Leaving a legacy

Last fall, I established the Immaculate Heart of Mary Legacy Society to perpetuate the works of our faith into future generations, and to honor individuals who have included a gift in their will or made a charitable lifetime agreement to the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City. There are four basic ways to become a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Society; your personal financial planner can assist you in choosing which is correct for you:

•Bequests: The simplest way to leave a bequest to the diocese is through your will. You may include a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your estate. You may also specify the remainder of your estate as a gift after taking care of your family and parish.

•Life insurance: Naming the diocese as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy.

•Charitable lead trusts: Funded with assets such as appreciated property or securities, earnings from lead trusts are contributed to the charity for the life of the trust with principal going to your beneficiaries at its termination.

•Charitable remainder trusts: Similar to charitable lead trusts, Charitable Remainder Trusts are funded with an asset and the earnings are paid as income to you and your beneficiaries. Upon the death of the last beneficiary, the principal goes to the charity.

With funding from the Catholic Church Extension Society, we are in the process of installing a recognition tree in the upper level hallway of the Alphonse J. Schwartze Memorial Catholic Center. Names of those who have made a gift to the diocese through their will, life insurance policy or charitable gift annuity qualifies them to become founding members of the Society and to have their names engraved and displayed on a copper/brass tree leaf.

In addition to serving as a way to express our gratitude, this recognition helps make others aware of the opportunities to create a legacy that will sustain the works of our Catholic faith in the lives of our grandchildren and beyond.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary is the patroness of our diocese, and, as such, we have adopted a beautiful prayer to her by St. Louis de Montfort that I share with you here (see below).

I extend the invitation to you to become founding members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Legacy Society. If you have made a planned gift to the diocese, please contact Jane Rutter, director of the diocesan Stewardship Office, so that you may be enrolled in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Legacy Society and have your name included on the Tree of Gratitude. She can be reached at (573) 635-9127, ext. 213, or e-mail: stewardejr @diojeffcity.org. You may also contact her for more information.

Please pray for our continued growth in Christ, the strength of our diocese.

In the presence of all the
heavenly court, I choose thee
this day for my Mother and Mistress.
I deliver and consecrate to thee, as
thy servant, my body and soul, my
goods, both interior and exterior,
and even the value of all my good
actions, past, present and future,
leaving to thee the entire and full
right of disposing of me, and all that
belongs to me without exception,
according to thy good pleasure, for
the greater glory of God, in time and
in eternity. Amen.
— St. Louis de Montfort