Partners in Charity appeal closes with 91% of goal

By Bill Doyle | CFP Correspondent

The annual Partners in Charity appeal came to a close Aug. 31 with a reported 91% of the $5 million dollar goal met.

The theme of this year’s appeal was “Sharing the Gift of Hope,” a nod to the universal Church’s Jubilee Year of Hope. Bishop McManus expressed his gratitude for the generosity of donors.  

“I am grateful to God for the gift of hope which is made possible for many thousands of people thanks to the generous response of our annual appeal donors,“  said Bishop McManus. “Having raised nearly 4.5 million dollars is still a major accomplishment given the unsure economic times of the past year. It is a fitting tribute to our Jubilee Year of Hope.”

Michael Gillespie, who oversees the annual fundraising appeal as director of the Office of Stewardship and Development for the Diocese of Worcester, also shared his sincere thanks for all of those who donated.

“On behalf of the many thousands of people who are impacted by the agencies and ministries supported by Partners in Charity,” he said, “we are sincerely grateful to all of you who responded to this year’s appeal. Thanks to the generosity of the people of the Diocese of Worcester, and the leadership of our priests and parish chairpeople, we will be able to respond to those in need.

“It has been a challenging, yet very positive campaign. Our pastors, parish administrators and lay parish leaders have been very supportive.”

This year, Partners in Charity received $4,547,742 in donations. That’s $333,422 less than last year and the least amount since $4,469,195 was raised in 2021 and $4,379,895 was raised in 2020, during the height of the pandemic.

Mr. Gillespie pointed out, however, that the 2024 total included four bequests worth $410,000. Partners received no bequests, funds left by wills, in 2025. So contributions from parishes in 2025 actually accounted for $77,578 more than last year. Nevertheless, the total was only 91 percent of the $5 million goal.

Partners in Charity received 11,634 gifts this year, the fewest this decade.

The $5 million goal hasn’t been reached since $5,076,252 was raised in 2018. Since then, Partners in Charity has had to cope with challenges caused not only by the pandemic, but the merger of parishes and the three-year Legacy of Hope campaign which ended in 2022 after raising $32 million to repair aging churches and other parish buildings, fund priests’ retirement and custodial care, support Catholic education and fund parish-based outreach.
Partners in Charity supports 25 charitable, educational and pastoral ministries in the diocese.

The annual Partners in Charity fundraising campaign began later this year because most parishes started raising money during Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday on March 5, three weeks later than last year.

Father John L. Larochelle, episcopal vicar for fiscal affairs, said the diocese does not have an emergency fund to compensate for Partners in Charity falling short of its $5 million goal, but he still thinks the diocese can fund all of the 25 agencies.

Father Larochelle said the diocese could dip into investments, but he won’t know for sure until all of the diocesan budgets are set which he hopes to have finalized in October and then he will know for sure if the diocese could fully compensate for the Partners in Charity shortfall.

Father Larochelle said the individual parish fundraising goals haven’t changed since before the pandemic so the diocese plans to update those goals. He also said the overall $5 million goal will be explored to “see if that’s reasonable” and if $5 million is actually needed to fully fund the 25 agencies.

Two parishes raised more than $200,000 each. Christ the King raised $211,924 and St. Mary Parish of Shrewsbury raised $202,146. Four other parishes raised more than $100,000: St. Luke the Evangelist in Westborough ($129,893), St. Rose of Lima in Northborough ($128,400), St. John, Guardian of Our Lady in Clinton ($101,790) and St. Anne in Shrewsbury ($100,435).

St. Anne held a second collection in the final weeks of the fund-raising campaign to help reach its goal.

“I’ve just been deeply moved by the response,” said Father Adam Reid, St. Anne pastor. “We’ve seen a real surge in giving leading up to the end of the campaign, very reflective of how the St. Anne community, when they see a specific need they consistently move forward to fill that need.”

This year, 59 parishes in the diocese met or surpassed their fund-raising goals, one more than each of the past two years.

“I’m very grateful,” Mr. Gillespie said. “God bless our donors to help fund our ministries for the coming year.”

Last year, St. Leo Parish in Leominster raised only 78 percent of its $70,000 goal, but this year the parish surpassed its goal by raising $72,100.

Father William Champlin, St. Leo pastor, said he used “gentle persistence” to help the parish reach its goal. Each week, the amount of donations and the percentage of the goal reached to that point were announced at Mass and listed in the parish bulletin.

“I think parishioners got the idea that this was something that was important,” he said, “and this was a priority of mine that we work hard to reach our goal.”

Parishioners applauded when Father Champlin announced at the three Masses the weekend of Sept. 6 and 7 that the parish had met its Partners in Charity goal.

“People were pleased and pleasantly surprised by that news,” he said.

Two years ago, St. Leo reached its goal in part because a parishioner gave a $10,000 memorial gift in honor of her mother.  

Partners in Charity held nine regional launch gatherings last winter and eight the year before to kickstart the fundraising drives.

Partners in Charity supports eight education agencies: Advanced Studies for Clergy and Laity, Catholic Schools Office, Communications Ministry, Grant-in-Aid for Schools, Office of Religious Education, Ongoing Priestly Formation, Seminarian Education and Diocesan School grants. It also supports 12 ministries: African Ministry, Catholic Campus Ministry,  Hispanic Apostolate, Minister to Priests, Office for Divine Worship, Office of Hispanic-Latino Ministry, Office of Marriage and Family, Office of the Diaconate, Respect Life Office, St. Paul Cathedral, Vocations Office, and Youth and Young Adult Ministries. In addition, Partners in Charity supports five charitable organizations: Catholic Charities, Pernet Family Health Service, Priests’ Retirement, Retired Priests Health Ministry and the Diocesan Cemetery System.

Partners in Charity fully funds several of the ministries.

Since the annual fundraising campaign began as the Bishop Fund in 1961 more than $195 million has been raised.

“It’s tremendous generosity from our donors,” Mr. Gillespie said, “who believe in the mission of the church here in the Diocese of Worcester.”

Donations dated or received after Aug. 31 will count toward the 2026 Partners In Charity fundraising drive. Donations can be made online at partners-charity.net/donate or by mail to Partners in Charity Appeal, Diocese of Worcester, 49 Elm Street, Worcester, MA, 01609. Checks should be made payable to “Partners in Charity Appeal” and the parish name should be noted.