THANK YOU LETTERS TO OUR BENEFACTORS

Dear Father Dunn,

I have been informed that you are the founder and president of the St. Peter Claver Society whose purpose is to help needy seminarians such as myself to pay the expenses of our seminary education.

I am one of ten children of my family, and even though my parents are trying to help me financially, they have so many of my brothers and sisters to support, they have little left to help me.

As you may know, we seminarians are not able to work during the summer vacation because we are assigned to help in parishes where we receive only room and board while we are working there.

Please let the benefactors of the St. Peter Claver Society know how much we appreciate and need their generous contributions to help future priests pay for their education.

I am only too happy to pray every day for all these generous helpers in making their own sacrifices to provide future Catholic priests at a time of a great shortage of priests who are needed to provide the sacrifice of the Mass and other sacraments to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Please let them know that we pray for all our benefactors every day.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Michael

 

St. Peter Claver Society

Rev. and Dear Father,

You have no idea how much the contribution from the St. Peter Claver Society has helped me in the seminary studying for the priesthood. My situation differs from other seminarians studying with me. While we have in common the need to pay off loans for college education before entering the seminary, others have the help of devoted parents and friends to help. My brief history will show the difference.

I attended a secular college. While there I joined the Newman Society even though I was not Catholic at the time. During this time I took instructions and became Catholic. After college I worked for a year before coming to the seminary to become a priest. When my parents found out that not only had I become Catholic but now I was deciding to become a Catholic priest, they became furious! Since my parents belong to a Protestant sect which hates all Catholics, they made it clear to me that from now on I would no longer be considered a member of the family and that I could receive no further help from them. They have not spoken to me since, and they told all my Protestant friends to do the same.

Without outside help I would not be able to pay the relatively modest cost for my education in the seminary. With the generous help of the St. Peter Claver Society this problem has been alleviated. Please be assured, Father, that I pray each day for all my benefactors who have come to my aid. Please let them know how their contributions have helped me to become a future priest of the Catholic Church.

Respectfully yours,

Mel