KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas will take up a collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious at Masses the weekend of Dec. 13-14.
This collection supports the day-to-day care of more than 21,000 men and women religious over the age of 70. It also funds educational programs that help religious communities plan for long-term needs.
Last year, Catholics in the archdiocese contributed $93,530 to the collection, according to the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO).
The Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick in Kansas City, Kansas, and St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchison received a combined total of $274,179 in financial assistance from last year’s collection, which raised more than $28 million for 266 U.S. religious communities.
According to NRRO, the average annual cost in 2024 for the care of a religious past age 70 was around $56,600, and skilled nursing care averaged $96,000 per person.
Religious men and women over age 70 currently outnumber those younger than 70 by nearly three to one.
Those interested in supporting the collection can donate at their parish. Those unable to give at Mass can mail their collection envelope to their parish (write RFR on the memo line of your check).
For more information or other ways to give, visit the website at: retiredreligious.org.
