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Bishop's Day: A Long Honored Tradition of the ICF Many people talk about the shortage of priests in our dioceses and parishes. Churches are closing or blended together due to the shortage of priests. Bishops invite priests from other countries and cultures to help fill the needs of our dioceses. For years the ICF traditionally helped support seminarians. It is a wonderful tradition. Let's look at the degree of our participation. See how much we help in today's society. The purpose of Bishop's Day: 1. Show support and solidarity to the bishop. 2. Present a spiritual bouquet to the bishop. 3. Present checks to the bishop from the ICF at large and a check from the Luigi and Augusta Providenza fund to support the training of seminarians in the bishop's diocese. On Bishops Day, after Mass, the celebration continues with a traditional Italian banquet. There is much fun and camaraderie! Presentations and short speeches are made. The amount of the checks presented to the bishop varies from year to year and amounts to several thousand dollars. When I entered the seminary in 1948, the tuition, which included room and board as well as education and formation, was $500.00 a year. In those days a dollar had great value. Not so today. The cost of training seminarians has increased significantly. Today seminarians don't pay tuition since many of them come from out of the United States and can't afford the cost of the present day tuition. Because of the economic times and rising costs, the tuition obviously is much higher than $500.00. Out of curiosity I inquired what the tuition for a seminarian is today and I was astounded to find out the following: Here's a summary of the cost per seminarian per year. Tuition $12,795 Room and Board $10,532 Medical Insurance $5,028 Books/Retreat $950 Personal Living $1,575 Total $30,880 If a diocese has 15 seminarians the cost of educating them each year is 15 times $30,880 or $ 463,200. Over the years the ICF has helped annually, but the diocese picks up the rest. The ICF, as far as I know, is the only fraternal group that consistently gives to the education for seminarians annually. There is a proverb in Italian, "Tutto fa," every little bit helps. But is that enough? Wouldn't it be wonderful if Bishops Day gifts could be increased and inflated, growing with society as we experience it today? "Sempre di pił?"(Always more) Some people misquote the bible when they say, "Money is the root of all evil." That is not true. The correct quote is: (1Tim 6-10) "For the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil." The diocese and seminaries don't love money but certainly need it to train and educate future priests who will minister to people in all dioceses. Bishops Days don't do it all, but certainly help. Maybe we could find creative ways to do more? Bishops Day Can Be A Great Honored Tradition Of The ICF! Italian Catholic Federation, 8393 Capwell Drive, Suite 110, Oakland CA 94621 tel: 888/ICF-1924; 510/633-9058; fax: 510/633-9758; Email: info@icf.org Website designed by HYPERSPHERE