Priests Retirement Collection: May 15-16

The annual collection for the Retirement Fund for Archdiocesan Priests will be held May 15-16 in all parishes of the archdiocese.

The collection supports the effort to provide for 155 retired archdiocesan priests. Over the next 10 years, 213 more priests will reach retirement age, according to the Office of Development which coordinates the annual collection.

Since the collection began in 2000, an anonymous donor has offered a $500,000 matching grant, renewable annually for 10 years with the condition that a special collection be taken up in the parishes. Each year, the archdiocese has exceeded the minimum requirement, resulting in a cumulative contribution of more than $5 million to the retirement fund

Still, as of June 30, 2003, the fund had an actuarially determined projected obligation of $37 million, while plan assets registered $16.3 million --- a shortfall of nearly $21 million. Thus, the need for the annual collection.