“Inspired by the Spirit” is the theme of our 2026 Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA). 

This annual diocesan appeal effectively funds the varied and effective aspects of the Church’s mission, which help all of us on our pilgrimage to the Father’s house in Heaven. 

Only through the Holy Spirit can we pray, believe, and know the Lord.  

With deep gratitude to Him and the thousands of good people who support this important campaign, I invite you to give this year to the ACA, with a particular awareness of our young people and how the diocese serves and supports them. 

The Church of today

A central and joyful part of the Church’s saving mission is the catechesis and formation of our beloved children and young people.

Our Catholic schools and religious education programs create a culture of faith in which our youth discover Christ and His love for them, learn the Scriptures and the Catechism, come to understand the love story of God’s salvation, receive the sacraments, and cultivate the spiritual gifts needed to generously live as missionary disciples in the world. 

Whenever I am blessed to share the Eucharist, prayer, and catechesis with the young, I am always impressed and grateful, as I experience their fidelity, reverence, and love for the Lord.

Every investment in our children and youth is profoundly worth the sacrifice. 

They are not simply the Church of tomorrow. They are the Church of today, and we are better for them. 

A principal task of a bishop is the celebration of Confirmation. As I read the Confirmation letters which every candidate writes to me, as I pray over the confirmandi and anoint them with chrism, I am always deeply moved by the Lord’s action in their lives. 

We may think that teenagers do not know much about life yet or have never experienced suffering. 

On the contrary, many share their heavy burdens of illness and death in their families, feelings of despair and hopelessness, the betrayal of friends, or the heavy pressures of school and sports. 

Unfailingly, they articulate how they have grown in faith, experienced the power of prayer, have come to know Jesus in a personal way, and have been impacted by the Confirmation process. 

We pray they continue in the Faith all their lives. 

Formation for the youth and young adults

The Diocese of Madison is second to none in the quality, effectiveness, and popularity of our youth programs. 

Camp Gray is a spiritual jewel, offering our young people an unforgettable experience of God, the Church, and fellowship with others in the context of God’s beautiful world. 

Each year, we have a record number of campers, who will testify in the years to come how camp impacted their faith and led them to their vocation. 

Love Begins Here is an annual experience in which youth serve the needs of the elderly, sick, and those in need for a week in one of our parishes, all the while praying and enjoying communion in Christ. 

This fruitful program teaches the necessity and joy of Christian charity as our young people come to see the suffering and needs of others and the Gospel obligation to love and serve them.

Totus Tuus is a parish-based offering for children and youth, seeking to teach them the Faith through the Mysteries of the Rosary and fun activities throughout the day. 

Frassati Fest is a winter weekend in Wisconsin Dells, again combining catechesis, prayer, Mass, and Adoration, all in a relaxed atmosphere of fun and joy.

The powerful spiritual impact of both Saint Paul’s at UW-Madison and St. Augustine’s at UW-Platteville is a wonder to behold. 

Between the two, more than 100 college students receive the Easter sacraments every year. 

Many move from being atheists to being fervent Catholics because they have found Christ in these powerhouses of faith and prayer. 

Support the Church of today

The greatest concern of most adult Catholics is rightfully our youth —their health and safety, their growth in the Faith, the strong possibility that they may be swept away by the negative influences in our culture.  

When I experience our youth and children, I am filled with hope and gratitude! So many of them see the emptiness of life around them and have chosen Christ. So many of them are serious about practicing the Catholic Faith with joy and resolution.  

The ACA helps thousands of our beloved young people to become the saints God has called them to be.

Donate to the ACA and join us in this glorious mission of helping our youth to find Christ and to know themselves as beloved children of the Father.