January 17-18, 2026
Dear parishioners,
With the new year upon us, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone for your generosity to the parish over the past year. Of course, this generosity takes many forms; many different people assist the parish in many different ways, and it would not be possible to mention everyone here. So, speaking generally, thank you to all who have in any way donated time, talent, and treasure to allow our parish to continue moving forward in the various ministries we carry out.
More specifically, I would like in this article to thank everyone who, in addition to your regular offertory giving, have made donations to our other collections and parish needs. While we report the numbers from these collections in the bulletin, I thought it would be beneficial for everyone to see the year-end totals for these “other” collections. Also, please note that although the diocesan fiscal year runs from July through June, the following numbers are the totals from January through December 2025.
To start, donations to the Diocese of Toledo’s Annual Catholic Appeal last year totaled $32,843. That means we achieved 122% of the goal that was assigned to us. Thank you! I should note here that the Diocese certainly notices this. Whenever I submit proposals for capital maintenance projects, the Diocese always thanks us for meeting our ACA goal.
Our 5th Sunday collections go to support three seminarians: Deacon Andrew Messer, Joshua Horvath, and Austin Pirc. Last year, our seminarian collections totaled $3,347, which was divided among the three of them.
From your donations to the Mission Fund, and from special collections for various needs, the parish was able to make almost $6,000 in charitable donations last year: $740 to Catholic Charities for their relief efforts in Gaza; $500 to Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission (NOCAC); $500 to Hands of Hope; $1,500 to the Caring and Sharing Food Pantry in Paulding; $1,000 to the Antwerp Food Pantry, $500 to Habitat for Humanity; $500 to the Defiance/Paulding Foster Care Christmas Project; and $500 to Paulding School’s “Blessings in a Bag” program for students. Although it is impossible for me to know the monetary amount, I would also like to thank everyone for your generous show of support for the Angel Tree Christmas gifts, which helped many local families in need. Lastly in this regard, I would be remiss if I did not mention the generous donations of food made by the families and friends of Divine Mercy School to the Caring and Sharing Food Pantry. This was one of the projects to help our students learn the importance of helping those in need, and giving back to the community.
Between fundraisers and other donations, $4,324 was raised to help our young parishioners attend Damascus Catholic Summer Camp last year. They are very grateful for the opportunity to attend; they always come back with memorable experiences as they grow deeper in prayer and living the Catholic faith.
You likely remember me announcing that the Diocese of Toledo is now a Scholarship Granting Organization. Donations made to this fund not only qualify as a tax credit, but 100% of these donations can be designated to go to Divine Mercy School. Last year, your donations to this fund came to $3,637.
The United in Christ Capital Campaign (tied to Bishop Thomas’ Living Christ Campaign) saw $88,812 in donations last year. From the start of the campaign, $629,445 has been donated. Please keep in mind that, as previously explained, as donations are received, 50% goes to the diocesan portion of the campaign and 50% goes to the parish portion of the campaign. Once we meet our required amount for the diocesan portion of the campaign ($365,000), then 100% of donations will come to the parish. Because we have received some questions lately about the campaign, I would like to clarify that donations made to the diocesan portion of the campaign do not go to other parishes in the diocese! The parish projects that are highlighted in the public diocesan campaign updates are projects that those particular parishes raised money for.
Thanks again for your continued generous support of our parish!
Blessings,
Fr. Ammanniti
