Capital Campaign

Date: March 1, 2021


Dear Parish Family,

The year 2020 has certainly been a year of struggles for everyone. We all have had to adjust our lives around sickness, loss and economic hardship. St. Hyacinth is no exception. If you have followed the weekly bulletins and have read our annual budget for fiscal year 2021 -- all available on StHyacinth.org -- you are aware that our aging facilities and our operating revenues both face steady erosion.

In 2015, we launched a capital campaign with a goal of raising $3 million for a new, $6 million sanctuary -- the balance of which we would borrow from the archdiocese. By the end of 2018, we raised just over $1 million of  that goal. In 2019, with the archdiocese's approval, we paused the campaign to participate in the archdiocesan IGNITE capital campaign.

Both campaigns were supported by less than one-third of our approximately 1,600 registered families and individuals. By and large, these are the same families and individuals who regularly provide financial support to our parish. For their heartfelt sacrifices, we forever offer our deepest gratitude. 

Unfortunately, we conclude that a $3 million goal is untenable, especially as construction costs rise. After discussing the matter with the archdiocese, we find our best course is to use current and future capital campaign funds to renovate, rather than replace our sanctuary; and to replace parts of our facilities that cannot be repaired.


For those who were fundamentally opposed to our plans for new construction, we hope you will help us renovate the existing sanctuary and campus. For those who hoped as we did to build a new, larger sanctuary, we hope you understand the prudence of using your sacrificial gifts for the preservation of our existing parish home. Either way, we are building upon a legacy that began more than a half-century ago: Faith. Family. Future.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor
Fr. Reginald Samuels