Take care of retired religious Nov. 30-Dec. 1

Published: November 20, 2024

The annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection will be held Nov. 30 - Dec. 1 in the Diocese of Little Rock. Coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO), the appeal benefits thousands of elderly Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests whose religious congregations lack adequate retirement funding. Please give to those who have given a lifetime.

In 2023, Catholics donated $207,284.36 to the collection in Arkansas. The Benedictines of Subiaco Abbey and the Discalced Carmelite nuns in Little Rock received a combined $92,894.84 in financial support made possible by the Retirement Fund for Religious. Religious communities apply annually for financial support from the national collection, and distributions are sent to each eligible community’s central house.

Learn about the religious who are serving in our diocese by reading about five sisters who are celebrating 50, 60 and 75 years of service to the Church in the Nov. 30 issue of Arkansas Catholic. These religious have served the diocese as educators, cooks and faith formation and religious formation directors and continue to serve in their religious communities in any way they can, even in retirement.

Escalating health care costs and a lack of traditional retirement plans have created financial challenges for many religious communities. The Retirement Fund for Religious addresses this need, supporting more than 20,000 religious over the age of 70. In 2023, the average annual cost for their care was roughly $59,700 a person. With skilled nursing care, the average cost was $90,700.

According to the NRRO, religious communities are financially responsible for the support and care of their members. Income, earnings and expenses are managed separately in parishes and diocesan structures of the Catholic Church. Only 6 percent of religious communities reported having sufficient retirement funds in 2023.

Since this national collection began in 1988, U.S. Catholics have given more than $975 million, with almost $842 million distributed to support the day-to-day care of thousands of elderly sisters, brothers and religious order priests. From 2009 onwards, the annual expenses of supporting senior women and men religious surpassed $1 billion, according to the NRRO.