Every year each pastor in the Catholic Church is required to make an annual report to his parishioners about the stewardship of the parish finances. This year I’m publishing our annual Financial Report (click here to download the report) later than usual in order to comply with the updated guidelines of the Archdiocese of Boston, that require parishes to submit the report to the community before the end of the calendar year.
 
First of all, I want to thank all of you for supporting our parish. Your generosity makes it possible for our parish to be “God’s home next to your home”: a place of worship, growth in the faith, shared fellowship, and mutual charity. By far, the largest part of our income is what you contribute at the weekend masses, as you would expect. In addition to the in-pew donations, we are very grateful for your online contributions and those mailed to us. The number of recurring donors and the amount we have been receiving has been growing steadily (+283%). They continue to assist us greatly. We also just completed a very successful Parish Registration Drive: we received 56 new registrations (+15%) increasing the total number of registered households to 435.
 
While donations increased in the past fiscal year (+23%), we still have ground to make up. As you can see from our Annual Report, as of now, we are operating at a deficit because of inflation, higher cost of living (Household, Employees and Utilities expenses combined: +39%), and maintenance expenses. We were able to offset this loss by drawing upon our cash reserves that came from last year’s bequest from Kim and Josephine Pelosi.
 
We also had to address several budgeted as well unforeseen repairs, especially  in the parish hall (e.g. asbestos was found on the stage and had to be removed). We repainted the hall and are in the process of installing sound absorption panels to dampen the noise level in the hall as well. These projects and repairs are part of the greater project of renovation and improvement of the parish hall, aiming at making it a handicap accessible and multi-functional space. Right now, the architect assigned to us by the Office of Property Management of the Archdiocese of Boston is working on a feasibility study to address accessibility, bathrooms remodeling, and lack of meeting spaces.
 
We still need your help. The Grand Annual Campaign begins the weekend of October 26-27, 2024. This campaign remains a very important source of income for our parish. Our goal is $43,000, like last year. I want to encourage each parishioner to support the Grand Annual and consider increasing what you can give to fund our mission of spreading the good news of Jesus. You can also donate by mail or online at www.sacredhearteb.org/grand-annual.

Thank you so much for your generosity and for sharing the gifts that God has given you.

Your servant in Christ,


Fr. Paolo Cumin,   FSCB
Parish Administrator