From the desk of the pastor for November 15, 2026

The Lord be with you. Today’s article will be different because we need to go over the parish’s finances. It is my responsibility as pastor not only to oversee the finances but also to make an annual report about them. Included with the bulletin is the financial report that the diocese has reviewed and accepted. Let’s go over the numbers.

The report has three parts: a statement of assets and liabilities, a statement of the church’s revenue and expenses, and finally a statement of the school’s revenue and expenses. The report compares the numbers from the previous fiscal year with the numbers for the fiscal year being reported. Our fiscal year is July 1st through June 30th so that this report has the numbers for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2026 and the year that ended on June 30, 2025.

The assets section is relatively straightforward. On June 30 of this year we had $2,075,750.38 whereas last June we only had $1,922,038.36 - a difference of $153,712.02. Liabilities are a bit more complicated. The largest single debt we owe is to the Diocese of Cleveland in the form of unpaid assessments - $344,516.68. Unlike most debt no interest accrues here. More importantly, we are allowed to repay that debt at the pace which the parish sets. The liability entry under that - $152,180.26 - is a catchall of liabilities that mostly consists of funds raised in advance. For example, we have to count the teacher salaries for July and August as such a liability in June since their contracts run from August to August. Lastly, the fund balance is the liability deducted from the assets. Our official fund balance as of June 30, 2026 is $1,579,003.44.

Now onto income and expenses. The parish ran a surplus of $4,729.69. The offertory collection declined slightly as did overall income. We were able to reduce some costs so that parish expenses dropped from $716,685.65 to $648,324.28. Nevertheless, parish income has been trending downward for a while.

The school generated a net profit of $96,196.17. Its revenues only increased by $44,178.76, but its expenses increased by $210,905.05. That deserves an explanation. Almost all the increase in expenses came from increasing teacher and staff compensation. Now that the school receives most of its tuition payments in the form of Cleveland Scholarship and Ed Choice monies, the school is in position to pay its teachers more equitably as the bishop has asked us to do.

I am very grateful for the generosity of the parishioners here, especially in our Called to Flourish Capital Campaign. We are nearing 66% - thank you! If you have any questions about the above, please let me know. God bless and keep you.

In His Sacred Heart,
Fr. John