2022 ANNUAL REPORT
In Unity, as Christ taught us, is our strength, for “a house divided against itself cannot stand.”
(MARK 3:25)
30 Years Our Programs Pilgrimages Digital and Print Media Roundtable Discussions
Relief Efforts
Exchange Programs
The Numbers
Donors
Rick and Molly Jesse
John and Janis Wakelin
Richard and Catherine Corr
It is with profound gratitude that I share our 2022 Annual Report with you. This Report is a testament to the dedication of the thousands who have worked with us over the decades, and to the kind generosity of more than 7,000 donors who have helped fund the projects and initiatives of Urbi et Orbi Communications, in the U.S. and abroad. So this is a moment to celebrate our many accomplishments and to express our gratitude for the people who make it what it is.
The roots of Urbi et Orbi Communications stretch back to 1986, when I was in Rome researching my doctoral dissertation in the Vatican Library – and meeting Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. The great Pope John Paul II was confronting worldwide communism – the Soviet Union still existed –and new winds were blowing through the Church. These winds of change brought renewal, but also division, confusion. Our precious unity was in clear danger. And not only was our Catholic unity threatened: the 1,000year fracture between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches was crippling Christianity, as each of our Churches struggled, alone, to confront unprecedented secularization, moral chaos, and even persecution.
Later, visiting Assisi, where I was studying manuscripts on the Life of St. Francis, I heard echoing in my ears the words spoken by Christ to Francis in 1205 A.D.: “Francis, come, rebuild my Church, which, as you can see, is falling into ruin.” At that point, many Catholics in the West, especially the U.S., felt their ties to the Vatican and the Pope slipping away. “We are American Catholics, not Roman Catholics,” many said. A secularizing darkness was descending, and I felt my studies might contribute to “lighting the way” — to healing the division and confusion in the Church, and to reaching out to our Orthodox brothers and sisters in faith. John Paul II’s words, “The Church must breathe with both her lungs!” inspired me: the struggle to renew the Church could not be successful without our closer union with the Orthodox.
St. Francis, at first, picked up stones to rebuild one ruined chapel, but he soon realized his task was a much broader one: to rebuild the whole Church. He began the order of Friars Minor, and with the Light of Christ, they lit up the darkness of the age in a way we have not forgotten.
Urbi et Orbi Communications, too, seeks to answer the plea of Christ, “Rebuild my Church,” so that we “all may be one.” We see the darkness of secularism closing in around us – and we must respond, together, in spiritual and tangible ways. The answer, I believe, is to hold high, like a torch, the profound beauty and truth of our faith: it is the source of our unity, and our strength.
We are very pleased with the amount of success we have had in 2022, continuing to “build bridges” in several key places: in Assisi, Italy, in ongoing discussions with Bishop Domenico Sorrentino to plan prospective roundtables and joint cultural events in the city of St. Francis; in Lebanon, meeting with Maronite and Orthodox leaders to support the Christians of that suffering region; and in Budapest, Hungary, meeting with Cardinal Peter Erdo and Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev to begin a process that might, in God’s time, help bring a longed-for peace where Ukraine and Russia are now bitterly at war.
In each of these ways, our Urbi et Orbi Communications’ Unitas: Come, Rebuild My Church initiative is laying the foundation for unity – today and tomorrow.
Thank you for being “torchbearers” with us, and for helping to light the way of Truth in the gathering darkness, seeking unity within our Catholic Church, and with our Orthodox brothers and sisters. —
Robert B. Moynihan, Ph.D.
Since the founding of Urbi et Orbi Communication 30 years ago in 1993, Urbi’s focus on unity has been clear. We began with our flagship project, Inside the Vatican magazine, whose aim was, and still is, to bring Catholics together through independent, bold, honest and balanced journalism. Within a few years, other projects followed, all having a singular focus, unity – see Urbi’s Timeline on page 10 to learn about our 30 year history.
In 2021, Urbi launched our Unitas: Come, Rebuild My Church initiative because we felt called to look ahead while building upon 30 years of work. This new initiative does not deviate from our focus on unity, nor have we added any new projects since its inception; it simply provides a unified framework for the work we have done and are continuing to do now and as we move into the future.
The Unitas initiative has three main cornerstones: Unity of each soul with God, Unity within the Catholic Church and Unity with the Orthodox, which are the driving force behind our five programs – Pilgrimages, Digital and Print media, Roundtable Discussions, Relief Efforts, and Exchange Programs.
The progress along this road of unity is not necessarily noticeable in the short term. It may be difficult to measure the eventual impact of an Orthodox seminarian’s conversations in Rome, or frank roundtable discussions between Orthodox and Catholic leaders. Yet, we have a long-term perspective: perhaps it is one step in a thousand-mile journey to unity, but it is one step closer than we were before.
The following pages highlight our five programs’ 2022 accomplishments. Thank you for being a part of an important and historic movement towards unity. Urbi et Orbi is the only lay group working at the highest levels with the clergy in our Catholic Church and in the Orthodox churches while bringing together the laity in both Churches who have a common bond – a heart and mind for unity.
Executive Director | Urbi et Orbi Communications
Deborah is the Executive Director of the Urbi et Orbi Communications and is passionate about her work on unity. After raising her two sons, Deborah joined Urbi in 2006 and immediately began creating and organizing projects for unity within the Catholic Church and for unity with the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Deborah collaborated with the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, the Vatican Secretary of State and with Orthodox churches in Rome, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Istanbul, Lebanon and the United States. In 2008, Deborah began Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages and has led more than 50 pilgrimages around the world.
Urbi et Orbi Communications becomes a co-publisher, with the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops, of The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Urbi et Orbi Communications launched Inside the Vatican magazine.
Inside the Vatican magazine quickly became one of the most respected and influential magazines in the Catholic world and continues to be so today.
Urbi launched common Catholic-Orthodox cultural and social projects, like John Paul II meeting a Russian children’s choir.
Collaborating with the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow, we supported the translation of the 5-volume history Christian doctrine by the late Professor Jaroslav Pelikan into Russian.
Urbi launched an oral history project with Jewish WWII survivors and worked with the Vatican and Orthodox to restore Our Lady of Kazan Icon to Russia in 2004.
Urbi sponsored and organized concerts of Russian sacred music, including Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfayev’s composition, “The Passion of St. Matthew,” in Rome and 3 US cities.
Orthodox supported history of Professor Russian.
Urbi helped organize a watershed CatholicOrthodox conference in Vienna, “To Give a Soul to Europe.”
Urbi sponsored and organized “The Spiritual Renewal of Russia” exhibit at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. We served as liaison for transfer of relics from Rome to Kazan.
Urbi led first ITV pilgrimage to Italy. Later, our pilgrims were accorded the unique privilege of staying at the Domus Santa Marta, Pope Francis’ current residence – a practice we carry on today.
Urbi partnered with the Orthodox and Vatican to organize an Orthodox-Catholic Forum on religious freedom, in Belarus; we held an international dinner at the papal nunciature in Washington and roundtable at National Press Club.
In May, Council unprecedented, visit bringing members the request we funded
Urbi concretized our work to “build bridges” between Orthodox and Catholics by establishing the Urbi et Orbi Foundation.
2016
Urbi collaborated with Vatican on building upon the Pope Francis-Russian Patriarch Kirill joint declaration of February.
May, at the request of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, we funded an unprecedented, and fruitful, exchange bringing Moscow Patriarchate clergy members to the Vatican. In August, at request of the Moscow Patriarchate, funded a reciprocal visit of Catholic clergy to Moscow.
We gave a grant in September to the Russian Orthodox Church for the Vatican-Moscow 2018 Clergy Exchange Program and Summer Institute.
Urbi began Friends of Lebanon to bring short-term help after the explosion on August 4, 2020
Urbi launched Unitas: Come, Rebuild My Church initiative, providing a unified framework for all of Urbi’s work.
In December, we gave a grant to the Pontifical Council of Christian Unity for production of a video about Pope Francis and Ecumenism.
Friends of Russia and Ukraine was created to bring short term help to those in most need.
Our pilgrimages help people escape the bustle of daily life and provide a space to “be” as they seek the Face of Christ – encouraging a metanoia, a transformation of heart.
In 2022, Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages conducted two pilgrimages –– true spiritual journeys –– for Christians who seek the face of Christ in all His manifestations in the universal Church.
To expose pilgrims to the deep spiritual experiences available in the United States, we conducted our first pilgrimage to Wisconsin to encounter the rich history and culture of Catholicism in the heartland of America.
The highlight was a visit to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, which marks the site where Our Lady appeared in 1859 to the young Belgian immigrant, Adele Brise. This is the site of the first and only Church-approved Marian Apparition in the United States.
As we traced out the constellation of Shrines through Wisconsin, we also encountered the “living stones” of the Catholic Church from the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary to the Byzantine Catholic monks of Holy
Resurrection Monastery to the priest from Milwaukee who started the walking pilgrimage that has come to be called the Wisconsin Way.
In October, we conducted our second Shenandoah Valley pilgrimage that emphasized the strong Catholic presence in that area of the country, which is home to both historical and modern Catholic institutions, and a thriving community of believers. It has become a sanctuary of sorts in our otherwise post-Christian landscape. The capstone of the pilgrimage was a trip to Emmitsburg, MD to visit the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. And, in true Inside the Vatican Pilgrimage style, we had profound and inspiring encounters along the way, and daily reflections which were invigorating and thought provoking.
Our decades of experience led to our next step: to develop an authentic “pilgrimage culture” in the United States that deepens faith and spiritually enriches Catholics to be the “salt and light” in the secular society.
Historically, the U.S. has never been a true “land of pilgrimage”; from its founding, its nonCatholic religious character has not encouraged interest in the time-honored Catholic and Orthodox traditions of pilgrimage. This is changing.
Our U.S. pilgrimages have been great successes upon which, we believe, we are called to build. Already, we have joined hands with those working to spread the word about the beautiful and spiritually moving “Wisconsin Way,” so that more Catholics will discover the rich and holy treasures to be had inside our own country.
And after two successful pilgrimage experiences in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, we are poised to explore – along with our pilgrims – more areas of the U.S. where Catholic heritage has taken root and flourished, yet remain largely unknown to most American Catholics.
“The pilgrimage arrive at my final The chapel where autumn day with paradise. And the profound insight
– SHARON, VIRGINIA
“This pilgrimage to Wisconsin was beautiful and more than we ever expected. Our Lady of Good Help was absolutely magnificent and we were blessed to be on an apparition site here in the United States – you don’t have to go to Europe!”
– LOU ANN AND ROBBY, ALABAMA
most definitely drew me closer to what hopefully it will be like when I final destination! The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes was a spiritual treat. where we had Mass with the “glass walls” opening to the heavenly beauty of an with all the glorious foliage, made Mass almost seem as if we were already in the lectures and discussions led by Dr. Moynihan, who as an insider has to the direction of the Church, are always relevant to the times.”
Our flagship publication, Inside the Vatican, has been an independent, bold, honest and balanced magazine for 30 years. We will continue with courage and forthrightness to print and distribute the truth. In this age of “cancel culture,” it is doubly important to keep our journal in print, where it can’t be suppressed or changed by Big Tech.
In 2022, we published six issues of Inside the Vatican magazine, and one special, “coffee table-quality” issue honoring Mary. In each issue, we have had thought-provoking articles by thoughtful writers like former Anglican bishop, now outspoken Catholic layman, Gavin Ashenden on the doomed secularist direction taken by the Church of England and how Catholics must not follow suit.
Another issue contained a fascinating analysis of Benedict XVI’s original resignation speech in Latin by our resident Latin expert, John Byron Kuhner. We also featured a report on “synodality” as it pertains to the Church’s Synod on Synodality, and efforts to use it to change Catholic moral norms. And Editor-in-Chief Robert Moynihan discussed the behind-the-scenes efforts of the Vatican to encourage peace talks between Ukraine and Russia – and how they were being thwarted.
Overall, 37,000 magazines were printed this year and there were over 70,000 views of the digital version of Inside the Vatican. Throughout this year, in the magazine and mailings, we continued to emphasize the importance of staying in print. More than 200 of you agreed on its importance by responding to our “Why Print” appeal in August.
We also continued to foster sorely-needed unity of faith and life within the Catholic Church through our digital platforms: emails, our YouTube channel videos, our Writer’s Chat interviews and our online version of Inside the Vatican.
Our YouTube Channel hosts 83 videos including the series: ITV Writer’s Chat; Inside the Vatican Voices; and The Franco Tapes. In 2022, an estimated 100,000 people read the periodic “Moynihan Letters” emails.
Our digital and print presence will continue to expand with innovative content to engage the Orthodox and Catholic faithful around the world.
Several years ago, Urbi et Orbi Communications began our Prisoner Subscription Program subscription to Inside the Vatican magazine.
No request has ever been turned down! Many prisoners write to us of the difficulty in finding Catholic news, enriching discussion of their Faith, and above all, Catholic spiritual support, behind bars. And they have told us, time and again, that it was encountering an old, dog-eared copy of Inside the Vatican that sparked or nourished a renewed interest in their Faith. In 2022, we continued this program, and have received many touching letters from prisoners.
It is important to us not to turn down a single prisoner request for a free subscription, and we are tremendously grateful to the readers who help us cover the cost of this program every year.
Here are two letters prisoners wrote to us:
As you can no doubt tell, I am a prison inmate. Thanks to the generosity of other subscribers I have had the blessing to receive your magazine. Such a gift has not only helped me personally to stay informed about the Catholic Church but it helps me when I am in contact with other inmates who have questions about the Church. …. Your magazine is one of the few Catholic voices that comes into our prison.
Sincerely,
John SAGAURO CORRECTIONAL CENTER, ELOY, ARIZONAProgram in response to the many requests from prisoners every year for a complimentary Saturday, January 14, 2023 (Blessed Virgin Mary)
Dear Dr. Moynihan and ITV Staff,
I wanted you to know that I was moved to another prison unit, but had no way to notify you – the Texas prison’s new policy prohibits inmates from taking any property (like a paper with ITV’s address) on any transportation. My last two issues never made it to me – whoever took them, I pray they read them and were blessed by them.
I’m now in a better prison – today we will have Catholic Mass - WOW! Mondays we meet to pray the Rosary and we have a Legion of Mary group too. Once a month we have a “Brothers of St. Dismas” Group and also RCIA.
We’ve been getting the Blessed Sacrament twice a week – our wonderful Mother and our Lord Jesus have heard my many and constant prayers. I know you were praying for me too! I am indigent, but I’ve enclosed $5.00 in one-dollar postage stamps as my contribution. Truly this is the “widow’s mite” and I just hope and pray you can use them.
Your brother in Christ,
Peter PACK UNIT, NAVASOTA, TEXASOur knowledge, experience, vast international network, agility as laity, and reputation make us uniquely positioned to bring together Catholics — as well as Catholics and Orthodox — to discuss the important issues in the Church and world today.
In 2022, we met with Catholic and Orthodox leaders in Lebanon and Cyprus and began planning a joint Catholic-Orthodox Day of Unity for Lebanon for September 2023. This event would offer an opportunity for people in Lebanon and in the Lebanese diaspora around the world to raise awareness of the history, challenges, and future of the Christian faith in Lebanon and the Middle East.
Habib Malik, son of Charles Malik, who in 1948 helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will be a key advisor for a roundtable featured as part of the Day of Unity.
A second roundtable will focus on the various influences of Khalil Gibran, one of the greatest writers of modern Lebanon and author of The Prophet, which will offer a lens through which to view Lebanon’s present problems and possibilities.
In 2022, we met in Hungary with Cardinal Peter Erdo, the archbishop of Budapest, and with Metropolitan Hilarion, from the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate, now of Budapest.
These personal meetings served to reestablish face-to-face contact after the pandemic and lay the groundwork for future round table events between Catholic and Orthodox leaders.
We will continue to gather those in prominent positions to bring about new understanding and collaboration.
URBI DELIGATION MEETING WITH ORTHODOX LEADERS, BERUT, LEBENON, SEPTEMBER 2022
Our personal relationships enable us to effectively bring short-term help and long-term hope in troubled countries where Catholics and Orthodox are fleeing. We will continue to provide aid through our Friends of Lebanon and Friends of Ukraine and Russia projects.
Through our Friends of Lebanon (FOL) project we published the “Lebanon Report” monthly, which is beginning to be read widely in the Maronite diaspora community. This publication sheds light on the issues affecting Christian communities in Lebanon. Another highlight of 2022 was a trip of 10 members from our FOL Advisory Council to Lebanon in September to meet aid recipients, pray with the patriarch and visit pilgrimage sites.
Since 2020, FOL has provided the following aid to our Christian brothers and sisters who were displaced due to the 2020 explosion in the Port of Beirut:
§ Water purifiers for 50 households
§ Monthly food boxes for 52 households
§ Scholarships to 67 students to attend high school and college
§ Medicine for two families which they could not get in Lebanon – one was monthly medicine for a cancer patient
§ Bedroom furniture for one family of six who was sleeping on the hard-concrete floor
“The journey affected me personally; the people and their country have left deep impressions in my heart and mind. Troubling sights of areas severely impacted by the explosion two years ago lie in contrast to the magnificent beauty of the hills and the blue sea surrounding much of Lebanon. The history of people of faith was almost palpable in monasteries we visited. The pilgrimage may have actively ended, but the journey in prayer and faith with unforgettable people still lives.”
–HILDA AND JOE
Our Friends of Ukraine and Russia (FUR) initiative was instituted in 2022 in response to the Russian/Ukraine Conflict. In 2022, FUR provided grants to assist families in their most basic necessities — shelter, food, water and medicine in Ukraine.
All recipients reside in the Brovary area of Ukraine. Eight grants were given to the following recipients:
§ A family with 3 small children – the father did not have a stable job due to the war
§ A nursing home for 30 elderly that was damaged in the war
§ A family of an Orthodox priest with 3 small children – the youngest one is autistic
§ A family with 4 children – the father is visually impaired
§ A family with 3 small children
§ An elderly couple who both are very ill
§ A family with 5 children
§ A family with 4 children – the father in need of a medical operation and further treatment
SERGII IN THE VATICAN’S SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE IN JULY 2017. SERGII WAS PART OF OUR DELEGATION WHICH MET WITH CHURCH LEADERS REGARDING OUR MISSION OF UNITY.
Before the war, Sergii Bortnyk was a theology professor at the Kiev Theological Academy and an official of the Department for External Church Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Currently, one of his positions is “boots on the ground” for our “Friends of Ukraine and Russia” project.
Our connections allow us to partner with the Holy See’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the heads of the Orthodox Churches to sponsor clergy exchanges.
REMARKS TO PRIEST AND MONKS PARTICIPATING IN THE 2022 CLERGY EXCHANGE PROGRAM.
In June 2022, we supported an exchange program organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. There were 18 young monks from Egypt, Armenia, Lebanon, Syria, India, Ethiopia and Eritrea who visited Rome for a one week pilgrimage.
These young monks represented six Orthodox churches: Coptic Orthodox, Armenia Apostolic, Syrian Orthodox, Church of Antioch, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean
Orthodox, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Churches. During their pilgrimage, these monks visited many holy sites of Rome, and met Catholic seminarians, priests, monks and leaders in the Vatican, including Pope Francis.
We will continue to support these exchanges which have proven that these new understandings and relationships spark the desire for unity.
“Unity grows and matures: a unity that – in God’s quiet way – does not suddenly appear as an overwhelming miracle, but quietly emerges in the patient and persevering progress of a journey made together.”
– POPE FRANCIS, JUNE 3, 2022
§ 895 donors
§ 2,109 donations
§ 760 recurring donors
§ 135 new donors
§ $252 average donation per donor
§ 216 donors who gave consecutively for 5+ years
§ 1 event and 3 print appeals generated $53,844 with 568 responses
§ 50% of donors gave $100 or more
236 new subscriptions
374 gift subscriptions
1,757
SUBSCRIPTION RENEWALS countries received the print magazine; 212 since the inception in 1993
45 countries accessed the digital edition of the Inside the Vatican magazine
171
Moynihan Letters during 2022 were opened nearly
1,000,000 TIMES
60
213
countries accessed our websites (Google identified 230 countries in 2022)
Donations
$212,72052.6%
Pilgrimages
$45,000 - 11.2%
§ Total Revenue: $404,088
Subscriptions
$146,36836.2%
$11,570 - 2.9%
$335,82283.1%
§ Total Expenses: $404,088
$56,696 - 14%
Since 1993, our donors have enabled Urbi to work towards fulfilling its mission of unity. In 30 years, 7,374 donors have supported our work. Of these, 3,436 have given more than once. We are so grateful for each and every one of our supporters – many have become our friends. Here, we present a few of our most treasured donors.
We count ourselves blessed to be a part of Unitas: Come, Rebuild My Church, the initiative launched by Urbi et Orbi Communications in 2021. It seems that the world is coming apart at the seams. When Christ walked the Earth and established His Church, He came in the fullness of time to make all things new. We do not believe that He desires to see that newness – the Church He built upon Peter – become divided. Urbi et Orbi has been working for decades to heal the breach between the “factions” dividing the Catholic Church, as well as the more dramatic 1,000-year split between Catholics and the Orthodox.
In Matthew 12:25, Christ said, “Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate: and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” To see the whole Church, East and West, together under our Lord, its Founder, is one of our dearest wishes, and a major focus of the work of Unitas. We have seen firsthand the strides made, under Urbi et Orbi’s leadership, by the Orthodox and Catholic churches in coming together as brothers in faith and sacrament – strides that have not been realized elsewhere.
A few months ago, we were blessed to go to Lebanon with Unitas’ Friends of Lebanon Project to marvel at the ancient cedars where Jesus walked and performed miracles. Christians today are leaving Lebanon in droves because of difficult living conditions, yet Christianity has ancient roots here. We believe God wants the Church to remain, and flourish, in Lebanon. It is here, preeminently, that Catholicism and Orthodoxy meet, walking together on the journey of East reuniting with West and becoming once again one Body of Christ and one Holy Apostolic Church.
Molly and Rick Jesse have been married for nearly 54 years and have three daughters, two sons-in-law, and three grandchildren. Molly has her M.A.T. in Pastoral Ministry and Spirituality, and has worked in the pro-life movement “forever.” She’s also volunteered as a Catholic chaplain in hospitals, and a tutor in schools. Rick has his M.B.A. and a Ph.D. in business administration, and taught at the University of Florida, Purdue University, Auburn University, and The University of Vermont from which he retired. Rick and Molly served as missionaries in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Haiti. In 2017, they formed a small non-profit Make Water Safe for the World (https://www.makewatersafe.org) which has provided water purifiers to Haiti, Honduras, Lebanon and Ukraine. They have resided in Vermont since 1983.
Once we reached our retirement years, we began to look more closely at the organizations and charities we had been supporting over the decades. We wanted to learn more about the people who are behind their efforts, their spirituality, their successes and failures, their goals. There are so many truly fine non-profits, but Urbi et Orbi Communications, the publisher of Inside the Vatican magazine, has become one of our favorites. We have enjoyed the excellent editorial and visual content of Inside the Vatican for decades now. And Urbi et Orbi’s Unitas: Come, Rebuild My Church initiative in helping to achieve greater unity within the Catholic Church, and between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, has a special appeal for us. We also admire their outreach to suffering people in places like Lebanon.
In October 2021 we attended the launch of the Unitas: Come Rebuild My Church initiative in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Robert Moynihan and many of the staff and supporters for an enlightening retreat, a tour of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, and an opportunity to learn first hand more about this unique organization and their future goals.
John and Janis Wakelins have been married for 55 years and have five children and 17 grandchildren. A U.S. Army Brigadier General, retired, John’s career spans 30+ years. After retiring from the military, John joined the public sector, retiring in 2019 in San Diego, California. Jan enjoyed being a military wife, supporting John’s career and rearing their 5 children. Before moving to San Diego 34 years ago, the Wakelins moved 18 times in 22 years. Once the nest was empty, Jan continued her education in Business and then Theology, and joined Catholic Answers where she remained from 1998 to 2010 when she retired. In 2016 John and Jan moved to the Panhandle of Florida where they currently reside.
Catherine and I first became familiar with Urbi et Orbi Communications through my father, Leo, who, 20-some years ago, invited me to attend a talk by Inside the Vatican founding editor Robert Moynihan at Gesu Church in University Heights, Ohio. My dad had every issue of the magazine from its first publication and, being the businessman he was, had some suggestions to help the magazine grow – although I think he was just as excited to meet the editor.
We were impressed. Ever since then, Catherine and I have supported Urbi et Orbi in various ways. We were fortunate to participate in their first pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome with my siblings and to attend their 15th anniversary dinner in Rome. We have been a part of nearly all their endeavors over the years, including the kickoff of their Unitas: Come, Rebuild My Church initiative in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia on October 4, 2021 – the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi – where I felt like I was truly witnessing the beginning of a “rebuilding” of the Church.
Catherine and I were married in Rome and lived in Assisi for several years, so the Church has always been a prominent part of our life. Urbi et Orbi provides us a vital means to continue, and deepen, that relationship. It also keeps us in touch with all that is going on in the Church in Rome through its Inside the Vatican magazine, the Moynihan Letters emails, their wonderful pilgrimages and all their efforts toward uniting the Eastern and Western Churches. For me, Urbi et Orbi is that “pearl of great price” that deserves our appreciation and support!
Richard and Catherine Corr have three children and one grandchild. Richard is a retired high school math teacher & continues to tutor students in math. They have been married for 39 years & now reside in Rocky River, Ohio.
We are grateful for your financial support. The work we do – our focus on unity – is unlike that of any other Catholic lay organization. The progress we make is not necessarily noticed in the short term. It takes time. It may be difficult to measure the eventual impact of an Orthodox seminarian’s conversations in Rome, or frank roundtable discussions between Orthodox and Catholic leaders. But we have a long-term perspective: perhaps it is one step in a thousand-mile journey to unity, but it is one step closer than we were before. If not us, who will heed the call to do this?
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