ABCD 2018: Give light, give love, give life

Campaign kicks off this month to support archdiocese’s charitable, educational ministries

MIAMI | ABCD 2018 is all about the numbers: Numbers that translate into “light, love and life” for thousands of people in South Florida.
As the annual campaign kicks off this month, Catholics will be receiving lots of specific information on how their dollars help their neighbors, both Catholic and non-Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Miami. Those dollars are donated every year in the form of pledges to the Archbishop’s Charities and Development campaign.

The ABCD appeal is made once a year, and unlike the weekly collections at Masses, which stay in the local parish, these funds go to the archdiocese, to fund programs and services that are beyond the scope of individual churches.
A pie chart in this year’s brochure breaks down how the dollars were spent last fiscal year, based on the $11.6 million previously collected:

  • 40 percent, or $4.6 million, went to social ministries and assisting parishes and people in poor communities
  • 31 percent, or $3.6 million, went to programs of evangelization and faith formation
  • 29 percent, or $3.3 million, went to the formation of seminarians, clergy, religious and laity.

Some examples of the “light-giving” work, which translates into evangelization, or introducing others to Jesus:

  • 56 seminarians studying for the priesthood in the archdiocese
  • 12,522 child and adult baptisms
  • 10,289 first Communions

Some examples of the “love-giving” work, which means deeds done for others:

Some examples of the “life-giving” work, done mainly through the archdiocese’s educational and respect life programs:

  • 78,699 students, from PreK3 through college, learning in Catholic institutions
  • 10,349 mothers and fathers served through the Respect Life Office, where they receive material and spiritual support for unplanned pregnancies as well as parenting classes.

Not on the brochure, but certainly a number Katie Blanco Bourdeau, archdiocesan cabinet secretary for Stewardship & Development, would like to see grow: the number of donors to ABCD. In 2017, a total of 26,462 people made gifts. The Official Catholic Directory lists nearly 500,000 registered Catholics in the tri-county archdiocese (Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe). That doesn’t include nominal Catholics, those who attend church only occasionally.
“Imagine if we were able to engage 1 percent more of our Catholic community in the ABCD every year. The impact, regardless of the size of the gift, would be exponential for our Church, our programs and those it serves and helps,” said Blanco Bourdeau. “Small acts, when multiplied by many, can transform the world.”
This year’s ABCD video uses the image of a puzzle to highlight both the many faces that make up the Archdiocese of Miami and the many programs that exist to serve them.
“ABCD reminds us that the work of the Church is shared by all,” wrote Archbishop Thomas Wenski in this year’s ABCD letter. “Jesus calls us to be instruments of hope and, through the ABCD, to Give Light, Give Love and Give Life. I ask you to open your hearts in support of the ABCD and the hundreds of thousands of people it helps.”
ABCD pledges will begin to be taken up in parishes at the end of January. Pledge donations can be made during Masses those weekends or directly via the website www.isupportabcd.org.
For more information, go to www.adomdevelopment.org, or call 305-762-1243.