WASHINGTON – Bishop Chad W. Zielinski used to make pastoral visits using a snow machine and seaplane when he was bishop of Fairbanks, Alaska. As chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions, he asks Catholics to consider the challenges faced by dioceses like Fairbanks and to give generously to the annual appeal supporting the ministry to the Catholic faithful in dioceses that need assistance to sustain basic ministries.
Just over one-third (35%) of the total number of dioceses in the United States are considered “home mission dioceses.” They are often in rural areas with small Catholic populations or are in communities that struggle economically and cannot provide basic pastoral services such as Mass, the sacraments, religious education, and ministry training for priests, deacons and lay people without outside help. This year, $8.1 million in grants is supporting essential diocesan and parish ministries.
When he was a military chaplain in Iraq, Bishop Zielinski encountered Chaldean Catholics who would later flee to the United States as refugees to escape terrorism. The Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, based in Michigan, has 23 priests for 30 states with 189,000 parishioners — many recent refugees from Iraq. Catholic Home Missions supports a radio ministry that offers spiritual support and evangelization in English, Syriac Aramaic and Arabic. The eparchy also provides marriage preparation, which includes counseling for couples who have suffered trauma from terrorism and refugee experiences.
“Right here in the United States, we have dioceses that need help providing pastoral care. Whether it is assistance to Chaldean Catholic refugees, supporting the ministry of catechists in rural dioceses, offering help to pregnant women in need, or guiding victims of domestic violence to proper counseling and support, the support offered to home mission dioceses epitomize the love of Christ,” said Bishop Zielinski.
Youth ministry is important for any diocese. But in dioceses with fewer than 31,000 Catholics such as the Diocese of Baker, Oregon, it is a priority. The diocese is located in a region larger in area than Florida, and a grant through the Catholic Home Missions Appeal helps to send teens on mission trips, retreats and for discipleship training. In the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia, where Catholics are so few that it’s hard to organize a youth group, a home missions grant assisted 12 teens and young adults to attend World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal in 2023.
“They returned on fire for the Lord, becoming leaders of Catholic ministry in their parishes and on college campuses,” Bishop Zielinski said. “Catholics in home mission dioceses are profoundly grateful for the assistance that other Catholics offer. Whatever our difficulties, most of us are blessed with the means to share with sisters and brothers whose need is greater than our own.”
Many dioceses will take the Catholic Home Missions Appeal on the weekend of April 26-27, though some have different dates. Those who wish to support the appeal with an online contribution can donate at #iGiveCatholicTogether.
For more information on the Catholic Home Missions Appeal see: https://www.usccb.org/committees/catholic-home-missions
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