“Jesus calls each of us to be a beacon of light for the world, urging us not to turn away from others in an attitude of indifference, and allow our light to illumine and support others.” – Bishop Mark Hagemoen, 2024 BAA message.

By Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News

The 2024 Bishop’s Annual Appeal is underway across the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, with Bishop Mark Hagemoen recently announcing the 2024 theme, “On the Pilgrimage of Hope,” echoing the theme of the upcoming Jubilee 2025 celebrations announced by Pope Francis.

The goal for the 2024 Appeal is $1.4 million, needed to fund a range of ministry, catechesis, formation, and outreach programs across the diocese.

Initiated some 40 years ago by the late Bishop James Mahoney, today the Bishop’s Annual Appeal is an undertaking led by the Diocese of Saskatoon Catholic Foundation, the fund-raising arm for the diocese of Saskatoon.

“The Bishop’s Annual Appeal has a long history — even a legacy — in the diocese,” said Bishop Mark Hagemoen at a breakfast for parish leaders and BAA volunteers held Sept. 12, immediately before a day-long diocesan gathering to launch another ministry year.

“It is not my Appeal, it is our Appeal,” he said. “In every kind of church work, in every ministry, there is this practical question of how do we resource the good work and the service we need to do,” the bishop said.

“The Bishop’s Annual Appeal is about the mission of the church – full stop,” Hagemoen added later at the Administration Day gathering, as he reflected upon the diocesan Pastoral Plan priority to “Move from Maintenance to Mission.”

“We all need to be engaged in the support of the mission.”

At the morning meeting, Diocese of Saskatoon Foundation Executive Director Raissa Bugyi provided an overview of this year’s Appeal, resources, promotion, and schedule, including the release of a BAA video offering a glimpse into the impact of programs funded through the diocesan Appeal.

During the Administration Day gathering of parish leaders later in the day Sept. 12, the bishop’s delegate for the Annual Appeal, Fr. Gerard Cooper, also spoke about its legacy and its importance.

He recalled how as a child, he witnessed his parents place a priority on charitable giving and on supporting their parish, even when money was tight — and he also recalled the first time they were asked to donate to something more — to the diocesan Appeal. It was a call to join together with other Catholics across the diocese, to offer ministry and outreach that a single parish probably could not do all on its own.

“It is a call to share in something bigger,” Cooper said, also encouraging pastors and leaders to make their own gift to the Appeal first. “We can’t ask for what we don’t give ourselves.”

In his annual written and video message about the 2024 Appeal, Bishop Hagemoen provided an overview of its impact in the diocese. “Through the various ministries supported by the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, the faithful of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon bring hope to others,” he said.

“We visit the sick in hospitals, teach catechism to our children and young people, and provide pastoral care to the hospitalized and sick. We also provide reconciliation and healing to those in prison. We are supporting and training new priests and deacons to lead us, fostering faith growth through youth and adult ministries. We continue to invite lay adults into the Catholic faith, as well as support and train adult leaders for ministry and service.”

Hagemoen and Bugyi both expressed their gratitude to parishes, pastors, donors, and volunteers for their support of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal over the years.

RELATED:

Bishop’s BAA 2024 Message:   (PDF in English) / (PDF in French)

More information and online giving:  dscf.ca/baa

BAA Video:

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Kiply Lukan Yaworski is the communications coordinator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon – rcdos.ca.