The Opportunity
Ensuring the vitality of our church demands immediate and ongoing investments. In our parish ministries, we must increase our evangelization efforts to deepen participation in parish life. Forming young people committed to Christ requires the reimagining of faith formation and the expansion of youth ministry programs. Our seminary must continue to educate and form men for the priesthood, and the church must maintain our commitment to provide for the needs of our retired priests. In our community, we must continue to show God’s love to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities; and meet the spiritual needs of the elderly living in nursing homes.

• • • Saint John Paul II Fund for Faith Formation – additional endowed funds will be added to this new permanently restricted endowment to financially support the work of lifelong faith formation and youth and young adult ministry throughout the Diocese of Bridgeport.
    • John Vianney Retired Priest Fund – provide a long-term source of funding to meet the future care needs of retired priests who have faithfully served the people of God in the Diocese of Bridgeport.
    • The St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Fund – endowed funds will provide a long-term source of funding to help support the cost of educating and forming young men for the Catholic priesthood.
    • The Lourdes Pastoral Care Fund – additional resources will be provided to the existing current-use fund to ensure that the Diocese has the resources necessary to meet the growing need for pastoral care services at St. Joseph Center, St. Camillus Center and St. John Paul II Center.
    • The Saint Therese Fund for Evangelization – endowed funds will ensure grant money is available to increase participation in parish life and support the ongoing evangelization efforts on both the parish and Diocesan level.
    • St. John Bosco Fund - supporting children with special educational needs in our Catholic elementary and high schools.
    • St. Catherine Center for Special Needs Fund - to support the mission of the Center to provide unified pastoral and educational programs for individuals with disabilities and serve as a centralized resource for the Diocesan community. The Center strives to foster the educational, spiritual and social well-being of children and adults with disabilities through Saint Catherine Academy, an adult day program, support for inclusion in parishes and Catholic Schools.
    • St Elizabeth Ann Seton - this fund is intended to support the work of religious education in our parish communities.