Project Saint Patrick Report – Jan/Feb/Mar 2025

I want to thank all the Brothers who supported Project St. Patrick in 2024. The support was shown in many ways such as a donation for a prayer card, a completed Project St. Patrick donation form, or contact information for a Bishop or Vocations Director provided on the Division Diocese Form. All were a great contribution to our 2024 Appeal.

We received 73 applications for a Project St. Patrick grant from across the country. I’m happy to report that all of the applicants will receive a Project St. Patrick grant in the amount of $500. Project St. Patrick is a joint effort between the AOH and the LAOH. The 73 applicants were split between the two organizations with the LAOH providing 36 grants and the AOH providing 37 grants. I’d like to point out that there were eight seminarians who are AOH Brothers that received a grant this year.

There were 15 named donations in the amount of $500 or more in the 2024 appeal year. A Project St. Patrick Certificate of Recognition will be professionally printed. The certificates are in process with the printers and will be mailed out shortly. The certificates are in memory of or in recognition of an individual, chaplain or group. We also had seven donations of $500 or more that didn’t request a certificate of recognition.

There was a Project St. Patrick Zoom call with the State Chairmen on December 18. Thank you to those of you who participated on the call, and I’m happy to report that there were members of the National Board on the call as well. We discussed many important topics on the call. The Grant Process was reviewed in detail and we discussed the important role that the Vocation Directors play in the Grant Process. There was a question-and-answer period. We touched on the 2025 Appeal and its kickoff. One of our goals for next year is to increase engagement and participation from our membership. Zoom calls are but one activity to help us achieve our goals.

One of the questions I’m often asked is “Does a Project Saint Patrick grant impact the seminarians and, if so, what is the impact?” I’d like to share some responses that I received from the Grant Recipients this year. The reported uses of the grants are varied but there are some common themes from many different seminarians. One of the most common uses of the grant is for car maintenance and car insurance. Cars are the main means of transportation for seminarians and their cars allow them to carry out their various assignments away from the seminary. Other seminarians intend to use the grants to further their education by purchasing textbooks that are required but not provided by the seminary. Still other seminarians will use the grants to buy the required clerical clothing that they need as they advance through their formation. So, the Project Saint Patrick grants do impact the recipients.

The Saint Patrick Appeal for 2025 will kick off on Ash Wednesday, March 5. There will be updated forms for 2025 on the AOH website that Divisions, Counties, States and individuals can use for their donations to Project St. Patrick. We will also have the Diocese form available on the website as well so that the Vocation Directors, who play a pivotal role in the Project Saint Patrick Appeal, can be identified.

We will have another Zoom call in Quarter 1, 2025, to help increase the engagement and participation of our members. If you would like to receive a link for the Zoom call, please e-mail me at kdelaneypsp@yahoo.com. I encourage all Project St. Patrick chairs at the State level, the County level and the Division level to join our Zoom call.