Extension magazine - Winter 2022

8
BUILD Extension | Winter 2022 9
News Briefs
HIGHLIGHTS
Become a parish
partner
Does your parish want
to support the mission
of Catholic Extension?
Visit catholicextension.org/parish-partnerships
or contact
Natalie Donatello at
ndonatello@catholicextension.org
to
learn more.
Parents of Uvalde children share thanks
After the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in May,
Catholic Extension provided scholarships for more than 30 students
to transfer to Sacred Heart Catholic School. Most families
in this community are unable to afford tuition. The parents have
sent notes of gratitude to our donors.
The parents of Trevor, who was traumatized by the experience,
wrote, “Thank you for giving our son the opportunity to feel safe
again in school. Thank you for easing our anxieties about how we
were going to afford this, when we hadn’t prepared for it.”
The parents of Noah, who was shot and survived, wrote,
“Words cannot begin to describe the gratitude we have for your
kindness and generosity. Your gift has allowed our son Noah to
not only come back to school but also provided a safe and loving
environment as well. Thank you!!”
See letters and drawings from the children in Uvalde on page 10.
HURRICANE FIONA
PUERTO RICO
Five years after Puerto
Rico was devastated by
Hurricane Maria, the island
was ravaged by Hurricane
Fiona. Catholic Extension
sent funding to support
parish leaders who
delivered food to people
stuck in the mountains
due to flooding and
mudslides and who
attended to the elderly and
poor, left in ruined homes
without electricity. See
how we continue to help
Puerto Rico rebuild on
page 32.
SUPPORT FOR
RETIRED PRIESTS
NATIONWIDE
Priests who have served
or retired from Extension
dioceses are being
given an opportunity to
augment their income.
Made possible through
a grant from Lilly Endowment
Inc., they can access
a matching grant when
they establish a charitable
gift annuity of $5,000 or
more with Catholic Extension.
This is welcomed assistance
to financially insecure,
retired priests who
have spent their lives serving
the Church.
NEW CHURCH AFTER
HURRICANE KATRINA
MISSISSIPPI
Catholic Extension helped
fund a new church building
for Most Holy Trinity
Parish in southern Mississippi
in the Diocese of
Biloxi. The faith community
comprises three parishes
whose churches were
severely damaged by Hurricane
Katrina in 2005. The
parishes joined in 2011
and have since been meeting
and celebrating Mass
in a community center.
This rapidly growing community
finally has a permanent
and beautiful church
in which to worship.
UPDATE FROM THE
BERING SEA COAST
ALASKA
Father Stan Jaszek,
last year’s Lumen Christi
Award recipient, used the
money from the award to
benefit the Yup’ik people
he serves in the Diocese
of Fairbanks. He helped
to restore their church
facilities and purchased a
used ATV, which will allow
him to more safely and
efficiently travel between
the four villages he serves
on the coast of the Bering
Sea, where there are no
roads.
HISTORICAL FRESCOS DISCOVERED IN SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
San Juan Bautista Cathedral in San Juan is among
the nearly 1,000 churches across Puerto Rico being
restored through Catholic Extension’s disaster
recovery program after being damaged by Hurricane
Maria in 2017. During a recent site inspection, frescos believed
to be from the early 1800s were discovered underneath a
crumbling plaster ceiling—a major artistic and historical
discovery. This has drawn intense interest from the State
Historic Preservation Office, as the 501-year-old cathedral is
one of the oldest churches under the American flag.
NEWS BRIEFS