During the weekend of March 5-6, the Diocese of Columbus will take up a second collection at every Mass to support evangelization among the Black and Native American communities.
This collection was established by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1884 to keep the light of faith shining in these communities.
The fund is used for evangelization in poor rural and reservation communities. Today, our solidarity with them is so important, especially with vibrant Catholic faith communities in the poorest regions that serve and care for the marginalized.
Your generous support helps build the Church in these communities nationwide. Schools, parish religious education programs and diocesan ministries depend on your generosity to help them spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The funds will be distributed as grants to dioceses throughout the United States.
St. Katharine Drexel is significant when we think about helping the poor. She is the second American-born saint, and her father, Francis Anthony Drexel, was a wealthy banker. She grew up seeing charitable works done by her family. They opened their doors for housing and care for the poor.
She eventually joined the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. She said, “If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them. Let us open wide our hearts. It is joy which invites us. Press forward, and fear nothing.”
Katharine directed her inheritance of $20 million toward educating and evangelizing Native Americans in the west and African Americans in the south.
She opened the first mission boarding school, St. Catherine’s Indian School, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. One-hundred sixty other schools quickly followed – for Native Americans and African Americans.
In 1915, Katharine founded Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic University in the United States for African Americans. By the time of her death, she had more than 500 sisters teaching in 63 schools throughout the country, and she established 50 missions for Native Americans in 16 states.
She was devoted to the betterment of the African-American and Native American populations until her death.
As Pope Francis advocates, “Any missionary impulse, if derived from the Holy Spirit, manifests predilection for the poor and vulnerable.” (Evangelii Gaudium 7)
Your generous support assists the many and varied evangelization programs in archdioceses and dioceses of the United States, from Maine to California and Alaska.
The support of generous hearts can fulfill dreams of many unfortunates to pursue a college education and to have a better future. In this current pandemic, mission work includes evangelization and caring for the basic needs of the poor such as providing food and clothes and helping families pay for education.
The support of generous hearts can fulfill dreams of many to pursue a college education and to have a better future.
The collected funds will be mainly used on administering the sacraments, giving witness to the people whom they serve, helping them to understand God loves them and recognize the Church as a mediator. Evangelization with sacraments, community participation and devotional practices will benefit communities served by this collection.
In 2021, the Diocese of Columbus contributed $59,306.83. Through our donations, we help bring the light of Christ to our sisters and brothers in Christ. We of the Catholic faith community have been a beacon of hope for the hopeless for generations. On behalf of the diocese, thank you in advance for supporting this collection.