Last Updated: 2/12/2024
I. Purpose
The Parish Assessment policy sets forth the provisions of the assessment formula that applies to all parishes of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in accord with the provisions of canon 1263 of the Code of Canon Law.
II. Definitions
“Fiscal Year” means the 12-month period beginning July 1 and ending June 30.
“Parish” means an organization located within the Archdiocese and created under Minnesota Statute §315.15 or recognized as such by the Archdiocese.
“Parish School” means a Catholic school that functions as a ministry of a single Parish and over which the Pastor has oversight, and is supported by its sponsoring Parish, which assumes all liabilities.
“School” means an elementary school or a secondary school physically located within the territory of the Archdiocese that the Archbishop recognizes as Catholic.
III. Policy
The following assessment formula applies to all Parishes effective for the financial results of the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2023, and thereafter, to be invoiced by the Archdiocese on a two-year lag.
I. Parishes without a Parish School:
a. Annual plate and envelope revenue is assessed at 10% for Parishes that:
- Do not operate a Parish School; and
- Did not contribute cash of at least 15% of their annual plate and envelope revenue to one or more Schools in the measurement Fiscal Year.
b. Parishes that contribute cash of less than 15% of annual plate and envelope revenue to one or more Schools will receive a dollar-for-dollar reduction in assessable income.
c. The same Parishes will also be assessed at a rate of 10% on other revenue, including but not limited to any rental revenue derived from charter or other schools.
II. Parishes with a Parish School:
a. Annual plate and envelope revenue is assessed at a discount of 8% for Parishes that:
- Operate a Parish School; or
- Have contributed cash of 15% or more of the Parish’s annual plate and envelope revenue to a School in the measurement Fiscal Year.
b. These same Parishes will also be assessed at a rate of 8% on other income, including but not limited to any rental revenue derived from charter schools.
All Parishes are assessed at a rate of 2% on monies raised through a capital campaign and the funds are used for Parish capital projects.
Some specific revenues are excluded from assessable income, and expenses are netted against other specific revenues in determining assessable income. More detail as to what constitutes assessable and non-assessable income is included in the Annual Parish Financial Report (APFR) Handbook.
Any requests for exemptions and adjustments to this policy may be presented to the Archbishop for consideration.
Learn more about the Archdiocesan Assessment:
Visit https://missionsupport.archspm.org/ and search “APFR” to find the current Annual Parish Financial Report (APFR) Handbook, a quick guide to the Archdiocesan Assessment.
