Past Events
2018 – Act-oberfest Variety Show
October 14
The fifth annual Act-oberfest variety show drew a crowd to the Freeport Community Center Oct. 14. Fourteen acts entertained the audience with songs, skits and comedy to raise funds for youth activities in the Diocese of St. Cloud. The show was organized by the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of St. Cloud.
THE 2017 BISHOP'S CHARITABLE
GOLF TOURNAMENT PHOTO GALLERY
2017 – The Bishop's Charitable
Golf Tournament
Proceeds benefit the Seminarian Education Fund
JUNE 19
TERRITORY GOLF CLUB
Thank you to everyone that golfed, sponsored, volunteered, bid on the online Silent Auction items or helped in any way! Because of your efforts we raised over $20,000 for seminarians.
For more information, please contact
Alice at 320-258-7656 or acoudron@gw.stcdio.org
HOLE IN ONE SPONSORS
Murphy Chevrolet
Midwest Machinery Co
PLATINUM SPONSORS
Freeport State Bank
The Bernick Family
Felling Trailers
Gabriel Media
Panther Distillery
SILVER SPONSORS
Steve Gottwalt Consulting, LLC
Laraway Financial Advisors
Beverly Nett
St. Francis Xavier Church
Rengel Printing
Catholic United Financial - St. Paul Office
Judge Charles A. Flinn & Judge Elizabeth Hayden
Erickson Electric Company, Inc.
Clifton Larson Allen LLP
Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett, P.A.
Central Minnesota Logistics, Inc.
2017 – Breakfast with the Bishop
A BENEFIT FOR THE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Wednesday, May 3
Gorecki Center • College of St. Benedict • St. Joseph
Meet Sr. Clare
Guest Speaker
Sr. Clare Fitzgerald, SSND, PhD
Join us for breakfast and discover the gift of Sr. Clare!
Sister Clare Fitzgerald, a Sister of Notre Dame, has
great passion for Catholic education. She has
received numerous awards, holds 4 Doctorate
degrees, has lectured in many countries, and is
coming to fan the fire of our love for Catholic schools.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP
FUND is an endowed fund to assist families of the
Diocese with tuition costs for Catholic
grade and middle schools.
About the Catholic Schools Student Scholarship Endowment
The Catholic Foundation established the Catholic Schools Student Scholarship Fund in 2011. It came about as the result of numerous listening sessions with lay and ordained members of our diocese, who were asked to identify issues they viewed as most important to our parishes, families and Catholic life. It became clear that the dwindling population within our Catholic schools was critical, and the core cause of the crisis was the cost of tuition for our young families.
Creating a fund, in the beginning, is easy. You give it a name. The work begins when you strive to equip the fund to address its core need. Since 2011, the foundation has been raising dollars to do just that. Our ultimate goal is an endowed fund of $1 million. We are proud to say today that we’re over halfway there-just under $650,000.
Please know that your Catholic Foundation is made for giving! Along this fundraising journey we distributed:
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$13,500 to 17 schools for 45 scholarships (2013)
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$20,100 to 18 schools for 67 scholarships (2014)
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$24,000 to 23 schools for 80 scholarships (2015)
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$33,900 to 25 schools for 113 scholarships (2016)
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$30,000 to 25 schools for 100 scholarships (2017)
Since 2013, 405 scholarships have been given totaling $121,500.
WATCH VIDEO BELOW
2017 – RURAL LIFE CELEBRATION!
Sunday, August 13
The 2017 Rural Life Celebration sponsored by Catholic Charities, the Diocese of St. Cloud and The Catholic Foundation will be held at 11:00 am on Sunday, August 13 at the Joe & Toni Borgerding family organic dairy farm located between Elrosa and Belgrade. Their address is: 39736 275th Street, Belgrade, MN. This year's celebration features an outdoor Mass at 11:00 am with Bishop Donald Kettler, immediately followed by a special guest speaker Abbot John Klassen, OSB. The day will conclude with a lunch featuring hot beef sandwiches, chips, corn on the cob, coleslaw, ice cream and homemade cookies. There will also be musical entertainment by the Slew Foot Band, farm tours, a petting zoo and yard games. This celebration will take place rain or shine and is being hosted by St. Donatus of Brooten, Saint Francis de Sales of Belgrade and Saints Peter & Paul of Elrosa. All are welcome.
2016 – 2nd Annual Bishop's Charitable Golf Tournament
June 27
The 2nd Annual Bishop’s Charitable Golf Tournament was held at Territory Golf Club, St. Cloud. The tournament is a benefit for Generation Next, a fund that supports diocesan youth faith formation through retreats, programming, and activities.
Free Seminar: Estate Planning and Charitable Giving
Tuesday, Feb 7
St. Mary of Mount Carmel Parish – Long Prairie
Come and learn about Planned Giving opportunities with Catholic Foundation at this free Estate Planning and Charitable Giving seminar. Gain the peace of mind that proper planning can offer your family, get your questions answered and discover how easy it is to align and integrate your faith and values with your estate and legacy planning.
Presented by Kevin Spellacy
Attorney, Quinlivan & Hughes, P.A.
Board member, Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Saint Cloud
Date: Tuesday, Feb 7
Location: St. Mary of Mount Carmel Parish
409 Central Ave
Long Prairie, MN 56347
Phone: 320-357-0815
2016 – Pilgrimage to the Shrines of Italy!
October 18-28
Fr. Aaron Nett – Trip Spiritual Director
Highlights of the Trip were: Rome, Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, San Giovanni Rotondo, Tomb of Padre Pio, Abbey of Santissima Trinita, Madonna del Rosario, Vatican City, Papal Audience, Christian Rome city tour, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran, St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Mary Major
It was a wonderful 11 Days!
2016 – Act-oberfest Variety Show
October 16
ACT-Oberfest 2016 was a fun-packed amalgam of song, bells, food, dancing, laughs, skits, and generosity. All in support for the youth of our diocese. (May they never miss out on a Faith-Forming Retreat due to “lack of funds!”) Thank you, ladies of the DCCW! Your combination of planning, set-up, and performance was amazing.
2017 Catholic Men's Conference
Thank You for Being Men for Life!
This was an excellent opportunity for men of faith to gather together to learn, experience fellowship, and grow and strengthen their relationships with their families, their Church, and their communities.
It was the fifteenth year of the Catholic Men’s Conference. Thousands of men have attended over the years and have benefited from this day-long retreat. Many have made it an integral part of their Lenten journey.
2016 – 5th Annual Priests' Night Out
August 11
On Thursday, August 11, Catholic Foundation hosted Priests’ Night Out (PNO). Priests and seminarians joined Bishop Kettler at Joe Faber Field for the fierce match!
Priests’ Night Out is an annual event sponsored by The Catholic Foundation to treat our St. Cloud Diocesan priests to a St. Cloud Rox baseball game, complete with Sports Deck tickets and unlimited food and soda pop. It provides our Bishop, priests, and seminarians a time to relax and enjoy one another’s friendship over a ballgame and a tasty meal. Thanks to all who attended!!!
2016 – Breakfast with the Bishop
May 4
Breakfast with Bishop Kettler included keynote speaker, Rev. Ronald Nuzzi, a renowned Catholic educator. Rev. Nuzzi is Senior Director of ACE RISE (Renewing Identity, Strengthening Education) at the University of Notre Dame. The breakfast is a benefit for the Catholic Foundation’s Catholic Schools Student Scholarship Fund. Since the fund’s inception in 2013, 191 scholarships in the amount of $300 have been awarded to Catholic families who need help with Catholic school tuition. In 2016, 100 scholarships will be awarded to families in need.
We are very grateful for the breakfast’s sponsors:
Event Sponsors:
Torborg Builders
College of Saint Benedict
Saint John’s University
A family that supports Catholic schools
GNP Company
In-kind Sponsors:
Sacred Heart String, Freeport
Rengel Printing
Cathedral School – 7th Grade Art Class
Floral Arts
Heavenly Treats
2015 – Second Annual Act-Oberfest
October 4
Thanks to all who attended the Catholic Foundation’s second annual Act-Oberfest on Sunday, October 4, 2 pm – 4 pm at Falls Ballroom in Little Falls. You made it a wonderful success for our youth and a memorable afternoon for all.
The variety show is a benefit for the Catholic Foundation’s youth fund, Generation Next, which supports retreats, mission trips, and other faith-building activities for the youth of the Saint Cloud Diocese. About 500 people throughout the diocese gathered to enjoy an auction and 14 colorful, creative, and comical acts performed by parish youth groups, community members, priests, and even Bishop Kettler, who played a wise old tree in a skit with the Tri-Parish youth group of the Little Falls area! (see photos at the bottom)
Although Act-oberfest is a free event, the audience is asked to make a donation to help build Generation Next. A little over $5,000 was raised for our Catholic youth. With that money, the foundation has already sponsored the Senior High Youth Rally in Collegeville on October 25th, and has given grants to four parish youth groups.
We are particularly grateful for our generous Act-Oberfest sponsors:
Catholic United Financial
Loidolt Lumber Company, Inc.
Goldeneye Solutions, Inc.
Emblom Brenny Funeral Service
Contegrity Group, Inc.
Little Falls Machine, Inc.
Shelley Funeral Chapels
AC Construction
Janson Manure Equipment
In-Kind Sponsors:
Falls Ballroom – Tiffany and Will Threlkeld
J & S Auction Service
Froggy’s Signs, Inc.
Christian Women from: Tri-Parishes of the Little Falls Area; St. Joseph, Pierz; St. John, Lastrup; and St. James, Randall
2015 – 4th Annual Priests' Night Out
July 29
On Wednesday, July 29, The Catholic Foundation hosted Priests’ Night Out (PNO), and what an outstanding turn out – the best yet after four years running! The night set records for both the St. Cloud Rox and PNO: the Rox defeated the Mankato Moon Dogs 11-6, setting a record number of wins in a Rox season (39-22); while PNO set a record in attendance…36 priests and seminarians joined Bishop Kettler at Joe Faber Field for the fierce match!
And our own all-stars played a part in the game. Fr. Aaron Nett pitched the first ball to catcher Fr. Jeremy Theis, while Fr. Mitchell Bechtold and the foundation’s executive director Curt Hanson sang the National Anthem. You could say they helped the game begin on the right “pitch” and “note.”
Priests’ Night Out is an annual event sponsored by The Catholic Foundation to treat our St. Cloud Diocesan priests to a St. Cloud Rox baseball game, complete with Sports Deck tickets and unlimited food and soda pop. It provides our Bishop, priests, and seminarians a time to relax and enjoy one another’s friendship over a ballgame and a tasty meal. Thanks to all who attended!!!