by The Tablet Staff

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — The National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) announced the annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection is scheduled for Dec. 9-10 in the Diocese of Brooklyn parishes.

Last year diocesan parishioners contributed $268,465.80 to the collection. As part of the collection the Sisters of Charity-Halifax, Sisters of the Visitation of Brooklyn and the Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk received a combined total of $165,408.91 in financial support made possible by the Retirement Fund for Religious. 

John Knutsen, director of the NRRO, looks forward to this year’s collection, stating, “We are privileged to support those who have dedicated their lives to tireless service, and we are immensely grateful for the continuing generosity of U.S. Catholic donors to this vital cause.”

Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests — collectively known as women and men religious — have selflessly served for decades without significant financial compensation. However, due to escalating health care costs, numerous U.S. religious communities face a substantial gap between their elderly members’ needs and the financial resources available for their care. Many religious orders currently experience insufficient retirement savings.

The 2022 appeal demonstrated Catholics’ tremendous generosity by raising $27.6 million. These funds from the Retirement Fund for Religious collection provided financial assistance for retirement needs for 297 U.S. religious communities.