Diocese raising $42.5 million for several projects

The Diocese of Lafayette is hoping to improve its own 121 parishes, and 28 missions, and also provide funding for priests and improve the quality of life for those stricken with poverty.
The Diocese this week officially launched its Centennial Campaign: Building Our Future Together, which is a multifaceted fundraising initiative aimed to meet the multiple needs of the Diocese.
With the 100th anniversary of the Diocese arriving in 2018, the Centennial Campaign aims to raise a minimum of $42.5 million. The campaign has already raised more than $18 million during its pre-official launch stage.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Diocese announced that the goal is to raise the other nearly $25 million by the end of next summer.
Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Ville Platte, Sacred Heart Chapel in Belaire Cove and St. Joseph Church in Ville Platte will be part of the Diocese’s third phase of fundraising, which will take place in 2017.
Rev. Fr. Thomas Voorhies, who serves as the pastor at Sacred Heart, is excited about the project.
“We are looking forward to doing it and helping the Diocese celebrate its 100th anniversary and help fund these various projects that the Diocese is working on,” Voorhies said. “We also as a parish get to keep 30 percent of funds up to our goal, and after you surpass the set goal you get to keep 50 percent to help with projects in your parish.”
The money raised by the Centennial Campaign will be divided into five different areas.
• 30 percent will go to funding projects at the Diocese’s 121 parishes.
• 25 percent will aid the Seminarian Education Endowment Fund.
• 23 percent will be slated for the Priests’ Welfare Trust, which provides pensions to retired priests and those scheduled to retire.
• 12 percent will fund a new Catholic Student Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and proposed renovations at LSU at Eunice’s Catholic Student Center.
• 10 percent will go to the Matthew 25 Endowment for Service to the Poor, which will help fund the Diocese’s pantries, diners, soup kitchens and thrift shops.
“We have seen great leadership and stewardship from the first parishes that implemented the campaign. The outpouring of support from pastors, leadership, and parishioners serves as a testament to the goals of this campaign and the sacrificial, loving spirit of our people,” said the Most Reverend J. Douglas Deshotel, Bishop of Lafayette. “The pastors and leaders of these parishes have set an excellent example for the remaining parishes. I offer my admiration and gratitude to all who have offered their support already. In my experience, campaigns of this nature are successful thanks to the dedication and sacrifices of the people, who are the lifeblood of our Diocese.”
The Diocese serves the parishes of Evangeline, Acadia, St. Landry, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Mary, and Vermillion in South Central Louisiana. The combined population of the Diocese totals more than 600,000 residents, of which 300,000 identify themselves as Catholic.