Stewardship Facts

The following are major areas or Designations in which donors assist the friars in our Capuchin life and ministry. If you want more information or wish to make a donation please complete and submit the Designated Donation form that follows.

The Unrestricted Fund

We live in an age of change. Parishes are being reorganized, consolidated, or merged. New challenges face us in responding to the needs of the inner city, urban parish ministry, and the special circumstances of the growing immigrants in our midst. We receive requests from various dioceses and institutions to undertake new ministries. The Unrestricted Endowment enables us to have resources available to respond to these diverse and pressing needs.

Education & Formation Fund

Like all religious communities of men, we strive to attract new members. In recent years, we have been blessed with a number of postulants and novices. Once a man makes his profession in the Order, we assume all of his educational costs. During the years of novitiate and theology, the medical, living, and educational costs are born entirely by the Capuchin community. The escalating costs associated with tuition, room, board, and books impact our Order as it would any family. Currently, we invest over $600,000 per year to educate our friar in preparation for their life of service to those in need.

Healthcare & Elderly Fund

The Province of St. Augustine mirrors society in that our population is aging. Currently, the average age of our Friars is 55. The Province of St. Augustine has been fortunate in that many of our Friars prefer to work long after they qualify for retirement. However, as our Priests and Brothers age, their need for health care increases. We are all familiar with the increasing cost of these services. Currently, the Province spends over $600,000 per year to pay for the care of the sick and elderly. We hope to increase our endowment to help defray these costs so that elderly Capuchins will be able to live their final years with dignity and peace.

Mission Fund

From the beginning of his Order, St. Francis sent his followers out to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world. The Capuchin friars of the Province of St. Augustine continue this ministry. Our friars go to the people of foreign lands to proclaim the Gospel and to share the Christian faith through words and deeds. Currently sixty friars from the Province of St. Augustine serve in the missions.† In Puerto Rico, the Vice-Province of Saint John the Baptist has been served by Capuchins of this province for over seventy-five years.† The Vice-Province of Saint Michael the Archangel was established by friars from this province over fifty years ago and continues to serve the people of Papua New Guinea.† The Province invests over $500,000 per year in support of the missions.

Capuchin Sharing Fund

Similar to the mission of St. Francis to spiritually renew and support those who are less fortunate, the Capuchin Friars are committed to serving the poor. In June 1989, the Province of St. Augustine established the Capuchin Sharing Fund. The purpose of the Fund is to allow the Capuchin Friars to share their blessings with the poor and needy. The friars set aside 5% of their income for distribution to the poor. Funds are distributed on two levels; locally, in the cities where the Capuchins manage parishes, and nationally through the Provincial Headquarters in Pittsburgh.

Our Lady of the Americas Fund

As evidence of our work in the inner city, we are accepting a number of postulants from immigrant and minority communities. Realizing the high cost of educating these students, the Capuchin Friars established this fund in 1994. The purpose of this fund is to provide scholarships and aid to minority and immigrant students who are called to religious life or priesthood in the Capuchin Franciscan Order.

Designated Donation Form

Note: fields marked with an * are mandatory.