Hurricane Relief
September 8, 2023

All five counties in the Diocese of St. Petersburg and our neighboring counties were directly impacted by Hurricane Idalia. To begin assisting those most affected, on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, Bishop Parkes presented Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg with $100,000 from the Diocese of St. Petersburg Disaster Relief Fund. Our Disaster Relief …

Offering Thanks to Those Who Give So Much
May 31, 2023

Our diocesan ministries, education and outreach programs offer support, professional guidance, and direct delivery of services to and for our people, parishes, schools and communities. They do this while maintaining a very tight annual budget which relies on specific revenue sources, including interest earnings, donations and grants, bequests, parish assessment payments and direct donations to …

Parish Resources for Year-End and Beyond
October 28, 2022

To assist parishes working to promote legacy giving, end of year generosity and/or new, creative options for giving with parishioners, the Catholic Foundation has created camera ready, downloadable materials and pre-drafted text for message development. Please visit the Parish Resource Page to download the following materials: bulletin inserts and articles text for article, pulpit and …

2021 Annual Report
April 5, 2022

Each year, the Diocese of St. Petersburg is blessed with gifts of time, talent and treasure from our faith family across the five counties that make up our diocese. As Bishop Parkes explains in his introductory note, “The generosity that you have shown through your support of our ministry and services here in the Diocese …

Congratulations St. Brendan Parish!
March 7, 2022

Parish leaders have spent months planning and diligently working to complete recommended activities and run a successful and positive Catholic Ministry Appeal active phase.  And now, the first parish has officially exceeded its goal for our new Catholic Ministry Appeal. Congratulations St. Brendan Parish Family for surpassing goal in record time! “This accomplishment has little …

Successful Commitment Weekends!
February 4, 2022

Throughout January, parishes and missions began sharing information about the new Catholic Ministry Appeal through the bulletin, from the pulpit, on their websites and via social media channels. In addition, parishioners received a mailing from Bishop Parkes and a follow-up communication from their pastor. All of this laid the groundwork for pastors to ask parishioners …

Why Support Shared Ministries and Services?
January 29, 2022

Throughout Fall 2022, the Office of Stewardship and Development reached out to those who have historically supported diocesan ministries, programs and outreach to make sure they were aware of the upcoming change from Annual Pastoral Appeal (APA) to the new Catholic Ministry Appeal. That communication process revealed thousands of families and households willing to share …

An Afternoon of Prayer
November 23, 2021

Bishop Parkes launched the Mater Dei Giving Society on November 9, 2020 with a special live stream event featuring prayer and conversation. Named in honor of our Blessed Mother, the Mater Dei Giving Society recognizes those helping our diocese put our faith into action so the world can see who we are by the good …

Scholarships Available for Stewardship Conference in September!
July 12, 2021

The Office of Stewardship and Development is sponsoring three (3) scholarships for the International Catholic Stewardship Conference (ICSC) being held in Orlando, Florida September 12-15, 2021. The scholarship is open to Parish Leaders from all 79 parishes and missions of the Diocese of St. Petersburg who are looking to participate in the conference for the …

Equipped for the Job
March 24, 2021

An integral part of our diocesan vision to courageously live the Gospel is to equip our people as Missionary Disciples inspired to invite and accompany others in their journey to Christ. The question is, in times when we are encouraged to maintain distance, how do you accomplish this? The Office of Evangelization & Missionary Discipleship …

Number of IRA Gifts Soar!
March 15, 2021

To date, we have received a couple of hundred gifts made from IRAs. This week alone, we received and acknowledged more than 50 gifts made from the IRAs of donors. We expect this number to keep jumping up. Why? Not-for-profits across the country are also seeing dramatic increases in the number of IRA donations. Right …

Behind the Scenes of a Live Stream Event with Bishop Parkes
February 19, 2021

A giving society is established by organizations to give thanks to those who make it possible for them to fulfill their mission. While this is usually done through in-person events, the Diocese of St. Petersburg courageously jumped into the unknown last November to launch their Mater Dei Giving Society virtually. “For the last couple of …

Hope in the Lord
February 3, 2021

The theme for the 2021 Annual Pastoral Appeal is “Hope in the Lord”, inspired by Isaiah 40:31 – “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Through hope, we find strength, …

2020 Annual Report
January 29, 2021

Even through difficulties and challenges, our more than 24,000 generous donors provided more than $10 million in support of our 50+ diocesan ministries and services through the 2020 Annual Pastoral Appeal. Gifts were also made to support special projects through the Forward in Faith Campaign, and Bishop Gregory Parkes launched our new Mater Dei Giving …

New Donor-Advised Fund is Introduced in the Diocese of St. Petersburg
December 1, 2020

We know that many of our parishioners actively search for ways to invest in their parishes, the greater Catholic Church as well as other organizations that align with our Catholic Values. They look to support good deeds through their generous giving. Because of this, we are proud and excited to announce the launch of the …

Supporting Your Parish
March 20, 2020

With the suspension of public Masses and social distancing in place to support community efforts to slow the spread of illness, a reality our parishes face is that basic operational expenses are addressed through active participation in offertory giving. The intent is for our parishes to continue ministering and serving our communities through this time, …

Spring 2020 Stewardship Workshop Series – 2 of 3 Announced!
February 10, 2020

The Office of Stewardship and Development is hosting three FREE ½ day workshops this spring open to anyone looking to make stewardship a way of life in their parish or school. Our focus is “hospitality”, one of the key elements of our diocesan mission, Courageously Living the Gospel, and one of the seven pillars of …

2020 Msgr. McGread Stewardship Conference being held at Bethany Center
November 1, 2019

The nationally recognized Msgr. McGread Stewardship Conference will take place at our Bethany Center in Lutz on January 30th. Catholic Stewardship Consultants, Inc., the conference organizers, are pleased to offer top-notch stewardship formation developed with the assistance and guidance of renowned stewardship pastor and long-time stewardship advisor, Msgr. Thomas McGread. Msgr. McGread, who passed away …

2019 ICSC Conference in Chicago
August 8, 2019

August 8, 2019 –  Registration is open for 57th Annual International Catholic Stewardship Council (ICSC)  Conference scheduled for October 6-9, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Following in the footsteps of Jesus, and journeying through our diocesan mutually-shared vision, Courageously Living the Gospel, this year’s ICSC Conference offers us tremendous resources, experiences, and professional testimony on how …

#GivingTuesday – a national day of giving!
August 8, 2019

August 8, 2019 –   #GivingTuesday kicks off the giving season on Tuesday, December 3, 2019.    What is #GivingTuesday you might ask? #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration.  Immediately following our national day of thanks (Thanksgiving), retailers get us focused on HUGE sales (Black Friday, Cyber …

APA 2019 Materials Available for Download
February 20, 2019

February 20, 2019 – New materials are ready and available to spread the Good News about the 2019 Annual Pastoral Appeal, BE COURAGEOUS Live the Gospel through the Annual Pastoral Appeal! Digital materials are available now for download by clicking here. Digital promotional items include: Leadership Resource Manual (English) – contains materials to help prepare for …

2018 Annual Report Published
January 9, 2019

January 9, 2019 – Last year, our generous donors provided almost $10 million in support of our diocesan ministries and services through the Annual Pastoral Appeal. In addition, gifts were made to support special projects through the Forward in Faith Campaign. Just as each person must be accountable, the Church must also be accountable to its …

2018 Annual Report Released
January 8, 2018

January 9, 2018 – Last year, our generous donors provided almost $10 million support our diocesan ministries and services through the Annual Pastoral Appeal. In addition, special gifts were made to support special projects through the Forward in Faith Campaign. Just as each person must be accountable, the Church must also be accountable to our donors for …