Release Date: Feb. 25, 2022

W H A T | Fat Tuesday celebration with Archbishop Schnurr

W H E N | Tuesday March 1, 2022, from 10 a.m. -11 a.m.

W H E R E | Our Lady of the Rosary School, 40 Notre Dame Ave. Dayton, OH 45404

The friendly wager between Jose H. Gomez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati over the Super Bowl was a big win for students in both archdioceses. More than $22,000 was raised for tuition assistance scholarships for students.

In addition to the fundraiser, the wager over the Super Bowl has also resulted in Archbishop Schnurr sending Graeter’s Ice Cream to Archbishop Gomez. And out of gratitude and in consolation Archbishop Gomez has sent baked treats to Archbishop Schnurr. The baked treats were donated by the famous Porto’s Bakery in Los Angeles.

As a treat before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is Wednesday March 2, Archbishop Schnurr will share the baked treats this coming Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, with students at Our Lady of the Rosary in Dayton. Members of the media are invited to attend.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 44^th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with more than 440,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with more than 40,000 students.  The 19-county territory includes 208 parishes and 111 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

Jennifer Schack

Director of Media Relations

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Office | 513.263.6618

Cell | 859.512.5626

jschack@CatholicAOC.org

The friendly wager between Archbishop José H. Gomez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati on the Big Game between the LA Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals was a big win for students in both Archdiocese, with more than $22,000 raised so far for tuition assistance scholarships.

With the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, Archbishop Schnurr will now be sending a gift of Cincinnati’s own Graeter’s ice cream to Archbishop Gomez. Out of gratitude and in consolation, Archbishop Gomez has decided to also send his wager of baked treats from LA’s beloved Porto’s Bakery to Archbishop Schnurr. Since the friendly wager was made with the intention of helping Catholic school students, each archbishop has now decided to share his winnings with students at a school in their respective archdioceses.

“As we said before, our bet was with our Catholic school kids all the way,” said Archbishop Gomez.  “They are always winners in our book! We want the kids to get in on the fun to celebrate the great sportsmanship of both the Rams and the Bengals who gave us such an exciting game, and the generous support of all those who donated to the Bishops Big Game challenge.”

Archbishop Gomez will be celebrating his victorious ice cream party with students at St. John Chrysostom school in Inglewood, near Sofi Stadium, on March 1, Fat Tuesday. Archbishop Schnurr will gather with students from Our Lady of the Rosary school in Dayton to enjoy cookies, pastries and other goodies, also on March 1.

The funds collected through #BishopsBigGame challenge will be split between the Catholic Education Foundations (CEF) of each archdiocese. The CEF of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, by virtue of the Rams’ victory, will receive 60% of the money raised while the CEF of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will receive 40%. The website BishopsBigGame.com will remain open through the end of the day Friday, February 18, to receive any additional donations.

“The Bengals and Rams certainly brought their A-games to the gridiron, and the fans of both teams did as well through their generous donations in support of Catholic education, and that is deserving of a real celebration,” noted Archbishop Schnurr. “Archbishop Gomez and I are grateful for the generosity of the people of our respective archdioceses and thank everyone who joined us in our friendly wager. We are delighted to celebrate this moment with at least some of our wonderful Catholic school students, teachers and staff members. We look forward to sharing the love and support of our Catholic communities in the form of delicious Graeter’s ice cream and tasty treats from Porto’s Bakery. A win for Catholic education all around!”

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati (established in 1821) and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (established in 1840) are the presence of the Roman Catholic Church in their respective geographies. Collectively, the two archdioceses minister to more than 5 million Catholics through 496 parishes, 376 schools and numerous charitable ministries.

The assignment plan for the priests in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is complete. The complete list of assignments is available at BeaconsAOC.org. Assignments include the pastors and parochial vicars for the Families of Parishes that were announced in December 2021.  The priest assignments will take effect July 1, 2022, upon the implementation of Families of Parishes.

This announcement is the culmination of the Priests’ Personnel Board’s many months of discernment and work. This process included input from each priest regarding his own desires, skills and (where applicable) retirement plans; an assessment of each Family of Parishes and its priest staffing and pastoral leadership needs; and a prayerful determination of best fit between priest candidates and the various Families. Recommended assignments were then submitted to Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr for his evaluation and acceptance. Regarding those Families of Parishes to be staffed by religious order priests, each order followed its own internal discernment process in recommending their priest(s). These recommendations were accepted by Archbishop Schnurr.

The assignments announcement aids leaders who are preparing for the implementation of Families of Parishes.  The first six months of 2022 is a preparatory period with trainings, workshops, and resources for priests, deacons and parish staffs. Some of this work has included:

• Beacons Roundtable Meetings: Monthly webinar series for parish leaders across the archdiocese that includes an overview of the Pastoral Planning Pathway and presentations on the Guiding Principles.
• Pastoral Planning Pathway: Fleshing out the five phases of the six principles that will guide each Family of Parishes on the path to becoming an evangelizing Beacon of Light. This work includes building a digital platform to assist Families of Parishes in the work of each phase of Beacons of Light. This platform will be aimed at assisting Families in creating their individual pastoral plans
• Liaisons: Identifying and training “liaisons” who are faithful Catholics with organizational leadership experience – who will work to assist Families of Parishes in their pastoral planning.
• Priest Formation & Training: Three important in-person conferences are planned for priests: Dan Cellucci, Executive Director of the Catholic Leadership Institute, will speak about priestly ministry and parish life in a time of chaos; Father Donald Senior will speak on the role of administrative services in priestly life; and Father James Mallon will speak on the Divine Renovation process.
• Lay Parish Leaders Formation & Training: Events planned in the spring for lay parish leaders, include a building skills workshop and a one-day retreat offered in four different locations around the archdiocese.
• Journeying Together Study Guide and Videos: These resources will help parish teams understand and reflect on the theological foundations of Beacons of Light.

More information about Beacons of Light, including frequently asked questions and downloadable resources are available at BeaconsAOC.org. A review of information from previous press releases regarding Beacons of Light:

Why is Beacons of Light happening?

• The status quo is no longer an option. At this point a comprehensive pastoral planning process is a necessity in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to garner stability and position the diocese for growth.
• Our resources are largely consumed by efforts to maintain the status quo and are spread too thin to be truly effective. In particular, our priests are stretched to the limit, and we will have fewer priests who can serve as pastors over the coming years. The number of archdiocesan priests available for assignment is projected to decline by approximately 20% over the next five years.
• Religious practice has been declining in both the United States and in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. From 2010 to 2019, sacramental practice (including baptisms, first communions, confirmations and weddings) in the archdiocese declined by 23%.
• Our current infrastructure and schedules were built for a different era. In many cases, our church buildings are grossly underutilized. In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the average Sunday Mass is about one-third full.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 44^th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with more than 450,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with more than 40,000 students.  The 19-county territory includes 211 parishes and 111 Catholic primary and secondary schools.