Ordained in 1982, Reverend Patrick Carrion currently serves as the pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Severn. Father Carrion’s soft-spoken nature belies a motivation and drive that will truly have a lasting impact on the Archdiocese of Baltimore. To date, he has established, or helped establish, 12 funds within the Catholic Community Foundation.
Most recently, as pastor of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Severn he has shepherded the creation of two new funds – The St. Bernadette Catholic Education Fund and The St. Bernadette Parish Endowment for the Children of Haiti and the World’s Poor.
The first fund was established to advance Catholic education, including religious education programs at St. Bernadette. It will also help children of the parish with tuition assistance, as well as make direct donations to Catholic schools in the area since St. Bernadette itself does not have a school.
The second fund, The St. Bernadette Parish Endowment for the Children of Haiti and the World’s Poor, will help support St. Bernadette’s sister parish in Haiti, Our Lady of Visitation, a cause Father Carrion described, “as one of the parish’s passions.” He added, “This parish is very generous to the poor.” Indeed, money raised in support of the parish poor box account is funding this endowment.
In speaking of the value of establishing endowments, Father Carrion said, “When you consider things that are important to you in your life, the things about which you are passionate, you want them to be able to live long after you are gone.”
Father Carrion knows well the benefits of establishing endowments within the Catholic Community Foundation, having served the Foundation for many years in various capacities, even today on its Strategic Marketing Committee. Patrick Madden, Executive Director of the Foundation, stated, “Over all of his years, as a pastor, Father Carrion has walked the talk in terms of believing in the power of endowments by setting up numerous endowments to support Catholic outreach.”
Father Carrion concluded with his thoughts on the ease of setting up funds with the Catholic Community Foundation, “It’s almost seamless. You consider what you want to support. You can start it with as little as $1,000 and continually add to it. They couldn’t make it easier.”
