SAN DIEGO — The Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego is taking great strides – both figuratively and literally.
The nonprofit, established in late 2015 as a one-stop resource for Catholic charitable giving, recently began awarding its own grants. It also held a pilgrimage walk to commemorate the feast day of St. Didacus of Alcalá, the patron saint of the Diocese of San Diego; at its conclusion, it presented the inaugural St. Didacus Pilgrim’s Path Award.
Though many local Catholics have used the foundation as a vehicle for their philanthropy over the past decade, it was only this fall that the foundation itself began giving grants. In recent months, it has granted $25,500 to local Catholic institutions.
This includes grants of $500 each to the campus ministries of seven local Catholic high schools for professional development; $2,000 to Catholic Charities’ Matthew 25 campaign, which provides emergency funds to immigrant and refugee families; and $1,000 grants to 20 grantees through the foundation’s seven “Field of Interest” endowments, which include Faith Formation and Parish Life, Peace and Justice, Retired Priests and Religious, Sanctity of Life, Service to the Poor, Vocations, and Youth and Education.
Will Peterson, the foundation’s executive director, said the foundation is “leading by example.”
Explaining that the foundation exists “to help develop a culture of generosity in this diocese,” he said, “As the community foundation for the local Catholic community, we need to be making our own contributions into that community.”
He said that the foundation has set a goal of granting $100,000 itself by 2030 and $1 million by 2040 – a goal that is contingent on local Catholics continuing to set up and support endowment funds through the foundation.
The diocesan Office for Family Life and Spirituality was among the recipients of a $1,000 grant, which will pay to train couples to lead Adventures in Marriage, a marriage skills program that was introduced to the diocese last spring.
John Prust, the office’s director, said the program not only lowers the divorce rate, but also leads couples to become more involved in parish life.
On Nov. 7, the foundation held the Camino de San Diego Pilgrimage, a 6.5-mile walk from The Immaculata Church, at the University of San Diego; along the San Diego River Trail; to Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, where the pilgrims spent time in Eucharistic adoration, attended a noon Mass, and enjoyed lunch.
Shortly before Mass, the St. Didacus Pilgrim’s Path Award was presented to Msgr. Steve Callahan, pastor of St. Brigid Parish in Pacific Beach. A founding board member of the foundation, his term will conclude at the end of December.
“I am quite humbled by the award,” he said. “I am grateful that I listened to the Holy Spirit within me and the wise counsel of others in seeking to start a Catholic community foundation to serve San Diego and Imperial counties.”
Of Msgr. Callahan, Peterson said, “(He) has just done so much to make the foundation an impactful part of our Catholic community and has done that through that tireless commitment to others that we saw in St. Didacus.”
For more information, visit ccfsd.org.
