Rev. Bernard J. Pietrzak
St. Anne Catholic Community 120 N. Ela Street
Barrington IL 60010
Dear Bernie, Paul, Adrienne and the entire Saint Anne family,
Thank you for your very generous gift of $47,288.58, received by Catholic Extension on July 15, 2019. We are so very grateful for your generosity. Your dedication to the two Cuba projects is a testament to your passion for our mission, and it does not go unnoticed. Thank you for partnering with us again on your 2019 Lenten Almsgiving.
Like you, we believe that the gift of faith is transformative-that it changes who we are, how we live and how we envision new possibilities for the future of our Church and our world. Our founder, Father Francis Clement Kelley, had a powerful vision to awaken the missionary spirit in America, and he urgently called us as American Catholics to bond together to do God’s great transformative work among the poor at the peripheries of society.
As president of Catholic Extension, I have learned that you can’t go to the poorest places in the United States and not find the presence of the Catholic Church. Even though these impoverished faith communities face dire socioeconomic challenges, their faith is strong and vibrant. It is their faith that makes them profoundly hopeful and confident that they and their children can rise above their challenging circumstances.
It is your support that gives them this enduring hope. Because of you, vibrant Catholic faith communities are forming and growing in our country’s poorest regions and hearts, families and our society are being transformed in significant and life-changing ways.
Thank you for walking with us on this important journey and for the special role you are playing to build faith, inspire hope and ignite change.
