One Body in Christ

On any given day in South Texas, the life of the Church unfolds in quiet but powerful ways.
A priest stands at the altar and elevates the Eucharist.
A college student kneels in adoration after a long week of classes.
A child in a Catholic classroom learns their first prayer.
A struggling family receives food, counseling, and clothing.
A homebound parishioner watches Mass through a livestream, united in prayer from afar.
 
These separate moments are deeply connected. They are our story. And together, through the Bishop’s Stewardship Appeal, we make them possible.
 
Each year, we are invited to live more intentionally as One Body in Christ, united in belief and in shared responsibility for the mission entrusted to us. In 2025, more than 13,800 gifts from faithful households across our Diocese strengthened ministries and services that reach every parish and every community.
 
 
Caring for Those who Serve
Our priests walk with us through every season of life. They baptize our children, witness our marriages, anoint the sick, and preach the Gospel week after week. Their vocation is one of complete self-gift.
 
After a lifetime of service, your contributions help provide for the needs of our retired priests, including transportation, meals, and housing at the St. John Vianney Clergy Residence. There, they are given a comfortable home and opportunities to continue celebrating Mass and participating in spiritual retreats.
 
As they guide the faithful, they also help call forth the next generation of leaders.
 
Preparing Tomorrow’s Shepherds
Hope for the Church’s future is evident in the quiet discernment of a seminarian and the faithful preparation of a deacon candidate, balancing formation with family life. Each man responding to God’s call represents a promise that will one day be witnessed in a homily, a baptism, or a parish strengthened in faith.
 
In the summer of 2025, we rejoiced as three new priests were ordained for our Diocese. Today, we are blessed to support three seminarians who are prayerfully preparing to give their lives in service to Christ and His Church.
 
Through the Vocation Office and the Permanent Diaconate Formation, your generosity helps ensure that future priests and deacons are formed in mind, heart, and soul as they respond to God’s call.
 
The Church does not exist only for today. It is built for generations to come.
 
Forming Young Minds and Hearts
Each morning in Catholic schools across the Diocese, students begin their day in prayer before opening their books. Education here is about more than academic achievement. It is formation so they become who they are called to be. 
 
Your gift supports families, strengthens operational stability, and sustains faith formation programs and leadership development for teachers and administrators. Together, we help ensure that young minds grow in knowledge and young hearts grow in love for Christ.
 
As these students mature, many will carry their faith onto college campuses throughout our region.
 
Forming Disciples on Campus
Young adults are filled with questions about identity, purpose, vocation, and belonging. Through Campus Ministries in Corpus Christi, Beeville, and Kingsville, we walk with them during this pivotal season of life.
 
Each week, more than 520 students gather for retreats, Bible studies, Eucharistic adoration, and service opportunities. In 2025, nineteen young adults at the Newman Center in Kingsville entered the Church or completed their sacraments. By Easter 2026, that number had grown to thirty-three.
 
Here, faith and intellect are united. We help ensure that when these students graduate, they leave not only with a degree, but with a faith strong enough to guide them far beyond the classroom.
 
Sharing the Good News
In today’s digital world, the Church’s voice must reach beyond physical walls. Through diocesan communications, the Gospel is proclaimed in new and creative ways. Through the broadcast of Sunday Mass on digital media platforms, the South Texas Catholic magazine, Catholic Connect, and the Corpus Christi Catholic Network App, the diocesan communications team connects our entire diocese and amplifies the voice of our Church.
 
When we support communications, we extend the reach of Christ’s voice into homes, hospitals, dorm rooms, and workplaces throughout South Texas.
 
Yet the Gospel is not proclaimed by words alone. It is also revealed through works of mercy.
 
One Body, One Mission
From altar to classroom, from campus chapel to the St. John Vianney Residence for retired priests, the story is the same. We belong to one another.
 
The Bishop’s Stewardship Appeal is not simply about sustaining programs. It is about living our identity as One Body in Christ. Every gift strengthens the mission entrusted to us.
 
When we give, we care for those who serve, form future shepherds, educate young minds, guide young adults, proclaim the Gospel, and restore hope to the vulnerable.
Together, we are sent to serve.
Together, we build up the Church.
Together, we continue writing this story of faith across the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
 
You may give online at give.diocesecc.org, mail your check to the Diocese of Corpus Christi (memo: Bishop’s Stewardship Appeal), or call 361-693-6633.