Missions Office Collections Guide for Parishes
2024
Membership – Society for the Propagation of the Faith (SPOF), January 21
Through SPOF we support the mission of Jesus throughout the world. This collection, taken every third Sunday of January, enables the Church in the mission fields to continue and increase its healing and saving work among the poorest of our sisters and brothers. In more than 1,150 mission dioceses worldwide, priests, religious brothers and sisters, and lay catechists rely on the prayers and financial assistance from SPOF. They count on this support as they help young people who are searching for the meaning of life, as they help refugees in their spiritual and material needs, as they minister to the sick in hospitals, as they teach children in schools, as they prepare adults for Baptism, or as they help those who suffer because of war and natural disasters.
Black & Indian Missions Collection, February 18
The annual Black and Indian Mission collection is scheduled for the first weekend of Lent by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The proceeds of the collection are distributed as grants to dioceses to help support and strengthen the evangelization programs in Black, American Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut communities in the U.S. These communities exist in every archdiocese and diocese in our country. Through our contributions, we work hand in hand with missionary priests, religious, catechists and devoted lay people who tirelessly promote the faith in these impoverished and isolated areas. Here is a link to materials to help promote it in your parish. www.blackandindianmission.org/resources
Catholic Home Missions, June 2
The Catholic Home Missions Appeal is scheduled for the first Sunday of June. This collection strengthens the Catholic Church in the United States and its territories where resources are thin and priests are few. It funds a wide range of pastoral services, including evangelization, religious education, the mainenance of mission parishes, the training of seminarians and lay ministers, and ministry with ethnic groups, especially Hispanics. www.usccb.org/catholic-giving/opportunities-for-giving/catholic-home-missions-appeal/collection/index.cfm
Collection for The Holy Father, June 23
(PETER’S PENCE) The Holy Father's collection is scheduled for the Sunday nearest the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul. The collection enables the Holy Father to respond with emergency financial assistance to requests to aid the neediest throughout the world - those who suffer as a result of war, oppression, and natural disasters. It provides the faithful with a tangible opportunity to not only empower the weak, defenseless, and voiceless, but also sustain those who suffer. www.usccb.org/catholic-giving/opportunities-for-giving/peters-pence/collection/index.cfm
Church in Latin America, August 4
The Church in Latin America collection is scheduled for the first Sunday of August. This collection provides support for various pastoral projects, including the work of evangelization, formation of laity, religious and seminarians, as well as youth ministry and catechesis. Funding is limited to programmatic expenses and excludes building construction. www.usccb.org/catholic-giving/opportunities-for-giving/latin-america/collection/index.cfm
World Mission Sunday, October 27
The World Mission Sunday collection is scheduled for the next to last Sunday in October. This day is celebrated in all the local Churches as the feast of catholicity and universal solidarity so Christians the world over will recognize their common responsibility with regard to the evangelization of the world. Ninety one percent of the proceeds go to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (SPOF) and nine percent goes to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA). www.missio.org/resources.aspx