SAN DIEGO — “In mission, we are one.”
That’s the theme for the 2026 Annual Catholic Appeal, which will kick off during the Feb. 14-15 weekend and has a goal of raising $3.5 million by the end of the calendar year.
Through this annual collection, the diocese raises $1 million each for Catholic education, clergy formation and support, and faith formation, and $500,000 for Catholic Charities.
Each of the diocese’s 96 parishes has its own fundraising goal, and all funds raised in excess of that goal are retained by the parish to fund its own projects.
Bishop Michael Pham sought to inspire pastors and parish administrators who gathered Jan. 14 at the diocesan Pastoral Center for lunch to promote the ACA.
He told them that they were there that day because they had been “sent on a mission.”
“Our mission is turning dreams into reality,” Bishop Pham said.
Evoking Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday was to be celebrated days later, the bishop used “dreams” as an extended metaphor throughout his remarks.
“I dream of our Church, the Diocese of San Diego, that all people, all Catholics of all different communities, come together as Church,” he said.
Bishop Pham told luncheon attendees that he hoped that his words would inspire them to go back to their parishes, families and friends with the message that “we have a purpose” and that our goal is “to welcome everyone and to help everyone to encounter Jesus.”
Achieving that goal requires financial support, he said, but when approached with the right mindset, raising those funds needn’t be “a burden for everyone.”
Rather, he said, it could be “a joy that everyone will have to serve each other … for the good of our Universal Church, our diocese, and for our parishes and schools.”
The luncheon also featured presentations from representatives of the four ministry areas that receive ACA funding: Catholic Charities CEO Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor; Leticia Oseguera, diocesan superintendent, on behalf of Catholic education; Father Marc Gandolfo, director of priestly vocations, for clergy formation and support; and Marioly Galván, diocesan chancellor and director for Pastoral Ministries, for faith formation.
Pajanor said that more than 90 percent of Catholic Charities’ budget is publicly funded. Therefore, some might wonder why the organization would need an additional $500,000 through the Annual Catholic Appeal.
He explained that there has always been a gap of $2.5 to $3 million annually between the public funding that Catholic Charities receives and the programs that it runs.
Pajanor provided examples of how Catholic Charities has used the money that it has received through the ACA.
Rachel’s Women’s Center, which has served unsheltered women in downtown San Diego for 42 years, receives “a whole bunch of money” from the ACA, he said. Other beneficiaries include the Day Center in El Centro, which is the only homeless day center of its kind in Imperial County; La Posada de Guadalupe Shelter in Carlsbad; and Emergency Food Distribution Network +, an assistance program for the food insecure.
Pajanor credited ACA funds with helping Catholic Charities become “more and more engaged with our parishes.” He noted that, when he became CEO over seven years ago, there weren’t any parish food pantries collaborating with Catholic Charities. Now, he said, 17 parishes are working together.
Speaking on behalf of Catholic education, Oseguera told the luncheon crowd that, while Catholic Charities may receive only “a small fraction” of its total funding from the ACA, “for us, the million (received from the Appeal) is everything.”
The $1 million covers the entire operating budget for the diocesan Office for Schools, which supports almost 50 schools, $975,000 in the current fiscal year. The ACA funds also support the Bishop Flores Scholars tuition assistance program and subsidies for schools.
Father Gandolfo shared that the diocese has nine seminarians in various stages of priestly formation. This includes four who just began their college-level studies, two third-year seminarians who are currently doing a pastoral year at a parish in the diocese, and three who are in their first year of graduate-level theology.
“All formation is done here in the Diocese of San Diego,” said Father Gandolfo. “So, the young men who are entering our program really fall in love with the diocese by spending time at parishes, spending time working in diocesan offices, and really developing a love for the People of God here in San Diego.”
“If they don’t love San Diego by the end of it, well, good luck,” he joked.
Father Gandolfo said that, based on the financial data that he had shared with luncheon attendees, “it’s not cheap to create a priest.”
“It might sound like a lot, saying that it’s $200,000-plus to create a priest,” he said. “But, in the long run, that is well worth it to create men of deep and profound love of Christ to serve the People of God here in San Diego.”
When it came to her turn, Galván shared some of what the pastoral ministries of the diocese were able to accomplish in the area of faith formation, thanks to the generosity of ACA donors.
For example, she said, the diocesan Office for Evangelization and Catechetical Ministry offers a wide range of formational opportunities. In 2025 alone, it sponsored 70 events in three languages and 10 Basic Catechist courses with an aggregate participation of nearly 2,500 people.
Last year, 433 adult catechumens were welcomed into the Church, and 1,020 candidates were brought into full communion with the Church in San Diego and Imperial counties, along with 139 child catechumens and candidates. These numbers exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
Galván said that the San Diego Diocesan Institute, which offers a variety of courses for the lay faithful, also serves as “the central formation for all deacon candidates.”
In 2025, the Institute offered 56 courses in Spanish and 36 in English. There were 1,781 enrolled students, 32 of whom are deacon candidates and their wives.
Annual Catholic Appeal
The Diocese of San Diego is launching its 2026 Annual Catholic Appeal on Feb. 14 and 15 to support Catholic schools, the pastoral ministries that support parishes and Catholic Charities.
All faithful are invited to consider how they can participate. They may respond using a card available at the parishes, through the parish office, or online at sdcatholic.org/giving, selecting “Annual Catholic Appeal (also available in Spanish and Vietnamese).
If they are unable to donate, their prayers for a successful campaign are a valued part of our shared mission.
