A $30 million campaign by the Madison Catholic Diocese for money to train future priests greatly exceeded its goal, bringing in pledges of $43.7 million, according to the diocese. The just-ended effort was the first diocesanwide capital campaign in more than 50 years.
Church officials attribute the robust response to several factors, including the intrinsic value parishioners place on seminarians, or priests-in-training. Parish priests are considered the lifeblood of the church, though their numbers nationally are down sharply from the peak years in the 1970s.