The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has collaborated on the "One Church One Mission" initiative to raise and allocate millions of dollars donated by dioceses nationwide, a recent USCCB release said. The funds were raised through four collections last year: Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, Collection for the Church in Latin America, Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa, and the 2022 Bishops Emergency Disaster Fund.

"St. Paul wrote that when one Christian suffers, all Christians suffer -- because we are all part of one Body of Christ," James Wall, bishop of the Diocese of Gallup and chairman of the USCCB Committee on National Collections, said in the release. "That unity is the heart of these collections. They bring faith, hope, and love to people in despair, often in some of the most harsh and remote places on earth, and to disaster victims in our own nation."

The millions of dollars that were raised will be distributed by the bishops to those most in need, particularly in specific areas or those affected by disasters and other types of crises, the release said. The emergency disaster fund allows dioceses to raise funds to support "pastoral and reconstruction" relief efforts carried out by Catholic Relief Services and/or Catholic Charities USA.

The allocated millions were distributed as follows, according to the release: The Subcommittee on the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa approved 34 grants totaling more than $1.1 million. The Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions awarded a $1.38 million grant from the Bishops Emergency Disaster Fund to the Diocese of Venice in Florida in response to the damages caused throughout the diocese by Hurricane Ian. The Subcommittee on the Church in Central and Eastern Europe distributed more than $5.1 million to 196 ministry projects; and the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America awarded 122 grants, amounting to $2.65 million, for various projects.

"Whether we are working to build peace and bring essential relief to victims of war and disaster or trying to help souls reach heaven through evangelization and cultural outreach, each of these national collections respond to Jesus’ call to care for him in the person of our suffering neighbor," Wall said in the release. "On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people whose lives will change because of these ministries, I express my deepest gratitude to every parishioner who gave to these collections."