deacons, deacon candidates
• Formation of parish catechists and lay leaders
• Catholic School support/Tuition Assistance
• Emergency assistance to the poor and vulnerable
• Parish counseling services
• Home Nursing Program
• Development of programs for families, youth
• Local parish needs

Evangelization

Each parish is unique and offers religious education in ways that meet the needs of over 40,000 students in the local community. Some program structures are very traditional; others are innovative.

In addition to young people, over 600 adults in various stages of formation were brought to full initiation with the Church in our diocese last year. Many opportunities for the enrichment of faith are found in events and activities in parishes throughout the diocese, such as Bible Study, parish missions, lecture series, and online learning. These ministries help with adult faith enrichment by providing support for parish leaders and access to resources.

Your gift, in essence, builds up our Catholic faith. Together in Mission is a tool within our Diocese that has been created to help pastors, parish clergy and staff, parish ministry leaders and families become more intentional about evangelizing at every phase of life. Your gift supports this innovative tool which impacts the real lives of Catholics growing in faith.

Catholic Education Administration

Catholic schools in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties welcome over 16,000 Catholic and non‐Catholic students from many different cultural backgrounds.

Parents, as the primary educators of their children, work in partnership with teachers to develop their children's potential in becoming life‐long learners. Donations to the ACA help to ensure that curriculum and performance standards and development of educators continue at high levels within our 27 Catholic elementary schools. Last year your gift helped with reaching out to more than 78,000 alumni who have been given the opportunity to give back so that other students can succeed in our schools.

Pastoral Care

Rooted in the Gospel invitation to share in the healing mission of Jesus Christ, we advance the compassionate and competent spiritual, pastoral and sacramental care of God's suffering people by resourcing the clergy, pastoral ministers, healthcare professionals and caregivers who serve them. Those who offer pastoral care communicate God's love and compassion 'person-to-person' by offering spiritual and sacramental support, including the Sacrament of Annointing of the Sick offered by a priest. We connect with healthcare institutions, medical professionals, chaplains and clergy by providing extensive consultation and resouces for the holistic health and well-being of Catholic patients.

Ministry of Catechesis, Lay Formation, and Evangelization

Each parish and Catholic school is unique and offers religious education in ways that meet the needs of over 50,000 students in the local community. Some program structures are very traditional; others are innovative. Even as adults we seek to learn more about our faith and deepen our relationship with God. Some adults want to know more, some adults want to grow in their prayer life. About 300 adults are brought to full initiation with the Church in our diocese each year. Many opportunities for the enrichment of faith are found in events and activities in parishes throughout the diocese, such as Bible Study, parish missions, lecture series, and online learning. The Ministry of Catechesis, Lay Formation, and Evangelization helps with adult faith enrichment by providing support for parish leaders and access to resources. Your gift, in essence, builds up our Catholic faith.

Ministries to Families, Youth, and Young Adults

These ministries strive to promote a Catholic understanding of life through faith formation at every stage of human living. They support you and your family, recognizing that your family is "holy, not because it is perfect, but because God's grace is at work in it, helping it to set out anew every day on the way to love."

Your gift promotes individuals and family life, so please be as generous as your means allow when making your pledge to the Annual Catholic Appeal.

Department of Multicultural Ministry

The Department of Multicultural Ministry will bring attention to the most pressing needs and concerns of the various cultural communities, and will assist parishes and diocesan offices as they address the needs that are identified. The council will have representatives from the Black Catholic, Filipino, Haitian, Hispanic and Portugese, Korean, Polish, and Eastern European communities.

Catholic Charities

Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Trenton provides care to more than 100,000 people each year and touches the lives of 1 in every 19 residents of Central New Jersey. A behavioral health care and social service agency, Catholic Charities offers 58 programs at 35 service sites and 72 residential sites in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties. The mission of Catholic Charities is rooted in the Gospel Mandate to alleviate human suffering and seeks to improve the quality of life for individuals and families by serving people in need, especially the poor and oppressed. Catholic Charities offers a network of accredited programs that provide quality, cost-effective services in the four counties of the diocese.

Diocesan Ministry of Vocations

The Diocesan Ministry of Vocations provides discernment opportunities, encouragement, support, education and resources for those responding to God's call to the ministerial priesthood.

We are committed to fostering an environment where vocations to the priesthood are valued and nurtured within the domestic church of the family and the local parish community.

Catholic Education Administration

Catholic schools in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties welcome approximately 17,000 Catholic and non-Catholic students from many different cultural backgrounds. Parents, as the primary educators of their children, work in partnership with teachers to develop their children's potential in becoming life-long learners. Donations to the ACA help to ensure that curriculum and performance standards and development of educators continue at high levels within our 31 Catholic elementary schools and 7 high schools Last year your gift helped with reaching out to more than 90,000 alumni who have been given the opportunity to give back so that other students can succeed in our schools.

Nurturing Family Life

Through the development of ministries that support individuals and families in the many stages and circumstances of life, the Diocese partners with its parishes in building an understanding of God's grace at work in every human life. These efforts address marriage preparation and enrichment, family life and parenting, maturing adults, pastoral care, jail and prison ministry, bereavement, separated and divorced, and respect life ministry.

St. Vincent de Paul Society

The St. Vincent de Paul Society is an international Catholic organization of more than 750,000 lay men and women who seek to help the suffering in a spirit of justice and charity through person-to-person involvement. Founded in France in 1833, with St. Vincent de Paul as its patron, in the United States today there are more than 59,000 members in 4,300 conferences.

Vincentians seek, through prayer, meditation on Scripture and the teachings of the Church, to bear witness to the love of Christ through their daily lives and in their relationships with those in need.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society and its work have been encouraged by the Bishops of Trenton to provide a special means for lay-people to participate in the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy through a time-tested organization with national and international support.

Your gift continues the mission of St. Vincent de Paul right here in central New Jersey.

Ministry of Clergy Personnel

This ministry assists the Bishop in the assignment of priests and deacons in the diocese, handles all personnel matters pertaining to active and retired priests, and works with priests from outside the diocese who seek to minister in the diocese. The Ministry of Clergy Personnel keeps priests and deacons informed of events in the diocese specifically for its clergy, assists in the continuing education of clergy, the annual convocation of priests, and in working throughout the diocese. 

Your gift supports the Bishop, priests, and deacons in serving all parishioners in the Diocese of Trenton.

Mount Carmel Guild

The Mount Carmel Guild has been helping Mercer County community members in their times of need since 1920, regardless of race or religion. Our services are offered free to those who need them.

The Guild's Home Health Nursing provides in-home nursing services to seniors whose Medicare insurance has been exhausted and have no alternative means of care. Our nursing care allows patients to stay in the comfort of their own homes, in familiar surroundings. Service can include: pre-filling insulin syringes for the sight impaired, pre-pouring medications weekly, monitoring vital signs, blood sugars, and cardiopulmonary status, administering injections, and assisting with pacemakers. Patient referrals are always welcome.

Each day, our Emergency Assistance Program staff members assess the needs of Mercer County families and distribute bags of groceries based on nutritional requirements. We assist approximately 700 heads of households each month. Our Comprehensive Nutritional Care program provides high-protein food packages, vitamin supplements and nutritional counseling to those who are HIV+. We also provide help for emergency prescriptions.

Your gift gives them a place to turn too in their need.

Kudos to all those who generously supported the 2023 Annual Catholic Appeal. Their generosity has made it possible to not only attain, but to exceed our parish goal of $100,000! This accomplishment allows our parish to benefit from a diocesan rebate, a sharing in this important fundraising effort for our own parish needs. We shall receive 15% of the parish funds received…this translates to a rebate of at least $15,000. This amount increases when the goal is surpassed.

The Diocesan Office of Development has provided the following report on the appeal, which I am happy to share with you:

Parish Goal:          $100,000            Pledge Balance:      $960
Amount Pledged:   106,186          No. of Donors           473
Amount Paid:          105,227
Registered Households    2,461
Supporting Households    1,410
 

The 2023 Annual Catholic Appeal is underway and as of October 9, our parishioners have given gifts or made pledges amounting to $93,710 and paid $90,217 toward this year’s Annual Catholic Appeal . Since our parish goal is $100,000, that means that, so far, 94% of the goal has been gifted or pledged and 90% has been paid.