Biloxi diocese exceeds $14 million education goal By Shirley Henderson
BILOXI, Miss. (CNS) — The Biloxi diocese’s campaign for Catholic education has exceeded its $14.2 million goal with $16.2 million in pledges, Bishop Thomas Rodi announced in June.
“This is a powerful sign of recovery for the entire community,” he said.
The pilot phase of the campaign, “Catholic Faith for Tomorrow ... A Future With Promise,” ran from April through June 2005. Parish campaigns were scheduled to continue to take place from September through December of that year, but were set aside after Hurricane Katrina hit the coastal counties of south Mississippi that August and pushed diocesan efforts to focus on recovery and rebuilding.
Pre-Katrina, the campaign’s goal of $14 million was based on the economy of south Mississippi and the amount of money Catholics gave to their parishes each Sunday, said Paul Barsi, of Community Counseling Service, who coordinated the campaign.
Immediately after Katrina, the people of the Biloxi diocese received help from across the country with prayers, materials, money and volunteers. Bishop Rodi said they were grateful for the assistance they received and also wanted to be part of their own recovery.
The generosity of Biloxi Catholics at this time is particularly remarkable, Bishop Rodi said, since many people are in the midst of “rebuilding their homes, businesses and communities. Their generosity, again, demonstrates the strength of character and determination of our people. And although this does not meet all the financial needs of the diocese, it is a big step in the right direction.”
The bishop also pointed out that Mississippi may be the poorest state in the nation with a small Catholic population, but he said the “Catholics in our state are proud of our faith and are committed to making the church even stronger after Katrina.”
Barsi said that more than 42 percent of Catholics in the diocese have supported the campaign. He described their support, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as “a real testimony to the love, generosity and resilience of the people in south Mississippi in responding to the educational needs of the church.”
Campaign funds will help educate seminarians studying for the priesthood, strengthen and expand Catholic parish education programs for children and adults, and advance Catholic secondary schools by providing adequate facilities. The original needs of the campaign for education took on additional urgency when the diocese was faced with the task of rebuilding, repairing and replacing some school facilities.
The funds also will be used for expenses and costs not covered by insurance and Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursements to rebuild and renovate schools. The donations will also establish an endowment for the education of future priests and an endowment for parish religious education programs.
Last summer the clergy committee guiding the campaign advised the bishop to move forward with it. So after a delay of nearly two years, the diocese resumed its campaign in January.
“The needs present before Katrina had not gone away,” Bishop Rodi said. The diocese, which suffered $70 million worth of damage, was insured for $35 million.
“If anything, the needs are even greater now. Katrina did not remove the challenges to provide excellent and faith-filled education for our young people, the need to strengthen parish education programs, or the need to educate future priests,” he said. “These areas are not options, but necessities for the diocese to grow and remain vibrant.”
