Religious order brothers and sisters need help to transition into retirement after decades of work
The Archdiocese of Newark will join parishes nationwide in taking up a special collection for retired Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests during the weekend of Dec. 10 and 11.
The collection is in support of the Retirement Fund for Religious (RFR), an organization launched by the Catholic bishops of the U.S. in 1988 to address the lack of retirement funding for elderly religious.
For most of their lives, religious work for little to no pay and without 401(k) plans or pensions to fund their retirements. The average annual Social Security benefit for a religious is $7,326, whereas the average U.S. beneficiary receives $19,896, according to data from the Retirement Fund for Religious.
“The care of our aging religious presents an enormous financial responsibility,” said Sister Stephanie Still, executive director of the National Religious Retirement Office, which operates the RFR. “It is our privilege to care for those who gave a lifetime of tireless service, and I feel we are deeply blessed by all the U.S. Catholic donors who have steadfastly contributed to this fund. According to the RFR, rising health care costs and decreased income compound the challenge of meeting day-to-day needs on top of the cost of medications, nursing assistance, and other necessities. Currently, the average annual cost of care for women and men religious past age 70 is nearly $51,000 per person. Skilled care is roughly $78,000, Campaign Director Robin Cabral said.
Cardinal Joseph Tobin C.Ss.R, Archbishop of Newark, said the annual appeal helps the men and women whose “many sacrifices over decades now leave them in need themselves.”
“The national collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious helps many religious communities care for their elderly members, assess their financial situations to chart a course for fiscal stability, and to make all of the difficult but necessary decisions called for by the strategic planning processes they undertook,” Cardinal Tobin said in a letter to archdiocesan pastors. “This collection has an enormous and life-giving impact on religious communities, and while it cannot eradicate the need, it has certainly been able to alleviate it.”
Full lives, late retirement
The RFR collection will support many religious who have led accomplished lives.
Sister Theresa McGrath, 88, a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, retired two years ago after working for 67 years.
After professing her first vows in 1953, Sister McGrath worked in the registrar’s office at Incarnate Word College while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. She later received a master’s degrees in mathematics and religious studies. She also studied at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and at the East Asian Pastoral Institute in Manila, Philippines.
Over the years, she ministered in various areas, including serving as a teacher and administrator in higher education for 25 years and serving in congregational leadership for 10 years. From 1989-2008—following a six-month sabbatical as a missionary in Zimbabwe—she was the vice president for mission, ethics, and spirituality at Incarnate Word Health System, which later became part of CHRISTUS Health, a network of more than 600 health care centers.
“I was given great opportunities,” Sister McGrath said. “I loved everything I was ever doing. I didn’t come [to religious life] to be a teacher or a nurse. I came to be a sister. I put my whole heart and soul into whatever I was asked to do.”
At age 86, Sister McGrath “retired” but volunteers in her community’s development office about five hours a day, assisting with editing and proofreading.
Sister McGrath joined many who entered the church in the mid-20th century when the Catholic Church experienced a surge in vocations to religious life, with numbers peaking in the mid-1960s. After working into their 80s, those priests and sisters are now reaching retirement age.
Sister Gerardine Mueller, O.P., a member of the Dominican Order and 101 years old, had a long career as a teacher and artist before retiring in 1999.
Sister Mueller graduated from Caldwell University in 1954 before earning an M.A. and M.F.A. from the University of Notre Dame and certificates from the New Jersey State Department of Education, Fordham University, and the Cummings Glass Studio.
She had teaching assignments in Montclair and Jersey City before heading up the art department at Saint Dominic Academy in Jersey City, where she taught for nine years.
Sister Mueller then started the art department at Caldwell University and spent 34 years in its classrooms before retiring. When she left, the university had 65 art majors.
In 2017, a gallery was dedicated in her name — “The Mueller Gallery.” Sister Mueller also received the Father Victor Yanitelli, S.J., Award from SOAR! (Supporting Our Aging Religious). The award recognized her life’s devotion to sacred art and the training and mentoring of students of all ages in the arts.
Last year, the Caldwell University Mueller Gallery held “Imago Dei,” exhibiting and honoring her artwork. of Sister Gerardine Mueller.
Other Dominican sisters who will benefit from the RFR collection include those who retired and collectively left Our Lady of Sorrows in the summer of 2021. Once in traditional teaching positions, the sisters became pastoral leaders in the truest sense after the parish lost its resident pastor years ago. Sister Luke Dworschak ran the clothing and household items ministry and served as the public safety liaison to the local police precinct. Sister Carol Van Billiard trained hundreds of volunteers to visit and be with the dying in their homes under the ministry Hudson Hospice, founded at the parish by Sister Alice McCoy in 1979.
Today, the religious aged 70 or older outnumber those under 70 by nearly three to one, according to data from the Retirement Fund for Religious.
Overall, the annual appeal benefits nearly 25,000 elderly religious. Last year, the collection totaled $28.5 million, with the Archdiocese of Newark giving $325,581. Locally, the money collected will help fund retirements for religious sisters and brothers in at least nine different orders throughout the Archdiocese of Newark.
Sister Patricia Wormann, O.P., Delegate for Religious in the Archdiocese of Newark, said the religious have been blessed by the generosity of the faithful within the Archdiocese who wish to support those who have retired.
“Through their generosity, many good things continue to happen,” Sister Wormann said. “Religious life is evolving. Things change, and so do our numbers and calls to ministry. The men and women religious are not only grateful for the help but are also praying for your intentions.”
How to help
Parishioners can give during the annual collection at their local Catholic parish. Donations can also be mailed in an offertory envelope to their parish (write RFR on the memo line of the check). The Retirement Fund for Religious does not accept online donations.
Donors should also look into whether their employers have a matching gift program for the RFR appeal.
For more information on the Retirement Fund for Religious, visit www.retiredreligious.org.
