In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, Archbishop William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore, has requested all Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Baltimore hold an emergency collection at Masses this coming weekend to support relief efforts in southeast Texas. The Archbishop made the request in a letter sent to the pastors of the Archdiocese’s 154 parishes Tuesday.
“This emergency collection will be used to support the humanitarian and recovery efforts of Catholic Charities USA and to provide pastoral and rebuilding support,” the Archbishop wrote.
A similar request is being made of the nearly 70 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese. Archbishop Lori and Mr. James Sellinger, Chancellor for the Archdiocese’s school system, jointly wrote to Catholic school presidents and principals asking their participation in the diocesan-wide collection once the approaching school year begins.
The Archdiocese has a history of supporting disaster relief efforts in the United States and abroad. In 2004, Catholics in the Archdiocese contributed more than $2.5 million to relief efforts following the devastating tsunami that struck southeast Asia.
There are more than 500,000 registered Catholics in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. For more information, visit www.archbalt.org.