A Letter from Bishop Herbert Bevard

December 19, 2008

My dear people,

Since my arrival in the Virgin Islands in September, I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you and have already felt the warmth of your acceptance and love. I know that you love the Church and I am very happy to be the Bishop of such a wonderful diocese. It is with great concern and heartache, therefore, that my first letter to you concerns itself with a great misfortune that our beloved Church has recently experienced.

Several decades ago, the savings of St. Patrick Church were invested with a Wall Street broker by the name of Bernard Madoff. Soon the diocese added some of its savings and a few years ago St. Mary School invested their endowment fund. Last Thursday, Mr. Madoff was arrested for securities fraud and we discovered that all of our savings were gone in what appears to be the largest security fraud in history.

The returns that Mr. Madoff's firm provided were consistently good over the years; but not so good that they raised warning flags. The income supplemented the two school's operating budgets, allowing them to keep tuition costs low for the students on St. Croix.

The diocese researched Mr. Madoff before investing any funds with his firm. He was a highly regarded figure on Wall Street and the former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange. We were considered "lucky" to be taken on as clients. We were issued regular monthly statements as well as notices of all stock purchases and sales each month. The stocks being purchased were all recognizable blue chip stocks.

We have since discovered that the Securities and Exchange Commission had investigated and cleared him of any wrongdoing in 1992, 2005 and again in 2007. It appears that they were as surprised as we were with this fraud.

As a result of all this, it would appear that much of the savings of the diocese and the endowment funds of St. Mary and St. Patrick schools have apparently been lost. I do not yet know if we will be able to recover any of this money, but it would seem that such a hope is not well founded. Nevertheless, it is our intention, along with the Redemptorist Fathers, who have also been hurt by this fraud, to seek repayment of the monies that were taken from us. At this point, it would seem that neither school nor the diocese itself will be forced to curtail services as a result of this misfortune. I am told that the loss of income from the Madoff investments will not severely impact current budgets. Nevertheless, we obviously will be forced to be very frugal as we gradually recover our financial equilibrium in the months and years that lie ahead.

My preliminary investigation of this entire affair would seem to indicate that no one connected with the diocese is in any way guilty of wrong doing. All due diligence was exercised by the diocese and its employees when the investments in question were made.

I would like to stress that we shall recover from this blow to our financial well being. It is my conviction that our true treasure lies not on earth, but rather in Heaven. I look to Heaven for help and look forward, therefore, to the day when I can report to you that our financial security has been completely restored. In the meantime, I ask you to join with me in supporting the Church in every way possible. First of all, in prayer, for prayer is our life line to God. Secondly, in practice of the Faith; that we may fulfill the purpose for which God created us, namely, to know Him, serve Him and love Him. And finally, in financial support. Please allow this misfortune to make you even more committed to the well being of our Holy Mother, the Church, and the spread of God's kingdom on earth. In a true spirit of generosity, please do everything you can to turn this seeming defeat into victory. I know that together, we shall overcome, for we are gathered together and He is in our midst.

Commending you and this beloved diocese to our Blessed Lady, whose Divine Son, Jesus, we worship and adore, I am

 

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Herbert A. Bevard

Bishop of the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands

 

 

THE CATHOLIC ISLANDER * January 2009* Page 13