Preliminary Observations: A Summary Report on the Status of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis

(This is a portion of a document which Bishop Coyne will present to Pope Benedict XVI while on his ad limina visit)

Growth and Hispanic Ministry

The official registered number of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis remains virtually unchanged since the last Quinquennial Report, but a growing Hispanic population, the majority of whom are from Mexico, is a source of growth. Catholics in central and southern Indiana number approximately 228,000, but we estimate there are more than 82,000 Spanish-speaking Catholics who are mostly new to the archdiocese. Many of these Hispanic Catholics, who are new to the archdiocese, are not registered members of a parish, but regularly attend Mass. The majority of Hispanics live in or near Indianapolis. The archdiocese has 19 parishes that celebrate Mass in Spanish and provide ministries for people who speak Spanish. A shortage of priests who speak Spanish will be an on-going challenge to ministering to this growing Hispanic population.

Archdiocese’s 175th Anniversary

Within the period since our last report, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis celebrated its 175th anniversary. This was a cause for great joy and celebration and a time for renewed evangelization. The secular media in the archdiocese reported on our year-long celebration, which provided many opportunities to evangelize and to tell people about the Catholic Church in central and southern Indiana. Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and pilgrimages also were held throughout the archdiocese. A  book containing the history of the archdiocese and profiles of each parish was published and distributed throughout the archdiocese. The 175th anniversary culminated with more than 25,000 Catholics gathered in a domed football stadium in Indianapolis on September 3, 2009 to celebrate the Eucharist.

Priestly Vocations and Permanent Diaconate

During the period covered by this Quinquennial Report, we have ordained 16 new priests. In June of 2008, the archdiocese ordained its first class of 25 permanent deacons and an Office of Deacons was established. These deacons are now serving in parishes throughout the archdiocese as well as charitable ministries where they minister in local hospitals and jails.

In 2004, the Bishop Simon Bruté House of Formation was established in Indianapolis with seven men in formation, and was raised to the status of a college seminary in 2006. Today, the Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary has 35 seminarians from eight dioceses, including nine for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, and it continues to grow. Our major seminary, Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, has 18 seminarians for the archdiocese.

Saint Theodora Guérin and Bishop Simon Bruté

On October 15, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Blessed Mother Theodore Guérin, the foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Subsequently, St. Theodora has been designated as the co-patron of the archdiocese along with St. Francis Xavier.

The Servant of God Simon Bruté served from 1834-1839 as the first bishop of the Diocese of Vincennes, Ind., which later became the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He earned a reputation as a holy priest, a hard-working bishop and an intellectual giant during his ministry in the United States. His Cause of Canonization was opened in the fall of 2005.

Year of the Eucharist

The archdiocese celebrated the Year of the Eucharist during 2004-2005, which culminated in June of 2005 with a eucharistic procession and Mass celebrated by Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein. Boys and girls from parishes across the archdiocese, who recently received their First Communion, took part in the celebration. Also, the nearly 75 parishes in the archdiocese that participated in the Disciples in Mission evangelization program were recognized for their evangelization efforts.

Catholic Charities and Social Ministry

Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, challenges the Church to see the practice of love (charity) as essential as the preaching of the word and celebration of the sacraments. In response to this encyclical, the archdiocese held a year-long Catholic social ministry renewal effort, which began with a large social ministry conference on October 1, 2009 and continued with events and programs through September 2010. The year-long program named SHINE (Spreading Hope In Neighborhoods Everywhere) resulted in many new opportunities for parishes and people in the archdiocese to exercise the ministry of charity to Catholics and non-Catholics throughout central and southern Indiana.

Legacy for Our Mission Capital Campaign

Through the extraordinary generosity and prayerful commitment of more than 33,000 parishioners throughout the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, more than $116 million was pledged through the Legacy for Our Mission capital campaign from 2004 through 2007. Nearly 14,000 volunteers also worked diligently on the campaign. The parish-based capital results of this campaign have made these advancements possible throughout our archdiocese: renovation of existing churches and schools, construction and dedication of parish life centers, and additions to parish savings and endowment funds. These funds are in addition to an annual archbishop’s appeal, the Christ Our Hope appeal, which annually raises more than $4 million above Sunday and Holy Day collections.

Financial Condition

The financial condition of the archdiocese is sound even as we are challenged in dealing with a weakened economy. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010, net assets of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and certain entities of the archdiocese (including Catholic Cemeteries Association, The Criterion, Fatima Retreat House, CYO, St. Mary’s Child Center, Catholic Community Foundation, Catholic Charities and related eliminations) exceeded $138.7 million. Cash and cash equivalents and investments exceeded liabilities by more than $48 million. The Catholic Community Foundation, a separate corporation established by the archdiocese to invest and administer individual endowment funds for benefit of participating parishes, schools and agencies, has total assets of $146.4 million.

Archdiocesan Properties

The Archdiocese of Indianapolis was incorporated as an Indiana Nonprofit Corporation in 2009 (“Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Inc.”). Each parish of the archdiocese was individually incorporated as an Indiana Nonprofit Corporation in 2010. Prior to the formation of these civil corporations, the archdiocese and its parishes were organized as unincorporated associations of members under the laws of the State of Indiana. The Archbishop of Indianapolis is the sole member of each of the archdiocesan and parish corporations created by the archdiocese.

Parish Planning

The archdiocese has undertaken a new initiative called Connected in the Spirit, a parish planning project structured to have parishes plan for the future in concert with other parishes. Connected in the Spirit will be carried out in each deanery in the archdiocese. The over-all goal is to enhance the vibrancy of parish life in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis so that parishes will be signs of faith, hope and love to all God’s people. Due to demographic shifts, the diminishing number of priests, and the financial situation of many parishes, a process was needed to lessen stress and remove obstacles so all parishes could be strong ones. This planning process will help the archdiocese and its members be good stewards of our human and financial resources and discover ways to reorganize parishes, so that current parishioners and future ones will be well served.

Catholic Schools

Parishes in the archdiocese sponsor 68 elementary schools and 7 high schools. During the last few years, two new Catholic schools have opened, including an innovative new private high school. In August 2006, SS. Francis and Clare Parish opened a new elementary school to serve a growing portion of Johnson County south of Indianapolis. In August of 2010, a major new addition to the school was built to serve the rapidly growing enrollment.

Providence Cristo Rey High School was opened in an archdiocesan-owned building in the fall of 2007 by the Sisters of Providence in the center-city of Indianapolis. Part of the national Cristo Rey Network formed by the Chicago Province of the Jesuits, the small college-preparatory high school serves low income inner city youth who serve on work teams with corporate sponsors in a work-study arrangement to pay most of their tuition. Their first full class graduates in 2011 and nearly all graduates will enter college.

Many school buildings have been modernized through the Legacy for Our Mission of Hope from Generation to Generation capital and endowment campaign in 2006 and 2007. This campaign also helped to finance a major consulting program on a matching basis with 17 schools.

It cost Catholic school parents and the local Church more than $100 million last year to operate the schools of the archdiocese. Most of the schools are in stable financial condition. However, the recent economic downturn has caused some enrollment decline. However, we expect a new Indiana state voucher and scholarship program to bring as many as 1,000 new students into our Catholic schools in 2011-2012 and change the financial picture even more significantly in future years. There is good moral and financial support of the parish elementary schools and the interparochial high schools by the parishes.

Religious Education

Each of the 151 parishes and missions is encouraged and expected to have a comprehensive, cradle-to-grave evangelization and religious education effort in place.

In 2006 the position of Archdiocesan Director of Youth Ministry was placed administratively within the Office of Catholic Education. Alongside the Director of Catechesis, this staff member serves parish youth ministers who provide evangelization, catechesis and additional aspects of ministry for teens involved with parish youth ministry efforts as well as several major archdiocesan trips or activities. The Director of Youth Ministry also collaborates with campus ministers in Catholic high schools and focused significant time in 2010 preparing to host the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis—a gathering of over 23,000 teens and chaperones from throughout the United States in conjunction with the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry.

The archdiocese requires a minimum of 30 hours of instruction time each school year for students in parish catechetical programs. In Catholic schools between 60 and 120 hours of instruction in religion is normative during the school year depending on the child’s age and grade level. Each year a standardized religion assessment is administered to students in grades 3, 6, 8 and 11. Catholic school students as well as those in parish catechetical programs take this assessment entitled Faith 2000. Parents, catechists and administrators receive feedback on individual students’ doctrinal knowledge as well as group information on the religious attitudes and faith-related practices of these children and youth. Parents are encouraged in their role as primary educators of their children and catechetical leaders are asked to use the assessment results when making decisions about their catechetical program from one year to the next.

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