2022 Faith and Charity Catholic Appeal Breaks Record for Support from Contributors in Diocese of Wilmington

Bishop Koenig leads a prayer service last April at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Wilmington for the last of five “Circle of Honor” events hosted by the Diocese of Wilmington development department. Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens

Courtesy of The Dialog – January 25, 202e – Catholics gave a record amount to the 2022 Faith and Charity Catholic Appeal, Walking By Faith, supporting important ministries across the Diocese of Wilmington.

For the 2022 campaign, the appeal raised $5.592 million from pledges. The goal was $5 million. Twelve thousand five hundred thirty-two pledges were received. Based upon collections, 47 parishes exceeded fundraising goals. $450,723.00 will be rebated to parishes for their needs — based on their over-goal collection. Parishes supporting a school receive 100 percent of the over-goal collection. Parishes that do not support a school receive 50 percent of the amount collected over their goal.

“Thanks to the generosity of our volunteers, pastors, and donors, thousands of people in need will find hope and healing through the faith and charity ministries of the Diocese of Wilmington,” said Bishop William Koenig.

The 2022 appeal theme, Walking By Faith, extended an invitation to the people of the diocese to bring the face of God to those we serve. Bishop Koenig’s invitation to participate was responded to with enthusiastic energy, prayer, and resources, said Sheila O’Hagan McGirl, director of development for the diocese. The campaign’s success reflects a solid commitment to the mission of the Catholic church in Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, she said.

“During these difficult economic times, our people found a way to generously contribute and keep the work of our Catholic church vibrant and responsive to the needs of others. Your generosity provided spiritual, physical, and emotional support to our brothers and sisters in need this year,” said Bishop Koenig. “I extend prayers of thanks to the people of the Diocese of Wilmington, whose inspiring response to the campaign resulted in incredible generosity and outstanding support.”

McGirl said the number of donors participating increased by more than 26% with 12,408 donors participating in 2022, up from 9,813 donors in 2021. She said overall dollars collected was more than a 12% increase over last year, creating the historical results.

During these challenging economic times, the faith and charity ministries have been called to serve record numbers. The Faith and Charity Catholic Appeal supports more than three dozen ministries in five concentrated areas: Catholic Education, Pastoral Services, Catholic Charities, Administration, and Communications. These ministries support building and strengthening the mission of our faith throughout Delaware and our Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Bishop Koenig recalls Pope Benedict XVI’s faith, humility, love for God at memorial Mass in Wilmington

January 4, 2022 – Wilmington, DE – Bishop Koenig remembered the late Pope Benedict XVI for his faith, humility and love for God in a memorial Mass at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Wilmington on Jan. 4. The former pontiff died Dec. 31 in Vatican City at the age of 95.

Several priests and seminarians joined Bishop Koenig and Bishop Emeritus W. Francis Malooly for the noontime Mass. The church’s bells tolled 95 times leading up to the service, once for each year of Benedict’s life.

“We give thanks to God for the gift of life that was given over 95 years ago to Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger,” Bishop Koenig said. Benedict “used his gifts so faithfully, humbly and lovingly to serve God and the church.”

Bishop Koenig touched on each of those aspects of Benedict’s life during his homily through the faint haze and scent of incense. Through his articles, messages, exhortations, books and homilies, Benedict understood that faith and reason “are not opposed to each other, but, in his words, are natural allies.”

Pope Francis issued his first encyclical several months after succeeding Benedict in 2013. Pope Francis said his text was largely based on work Pope Benedict had done and made available to him. A central figure in the encyclical is Abraham, who does not see God but hears his voice. Benedict, Bishop Koenig said, listened to God’s voice.

At his final papal audience in February 2013, Benedict talked about hearing that voice. The pope, according to Bishop Koenig, said, “And now eight years later, I can say that the Lord has truly led me. He has been close to me. I have been able to perceive his presence today.”

The church, the pope said that day, has highs and lows, and Pope Benedict felt like St. Peter in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. There are days when the catch is abundant, and others when the seas are rough.

“I have always known that the Lord is in that boat,” Bishop Koenig quoted Pope Benedict as saying.

Bishop Koenig, talking about the late pope’s humility, recalled that then-Cardinal Ratzinger preferred he not be selected to succeed Pope John Paul II in 2005, but that was not God’s plan, the bishop said. Once he was selected, however, he appeared in the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica and called himself “a simple, humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord.”

That reminded Bishop Koenig of St. Joseph, the adopted father of Jesus. Like St. Joseph, much of Benedict’s life centered on caring for the church.

The final point of the homily addressed Pope Benedict’s love for God. Bishop Koenig said encounters with Christ often give our lives a new horizon and a definite direction.

When Pope Benedict was a youngster in Germany, he was conscripted into the Nazi army. He wrote about his decision to desert despite the risks associated with leaving. Benedict knew that he could be executed if he was caught. One day, while walking down a road, he was stopped by Nazi soldiers, but they let him go because his arm was in a sling, so they told him to go heal.

“Thank God they were ones who had enough of war and did not want to become murderers,” Pope Benedict wrote years later.

His experiences informed his teaching. “He spoke very clearly, warning us as a people of God of the dictatorship of relativism, not to be co-opted by the world around him,” Bishop Koenig said.

“May we be strengthened to grow in our love of God by Benedict’s example.”

Article by Mike Lang, Dialog reporter / Courtesy photo