On Sunday afternoon, April 27, 2025, I returned from Michigan, where I had the joy and honor of celebrating my nephew’s wedding the day prior. After collecting my luggage at the airport, I boarded an Uber to where my vehicle was parked. The driver was most polite, and he asked what I did. I explained what Catholic priests and bishops were and what they did. Then he asked, “Hey, was that pope who just died Catholic also?” I chuckled and explained how my vocation/ministry was connected to Pope Francis. This young man was not a Christian but was respectfully interested in the Catholic faith. He was quite fascinated that I was connected to this world hero who recently died, and that I had met him in person.
Following the pope’s death, I was amazed as international news coverage blanketed the globe with great honor and respect. About 12 years and 3 months ago, nobody seemed to know who Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was before he was elected pope. I think very few in American and European ecclesiastical circles knew of him. However, after March 13, 2013, the world knew him as Pope Francis. Shortly after his acceptance of his election as Roman Pontiff, one of the cardinals said to him, “Remember the poor” - so he chose the name Francis after St. Francis of Assisi, a 13th-century saint known for his poverty and humility.
At the time of his election, I was an activeduty chaplain at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. I remember how the newly elected pope’s unrestrained zeal and passion were captivating and deeply personal to me. It
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Pope Francis - special report
That they may have life
In a memorable moment during a General Audience in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City in 2015, Pope Francis warmly greeted Bishop Chad W. Zielinski who was newly ordained a bishop in 2014.
was as if he were speaking directly to my heart, igniting a fire within me to serve with even more fervor.
Outreach to the poor
A driving force in Pope Francis’s entire pontificate, I think, was a care, concern, and outreach to the poor, underprivileged, and those on the margins. I remember watching news clips of him on the move early in the morning. He wandered through the streets of Rome, handing out food to the poor and blessing the homeless. I am sure his security detail was asking the question, “Whose day is it to watch him?” This going out to the flock would become a new branding of the pope’s apostolic mission, a pastoral zeal reflected in his papal motto: “Miserando atque Eligendo” (By having mercy and choosing him).
On March 28, 2013, Pope Francis celebrated his first Chrism Mass as pope. In his homily, he challenged all of us priests to get out of our rectories and chanceries, open the church doors, and go out to the faithful. He was famously quoted many times as saying, “A pastor must smell like his sheep.” Growing up on a small family farm where we raised a few sheep, I could definitely relate to that imagery. In fact, all your clothes smelled like sheep. This phrase by the pope is a reminder to all priests, whom he called missionary disciples, to get out there and meet the people where they live. Yes, even among those who live on the streets and have no place they call home. As priests, we are still their shepherds, and they are our sheep. I heard Pope Francis repeat this phrase numerous times throughout his pontificate, making evident his unrestrained passion to love with the heart of Christ the Good Shepherd and speak with his gentle, merciful, and forgiving voice.
Over the years, he would stop by the Church of San Luigi Dei Francesi during his visits to Rome to pray and meditate by Caravaggio’s famous painting “The Calling of Matthew.” This is a biblical scene in which Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, to become one of his disciples. Christ’s hand is pointing, and above his hand is a light coming from a window that is shining directly on the person of Matthew.
For Pope Francis, this painting always rekindled a personal encounter with God’s mercy in the confessional as a young man – a moment when he knew he would be a priest. For him, it was a most palpable and very real encounter with the merciful Christ, and he wanted to tell the entire world the great news about this font of mercy.
Pectoral cross – a symbol of the late pope’s pastoral approach
The pectoral cross is worn on the chest, suspended by a chain. For centuries, popes, cardinals, and bishops have worn it as a sign of authority and prestige. A powerful symbol of his pastoral approach, Pope Francis’s pectoral cross reflects the parable of the lost sheep in Luke’s Gospel, a story that encapsulates the pope’s mission to seek out and care for those who are lost or marginalized.
I was immediately drawn to the pope’s cross. During my celebration of confirmations in parishes, I would give a replica of this cross to each newly confirmed and explain that no matter how lost you feel as a soul of God, you are on his radar. Especially as shepherds, we are to remind our sheep that they are always on our radar, they are always on God’s radar, and he will go to great lengths for them, to the point of dying on the Cross.
Church as a missionary disciple
The Holy Father always viewed the Church herself as a missionary disciple on the move to those in need - a field hospital erected amidst the people, no matter how challenging the conditions. I think this tagline, “missionary discipleship,” will always remain a stamp of Pope Francis.
Throughout his leadership, the pope accompanied individuals in their suffering and confusion and encouraged priests and bishops to do likewise. However, I think the overall meaning of “accompaniment” was sometimes misunderstood. Walking with another does not mean confirming them in their sin, dysfunction, and confusion. As evangelists and missionary disciples, we must, like Christ, call the world to conversion.
One-on-one with Pope Francis
I had the privilege to meet Pope Francis at a General Audience and during our New Bishop’s Course in September 2015, and at a bishop’s gathering in 2016. I also met with him in 2020 during an ad limina visit, a time when bishops travel to Rome and meet personally with the pope. Each time, the pope was most approachable, interested, and compassionate. During the ad limina visit, he spent 2 ½ hours with 15 of us bishops. He was on fire, passionate, and filled with zeal. He seemed to be deeply concerned about the ‘false narrative’ of the human person that was being spread throughout the world. With great fervor, he encouraged us to be courageous ambassadors, preaching that each person is created in the image and likeness of God, radiating his beauty, goodness, and truth. Pope Francis saw a world that is crying out for the true meaning of the human person and a desire to encounter Christ’s mercy and be healed of sin. He passionately wanted every soul to hear and encounter Christ’s message of mercy and forgiveness.
Pope’s devotion to the Novena to Our Lady Undoer of Knots Throughout the centuries, each pope has had a particular devotion that he emphasized and encouraged among the faithful. Saint John Paul II is remembered for ushering in a great devotion to the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Pope Francis encouraged the Novena to Our Lady Undoer of Knots. I had never heard of this until Pope Francis started to promote it. I have prayed it regularly since, and the Blessed Mother has certainly taken some pretty “knotted-up situations” in my life and miraculously untied them.
Let us now entrust Pope Francis to the merciful hands of Christ that he so passionately preached about. And let us entrust the Church and the election of a new pope to Our Lady Undoer of Knots.
The bishop’s monthly calendar can be found at www.dnu.org.
Pope Francis - special report
Internal reform - Pope’s focus weighed heavily on mission and service
(Pope Francis coverage continued from page 3.)
Francis’ outward emphasis was matched by serious efforts to reform the inner structures of the Catholic Church to free it up for a greater focus on mission and service. Early on, he appointed a council of cardinals to advise him on curial and Church reform. Its labors culminated in March 2022 with the promulgation of a new apostolic constitution for the Holy See, Praedicate Evangelium, that allowed dicasteries, or Vatican departments, to be headed by lay baptized Catholics and placed greater emphasis on evangelization.
Francis tackled some aspects of Vatican finances, even as ongoing scandals overshadowed that progress. The pope himself was drawn into one high-profile fraud case that led to the trial and 2023 conviction of one of his closest cardinal collaborators, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, on allegations of financial misconduct.
Francis also undertook a series of reforms related to the scourge of clergy sexual abuse, beginning in 2014 with the creation of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, headed by Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston, who was also a member of the pope’s Council of Cardinals. Francis convened a global Vatican summit on the issue in 2019, which gave rise to his new Vos Estis guidelines intended to strengthen provisions for bringing abusive priests to justice and holding bishops accountable for their handling of abuse allegations.
Pope of synodality
One of Pope Francis’ most significant projects in the second half of his pontificate was implementing “synodality” in the life of the Church.
Reflecting the ecclesiastical vision that was articulated at Aparecida and in Evangelii Gaudium, Francis used the Synod of Bishops to craft a more listening Church, an “inverted pyramid” that took the people of God as its starting point.
The Holy Father’s 2016 postsynodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love”), following from the sometimescontentious 2014 and 2015 Synods on the Family, made headlines for what critics saw as the creation of conditions in which the divorced and civilly-remarried could receive Communion.
Church leaders and dioceses offered dueling interpretations of the document’s pastoral guidance, and four cardinals’ September 2016 submission of five questions, or “dubia,” asking for clarity amid “grave disorientation and great confusion,” went unaddressed by the pope.
At the same time, Francis faced disapproval from some conservative prelates who feared that his doctrinal ambiguity, his handling of the abuse crisis, and his disparagement of some in the Church for clericalism and rigidity were confusing the faithful and demoralizing priests and seminarians.
Francis similarly created ripples with his treatment of Catholic communities attached to the Traditional Latin Mass. Traditionis Custodes, his 2021 decree restricting its celebration, shocked adherents to the rite and prompted even some of the pope’s liberal allies to characterize the document’s stern language and severe suppression as a stunning departure from the pope’s call for a synodal listening approach. Others, like the Dominican and longtime Vatican official Archbishop Augustine Di Noia, have argued that the pope’s intervention was necessary to head off the false idea that the preVatican II Mass is the true liturgy for the true Church.
Immense controversy likewise surrounded the document issued by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, at the end of 2023, Fiducia Supplicans, that allowed nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples and couples in irregular situations. The decree
sparked strong disagreements among the world’s bishops, with almost all African bishops refusing to implement the decree, saying in a formal statement in January 2024 that “it has sown misconceptions and unrest in the minds of many lay faithful, consecrated persons, and even pastors.”
Francis, however, was also consistently clear on key areas of Church teaching. Through the 2024 decree Dignitas Infinita (“Infinite Dignity”) issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, for example, Francis reiterated the Church’s perennial teachings on the dignity of the human person.
Undeterred by the critics, the Holy Father pushed ahead with his vision for a synodal Church, launching in 2021 a multiyear, global consultative process that ended in two “Synods on Synodality” in Rome in October 2023 and October 2024.
Francis made the unprecedented decision to forgo writing a postsynodal apostolic exhortation at the conclusion, choosing instead to implement the synod’s final document directly. “What we have approved in the document is enough,” he declared, marking a historic shift in how synodal reforms may be implemented.
‘With doors always wide open’ Pope Francis’ health declined
in his last years due to several medical challenges, including sciatica, respiratory issues, ligament damage in his knees, and two bouts of intestinal surgeries. Mobility issues forced him to start using a wheelchair in 2022. Still, he remained impressively active almost to the very end, maintaining a demanding schedule of audiences and travel, even while moderating his pace in his final months.
Many around the world will retain vivid images of Francis embracing the poorest and most stricken, a champion of mercy and accompaniment. On the night of his election, he declared that he had come from the ends of the earth. In his unexpected and often unappreciated pontificate, he reached out to the ends of the earth to declare a place of welcome for all: “todos, todos, todos.”
“The Church is called to be the house of the Father,” he wrote in Evangelii Gaudium, “with doors always wide open. One concrete sign of such openness is that our church doors should always be open, so that if someone, moved by the Spirit, comes there looking for God, he or she will not find a closed door.”
Pilgrimage of Hope
On Dec. 24, 2024, as the first “pilgrim of hope,” he opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, inaugurating the 2025
Jubilee Year. In a historic first, he also opened a Holy Door within Rome’s Rebibbia prison, demonstrating his continued commitment to those on society’s margins.
The pontiff’s final medical challenge was a bout of pneumonia that led to a lengthy hospitalization in early 2025 from which he ultimately never recovered. His last public appearance was on Easter Sunday, where he took part in the traditional Urbi et Orbi, a blessing “to the city (of Rome) and to the world.” He struggled to be close to the Church and its people until the end, pushing to be present to the world in his frailty.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, in his apartment at Casa Santa Marta. His death leaves the massive project of synodality and the curial reforms unfinished. It now falls to the cardinals to choose a successor who will decide how or whether to carry the Francis agenda forward. He bequeaths a polarized Catholic community beset by the crises of modernity and relativism. Still, his vision for a Church of the peripheries that listens and walks with the suffering with mercy unquestionably disrupted the status quo and launched a process that will continue to impact global Catholicism long after he is laid to rest.
Memorial Mass honors Pope Francis
NEW ULM – The Christian faithful gathered at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm on Friday, May 2, for a Memorial Mass for Pope Francis celebrated by Bishop Chad Zielinski. During his homily, the bishop reflected briefly on the driving force in Pope Francis’s pontificate, which was his ‘Care, concern, and outreach to the poor, underprivileged, and those on the margins.’
Pictured: Rita Gleisner of the Church of St. George in West Newton Township receives Holy Communion from Bishop Zielinski. Fr. Mark Steffl, pastor of the Holy Cross Area Faith Community (New Ulm, Searles, and West Newton Township) also distributes Holy Communion.
(Photo by Christine Clancy)
Jubilee Year of Hope 2025
June 22 at 10 AM
Cathedral, New Ulm
Rededicating the Diocese of New Ulm to Our Lady of the Prairie & Eucharistic Procession to the Diocesan Pastoral Center (weather permitting)
June 25 at 6 AM
Ortonville
Blessing of the Minnesota River Headwaters by Bishop Chad W. Zielinski Mass & breakfast to follow 8
Join Bishop Chad W. Zielinski on Saturday, May 31, 2025, during the 11 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
The Diocese of New Ulm’s Pilgrimage of Hope is an eight-day, 90-mile sacred journey on foot around the rural diocesan landscape by eight young pilgrims of the diocese. Coordinated by the diocesan Office of Evangelization, the pilgrimage represents our shared faith and hope as a diocesan family. The pilgrimage will include stops at 20 parishes (see map) where the faithful are invited to join the pilgrims in various Area Faith Community prayer events.
The pilgrimage begins at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm following the Sunday, June 22, Feast of Corpus Christi Mass celebrated by Bishop Zielinski and the rededication of the diocese to Our Lady of the Prairie. Afterwards, join the bishop and the pilgrims in a Eucharistic Procession to the Diocesan Pastoral Center in New Ulm where there will be an opportunity for prayer and Eucharistic Adoration in the Center’s chapel and light refreshments for those gathered.
June 25 at 7 PM
Talk by Damien Walker, artist of the image of Our Lady of the Prairie & founder of the Studio of St. Philomena in New Zealand
The pilgrims will continue their journey from the pastoral center to the designated parish stops. In hand will be a replica of the newly dedicated Our Lady of the Prairie who will travel with the pilgrims as their intercessor. All the faithful are invited to walk alongside the pilgrims at their convenience. Let us continue to ask Our Lady of the Prairie to prepare our hearts to receive all the Lord has for our diocese during this Jubilee Year of Hope 2025.
June
Talk by Archbishop Emeritus Allen H.Vigneron, Damien Walker, adoration and barbeque at St. Mary’s
Braun Glencoe, Minn.
Brost Dassel, Minn.
Encourage a young man to consider the priesthood - he could be your future priest
WASHINGTON – According to a new survey, nine in ten men who will be ordained to the priesthood this year were encouraged to consider this vocation by someone in their life. Three-quarters of them regularly participated in Eucharistic Adoration before entering the seminary.
“We express our deepest gratitude to the many priests, family members, mentors, formators, and laity who have encouraged and supported these men in their discernment of their call to the priesthood,” said Bishop Earl Boyea who serves as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations.
In conjunction with the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on May 11, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations released the Ordination Class of 2025 Study, conducted annually by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.
Out of the 405 men who are to be ordained this year, 309 completed CARA’s Ordination Class of 2025 survey, for an overall response rate of 76%. These ordinands represent 115 dioceses and eparchies in
the United States and 36 distinct religious institutes.
A few major report findings: x Nine in ten responding ordinands (89%) reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life, most frequently by a parish priest (60%), friend (52%), or fellow parishioner (42%).
x Regarding prayer practices, three-quarters of responding ordinands participated in Eucharistic Adoration (78%) on a regular basis before entering the seminary.
x Most of the ordinands received formation at a seminary in the Midwest (37%) followed by the South (29%), Northeast (16%), West (13%), and abroad (5%).
x Responding ordinands indicate they first considered priesthood
Mary in the Eucharist
(Continued from page 7.)
Mary connects us with our Father, her Son, and the Holy Spirit. I was told the above Mary anecdote at a time of great loss in my life. I was reminded by a wise relative that Catholics always have Mary and she would be my connection to a God I didn’t trust. I didn’t understand the actions of God, and in my grief I thought, “For all I’ve done, and You did me dirt.” My mind said the thought of God’s betrayal wasn’t true. My heart felt it was. I went to Mary.
I continued to receive daily Communion and even panicked if I couldn’t get to a Church over a few days’ time. My trust in Jesus was thin but I knew it wasn’t a good time to lose my faith. I came to know Mary was my pathway and the way to hang on to a relationship with her son. Upon leaving morning Mass one day and unsure I could make it to work, I cornered a friend named
Mary and asked her to pray with me. We said a Hail Mary together and I went on to face the day. On a similar morning, I asked another sister of faith to pray with me. She followed up with a note telling me how she felt God’s love for me during that time of prayer. My faith in God was akin to a difficult patch in a marriage relationship. I knew desolation was never a good time to undo what was undertaken in consolation. I needed Mary and my sisters in faith who loved her, to restore my covenant with Jesus.
Mary is referred to throughout the Mass. She walked the passion along with the Child she once nursed. She stood at the foot of the Cross, possibly pondering at that hour how another promise spoken by Gabriel will be: “Great will be his dignity … the Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father.” (Lk. 1: 32) She said yes once again, not from understanding but from faith. Might Mary be able to help the
during elementary school (35%), followed by high school (20%).
x Hispanics/Latinos constituted 12% of the responding ordinands. Between 2006 and 2025, the share of Hispanics/Latinos averaged 15% and ranged between 11% and 22%.
x Ordinands who attended Catholic elementary school constituted 46% of all respondents, and 36% attended a Catholic high school.
x Most respondents (92%) were baptized Catholic as an infant and raised primarily by their biological parents (95%) and a married couple living together (89%).
To access the full CARA report and profiles of the Ordination Class of 2025, www.usccb. org/resources/Ordination Class 2025-Revised FINAL (002).pdf
Church in this time of Eucharistic Revival? Is anyone you love away from the Eucharist, perhaps unable to fathom the mystery of His presence or simply out of grace-relationship with God? Does someone you know feel disconnected from God because of suffering or anger with Church teaching?
Ask Mary’s intercession to bring your loved ones to the table and to revive the world’s faith in the Eucharist. As Archbishop Sheen poeticizes, “The Woman Who, though no priest, could yet on Calvary’s Hill breathe: ‘This is my Body; This is my Blood.’” She has so much to teach us. Seek Mary!
Editor’s note: Mary McClure is a freelance writer from St. Paul, Minnesota. Article was re-printed with the permission of “The Catholic Servant,” Minneapolis, MN.
Mental Health Awareness Month: a
call
by Tami Behnke, MS, LPCC
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to reflect on the importance of emotional well-being and recognize the challenges many face, especially in rural communities.
Mental health in rural Minnesota
Mental illness is a pervasive issue that does not discriminate; it affects people in every town, parish, and pew. However, in rural areas like much of our diocese, the challenges can be intensified by unique factors such as social isolation, stigma, and a shortage of mental health providers. This is a pressing issue, as suicide rates in Minnesota are notably higher in rural counties. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the statewide average is 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people, but in some rural regions, that number can climb to over 20 per 100,000 (MDH, 2023).
Struggling agricultural communities
Our farming communities bear a significant emotional burden. A 2019 study by the University of Minnesota Extension found that over half (53%) of young Midwestern farmers surveyed met the criteria for Major Depressive Disorder, and over 70% met the criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (UMN Extension, 2019).
The emotional toll of managing a family farm in today’s economic and environmental climate is profound. These statistics are not just numbers; they represent our neighbors, family members, and fellow parishioners who are
to compassion
struggling with mental health issues.
Catholic Charities’ commitment
In response to this growing need, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of New Ulm is committed to providing professional counseling services in Marshall, New Ulm, Willmar, and Hutchinson. Whether you are facing anxiety, grief, depression, or family difficulties, we are here to accompany you on your journey. Our doors are always open, and we are ready to support you.
Faith, community, and hope
Our faith reminds us we are one body in Christ, called to bear one another’s burdens. In that spirit, we are not just encouraged, but empowered to check in on those around us, speak openly about mental health, and reach out when you or someone you love is in need. We all have a role to play in addressing mental health issues in our community.
Resources for help
• Catholic Charities Counseling services. To schedule a confidential appointment in Marshall, New Ulm, Willmar, or Hutchinson, call 866-670-5163 or visit dnu.org.
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or www.988lifeline.org for 24/7 support.
Editor’s note: Tami Behnke serves as the director of the offices of Catholic Charities and Social Concerns for the Diocese of New Ulm, tbehnke@dnu.org.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, Catholic Charities counselors are available to help.
(866) 670-5163 or jgriebel@dnu.org
He saw the cloths and believed
by Bishop Robert Barron
The Gospel from Easter Sunday on April 20 is from St. John’s account of Easter morning (John 20:1–9). We are told that Mary Magdalene arrives at the tomb very early in the morning, while it is still dark. She has come to anoint the body of the Lord, which had been buried in haste because of the onset of the Passover. She spies the great stone rolled back and assumes that the body has been stolen. So, she runs immediately to Simon Peter and the other disciples: “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” She doesn’t yet believe in the Resurrection, for she is operating still within a conventional framework.
So, the two disciples, Peter and John, make a mad dash toward the tomb, the younger John outpacing the older Peter. What an odd detail, by the way – so peculiar, in fact, that it led the novelist Graham Greene to accept the historicity of the account. Upon coming to the open tomb, John looks in and sees “the burial cloths.” Then Peter arrives and spies the same cloths, as well as the cloth that had covered his head “rolled up in a separate place.” Have you ever wondered why there is such an emphasis on the burial cloths? The most obvious reason is that their presence is peculiar. If the body had been stolen, why would the thieves have bothered taking the elaborately wound cloths off, and why in the world would they have taken the time and effort to fold the head cloth up so carefully?
But might they also be mentioned so prominently because they were treasured by the early Church? And might at least the principal cloth exist to this day?
I’m speaking, of course, of the famous Shroud of Turin, which for centuries has been reverenced as a relic of the Crucifixion. I had a chance to see the shroud in 2010, when I was a visiting scholar in Rome and the cloth was exposed briefly for public display. It is remarkably long – long enough indeed to have covered a body front and back. On it can be seen, plainly enough, rustcolored markings that suggest the
frontal and dorsal sides of a man about thirty years of age. Marks of violence can be seen on him, wounds from whipping and, quite clearly, from crucifixion – great gashes in the wrists and feet, as well as a gaping wound in the side of the torso.
Does it cause us to “see and believe?”
However, the most remarkable feature of the shroud was revealed only in 1898, when it was photographed for the first time. When the photographer, a man named Secondo Pia, developed the film, he noticed that the negative of the photo revealed an exquisitely detailed depiction of the man of the shroud, anatomically exact to a degree that no artist could have produced. So, what we see of the shroud, he concluded, is itself a kind of photographic negative. And when scientists pored over the detailed version, what they saw took their breath away. Not only was the anatomy perfectly correct, but the details of the wounds were telling, corresponding to the very sort of scourges that ancient Romans used. The “crown” of thorns was more of a cap, and the wound in the side gave evidence of both blood and pericardial fluid: the blood and water that St. John spoke of. Furthermore, traces of coins, bearing the inscription of Pontius Pilate, could be seen covering the eyelids. Also, seeds and pollen from the Middle East were found within the strands of the fabric.
How was the image formed? Here, the scientists were truly stumped, for absolutely no trace of paint or pigment could be found, and the marks did not work their way down into the fabric but colored only the very surface of the shroud. The closest they could come to naming it accurately was to refer to it as a “scorch,” something caused by an intense burst of radiation –which would furthermore explain the photographic negative quality of the image.
What in nature would produce such a phenomenon?
Nothing that we know. Does it indicate the fact of the Resurrection, when in a great burst of light and energy, the body
of Jesus was brought back to life? The extraordinary and mysterious Shroud of Turin speaks to us a great Easter truth – namely, that at the heart of Christianity stands not a myth or a legend or a symbol, but a fact, the bodily Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It was this historical truth that sent the first Christians careering around the world to announce the “Gospel,” which means “good news.” They were not trading in philosophical abstractions or spiritual musings; rather, they were grabbing their interlocutors by the shoulders and telling them that something had happened.
When St. John entered the tomb and saw the burial cloths, he “saw and believed.” There was something about those wrappings that convinced him. I wonder whether the same thing is true today in our hyper-skeptical age. We, too, can see the cloth in which Jesus’ body was wrapped, and we understand it far more thoroughly than St. John ever could have. Does it cause us to “see and believe?”
Editor’s note: Bishop Robert Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, www. WordOnFire.org and the bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota.
Presentation at St. Andrew details study of the Shroud of Turin
On Monday,
from the American Confraternity of the Holy Shroud delivered a captivating presentation at the Church of St. Andrew in Fairfax. He delved into the rich history and profound spirituality of the Shroud of Turin, a relic believed by many to be the burial shroud of Christ. The shroud, approximately 14’ 6” tall and 3’9” wide, bears a very faint image of what looks to be a crucified man, a powerful reminder of Jesus’ death and resurrection. All four of the Gospels mention that Jesus died on the cross; his body was wrapped in linen and put in the tomb.
The linen shroud also reveals an image in three dimensions, unlike what is seen in a traditional painting. This 3D image, when analyzed with advanced imaging technology, revealed a sculpture-like image of a man. The significance of this is that the cloth shows the parts of the body that were closer to the fabric as lighter, like the nose or the swollen cheek, while those parts of the body further away from the cloth, like the eyes, are darker. This unique feature of the shroud has sparked much debate and interest among scholars and believers. To see more photographs and a longer description, visit www.dnu.org/ localnews/2025shroudofturin.
Apostolate blesses priests through prayer
Founder of Seven
by Jennifer Eckstein
Sisters Apostolate to speak in Olivia June 7
What began as a divine inspiration to Minnesotan Janette Howe 15 years ago has blossomed into a global sisterhood of lay women, including those from the Diocese of New Ulm, united in prayer!
The Seven Sisters Apostolate was founded in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 2010 by Howe and has been in the Diocese of New Ulm since 2016.
These women prayer warriors dedicate a holy hour each week in front of the Eucharist, praying for the physical, social, emotional,
and spiritual needs of the priests. The apostolate currently has 30 of the 33 active New Ulm diocesan priests covered by prayer with a Seven Sisters prayer team. That’s 200+ women!
Apostolate founder to speak Janette Howe, the foundress of the Seven Sisters Apostolate,
will speak about the apostolate on Saturday, June 7, from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Church of St. Aloysius in Olivia. Howe will share inspiring stories of God’s many hidden interventions in lives and talk about the three patron saints of the apostolate: Madonna of the Grapes, Saint John Vianney, and Saint Margaret Clitherow.
To RSVP or learn more about the June 7 morning of reflection, contact Jennifer Eckstein, the Diocese of New Ulm Seven Sister Coordinator, at sevensistersnewulm@gmail.com.
FAIRFAX –
April 7, Jim Bertrand
(Photo by Christy Baker)
catholic life
Vandenriessche named Woman of the Year!
by Jackie Finstad, NUDCCW
Immediate-past President
The 64th annual New Ulm Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (NUDCCW) Convention was held on Saturday, April 26 at the Church of St. Mary in Tracy. The Convention theme is “Be Bold Believers.” Presenters for the day were Camille Pauley and Congressman Brad Finstad.
Pauley offered a unique philosophical approach to pro-life education. She is co-founder and president of the nonprofit Healing the Culture out of Seattle. Finstad, a member of the Cathedral in New Ulm, provided practical and pragmatic approaches to participating in civic and legislative processes, empowering us to make a difference as U.S. citizens.
A highlight of the convention was the announcement of the 2025 NUDCCW Woman of the Year.
This year’s honory was Dorothy Vandenriessche, a member of Holy Redeemer in Marshall. In the absence of Bishop Chad Zielinski, Bishop Emeritus John LeVoir presented Vandenriessche with the award.
Known to many as a faith-filled woman who radiates warmth and love to those she encounters, Vandenriessche’s unwavering dedication to serving God, her family, her parish, and her community, as well as the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, is truly inspiring.
At her parish she serves on the Eucharistic Revival team, is a Rosary leader, a funeral choir member, is Anchoress for the Seven Sisters Apostolate, attends daily Mass and is a weekly Eucharistic adorer. She and her granddaughter helped bring the Paradisus Dei “She Shall Be Called Woman” program to their parish, which involved
training leaders and registering participants. Vandenriessche has taught Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and religious education for many years, led sessions in her Discipleship Quad and Bible study group, and was active in the Woman’s Emmaus program.
She volunteers at parish festivals, the Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life fair booth, and the parish fair stand and has provided meals for Totus Tuus and NET teams when they are at Holy Redeemer parish. She is also involved in visiting shut-ins and helping them get to appointments.
A volunteer “grandma” at school, she is also involved with the Catholic Daughters of America and serves as treasurer for Catholic United Financial. She has helped with countless fundraisers for CDA, CUF, and CCW and has chaired numerous pro-life breakfasts. In 2015, she founded the Grief Share program in her area, training others to continue the program. Her community involvement extends to keeping current on legislative issues and attending events such as Catholics at the Capitol, United for Life, and the March for Life. Even during her winters in Arizona,
Medically-assisted suicide
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don’t think you can ever heal from that wound.” The hope that the Divine Mercy Chaplet brings to Rahe is a testament to the power of faith in healing.
In the Divine Mercy Chaplet, we pray, “For the sake of your sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
Through Christ’s suffering and death, he brought salvation to humanity. Therefore, we are invited to unite our suffering with his, which means to offer our pain and difficulties to God, to not only assist us in attaining salvation but also help other souls attain salvation.
As Catholics, we are always encouraged to pray for the souls
she helps serve evening meals to people experiencing homelessness through Paz de Cristo.
Vandenriessche’s leadership is a guiding light for the community. She is a member of the NUDCCW Associates and has attended countless gatherings and conventions, ranging from deanery to national. She proofreads articles for the Spark Action publication, board reports, and newsletters. She has served on her local CCW board as secretary and legislative chair, a role she held at the Diocesan level for years and currently holds in her deanery.
Vandenriessches impact on the faith community and beyond is profound, and her service is a testament to the power of faith and love. As succinctly summarized by a family member, “She is definitely a servant of God to our family and church by being God’s disciple to many. Her spiritual love of God radiates to others in all she does.”
For highlights of the NUDCCW Convention visit www.dnu.org.
of the dead and dying, and this includes the souls of those who have taken their own lives. We trust in God’s mercy, a comforting reassurance that Bishop Zielinski echoes: “The final judgment is always left up to God, and we just entrust them into his merciful hands.”
Year of Mission The newest missionary saints
by Leonard Gutierrez
Thisyear, in the Catholic Church, two notable young men are expected to be canonized as saints. Both of Italian descent, their lives have influenced thousands upon thousands of young men and women worldwide, inspiring not only a whole new wave of converts to the Catholic faith but a completely new way of living in the world, but not of it. A little insight into their lives can teach us how we can become missionaries in today’s age.
Blessed Carlo Acutis, who is to become the first millennial saint, was a young Italian boy who died at the age of fifteen from leukemia in 2006. Originally born in London, his parents moved back to Italy for work reasons and settled in Milan. In his relatively short life, he was known for being a friend to all, being skilled with technology, and his love for the Eucharist and time in Eucharistic Adoration.
Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, inspired Acutis to not waste the time God has given us by living the life of someone else. Acutis rephrased this wisdom by saying, “All people are born as originals, but many die as photocopies.”
Acutis understood that God gives each of us unique gifts that we are to use to build the Kingdom of God. In 2004, he became a catechist in his local parish and accompanied children who would receive their First Communion and Confirmation. The parish welcomed his technological knowledge and asked that he develop websites and various platforms to share the Gospel. Acutis also understood that the point of technology was to draw people closer to Jesus in the Eucharist, not to keep people on technology for longer with little reason.
Another soon-to-be saint is well known amongst young adults and those who enjoy the outdoors. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is expected to be canonized on Aug. 3, 2025. Frassati is another young Italian adult who died at the age of 24. Saint Pope John Paul II deemed him the “Man
of the Beatitudes” as he devoted himself to the service of the poor and his local community and strove to build community amongst his family and friends. His favorite pastime was mountain climbing, and he would frequently bring friends along for the journey, which would include conversations about the Catholic faith and stops along the way to pray together.
After what would be his last hike up a mountain, he wrote on a photograph, “Verso L’Alto,” which translates to “to the heights.” This phrase has since become a popular way of living the Catholic faith for many young adult men and women. Frassati’s life and coined phrase give so many examples of living a joyful and adventurous life that does not need to be separated from living out the Catholic faith.
Together, Acutis and Frassati can be examples for all of us in this diocese as we approach the summer months out on the lake, take family trips across the country, and enjoy the ordinary things of daily life. They are examples of living great stories, and we, too, are called as missionaries to live great stories.
May we ask for their intercession during this Jubilee Year to live the Catholic faith joyfully and with a great desire to give God our gifts and talents so that they might be used for bringing many closer to Jesus in the Eucharist.
Leonard Gutierrez is the director of the Office of Evangelization for the Diocese of New Ulm. He can be reached at lgutierrez@dnu.org; (507) 233-5361.
Bishop Emeritus John LeVoir and Woman of the Year, Dorothy Vandenriessche at the 64th NUDCCW Convention in Tracy.
(Photo by Christy Baker)
around the diocese
All Saints AFC volunteers deliver hope to Native American communities
FAIRFAX, Minn. – The All Saints Area Faith Community (AFC), representing the parishes of the Church of St. Andrew in Fairfax, the Church of St. Willibrord in Gibbon, and the Church of St. Francis de Sales in Winthrop, recently united in a heartfelt effort to support underserved communities across Minnesota. This initiative was a result of a collective effort, with volunteers coming together to collect and contribute clothing and household items to those in need. The outreach effort was led by AFC pastor Fr. Brian Oestreich, who has long championed social justice initiatives within the community. The distribution of donations will be supported by area churches, community councils, and local law enforcement in the recipient communities, ensuring the items reach those most in need and making a significant difference in their lives. Initiative volunteers pictured are, (l-r) Lucinda Winch, Brenda Frank, Larry Iverson, Jim Prax, Nicole Iverson, Sawyer and Weston Frank. (Photo submitted)
Any sexual abuse or exploitation committed by a cleric of the Diocese of New Ulm should be immediately reported to local law enforcement. The diocese encourages those who have suffered from such sexual misconduct to call the Victim Assistance Coordinator, (507) 233-5313, to make a report. The Diocese of New Ulm will help arrange for counseling or assistance, if that is desired. Those who have suffered from such abuse may also contact the Bishop’s Delegate in Matters Pertaining to Sexual Misconduct, (507) 233-5301.
Cualquier abuso o explotación sexual cometido por un clérigo de la Diócesis de New Ulm debe ser reportado de inmediato a las autoridades locales. La Diócesis de New Ulm anima a quienes hayan sufrido este tipo de conducta sexual inapropiada a llamar al Coordinador de Asistencia a las Víctimas al 507-233-5313 para hacer un reporte. La Diócesis de New Ulm ayudará a coordinar consejería o asistencia, si así se desea. Las personas que han sufrido este tipo de abuso también pueden comunicarse con el Delegado del Obispo para Asuntos Relacionados con Conducta Sexual Inapropiada al 507-233-5301.
Nurturing faith through Riverbend TEC
Sign-up now for June retreat at a discounted rate!
NEW ULM – With the support of New Ulm’s bishop Chad Zielinski, the Riverbend TEC Retreats (Together Encountering Christ) in the Diocese of New Ulm offer a distinctive spiritual experience. The three-day Catholic retreat focuses on the Paschal Mystery: the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each retreat is led by teams that include a priest and adults and teenagers who have experienced previous TEC weekends.
The retreat format is a rich tapestry of music, learning, socializing, recreation, prayer experiences, Sacrament of Reconciliation, and Mass. Although the majority of the participants are youth and young adults - adults in their 80s have made a TEC weekend!
June retreat only $25! The next TEC is June 21-23,
Riverbend TEC hosted a retreat Feb. 15-17 at Holy Trinity in Winsted. With 61 participants, this was the largest TEC retreat since before the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of families participated including Mathias Uher from Lafayette and his grandmother, Chris Honsay from Bird Island. (Photo submitted)
2025, at the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Marshall. Thanks to a generous donor, registration is being offered at a discounted rate of $25! As young as 16 years and adults are welcome.
To learn more about Riverbend TEC retreats or to sign up for the June retreat visit www. riverbendtec.org.
READ Act boosts kids’ reading!
by Betty Kloss, principal St. Anastasia Catholic School
HUTCHINSON – The Minnesota Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act, commonly known as the READ Act, is a significant piece of legislation that was signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz on May 24, 2023. This Act is designed to ensure that every child in the state is reading at or above grade level every year, starting from kindergarten.
The Act also provides support for multilingual learners and students receiving special education services. The READ Act, which replaces Read Well by Third Grade (RWBTG), came into effect on July 1, 2023.
There are three approved Minnesota READ Act Professional Development Programs. St. Anastasia School in Hutchinson chose OL&LA/ CORE; Online Language and Literacy Academy – Consortium on Reaching Excellence in Education. This is a ninemodule online course grounded
St. Anastasia School, Hutchinson teachers who completed the required READ Act Training are: front, l-r, Macee McGill (gr. 3), and Jennifer Johnson (K). Back row, Linda Evenson (gr. 2), Katie Kennedy (gr. 6-8), Taylor Tollefson (gr. 4), Holly Gregor (gr. 1), and Lori Salmela (gr. 5). (Photo submitted)
in the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy.
This program equips educators to provide all students – with a special focus on multilingual students, dyslexic, and developing readers – with both researchbased reading and second language acquisition instruction.
Participants understand how to use informal diagnostic measures of phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension as a basis for instruction decisions.
