2020 Bishop's Appeal

For more information about the Bishop's Appeal, your can visit the Diocese of Oakland website: https://oakdiocese.org/bishops-appeal. 
To donate to the Bishop's Appeal directly through the Diocese Of Oakland website, click the "DONATE NOW" button below.
Dear Faithful of the Diocese of Oakland,
 
I would like to thank you for your support during our 2019 Bishop's Appeal in response to Our Lord's call to "Rebuild My Church." Thanks to your generosity, we were able to raise $2.7 million dollars. I express my sincere gratitude to you for your previous support of the Bishop’s Appeal. If you are financially able, I ask you to please thoughtfully and prayerfully consider joining our efforts this year by making a gift or pledge of financial support. 

Here's how your gifts helped to Rebuild the Church:
  • 600 Catechumens, under instruction from September to April, participated in the Rite of Election for Adults with me at the Cathedral and entered the Catholic Church at Easter.
  • More than 700 religious education teachers attended our Diocesan Catechetical Congress.
  • Over 2,000 young people, having completed the two-year preparation course, received the Sacrament of Confirmation.
  • A statewide Youth Conference held in our diocese attracted 700 young people to celebrate and grow in their faith. At the end of that weekend, 98 young men and women came forward to declare they were open to a religious vocation.
  • The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal – who serve the materially poor, most especially the destitute and homeless – arrived in Oakland to open a convent and minister here.
  • Tuition was paid for 18 young men studying in seminary to serve you as future priests.
  • I was able to pay the medical bills to care for priests whose treatments were not covered.
  • And at our largest event, braving inclement weather, 6,000+ faithful marched in a seven-mile pilgrimage through East Oakland to the Cathedral to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe.

​Jesus Christ promised us at His Ascension: "I will be with you all days until the end of the ages." If Christ has helped you and your family, if He has been generous to you, will you consider sharing some of the blessings you have received with Christ and His Church?
 
Although we call it "The Bishop's Appeal," it is really Christ's appeal. Thank you in advance for your love and generosity. No gift is too small. Thank you!
 
Sincerely Yours in Christ,

The Most Reverend Michael C. Barber, SJ
​Bishop of Oakland