An anonymous donor established a $100,000 endowment fund in honor of three priests who influenced their lives.
The fund, traditionally known as a burse fund, was established in the name of Msgr. Scott Friend and his nephews, Father Patrick Friend and Father Joseph Friend. Msgr. Friend, vocations director from 2005 to 2021, oversaw the jump in seminarian recruitment starting in 2008. In 2021, he became the pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro.
He encouraged his nephews to discern a call to the priesthood. Father Patrick Friend has served as the chaplain and teacher at Catholic High School in Little Rock since his ordination in 2018. Father Joe Friend, pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Church in Lake Village and its missions in Crossett and Hamburg, was ordained in 2020.
A burse fund is a restricted fund dedicated to the education and housing of seminarians. The term “burse” is derived from the Latin word meaning “purse.”
As of June 2024, the Msgr. James E. O’Connell Diocesan Seminarian Fund has about $8 million. The new burse is one of hundreds of funds in the larger endowment fund maintained by the Diocese of Little Rock.
Deacon Chuck Ashburn, assistant vocations director for development, said of the anonymous donor, “They had been touched very deeply by the Friends as a whole. They wished to have something in their name that would support a passion of theirs. That is seminarian education.”
Ashburn saw firsthand how influential Msgr. Friend has been for vocations in the diocese.
“All three of them have impacted this diocese,” he said. “Msgr. Friend’s impact is so far-reaching on the work he has done with Hispanic ministry and the work he did here in the vocations office. I hear stories all over the diocese about how he has helped them personally in their difficult times. Father Patrick and Father Joseph are still very new in the priesthood, but to hear what some of the things that Father Patrick is doing at Catholic High and help those young men mature. And Father Joseph gets an invitation to come to Rome to be part of the Synod. These are three amazing men who are really impacting our diocese.”
Donations collected through the Taste of Faith events and Holy Thursday collection are used for the immediate needs of the Vocations Office, including paying for the tuition to educate the seminarians and operating the House of Formation in Little Rock.
Only the earnings from the endowment fund can be spent. For this fiscal year, the diocese will have to use some of the earnings to pay for seminarians’ needs, finance director Greg Wolfe said.
“The goal of the (anonymous donor) is to make it a $1 million fund. That is a magical number for us. A $1 million burse/endowment would educate a seminarian in perpetuity,” Ashburn said.
It costs an average of $45,000 a year to educate one seminarian.
Father Joseph Friend said his uncle modeled for him how a priest should have a servant’s heart.
“Whoever made this sacrificial donation has a servant’s heart. My uncle taught me that model of priesthood,” he said.
The “culture of vocations” in the diocese today is a direct result of the work of Msgr. Friend, he said.
“Father Jeff (Hebert, current director) has done a great job of continuing that,” he said.
Father Patrick Friend said, “My uncle has been such an inspiration. He has restored hope in so many people that God is still calling people to be priests…. My brother and I are just fruits of that.”
Msgr. Friend said, “I was surprised to learn that a burse was made in the names of my nephews and myself. It is truly humbling to be honored in this way. I am grateful that this burse will continue to provide funds to educate our future priests until the Lord returns to us. That will mean that future generations will have priests to celebrate Mass and be able to receive the Lord in the Eucharist.”
Anyone interested in donating to the new Friend fund can contact Ashburn at (501) 664-0340 or cashburn@dolr.org. Individuals or families can also explore how to set up a burse fund in honor or in memory of a priest or loved one.
