Speaking to the 900 guests at yesterday evening’s Archbishop’s Dinner, Archbishop Smith announced a new fund that will strengthen the overall mental health strategy for the Archdiocese, focusing on providing awareness, accompaniment, and advocacy for all the faithful.
Archbishop Smith said that the momentum is just the start of a local response to the “mental health crisis afflicting vast swathes of the population.”
The fund will equip clergy and parish leaders with mental health and pastoral accompaniment training, as well as develop resources for clergy and lay leaders to care for others while sustaining their own wellbeing. It will also help continue to build and strengthen a network of Catholic and values-aligned counsellors.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese said the goal is not to turn clergy and parish leaders into mental health professionals, but to help them recognize when someone needs support, respond pastorally, and know where to turn next.
$600,000 has been committed to the fund from sponsors and lead donors leading up to the Dinner, with the amount expected to grow after attendees were invited to contribute.
Archbishop Smith said the Church wants to partner with mental health professionals and organizations in this work. “We seek to attend to the spiritual dimension of the human person that God seeks to renew and heal,” the Archbishop said.
“This is not to say that mental health challenges can be understood and treated as simply a spiritual issue, but it is to say that one’s relation with God cannot be neglected in the process of accompaniment and healing.”
The Archbishop said that since the Archdiocesan Mental Health Ministry was first established in 2025, 15 parish teams have been formed and 26 parish ministry leaders have been trained. 86 clergy and more than 100 parish staff and ministry leaders have received Catholic Mental Health First Aid training, and the Sanctuary Course has been offered in six parishes.
“Through prayer, participation, and giving, we provide the resources required to allow those who are struggling to encounter a Church ready to accompany them with compassion and hope,” Archbishop Smith said. “I am grateful to all who work in this vitally important field and am especially thankful to all of you for your support. It is greatly needed.”
