With final edits and in-house review completed, the production of the 2022 Boston Catholic Directory is underway.

Typically, the much sought-after annual archdiocesan resource would be pretty much on the way to parishes, institutions, and local Catholic religious goods stores. However, the production team thought that, given the many obstacles created by the nation's response to health crises, there should be a bit more than the usual flexibility on deadlines for parishes and others who respond to requests for data updates, statistics, and the like.

This year, the advertising pages were revised so that full-color ads were available to advertisers. The response was more than expected. Dan Maguire, the advertising manager of both The Pilot and Boston Catholic Directory, sees possibilities for more advertisers responding and coming on board for the 2023 edition. Directory users are encouraged to patronize advertisers and to mention the directory when they do so.

Our cover this year is sponsored by Holy Cross Family Ministries. Parishes, institutions, or agencies have the opportunity to feature themselves on the 2023 edition's cover and the following years.

The first pages of the directory are the listings of archdiocesan offices and the personnel with their direct dial numbers. This should help parish staffs get to an office or an individual at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center much more easily. At the back of the book in the almanac section are the alphabetical listings of the bishops and priests (gray pages); permanent deacons (cream pages); religious brothers (blue pages), and religious sisters (pink pages); residing or serving or both in the archdiocese along with their contact information.

Much of the information in the printed version is available on various pages of the archdiocesan website -- bostoncatholic.org. And much of that data is managed by the staff of the Boston Catholic Directory. However, the convenience of having it all in one place on your desktop is still, even in this electronic age, a preferred resource for many in the archdiocese.

The distribution of the BCD 2022 will begin by the end of February. Each parish receives 10 copies as both an acknowledgment and a thank you from the chancellor of the archdiocese for the parish's participation in the IFRM and the ongoing parish support of Central Ministries.

Copies are also available at area religious goods stores. Watch for an ad here in The Pilot and online about the arrival of the directory at those locations.

Pastors will usually distribute copies to other priests, permanent deacons, parish staff members, and Catholic School personnel. If they have extra copies, they often give these to local businesses -- especially funeral directors -- and advertisers in parish bulletins.

Individuals who wish to purchase copies can usually do so from a parish office or a religious goods dealer mentioned in the ads.

Next year's edition will mark the 75th anniversary of this publication. Our directory regularly receives plaudits from users both within and outside the archdiocese. Part of the reason for its success is that it has adapted over the years and responded to users' suggestions.

When you get your copy, let us know what you think. If you catch any edits: omissions, misspellings, or other errors that we missed, please let us know -- bcd@PilotCatholicNews.com.

FATHER ROBERT M. O'GRADY IS ASSOCIATE EDITOR OF THE BOSTON CATHOLIC DIRECTORY.