National Religious Retirement Office announces annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection

The National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) is announcing the annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection, scheduled in parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City on Dec. 16 and 17.

In 2022, parishioners contributed $101,105.10 to the collection. From this collection, the Benedictine Fathers received a total of $15,678.74 in financial support made possible by the Retirement Fund 
for Religious. 

John Knutsen, director of the NRRO, looks forward to this year’s collection, stating, “We are privileged to support those who have dedicated their lives to tireless service, and we are immensely grateful for the continuing generosity of U.S. Catholic donors to this vital cause.”

Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests—collectively known as women and men religious—have selflessly served for decades without significant financial compensation. However, due to escalating health-care costs, numerous U.S. religious communities face a substantial gap between their elderly members’ needs and the financial resources available for their care. Many religious orders currently experience insufficient retirement savings.

The 2022 appeal demonstrated Catholics’ tremendous generosity by raising $27.6 million. These funds from the Retirement Fund for Religious collection provided financial assistance for retirement needs for 297 U.S. religious communities.

To address the deficit in retirement funding among U.S. religious orders, the Catholic bishops of the United States initiated the Retirement Fund for Religious collection in 1988.

For more information, visit retiredreligious.org, or contact Robin Cabral, campaign director, at (508) 685-8899 or [email protected].