UCA and CCF donations ‘make a difference’ in Church’s ability to serve
Msgr. William F. Stumpf, archdiocesan vicar general, right, joins Archbishop Charles C. Thompson in praying the eucharistic prayer at a Mass at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis on May 9 as part of the annual Circle of Giving event. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)
By Natalie Hoefer
Members of 126 parishes in 11 deaneries perform charitable works and bring the good news of Christ to the 39 counties that comprise the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
But some efforts are beyond the scope of what one parish or deanery can offer—deacon and priest formation, Catholic Charities, college campus ministry and more.
Donations to the United Catholic Appeal (UCA) and endowments established with the Catholic Community Foundation (CCF) enable the archdiocese to provide such ministries and to ensure they continue far into the future.
The annual Circle of Giving event celebrates the generosity of UCA and CCF donors.
This year’s event on May 9 at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis highlighted the ways in which those donations help seminarians and priests.
The evening began across the street at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Charles C. Thompson, who noted that all efforts of the Church stem from the Eucharist.
‘We are not sent out alone’
The Eucharist is “Jesus, still with us, to assure us that he is with us, that we’re not sent out alone” on the mission to share the good news, the archbishop said in his homily. “We do this together as a diocese. We do all that we do as one body of Christ.”
Each member of that body has gifts, talents, treasure and “ways of participating in that mission and continuing to hold up and increase the Catholic presence, the Catholic witness, the Catholic mission that’s nearly 200 years old” in central and southern Indiana, the archbishop continued, noting the archdiocese recently celebrated its 190th anniversary.
“And we carry on that mission of good news, striving to give our witness in the mission to transform, remembering that we allow Christ to be at the center of our lives, the Spirit to work through us and, ultimately, we lead the rest to God.”
The witness of each Catholic is essential to that mission, Archbishop Thompson said.
Priests are essential, too, uniquely carrying on Christ’s presence in the world through the sacraments.
A video shown during the event highlighted how UCA and CCF funds help in nurturing priestly vocations, forming seminarians and supporting priests in retirement. (Click here to watch the video)
‘It’s not just me getting these benefits’
The archdiocese offers several events for young men considering a call to the priesthood. One example is Bishop Bruté Days, a summer vocations camp for middle school and high school boys.
“I never met a seminarian in my life until I was 13, 14 years old, and it’s like I saw an older, better version of myself,” said Samuel Hansen in the video. He is now a seminarian at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad. “There’s this thing that clicked, and it was like, ‘Yeah, I see myself here.’ ”
Castle Night is another opportunity held several times through the academic year at Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis.
“They’re an opportunity [for young men] to get to know seminarians, to bring high school men and seminarians together,” Father Eric Augenstein, archdiocesan director of seminarians, explained in the video. “They pray together, they eat meals together, they might go out and play basketball or play soccer.
“The best thing about these Castle Nights is getting young men and seminarians together so that they can see that, ‘Yeah, I can do this.’ ”
The video noted some expenses of seminarian formation, including a cost of about $300,000 per seminarian for formation at Bishop Bruté, nearby Marian University] and Saint Meinrad. Thanks to UCA and CCF donations, the archdiocese assumes that cost.
“I think back to myself, and I was blessed,” said Msgr. William F. Stumpf, archdiocesan vicar general and pastor of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis, in the video. He has been a priest of the archdiocese for 39 years. “I didn’t have to pay for my seminary education. That was provided for me by the generous donors of the archdiocese, and actually that support continues throughout your priesthood.”
He went on to note there are “all sorts of support in place [for priests] because people have been generous.
“And it’s not just me getting these benefits. They’re only there to be shared, and if I have opportunities to be the best I can be, then that’s going to make a difference, I hope, in the lives of the people I serve.”
For many priests, that service continues long after they retire.
“You never stop being a priest. You can’t stop being who you are,” Msgr. Stumpf noted in the video. “[Retirement] just changes how you serve and how you give.”
Father Todd Reibe, who retired in 2022, chimed in, saying with a joyful smile that he calls himself “recycled instead of retired.
“Helping the younger priests now is a great joy. I know when I was in active ministry, the retired priests were such a gift when you needed that extra break [or] when something came up and they could fill in, which was such a gift. Now I’m able to do that for the younger priests, and I’m delighted.”
Retired priests also “have more time for people—administering spiritual direction and confession—which is great,” Father Reibe added.
He said he is grateful for all who contribute to the UCA, which “makes it possible for us to continue to live and minister. And so, I would say thank you to everyone that contributes in any way.”
‘Something bigger than one person can do’
When it comes to giving to the Church beyond the parish, Jolinda Moore told those gathered for the Circle of Giving event that, “Just like the seasons of the year, so are the seasons of generosity,” starting “as annual contributions and [moving] into more planned contributions.”
Moore, executive director of the archdiocesan Office of Stewardship and Development, used her family as an example.
“When my husband and I first started out, we both came out of school with college debt,” she said. “We would start with a set amount and begin giving. … As we saw the impact of our giving, we decide to give a bit more … .”
Her parents are now at the other end of the circle, said Moore, entering “a season of determining how their hard work and savings will one day, hopefully many years from now, provide a legacy that reflects and supports the ministries they care about.”
Before offering his closing remarks for the evening, Archbishop Thompson recognized a special guest at the event—Father Paul Landwerlen, who marks his 70th anniversary to the priesthood this year.
“Father Paul, I’m grateful for the model you are of the priesthood,” he said.
The archbishop then offered “thanks to all for being faithful stewards and for your financial gifts, as well as your time and talent, that support the many ministries of our local Church here in the central and southern Indiana. … It takes a great deal of resources to operate our Catholic Charities, provide our Catholic education for children and to educate our seminarians.”
He noted that the archdiocese “couldn’t do this without the annual gifts that you and so many others make through the United Catholic Appeal, as well as the long-term gifts that are made through the Catholic Community Foundation and planned giving.”
As Father Augenstein noted in the video, “A lot of people doing little parts of giving are able to provide something that is much bigger than any one person can do.”
(To view the video on how the archdiocese supports vocations, seminarian formation and priests, go to bit.ly/CelebratingVocations. For more information on or to donate to the United Catholic Appeal, go to unitedcatholicappeal.org. For more information on planned giving through Catholic Community Foundation, go to storybook.link/CatholicCommunityFoundation.) †
