New Project

Christ has entrusted the Church with the stewardship of temporal goods to provide for divine worship, to carry out the mission to spread the Gospel, to care for the poor, and to provide for the support of clergy and lay ministers. Canon law requires the diocesan bishop to carefully supervise the administration of all goods which belong to the diocese and all public juridical persons, including parishes, entrusted to his authority and to regulate the administration of ecclesiastical goods through the issuance of special instruction (CIC, c. 1276§ 1 & 2). Generally, this means that diocesan approval is required for any project in excess of $15,000 or 5% of a parish's annual offertory; any project that requires fundraising or taking on debt; or any project that impacts or creates:

• liturgical space
• a building on any historical register
• the exterior of a building, or
• any Life Safety element of a building.

We encourage pastors to review the Construction Project Application Form with their pastoral council, finance council, third party consultants, and/or Construction Project Managers before submission. With the pastor's permission, a delegate may fill out the form.

Funding Rule
Capital projects can be approved if the parish has at least 100% of the project costs pledged and 50% of the project costs in hand.

Standard Certificate of Insurance Language
Before a contractor starts work on site at a parish, the parish must have a Certificate of Insurance from them in hand, and should send a copy to the diocese. The certificate must name the parish, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison, Inc. and Bishop Donald J. Hying as additional insureds.

Your plan involves a loan? Please read this.

Volunteer Hold Harmless Form
Before a volunteer begins any work on parish property, they must complete this form.