“But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
James 2:18
The theme for the 2023 Annual Catholic Appeal is “Living Our Faith.” Our Annual Catholic Appeal enables us to fund our Diocesan Pastoral Center ministry offices and programs that help our community members to live their faith. They include our schools and programs to support faith formation at all ages, to strengthen families, to promote a culture of life, to care for creation, to engage youth and young adults, to sustain our clergy and those preparing for the priesthood, and to assist the marginalized.
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Please click the image below for an expanded view of Father Nick’s letter:
Thank You for Your Support!
If you have already supported us, we sincerely thank you for your wonderful and generous gift toward the Annual Catholic Appeal. A gift to the Appeal is always a gift to the parish. Because of your joyful generosity, our parish community remains vibrantly united with the entire Church and is able to be more Alive in Christ!
Thank you so much! Our hearts overflow with gratitude and thankfulness for the prompt and gracious response from so many of our faith-filled families. May God bless you abundantly always!
Catholic schools opened for in-person instruction a full year before most public schools did, reflecting a tremendous effort by teachers and staff. Enrollment increased more than 11 percent in the 2020-2021 academic year. Our schools offer students a quality education while nurturing their spiritual growth, and strengthening our families, our church, and our society.
Catholic Charities works tirelessly to serve the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized. The agency opened its third shelter for homeless women in downtown San Diego; Rachel’s Promise. It continues to respond to hunger through its Emergency Food Distribution Network. And it is leading the effort along the California-Mexico border to receive immigrants applying for asylum legally in the country and help them reach their final destination.
Clergy Formation and Support
The Annual Catholic Appeal supports priestly formation, the pastoral care of active and retired priests, and the preparation and ongoing formation of permanent deacons. Currently, there are 13 seminarians and 47 retired priests in the diocese.
As the pandemic receded, the diocese’s pastoral ministries stepped up their work, offering a wide range of bilingual programming. This included training, conferences, and workshops, both online and in-person. Meanwhile, catechists and Catholic middle-school teachers continued to tackle the crisis of youth leaving their faith by implementing the innovative “Faith and Science Curriculum.”
A Letter From the Cardinal
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
As Bishop of San Diego, I have the joy of meeting our community members living their faith in countless settings and locales across San Diego and Imperial Counties. I accompanied participants in our San Diego Walk for Life, welcomed our newest church members at our Rite of Election, planted trees with students of our elementary schools, celebrated the Universality of the Church with thousands of faithful at Pentecost, ordained two extraordinary men into the priesthood and blessed university students as they began a new academic year.
I also had the privilege to listen as our community members shared their joys, disappointments, and their dreams for our church through their participation in our church’s Synod. More than 11,000 participated in small-group sessions held in our parishes and schools, and more than 22,000 people completed our electronic survey. We’re still analyzing the data from all of those encounters, but one thing is wonderfully clear: faith is integral to their lives, and they value their parish and pastor.
Our Annual Catholic Appeal enables us to fund our Pastoral Center ministry offices and programs that help our community members to live their faith. They include our schools and programs to support faith formation at all ages, to strengthen families, to promote a culture of life, to care for creation, to engage youth and young adults, to sustain our clergy and those preparing for the priesthood, and to assist the marginalized.
We are called to live our faith in so many ways. I ask you to prayerfully consider supporting this splendid work of the Lord.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Robert Cardinal McElroy,
Bishop of San Diego
