Fuel the
Sacred Scripture teaches us “if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” (cf. 1 John 4:12). Supporting our annual Catholic Services Appeal unites us as a faith community in demonstrating our Jesus-centered love of others in all the CSA-funded good works we are able to provide together. The CSA fuels the engine of the Gospel mission of our Archdiocese, so it is fitting that the theme of the 2020 CSA is Fuel the Movement as the Holy Spirit continues to guide us in unleashing the Gospel. Joining together to carry out these works of mercy is a source of encouragement to us as we strive to become Christ’s joyful band of missionary disciples.
What does the CSA do?
Fuel Families
239,769 families are encountering Jesus and growing as disciples in our parishes.
Families are the first and most important place where evangelization happens. They are the heart of everything we do to unleash the Gospel in the Archdiocese of Detroit. As the domestic church, families live out joyful missionary disciples on a daily basis through their interactions, witness, and relationships. Through ministries such as marriage preparation and counseling, families receive the support they need to thrive and grow together and as the larger Church. We are all called to uphold the sacrament of marriage and the mission of family life to pass the faith on to future generations.
Fuel Vocations
419 lay students, including 35 seminarians, are pursuing their vocation to serve the Church through formation and training at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.
At Sacred Heart Major Seminary, seminarians are formed as missionary disciples to proclaim, teach, and defend the faith. They are prepared academically and spiritually through the instruction of highly credentialed faculty members who are experts in their fields. After graduation and ordination, these men will bring Christ to our parishes through the Sacraments and their priestly ministry. Sacred Heart Major Seminary also prepares deacons and the lay faithful in the Archdiocese of Detroit who are called to lead the work of evangelization in our parishes, schools, ministries and apostolates.
Fuel Evangelization
In 2019, we shared the Gospel with over 1,900,000 people through digital and print communication efforts.
Our mission to share Christ to the people of our time requires us to embrace new ways of communication to spread the good news of the Gospel in southeast Michigan and beyond. In the past year, the Archdiocese of Detroit has engaged over 1,900,000 people through communication efforts across social media, websites, podcasts, video, and print to reach people where they consume content on a daily basis — meeting people where they’re at with hopeful and inspiring messages.
Fuel Formation
27,000 students are being formed as leaders and future saints in our Catholic schools.
Catholic schools form boys and girls to become men and women of virtue, the person God created them to be, and to joyfully embrace their vocations, becoming servant leaders in this world and saints in the life to come. God calls our children to become joyful missionary disciples of Jesus Christ, and our schools are one of the most effective ways we can equip them for their mission. Catholic schools play an integral role in our shared mission to unleash the Gospel in southeast Michigan and beyond.
Fuel Youth
Over 5,000 young people - youth and young adults - gained spiritual enrichment and faith community through conferences, retreats, workshops, and programs in 2019.
Through innovative and engaging events and programs,the Archdiocese of Detroit serves young people — teenage youth and young adults — through training, formation, community, and leadership. From volunteer opportunities to spiritual enrichment retreats, young men and women gather together to be inspired, grow in faith, and go out as witnesses in their local communities. In addition to local events and activities, youth ministers and volunteers travel with the young people to out-of-state events to experience the national and global Church. They are exposed to the great richness of our Catholic faith, interacting with thousands of young people of all cultures, languages, socioeconomic and geographic realities, all united as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Fuel the Movement
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the Catholic Services Appeal?
The Catholic Services Appeal is an annual campaign that raises funds for Archdiocese of Detroit ministries, programs and services that benefit all the faithful in southeast Michigan. This archdiocesan-wide campaign communicates that the local Church extends beyond the parish.
Since the CSA was introduced in the early 1980s, it has been conducted through parishes with the support of materials and guidance from the archdiocese. The CSA is an opportunity for the faithful to respond to Christ’s command “to love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12) by helping to fund services throughout the broader area of southeast Michigan. This collaborative, archdiocesan campaign is a way to demonstrate the unity of the larger Church and to fund these vital programs, as opposed to simply increasing the archdiocesan assessment of parish offertories.
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What does the CSA fund?
The Catholic Services Appeal benefits parishes and people in the Archdiocese of Detroit by helping to fund more than 100 ministries, programs and services, including: support for men discerning God’s call to the priesthood at Sacred Heart Major Seminary; campus ministry; grants to Catholic schools; and young adult programs. Essentially, CSA dollars help fund the spiritual and corporal works of mercy in the greater Detroit area.
Except for six national collections of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), CSA funds remain in the archdiocese. These national collections include: Black and Indian Missions, Catholic Communications, Catholic Home Missions, Catholic University of America, Church in Latin America, and the Holy Land.
Click here to learn more about what your gifts help fund.
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Who oversees and distributes CSA funds?
The archdiocesan lay Finance Council oversees the distribution of CSA funds to ensure they reach the ministries, programs and services for which they are intended.
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How much money is raised and where does this money go?
During each of the past 10 years, our annual CSA goal for the archdiocese has been $17.8 million. Through the generosity of the faithful, that goal has been exceeded each year. Click here to learn how last year’s gifts were a blessing to many in the archdiocese.
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What happens when the goal is exceeded – where does that money go?
Once a parish reaches its individual annual goal, 100 percent of the overage is returned to the parish for its own needs.
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How is the fundraising goal for each parish determined?
The annual goal for each parish is based on the average of its previous three-year offertory and Christmas collections. More details are in the table below. The parish goal is reduced by 10 percent if it operates an elementary school and reduced an additional 10 percent if it operates a high school. Parishes also may have their goal reduced if they provide tuition assistance to parishioners who attend Catholic schools. In those cases, their goal is reduced by 10 percent of the amount of financial aid they provide.
If Offertory + Christmas Collection Revenue Is:
Then Parish CSA Target =
Greater than or equal to $1.5M
15.5% of Revenue
Less than $1.5M but greater than or equal to $1M
14.5% of Revenue
Less than $1M but greater than or equal to $500K
13% of Revenue
Less than $500K but greater than or equal to $250K
12% of Revenue
Less than $250K but greater than or equal to $100K
10.5% of Revenue
Less than $100K
9.5% of Revenue
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What happens if a parish does not reach its goal?
In this case, the parish is invoiced by the archdiocese for the shortfall and must pay the difference from its own savings.
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Have CSA funds ever been used to settle judgements against the archdiocese?
No CSA dollars have ever been – or ever will be – used to settle claims of any nature against the archdiocese.
