FALL RIVER– The annual Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) collection will be taken up at parish Masses in the Fall River Diocese during the weekend of January 14-15, 2017.

This yearly national campaign is designed as a shared collection, meaning half of the proceeds stay in the local diocese and the other half is forwarded to the Catholic Communication Campaign office of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference.

The portion remaining in the Fall River Diocese is used to fund the weekly Television Mass, which airs at 11 a.m. each Sunday on WLNE-TV, channel 6. The annual cost for the Television Mass averages nearly $108,000 including production, airtime and closed-captioning –all of which are handled by different entities.

In 1963, shortly after channel 6 went on the air in the Providence/New Bedford market, the diocese began sponsoring a televised Mass for the benefit of those who are unable to attend a parish Mass usually because of infirmity or advanced age. In the 50-plus years since, it has been a source of spiritual sustenance and support for countless numbers of area Catholics.

In addition to proceeds from this weekend’s CCC collection, the Television Mass is also supported by the Catholic Charities Appeal.

At the national level, the CCC helps the Church spread the Gospel message through television, radio, print, social networks and the Internet by the U.S. Bishops’ Conference staff and other grantee organizations.

For example, in the past year, CCC funds have made possible: TV and e-books to the faithful in five developing countries; 365 days of audio podcasts and video reflections on the daily readings; and over 127 million page views on the U.S. Bishops’ Conference website in 2015.

In his message for World Communications Day 2016, Pope Francis said, “As sons and daughters of God, we are called to communicate with everyone, without exception.”

Support of the CCC collection is one way to help bring the Gospel message to “everyone, without exception,” as Pope Francis asks.

To learn more about the CCC, please visit www.usccb.org/ccc

Donations to support the Diocesan Television Mass may also be sent directly at any time to the Diocesan TV Mass, 887 Highland Ave., Fall River, MA 02720.

Diocese of Fall River
Diocese of Fall River
Office of Communications