December 4, 2016

Annual collection supports eldercare needs of local religious communities

REGIONAL
Staff report

Sister of St. Joseph Maxyne Schneider poses in the congregation’s headquarters on Carew Street in Springfield. (IObserve file photo/Rebecca Drake)

SPRINGFIELD – The annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection will be held Dec. 10-11 in the Diocese of Springfield. Coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO), the parish-based appeal benefits nearly 33,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests whose communities lack adequate retirement savings.

The Diocese of Springfield contributed $94,629.03 to the last collection. In 2016, the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi, Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield and Sisters of the Visitation received a combined total of $373,100.70 in financial assistance made possible by the Retirement Fund for Religious. Women and men religious who serve or have served in the diocese but whose communities are based elsewhere may also benefit from the annual appeal.

“The funding from the NRRO has truly been a lifeline for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield,” said Sister Maxyne Schneider, president of the congregation. “Through the years we have received, not only annual funding towards the current care for our elderly and infirm sisters, but also supplemental funds.

“The latter have enabled us to procure the help of skilled consultants to address the deeper issues that affected our ability to care for our older sisters,” she said. “Such a step recently supported us in making the difficult but important decisions to sell our Mont Marie motherhouse property and to move our frail elders to share retirement residences with other congregations of Sisters. These actions reduced our operating costs considerably.”

“In fact, our average cost of care of a sister age 70 or older is now about one-half of the national average cost of care,” Sister Schneider told iObserve.

History of the collection

Catholic bishops of the United States initiated the collection in 1988 to address the significant lack of retirement funding among U.S. religious communities. Proceeds help underwrite retirement and health-care expenses. Nearly 95 percent of donations directly support senior religious and their communities.

The appeal raised $30.7 million in 2015, the sixth highest total in its history. As a result, the NRRO distributed $25 million to 401 religious congregations. These funds supplement the day-to-day care of elderly religious and help their congregations implement long-range retirement strategies. Throughout the year, additional funding is allocated for congregations with the greatest needs.

“We are humbled by the love and support that Catholics across the nation share with our senior religious,” said Sister Stephanie Still, a member of the Sisters of the Presentation and newly appointed NRRO executive director.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield gathered last June to celebrate members’ special anniversaries of entrance into religious life. (IObserve photo/courtesy of Sisters of St. Joseph)

The retirement-funding deficit is rooted in low salaries and changing demographics. Traditionally, Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests – known collectively as women and men religious – worked for small stipends. As a result, many religious communities lack adequate retirement savings. At the same time, elderly religious are living longer and now outnumber younger, wage-earning religious. Among communities providing data to the NRRO, 68 percent have a median age of 70 or above. The income of those engaged in compensated ministry cannot keep pace with the growing cost of eldercare.

In addition to providing financial support for immediate needs, proceeds from the annual appeal underwrite educational initiatives in retirement planning and eldercare delivery. Workshops, webinars and print resources, for example, address topics ranging from property-planning to caring for members with dementia.

“Our mission is to help religious communities meet current eldercare needs while preparing for the ones to come,” said Sister Still. “We remain grateful for all those who support these efforts.”

“We are very grateful to the people of the Springfield Diocese for their ongoing support of the annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection without which we would not be at the point we are today,” said Sister Schneider. “We are likewise grateful to the U.S. Catholic Bishops for their continuing support of the collection.”

Visit retiredreligious.org to learn more.