Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia announced at a news conference today that the 2006 Catholic Charities Appeal of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has raised 10.2 million dollars. That amount not only surpasses the goal of ten million dollars for 2006 but is the largest amount raised by the Catholic Charities Appeal since 2000.

At the news conference in the auditorium of the Archdiocesan Office Center in Philadelphia, Cardinal Rigali expressed his thanks to the Catholic community of the Archdiocese for their generous response to the Appeal and said, "The Appeal is the major annual fund-raiser of the Church in Philadelphia and is a concrete expression of the love that we as Catholics are called to demonstrate for our brothers and sisters in need. The Catholic Charities Appeal is important to me personally as Archbishop of Philadelphia because it supports many diverse outreach programs the Archdiocese sponsors right here in the five counties that comprise the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. These programs provide essential services to those in need and with disabilities, without regard to race, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, gender of the limitation of financial means."

Joining Cardinal Rigali at the news conference were Most Reverend Joseph P. McFadden, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, General Chairman of the Catholic Charities Appeal, as well as four pastors who were particularly successful in promoting the Catholic Charities Appeal in their respective parishes: Monsignor Arthur Rodgers, Pastor of St. Matthias Parish in Bala Cynwyd; Father Robert Feeney, Pastor of All Saints Parish in Philadelphia (Bridesburg section); Father Zachary Navit, Pastor of Saint Francis de Sales Parish in West Philadelphia and Father Leonard Peterson, Pastor of St. Maria Goretti in Hatfield.

Cardinal Rigali recognized Bishop McFadden and the Pastors for all of their work and said, "I extend my gratitude to these pastors and to all of the priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who worked so hard to communicate the importance of the Catholic Charities Appeal to the people entrusted to their pastoral care. I also thank the lay parish coordinators and volunteers who gave of their time and talent, encouraging their fellow parishioners to give to the Catholic Charities Appeal. More than 110 parishes raised the level of participation in the Appeal among their parishioners. These significant gains could not have been made without the hard work of many lay volunteers."

Every year the Catholic Charities Appeal benefits more than 250,000 men, women and children. One of those beneficiaries, Naseer Montero, the 2006 poster child for the Catholic Charities Appeal and a former day care student at Casa del Carmen, also attended the news conference. Casa del Carmen is one of the Catholic Social Services institutions that receives funds from the Catholic Charities Appeal.

All funds raised through the Catholic Charities Appeal stay in the five-county area of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. For more information, please contact 215-587-3651 or visit www.catholicharitiesappeal.org.