August 2019

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

At all Masses for the second Sunday in August, our parishes take up the special collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious.  This collection benefits more than 30,000 retired sisters, brothers, and religious order priests throughout the country, who have consecrated their lives to serving God and the Church, and especially those orders who have served in the Diocese of Sioux City over the years.  This collection is distinct from the Easter collection for the infirm and retired priests of our own Diocese.   Our senior religious are a treasure of wisdom and experience in the Church.  Their joy, commitment, and hard work laid the foundation for so many of our Catholic schools, hospitals, and charitable works.  Their spirit continues to inspire us.  Their prayer and witness enrich our faith in countless ways.  I am grateful for the service of religious in our Diocese, past and present.  I know many of you, too, still recall a sister or brother who made a positive difference in your life.

Today, many of these sisters, brothers, and religious order priests are elderly or infirm.  Most worked for years for small stipends, leaving their religious communities without adequate savings to meet growing retirement and eldercare needs.

Please support these elderly religious with your prayers and consider faithfully what gift you can make to this collection in thanksgiving for their decades of faithful service.  May God bless you most abundantly in all your needs and in your faith.

Your brother in Christ,


Most Reverend Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City