2017 ANNUAL REPORT 3 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear Friends, Last year, your humbling generosity enabled Recently, on a trip to Puerto Rico, I saw firsthand Catholic Extension to provide $25 million to how so many of the parishes that have been built build and sustain vibrant faith communities in and sustained by Catholic Extension over the America. Please accept my deepest gratitude years, provided not only for their neighbors’ basic for your support of this important mission! human needs but, more importantly, provided At Catholic Extension, we are constantly God’s love to those most isolated and vulnerable. witnessing the transformative power of faith at Through the generous response from you, our work across the country and how it truly impacts donors, Catholic Extension was able to closely our society, especially in the most challenging collaborate with eight of the hardest hit Catholic of circumstances. dioceses, allowing them to provide the level This could not have been more vividly evident of spiritual and charitable care that their local this past year when, tragically, many areas of communities required in their moment of crisis. our country experienced total devastation due This was truly the Church at her best. to unprecedented storms—Harvey, Irma, and In many of the hardest hit communities the road Maria. Particularly hard hit were our poorest to recovery will be long. Nonetheless, we must communities. appreciate the immediate and profound impact The heroic response of Catholic churches in you helped us achieve in these suffering Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Texas, communities. Above: Catholic Extension President Father to the recent hurricanes was nothing short of Thank you for joining us and supporting all the Jack Wall with Randy Tejada of Our Lady of remarkable. In a time of immense suffering, they work of Catholic Extension. Perpetual Help Chapel in Caguas, Puerto Rico reached out to their communities to help those Front cover: Flooding left by Hurricane Maria most in need. in Humacao, Puerto Rico Yours in Christ, Catholic Extension was proud to be their partner in this inspiring effort. Many church leaders called Catholic Extension first in the wake of the storms, knowing that they could count on us to assist them in their hour of Reverend John J. Wall need. PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC EXTENSION 2 Father Jorge Morales, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary parish in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, shows Father Wall the hurricane damage to his historic church. 3 Children sing at Sts. Peter PAGE: and Paul Catholic School, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. TEXAS DIOCESE OF BEAUMONT: A beacon of hope PUERTO RICAN DIOCESE OF FAJARDO-HUMACAO: New storm-tested center to strengthen community U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS DIOCESE OF ST. THOMAS: Quickly after the storms, schools reopen PUERTO RICAN “The soul of our community is found here in this DIOCESE OF PONCE: chapel. We are a community, and we will not give Creating a up, no matter what has happened.” community of hope —Randy Tejada, lay coordinator, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel, Caguas, Puerto Rico 4 “I learned at church that good A BEACON OF HOPE things can come out of bad things. arge areas of the Diocese of Beaumont, struggling Catholic schools become viable, The really good thing that came out Texas, were inundated by massive well-managed institutions. Bishop Curtis of the hurricane was that everyone flooding in the wake of Hurricane Guillory wanted to save the school from came together to help each other.” Harvey. With an all-out mobilization of closing because it is the only Catholic school Lvolunteers, church organizations, nonprofits in Port Arthur and the majority of the students —Olivia Bush (center), and government agencies in Texas, the come from economically disadvantaged student at St. Catherine diocese was able to handle the initial relief homes. of Siena Catholic School and recovery effort well. Following the hurricane, Bishop Guillory Of the 50 parishes and missions in the said, “Catholic Extension has been there diocese, 23 were damaged and four are for us not just during times of hurricanes unable to be used. The flooding was and tragedies. Without Catholic Extension, particularly devastating at St. Catherine of we would not be able to have Siena Catholic School, a beacon of hope in many of our ministries. I certainly the southern part of the diocese. want to thank the donors who are so gracious and so generous.” From 2011 to 2015, St. Catherine’s was part of Catholic Extension’s Catholic School Catholic Extension has supported the Sustainability program, which helps diocese for more than 50 years providing more than $6 million in funding. The diocese will need hurricane relief funding in 2018 for the long-term cleanup, and with your support Catholic Extension will be there to help. Left: Bishop Curtis Guillory helps the community of Beaumont, TX, with recovery efforts after Hurricane Harvey. 5 n September, in a span of two weeks, the northeast of Puerto Rico was devastated twice, first by Hurricane NEW STORM-TESTED Irma and then by Maria. But despite Iwidespread, heavy damage in the surrounding area, one large new building CENTER TO still under construction in the town of STRENGTHEN Fajardo escaped with few scratches. Established in 2008, the Puerto Rican Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao is the COMMUNITY youngest mission diocese served by Catholic Extension. Over the past few years, Bishop Eusebio Ramos Morales has overseen the construction of a new pastoral center in Fajardo that will help build greater community and strengthen the diocese’s ministries and outreach. In 2017 your generous donations allowed Catholic Extension to provide two matching grants totaling $138,000 to help the diocese complete the building. In constructing the new pastoral center, the diocese opted for high environmental and energy-efficiency Above: Hurricane-damaged St. Martin On map: The newly completed, standards and also made it hurricane- de Porres Chapel in Cidra, Puerto Rico hurrican-resistant pastoral center in Fajardo resistant. That decision paid off: The only 6 minor damage to the building occurred in the parts that were “In the face of the catastrophic unfinished. devastation that our people The building’s large central plaza suffered from Hurricane Maria, with a capacity of 500 will be used for Masses and other community it was of great solace and celebrations. In addition to the hope to receive immediate diocesan offices, the building will assistance from Catholic house a chapel, a library and conference and meeting rooms. It Extension.” will serve the diocese’s 21 parishes, —Bishop Eusebio Ramos Morales, support its schools and provide Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao religious education to families, outreach ministries to at-risk youth and other social ministries. Catholic Extension released the second of the two matching grants in December 2017, and the diocese is set to complete and dedicate the building in early 2018. From left, Archbishop Roberto González, Catholic Extension Chancellor Cardinal Catholic Extension’s chancellor, Blase Cupich and Bishop Eusebio Ramos Cardinal Blase Cupich, got a tour of the Morales stand in front of the pastoral center in Fajardo. almost-complete building in December 2017 when he made a pastoral visit to Puerto Rico on Pope Francis’ behalf. 7 QUICKLY AFTER THE STORMS, SCHOOLS REOPEN he Diocese of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands is the second smallest U.S. diocese by territory and one of the poorest. Last year, like Puerto Rico, it Twas hit hard by two Category Five hurricanes. First Irma struck St. Thomas and St. John, and then Maria devastated St. Croix. Bishop Herbert Bevard told Catholic Extension that after the storms many areas of the islands looked like they had been bombed and that essentially “every church and every school” in his diocese were impacted. In the wake of the hurricanes, your dedicated support made it possible for Catholic On map: Sts. Joachim Extension to quickly provide an emergency and Ann Catholic Church grant to the diocese. That grant was used to in Kingshill, St. Croix support critical diocesan activities amid the Above: Bishop Bevard greets kindergartners at St. Patrick sudden economic collapse, a main focus of Catholic School, St. Croix. which was sustaining schools. 8 “Irma and Maria struck hard, Even though they sustained significant but they also remind us that damage, Catholic schools were back in we always recognize our operation shortly after the hurricanes — dependence on almighty God.” much quicker than local public schools. In fact, Bishop Bevard asked his —Bishop Herbert Bevard, pastors to open Catholic schools to any St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands displaced public school students, re- gardless of whether they could pay tuition. Scores of families took up this offer and have remained enrolled. By doing so, Virgin Islander Catholics were able to provide a much-needed haven of “normalcy” to children and their families and gave profound witness to what being a community of faith is all about. Above: Bishop Herbert Bevard speaks with Father Louis Kemayou outside the damaged According to the bishop, it was Catholic parish hall of Sts. Joachim and Ann Church, Extension’s quick disbursement of funds that Kingshill, St. Croix. made this happen. Right: Students from Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Extension has a long history of financial- CatholicSchool attend Mass at the cathedral of St. Thomas. ly supporting the Diocese of St. Thomas and has committed to helping its hurricane-impacted communities to rebuild and to continue to reach out and serve the poor and suffering. 9 “SAY YES TO HOPE; PUERTO RICO CREATING A COMMUNITY OF HOPE RISES!” magine living in Puerto Rico, months after In the Diocese of Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the island, and Ponce, Puerto Rico, trying to carry on without electricity or running Catholic radio stations water.