DONATIONS Bishop's Appeal up 14 percent

"The Appeal this year is $700,000 ahead of the 2001 figures at the same point in time," he told The Evangelist. "The number of individual gifts has also increased, from 37,000 last year to more than 40,000 this year. The average gift is $144, the highest we've had in the 48-year history of the campaign."

Right now, more than $5.7 million has been pledged to the campaign, which funds diocesan efforts in education, charity and other essential Church programs.

The Bishop's Appeal began in April and will conclude in a few weeks. The final tally, which will appear in The Evangelist in July, is expected to exceed $6.5 million.

A parish-by-parish breakdown of the giving so far appears on page 5 of The Evangelist's print edition.

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