T
his past January, on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, I lifted the dispensation from the Sunday and Holy Day Mass obligation. The sacred liturgy gathers us together as we celebrate the Eucharist with joy. We continue to persevere through the challenges presented by the global pandemic, as the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit provide guidance for us during this difficult time. Of course, our faith remains paramount in both prayer and action, no matter the circumstances we face. Last fall, Pope Francis invited us to participate in the Synod on Synodality to unpack our journey with the Church and listen to us about our faith life experiences. Listening sessions at parishes and other locations in the Archdiocese are currently underway, and I’m inviting everyone to participate. You can learn more about local activities involving the Synod at www.archgh.org/synod. This May marks the 175th anniversary of our diocese. We look forward to celebrating this milestone in the coming months by highlighting our history while also setting a course for being a light to others, particularly those in the margins. The annual Diocesan Services Fund (DSF) kicked off this month at our parishes. The DSF supports so many of those in need through ministries like the Catholic Chaplain Corps, Special Youth Services and San Jose Clinic, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for the generous contributions to our parishes and to DSF, as well as those contributing to the IGNITE campaign, which completed its appeal to the final block of participating parishes this past fall. Our parishes, Catholic schools and Archdiocesan organizations have done a commendable job in adapting to the constant changes offered by COVID-19. The chancery offices and ministries have also responded in these times with remarkable outreach and resources to those they serve, including our clergy. Located at St. Dominic Village, our Clergy Pastoral
JAMES RAMOS/HERALD Outreach ministry addresses the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of all retired clergy. It also maintains and provides communications with retired clergy regarding special events, Archdiocesan news and community resources. This ministry cultivates relationships with retired clergy to ensure a quality of life that is healthy, secure and dignified. Likewise, the Ministry to Priests supports the priests of the Archdiocese, diocesan and religious, in their ongoing spiritual, fraternal and pastoral development. The ministry also coordinates days of prayer, annual retreats and offers consultations for priests. For parishes, the Office of Adolescent Catechesis
and Evangelization provides leadership, formation and resources to effectively form adolescents into lifelong disciples in the Catholic tradition. The office accomplishes this through training and mentoring adult leadership in best practices for forming lifelong disciples, providing programming to evangelize young people, and creating a youth council to be a voice of the youth and assist in the design and implementation of youth programs on an Archdiocesan level. The Office of Aging Ministry provides support for our senior groups via parish activities that enhance the spiritual, social and physical well-being of older adults and by providing opportunities for training and education. The ministry assists parishes, older adults and caregivers in finding community resources that enhance the individuals. These are just a few examples of how we are journeying with those in faith, all in the glory of God. With deep gratitude and in the spirit of transparency, I share with you the Archdiocesan financial statements for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021. The audited financials of the Chancery Office of the Archdiocese can be found in their entirety at www.archgh.org/about/Accounting. On behalf of the ministries in this Archdiocese that depend on your support, thank you for your kind contributions. As your shepherd, I am constantly encouraged by your great generosity, your sacred ongoing trust and your fervor for the faith. With prayers for God’s continued blessings on each of you and your family and friends, I remain Sincerely yours in Christ,
Daniel Cardinal DiNardo Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
2021: A year of resilient faith, ministry HOUSTON — In the Archdiocese of GalvestonHouston, ministries extended their care and dedication to the faithful by offering programs, conferences and presentations online to reach people safely as the pandemic continued impacting the world with new variants.
Family Life Ministry rehauls office, provides new programs As the Catholic Church celebrated the “Year of St. Joseph” proclaimed by Pope Francis during 2021, the focus of the Family Life Ministry of the Archdiocese was to provide creative and effective responses, strategies and goals to assist the faithful in creating a better society and world by strengthening marriages and family units. According to the Family Life Ministry’s director, Ricardo Medina, the ministry’s focus can be“unpacked” into four strategic mandates: form, reveal, enjoy and protect. Resources include the discernment of marriage, marriage preparation, couple enrichment, parenting education, ongoing support and assistance with transitions, and many other additional initiatives under evaluation or development. “For better or worse, in sickness and in health, we are called to serve every person in our community as a member of the family of God,” said Medina. “Each day, our ministers search for best options, empower the network of collaborators, develop initiatives for addressing underserved needs, and roll out ministries in collaboration with our parishes, striving to maintain a homogeneous and high-level implementation. This level of specialization is beyond the capabilities of any parish, and it is only possible through the ongoing work of a focused team Archdiocesan-wide.” The ministry has more than 40 different active ministries and dozen more in development for families across the family life cycle. Programs include an online series on St. Joseph by Deacon Ly Nguyen to provide “spiritual food” during the pandemic; research into alternatives and programs that can help the Church’s Hispanic community to grow spiritually and provide spiritual companionship, especially to those who are suffering and grieving after losing a loved one or going through tough times such as divorce or losing their job; and implementing the Marquette Natural Family Planning (NFP) model for the Archdiocese.
Photo courtesy of Deacon Ly Nguyen
Deacon Ly Nguyen hosts a series on St. Joseph. Presented by the Office of Family Life Ministry, Deacon Nguyen hoped viewers learned to love St. Joseph as he does and to recognize his contributions to our faith. Watch the series online at www.archgh.org/familylife.
COVID-19 brought challenges to Catholic schools The Catholic Schools Office began the 2020-2021 school year with administrators and faculty working with families to ensure that students and staff had a safe and evolving instructional environment conducive to the continuity of education. “With all the change happening in our world right now, I think it is important that families know that our network of Catholic schools is here to support their students and create a safe and engaging learning environment,” said Debra Haney, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese. “Whether in person or remotely, our schools are committed to
transforming learning and providing students with a foundation of Faith and as much of a sense of stability and normalcy as possible.” The Archdiocesan network of Catholic schools is geographically spread out more than any public school district. The communities span 23 public school districts educating at least 18,000 students across the 10 counties in the Archdiocese. To begin the school year as COVID-19 was still ravaging the world, and vaccines were still in the infancy stage, was an enormous challenge. While each campus prepared its re-opening plans, 90% of schools offered some form of distance learning, school officials said. Re-opening plans also include a variety of instructional approaches, including virtual, in-person, or hybrid learning options.
Photo courtesy of Holy Ghost Catholic School
Archdiocesan grants helped fund Holy Ghost Catholic School renovate and improve their courtyard from layers of concrete and asphalt (left) to a more enjoyable greenspace with safer turf (right).
St. Helen Catholic School in Pearland began implementing its campus COVID-19 safety and protocol earlier in the summer of 2020 to allow for their summer instruction program to take place on campus. According to Dr. Phyliss Coleman, principal of St. Helen, this provided invaluable insight with her colleagues in a virtual principals summer workshop, and would assist them throughout the year.
Archdiocese embraces new technological program
Toward the beginning of 2021, the Archdiocese began using a new, more efficient and affordable way to manage training — Capernaum. Built on learning management software, Capernaum provides on-demand access to register and manage training options. Laura Rolo, director of instruction and professional development with the Catholic Schools Office of the Archdiocese, said the office worked with other chancery departments in researching the needs of chancery employees, as well as Catholic School principals, faculty and staff members. Rolo said Capernaum is the first of its kind in history of the Archdiocese,“we have not had a learning management system in the past. That means all our professional development was done in face-to-face,
real-time sessions, and that limited our opportunities to provide professional development and limited the opportunities for participants as well.” Named after the place where Jesus spent most of his time in public ministry, Rolo said the program is a game-changer, giving the Archdiocese the ability to offer a variety of ways to participate. “We know we will reach many more people this way,” she said. “We can create sessions that serve a large group or smaller sessions that meet the needs of specialized groups. Another benefit is having just one database with everyone in it.” Rolo added that users will have the ability to access and print their own transcripts, which was not possible in the past. “It will greatly improve the accuracy and efficiency of our Catholic School employee Catechist Certification initiative,” she said.
Grants aid parishes, schools
The Archdiocese continues to help parishes and their schools in need of rebuilding, repairs and maintenance. Holy Ghost Catholic School was able to repair their old concrete courtyard. School principal, Deborah Crowe, said the overhaul began with the school’s budget meeting last Spring. “It was a collaboration between the Archdiocese and
the parish. Deanna Ennis (the Archdiocesan director of Construction and Preventative Maintenance) talked to us about turf instead of grass, and we went with turf.” “Now it is beautiful,” Crowe said about the school’s courtyard. “We are going to have a ribbon cutting in the spring.” She said enrollment has increased from 85 students three years ago to 153 this school year. “We already have almost 160 for next year,” she said. “The courtyard is a huge selling point for our prospective parents.” St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, located near Little York Road in northeast Houston, continues to be repaired after the major damage it received during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. This included the priest rectory, which allowed the clergy and staff to be more readily available to serve, as well as repairs to the community center building. This facility has been instrumental in the offering of religious education programs and other programs and activities that help maintain the social and cultural life of the parish. It also currently serves as the worship space for Mass and celebrating the Sacraments, because the old church had been condemned due to the extensive damage it received during the hurricane. Other grants were used to support CROSS Academy schools for operational support, and to grant scholarships to students at those schools. †
Chancery Office financial statements of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston For the Years Ended June 30, 2021 and 2020 Statement of Financial Position ASSETS Cash Short-term investments - money market mutual funds Accounts receivable from related entities, net Prepaid expenses and other receivables Contributions receivable, net Notes receivable from related entities Cemetery inventory Investments Contributions receivable restricted for Ignite Camp., net Contributions receivable restricted for endowment Chancery Office property, net Other property TOTAL ASSETS
Statement of Activities
2021
2020
$38,642,925 24,178,916 1,289,543 1,532,658 829,542 76,856,640 1,975,787 156,924,191 21,731,442 – 47,784,536 4,524,043
$8,145,322 30,148,179 3,508,322 1,409,664 2,642,690 94,742,123 1,994,403 139,743,003 29,979,950 786,277 42,630,843 4,524,043
$376,270,223 $360,254,819
OPERATING REVENUE
2021
2020
Health insurance premiums $31,171,770 $33,146,302 Archdiocesan assessments 16,794,429 18,279,498 Contributions without donor restrictions 13,745,122 15,596,522 Business insurance premiums 10,385,275 12,202,606 Fees and program revenue: Cemetery sales and services 2,153,166 1,542,908 Other 1,078,744 2,619,435 Interest on notes receivable from related entities 2,784,769 3,279,432 Total operating revenue 78,113,275 86,666,703 Net assets released for operating purposes 14,735,842 9,938,302 Total $92,849,117 $96,605,005
OPERATING EXPENSES
Program services: Health insurance program 28,675,179 28,218,198 LIABILITIES and NET ASSETS 2021 2020 Chancery services 12,150,639 15,073,883 Liabilities: Business insurance program 8,606,371 10,707,923 Accounts payable and accrued expenses $8,288,391 $6,832,706 Pastoral and education 5,181,394 7,254,183 Construction payable 3,252,119 – Seminary 5,114,733 5,157,038 Grants payable 520,028 3,279,227 Clergy 3,885,981 4,106,071 Deferred revenue Catholic School Office 3,694,708 6,702,336 Cemetery sales and services 880,141 906,295 Diocesan Savings & Loan 1,843,632 2,086,532 Other 65,295 122,633 Cemetery operations 1,457,321 1,704,924 Accrued insurance and other claims 4,054,360 4,264,825 Total program services 70,609,958 81,011,088 Funds held for others 2,083,661 2,533,049 DS&L deposits held for related entities 176,986,018 173,719,429 Management and general 9,011,316 10,270,747 Paycheck Protection Prog. refundable advances – 4,237,080 Fundraising 3,094,336 4,220,605 Notes and bonds payable – 1,268,624 Total operating expenses 82,715,610 95,502,440 Accrued pension and postretirement health 168,609,613 218,396,806 benefits liability Changes in net assets from operations 10,133,507 1,102,565 Total liabilities 364,739,626 415,560,674
Net assets
Without donor restrictions With donor restrictions Total net assets
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS
(47,858,212) 59,388,809 11,530,597
(113,415,694) 58,109,839 (55,305,855)
$ 376,270,223 $ 360,254,819
chancery office The Chancery Office of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston financial statements include the following entities: Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Texas Catholic Herald St. Mary Seminary
OTHER CHANGES in NET ASSETS
Contributions 19,266,784 31,178,042 Net investment return 4,044,615 5,900,486 Net claims expenses – Hurricane Harvey (440,045) (960,867) Other benefit-related changes 60,343,702 (43,487,921) Other periodic benefit costs (10,556,509) (4,852,211) Non-operating grants and transfers (1,219,760) (1,923,523) Net assets released for expenditures (14,735,842) (9,938,302) CHANGES IN NET ASSETS 66,836,452 (22,981,731) Net assets, beginning of year (55,305,855) (32,324,124) Net assets, end of year
$11,530,597
$(55,305,855)
Annual Report fiscal year 2021