Student debt fund gets project manager

NRVC’s efforts to establish a fund to help religious communities with new-member education debt has moved forward, thanks to the recent appointment of Mr. Mark Teresi as project director for the National Fund for Catholic Religious Vocations (NFCRV).  

The NFCRV is a new initiative sponsored by the National Religious Vocation Conference. The fund’s purpose is to assist religious institutes in welcoming new members who have student loans. Research has shown that large education debts have been a substantial stumbling block for vocations in recent years.

While acting as project manager, Mr. Teresi will continue in his current position as vice president of institutional advancement at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. Prior to his current position, Mr. Teresi worked in development at the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls in Chicago and for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

As NFCRV project director, Teresi will design the business plan and oversee the fund’s incorporation, establish a board of trustees, and search for an executive director. The goal is to complete these tasks by late fall 2014. The National Fund could then issue its first grants to religious institutes in 2015, the year dedicated to Consecrated Life as declared by Pope Francis in November 2013.       

Photo: Mr. Mark Teresi, newly appointed project director for the National Fund for Catholic Religious Vocations, initiated by the National Religious Vocation Conference.