Worthy Officers, DDs, GKs, FNs, and Brothers (and Rev. Bishops Burns and Kelly and Fathers Paul, Zach, Vincent, Fernando, Alan, and Loyd):
I am attaching my sixth and FINAL RSVP report for this fraternal year concerning our Diocesan RSVP Program for seminarian support.
- As a reminder, our Diocesan goal is to provide each of our Diocesan seminarians (we had 65 this year) with at least 2 sponsors of $500.00 each.
- We have done a fine job this year! All 65 of our seminarians have at least two sponsors, and have received at least two sponsorship checks. 53 of our seminarians had at least 3 sponsors (and received at least 3 checks). Next year I’d like to see us get all of our seminarians at least 3 checks!
- Our Diocese was blessed to have eight (8) men confirmed to the priesthood on May 20, 2023. They are:
- Alex Fry
- Dennis O’Donnell
- Cesar Garcia
- Juan Estaban Rojas
- Kevin Kolker
- Miguel Sotelo
- Vu Nguyen
- Eugene Udemba
- We were also blessed to four (4) men ordained as transitional deacons this year on April 29, 2023. They are:
- Juan Mendez
- William Mobley
- Samuel Rendon
- Parker Thompson
- You’ll see from the attached reports that 40 Councils, 6 Assemblies and 2 Squire Circles have pledged a total of 222.50 sponsorships to support all 65 Diocesan seminarians, 3 military chaplains, and 10 men in formation outside of the Dallas Diocese. To date, we have funded 218.50 sponsorships – that’s $109,250.00.
- It is also time for Councils, Assemblies and Squire Circles to complete and submit their Form 2863 to claim their refunds from Supreme. Based upon the Forms 2863 submitted for 2021-2022, Supreme believes that Councils/Assemblies/Squire Circles in the Dallas Diocese funded $73,500 in RSVP support for that fraternal year. My records reflect that the Dallas Diocese funded $101,750, which suggests that as much as $28,250 in RSVP support was never reported to Supreme on the Form 2863. It further suggests that approximately $5,500 in refund dollars was left on the table!
- I anticipate receiving the list of our Diocesan seminarians for 2023-2024 in late August or early September. I will turn that around and get it distributed to our Councils/Assemblies/Circles so that we can start the 2023-2024 RSVP program. If you have any questions about the process of supporting a seminarian, please send me an email and I will walk you through it.
- The first report attached to this email is the current list of Diocesan seminarians for this fraternal year. It also shows which Councils/Assemblies supported these men last year, and identifies our new seminarians with the word NEW.
- The second report attached to this email summarizes how we are doing as a Diocese.
- The third report attached to this email is organized by District (for Councils), Assemblies and Squire Circles. If you want to see how your particular Council, Assembly or Circle is doing, this is the place to look. It is also the place to check to be sure that your plans have been communicated to yours truly.
- If any brother Knight would like to receive my detailed reports (Excel or PDF), please contact me.