Collection to help retired religious to be held Dec. 9-10

The annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection, which helps with the day-to-day care of elderly sisters, brothers and religious order priests, will be taken up Dec. 9-10 in the Diocese of Camden.

In 2022, parishioners in the Diocese generously contributed $147,802.75 to the collection. From this, these who serve in the Diocese of Camden – the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Infant Jesus and the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception – received a combined total of $191,887.04 in financial support made possible by the Retirement Fund for Religious.

John Knutsen, director of the National Religious Retirement Office, said he looks forward to this year’s collection. “We are privileged to support those who have dedicated their lives to tireless service, and we are immensely grateful for the continuing generosity of U.S. Catholic donors to this vital cause.”

Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests – collectively known as women and men religious – have served for decades without significant financial compensation. However, due to escalating health care costs, numerous U.S. religious communities face a substantial gap between their elderly members’ needs and the financial resources available for their care. Many religious orders currently experience insufficient retirement savings.

To address the deficit in retirement funding among U.S. religious orders, the Catholic bishops of the United States initiated the Retirement Fund for Religious collection in 1988.

In addition to direct financial assistance, proceeds from the annual collection underwrite educational programming, services and resources that enable religious communities to evaluate and prepare for long-term retirement needs.

The 2022 appeal demonstrated Catholics’ tremendous generosity by raising $27.6 million. These funds from the Retirement Fund for Religious collection provided financial assistance for retirement needs for 297 U.S. religious communities.