Archdiocesan Community Email Services (ACES)
What is ACES?
The Archdiocesan Community Email Services (ACES) is the primary administrative communications system between all Locations in a controlled email environment. Creating an account in ACES is simple but does require Internet access. Users do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in an ACES account.
How Do I Create an Account?
Go to ACES and click the "Sign up for an account" link. You will be asked for your Location's Department ID and ZIP code. The Financial Services Department at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center (ACC) has assigned an ID for every Location; check with your person in charge if you don't know yours. ACES uses this information to automatically determine whether you are a parish or school location and to identify your deanery. Once you enter that information, you will be asked if you want to create one of the following two kinds of account:
A location account – This type of account is the simplest to create and use and will allow your Location to participate in ACES. Think of this type of account as a P.O. Box for a parish, school, or other Location. Only one location account can be created for a Location and it should only be accessed by members of the administrative staff (principal, pastor, parish life director, priest administrator, or office manager). If you find that your location's account has already been created, please contact the
ACC Help Desk so we can confirm the account's existence and avoid any confusion about ACES or determine possible unauthorized use.
A personal account – This type of account is associated with a person, not a Location. It is for any staff or volunteers who may move from location to location or have more than one assignment in the archdiocese. It is transferrable and there will be no need to set up new accounts or multiple accounts for persons who may have assignments at more than one Location. In addition to associating your account to a parish or school location, your account will be associated with your role. A personal account requires a little more information to set up and may require manual approval by the ACC Help Desk to prevent abuse of certain roles. For example, applications that specify a clergy role will generally need to be manually approved. Note that personal accounts are meant to be used by the person to whom it is assigned. You should not give out your user name and password to anyone.
Each account type will ask for some information that will be stored with your account, such as a contact phone number. Location accounts are assigned a predefined user name; personal accounts require you to select a user name. In both account types, you will need to enter an alternate email address if you have another email account with another provider (such as Google). ACES will use that alternate email address to inform you of your ACES account status (if it has been approved or declined) and to email password recovery instructions if you should forget your ACES password.
Once you've completed the application forms, you will be given further instructions depending on your account type. When you create your account, be sure to store your username and password in a safe and secure place.
If you have trouble creating an account or have questions about an account application, please contact the
ACC Help Desk.
How Do I Use My Account?ACES email accounts are to be used for official archdiocesan ministerial and business purposes; your ACES login password will also grant you access to various intranet applications. One of the features of ACES is that accounts are automatically joined into various email distribution groups, generally composed by deanery. As an ACES account user, you will be able to send email to these groups. Note that outside email users will not be able to send email to ACES groups.
Please don't create accounts for personal correspondence. Be sure to read the
Terms of Use carefully when you create an ACES account.
The easiest way is to use a web browser and go to the
Outlook Web App (OWA). OWA works with all modern browsers. When you connect to OWA, you will be asked for your domain/username and password. Simply enter your email address as your username (e.g., parish-12345@la-archdiocese.org) and then enter your password. If you have questions, please contact the
ACC Help Desk.
Smartphone and tablet users can connect to ACES accounts via ActiveSync. Follow your mail client's instructions on connecting to a Microsoft Exchange mailbox.
If you plan on using ACES frequently and you have Microsoft Outlook 2010® or later, then you can set up Outlook to connect directly to the ACES email servers. Please contact the
ACC Help Desk for further instructions.
How Do I Update My Account?On the
ACES web page, select "Administer your account." Enter your username and password, and you'll be presented with a form that contains your current account information. If you have a personal account, you'll be able to change your account's assigned location, role, and other information. Please note that certain changes will require manual approval by the ACC. We can't have 34 principals at one school!
The ACC Help Desk can be reached during normal office hours (Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) at
helpdesk@la-archdiocese.org or 213-637-7699.
How Do I Retrieve My Password?If you specified an alternate email address with your ACES account, then you can reset your password without any help. Do the following:
On the ACES web page, select "Administer your account."
Enter your user name.
When prompted for your password, click "Forgot Password."
An email will be sent to your alternate email address. This email will contain a link to the ACES website. When you go to that link, you will be able to create a new password for your account.
If you did not specify an alternate email address, then you will need to contact the ACC Help Desk. The ACC Help Desk can also grant administrative access to accounts in special circumstances, such as when an employee leaves a location or is not able to check email.
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