Diocesan News

Generations of Faith Tops $40 Million Mark

July 8, 2015

By Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, Vicar for Development

The Generations of Faith campaign team at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Annunciation B.V.M. in Williamsburg are shown after attending a volunteer meeting. John Notaro, the Catholic Foundation’s director of operations and programming serves as the recruitment chair for the parish’s efforts
The Generations of Faith campaign team at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Annunciation B.V.M. in Williamsburg are shown after attending a volunteer meeting. John Notaro, the Catholic Foundation’s director of operations and programming serves as the recruitment chair for the parish’s efforts

Thanks to strong leadership from pilot and Block 1 pastors, a compelling Case for Support, and generous multi-year gifts from thousands of donors across Brooklyn and Queens, Generations of Faith, the diocesan capital campaign, has topped the $40 million mark.

Benefiting all the parishes of the Diocese, Generations of Faith seeks to prepare the Church for the future generations of Catholics, while also providing resources to care for senior priests.

Parishes receive 50 percent of funds raised, and a larger percentage of the funds raised once they exceed their goal. Many parishes are planning to address crucial projects that might not have been able to be addressed otherwise with the funds that are raised.

Generations of Faith formally was launched just six months ago on Jan. 6 during a kickoff event hosted by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, and the campaign was officially announced in April. During the January event, 23 pilot pastors and campaign leadership team members joined together for an evening at Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston to learn more about the early efforts of Generations of Faith. To date, more than 5,000 donors have committed gifts and pledges totaling over $43 million.

St. Jerome in Flatbush with its pastor, Father Jean Yvon Pierre, and chairman, Bob Johnson, kicked off their campaign with a reception.
St. Jerome in Flatbush with its pastor, Father Jean Yvon Pierre, and chairman, Bob Johnson, kicked off their campaign with a reception.

While some pastors and volunteers were quite apprehensive about reaching their goals, this feeling has been alleviated to some degree by the success of the pilot parishes that finalized their campaigns this past month, with over $21,500,000 raised to date on the pilot phase goal of $14,580,000. Parishes also receive 100 percent of the funds raised over 125 percent of their goals, and of the 23 pilot parishes, 18 of those parishes have exceeded this mark.

Father William G. Smith, pastor of Our Lady of Light in St. Albans, one of the pilot parishes, said his parish will receive significant funds from the campaign and their over-goal funds. Father Smith recently discussed his initial reaction to Generations of Faith, and highlighted the impact of the campaign on parish leadership groups.

“Our Lady of Light, although composed of two settled churches, St. Catherine of Sienna and St. Pascal Baylon, merged only six years ago. I was concerned about being able to mount a campaign, much less achieve the goal,” said Father Smith. “But, the surprise was how far we exceeded goal and the other benefits that the parish received. Generations of Faith became a rallying point for the people of our parish.

“I am so grateful to those who united together and gave of their time as campaign team members. Like the generations of Catholics who came before us, our parishioners are generous when asked, and their hearts are always in the right place.”

Our Lady of Light concluded its pilot campaign, reaching $841,000 on the goal of $435,000 in early May.

Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello points to the spot demonstrating that the Generations of Faith capital campaign has topped the $40 million mark.
Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello points to the spot demonstrating that the Generations of Faith capital campaign has topped the $40 million mark.

Campaigns also began in Block 1 parishes during the late spring, and already a number of parishes have experienced early success.

At St. Jerome Church in East Flatbush, Father Jean Yvon Pierre has recruited a group of parish leaders to assist him with the effort.

St. Jerome’s campaign chair, Bob Johnson, reflected upon the significant progress and the results after a series of campaign meetings at St. Jerome.

“The response has been gratifying,” explained Johnson, noting that parishioners have been very generous so far. “Our people value St. Jerome and the Diocese as something to make sacrifices for. St. Jerome is made up of some long-time parishioners and other recent arrivals – it is a different kind of community now than generations before, but it is equally as faith-filled. We’ve found that our people will always be as generous as they can be, and Generations of Faith has been no exception.”

Generations of Faith will continue this summer and into the fall in Block 1 parishes. A new group of 70 Block 2 parishes will join the effort later this year.