Diocese _______________
The Diocese continues to support the activities of the clergy in the parishes as well as providing financial support for various activities relating to pastoral care and help such as youth, religious education, marriage guidance and poor parishes. Financial support is also given to Catholic national organisations and chaplaincies within the Diocese, e.g. prisons, hospitals, universities, ethnic, physically disabled etc.. The Diocese maintains the offices of the Vicar General, Matrimonial Tribunal and Treasury functions and also supports the Bishops' houses. Catholic News, which is a monthly newsletter covering events and items of interest across the Diocese, is published and distributed to the parishes.

Parishes ______________
The 223 parishes are the core of the Diocese and cover the counties of the West Midlands, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire.
  Offertory and other collections during 1999 of £6.4 million were maintained at the same level as the previous year.
  Many activities in the parishes rely heavily on the voluntary and unpaid help of parishioners and without this help many parishes would struggle financially.

Schools _______________
The Schools Commission administered approximately 150 different school building projects during the year. Of the total building projects, 9 were in excess of £100,000, a further 2 in excess of £200,000 and 2 over £500,000.
  At the end of the year planned expenditure on extensions, repairs and alterations amounted to approximately £1.9m, which will be funded by grants and monies owing from Governors in repayment of their loans for their 15%. There is a commitment for the expenses of moving premises to Father Hudson's Society site at Coleshill which at this time cannot be quantified.
  There was a surplus in the funding of school projects during 1999 of £30,147 after taking account of a £300,000 donation, and bank borrowing decreased by £68,000 to £4.5m.

Youth Activities ________
The main youth activities within the Diocese are centred on the Diocesan Youth Service, Soli House and Alton Castle.
  The Diocesan Youth Service aims to help young people respond to God's call and encourages and educates parishes about young people and their role within the Church. The main office is based in Coleshill. The Youth Service is under the control of the Diocesan Youth Officer who has 6 youth workers each responsible for a region of the Diocese. In 1999 a Birmingham Youth Service magazine in the form of a free newspaper; called "The Pulse" was launched. Throughout the year a range of events and activities took place including a five-a-side competition, junior sports day, hosting the second Network Conference of Catholic Youth Agencies, and a pilgrimage to Lourdes.
  Soli House is the retreat centre for the 14 to 18 age group mainly from RC Secondary schools in the Diocese and is based in Stratford upon Avon. During the year there were 2,469 visitors. Soli House is run by a full time director who is assisted by a team of 6 volunteer youth workers and a small number of administration and domestic staff.
  Alton Castle in Staffordshire is the retreat centre for the 9 to 13 age group. The Castle is run by a full time director with a staff of 12. In 1999, with the assistance of five years' funding from the Heritage Lottery fund, a site manager was appointed for the first time. Over 5,000 children came to the Castle during the year; most of these from schools within the Archdiocese of Birmingham. Other groups included a number of other Christian Churches that used the centre as a focus for their work with young people, a number of Jewish groups, and a number of other special needs groups. In 1999 a successful charity bike ride in Northern Israel was undertaken. During the year resources were spent on improved staff training so that most are involved in five weeks of training that includes life-guarding, first aid work, instructor training, liturgy and community living.

Priests Training Fund ____
An important part of the work in the diocese is the training of future priests. The Priests Training Fund financed the training of 27 students at major seminaries in this country and abroad. In addition, training of 3 former Anglican clergy was financed. Two priests have also been sponsored for further studies abroad. A total of 6 new priests were ordained in the year. There has been an increase in promotion work and as part of this, a grant has been made to the Diocesan Youth Service to encourage and support their work in the area of Vocations Promotion.

OTHER ACTIVITIES
Retired and Sick Clergy __
Aston Hall in Staffordshire is maintained by the Diocese as a residential home for retired and sick clergy. In 1999 there were 7 residents. The programme of work to improve facilities for the residents and to maintain the fabric of the building continued during the year.

Department of
Religious Education _____
The Department, which works closely with the DIEF in maintaining standards, is based in Coleshill and plays a special role in the teaching of Religious Education in Catholic schools. This is achieved by inspections and advice on areas such as curriculum development and staff appointments. During the year 36 inspections were carried out and over 85 visits took place to schools on training and development.

Harvington Hall _________
Harvington Hall is a listed building and place of pilgrimage supported by the Diocese and through its own activities.

Birmingham Diocesan
Lourdes Pilgrimage ______
The Lourdes Committee organises the annual Diocesan Pilgrimage each year. The pilgrimage provides facilities to take sick, infirm and disabled pilgrims to Lourdes. A total of 603 pilgrims went to Lourdes in 1999. Some 34 sick pilgrims were accommodated in the hospital and a further 105 were accommodated in hotels.

Conclusion ____________
In all of the activities undertaken by the Diocese the Trustees continue to be very grateful for the help given by so many people, both paid staff and volunteer helpers.
Without their help the diocese could not carry out all the important work that it currently does.