32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (2024)

Dear Friends in Christ,

As is our practice in the Archdiocese, I would like to give you a summary of our annual financial status based on the results of the past fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024).  About this time last year, I related to you at the Masses and in this bulletin the financial effects of having lost the lease on the OLM School building.  At that time, we were projecting an operating deficit.  As a result, we engaged in cost-cutting over the past year, a process which is certainly ongoing.  I also appealed to your generosity in supporting the needs of the parish.  It is with great joy that I share with you today the good news that we are reporting an annual surplus of $370,658 from last fiscal year!  How to explain this change?

Expense Changes

We decreased our parish expenses this year by about $115,000, or about 7%, since last year.  Some of these reductions came because of the sale of the IHM Campus, which reduced our insurance and other assessment obligations.  Some others came through a careful review of all our existing service provider contracts.  As we have re-negotiated these contracts, more savings will be realized in the current fiscal year.  A difficult point of the past year was a process of change of parish staff, which is also helping us to reach a point of long-term financial viability.

Revenue Changes

First and foremost, I want to thank you for your generosity.  Our Sunday collection this past year increased by about $61,000 (>8%) since the previous fiscal year.  Your support has been overwhelming!  Another key moment of the past year was the decision to invest the $2.5 million we received from the sale of IHM Parish into an investment fund managed by the Archdiocese of Chicago.  This investment yielded the vast majority of the $263,683 reported as investment income.  We have since converted this to an endowment fund of $2 million for the long-term needs of the parish.  The remaining balance continues in a separate investment fund.  I also want to thank our parish groups for their continued donations as well as the Taste of SFX and OLM Gala Committees for two very successful fundraisers this year as well.  Because of timing of the deposits, the majority of the income for the Gala is being reported in this fiscal year.

Summary and Conclusion

While this financial report is certainly good news (and much better than we had expected), we must continue our efforts.  Our parish has many capital needs, which I hope to be able to fund through annual budget surpluses, leaving endowment and investment funds intact for long-term use.  As we conclude work on the OLM Church doors and pew renewals, we will begin work on the Ryan Hall Kitchen.  There is also a good deal of deferred masonry work to be done at St. Francis Xavier.

In other good news, our October count (average attendance at all Sunday Masses in October) increased again this year – from 2,802 in 2023 to 2,989 in 2024 (nearly 7%).  We also saw an increase in baptisms from 148 in 2023 to 237 in 2024 and in other sacramental celebrations.  It is a blessing to be a growing parish, and I look forward to investing more in the mission of our parish as an evangelizing community in 2025. 

Finally, I want to extend my thanks to Martiza Arroyo, Operations Director, who manages the immense work of our financial reporting.  Thanks also to our Parish Finance Council members, who have helped us to make wise decisions about the use of our resources: Marelet Kirda, Joseph Lomanto, Regis Merenik, Viliulfo Arteaga, Gabriel Delgado, Luis Galicia, and Omar Hernandez.  Should you have any questions about this report, please feel free to contact our parish office.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Thomas Byrne