Diocese announces capital endowment campaign

On Thursday, May 17, Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey officially launched the Diocese of Corpus Christi’s Legacy of Faith~Future of Hope campaign. The campaign hopes to raise $18.5 million over five years to provide long-term funding to some of the diocese’s immediate needs.

Bishop Mulvey spoke to priests, religious and laity at St. Joseph Hall at Corpus Christi Cathedral where they had gathered to learn about the capitol endowment campaign. The campaign is intended to raise funds to establish capitol endowments to fund projects in the future.  A capital fund is designed to provide a permanent source of income.

Fund raising started earlier in the year with Bishop Mulvey opening his own pockets for a contribution and then priests pitching in $500,000 collectively. The fund raising effort has been ongoing for several months in some nine pilot parishes and two missions. The campaign now moves into phase two with another 23 parishes and two missions participating in the campaign from May through September. A third and final phase will include the remaining 39 parishes and 21 missions, which will run from September through December.

To identify the needs, the diocese undertook several steps designed to gather information from priests and others. Every pastor in the diocese was interviewed to gather information of his views on the needs in his parish and the diocese.

After this study, a 10-member priest advisory council, headed by Father Peter Martinez, recommended projects in five different areas, including the needs of retired priests, campus and young adult ministry, Catholic education, Catholic Charities and support for parishes.

The need of retired priests will account for nearly half of the endowment, with $9 million dedicated to this effort. This includes $7 million to build and operate an 18-unit housing complex for retired priests at the intersection of Koztoryz and Saratoga in Corpus Christi, which will be called the St. John Vianney Residence for Priests. Another $2 million will be used to support the priests’ retirement fund.

Four million dollars will be used to upgrade facilities for campus ministries at area colleges. A $2.5 million chapel and student center will be built at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The Newman Center at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi will get a $1 million facelift and a $500,000 will be used to build a Young Adult/Campus Ministry Center at Costal Bend College in Beeville.

Twenty percent, or $3.7 million, of all funds expected to be raised will be returned to parishes for to meet their capital needs. A parish will receive 20 percent of all funds collected up to their pre-established goal. If a parish exceeds its goal, 80 percent of excess collections will stay with the parish and 20 percent will go to the diocese. Parishes designate the projects they will fund, such as repairs to buildings, new ministries, new youth centers, retire debt, etc.
Catholic education will receive $1.3 million, including $800,000 for a Seminary Education Tuition Assistance Endowment and $500,000 for Catholic School Tuition Assistance Endowment.

Five hundred thousand dollars will be allocated to bring satellite locations of Catholic Charities to outlying areas of the Diocese, such as Alice, Refugio, Beeville and Kingsville. This will make the services of Catholic Charities more accessible to people in these areas.

Cande de Leon, director of the Office Parish Stewardship expressed appreciation for the enthusiastic reception with which the campaign has been met. He cautioned, however, that not all “pledges” received will actual translate to funds collected.

De Leon explained that the Legacy of Faith~Future of Hope campaign will fund long-term projects, while the annual Catholic Stewardship Appeal is designed to pay for the diocese’s yearly operating expenses and the weekly offerings at the parish support the local church’s operating expenses.

Bishop Mulvey, priests, lay people and program administrators all expressed their appreciation and encouraged others to continue to give generously.

To learn more about the Legacy of Faith, Future of Hope, visit their Web site at diocesecc.org/future.