Our vision
Our master plan is like a visual representation of a vision that is driving us forward. It is the vision of a traditional Catholic community, even, we could say, of a traditional Catholic town. We want St. Isidore’s and Watkins to be a haven for traditional Catholics.
It is clear that the world is crumbling and the Church is dying. The trend in politics is that our country is becoming more liberal and lawless. The trend in the Church is that our traditional Catholic faith is becoming more and more persecuted. We recognize that the situation in the past fifty years has not been that great and we are, as it were, survivors. At the same time, we see that we cannot reasonably expect the situation to be turned around anytime soon.
The strategy of Archbishop Lefebvre was, yes, of course, to provide as many people as possible with the traditional faith, the traditional sacraments, the traditional Mass, when they had been taken away by Church authorities. But the Archbishop also recognized something that has been part of Catholic thought throughout the ages: Catholics need to group together and form communities in order to most effectively save their souls and the souls of others.
It is for this reason that SSPX communities exist around the world. They are all based on a group of SSPX priests moving to an area, where they celebrate Mass for the people there who are attached to the TLM. In time, a school is established (in the case of Denver, the school came before the priory!). Eventually, some brothers and/or nuns might come to accompany the priests. The community grows and becomes more stable; people from the area or from out-of-state move to be around the church. A Catholic oasis in a godless world is created.
It is true that the SSPX has mission chapels where a single priest comes and goes. But these mission chapels are meant to be a stepping stone for families, a bridge to a community in which they can invest their future and, ultimately, their life.
This question of community is clear in my mind because of my trip to Saint Marys last week. Saint Marys is the SSPX’s best success story of building a community. We bought the Jesuit campus in 1978. People started moving there from all over the USA. They put their children in the school and taught in the school. They formed the maintenance team for the campus. They started local businesses. They even ran for local offices.
They did all of these things in service of the faith, in service of Our Lord. So many attend daily Mass! I saw that for myself when I was stationed there from 2006-2009.
Today, the little town has been completely transformed. The main street is thriving with local businesses. The parish is booming with 4,000 faithful. A stunning new church has been built for $42 million.
Saint Marys is not paradise, of course—no place is. But what Saint Marys is in 2023 compared to what it was in 1978 shows clearly what an SSPX presence is able to provide and what its communities are able to become.
That is what we want Watkins to become!
Obviously, our situation here is different. However, everything in Saint Marys was able to take place because they had a campus with an academy and college. That provided the means to build a traditional Catholic community, because it provided the means to live a traditional Catholic life.
We have been here 22 years and we have far fewer resources than Saint Marys. Yet we have a beautiful church and we have a school. I believe it is important that we have a holy ambition to continue to build something for God, country, and family here in Watkins.
Last week, I was also in Steubenville, Ohio, to attend a New Polity conference. New Polity is a Catholic group that is trying to grapple with the problems of the modern world and see how best to live a Catholic life in that world. The group has some interesting ideas and sees clearly the problems that exist in politics, economy, food production, and society at large. At the same time, those who were attending, especially the youth, were frustrated in not being provided with concrete things that they could do to address the situation. They were mainly told to wait and continue thinking.
That is not what we are saying! Our solution to the problems of our world is simple. These are the concrete things we propose that everyone seek to do to help our world, as far as they can:
Maintain yourself in the state of grace. Live the interior life. By doing so, you build up the supernatural capital of the world.
Be faithful to the traditional Latin Mass.
Join a traditional Catholic community and use your resources and talents to build up that community.
Provide good families and vocations to the world.
Persevere in your course to the end.
That is the legacy that you must want to leave to this world, when you pass from it. That is the plan that you want to have for your future, in order to ensure that you maintain the faith, serve your country, keep your sanity in a world gone mad.
It is in this context, my dear faithful, this context of traditional Catholic communities as the answer to the problems of the world, that we desire to build up our campus here at St. Isidore’s. (And, by the way, I certainly don’t mind if anyone wants to buy gas stations, restaurants, or unused plots of land to build their businesses on, in the local area!)
Our resources
To have such a vision is necessary and also reassuring. But it must find its realization in the concrete circumstances in which we find ourselves. We want to build up our community. We want a school. We want a pavilion. We want a gymnasium. But, to make these things happen, we need resources.
The information I provide here is merely that: information. It is to let you know where we are.
. By the grace of God, we are surviving. Currently we are not in a financial position to begin the expansion of the campus which would be the growing phase of a business model. By the generosity of our parishioners and donors, we are able to take care of our monthly operating expenses and minor maintenance items, but not any major maintenance projects, much less new buildings. Recently, we received a quote for some major work needed at the priory that will have to wait. This is where we find ourselves, prioritizing our expenses and needs on a monthly basis. I know that everyone is struggling too. Inflation has taken its toll on your homes as well.
The chart below will give you an idea of how much was contributed to the church last year. The breakdown shows the number of giving units and how much was given for the year.
We are encouraged by the dream to grow and expand our campus. We currently have $31707.68 set aside exclusively for the master plan and will only be used for the future project. Meanwhile, we will continue to fundraise but not with the same aggressiveness as we would if we were in a better financial position.
One of the things that will have to take place before we launch an actual capital campaign is to have a financial viability study done. This will estimate for us how much we could expect to raise when we start approaching larger donors.
Then, once we reach $100,000 in our master plan fund, we will be in a position to hire a capital campaign manager who will help us manage a full-fledged fundraising campaign that will include soliciting larger donors and will get us to the goal that we need to reach.
Fundraising
Currently, we are fundraising on several different fronts. I believe you all know about the King Soopers cards. We hope that this will be a slow and steady stream of income into the master plan account.
Meanwhile, one of the members of our fundraising team is looking into the possibility of us receiving grants for the development of our campus. This is an effort that requires a huge amount of paperwork, but one that could provide a big payoff. We are in a good position to make a case for the needs that we have and how our efforts will profit the community.
If you have any other ideas for fundraising, I would be happy to hear them!
Conclusion
In conclusion, what I would like to ask above all is your enthusiasm for the future of the community and your prayers that Our Lord, Our Lady, and St. Joseph may accomplish God’s will here through all of us as His instruments.
I hope that you still have the Master Plan prayer and that you pray it every day with your family until the plan is complete. In Saint Mary’s, they prayed a Memorare every day for four years for the successful funding and building of the Immaculata. Their persevering prayers were answered!
In case you do not have the prayer, I have attached it to this Flocknote.
In this month of May, dedicated to Our Lady, let us also beg her powerful intercession for the welfare of St. Isidore’s, for our families, for our children, for all of our needs.
God bless you,
Fr. Robinson
