Legacy Sunday is a way to remember your parish

Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond
Archdiocese of New Orleans

A new annual initiative is beginning this year in the Archdiocese of New Orleans called Legacy Sunday. What is Legacy Sunday all about?

At all Masses in the archdiocese Jan. 20-21, the Catholic Community Foundation (CCF) is providing an informational brochure that prompts Catholics to reflect on the innumerable ways God has blessed us. As we know, everything we have and all that we are is a total gift from God. God has given us life, provided us with a family and showered us with material blessings. As children of God, we are called to be stewards of God’s gifts and leave a spiritual and material legacy for those who come behind us. Legacy Sunday is not a second collection! It is rather an annual reminder that we should remember in our legacy planning the good work that has been accomplished in our individual church parishes, where our Catholic faith was planted and nurtured. This is really an invitation for everyone to remember their parish when planning a will because that is the place where we first encountered Christ in the sacraments and through the lives of other parishioners. A legacy gift to the parish can leave a vital spiritual and material impact for decades.

How many people generally remember their church parish when writing a will?

Unfortunately, the number is very low, which is one reason we are launching Legacy Sunday as an ongoing effort to raise awareness of what Catholics can do to create a legacy. More than 60% of people don’t have an executable will, and of those wills, church parishes are not often named as beneficiaries. An important part of a legacy is identifying those desires, both material and spiritual, that you want to leave behind, and capturing those desires in your will.

How did you go about planning for Legacy Sunday?

The Catholic Community Foundation decided to run a pilot program in three parishes last summer – at St. Angela Merici Church in Metairie, St. Augustine Church in New Orleans and Most Holy Trinity Church in Covington. There was no collection – just the opportunity to let parishioners know that they could remember their parish whenever they decided to write a will. The results were very encouraging, and I really believe it’s because many people just hadn’t thought about the parish as part of their planned giving. Of course, families are concerned with caring for their children and grandchildren in their wills, which is a priority. Some people also are very mindful of charitable causes that have deep importance to them or that they have been involved in throughout their lives. Legacy Sunday is simply a way to focus Catholics on the foundational work of their church parish in molding them into the person of Christ they have become. After we examined the positive results of the pilot program, we decided to bring the idea to the Presbyteral Council, which approved the idea of making it an archdiocesan-wide program at the beginning of each new year. In the past, we have had a few parishes emphasize legacy planning, but this will be the first archdiocesan-wide effort.

How can Catholics include their parish in their will?

It’s very easy. The Catholic Community Foundation (CCF) has set up a website – ccfnola.org/legacysunday – that has free resources to help people discover how charitable giving can be a significant part of setting your Catholic legacy. There’s also a free will-writing tool, a Catholic Charitable Giving Guide, a Digital Legacy Seminar and an opportunity for in-person consultation with the CCF. My prayer is that all Catholics consider including their church parish as part of their legacy planning in order to continue the mission of Christ in the future.

Questions for Archbishop Aymond may be sent to [email protected].