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Holy Rosary Church Building

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Fr. Thomas J. Burke convened members of the parish finance and pastoral councils on Monday, January 17, to review parish finances and discuss possible next steps related to the Holy Rosary church building.

Below are listed some of the highlights of current parish realities and financial trends.

Mass Attendance
The parish has had a decline in Mass Attendance from 783 in 2019, to 379 in 2021. This is about a 48% decline in attendance. With the decline in attendance, St. Mary Magdalene is now the 3rd smallest parish in the diocese in terms of Mass Attendance.

Parish Financial Status
The information below provides an overview of the parish financial situation. Excluding one-time revenues such as bequests, donations restricted to the social services ministry and government funding programs the parish runs a deficit. Over the past few years parish savings have been used to fund needed repairs to our buildings. Going forward, the parish will need to both increase offertory and reduce expenses in order to provide ongoing ministry as cash and savings on hand is limited. This may require difficult decisions concerning buildings, staffing and programs.

Parish Financial Statement ($000)

	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22F	Pro Forma 2021/22
Offertory	$960	$875	$780	$870	$870
Donations & Bequests	$91	$197	$138	$150	$75
PPP Loan (forgiven)	-	-	$66	$50	-
Other Income	$15	$12	-	$30	$30
Excess Parish Share	$366	($44)	($7)	($20)	($30)
Total Revenue	$1,432	$1,040	$977	$1,080	$945

Operating Expense	($913)	($901)	($913)	($920)	($920)
Elementary School Subsidy	($268)	($19)	-	($67)	($85)
Capital Expenses	($88)	($202)	($275)	($150)

Surplus/(Deficit)	$163	($82)	($211)	($57)	($60)

Note The Financial Statement excludes Social Services Ministry which runs at a surplus due to restricted donations. As such these donations are not available for general parish use.

Parish Balance Sheet ($ in 000 as of December 31, 2021)


	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
Cash	$159	$193	$352
Savings	$105	-	$105
Endowment		$11	$11
Total Assets	$264	$204	$468
Liabilities	-	-

The chart above provides a summary financial statement for the past 3 years as well as a forecast for the current fiscal year 2021/22 which runs from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. It is based on actual results through December 2021 and projects those results for the remaining 6 months based on current trends. The far-right column (titled pro forma 2021/22) shows what the results look like on a going-forward basis excluding one-time revenue items and restricted funds.

Below the financial statement is the parish balance sheet as of December 31, 2021. As you review the financial statement and balance sheet, please note the following.

· Offertory has been declining over a number of years in the parish. In the 2018/19 fiscal year offertory was $960,000. At the height of the pandemic in the 2020/21 fiscal year with churches closed for part of the year, offertory fell to $780,000. This year we project offertory to rebound somewhat despite the attendance decline to $870,000.

· Donations and bequests – the parish has received a few one-time gifts and bequests in each of the past few years, which has helped fund some of the building-related capital needs. However, these cannot be guaranteed to continue. The pro forma column shows a more normal ongoing amount of ex-one time items.

· The parish obtained a loan under the US Government CARES Act (PPP loan) of $116,000 in late April 2021. Those funds were used over the past two fiscal years as shown to cover payroll and other eligible costs. The loan was forgiven under the program terms.

· Funding to St Bede elementary school declined significantly beginning in 2019/20 with the school being regionalized. Beginning in January 2022 all parishes in the diocese will be assessed 9% of revenue to fund elementary schools. The pro forma column reflects this change.

· Capital expenditures have depleted savings over the past few years as much needed repairs were made to various buildings in the parish. The pro forma column does not include any capital expenditures as it is intended to show the ongoing operations of the parish.

· The current Balance Sheet shows that the Parish has used up most of its cash and savings. The restricted cash is for Social Services Ministry only and not available for parish use. To the extent capital needs occur going forward, there is no money on hand to fund them. Money to fix or improve properties will have to be raised as needed.

Summary and Next Steps Given the financial constraints facing the parish and given the advice of our council members to best use our resources, it was proposed that we act now to officially petition to close Holy Rosary church – which has not been used for regular worship in over ten years. Next week we will highlight the steps Fr. Burke needs to fulfill to petition Bishop Zubik to officially close the building.

Details regarding this relegation process will be included in the bulletin for the next few weeks. Details regarding what will happen with Holy Rosary Church will be discussed if/when the bishop officially decrees the building closure. After an official decree, parishioners and members of the community will be invited to share hopes for the use of Holy Rosary Church going forward and continued ministry in this part of St. Mary Magdalene Parish.

Saint Mary Magdalene Parish

Catholic Community of the East End of Pittsburgh
Homewood Point Breeze Wilkinsburg

Holy Rosary Church Building

St. Bede Church 509 South Dallas Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15208	Mother of Good Counsel Church 7705 Bennett Street Pittsburgh, PA 15208	St. James Church 718 Franklin Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15221

	Saint Mary Magdalene Parish Parish Office 509 South Dallas Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15208 412.661.7222 parishoffice@stmarymagpgh.org	All our churches are accessible.