He FE Program of ecclesial financing, which deals with the maintenance of the mission of the Catholic Church in Argentina, closed 2024 with an increase of 371% in annual collection compared to the previous year.
In figures, the collection was 124,135,265 Argentine pesos (around 104,000 US dollars), obtained thanks to the contribution of faithful and people of good will who value the work of the Catholic Church.
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Father Máximo Jurcinovic, responsible for the FE Program, acknowledged to ACI Prensa that they are “very happy with the growth that has occurred in the year 2024”, both in the amount and the number of donors, “because this expresses the greatest commitment of the Church for sustaining its mission and especially the commitment of the faithful.”
The renunciation of the State contribution
The increase in income also reflects a growth and consolidation in the donation platform of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, which began in 2018 and whose task accompanied the process of the Catholic Church’s renunciation of the economic contribution of the Argentine State.
In this regard, Father Jurcinovic stated that “this gesture by the bishops of renouncing the allocation they received from the State was always perceived very well among the people of God.”
“Many people thought this gesture was very good, and it seems to me that it has to do with the fact that people know that the Church has to be sustained, first of all, by the contribution of the faithful,” he indicated.
“When this process was completed, last year, it was clearly a very special moment for the program, and we could see that at that time donations grew a lot, when it was publicly known that the gradual resignation process had ended,” he recalled.
Despite the economic crisis that is being experienced in Argentina—poverty, according to a UCA study presented in December 2024, is 49.9% of the population—the people’s commitment to the FE Program was expressed both in the amounts and in the appearance of new donors.
Part of this achievement is the merit of the parishes, which implemented this collection method in their communities, generating greater commitment from the faithful.
Another factor that contributed to this increase was that during 2024 adjustments were implemented in the usability of the website to make it simpler, and so that the donation system can operate easily, streamlining the process for contributors. In addition, the option to donate was added for those who are abroad, through PayPal.
Hold the seminars and consolidate the Economic Councils
Father Jurcinovic highlighted two other elements to take into account in the increase in donations: firstly, “a very great commitment of the people to the support of the seminarians, the support of priestly formation”; and on the other hand, “that awareness is growing in the diocesan economic councils of the need for an economic pastoral care that helps us grow in catechesis for the development of funds and a greater commitment of the faithful.”
The FE Program, he explained, “has these two purposes: on the one hand, of course, the purpose of raising funds, that of receiving donations; but on the other hand also to make present the mission of the Church and the commitment to sustain it.”
He also highlighted that in the growth of the program there was the contribution of “many people who commit to donations and perhaps are not linked to the liturgical areas of the parishes or parish groups, but perhaps do not participate in the life of the Church but “He sees many actions, especially in favor of those most in need, that encourage them to be generous.”
The importance of training
From 2023, the FE Program runs a series of fund development courses in dioceses and parishes. “The trainings have been very important moments of the program,” considered the priest, and highlighted two important elements of that instance: first, the participation of priests, nuns, and lay people from the economic councils in different parts of the country; and secondly, the consolidation of “Sharing Sunday,” which is celebrated on the third Sunday of Easter, a date to reflect especially on the maintenance of the mission.
The courses included both instruction in the management of social networks, communication, and also the use of virtual wallets, to “expand the way of having access to being able to help people collaborate with the parish,” explained Fr. Jurcinovic and anticipated that they will continue to offer them.
Solidarity translates into closeness
Father Jurcinovic emphasized the need to consolidate economic pastoral care: “Communities move more, and they move to obtain, for example, building resources, but they also move to sustain the lives of priests,” he pointed out.
As an example, the priest emphasized the great support that the campaign to maintain the health of elderly and sick priests had in 2024.
“We see a lot of ignorance in how the lives of priests are sustained, and it seems to me that by making it transparent, by saying that there is a need and accompanying that with a communication strategy, people become more committed,” he observed.
The same thing, he pointed out, happens with the support of the seminaries, or with the specific needs, for example fuel to tour the largest dioceses, to carry the sacraments and carry out missions, or for the bishops’ own mobility.
Along these lines, the priest identified that by worrying about how to help sustain the lives of bishops and priests, “people grow closer” to them.
“Today the Argentine Church has a great challenge, which has to do with the fact that dioceses and communities have to accompany the old age of priests, in what has to do with remedies, with many treatments… The priestly population of Argentina today He has advanced in age, and that makes the communities have to think about this, and we have seen very nice and very concrete testimonies of this support,” he said.
Those who wish to learn about the different campaigns and ways to collaborate with the FE Program can do so by entering www.programafe.org.
Juliet Villar
I am a journalist, with a degree in communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non-governmental organizations. Since 2016 I have been dedicated to Catholic journalism, first at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as ACI Prensa correspondent for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.