A Letter From Bishop Rhoades

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“Hope in the Lord! Hold firm, take heart and hope in the Lord!”  These words of Psalm 27 resound in our hearts since Pope Francis chose hope as the theme for this Jubilee Year 2025.  He wanted the whole Church and each one of us to be renewed in hope, our hope in God, at a time when there is increasing hopelessness in the world.  As Christians, the ultimate reason for our hope is Jesus our Savior, His death and resurrection, and His promise of eternal life.

The theological virtue of hope is intimately linked to the other two theological virtues: faith and love.  These three virtues are the foundational virtues of the Christian life.  Without faith in God, we would be without hope since our lives would lack ultimate meaning and purpose.  Without love, our faith would not be a living faith and our hope would be futile since at the end of our lives we will be judged on love.

Hope, rooted in faith and witnessed through love, is central to the mission of Catholic Charities.  As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called “to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind” (Pope Francis).  All the works of Catholic Charities are ordered to the loving service of our brothers and sisters in need.  This loving service engenders hope in the lives of those who are struggling because of poverty, mental illness, and other human sufferings.  Our pro-life services engender hope in the lives of pregnant mothers in need of support.  Our loving service of migrants and refugees engenders hope in the lives of those who had to leave their homelands because of violence, persecution, or severe poverty.  

I am proud of the work of our Catholic Charities.  Though we help tens of thousands of needy people in our diocese each year, I wish we could help more.  Because of the mental health crisis in our country, we have significantly increased our counseling services, but there are still so many whom we are not able to serve due to lack of sufficient funding to hire more counselors.  I am deeply grateful to all our donors whose generosity allows us to grow these services.  

Next year, we will have our first diocesan synod in 100 years (the last was in 1926).  The synod will be focusing on the mission of the Church in our diocese, parishes, and schools, including our outreach to the poor, the suffering, and the vulnerable.   I encourage your participation in the prayerful consultative gatherings to prepare for the Synod and your continued generous support of our Catholic Charities, the human service arm of the Church in our diocese.

May God bless you and may our diocesan patron saints, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Matthew, intercede for you!

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades

Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend 

Chairman of the Board, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend