Dear Friend ~ we have a packed newsletter for you this month!
A man of humility, compassion and courage, and a tireless advocate for the poor, oppressed and marginalised: We pay tribute to Pope Francis
Our popular Faithful Finance training course starts on May 20. Book by May 2 to take advantage of an early bird offer of £250 per person
Our June FCI Forum focuses on Catholic investing – and Jean-Baptiste de Franssu (Director of Vatican Bank) is one of our panelists
Our partner Operation Noah has launched a Catholic Social Teaching toolkit
Highlights from our FCI research posts
A man of humility, compassion and courage who made a profound impact upon the world
Like so many people, we heard the news that Pope Francis had died with a great sense of sorrow and loss, but also a sense that the timing – on Easter Monday morning – was fitting for a man whose entire life was dedicated to living the values of the Gospel.
Pope Francis was a truly global figure whose loss will be felt beyond the Catholic Church, as seen by the many tributes pouring in from around the world, including nations where other faiths are the majority, such as Iran and Israel. His great ability was in conveying the sense that he was, at heart, a man of the people. He liked people, you felt, and was a pastor as much as he was the pontiff. It was not surprising that, despite his evident frailty, he was determined to join the crowds in celebrating Easter Sunday in St Peter's Square.
But he also used his voice and role as pontiff to advocate tirelessly for the poor and marginalised, and to call for urgent action on climate change and environmental degradation. Above all, he preached a message of hope and love rooted in Christian teachings.
FaithInvest Executive Chair Dave Zellner said: 'Pope Francis had a huge impact on the world, not just on the 1.3 billion members of the Catholic Church. His leadership on so many of the burning issues of our times reminded us that all our actions have moral consequences.
'In the context of FaithInvest’s work, that includes how we use our investments and finances to create a better world. In this, and in so many other ways, Pope Francis leaves a profound legacy.'
The course covers the foundational principles of faith-consistent investing and how to engage with financial intermediaries with clarity and confidence. And we have an early bird offer: £250 per person (usually £295) for bookings by May 2.
Feedback from previous courses has been overwhelmingly positive, with participants reporting feeling empowered and confident about aligning their investments and faith values.
What participants say
'The whole area is not as daunting as I had imagined it to be, hence my shift in confidence'
'The confidence it has given me to feel more able to get involved in discussions with our investment advisors'
Thursday 5 June | 10.00 EST | 15.00 BST | 16.00 CET | 17.00 EAT
There's a bit of a Catholic theme to this month's newsletter! This year marks the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis'sLaudato Si’ and is a Jubilee Year in the Church (a time of spiritual renewal celebrated every 25 years). Our June quarterly FCI forum looks at how Laudato Si', Catholic Social Teaching and Mensuram Bonam are shaping Catholic approaches to finance and investment. And we have some fantastic guest speakers:
Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, President of the IOR (the Vatican Bank)
John O'Shaughnessy, Treasurer & CIO of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary and co-founder of the Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative (CIIC)
Petra Vujakovic, Impact Investments Manager for the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, known as the Cabrini Sisters
Don't miss what promises to be a lively and fascinating discussion!
Engaging faith-based asset owners more effectively
Interactive seminars for investment industry professionals
Following feedback from many faith-based asset owners about problems in communication and understanding with their service providers, we've developed a new Masterclass for investment industry professionals.
Entitled Bridging the Gap, it is designed to equip them with the tools and insights needed to engage more effectively with the rapidly expanding trillion-dollar, faith-based investment market.
We were planning to launch it in May but due to the current turbulent market conditions, we have rescheduled it for later this year. Register your interest to be notified when the new dates are released – and to capitalise on the early bird offer of £350 per person, to be announced nearer the time.
Operation Noah launches a Catholic Social Teaching toolkit
Our friends at Operation Noah have launched a Catholic Social Teaching (CST) toolkit aimed at empowering Catholic organisations to align their investments with CST and address responsible stewardship in light of the climate crisis. This practical guide is valuable for finance directors, treasurers, trustees and committee members in the Catholic sector. There's also a four-part lunchtime webinar series starting on Tuesday 29 April at 1pm BST. Download the toolkit and register for the webinars below.
Every week, the FaithInvest team posts on issues around faith-consistent investing on our FCI Research Posts page. In case you missed them, here is a selection of recent posts.
