You may recall that everyone throughout the archdiocese was recently invited to participate in a planning study survey.  This was the latest chapter in the ongoing initiative that Archbishop Nelson Peréz introduced in the spring of 2023 to plan for the future of our archdiocese.   At that time, Abp. Peréz sent to all the priests of the archdiocese a book entitled From Christendom to Apostolic Mission and asked us to read and reflect on it in preparation for a series of meetings to discuss his vision for our archdiocese.  Since then, the archbishop has had ongoing meetings with us priests as well as the permanent deacons and the leadership of a variety of Catholic institutions in the archdiocese.

In January of 2024, Abp. Peréz wrote a pastoral letter to everyone in our archdiocese in which he called us to:

  • recognize that we “are living in times more like the earliest Christians – times when many are living without Christ”;
  • have a pastoral change of heart, asking a new question: Where does the Church need to be and how; and
  • reach out to the disaffected through the establishment of missionary hubs throughout the archdiocese that would focus on reaching out to Catholics who don’t participate in the life of the Church as well as non-Catholics.

In early spring of 2025, the archdiocese’s strategy office coordinated listening sessions throughout the archdiocese; you will recall that we hosted one of them.  As a result of these listening sessions, three priorities were identified to assist our archdiocese in realizing our mission to create communities of faithful believers who invite everyone to encounter Jesus:

  • missionary hubs to connect and renew parishes, schools and communities, engaging people across every stage of their faith;
  • funding for Catholic schools and Religious Education Program to strengthen their mission of building Catholic identity and expand accessibility for more students; and
  • comprehensive support for priests across every stage of their vocation to enable them to lead and minister in increasingly secular times.

To further engage the parishioners of all of the parishes throughout our archdiocese, everyone was invited early this year to respond to a planning study survey.  Pastors and key laypeople were also asked to participate in personal interviews.  Results of the survey and interviews were recently made public and all pastors were asked to make them known throughout their parishes.  You will find the full report on our parish website or at trustandhope.org/planning-study/ but allow me to offer a quick overview.  As the report indicates, 1,819 responses were submitted via mail or online and 195 pastors, along with 159 laypeople, participated in personal interviews.  Support for priests was strongly affirmed and support for missionary hubs and Catholic education initiatives was also strong. Additionally, 78% of the respondents indicated that they would make a personal gift to the campaign to support these initiatives.

As a result of the survey, the following steps have been recommended:

  • begin a focused season of planning and preparation for an Archdiocesan-wide capital campaign;
  • confirm the campaign priorities and goal in light of what was heard from the faithful;
  • form a clergy committee to assist Abp. Peréz in establishing campaign policies and procedures;
  • invite lay leaders from across the archdiocese to serve in this shared work of stewardship and mission as part of the campaign cabinet; and
  • develop a clear case for support that demonstrates how missionary hubs can grow discipleship outreach and how other campaign priorities can strengthen the archdiocese.

With Abp. Peréz, I thank those of you who participated in the survey for joining in this important step of listening, discernment and planning for the future of the Catholic Church of Philadelphia.  Fortunately, our parish is already a strong faith community where everyone is invited to encounter Jesus.  But, as we’re all aware, there are so many in our neighborhood and even in our families who are no longer actively engaged in the Church.  Let us continue to respond to our Lord’s command, assured of his presence in our midst!

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the ages.”  (Mt 28: 19-20)