WASHINGTON—For over 30 years, the Retirement Fund for Religious collection has been coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) to be held in U.S. Catholic dioceses at the discretion of the local bishop. This year, the annual appeal will be held the weekend of December 7-8.

Benefitting some 30,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests, the Catholic bishops of the United States launched the Retirement Fund for Religious in 1988 to help address the profound lack of retirement funding among U.S. religious communities. The proceeds are distributed to eligible religious order communities to assist with retirement and healthcare expenses, and roughly 94% of the fund goes to aid elderly religious.

WASHINGTON— Pope Francis has appointed the Reverend Monsignor Francis Malone as Bishop-elect of Shreveport.

Monsignor Malone is a priest of the Diocese of Little Rock and currently serves as Chancellor for Ecclesial Affairs and Pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock. The appointment was publicized today in Washington, D.C, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend John Bura as Auxiliary Bishop of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia. Bishop Bura has reached the retirement age for bishops of 75.

The resignation was publicized in Washington on November 15, 2019, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.