Hawaii Catholics contributed $107,318.33 to the national Retirement Fund for Religious collection last year. This year’s collection in parishes is Dec. 9-10.
Coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office in Washington, D.C., the annual appeal benefits 32,000 elderly Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests whose religious congregations lack adequate retirement funding.
Hawaii’s Carmelite Monastery received $4,329.96 from the retirement fund this year, the only Hawaii-based recipient listed in the appeal’s annual report. Other religious communities with members in Hawaii, but based elsewhere, also benefit from the annual appeal.
The 2016 national collection raised more than $30 million. Roughly 94 cents of every dollar aids senior religious. In June, the Retirement Office distributed $25 million to 390 religious communities across the country. Communities use the money to bolster retirement savings and subsidize expenses, such as medication and nursing care. Throughout the year, additional funding assists religious communities with the greatest needs and promotes retirement planning and eldercare delivery.
Still, many religious communities struggle. In 2016, only 41 of 539 communities were adequately funded for retirement. Traditionally, Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests — known collectively as religious — served for small stipends that did not include retirement benefits.
Compounding the funding shortage are the rising cost of care and the declining number of religious with paid jobs.
Visit retiredreligious.org to learn more.
