By Jacqueline Gilvard Landry
When it comes to his parishioners’ financial and emotional well-being, there is only so much Father Eric Zegeer, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Denver, can do as a priest.
But he can do a lot as a pitchman.
Seeing a need for his immigrant population — who are largely needy and uninsured — Father Zegeer got creative with some “providential” partnerships, starting programs with Fidelis Catholic Credit Union and St. Raphael Counseling, a ministry of Catholic Charities, to help parishioners take charge of their fiscal and mental health. Both institutions are taking up residence in the church — bringing banking, education, therapy and a revenue boost.
“I found people were struggling financially and struggling in terms of their mental health,” Father Zegeer said, adding that Catholics, especially immigrants, often find their priest to be their first hope for help. “I realized you can’t pray away debt, and you can’t pray away mental illness, barring a miracle.”
Masses, retreats and sacraments provide spiritual healing, but they don’t “address physical, psychological and financial needs that all are interrelated… so, by implementing these programs, we want to take care of the whole person,” Father Zegeer explained.
A Catholic Approach to Financial Freedom
The financial struggles stem largely from predatory loans, he said, after meeting parishioners over and over who had purchased vehicles from unreputable dealers who swindled them into loans with astronomical interest rates.
“These hard-working people can’t work without a car,” he explained, so they sign complicated contracts written in English only and end up with a car they cannot return and often can barely afford.
Seeing the need, Father Zegeer contacted Justin Dickson, CEO of the not-for-profit Fidelis Catholic Credit Union, pitching the idea of exchanging these loans for better rates. Fidelis’ board agreed to take a “step of faith” and open a branch in the church with a two-year lease.
In addition to helping them refinance their loans, Fidelis’ fluent bilingual staffer will assist parishioners of Sacred Heart and a few surrounding churches in exploring other possibilities for getting car, home and business loans and focus on education.
“It’s about helping workers understand the financial system in this country and how to work within it so they aren’t taken advantage of,” Dickson said.
To that end, he explained, Fidelis will hold seminars and counsel clients on, for example, how to open a bank account (and the value of doing so), getting a credit card and paying off the balance every month, creating a credit score, applying or reapplying for loans at a better rate and the importance of showing income.
“We want to teach them to manage their own finances so they can sustain themselves and make their own choices,” Dickson said.
Transforming the church into a bank-appropriate space with various security upgrades and repairs took a year and a half, but the branch opened on Feb. 27 and is ready for people to start making appointments on the credit union’s website under “Locations & Hours.”
A Catholic Renewal of the Mind
The parishioners’ financial issues were just a part of a larger mental health crisis, Father Zegeer noted, with parishioners and their children carrying traumas from their home countries, as well as depression, anxiety and other challenges.
“They come to see me because they trust a priest and don’t know where else to go… but I’m not a therapist, and I realized that they need more help than I can provide as a Catholic priest,” he said.
About a year ago, he had another pitch, this time to Dr. Albert Pace of St. Raphael Counseling, a ministry of Catholic Charities.
He told Dr. Pace he would furnish a “super comfortable office” with a desk, couches, WiFi and other necessities in exchange for free therapy. And Dr. Pace had just the person to move in. Pedro Pablo, a Catholic, fluent bilingual therapist working toward his therapist license, was looking for a workspace in which to see patients.
“It was providential,” Father Zegeer said.
They set up a year-by-year lease with a monthly allotment for free counseling. Pablo said he has already worked with about 10-15 families.
Because sessions are limited, Father Zegeer reserves the program for uninsured, “active, involved parishioners,” whom he hand-picks as those who might benefit from therapy. He said they are sometimes skeptical, often because of their culture, not only thinking they can solve their problems with prayers and rosaries but worrying therapy is devoid of faith.
“When they hear they can see a Catholic therapist, they are dumbfounded,” he said.
Integrating faith into mental health counseling is game-changing for parishioners and their families, Pablo noted.
“By framing my job and doing it in a way that I bring in the Catholic faith, that really opens up a lot of people who realize this is another way that the healing of Christ comes into their life,” he said.
Both Pablo and Father Zegeer said they have seen positive changes.
“It’s amazing to see,” Father Zegeer said. “Their anxiety is better, the depression is lessening, they’re losing weight, they’re gaining more self-confidence. You see them being thankful to God.”
Supporting the Whole Person
Father Zegeer reiterated that he founded these programs to nurture the whole human person.
"The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ,” he said, quoting Pope St. John Paul II. “As a church and parish rooted in Christ, we have to care for all aspects of the human person — not just sacramental and spiritual.”
