Annual Appeal

Nearly 95 percent of donations to the Retirement Fund for Religious (RFR) aid elderly and frail religious.

The annual RFR appeal is conducted on the Second Sunday of Advent in most Catholic parishes in the United States. Some of the nation's 195 Catholic dioceses conduct the appeal on alternate dates, and others combine the RFR appeal with other national or diocesan appeals.

To promote the collection, the National Religious Retirement Office creates materials and conducts outreach initiatives designed to inform Catholics about the shortage in retirement funding for Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests.

The Retirement Fund for Religious is in its 25th year. Since the first appeal in 1988, the RFR has been the most successful fund-raising appeal in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States, raising $671 million.

Donations can be made at Catholic parishes or mailed to the National Religious Retirement Office, 3211 Fourth Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017-1194.