2022 Catholic Charities Appeal

My Dear Parishioners,

Today we launch the 2022 Catholic Charities Appeal: Giving Hope to All 2022. The Catholic Charities Appeal is the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s single most important annual fundraising initiative, and we’re counting on your support. This year, the Catholic Charities Appeal will be a channel of hope for tens of thousands of people through countless organizations and ministries in the Archdiocese, and a positive source for good in all facets of the Church in Philadelphia. We ask you to look deep in your heart and be as generous as you can to help us reach our $12.5 million goal. So many people are counting on us. So we’re counting on you to give hope this year to those who need it the most. This year our parish goal at St. Joseph is $38,677, the same goal that we

had last year. It is important that every parishioner and every parish do their part to help raise this $12.5 million, because we are one family in Christ. Taking care of those who need help the most is one of the most important things we can do as Catholics. I would also like to reassure you that any gift you make to the Catholic Charities Appeal will be appropriately stewarded and spent only in accordance with the case statement published by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The Catholic Charities Appeal Board is there to ensure your funds are spent according to the purpose you donated towards. Thank you for your sacrifice. To see the Catholic Charities Appeal video, please go to www.catholiccharitiesappeal.org. Or visit our parish website www.saintjosephchurch.us.

Prayer for the Catholic Charities Appeal

God, our Father,

We thank you for all the gifts and blessings that you give out of your love for us all. You call us to open our hearts to share what we have been given. Grant that through giving to the Catholic Charities Appeal, we may bring joy, hope and strength to those most in need. Our charity towards those in need is a real way in which we show our gratitude and love for you.

Through this year’s Catholic Charities Appeal, may we help as many people as we can, including a young person striving to learn and grow in Faith; a deaf child receiving a quality Catholic Education; a veteran who is struggling with homelessness; a parish carrying out vital local missionary work; a retired priest who has dedicated his life to the needs of the faithful.

Help us to do all we can to make sure the “poor have their fill” of your blessings. We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

May God Bless You,
Fr. Bordonaro

Next weekend the Archdiocese will have a special collection for our aged and infirmed priests. The archbishop asked that this message be communicated in all the parishes.

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

When I visit our retired and infirm priests who reside at Villa Saint Joseph in Darby or Regina Coeli in Warminster, I am filled with deep gratitude for their collective years of dedicated service. These faithful and holy priests have given their lives to our parishes, schools, and ministries serving the poor throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

During their active ministry, they devotedly brought the presence of Christ to countless individuals through the celebration of the Sacraments, preaching, teaching, and charitable actions. In retirement, they are a source of wisdom and a great blessing for our local Church.

Today, one-third of our priests are retired. Many continue in some degree of active service to our parishes as much as their health allows. Others, due to advanced age and medical conditions, live quietly and offer prayers for you, the people of the Archdiocese. The annual Collection for the Care of Aging and Infirm Priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will be taken in all parishes during the weekend of February 12-13, 2022. This initiative provides a meaningful opportunity for you to express gratitude for the many sacrifices made by our retired priests in seeking to fulfill the pastoral and temporal needs of those entrusted to their care over the course of many years.

I would ask that you remember in your daily prayers all our priests, active and retired and invite you to donate to the Collection for the Care of Aging and Infirm Priest this year. May the good Lord bless you and may all those whom you love and care for, know God’s abundant blessings. Please be assured of my prayers for you and your intentions.

Sincerely in Christ Jesus,
+Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez, D.D.
Archbishop of Philadelphia