Bishop Donald Kettler is asking parishes of the Diocese of St. Cloud to take up a special collection during the next few weeks to assist victims of Hurricane Dorian, according to a letter sent to priests Sept. 11.
Proceeds will be distributed between Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA to provide pastoral care and rebuilding support to impacted dioceses.
The request follows a request from Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, to pray for those impacted by the hurricane and donate to the agencies.
Dorian devastated parts of the Bahamas. The government of the Bahamas says that the official death toll following Dorian has reached 50, and hundreds remain officially listed as missing while search-and-rescue teams continue to comb through widespread wreckage.
After hovering over the Bahamas Sept. 1-3, Dorian rendered a high percentage of homes in the northern Bahamas region uninhabitable and left an estimated 10,000 people in need of immediate assistance. Storm evacuees to the nation’s capital of Nassau have reportedly begun to strain resources there as the government struggles to house and care for thousands of new arrivals. One of the largest shelters is reportedly holding 1,500 evacuees and has reached capacity.
Donations for recovery efforts in the Bahamas can also be sent to Catholic Relief Services here and to Catholic Charities USA here.
This story contains information from Catholic News Service. The story was updated Sept. 20.