As Catholics, we are called to be stewards — stewards of our faith, of our loved ones, and of the things in our lives that God has blessed us with. As such, many dedicated Catholics create a legacy that upholds the charitable organizations they value, even after their earthly journey has ended.

There are many ways to be a steward of your blessings and God’s love, and one that we want to highlight is estate planning.  Estate planning helps you to feel prepared for your own future, and passes the legacy of our Catholic faith onto the next generation.

St. Bernard Parish, in conjunction with the Diocese of Joliet, is excited to share a free online will-writing tool with our community, courtesy of our friends at FreeWill.  The Diocese has partnered with them to provide everyone in our community the opportunity to write their legal will at no personal cost. 

Nearly 70% of Americans don’t have an updated estate plan, but this resource makes the process simple, affordable and takes 20 minutes or less.  It is also legal in all 50 states.  A few of us here at St. Bernard Parish have already personally tried FreeWill and recommend it. 

Click here to get started!

Begin my free will

This tool also makes it easy to support St. Bernard Parish for future generations.  Through the FreeWill site, besides leaving gifts to your loved ones, you can choose to leave a gift to any charitable organization including St. Bernard or the Augustinians.  Making a bequest is a spiritual commitment to one’s values, faith convictions and the desire to ensure the church is around to share our faith with future generations.  By including a gift in your plans, you’ll help to meet the spiritual, educational, and charitable needs of our community for years to come.

We invite you  to act as a steward for yourself, the ministries you value, and your faith.