For this deacon, ‘Semper Fidelis ’ was at the heart of CCETN disaster relief
Grieving, rebuilding coincide in Newport six months later
Good Shepherd funeral reminds of loss, survival
By Gabrielle Nolan
The city of Newport continues to recover and rebuild six months after Hurricane Helene flooded its downtown and the surrounding areas on Sept. 27, causing destruction in its muddy-watered path.
Not only were numerous homes and businesses negatively impacted within Cocke County, but local citizens lost their lives. Others who survived the dangerous floodwaters are still seeking new housing and are in need of help to Newport continued on page A18
Greene community works together in a time of crisis
Notre Dame parishioners assist in a variety of ways
By Emily Booker
Alma Vasquez was at her home in Chuckey, on the border of Greene and Washington counties, on the morning of Sept. 26. She had been planning to attend a funeral in Mountain City that afternoon. Although the morning was sunny, there were reports of rain and wind, and she was wondering if she would be able to make it to Mountain City. She would not.
“My children started calling me,” she said. “They were like, ‘Mom, you need to get out of the house, because there is a flood.’ And I was
Greene continued on page A24
By Bill Brewer
As Deacon David Duhamel of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee rushed last fall to assist the victims of historic flooding in upper East Tennessee from Hurricane Helene, he kept encountering two powerful forces.
And those recurring impacts—faith and prayer—have not left him in the six months since Mother Nature reshaped East Tennessee’s landscape with overwhelming ferocity.
The deacon, who serves at St. Mary Church in Oak Ridge and is executive director of Catholic Charities, is certainly no stranger to prayer and faith. But amid heartbreaking tragedy and devastation, they were oft-repeated themes in the flood-stricken areas of Erwin, Mountain City, Greene County, and Newport.
Catholic Charities of East Tennessee (CCETN), which serves people from all walks of life throughout the diocese, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, was thrust into action unexpectedly on Sept. 27 in a new and unfamiliar way as Helene swept inland and dumped historic amounts of rainfall in the mountains of western North Carolina and East Tennessee.
For the first time, the Diocese of Knoxville social services agency was called on to deliver disaster relief in real time as floodwaters were
Let perpetual light shine upon them The cremains of Jean Marie Obrist and Michael Edward Obrist are placed before the altar in Good Shepherd Church in Newport on March 29 during a funeral Mass for the couple. The Obrists, longtime members of Good Shepherd, drowned on Sept. 28 when the Nolichucky River near Newport overflowed its banks during Hurricane Helene flooding.
sacking homes, businesses, services, roads, bridges, and lives. It was disaster-relief on a large scale.
The floodwaters’ force washed away roadbeds along interstates 40 and 26 and dislodged concrete bridges throughout the affected area, carrying them downstream like the trees that were uprooted. Deep, raging rapids in the Nolichucky, Pigeon, and French Broad rivers even re-channeled the rivers in places.
Entire communities were cut off and took days and weeks to be reconnected. And as often occurs with natural disasters, loss of life and stories of survival emerged.
“I heard countless stories of people put in very precarious situations who were able to escape. A lot of that is attributed to their faith. I think we need to remember that we are a faithbased organization. As Catholics, we understand that suffering is a reality of life, and our job is to have a small role in trying to alleviate that suffering,” Deacon Duhamel said several months after reflecting on the mountainous storm surge that experts say wasn’t a generational weather event but a phenomenon that likely won’t be seen again for many generations.
“We can alleviate some of the physical needs. But there are also spiritual and emotional needs, too. We need to pray for each other. We need to
The ministry of presence matters as Erwin is recovering Glenmary team leading efforts to unify Unicoi
By Bill Brewer
As St. Michael the Archangel Parish and the town of Erwin move forward from the devastating flood wrought by Hurricane Helene last September, Father Tom Charters is preparing for yet another emotional moment.
Next month, the pastor will give first Holy Communion to the young daughter of a woman who was swept away and died on Sept. 27 as the Nolichucky River turned from a docile mountain tributary into swollen, raging rapid that destroyed
Erwin continued on page A22
In Mountain City, there ’s a silver lining in every cloud God sent His workers to help in disaster recovery
By Dan McWilliams
Father Jesús Guerrero, having been in Texas for a family event when Hurricane Helene’s flooding ravaged East Tennessee on Sept. 27, noticed one thing when he flew back in to Tri-Cities Airport in Blountville two days later. The pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in Mountain City had been alarmed by the neartotal lack of information about damage in the town in the diocese’s northeast corner, as all power, cellphone communication, and utilities were out of commission.
Mountain City continued on page A26
Bridging the gap Father Tom Charters, GHM, left, and Brother Corey Soignier, GHM, of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Erwin, in March stand at the edge of a road and bridge that was washed away by the rain-swollen Nolichucky River in Unicoi County in September
Always faithful Deacon David Duhamel is pictured at Catholic Charities of East Tennessee's Knoxville offices at 119 Dameron Ave.
CCETN continued on page A20
BILL BREWER
Knights of Columbus ‘Cor ’ initiative growing in 2025
Program that originated in Diocese of Knoxville aims to strengthen Catholic men's faith
By Kimberley Heatherington OSV News
When Supreme Knight Pat-
rick Kelly, leader of more than 2 million Knights of Columbus members worldwide, met with Pope Francis at the Vatican in April two years ago, he shared an insight about the era in which the organization’s founder, Blessed Michael J. McGivney, evangelized.
“The culture of Father McGivney’s time was hostile to the truths of our Catholic faith,” Mr. Kelly said. “And the culture today is perhaps even more hostile.”
Such a reality could be profoundly discouraging, but it instead inspired Mr. Kelly to launch a robust new set of initiatives to “sharpen” Knights as courageous witnesses to Jesus Christ.
It’s faith formation for what some have called a post-Christian society.
Dubbed “Cor” Latin for “heart” the initiative is designed, the Knights’ website says, “to form
and strengthen Catholic men in faith and virtue as missionary disciples by drawing them into a deeper rela-
The Handmaids of the Precious Blood this year celebrate the 78th year since their founding in 1947; more than three-quarters of a century of prayer and sacrifice for priests. To receive weekly cartoons and short reflections and news from the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, visit their website, nunsforpriests.org, and sign up for the FIAT newsletter.
An April prayer intention for the use of new technologies
“Let us pray that the use of new technologies will not replace human relationships, will respect the dignity of the person, and will help us face the crises of our times.”
Pope Francis
tionship with Jesus Christ through prayer, formation, and fraternity.”
“We asked our guys, ‘What if we
found a way, at the council-level, to provide quality prayer, faith formation, and fraternity separate from our traditional business meeting?’ We simply asked our guys around the world,” said Damien J. O’Connor, vice president of evangelization and faith formation in the Department of Fraternal Mission at the Knights of Columbus headquarters in New Haven, Conn.
There are more than 16,800 local Knights of Columbus councils worldwide.
“The response was overwhelmingly positive. We said, ‘You know, at the grassroots level, we can provide these opportunities for our men and any man in the parish to give them that space to come together, to receive those three things,’” Mr. O’Connor told OSV News. “So, over the last two years, we’ve been developing this initiative. We have over 70 jurisdictions worldwide. Sixty-one have currently adopted this and are trying to im-
How to sign up and qualify for Diocese of Knoxville’s safe-environment program
The Diocese of Knoxville has implemented the CMG Connect platform to administer the Safe Environment Program, which replaces the former Safe Environment Program (VIRTUS “Protecting God’s Children”).
CMG Connect is a web-based platform that will assist in ensuring that all employees and volunteers who are in a position of trust with children and vulnerable adults within Diocese of Knoxville schools and parishes are trained to recognize behavior patterns of potential abusers and provide pro-active measures for preventing abuse in any context.
“Safe Haven-It’s Up to You” is a three-part video that provides vignettes of real-life situations to educate the viewer about methods of grooming, desensitization, bullying, and neglect, all of which can lead to abuse.
Each part of the video is immediately followed by a brief questionnaire to further develop understanding.
Education is a key
element of the Safe Environment Program
All clergy, employees, contracted school personnel, volunteers, members of groups and organizations over the age of 18 who work, volunteer, or participate in any capacity are required to complete the diocesan Safe Environment training and a criminal-background check before they can begin employment, volunteer, or participate with ministries, groups, and organizations affiliated with the Diocese of Knoxville.
In addition, the mandatory renewal training must be completed every five years and a new background check submitted before the five-year expiration of prior training.
The Diocese of Knoxville Safe Environment compliance training and renewal training is a condition of employment and for volunteer ministry in the Diocese of Knoxville.
The CMG Connect
platform contains all three elements of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Safe Environment Program: n Annual review of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Policy and Procedures Relating to Sexual Misconduct; n CMG Connect Safe Haven training program to be completed every five years; n Criminal background check to be completed every five years.
In compliance with the Diocese of Knoxville’s Safe Environment Program, all affiliates require that volunteers and employees complete the requirements prior to working and/or volunteering in a parish, school, or through Catholic Charities of East Tennessee and/ or St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic Go to https:// dioknox.org/safeenvironment on the Diocese of Knoxville website for more information ■
Sr. Regina
Handmaids of the Precious Blood
A popular idea Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly delivers his annual report at the opening business session of the Knights of Columbus 141st Supreme Convention in Orlando, Fla., on Aug. 1, 2023. During the convention, the Knights launched a new initiative called Cor, which aims to strengthen Catholic men's faith through formation, prayer, and fraternity.
DA Word from the Bishop
by Bishop Mark Beckman
Celebrating Holy Week
May the joy of the Risen Lord fill your hearts this Easter season
ear Brothers and Sisters, Holy Week marks the central week of our liturgical year. Each year we commemorate the sacred events that mark our entrance into the great Christian Passover.
The week begins with Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion as we observe the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. His arrival is marked by both humility and awe. Our processions with palm branches remind us of His entrance into the holy city of Jerusalem and invite us to “accompany” Him throughout the week. We listen attentively to the account of the Lord’s passion from the Synoptics as we mark this Passion Sunday.
The Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the sacred triduum as we observe the annual celebration of the saving death and resurrection of the Lord. The washing of the feet is a beautiful sign of the humble loving service Christ models for us.
Following Communion, the Eucharist is carried in solemn procession to a place of rest. We remember the original journey of the Lord from the place of the Last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. The stripping of the altar and departure in silence invite us into reflective stillness.
Good Friday marks the observance of the death of Jesus. All enter and leave the church in silence
the
"This year, I invite all of you to enter more deeply into this great Holy Week that proclaims so eloquently the mystery of God's redemptive and healing love. May we all be blessed to know the Lord Jesus more deeply, to love Him more dearly, and to follow Him more nearly! May the joy of the Risen Lord fill your hearts as we journey into the great Paschal Mystery!"
this day. As the priests and ministers fall prostrate, all are asked to kneel.
During the proclamation of the Passion according to St. John, parishioners participate as various people proclaim the parts of the Gospel. The cross is venerated: this simple ritual is one of the most
profound moments of the liturgical year as individuals and families approach to venerate the cross in some way.
Special intercessions are offered for the needs of the Church and of the world. The collection is taken up for the care of the places of the Holy Land, a part of our world
so dear to the Lord, which needs special care this year following so many months of conflict. The Stations of the Cross and Reflections on the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross are devotions that often accompany this day. Our fasting and abstinence from meat are but one way we join ourselves to the suffering of the Lord for the salvation of the world.
Holy Saturday marks the great day of Sabbath rest, mirroring the “rest” of Jesus in death. We arrive at church in silence. In the evening, the vigil of Easter begins after the fall of night, with the blessing of the new Easter fire and the lighting of the paschal candle.
The church is filled with the glow of candles held aloft by the faithful as the Exsultet is sung. The Scriptures proclaim the story of salvation. The catechumens are baptized, the candidates are received into the Church, and both are confirmed. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is celebrated with special solemnity. The resurrection of the Lord is proclaimed! The Easter season has begun
This year, I invite all of you to enter more deeply into this great Holy Week that proclaims so eloquently the mystery of God’s redemptive and healing love. May we all be blessed to know the Lord Jesus more deeply, to love Him more dearly, and to follow Him more nearly!
May the joy of the Risen Lord fill your hearts as we journey into the great Paschal Mystery! ■
Do we need confession if Jesus died for our sins?
And can a practicing Catholic attend a non-Catholic wedding?
By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News
QHow could Jesus death
“cleanse us from our sins” and “assure our entrance into heaven?” If that is the case, why do we need confession?
AFirst of all, since it pertains to some of the deepest mysteries of our faith, I think the exact mechanics of how Jesus’ Passion and death redeemed the fallen human race are ultimately going to be beyond our full understanding. But by that same token, this means it is something we can ponder for the rest of our lives without ever exhausting the theme.
St. Leo the Great makes an effort to explain this in one of his letters, a passage of which the Church includes in the Liturgy of the Hours for the solemnity of the Annunciation on March 25 in the Office of Readings:
“To pay the debt of our sinful state, a nature that was incapable of suffering was joined to one that could suffer. Thus, in keeping with the healing that we needed, one and the same mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ was able to die in one nature and unable to die in the other.”
As we recall, Adam and Eve, the first humans created, introduced sin into the human experience by their primordial act of disobedience toward God. From that time on, humanity has been laboring under the negative effects of this original sin.
These effects include the inevitability of suffering and bodily death, as well as a certain inborn weakness of the will and a tendency toward sin (in technical language called “concupiscence”). All humans everywhere are subject to these negative effects, even if they have not personally committed any serious sins themselves.
As the rift caused by original sin was so radical and severe, human
Question Corner
Question Corner is a regular column by OSV News that answers some of the most common questions from people in the pews that arise concerning the Catholic faith.
that Jesus gained for us. A serious “mortal” or deadly sin totally cuts us off from God; and this essentially brings us back to square one, as it is effectively forfeiting our share in the life and forgiveness gained by Jesus passion, death, and resurrection.
Even less serious venial sins can still damage our relationship with God and can make it easier to fall into more serious sin.
beings on their own are unable to repair this breach. However, we believe that in the Incarnation, the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Word of God, became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14).
We believe that Jesus, son of God and son of Mary, was one person with two natures, meaning that He was both fully human and fully divine. Jesus in His human nature endured a human death, but because He was God He had the power to resurrect Himself and did not remain dead. Since He took on our nature, we as humans can follow the path Jesus took in inheriting eternal life.
Similarly, Jesus’ perfect obedience to God’s will as the “ new Adam” has the power to free humanity as a whole from the guilt incurred by the sin of the first Adam.
However, even with these great gifts that Jesus has made available to us, God still respects our free will, and it always remains our choice to accept or reject God’s offer of His friendship and eternal life. Our baptism is what initially conforms us to Jesus in this way, and baptism is always a choice, either our own choice or for those who were too young to speak for ourselves a choice on the part of our parents.
Baptism frees us from the guilt sometimes poetically referred to as the “stain”—of original sin. Yet any time we personally commit a sin, we are deliberately rejecting God and thus the gift of redemption
Baptism frees us from the guilt sometimes poetically referred to as the “stain”—of original sin. Yet any time we personally commit a sin, we are deliberately rejecting God and thus the gift of redemption that Jesus gained for us. A serious “mortal” or deadly sin totally cuts us off from God; and this essentially brings us back to square one, as it is effectively forfeiting our share in the life and forgiveness gained by Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.
Still, we know that God is totally loving and merciful, and is always ready to forgive. And this is why Jesus left the Church with the sacrament of penance, to provide a means for reconciliation after postbaptismal sins.
QRecently my cousin got engaged and is in the planning process of her wedding. She is a baptized Catholic and has received both first Communion and confirmation. Over time my cousin slowly fell away from the faith. The man she is marrying is a great guy however, he is not Catholic. From the looks of it, the wedding is not going to be in a Catholic Church and more along the lines of a beach wedding or at a fancy hotel. The wedding will be presided over by what looks to be a friend. I am worried now about the rift that might happen in my family if we decline to go to my cousin’s wedding. I also do not want to go against my Catholic beliefs. I guess after all that my question is: What are the “rules” around attending a nonCatholic wedding of a Catholic and a non-Catholic? (New Hampshire)
Ms. Cooper
DEACON PATRICK
Seeking reconciliation A confessional at the Memorial Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the grounds of the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C., is shown.
Question Corner continued on page A17
The light of Christ Easter Vigil will be celebrated at churches in
Diocese of Knoxville on Saturday, April 19, beginning at dusk. Holy Week began with Palm Sunday on April 13. In the photo above, faithful participate in the Easter Vigil at St. John XXIII Catholic Center on the University of Tennessee campus on March 30, 2024.
Sisters reflect on St. Mary School ’s 75th jubilee
‘A
love for learning, a love for the Lord, and a love for other people ’
By Gabrielle Nolan
St. Mary School in Oak Ridge is celebrating 75 years of education and service of its kindergarten-through-eighth-grade students.
The school, which will have jubilee celebrations in the spring and the fall of this year, in a special way recognizes the Religious Sisters who have been present since the doors opened on Vermont Avenue on Sept. 10, 1950.
The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation, whose motherhouse is located in Nashville, have staffed the school as principals and teachers, forming children both spiritually and academically. The Sisters are placed nationwide in 53 schools across 31 dioceses.
Four Dominican Sisters shared their experiences and memories of St. Mary School with The East Tennessee Catholic to commemorate the 75th jubilee.
Sister Mary John Slonkosky, OP
The current principal at St. Mary School, Sister Mary John was assigned to Oak Ridge in 2021 after serving as principal for eight years at a school in Virginia. Prior to that, she served as principal at other Catholic schools for about 10 years.
Sister Mary John said her religious community’s charism is “teaching the Christian education of youth in service of the Church.”
“Our efforts and our response to God’s call is to bring His truth and the Gospel to the people we’re sent to, whatever their age,” she said. “So, to be that support, that teaching arm of the bishop, that support of the parish to provide for the Catholic education of their children, that’s our focus and is part of our call of being St. Cecilia Dominicans.”
A weekly experience that she enjoys the most at St. Mary School is leading children to the Lord at Mass.
“I enjoy watching the children really day to day, but week by week, when we go to Mass together as a school, watching them participate more and more, and truly love going to church,” she said. “You can see it by their actions and their smiles and their joy in being there together and singing and participating in Mass.”
Sister Mary John also loves student performances, whether it’s a music program or the eighth-graders taking part in the Way of the Cross.
“They are putting what they’ve learned into
a way of sharing themselves with parents and the community and seeing their joy in doing that and being proud that they’ve accomplished something good,” she said.
As principal, Sister Mary John said she values working with students who are having a difficulty of some sort, whether with friends, in academics, or behavior.
“Helping them know that they’re good and they’re made in God’s image, that mistakes and problems don’t define us, but we can work together to work through them and learn from them or find ways to accept what we can and work with it,” she said. “I do really find joy in trying to help them through those times.”
Sister Mary John shared that the 75th jubilee of the school is “a historic experience.”
“Knowing there’s 75 years behind where we are today is a great strength and support, a sense of tradition and stability of what has taken place here for all the children who have walked through these doors,” she remarked. “So, it’s an honor to be a part of this time and the life of the school to recognize 75 years and all those Sisters and priests and deacons and laypeople and parents and kids and students who have made this school what it is today and brought it to this point. Just praying to keep it
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moving forward and providing such a strong foundation in the lives of our young people.”
Sister Anne Catherine Burleigh, OP Currently serving the Dominican Sisters as the vicaress general in Nashville, Sister Anne Catherine was principal at St. Mary School from 2006 to 2009.
“I was a young principal when I was first assigned there, and I had never been in East Tennessee before, and I found such a wonderful, warm, interesting place,” she shared. “Oak Ridge has such an interesting history; I didn’t know anything about it when I first went there. So, to just learn here in the middle of East Tennessee are all these scientists who live here and highly educated people who had moved here obviously to work with the Oak Ridge laboratories and all of that. I was totally fascinated by the history of the area, and also really the beauty, the natural beauty of East Tennessee. One of the great joys of being there was to get out and do a lot of hiking and being in the mountains and just being surrounded by the mountains.”
As she recalled her time in Oak Ridge, Sister Anne Catherine said the most wonderful part was the people she met.
St. Mary continued on page A12
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Coming full circle Sister Scholastica Niemann, OP, stands inside the Knoxville Catholic High School chapel. Sister Scholastica was a student at St. Mary School-Oak Ridge and KCHS, where she now teaches freshman English as a Dominican Sister with the St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville.
‘ We had dreamed it possible ’
Our Lady of Fatima Parish celebrates 25 years in Alcoa church building
By Gabrielle Nolan
The parish community at Our Lady of Fatima in Alcoa has multiple reasons to celebrate this year.
With a Mass on March 11, the parish recognized 25 years of worshiping in its current church building at 858 Louisville Road. For the next several months, the parish will be celebrating its 75th jubilee as a parish, culminating with an anniversary Mass and dinner later this year in November.
Pastor Father Peter Iorio celebrated the bilingual Mass, with Father Joseph Austin concelebrating. The deacons of the Mass were Bill Jacobs, Leon Dodd, and Renzo Alvarado Suarez. Readers for the Mass were Karen Amayo Castro and Dr. Liz LeBrun.
At the beginning of Mass, Father Iorio mentioned prior pastors Father Alex Waraksa and Father Bill McNeeley, who could not attend the 25th celebration.
“Welcome, everyone, as we celebrate this great occasion for our local parish community, the 25th anniversary of the dedication of this beautiful church building,” Father Iorio said. “We come together in joyful praise of God for the gifts that we have received during especially these 25 years, but really of 75 years as the parish of Our Lady of Fatima.”
Father Iorio’s homily largely focused on the significance of the date, March 11, for the local and universal Catholic Church, as well as the entire world.
“On this day in the year 1910, the youngest non-martyr saint was born. St. Jacinta Marto was born in Portugal and was one of the three children who saw the vision of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917,” he explained.
“March 11 is a significant date for the Catholic Church in Blount
County, Tenn. We’re all here tonight because we know that on this date, March 11 in the year 2000, Bishop Joseph Kurtz dedicated these walls, this sacred space, and this altar for the sacred rites of the Catholic
Church,” he continued. When Father Iorio asked the congregation how many people were present for that dedication Mass, a large number of those present raised their hands.
“I was a young priest visiting at the time,” Father Iorio remembered. “But it was a beautiful celebration. It included the handing on of the keys of the church, the official opening of the door, the anointing of the walls with sacred chrism marked by these candles around the walls of the church, and also smearing, anointing the altar with sacred chrism.”
For the third time, Father Iorio acknowledged the date of March 11. This time, he shared that five years ago in 2020, that was the date the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic due to COVID-19.
“We remember what a time that was and especially just a few days afterward, how it changed our lives,” he said. “As human beings bound in time and space and geography, we recognize the importance of dates in order to connect us to the past and to give thanks to God for the gifts that we have received. And also, dates give us hope to look forward to the future.”
The pastor invited those in the congregation to take a moment and reflect on their experiences in the parish, inviting everyone to contemplate how God had spoken to them through their five senses.
“Within these walls, people have sought and found comfort through individual prayer before the presence of God in the tabernacle, the celebration of Holy Mass, celebrations of baptism and confirmations, as well as praying the rosary, as Mary Our Lady of Fatima told the children, and praying the Stations of the Cross, and much more,” Father Iorio said.
“As we recognize that the Stations of the Cross connect us to the Passion of the Lord, we went through a different kind of passion or suffering when we had to practice love of God and love of neighbor when we did
continued on page A13
Poor, homeless have D.C. representation
New Capitol office will ‘anchor ’ Society of St. Vincent de Paul advocacy
By Mark Zimmermann Catholic Standard/OSV News
As the “face of the poor” in the United States changes and their needs evolve, a new office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul will “anchor” the organization’s advocacy on behalf of the poor and homeless, its national leader said.
“Seniors, women, single parents, and the displaced middle class have become a larger part of the more than 5 million people SVdP USA serves every year. As the world evolves, so do the needs of the poor,” said John A. Berry, national president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s National Council of the United States.
He made the comments at the ribbon-cutting and blessing of the organization’s new national office near the U.S. Capitol. Its headquarters are in St. Louis.
“This unique direct relationship we have with our neighbors in need gives us a perspective and a view from the reality of the poor that we will be able to share with policymakers and like-minded nonprofits and other organizations. The new D.C. office will anchor that advocacy work,” Mr. Berry said on April 4.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA, which also is known for the thrift stores and food pantries it operates in cities and towns across the country works in 4,428 parish-based conferences across the country, with almost 90,000 Vincentian volunteers serving their communities.
Vincentians are known for faceto-face encounters with the poor, as they visit the homes of those they serve, to identify both im-
mediate and longer-term needs, including emergency assistance with utilities, rent, food, and clothing, and they also offer prayer and spiritual comfort to the people they serve.
Last year, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA provided more than $1.4 billion in aid, including $60 million in emergency financial assistance to prevent evictions and keep people housed.
Inspired by the example of St. Vincent de Paul, known as “the apostle of charity,” Antoine Frédéric Ozanam and five other students formed a lay organization in 1833 to serve the poor in Paris that became the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
“That small effort by six college students has become a fire that lights the world,” Mr. Berry said. “The Society of St. Vincent de Paul today serves in 155 countries around the world, with 800,000 members and 1.5 million volunteers.”
It is the largest lay Catholic organization in the world.
Blessed Frédéric, who was beatified in 1997 by St. John Paul II, once wrote that “it is too little to relieve the needy day by day. It is necessary to get to the root of the evil and by wise reforms to diminish the causes of public misery.”
Mr. Berry said those words “are our heritage, they are our history, they are the calling we must continue to follow in today’s Society of St. Vincent de Paul.”
Today, more than 500,000 people in the United States are experiencing homelessness, he said. Millions of Americans, he noted, lack basic necessities, such as affordable housing, nutritious food, and quality health care, with families living on the streets, children going
hungry, and the cycle of poverty persisting.
“Since our founding in 1833, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has been committed to working not just to serve the poor but to advocate for them,” Mr. Berry said.
“The work of charity cannot, and must not, be neatly divided from the claims of justice,” he added. “While SVdP is not a political organization, our work and our faith
demand that we advocate for those living in poverty.”
Mr. Berry emphasized that “the work of every Vincentian across the globe is a vital lifeline for countless people in need. … We must become bearers of hope. … Hope, in the Vincentian tradition, is rooted in the unwavering belief that God is present among the poor and suffering. When we stand alongside them, we stand with Christ himself.” ■
Jubilee blessings Above: Father Peter Iorio, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima in Alcoa, celebrates a bilingual Mass on March 11 as part of the parish's 75th jubilee and the 25th anniversary of the church building. Below: The Our Lady of Fatima choir gives the music liturgy on March 11 during one of a number of 75th Jubilee Masses that will be celebrated in 2025.
GABRIELLE
NOLAN (2)
Fatima
Celebrating 75 Years!
Join us as we commemorate the Year of Jubilee, the 25th anniversary of the Our Lady of Fatima church building, and the 75th anniversary of the Our Lady of Fatima parish.
Mark Your Calendar
Tuesday, March 11
Special Bilingual Mass at 6 PM celebrating the 25th anniversary of our church building, followed by a light reception.
Tuesday, May 13
Pilgrimage and Pentecost
Wednesday, August 13
Pilgrimage and Pedagogy
Saturday, September 13
Pilgrimage and Prosperidad
Monday, October 13
Pilgrimage and Prayers
Saturday, November 22
Friday, June 13
Pilgrimage and Picnic
Sunday, July 13
Pilgrimage and Praise
75th Anniversary Mass at Our Lady of Fatima and Reception after at the Airport Hilton.
Come celebrate with us as we give thanks for the past and look forward with hope to the future!
The season of renewal
Bishop Beckman welcomes catechumens and candidates at Rite of Election
By Bill Brewer
Easter 2025 will always have particular prominence in the lives of Caroline and Logan Wright of St. Mary Parish in Johnson City.
In the Jubilee Year, the Year of Hope, Mr. Wright will be among the catechumens and candidates entering the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil. He and nearly 300 others in the Diocese of Knoxville RCIA class of 2025 gathered on March 8 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, where Bishop Mark Beckman led the annual Rite of Election and welcomed them as a group and individually.
For Mrs. Wright, Easter will be an answer to her prayers as the Wrights and their young daughter, Eleanor Frances, begin celebrating the sacraments of faith together as a family.
Mrs. Wright grew up in a Catholic household in Knoxville, where she attended Holy Ghost Church with her parents and brother. Mr. Wright grew up Protestant in Johnson City and attended the same church until he was an adult.
The two met while attending Milligan University in Elizabethton, where he played baseball and she played softball. You might even say 2025 is a “diamond” jubilee for the young couple.
On June 3, the Johnson City couple will have been married eight years.
“It’s been a long time coming. Logan and I have been together for about 12 years, and just recently he decided to convert. I have been alongside him in this journey and watched him grow and learn and lean on people and have amazing Catholic influences in his life that have just led him to this place,” Mrs. Wright said. “We are just overjoyed with his decision to pursue Catholicism.”
Mrs. Wright shared that she was hopeful when they married during an ecumenical wedding that he would join the Catholic Church at some point.
“To see it come full circle has been really, really beautiful,” she said.
Mr. Wright said his decision to become Catholic is twofold.
“Part of it is obviously the Holy Spirit and where He has led me. The other is unity with Caroline and as a family. We have a 10-monthold daughter. For me, I wanted to make sure we were unified when our daughter came. Raising her, we wanted to be on the same page and as one. This is what we believe, not mommy believes this, and daddy believes that,” Mr. Wright said.
He added that the situation definitely “was not a line in the sand.”
“But it was a little bit of ‘Hey, do some soul-searching and find out if this is truly where you are being called to.’ We’ve made some really good friends within the church, which helps a lot. We have gone to St. Mary Parish for six or seven years,” he shared.
Mr. Wright noted that supporters from St. Mary Parish have been important to his conversion. He acknowledged that exploring Catholicism was a challenge as a cradle Protestant.
“One day, it was like, hey, there might be a different way. That was hard. It has taken a lot of prayer and research and reading and talking. A lot of it is just going to Mass, going over and over again. You start to feel it after you go enough. It’s been really neat,” he observed.
Mrs. Wright said Bishop Mark Beckman in 2024 had some keen insight into her husband’s conversion.
“We came to Mass at the cathedral over Christmas and met Bishop Beckman for the first time. We told him where we were from and a little bit about Logan’s story. Bishop Beckman lit up and said, ‘This is Logan’s Jubilee Year. This is his Year of Hope,’” Mrs. Wright recalled. “Just hearing that and carrying that with
us brought to life that we are walking on that path, especially this year with his conversion.”
The Wrights have plenty of company as he enters the Church with his wife and daughter by his side. St. Mary has a larger-thanusual class of catechumens and candidates.
“I think it’s a record year in Johnson City at St. Mary for the class of catechumens and candidates. I think we have about 30 candidates and catechumens total,” Mrs. Wright said.
Journeys of faith are never more apparent than at the annual Rite of Election, when women and men of all ages and walks of life from throughout the Diocese of Knoxville gather at the cathedral to have their names etched in Church history.
By virtue of them saying yes to God, answering His call to follow Him, they take a pivotal step at the Rite of Election just ahead of entering the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil.
This was the case when Bishop Beckman greeted the catechumens and candidates who are entering the Church in East Tennessee. Deacons David Lucheon and Walt Otey assisted the bishop.
Bishop Beckman expressed his joy at joining the catechumens, who will receive the Easter sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and holy Eucharist at Easter Vigil, and the candidates, who have already been baptized and will fully become part of the Catholic faith at Easter Vigil with the sacraments of confirmation and holy Eucharist.
“I think it is a beautiful and wonderful sign of the life of this Church that this diocese has more than 300 people journeying to the Easter sacraments. It is a sign of the work of God’s spirit, through His people, calling us to follow Him and to become part of this great tradition of the Catholic faith that is universal and goes back 2,000 years to the very beginnings of the Christian faith,” Bishop Beckman said.
The cathedral was standing-roomonly as churches in the four deaneries of the Diocese of Knoxville congregated for the service. Those joining the Church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) were accompanied by their godparents or sponsors and family members as Bishop Beckman spoke to them.
of living in Egypt. And He determined to act, to set them free. He called Moses to be the instrument He would use to begin that great liberation of a people who were living in bondage.”
“That great paradigm accompanies us all the days of the great 40 days of Lent as we ponder our own journey through the desert with the Lord,” Bishop Beckman continued.
“And the Lord also understands the suffering that each one of us knows in life in those moments when we are far from Christ the Lord. He understands the affliction of what it is like to live without that trust in the Lord and that anchor of meaning that holds life together, the centerpoint of human history, the God who chose to become human in order that we might share forever in the life of God to become beloved daughters and sons of God Most High.”
The bishop put in perspective for those entering the Church the significance of their commitment to faith.
“All of those of you who are here today who will be baptized this coming Easter Vigil have in some mysterious way heard the voice of God in your own life. You’ve experienced God’s care for you and His call to you to enter into the living body of Christ, the Church on earth. This great pilgrim people who journey through time in history to the great kingdom of God,” he said.
Bishop Beckman delivered a message to the elect intended to inspire them on their faith journeys.
The bishop opened his homily saying how he likes the way the book of Exodus begins: “The Lord witnessed the suffering of His people. Their affliction: He knew their suffering; He understood the pain
“And the call of God for you is individual. He knows each one of you by name. He has numbered the hairs of your head. In my case, fewer than there used to be. He knows your entire story. He has called you by name. And this Rite of the Elect today means that God has claimed you and called you to Himself in the great mystery of baptism,” he continued.
Making it official Above: Bishop Mark Beckman signs a parish book of elect during the Rite of Election on March 8 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Below: Bishop Beckman is engaged in conversation with Logan and Caroline Wright of St. Mary Parish in Johnson City. Mr. Wright will enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil.
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Rite continued on page A16
Report: Christians in U.S. at risk of mass deportation
Joint study is a project of the USCCB, National Association of Evangelicals
By Kate Scanlon OSV News
Ajoint report between organizations affiliated with different Christian churches found that a significant share of people impacted by the Trump administration’s pursuit of what it has called “the largest deportation in U.S. history,” are Christian.
The report, a joint project of the National Association of Evangelicals, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at GordonConwell Theological Seminary, and World Relief, found many of those vulnerable to deportation themselves or those who have a family member vulnerable to deportation are Christians.
“One cannot help but ponder what our country and our lives would be like if the same sort of restrictions and enforcement actions being contemplated today were imposed on those coming from places like Ireland, Germany, Poland, Italy and elsewhere by the boat full,”
Bishop Mark J. Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, told reporters in a press call about the report.
“You know, it’s amazing how U.S. history repeats itself, and I don’t think many of us would suggest that the way that our immigrant ancestors were treated in many cases would be a model to be followed today,” he said.
Catholic social teaching on immigration balances three interrelated principles the right of people to migrate in order to sustain their lives and those of their families, the right of a country to regulate its borders and control immigration, and a nation’s duty to regulate its borders with justice and mercy.
While the individual Christian organizations behind the report may support or oppose particular policies according to their beliefs, participants explained, they share a common goal of seeking to understand not only how mass deportations would impact the United States, but also their faith
Deportation debate Guatemalan migrants deported from the United States under President Donald Trump's administration arrive at La Aurora Air Force Base in Guatemala City on Jan. 27 on a flight from the United States. A joint report between organizations affiliated with different Christian churches found that a significant share of people impacted by the Trump administration's pursuit of what it has called "the largest deportation in U.S. history" are Christian.
" One cannot help but ponder what our country and our lives would be like if the same sort of restrictions and enforcement actions being contemplated today were imposed on those coming from places like Ireland, Germany, Poland, Italy, and elsewhere by the boat full."
Bishop Mark J. Seitz, of the Diocese of El Paso
been convicted of violent crimes, who are members of our churches whose deportations would result in families being separated,” Mr. Kim said.
Stephanie Gonzalez is a teacher at a Christian school in Southern California whose parents, 55-yearold Gladys and 59-year-old Nelson Gonzalez, have no criminal record and were recently deported to Colombia after more than 35 years in the United States. Ms. Gonzalez said when they arrived in the United States, they sought to follow the law, but “my parents became victims of immigration fraud and dealt with several fraudulent lawyers who took advantage of them.”
“This was just the beginning of the nightmare that my parents faced when it came to attorneys and a flawed immigration system,” Ms. Gonzalez said.
Bishop Seitz and Ms. Gonzalez both raised the point that separating families contradicts Christians’ interest in protecting strong family units.
“The separation of families is heartbreaking, and I believe the separation breaks the Lord’s heart,” Ms. Gonzalez said.
communities and Christians as a whole.
According to demographic data as of the end of 2024, the report found, more than 10 million Christians living in the United States would be vulnerable to deportation under Trump administration policies implemented in 2025. Christians account for approximately 80 percent of all of those at risk of deportation. The Christians most at risk of deportation are Catholics, 61 percent of the total.
At the same time, about 7 million Christians who are U.S. citizens live in the same household as someone at risk of deportation.
Overall, the report found, about one out of every 12 Christians in the United States including one out of 18 evangelicals and about one out of five Catholics are
USCCB ends pact with U.S. on refugee aid
By Kate Scanlon OSV News
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said it would not renew its cooperative agreements with the federal government related to children’s services and refugee support after its longstanding partnerships with the federal government in those areas became “untenable.”
either vulnerable to deportation themselves or could see a family member deported, barring law or policy changes.
Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, pointed to a recent Lifeway Research study showing that while evangelicals have been a consistent voting bloc supporting President Trump during his three presidential campaigns, most support deporting individuals who have been convicted of violent crimes, but support programs to help refugees and policies aimed at keeping families together.
“Now, sometimes it’s thought that many evangelicals are supportive of this, but in fact, most evangelical Christians do not want to see deportation on this scale, of immigrants who have not
The report, titled “One Part of the Body,” is a reference to the biblical teaching that Christians form one body, composed of distinct but interdependent parts, said Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief, one of the largest evangelical ministries serving refugees and other immigrants.
“When one part of the body suffers, we are all to suffer together, just as a hand cannot go about its business unaffected if a foot is in debilitating pain,” he said. “With that biblical principle in mind, we set out to understand and quantify with this report how the Trump administration’s proposals for the largest deportation in U.S. history could impact the Church in the United States. Immigrants from various countries form integral parts of the body of Christ in the U.S.” ■
Earlier this year, the Trump administration suspended a federal refugee resettlement program as part of its broader effort to enforce its hardline immigration policies. The ensuing halt in federal funding for the USCCB’s refugee resettlement services is the subject of ongoing litigation, and it prompted the bishops’ conference to lay off about a third of the staff in its Migration and Refugee Services Office in February.
A spokesperson for the USCCB told OSV News the bishops were seeking reimbursement of $24,336,858.26 for resettlement services (PRM and ORR programs) that was still pending payment as of April 7.
“This situation has been brought to us by the decisions of the government,” Anthony Granado, associate general secretary for policy and advocacy for the USCCB, said.
Despite decades of partnership with the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services, across administrations of both parties, including the first Trump administration, Mr. Granado said, “we’ve been placed in an untenable position now.”
“It is clear that the government has decided that it wishes to go about doing this in a different way that doesn't include us, and so we were
Bishops conference: move is ‘ heartbreaking' Support continued on page
green for St. Patrick ’s Parade
Knoxville s St. Patrick s Day Parade processed down Gay Street on Saturday, March 15, as a large clan of Irish fans turned out for the annual celebration that benefits Catholic Charities of East Tennessee.
Green attire was abundant, and even Bishop Mark Beckman (pictured right) donned a splash of emerald and watched a multitude of Irish-themed floats and displays parade down the center of town.
The skies threatened rain but instead cooperated in the fun that was enjoyed by hundreds of people of all ages.
Harrison Smith of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings and a former Knoxville Catholic High School athlete was the parade’ s grand marshal.
Photos by Bill Brewer
Luck
Luck of the Irish: Celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a Parade
“So, what I loved about being there was the beauty of being in a parish school, and I really did feel that it was a true community,” she explained. “So, the school was so much the heart of the center of life for those families who lived in the area. The parish had a lot going on, and the parents would not only be coming to school events, but they’d be coming to parish events the fish fry, the fall festival. I just loved that whole idea of community where everybody’s life is centered around the parish.”
The other component of the parish that Sister loved: it was multigenerational.
“So, some of those older people had originally come to Oak Ridge to work in the labs, they had been there during the war, so they had all of that history. And, of course, the parish was started by those faithful Catholics who were sent there for work, and so I thought there was such a rich history. And sometimes some of the older people in the parish would come speak to the students about what it used to be like in Oak Ridge,” she shared.
As a first-time principal, Sister Anne Catherine loved the faculty and staff that she worked with.
“Anne Garrett, at the time, was a seventhgrade homeroom teacher, and she was also the vice principal in the school. I will forever be indebted to Anne because she really showed me the ropes and was so good to work with, as were all the other teachers. A lot of them had been there a long time Kathy Loudon, Marsha Sega, her husband is a deacon still in the diocese. Just lots of people, Karen Lee, it was great. And great families. Even though I was only there three years, I just felt like it was a home,” she said.
Having a humanities background as an English major, Sister Anne Catherine commented how she was impressed with the science education at St. Mary School.
“I gained a great appreciation for the importance of science because it was just part of the community,” she said.
“But I think also for the Dominican Sisters who had been there, our community has been there since the school was started, we have always prized excellence in academics and intellectual formation alongside spiritual formation, that we realize faith and reason really do go together. So, I saw that our charism as Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, I think, found a happy home in Oak Ridge where people valued education. So, it really was a strong, and I think to this day is a strong academic school but situated in a true Catholic community,”she added.
Sister Marie Blanchette Cummings, OP A Nashville Dominican for 44 years, Sister Marie Blanchette is currently the principal at Overbrook Catholic High School in Nashville. She was assigned to Nashville after serving at St. Mary School from 2013 to 2021.
“I was the principal the whole eight years, and I loved being there,” she said. “The students were so friendly, not just to me but to anyone who walked in the building. The families were very involved in their education.”
Some of her favorite memories included allschool Masses where everyone gathered together “to worship the Lord as a family and sang our hearts out.”
“I loved greeting the children every morning. I would hold the door open to the school and speak to each child coming in and often got lots of hugs during that time,” she recalled.
Sister Marie Blanchette shared that her time as principal at St. Mary School did shape her as a person and as an educator.
“It was the first time in a long time that I had been at a parish school, and so it was a real delight to be immersed in the parish as well as the school,” she said. “I knew a lot of parishioners helped, was on the planning committee for one of the parish feast-day dinners and celebrations, and the parishioners supported the school. It was very much a family feeling.”
One of her efforts while principal was attending the Latino Enrollment Institute at the University of Notre Dame.
“I think when I got [to St. Mary] there may have been nine Hispanics, and by the time I left there were 44 in the school. So, I felt that was a really good thing to reach out to our Hispanic brothers and sisters and make sure that they had a place … just was very happy to provide a Catholic education for anyone at St. Mary’s who wanted it,” Sister Marie Blanchette said. She remembered the dedication of her teachers and their commitment to the children.
“I have a great memory,” she shared. “There was one year that I showed up at like 8 o’ clock on a Friday night before school started, and the second-grade Sister was brand new to St. Mary’s, and I said, you want to go see your classroom? And she said yes, so we walked into the building Friday night, maybe like Aug. 1. There were three teachers in the building working. Isn’t that beautiful? That speaks to the dedica-
tion. So, that was so powerful.”
The teachers also had a good relationship with their students.
“We had a Sister who taught fifth grade, and she was from Australia originally, and she taught the kids how to play rugby,” Sister Marie Blanchette said. “To go outside at recess and watch them playing, and they would invite the priests to play, there was just a real joy in learning, and the children really grasped that they were made in the image and likeness of God, which is the foundation of everything in our Catholic faith.”
The Dominican Sister said she will be attending the jubilee celebrations in May.
“I loved my time there; I loved being part of the parish and all the friends that I made there, and all of that made it really hard to leave because I got attached to so many of the people who were there, both at the school and the parish. And I just found it to be a wonderful faith community,” she shared.
Sister Scholastica Niemann, OP
Sister Scholastica and her family moved to Oak Ridge when she was in the second grade. She attended St. Mary School and Knoxville Catholic High School, being educated by the Dominican Sisters. Now she is one of them, teaching her own freshman students English in Knoxville.
“It’s all come full circle,” she said. “So, to grow up and come back to where I was educated and where I went to high school … to teach here and to live at St. Mary’s, it’s just provided a really nice perspective that I didn’t have before, to go back to where you came from. … You know a place when you are from there, but to go back to it again as an adult with different experiences you kind of know it in a different way. So, it’s allowed me to see kind of the bigger picture of what St. Mary’s is all about. … I just love the school, it’s a beautiful place to grow up.”
Sister Scholastica said that when she was a student in the 1990s, St. Mary felt like a family.
“My older siblings all went to the school there, so it was like our second home. We actually spent so much time at school that I felt like if I wasn’t at home, I was at school or the parish. I really got to know the Sisters there, they were some of the most peaceful and happy and just beautiful witnesses of religious life,” she shared.
The memories most fresh in her mind were her seventh- and eighth-grade years, where her math and science teachers were some of her toughest.
“They also instilled in me a great love for kind of the discipline of learning. Even when a subject matter doesn’t come easily, I remember the teachers there just always being so emphasizing this is hard work, but that’s OK. So, I grew
to love the work that’s associated with learning,” she explained.
Learning also was part of her family culture.
“In my family, the intellectual part of the faith was really emphasized, so learning what the Church taught, why the Church teaches that, was really important in my family,” Sister Scholastica said. “We didn’t have a lot of the devotional, the more kind of set prayer times as a family, that wasn’t my experience as much growing up. But it was very much like why does the Church teach what she teaches. I think at St. Mary’s, I was really introduced to not just the intellectual side of the faith but also kind of the heart, the devotion.”
Sister Scholastica said the seed of her vocation to religious life was planted during her eighthgrade year at St. Mary School.
“My father got sick and passed away,” she shared. “I remember the community, the whole parish was really so supportive of my family, but the Sisters in a particular way just became so attentive to what my family needed. So, it was just planted in the back of my mind, I think, through that experience just a desire to walk with people in their suffering. Because I had this experience of suffering in grade school, and I saw the kind of spiritual motherhood of the Sisters of taking care of my family, kind of walking with us through that grief. It just planted a seed I think.”
At the end of her time in college at the University of Dallas, where Sister Scholastica studied theology, a classmate announced that she was going to join the Nashville Dominicans after graduation.
“It was the first time I’d heard somebody not from Tennessee talk about the Nashville Dominicans, and I thought how does she know my Sisters? And then I thought, why do I call them my Sisters? I haven’t seen them in years. After college, I spent a few years kind of praying and discerning and visited the motherhouse and got to learn a little bit about their formation process and what it looks like to enter the convent and eventually applied and was accepted,” she said
Of all the far-reaching cities she could have been assigned to, Sister Scholastica never thought she would return to her home of Oak Ridge
“When I was assigned to Knoxville to teach at Knoxville Catholic High School, and I realized I’d be living in Oak Ridge at St. Mary’s, I was very excited,” she remarked. “The only time I had really been back before that was when we take a home visit in the summer, so I was visiting my family, and I would stop by the school and say hi to the teachers. So, I still have family that live in the area. My mom lives in Oak Ridge and is a parishioner at St. Mary’s, and my sister and her husband and her family.”
"It’s all come full circle. So, to grow up and come back to where I was educated and where I went to high school … to teach here and to live at St. Mary's, it’s just provided a really nice perspective that I didn't have before, to go back to where you came from. … You know a place when you are from there, but to go back to it again as an adult with different experiences you kind of know it in a different way. So, it's allowed me to see kind of the bigger picture of what St. Mary's is all about. … I just love the school, it's a beautiful place to grow up
Sister Scholastica Niemann, of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation and a teacher at Knoxville Catholic High School
Sister Scholastica said if she had been asked as a child what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would have said a teacher.
“But what I really meant was I want to be a teacher like them, I want to be a spiritual mother to those students,” she explained. “And just the example of St. Dominic, the preacher who is on fire with love for the Lord. The Sisters were always so joyful and so filled with Scripture.”
“I guess it comes down to a love for learning, a love for the Lord, and a love for other people,” she said. ■
Getting in the habit of reading Principal Sister Mary John Slonkosky, OP, reads a butterfly book to an elementary student at St. Mary School in Oak Ridge.
STEPHANIE RICHER
Sr. Marie Blanchette
Sr. Anne Catherine
In-service held for implementation of National Pastoral Plan
training for the Hispanic/Latino Ministry program
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”
(Matthew 28:19)
By Blanca Primm
On March 22, an event was held that brought together more than 170 parishioners who, in coordination with their pastors, came from 19 parishes across the Diocese of Knoxville. It was a day of prayer and pastoral work that included practical training on the content of the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in the summer of 2023.
The plan, titled “Missionary Disciples Going Forth with Joy,” is a 10-year program designed to strengthen Hispanic/Latino ministry by enabling Hispanic leadership formation and missionary service to the Church.
In the first part of the plan, the bishops reaffirm the gift that is the presence of the Hispanic community by highlighting its missionary and prophetic call, its deep faith, its practice rich in traditions and authentic Marian devotion, its active participation in ecclesial movements, as well as its deep appreciation for the family and its cultural values that contribute to the diversity and vitality of the Church in the United States.
The training was developed using the See, Discern, and Act methodology in which the current reality is taken into account, showcasing that the needs of the parish communities are diverse and unique to each parish, although many are common to each other.
This fact is illuminated in the light of the Gospel and with the help of the Holy Spirit and the magisterium of the Church, in its various documents that provide guidance on how to respond pastorally as a diocesan and parish Catholic community.
The encounter with the living Christ can only lead us to a transformation that translates into action, which we can put into practice in communities in an intentional way, through the elaboration of an organized pastoral plan that responds to these needs in the parishes.
We know that there are parishes with larger populations than others, some with greater human and material resources than others, but with all our limitations we are called to be missionary disciples and to continue going out to bring the good news in our communities and in the peripheries.
Dr. Olga Villar, executive director of the Southeast Pastoral Institute (SEPI), joined local presenters Magdiel Argueta, who serves as coordinator of Pastoral Juvenil (Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry) for the Diocese of Knoxville and myself. Discussed during the day was the national reality of the blessings and challenges as well as opportunities and advances of Hispanic ministry at the national and local levels.
Also discussed were the 10 priority areas that need to be worked on and developed during the life of the national plan, which is to be integrated into the Hispanic Diocesan Plan. Both plans have a focus coming from the consultation process, leadership development, and missionary activity of the national process of the V Encounter of Hispanic/Latino Ministry.
Regarding the steps to follow in this process of implementing the plan at the parish level, Dr. Villar commented, “The next steps after this meeting are to encourage the creation of pastoral plans at the parish level, which actively involve together the communities with their pastors and pastoral leaders. The aim is to train these leaders so that they can carry out the processes using the methodology of See, Discern, Act, Celebrate, and Evaluate, which facilitates a constantly updated pastoral response, adapted to an ever-changing social reality.”
Thirty percent of the diocesan in-service participants were young adults under the age of 35,
not come together in person, but when we stayed apart,” he continued. “For months during the pandemic, we were not gathered in person and as a community of faith. In order not to spread sickness, I remember celebrating Mass here in this sacred space but not looking out and seeing your beautiful faces like I do today, but seeing pictures of you taped to the pews. Many of you remember that. And I was trusting that you were looking back at me through the video, taking part in the way that you were able to do so. And absence makes the heart grow fonder. What joy it was to return home to this holy place of Our Lady of Fatima in Alcoa.”
At his homily’s conclusion, Father Iorio said there was no way to thank all the individuals who have been involved in the parish, both past and present. “My heart is full of gratitude for bringing me here and giving me the opportunity to serve you as pastor these last nearly six years,” he said. “May God continue to bless Our Lady of Fatima as we continue our jubilee year of celebration.”
Following the Mass was a reception in the parish hall, where attendees enjoyed finger foods, desserts, and punch.
Francis Brown, a parishioner of 41 years, attended the 25th-anniversary celebration with his wife.
Heart of Jesus for a group photo.
“which is evidence of the growing commitment and desire for involvement of the new generations in the pastoral life of the Church” said Mr. Argueta, who also mentioned the contribution of young people in this implementation of the plan. “I am convinced that the participation of young people was extremely significant since they brought an updated perspective and a more empathetic and welcoming look, which complements very well the wisdom and experience of the older generations. Their sensitivity to the challenges of today’s world profoundly enriches pastoral discernment.”
An important highlight that the bishops recognize in the mission and vision of the plan is the context of a culturally diverse society. It is in this context that we are asked to respond openly to accompany our brothers and sisters on the peripheries, to create a culture of encounter, to be promoters of justice and mercy, to provide integral formation inspired by the Word of God and transformed by the Eucharist.
Our mission includes proclaiming the Gospel with joy and preserving our common home. In looking at the mestizo face of Maria of Guadalupe we find the inspiration and example of a perfect inculturation of the Gospel.
“We moved here in 1984, and somewhere along the line Father (Joseph) Brando asked if I would be in charge of the fundraising of the building of this new building. We had our first fundraiser in February of 1995,” Mr. Brown explained.
“But it was exciting times, and one of the problems we had to face was we were running out of space over there, our old church,” he continued. “And at the time, the requirement for a new church, the diocese required 25 acres if you’re going to build new. So, that’s a hurdle that had to be overcome. By God’s grace, a man by the name of Frank found out from AT&T that this particular building was for sale. And we had the money to pay cash for it. As soon as that information was out to the parish, there was no question we were going to move over here.”
The five-year process of fundraising and building the church was completed in March 2000.
“It was exhilarating to me, anyway. One of the best times of my whole life,” Mr. Brown shared. “I look around and probably one of the most poignant times of my life … was when the lights went dim, went off, and they sang ‘Sing a New Church.’ There were tears in my eyes … because it was the end, we had dreamed it possible.”
To continue celebrating the jubilee of 75 years as
Mencias from
said, “I think it is very important that the pastoral plan is very focused on uniting all Catholics regardless of our country of origin or language, because in this country we find people from different countries, languages, and cultures who share the same faith and seek the same goal, which is to grow our faith and seek God in the different parishes and groups available.”
We are grateful for the support of Bishop Mark Beckman in this training process and for celebrating the closing Mass, which was held in the Cathedral Hall on the campus of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the participation of the Hispanic choir of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City.
Father Jhon Mario Garcia, an associate pastor of the cathedral, concelebrated the Mass, and serving as deacons of the Word and Eucharist were Fredy Vargas and Salvador Soriano. Deacon Walt Otey was master of ceremonies. Bishop Beckman, offering a great homily for all of us, committing us to serve the Church with generosity, told us: “A moment ago I was talking to Blanca, and she told me about the fire that has been lit in this place, and so fitting, Moses came to a bush on flame but not burned.”
“The fire that Moses witnessed was the fire of God’s love. A burning love for his people. He saw the suffering, he witnessed it, he heard it, he knew it. The heart of God is always with the suffering people, and the Lord God could have chosen any way to set His people free and yet He chose to reach out to Moses. The Lord wanted to partner with Moses, an authentic friendship. ... And Moses responds with ‘Who am I to go to Pharaoh? Why me?’ If you read the whole story, he has about five or six objections to the Lord. But the Lord wants to be in partnership with Moses. And finally, Moses says ‘Yes.’ And because of this, we, too, are invited by the Lord into a sacred partnership today.
“The Lord is calling each one of you just as He called Moses. He wants you to be His partner and His friend as we spread the fire of His love in our world today. So, dear people of God, are you ready to do this?” the bishop asked as he continued. Everyone answered: “Yes!” And the bishop blessed us saying, “Yes, magnificent! May the Holy Spirit, the fire of God’s love, indeed give us every gift we need to carry forth this mission!” ■
Blanca Primm serves as director of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Knoxville.
a parish, events will be held at Our Lady of Fatima on the 13th day of each month through October to commemorate the Blessed Virgin Mary appearing to the Portuguese shepherd children on that day:
n A bilingual confirmation Mass with reception following will take place at the parish on Tuesday, May 13, at 7 p.m.
n On Friday, June 13, an evening walk on the Alcoa greenway and a parish picnic under the Fatima Pavilion will occur.
n A 6 p.m. concert featuring sacred music from the Americas will be performed on Sunday, July 13.
n A focus on catechism and sacred space will happen at the parish on Wednesday, Aug. 13.
n Saturday, Sept. 13, will feature a day dedicated to the exploration of nature and Hispanic Kermés.
n A day of adoration will occur at the parish on Monday, Oct. 13.
Lastly, the parish jubilee celebration will conclude with a bilingual Mass with Bishop Mark Beckman on Saturday, Nov. 22.
The parish has created a pilgrimage passport that pilgrims can pick up and have stamped at all of the events.
For more information regarding the Our Lady of Fatima 75th jubilee, visit the parish s website at ourladyoffatima.org/75years ■
Carlos
St. Jude Parish in Chattanooga
National Pastoral Planners Diocese of Knoxville parishioners who took part in the March 22 in-service for the implementation of the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry gather on the front steps of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred
BILL BREWER
Fatima continued from page A6
Mass teamwork Bishop Mark Beckman is joined by altar servers at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus following Mass on March 22 that was celebrated as part of the diocesan inservice on the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/ Latino Ministry.
Bishop Mark Beckman has announced new assignments for four priests and two deacons serving in the Diocese of Knoxville.
The bishop has appointed Father Mark Schuster pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut and Father Adam Royal pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish in Crossville effective April 4, 2025.
Father Schuster was ordained a priest June 8, 2019. He served as associate pastor at St. John Neumann starting July 1, 2019. Most recently, he has served as parochial administrator at St. Alphonsus since July 1, 2021, and becoming pastor effective June 1, 2022.
Father Royal was ordained a priest June 4, 2016. He has served as associate pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Chattanooga and Our Lady of Fatima in Alcoa. He also has served as chaplain for the diocesan Catholic Medical Association chapter. Most recently, he has served as associate pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City since July 1, 2023.
Bishop Beckman is working with the diocesan
Priest Personnel Board to provide priestly assistance for St. Thomas the Apostle in Lenoir City.
The bishop also announced that Father Joseph Maundu, GHM, has been appointed to serve as a parochial vicar of St. Teresa of Kolkata Parish in Maynardville and St. John Paul II Catholic Mission in Rutledge. This appointment took effect on March 1.
Father Hoan Dinh has been appointed to serve as a parochial vicar of St. Patrick Parish in Morristown. This appointment was effective March 13.
Deacon Paul Benfanti has been appointed to serve at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Fairfield Glade. This appointment took effect March 14 Deacon Benfanti and his wife, Cindy, recently moved to the diocese from St. Petersburg, Fla. Deacon Renzo Alvarado Suárez has been appointed to serve at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa. This appointment took effect March 10. Deacon Suárez and Deacon A.J. Houston have received their holy orders and are scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood on June 7. ■
Fr. Schuster
Fr. Royal
Fr. Maundu Fr. Dinh
Pope continues to show improvement in health
Holy Father ’s lung condition has stabilized and is responding to treatment
By Carol Glatz and Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
As Pope Francis continues his recovery at the Vatican, he is very slowly beginning to get back to his old routine of meeting with top Vatican officials, the Vatican press office said.
In addition to working with his secretaries, he met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, on April 7, the press office said in a briefing with reporters on April 8.
The pope is also in contact with other dicasteries by phone and goes over the texts and documents he receives from them, it added. His regular phone calls to Holy Family Parish in Gaza, which were sporadic during his hospitalization, continue.
Pope Francis was released from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on March 23 after more than five weeks of treatment for breathing difficulties, double pneumonia, and a polymicrobial infection in his airways.
His doctors had said he would need two months to convalesce following his release, which included staying home, avoiding visitors, and keeping up with pharmacological, respiratory, and physical therapy.
However, the pope surprised the faithful when he appeared in St. Peter’s Square on April 6 at the end of the closing Mass of the Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers. It was the first time Pope Francis had been seen in public since he was discharged from the hospital.
Seated in a wheelchair and wearing a nasal cannula, the pope greeted the crowd with a strained voice, wishing them “A happy Sunday to you all, many thanks!” Before appearing in the square, he
Support continued from page A9
kind of forced into this position,” Mr. Granado said.
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the USCCB and head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, said in an April 7 statement it was “heartbreaking” to announce the bishops’ conference would not renew its “existing cooperative agreements with the federal government related to children’s services and refugee support.”
“This difficult decision follows the suspension by the government of our cooperative agreements to resettle refugees,” he said. “The decision to reduce these programs drastically forces us to reconsider the best way to serve the needs of our brothers and sisters seeking safe harbor from violence and persecution. As a national effort, we simply cannot sustain the work on our own at current levels or in current form.”
Citing the government’s suspension of the cooperative agreements to resettle refugees, Archbishop Broglio said that the conference has “been concerned with helping families who are fleeing war, violence, and oppression find safe and secure homes.”
“Over the years, partnerships with the federal government helped expand lifesaving programs, benefiting our sisters and brothers from many parts of the world,” Archbishop Broglio said. “All participants in these programs were welcomed by the U.S. government to come to the United States and underwent rigorous screening before their arrival. These are displaced souls who see in America a place of dreams and hope. Some assisted American efforts abroad at their own risk, and more seek a place to worship and pray safely as they know God calls them.”
He said, “Our efforts were acts of pastoral care and charity, generously supported by the people of God when funds received from the government did not cover the full cost.” Federal law requires that unaccompanied refugee minors be cared for,
A
at the base of a statue of St. John Paul II outside Rome's Gemelli hospital on March 16. The marathon that morning began with a moment of silence to wish a speedy recovery to Pope Francis.
also went to confession in St. Peter’s Basilica and passed through the Holy Door, the Vatican press office had said.
A Vatican source said the pope’s appearance on that Sunday still fit within his doctors’ recommen -
and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement historically has turned to faith-based organizations, including the USCCB, to carry out this work.
A spokesperson for HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from OSV News about its cooperative agreement with the USCCB.
Mr. Granado said the conference’s cooperative agreements with the federal government were “really about people.”
“From the Church’s perspective, this is about responding to the Gospel command Jesus says in the Gospel, ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me,’” he said, referencing Jesus Christ’s words in Matthew 25:35-40 regarding His final judgment. “This has been a blessing and a beautiful part of the USCCB and the Catholic Church in the United States.”
The children and refugees impacted “are real people, real families” as well as “the staff whose work will be impacted,” Mr. Granado said.
As the agreements end, Archbishop Broglio added, “We will work to identify alternative means of support for the people the federal government has already admitted to these programs. We ask your prayers for the many staff and refugees impacted.”
The USCCB, Archbishop Broglio said, “will continue advocating for policy reforms that provide orderly, secure immigration processes, ensuring the safety of everyone in our communities.”
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to advocating on behalf of men, women, and children suffering the scourge of human trafficking,” he said. “For half a century, we have been willing partners in implementing the government’s refugee resettlement program. The Gospel’s call to do what we can for the least among us remains our guide. We ask you to join us in praying for God’s grace in finding new ways to bring hope where it is most needed.” ■
"The governance of the Church is in his hands. But there are many more routine matters on which his Curia collaborators can proceed even without consulting him, on the basis of previously received indications and existing regulations "
—
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state
dations, as the moment was very brief, it was outdoors, and he greeted just a few people. A period of convalescence means being more careful about certain things and that was being respected, the source said.
The apparent difficulty the pope has in raising his arms, such as when he blessed or greeted the crowds in his last two public appearances, is connected with his
long hospitalization and subsequent reduced mobility, the source added. The pope is following physical therapy that is meant to increase and improve all aspects of his mobility.
After concelebrating Mass with his secretaries each day, the pope spends “a good part” of his morning doing his physical therapy and respiratory therapy, which have led to some improvements as his condition and tests remain stable, the press office said. The rest of the day is dedicated to prayer and working.
Pope Francis still has a lingering lung infection, which doctors had said would take time to clear up
Pope Francis’ condition remains stable, and an X-ray showed there has been a slight improvement regarding his lingering lung infection, the Vatican press office added.
The pope continues to show improvements in his mobility and ability to speak, the press office told reporters on April 1. The pope continues to receive supplemental oxygen through the nasal cannula during the day and high-flow oxygen at night when necessary. He can remove the nasal tube for “brief periods” during the day.
The pope continues to follow his prescribed drug and respiratory therapies, and his voice is showing some improvement after being significantly weakened during his long convalescence. His blood tests also have been in the normal range.
The pope is not to receive any outside visitors, according to the press office. He is assisted by his personal secretaries, there are always medical personnel on call, and his doctors visit him regularly.
Pope continued on page A30
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return to ministry Above: Pope Francis greets the faithful in St. Peter's Square at the end of the closing Mass for the Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers at the Vatican on April 6. Below: A finisher's medal from the Rome marathon is set among the votive candles and flowers left
CATHOLIC
Bishop Beckman also had words of inspiration for the candidates in the congregation, letting them know that as Christians, everyone walks the journey of faith together.
“And I want to say this. Those of us who already have been baptized are also invited during these 40 days of Lent to recognize the ways in our own lives that we still suffer from a lack of trust in the Lord and allowing our lives to be configured fully to His call. It’s a season of renewal for us as well as we journey to the great Easter mystery. The Lord is still calling each one of us by name and wants to set us free from whatever elements of the bondage of our own Egypt we may still be living in,” he said.
“It’s a call from the Lord to each and every one of us today personally. But I will also point out that even Jesus Himself, the beloved Son of God, when called by the Father at His baptism to bear the light of Good News to those still suffering, experienced the crucible of temptation.
“So, we should expect in these days of Lent ahead, these 40 days, as we do throughout our lives, that the enemy will indeed attempt to take us off course from the call of God. A person once said every temptation is an invitation to abandon our vocation. And yet the Son of God beautifully and perfectly in His full humanity responded to those temptations with unshakable trust in the Father,” the bishop added.
He told the congregation that they do not live on bread alone but instead on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord Our God. “Him alone do we serve and adore, and we do not put the Lord Our God to the test.”
He noted that the Lord Jesus Christ has answered the temptation by a reaffirmed vocation.
Bishop Beckman then extended a heartfelt invitation, in an extension of his homily, to the catechumens and candidates who were listening intently to the bishop’s message.
“So today, I want to invite all of you to a deeper, loving trust in the Lord’s call for you. The Lord wills always that which is good and right and true and beautiful. Trust the Lord. Trust His call in your life and say yes again,” the bishop said. “It is my joy, as your bishop today, to sign each of the parish books of elect, recognizing God’s call in your life.”
The catechumens and candidates have gone through RCIA to learn the basic tenets of Catholicism and to prepare for the reception of the sacraments. As part of the process, each RCIA class goes through scrutinies, which are rites of self-assessment and repentance, intended to uncover and heal any weaknesses, defects, or sins in the heart of the elect, or RCIA candidates, and to strengthen their resolve to follow Christ.
At the Rite of Election, a representative from each parish presented his or her book of elect to the bishop for him to sign. The books contain the names of each person in their parish who is entering the Church.
Deacon Jim Bello, who serves as the director of Christian Formation for the Diocese of Knoxville, presented the deaneries to the bishop and called up each parish representative in order.
“Bishop Beckman, as the solemn paschal celebrations approach once more, the catechumens present here, relying on divine grace and supported by the prayers and example of the community, humbly request, after due preparation and celebration of the scrutinies, they be admitted to participate in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist,” Deacon Bello requested.
Bishop Beckman then asked the elect to stand with their godparents.
“The holy Church of God now wishes to ascertain
whether these catechumens are sufficiently prepared to be received into the Order of the Elect for the solemn paschal celebrations to come. And so, first I ask you, their godparents, to testify. Have they faithfully listened to God’s Word proclaimed by the Church?” the bishop asked.
The godparents then responded, “They have.”
“Have they begun to walk in God’s presence, treasuring the Word they have received?” Bishop Beckman asked.
The godparents responded, “They have.”
“Have they persevered in fraternal communion and in the prayers?” the bishop continued to ask.
The godparents responded, “They have.”
Bishop Beckman then addressed the entire congregation.
“Now I ask you, the members of this community, are you willing to affirm the testimony expressed about these catechumens and include them in your prayer and affection as we move toward Easter?” the bishop asked, to which they responded, “We are.”
Bishop Beckman turned to the catechumens and said, “My dear catechumens, I address you. Your godparents and catechists in this entire community have testified favorably on your behalf. Trusting in their judgment, the Church calls you in the name of Christ to the paschal sacraments. Now it falls to you who have long listened to the voice of Christ to respond in the presence of the Church by stating your intentions:
“Is it your will to be initiated into Christ’s sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist?” he asked them, to which each one responded, “It is.”
The bishop invited them to offer their names for enrollment.
After the bishop signed each book of elect, the congregation applauded for the catechumens.
“My dear catechumens, you have been chosen for initiation into the sacred mysteries of the forthcoming Easter Vigil. Thanks be to God.
Now, with divine help, your duty, like ours, is to be faithful to God, who is faithful to His call, and to strive with a generous spirit to reach the full truth of your election,” Bishop Beckman said. “Godparents, you have spoken in favor of these elect. Receive them now as chosen in the Lord and accompany them with your help and examples until they come to share in the sacraments of divine life.”
The bishop then turned his attention to the candidates.
“Bishop Beckman, the candidates present here, relying on divine grace and supported by the prayers and example of the community, humbly request that after due preparation, they be admitted to participate in the sacraments of confirmation and the Eucharist,” Deacon Bello said.
The bishop then asked the candidates “who desire to participate fully in the sacramental life of the Church” to stand with their sponsors.
“The Christian life and the demands that flow from the sacraments cannot be taken lightly. Therefore, before granting these candidates their request to share fully in the Church’s sacraments, it is important that the Church hear the testimony of their sponsors about their readiness.
“And so, sponsors, have they faithfully listened to God’s Word proclaimed by the Church?” Bishop Beckman asked.
The sponsors responded, “They have.”
“Have they come to a deeper appreciation of their baptism in which they were joined to Christ and His Church?” the bishop also asked, to which the sponsors again answered, “They have.”
“Have they reflected sufficiently on the tradition of the Church, which is their heritage, and joined their sisters and brothers in prayer?” the bishop further asked.
“They have,” the sponsors answered.
“Have they advanced in the life of love and service of others?” Bishop
Beckman asked, eliciting a response of, “They have.”
“Now I ask you, the members of this community, are you willing to affirm the testimony expressed about these candidates and include them in your prayer and affection as we move toward Easter?” the bishop asked, to which they responded, “We are.”
“Now, my dear candidates, I address you. The Church recognizes your desire to be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit and to have a place at Christ’s eucharistic table. Join with us this Lent in the spirit of repentance. Hear the Lord’s call to conversion and be faithful to your baptismal covenant. Thanks be to God,” Bishop Beckman said.
“Sponsors, continue to support these candidates with your guidance and concern. May they see in you a love for the Church and a sincere desire for doing good. Lead them to the joys of the Easter mysteries,” the bishop concluded.
Bishop Beckman then prayed that as the faithful look forward to the saving mysteries of the Passion and resurrection, that all, by mutual renewal, may be made worthy of the paschal graces.
The candidates were applauded by the congregation.
In his concluding remarks, Bishop Beckman then offered his personal insight into the Rite of Election service.
“I will say that I have many reasons as a bishop to sign things. But the joy I had in signing these books of the elect today brought the greatest joy I have had in putting my signature on anything since I have been a bishop. I am very grateful to be able to witness your call from the Lord,” he said.
Deacon Bello rejoiced at the 2025 edition of the Rite of Election as the Church in East Tennessee continues to grow. He believes the number of people joining the Catholic faith this year in the diocese may set a record.
“I think it was the most beautiful one we’ve ever done since I’ve been on board. We had all deaneries together for one rite. The whole diocese, that whole body of Christ, was represented for our diocese at this one event with Bishop Beckman,” Deacon Bello said.
The deacon expressed gratitude to Bishop Beckman for the way he led the service that is so important to those joining the Catholic faith.
“He was so beautifully pastoral and welcoming to both the catechumens and candidates and the sponsors and godparents,” he said. “His way of approaching this was so very calm and welcoming. Everybody felt at ease around him. And it was very much streamlined from what it has been in the past.”
In years past, the Rite of Election was held over two days, with the Chattanooga and Cumberland Mountain deaneries taking one day and the Smoky Mountain and Five Rivers deaneries taking the second.
“People were able to come and enjoy the beauty of it, socialize afterward, and have plenty of time with Bishop Mark, and still get back to their homes in other parts of the diocese,” Deacon Bello said. “It took an hour to recognize all these beautiful catechumens and candidates, which I think we are at a record this year.”
Parish directors of religious education have reported robust numbers in their classes for the 2024-25 RCIA year.
“We’re continuing to see the diocese grow, and participation in this event was big. It was just joyful all around for all those reasons,” Deacon Bello said.
And while the numbers won’t be official until after the Easter Vigil, the deacon expects 128 catechumens and 220 candidates to receive their sacraments at the vigil. There are 266 sponsors and godparents.
■
Election update Left: Religious education leaders in the Diocese of Knoxville process into the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus holding their parish books of the elect to begin the Rite of Election service on March 8. Right: Bishop Mark Beckman receives a book of the elect to sign during the annual service, which is a key step for people entering the Church at the Easter Vigil.
One step closer Several catechumens and candidates preparing to enter the Church at the Easter Vigil gather for a group photo following the Rite of Election on March 8 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
BILL BREWER (3)
Very strictly speaking, the Church does not have the kind of formal “rules” you are looking for on this issue, but the choice of whether to attend a problematic wedding requires serious personal discernment.
For some background, Catholics and only Catholics are required to marry “according to canonical form,” which for the most part means marrying in a Catholic ceremony. If a Catholic neglects to observe canonical form in their wedding, this is not only illicit (i.e., something we’re not supposed to do) but also leads to an invalid marriage (i.e., the wedding will not have worked, and no real marriage will have taken place).
And for the purposes of marriage, a person is considered “Catholic” if they were ever baptized Catholic or formally entered the Church at any point, even if they are now no longer practicing. It is possible, however, for a Catholic who is marrying a non-Catholic to obtain a “dispensation from canonical form,” which is special permission from the local bishop to marry in a non-Catholic ceremony. These dispensations are granted on a
case-by-case basis for serious pastoral reasons, and it allows for a Catholic to contract a valid marriage even in a non-Catholic context.
If your cousin has actually been granted a dispensation from canonical form, then as long as the officiant was qualified to witness a civilly valid marriage, there is nothing problematic about the wedding from a Catholic perspective, and there would be no issue with you attending such a wedding. It could be that your cousin actually did request this kind of dispensation or if not, perhaps you might suggest she meet with a priest from the closest parish to ask about this as a possibility.
Things are more complicated if your cousin has no intention of requesting a dispensation from canonical form. In that case, the marriage would be straightforwardly invalid.
The Church does not have any stated clear prohibition on attending a wedding you know to be invalid, but there are good reasons why a Catholic may decide in conscience that they could not be present at such a wedding.
One such reason is a basic sense of truthfulness.
If a Catholic attends a clearly invalid wedding in the normal festive spirit, they are celebrating something that is, at least objectively “ on paper, ” a falsehood. Another issue is the potential for scandal. Technically “scandal” doesn’t mean something “shocking”; it means causing others to stumble. If a Catholic especially one with a ministerial or teaching role, like clergy or catechists were to attend an obviously invalid wedding, this could send the message that it’s not a big deal to ignore the Church’s marriage laws.
At the end of the day, you personally need to weigh the need to avoid causing scandal with potential concerns about family unity, keeping in mind what is truly best for the souls of those involved. I would suggest discussing your situation with a good priest who knows you well in real life. ■
Jenna Marie Cooper, who holds a licentiate in canon law, is a consecrated virgin and a canonist whose column appears regularly at OSV News. Send your questions to CatholicQA@osv.com
KNOXVILLE DIOCESAN COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC WOMEN
Ministry in an emergency: A six-month lookback at historic
acquire basic necessities.
Deacon David Duhamel, executive director of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee (CCETN), recalled his organization’s response to the Newport community, working closely with the Church of the Good Shepherd and its parochial administrator, Father Pontian Kiyimba, AJ.
“Most damage happened in and around the main old city part of town,” Deacon Duhamel said. “CCETN provided emergency housing and short-term shelters via hotels and Airbnbs.”
Several citizens requested services and assistance from CCETN, so the Diocese of Knoxville social services agency’s team provided disaster case management and continued to support and coordinate relief and long-term recovery efforts.
CCETN also brought in loads of water, food, baby items, and other necessary supplies.
Church of the Good Shepherd became a community distribution point, where the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, among others, would send shipments of collected supplies.
“[Father Pontian] prescribed Scott Mulligan, a leader in the St. Vincent de Paul group, to be our main point of contact. He and I got together early on and supported getting relief supplies into Newport. Scott was instrumental in helping his parish and community. While coordinating relief operations, he worked with the local incident command staff, recruited a local veterans group to provide labor and assistance, all the while working full time in the Sevier County school system,” Deacon Duhamel explained.
A slow road to recovery
Mr. Mulligan serves as the ministries coordinator for Church of the Good Shepherd and is a liaison to the community at large.
He said the aftermath of Hurricane Helene is still affecting Newport.
“We’re still in the rebuilding phase,” Mr. Mulligan shared. “I got a text last night of a family that is still living in a camper, and now we’re having to go and tarp the camper because the camper started to leak. It was a donated camper. So, we still are dealing with this every day here in Newport.”
“Most of downtown flooded, and so we lost a whole lot of small businesses,” he continued. “A lot of the larger companies, like bigger banks, were able to keep moving forward, but you drive through downtown Newport, and you can still see today the condemned signs on buildings, and you can still see buildings that were once there. We went to this ice cream shop, and it’s not there anymore. They weren’t able to recover, to rebuild.”
Mr. Mulligan believes the town will feel the impact of Hurricane Helene for many years to come.
“We don’t have enough housing for people that have lost their housing, so people are in tents, and people are in temporary housing, people are in campers, and people are living with friends because there’s just not enough housing here in Newport to house everyone,” he explained.
Mr. Mulligan also works with the long-term recovery committee in Cocke County to assist people with “unmet needs.”
“The long-term recovery committee calls St. Vincent de Paul and says, ‘Hey, I’ve got this family that needs a washing machine or needs windows,’ and we try to help find the funding to do that. The St. Vincent de Paul recently just got a grant that we are funding a construction manager to help the longterm recovery committee do some of this rebuilding with volunteers,” he remarked.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has denied some local residents’ claims, and Mr. Mulligan said the church is working to assist those individuals as well.
Mr. Mulligan noted that a group
On the road to recovery Above: Newport's downtown is underwater in this September photo after Hurricane Helene unleashed historic amounts of rainfall in the mountains of East Tennessee and western North Carolina. Below: Floodwaters surround buildings in Newport on Sept. 27 in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Cocke County was inundated with floodwaters from the Pigeon, Nolichucky, and French Broad rivers that overflowed their banks.
of pastors in Newport has joined together to provide support to the community, and there are also secular organizations that are pitching in, such as the Helen Ross McNabb Center.
For those interested in supporting Newport in its recovery efforts, Mr. Mulligan recommends either donating directly to CCETN or the Cocke County long-term recovery group.
The two priests at Church of the Good Shepherd, Father Kiyimba and parochial vicar Father Emmanuel Massawe, AJ, have been fielding phone calls from local residents experiencing grief and needing spiritual support, Mr. Mulligan shared.
“But I can speak from St. Vincent de Paul that our number of calls a week have drastically increased since Helene,” he said. “We went from seeing about eight to 10 families a week to we can see 20 to 40 families a week who need help,
and we’re just trying to do the best we can. Our St. Vincent de Paul people pray with them even if we can’t help their physical needs, we always offer prayer and offer to sit and pray and talk with them to see what we can do, or see if we can refer them somewhere else.”
Deacon Otto Preske, a retired deacon who serves at Church of the Good Shepherd, recalled that when the parish had the disaster-relief distribution center last fall it was “amazing how we were supported by people from who knows where.”
One memory that sticks out to the deacon is when a large U-Haul truck arrived at the parish from Pikeville, Ky., and it took six men about three hours to unload all of the supplies it contained. He said the parish’s gathering space in the church basement was full from everybody “pitching in helping.”
“I have a shop in Gatlinburg and met people from as far away as Michigan who were bringing stuff to Newport. It’s pretty amazing. And we took the excess of what we had up to Chimney Rock and Lake Lure (in North Carolina). When we closed our food bank down, the last part of the convoy took food up to Lake Lure as those people up there got hit hard,” Deacon Preske said. Deacon Preske emphasized another way Hurricane Helene impacted the parish community at Church of the Good Shepherd: the death of two parishioners.
‘God’s time is not our time’ Mike Obrist, 82, and his wife, Jean Marie, 80, were caught in the floodwaters in their vehicles at their family farm of nearly 40 years. Their daughter, Maureen Obrist, lived with them and was present for the horrific flooding of their 60-acre property, which is located one mile from the Nolichucky River.
“It was the middle of the night,” Ms. Obrist said. “It was pitch dark, and we got a call from a neighbor saying get out, the water is flooding and is coming. And they (her parents) didn’t really believe it was going to get to the house because it never had. And they started hearing water coming into the basement. So, we gathered up the animals and we went out, and the carport was fairly dry, so we thought we could get out. I backed the Outback down the driveway with me, my mother, and the dogs. And a wall of water came through, and it sucked the car (into the water), and the car started floating.”
Ms. Obrist’s driver-side window happened to be down, so she crawled out to go for help.
“I was going to go for help and promptly went under the water,” she recounted. “I almost died, couldn’t get up. It was racing, and it was full of stuff; it was muddy, and it was covered in diesel fuel. I lost my shoes, and I was hanging on to the car trying to get around to the other side to go get help, and I was fighting to swim to the house. And when I got up to the house, I could stand up, and it was up to my waist, and I was trying to walk. And my father was in the truck, and he came to me and rolled the passenger window down and said, ‘What are you doing? And I said, I’m drowning, don’t go.’ Zoom, down the driveway he went to get his wife.”
With her father’s truck shutting off in the water and his driver-side window down, Ms. Obrist entered the house and called 911 for help until she heard her father calling her name.
“I hung the phone up and waded out to the back, and there was dead silence. Couldn’t get an answer. And I knew they were gone,” Ms. Obrist shared. “And one of the dogs that was in my dad’s truck must have got out the window, he swam up to the house. He and I were the only two that made it out that night.”
Ms. Obrist waited on the front porch for swift-water rescue to arrive, which did as the water was about to go over her head.
“They had to come through the tree tops with their airboat, and it was pitch dark,” she remembered. “That water was full of debris. … They pulled me up into this boat, it was like an inflated boat, and they pulled me up in there, and it was freezing cold and wet. I had diesel fuel and mud all over me, no shoes, and only shorts and a T-shirt. There was no noise from around the house, and it was too dangerous around there, the current was too much. So, they turned and left and took me to rescue. And somebody there offered me her shoes, and they were too small, but I had to wear them. I had nothing else.”
After staying at the rescue shelter for a couple of days, the water eventually was shut off, and Ms. Obrist was moved to a different rescue shelter in Newport. Because she has a muscular disease, she had to visit the emergency room before she could stay at the shelter.
In drier times Downtown Newport is shown in this photo. The Cocke County city is making significant progress in recovering from flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in September.
Helping hands Deacon Otto Preske, left, and Scott Mulligan, ministries coordinator for Church of the Good Shepherd in Newport, helped lead disaster-relief efforts at Good Shepherd, which became a center for relief donations and distribution following Hurricane Helene flooding.
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Ministry in an emergency: A six-month lookback at historic Hurricane Helene flood
“By the time they let me in, somebody had gotten in touch with my brother in Nashville, and just as they were shutting everything down for the night, my brother showed up and took me to a hotel,” she said.
Mark Obrist, Maureen’s younger brother, drove from his home in Gallatin to help his sister in Newport after learning the devastating news about their parents and the family farm.
“I was at work when the storm hit there, so it was daytime,” he recalled. “And it wasn’t that bad. I mean it was rainfall, but we’ve had worse. And so, when I got home, I called and made sure everything was OK there. It was Friday night, and I called. ‘(They said) Hey, everything’s great; we’re getting ready to go to bed. Everything’s fine; there’s no problem. The creek didn’t even really come up; the storm’s gone by. There’s no issues.’ And so, I thought everything was fine.”
“I got up the next morning, and I was just running errands because it’s a weekend, and I get a call from the sheriff’s department saying, ‘Hey, the farm flooded and your parents are dead and your sister’s in the hospital. I mean, sorry to tell you this but there’s no other way other than the phone. We’ve been trying to get a-hold of you.’ So, the chaplain got a-hold of me, and I just packed up and started going, and it was like I didn’t believe it at first. … I talked to them eight hours ago, 12 hours ago,” he continued.
Arriving close to midnight, Mr. Obrist picked up his sister from the shelter, and they were able to secure hotel rooms. The next morning, they drove out to the farm and began to figure out their next steps.
“We started going through the house, and it was just mud and dirt and nastiness,” he shared. “You want to save stuff, but you can’t because it’s moldy or even though I can clean it up, it’s ruined, it’s done. The house is ruined, and I had to face the reality of even though the house is still standing, looks OK, it’s dusty from the outside, you can still see the water line, but the house is gone. It’s gone permanently. The barns were destroyed, all the farm equipment was underwater. Can you clean it up? Sure. Is it going to work? Who knows? Machinery that has been flooded? The cars were destroyed, everything.”
The house was a total loss, with total damage to the property equivalent to $1 million. Ms. Obrist noted that after hours of working with FEMA, they were given nearly $60,000 and paid for two months of her rent in temporary housing.
The Obrist children remember the fond memories of their parents, who seemed to live a life of faith, adventure, and hard work.
“Upstate New York is where they were both born; that’s where my father was in seminary to become a priest. And my mother was becoming a nun, and they were both down to the very last step when they met each other, and so they left to get married. They moved from New York to Alaska when I was a toddler and my brother was an infant, just to homestead,” Ms. Obrist shared. While in Alaska, Jean Marie Obrist was a chief accountant for a bureau, while Mike Obrist was a tax assessor. At night, they ran a janitorial business. The couple was able to retire in their early 40s and looked to relocate to the lower 48 states.
“They took a map of the lower 48 and they crossed off where they didn’t want to be, and then the
places that were left they started visiting. And Kentucky was the first place, and a Realtor took my father across the state line into Tennessee, and he didn’t realize he was in Tennessee, and he saw that farm and bought it right then. And my mother trusted him,” Ms. Obrist said.
The homesteading couple named their family farm Innisfree, after the poem by William Butler Yeats, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree.”
“That was their place, and that was their life. It’s what they wanted, and they wanted to be there together. They wanted to be there when they died, and that’s where they were,” Ms. Obrist said.
On their many acres, Mr. and Mrs. Obrist grew gardens, orchards, and berry patches. They raised horses, chickens, and cattle. Because of their experience in Alaska, they knew how to butcher their own meat. Even the house ran on solar energy, so the couple tried to be as self-sufficient as possible on their homestead.
Ms. Obrist said they enjoyed reading and bird-watching, and they were musical people who could sing and play instruments.
“They did singing for the church,” she said. “My mother worked for the diocese in Greeneville for a while, and she worked with Father Jim Harvey for a while. Father Charlie Burton, who she worked with in Greeneville.”
Ms. Obrist shared that every year her father would sing the Exsultet at the Easter Vigil Mass at Church of the Good Shepherd.
"As we gather here this time to celebrate the life of Mike and Jean Marie, they remind us of this reality: God’s time is not our time. We have lost wonderful friends, but we do not grieve without hope because we know that Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life And we believe in Him. We know that He suffered. He died and rose to new life so that Mike and Jean Marie may have eternal life. And this is our faith, and this is what the Scripture readings that we had proclaimed to us invite us to reflect upon: to have hope, courage, and to trust in the Lord Our Father and His Son, Jesus.
Father Emmanuel Massawe, AJ, Church of the Good Shepherd
Prayers for parishioners Left: Mark Obrist, left, and Maureen Obrist stand with the cremains of their parents, Jean Marie and Michael Edward Obrist, as the funeral Mass begins on March 29 at Church of the Good Shepherd in Newport. The Obrists were killed in the flooding from Hurricane Helene that struck East Tennessee in September. Father Emmanuel Mas-
AJ, gives a prayer and blessing, and is assisted by Deacon Otto Preske.
Below: Jean Marie and Michael Edward Obrist are shown in this family photo courtesy of the Obrist family.
“They asked him every year to sing the Exsultet, which is a capella and it’s 12 minutes. It’s not easy. But they really loved the way he did it,” she said.
A funeral Mass for the Obrists was held at Church of the Good Shepherd on March 29 a date of significance to the family.
It would have been Mike and Jean Marie’s 55th wedding anniversary.
“I read in the obituary that they were married for 54 years, and they were always together,” said Father Massawe. “They were together for 54 years, and they died together.”
Father Massawe, who celebrated the funeral Mass, gave his condolences to the Obrist children and their relatives.
“Dear friends, when we reflect on death, death always seems awful, not fair. Tragic. And especially when it takes away the life of our loved ones. And most of the time we ask this one particular question:
why? Why me at this time? Why has it befallen in our family? Why my dad? Why my mom? This question I believe none of us may have answers to. It’s a mystery. And yet sometime it is a reality to us all,” Father Massawe said.
“As we gather here this time to celebrate the life of Mike and Jean Marie, they remind us of this reality: God’s time is not our time. We have lost wonderful friends, but we do not grieve without hope because we know that Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life. And we believe in Him. We know that He suffered. He died and rose to new life so that Mike and Jean Marie may have eternal life. And this is our faith, and this is what the Scripture readings that we had proclaimed to us invite us to reflect upon: to have hope, courage, and to trust in the Lord Our Father and His Son, Jesus,” Father Massawe said, concluding his homily. ■
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Remembering the Obrists Father Emmanuel Massawe, AJ, center, celebrates the funeral Mass for Jean Marie and Michael Edward Obrist on March 29 at Church of the Good Shepherd in Newport. Deacon Otto Preske served as deacon of the Mass. The Obrists were longtime parishioners of Good Shepherd.
sawe,
parochial vicar
Ministry in an emergency: A six-month lookback at historic Hurricane Helene flood
listen to each other and be present for each other. And that is something that everybody can do,” he added.
Something significant happening
On Friday, Sept. 27, Deacon Duhamel watched with interest—just as many East Tennesseans did—as news video showed helicopters rescuing more than 50 patients and employees of the new Unicoi County Hospital from the hospital roof as the swollen Nolichucky River quickly rose to just under the hospital’s single-story roofline.
“That was our first indication that there was a significant event happening,” Deacon Duhamel recalled, noting that there was not much news coverage other than the hospital rescue.
But images of the normally docile Nolichucky overflowing its banks, turning into a raging river with a wide swath, left little doubt about the devastation unfolding.
“Our first impression was what can we do to help. We didn’t have any understanding of the size and scope of the situation in that mountain area,” Deacon Duhamel shared. “The next morning (Sept. 28), the first thing I did was check on what was going on up there. As the sun was rising, things were beginning to take shape, and it was becoming clear that the situation was dire.”
Much to Deacon Duhamel’s credit, the spirit was willing. However, the disaster-response infrastructure was weak.
However, improvising, adapting, and overcoming in any situation is second nature for the former Marine.
“Catholic Charities of East Tennessee did not have a disaster-response program affiliated with our offerings. But we help people all the time, so let’s see what we can do to address some of the needs that might be coming out of this situation,” he said. “We really didn’t know what the situation was. Was it really a disaster or just a hardship for people? I’ve come to find out that disaster takes many different forms. It isn’t necessarily the hurricanes and the wildfires. It can be something more common like a multivehicle car crash or a house fire.
Deacon Duhamel acknowledged that the Hurricane Helene flooding was a learning experience for him. And as such, he sought advice from a knowledgeable source: Catholic Charities USA, the parent organization of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee and all the other Catholic Charities around the country.
“I had not been involved in disaster response outside of my military experience. This was something very new to me. But luckily for Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, we’re an affiliate of Catholic Charities USA. Catholic Charities USA has experts in disaster response. Kim Burgo, their vice president of disaster operations, was instrumental in helping me. She was my first phone call,” he said.
Deacon Duhamel explained that he had spoken to Ms. Burgo about three months before the East Tennessee disaster at a Catholic Charities conference. At that meeting, the deacon said he asked Ms. Burgo if he needed to be thinking about a disaster-response program for Catholic Charities of East Tennessee.
He noted that at the time, Ms. Burgo gave him a quick tutorial on disaster relief and preparedness; she gave him her contact information and suggested they speak again on the topic. “She said, ‘We have this conference coming up in October. Why don’t you plan on coming to it?’ I said, ‘That sounds great. I think I will.’” Autumn weather patterns, however, sped up the timetable.
Deacon Duhamel recalled that on Saturday morning, Sept. 28, he phoned Ms. Burgo and explained the situation to her. Together, they implemented a plan to contact people in upper East Tennessee that Deacon Duhamel knew to get eyewitness accounts.
“I phoned Father Tom Charters
Man on a mission Deacon David Duhamel, executive director of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, delivers donated supplies to St. Michael the Archangel Church in Erwin on Oct. 2 in his personal pickup truck. It was one of many deliveries Deacon Duhamel made to churches and donation centers in upper East Tennessee following historic flooding.
(Glenmary pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Erwin). He was already knee-deep in the situation. If the Diocese of Knoxville wants to lift up somebody who went above and beyond the call of duty, Father Tom and his staff really carried the lion’s load in providing immediate assistance to that community,” Deacon Duhamel said.
Father Charters, Brother Corey Soignier, GHM, and Lorena Reynoso of St. Michael the Archangel were still assessing the situation, but the scene that was unfolding was a worst-case scenario.
“The situation was still evolving. They knew they had some fatalities in Erwin, but they didn’t know the size and scope of the situation. They knew they had tremendous flooding and damage from the water, but they didn’t know to what extent. Everyone was still in the first 12 hours of this disaster. They were still in the assessment mode themselves, and that includes emergency management, law enforcement, emergency response, all the folks involved at the local level. They were still involved in trying to get a handle on it as were the churches and nonprofits in those particular areas,” Deacon Duhamel remembered.
The deacon then contacted Father Dustin Collins, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Johnson City, who reported that Johnson City was spared from the brunt of the Helene flooding. He continued the phone tree, reaching out to Father Jesús Guerrero and Deacon Joe Herman of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Mountain City, Father Pontian Kiyimba, AJ, of Good Shepherd Parish in Newport, and Father Joseph Kuzhupil, MSFS, of Notre Dame Parish in Greeneville.
Those three parishes were in the path of the Nolichucky, Pigeon, and French Broad rivers and were reporting impacts. The Nolichucky is 115 miles long and flows through western North Carolina into East Tennessee. The Pigeon, begins in western North Carolina, too, is 70 miles long and also overflowed its banks, putting Newport underwater. And the French Broad also forms in western North Carolina and flows through Cocke, Jefferson, and Sevier counties. The three rivers feed the Tennessee River.
The Nolichucky crested at 30 feet on Sept. 27 during the flooding, exceeding its previous record of 24 feet. The Pigeon crested at 25.8 feet on Sept. 27, which was the highest water level recorded in more than a century. The French Broad exceeded its previous record flood crest from 1916 by 1.5 feet.
Although flood assessments were still being made throughout upper East Tennessee, it became clear to Deacon Duhamel that water, or, ironically, a lack of it, was becoming a top concern. The flooding had washed out municipal water systems as well as sewage-treatment facilities. Suddenly, there was little drinking water available.
“I reached out to the Knights of Columbus. I then called Paul Hammerton at Notre Dame, and he put me in touch with the mayor or emergency-management person in Greeneville. They were looking for water. One of the first impacts from the disaster was that it took out all
of the water-purification facilities,” Deacon Duhamel recalled. “I got back on the phone with Kim Burgo and told her what I then knew. She made some calls and arranged for four tractor-trailer loads of water and asked me where I wanted them. At the time, we thought we could get some water to Erwin; we could get some water to Greeneville; and we could get some water to Newport.”
Another learning curve for Deacon Duhamel was the supply-chain response. It took 48 hours for the water to arrive, but that still was as fast or faster than relief coming from other agencies.
Deacon Duhamel decided to drive to the flooded areas on Sept. 28 after Mass with a load of bottled water and other supplies in his pickup truck. As he was driving into Johnson City, Deacon Herman called for assistance.
“The reason I hadn’t been able to reach Deacon Herman and Father Jesús is all their power had been out, and all of their cell towers were gone. They hadn’t had communications with people on the outside for over 48 hours because of the flooding. They had exhausted their emergency water supply, so they were dry. Their water-distribution system at that point was dry. Their biggest need was water, so I called Kim Burgo back.
Deacon Duhamel and Ms. Burgo arranged for a truckload of water to get to Mountain City.
When Deacon Duhamel arrived at St. Michael the Archangel, he found that the church had become an impromptu staging area for disaster relief for parishioners and people in the community because of its location away from the flooding.
He explained that the parish was still dealing with locating missing parishioners.
An industrial park in Erwin near Unicoi County Hospital also was swallowed by floodwaters, and six employees lost their lives, some of whom were parishioners of St. Michael the Archangel.
At this point on Sept. 28, Deacon Duhamel contacted Diocese of Knoxville leaders to inform them of the unfolding disaster that was enveloping upper East Tennessee parishes, and that Catholic Charities of East Tennessee was responding with everything it had.
Willing to help
A key point of support for Deacon Duhamel was diocesan funding left over from previous disasters that he was able to access for supplies. He also coordinated with Paul Simoneau, diocesan vice chancellor, Deacon Hicks Armor, diocesan director of stewardship and strategic planning, and the diocesan communications department to create a page on the diocesan website where people could go to donate money for disaster relief.
“Everyone was willing to help and figure out ways to assist those in need,” Deacon Duhamel shared.
“On Sunday night (Sept. 29), I started getting more and more calls from people wanting to help. We were then sorting through that assistance, making sure it was the right type of help at the right place. The Knights were mobilizing, with the
councils in Greeneville, Kingsport, Johnson City, and Mountain City all actively involved. They were a tremendous resource, especially the Grand Knights and district deputies, who jumped right in,” he added. The Knights of Columbus in the Diocese of Knoxville and across the state joined with the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council in collecting and distributing disaster relief. St. Vincent de Paul conferences also jumped in to assist, he noted. He said the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, through rector Father David Boettner and parish leaders Mary Mac Wilson, Scott Barron, and Deacon Walt Otey, volunteered to be a central collection site for disaster-relief donations. Deacon Herman, who operates the Danny Herman Trucking company, arranged at no cost for a semi-trailer to be parked on the cathedral campus to collect all the goods, such as water, food, clothing, toiletries, and baby items. Deacon Herman’s son, Father Danny Herman, is an associate pastor at the cathedral.
As disaster assistance began to pour in, Good Shepherd in Newport, St. Mary in Johnson City, and St. Michael the Archangel in Erwin became community distribution sites. Catholic Charities of East Tennessee even arranged for short-term housing for some affected residents.
Deacon Duhamel said he enlisted a fellow Knight from St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge to be on site in upper East Tennessee to help coordinate disaster-relief efforts for Catholic Charities.
“Rick Sample, who has a job, took a temporary leave of absence and went up to Johnson City and lived there for three weeks as our forward-deployed disaster person. Again, disaster was not one of our programs,” Deacon Duhamel said. “I had a great team that I could reach out to. I don’t want to say my team was behind me. I want to say my team was all around me. Everyone was just trying to do something.”
Deacon Duhamel said he can’t overemphasize the importance of the role Catholic Charities USA played in disaster-relief efforts.
“Luckily for us, Catholic Charities USA was right there. Not only did they step up in the immediate 72 hours to provide me with guidance, and they were guiding me the whole way, saying, ‘Have you thought about this; have you talked to the FEMA reps.’ They were giving me the advice and counsel I needed. Then, they quickly made sure I had financial resources. They were one of the larger contributors of grant funding. They cut me a check right away for $25,000, no questions asked. And they came back with another $100,000. They were walking with me the whole way. They knew exactly what we were looking at,” Deacon Duhamel shared.
He pointed out that Catholic Charities USA has contacts at the state and federal levels and even at the White House.
He said it wasn’t until almost a week after the initial flooding that state and federal authorities named Bristol Motor Speedway as the main distribution site for all disaster-relief efforts in East Tennessee. Impacted areas like Newport, Greene County, Erwin, and Mountain City had their own emergency-management centers that were coordinating disaster response and relief in their counties. Then, VOAD, or Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, became a coordinating arm in disaster relief for nonprofit organizations. CCETN cooperated with VOAD in providing assistance. Deacon Duhamel described how even out-of-state dioceses stepped up to assist the people of upper East Tennessee. He said the Diocese of Raleigh, N.C., and its Catholic Charities dispatched a truckload of supplies with the assistance of Knights of Columbus, which delivered the load to St. Mary in Johnson City. Raleigh Catholic Charities then left its truck behind so that it might be used indefinitely in the disasterrelief effort.
DAN MCWILLIAMS
He said Catholic Charities of East Tennessee received calls from schools in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Nashville. Sister Marie Blanchette Cummings, OP, who formerly was the principal at St. Mary School in Oak Ridge and is now the principal of Overbrook Catholic School in Nashville, called and said a parent group in Nashville wanted to assist.
He described Catholic Charities needing to “triage” donations to get them where they were most needed.
He gave an example of an Ohio family with a vacation home near Elizabethton. A son in this family convinced his Catholic high school to raise money for East Tennessee disaster relief, and he and his classmates raised about $2,000, which was matched by local businesses.
The family contacted Catholic Charities of East Tennessee and wanted the money to be used to assist the community where their vacation home is located. This community wasn’t directly affected by the flooding, so Deacon Duhamel suggested the father directly donate the matched funds to the town because Catholic Charities would not need to direct resources to the town.
However, the father donated several thousand dollars to Catholic Charities of East Tennessee instead for use where it was needed. “That’s just another example of people outside our state wanting to help,” the deacon said.
Deacon Duhamel also was gratified at how everyone involved in the effort worked as a team to assist those in need.
“There were no egos at play. Everyone knew what we needed to get done. People knew what they had to do, and they got it done. It was beautiful to see. There wasn’t a lot of drama, and things fell into place,” he shared.
The deacon said it has been gratifying to see people around the diocese express thanks for what Catholic Charities has been doing. And he singled out the Hispanic community at St. Michael the Archangel in Erwin for joining together to minister and provide support to those who lost family and friends in the flood.
He also singled out two case managers, Annabelle and Athena, who suggested buying Christmas toys for children whose families were impacted by a plant closure in Mountain City following the flood. Utilitybill assistance, providing food, and supplying clothing were of utmost importance during the cold months since the floodwaters receded
Shifting to Phase II
Three weeks to a month following the flood disaster, Catholic Charities of East Tennessee transitioned from disaster relief to disaster recovery.
“We transitioned from buying and providing immediate assistance and supplies to people who were survivors of the disaster to figuring out how we get them long-term benefits. That means looking at their housing situation, looking at their employment situation, for our migrants who were working under work visas for the companies and farms in the area,” the deacon said.
Interestingly, Catholic Charities USA has a working relationship with Airbnb, the website and app that allows people to rent out their homes to travelers. The name is short for Air Bed and Breakfast.
He said Catholic Charities USA gave Catholic Charities of East Tennessee a sizable grant to provide short-term housing using Airbnb properties for those who were affected. More than 70 individuals required short-term housing assistance from the diocesan agency following the flooding, according to CCETN The agency greatly benefited from volunteers in Diocese of Knoxville parishes who are bilingual and offered to translate for people who speak only Spanish. Also, diocesan parishes dedicated second collections to raise funds for disaster relief. As he was directing disaster response, Deacon Duhamel also was assessing CCETN’s strengths and weaknesses and taking notes on
"The Catholic spirit of generosity and of charity just shined right through, and we were able to leverage those donations and get them to where they needed to go. We were blessed to be where we needed to be to help those who needed help."
Deacon David Duhamel, Catholic Charities of East Tennessee executive director
where the agency needed internal assistance. Immediate needs were case managers to work directly with clients and suppliers of disasterrelief items ready for immediate distribution.
Catholic Charities USA provided case managers to CCETN to assist with those requiring help. According to Deacon Duhamel, upward of 150 people impacted by the flooding were assisted by case managers who worked with them on a weekly basis to make sure they were cared for and could resume independent living
Deacon Duhamel pointed out that there are basic practices in receiving aid and reimbursement for flood relief, such as filling out forms and submitting receipts, can be problematic for some people in distressing situations where homes and belongings were washed away.
Once the disaster response was manageable, Deacon Duhamel continued to incorporate Catholic Charities USA’s disaster-relief expertise. He learned that federal disaster relief is a must.
“I have since gone to that disaster conference, and one of the things you learn is you really want the survivors to take advantage as much as possible of the benefits afforded by the federal government. One, because these resources are available for these types of emergencies, and two, because we have finite resources in our own agency, and we would deplete them very quickly if we did that level of support and assistance,” he said.
But federal aid cannot supplant regional assistance; it must complement local aid.
“It’s a good partnership because there are a lot of survivors of disasters who don’t qualify for a lot of the funding grants from the federal government. That’s where we step in … buying furniture, buying pots and pans, renting hotel rooms for short-term housing needs. We’ve been very blessed,” Deacon Duhamel said.
Catholic Charities of East Tennessee has continued to deploy staff in upper East Tennessee, where the number of people continuing to need assistance is still over 100.
“The infrastructure is back in place for the most part, with the exception of some ongoing road and bridge work. The flooding receded quite quickly in Newport.
That doesn’t mean housing renovation was addressed right away. In Greene County, they are still trying to fix some bridges and utilities,” he pointed out. “I know it’s never fast enough, but the state and federal governments are working to re-establish the necessary infrastructure, and we continue to work with those clients of ours who are survivors and still need assistance. That number is not low. We are still assisting somewhere in the neighborhood of 125-150 people.”
Deacon Duhamel said he has been “amazed” at how long it takes for a community to recover from a disaster. “If you think about recent disasters in the United States, the fires in Maui (August 2023), they still are in long-term recovery and that was two years ago. The wildfires six years ago in California. One of our case managers who came out to help us said Catholic Charities USA still has clients it is working with from those fires. It just takes an incredibly long time for some of these benefits to help.”
Deacon Duhamel also noted the logistical distress a natural disaster causes. All of a sudden, resources such as lumber, roofing, and equipment are redirected from the U.S. supply chain to an affected area, causing gaps and delays in the supply chain.
He noted that western North Carolina was hit much harder than upper East Tennessee by Hurricane Helene and has needed many more resources.
A new ministry
The on-the-job training Deacon Duhamel and his Catholic Charities of East Tennessee staff has received in providing disaster relief to upper East Tennessee has prompted them to think in a new and different way.
“There are all these disasters, and then there’s the wildfires that recently hit Southern California. They have an overall effect on the supply chain, which slows down relief operations across the country. I’ve come to learn that this is why we do long-term recovery. I’m very proud of what we’re doing. What I have observed is that many organizations will flood an area of need with assistance, and then after two or three weeks of helping out, when things start stabilizing, those affected are being fed, and those affected are being housed in short-term housing, people with these organizations want to return to their lives and do what they need to do. You can’t fault them for that. And I’m not judging these organizations.
“So, a lot of organizations that flooded into our state have left. And now there are only about a half-dozen long-term recovery agencies that are working in East Tennessee. I’m very proud that Catholic Charities is one of them. We are partnering with other organizations. We’ve reached out to other community partners like Good Samaritan in Johnson City and other organizations around the state,” the deacon said.
Deacon Duhamel said as a result of the emergency response to Hurricane Helene in Erwin, Newport, Mountain City, Greeneville, and places in between, Catholic Charities of East Tennessee is now disasterrelief-minded and is quick to respond, whether the disaster is large or small. “Unfortunately, the way the weather systems work, we will probably be in this business for a while.”
He said Catholic Charities of East Tennessee is looking at purchasing trailers and mobile homes to provide housing for the next disaster. Catholic Charities USA recently has given its East Tennessee sister agency a $1 million grant to jumpstart CCETN’s developing disaster-relief ministry.
“We’re looking at how we build in a way that is life-sustaining and provides the necessary needs for that community. We’re also, with some of the grant money we received from Catholic Charities USA, trying to build our capacity to manage and handle future events. We’re buying a truck just like the Raleigh, N.C., group, and we’re going to have it prepositioned,” Deacon Duhamel said.
He pointed out that Catholic Charities USA also donated $25,000 in disaster-relief items that are being stored for future needs. The items include blankets, batteries, and emergency water supplies.
“Our focus hasn’t changed. We’re still here to provide help and offer hope to our clients. This is just a new area where people in dire need come because of a specific event. We haven’t had this in the past. This aligns 100 percent to our mission here at Catholic Charities of East Tennessee,” Deacon Duhamel said. “We’re trying to make sure that the help we are providing is the right type of help. We don’t want to put a solution in place that fixes a problem today that may lead to longterm issues. We’re trying to be very responsive to needs in a smart way.”
Deacon Duhamel is proud of how the Diocese of Knoxville, its faithful, and Catholic Charities of East Tennessee responded quickly to help those
in need during a traumatic time. That response illustrates how they are “always faithful” in being the hands, feet, and heart of Christ.
“No matter what the false narrative being espoused by our politicians and the media is, Catholic Charities exists solely to help our most vulnerable neighbors no matter who they are. We’re here to help them in a lawful way. We’re here to meet their immediate needs. We’re here to walk with them as we can,” Deacon Duhamel said. “We can’t do everything for everybody, but those we can help we will. Where it makes sense, where it aligns to our mission, where it’s life-affirming and supportive of East Tennesseans, we will absolutely look to be of assistance.”
Deacon Duhamel said as Catholic Charities of East Tennessee builds its disaster-response capacity, he wants to repay its debt to Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Raleigh and be a resource for the rest of Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina.
Amid the expanded role Catholic Charities of East Tennessee will now be playing in the diocese and beyond, Deacon Duhamel also wants to expand its team of volunteers.
“At Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, we operate on a fixed budget. When I say our programs are expanding, it is meant to communicate that the need is expanding. And we are trying to meet all those needs. We are seeing an uptick in other programs. Is that primarily from the disaster? Probably not. But it could be secondary or tertiary cause and effect,” he said.
Catholic Charities of East Tennessee is seeing success with its programs, including a growing number of adoptions, providing shelter for children and seniors, assisting parents, providing important services for immigrants, its pregnancy help centers and a mobile ultrasound van for expectant mothers, mental-illness services, and aid for the homeless.
Deacon Duhamel said the need is growing for mental-health services as well as the agency’s other programs.
“The services that we have provided are still in demand. We still need help from contributions. The money we received from the Diocese of Knoxville for the disaster is earmarked for disaster, specifically Hurricane Helene. We can’t use that for other services. And we are absolutely committed to respecting donor intent,” he said.
Deacon Duhamel, who was deployed by the Marines to Somalia and Iraq, said he was prepared for the devastation in upper East Tennessee after seeing early media reports, but he didn’t anticipate the size and scope of the devastation.
“What did surprise me was how the disaster had micro impacts in different communities. Then there were communities that were cut off that we didn’t hear about in the first two weeks,” he said.
Deacon Duhamel said the goal of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee is to respond to the needs of the community in whatever way that might be. Some of it is long-term. Some of it is acute and immediate. Under exceedingly difficult conditions, the Diocese of Knoxville social services agency responded in every way as did the diocese’s churches and its faithful, whether through volunteer work, donations of much-needed items, or monetary donations.
“The Catholic spirit of generosity and of charity just shined right through, and we were able to leverage those donations and get them to where they needed to go. We were blessed to be where we needed to be to help those who needed help,” Deacon Duhamel said. “Donor intent is a major focus for us. I had calls from pastors in our own diocese who said they wanted to do a second collection and wanted the money to go to people in East Tennessee. We’ve allocated and departmentalized the donations in a way so that we get assistance to the people of East Tennessee from the donations received from the second collections.” ■
part of the town.
It’s a spiritually uplifting moment
Father Charters looks forward to as the parish and its town work daily to change the narrative that has dominated Unicoi County for the past six months.
Despite the time that has elapsed and the thousands of manhours spent working to restore Erwin and its people, overwhelming sadness lingers amid constant reminders of one of the worst natural disasters ever to hit East Tennessee.
Six people in Erwin were killed when floodwaters carried them away, and of those, three were St. Michael the Archangel parishioners. A fourth parishioner died at her home from what Father Charters believes was overwhelming stress from the flood.
Piles of debris—including large bridge spans—litter the banks of the Nolichucky River along Interstate 26, and dump trucks by the dozens crowd the roads, working to return the area to its scenic state. Once-bustling buildings that served the thriving local economy and employed hundreds of workers now stand vacant and in ruin.
A vicious day
Father Charters paused downheartedly when he thought back to the early fall day that seemed picture-perfect for the season.
Looks were deceiving.
“It was really a very vicious day,” he said. “The sun had come out that day, too. It had rained for about four days before that.”
Eyewitness accounts of Sept. 27 describe floodwaters receding as fast as they rose.
“It was a massive rush of water, a wall of water, that came through here,” said Brother Corey Soignier, GHM, who assists Father Charters at St. Michael the Archangel.
Father Charters, who has served St. Michael the Archangel since its founding in 2011, believes something extraordinarily rare has occurred: Erwin has been time-stamped by the disaster that experts say wasn’t a generational flood; it was a weather event that likely won’t be repeated for many generations.
As fresh in the minds of Erwin residents as the flood is, Father Charters doesn’t believe it will ever be a distant memory for people in the parish and the community at large.
“I think what will happen in the years to come is it will be that ‘this happened before the flood’ and ‘this happened after the flood.’ ‘I was doing that before the flood.’ ‘I was doing this after the flood.’ I think it will be like a dividing line in this community for a long, long time; at least for a generation,” the St. Michael the Archangel pastor said.
“The flood was that significant. It just has left a mark on this community. It’s like a time stamp. For this community, it’s something like where you have BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, meaning in the year of our Lord). You have people even saying that,” he added.
For now, the Nolichucky River spilling over its banks and swallowing everything within reach is top of mind for most everyone in Unicoi County. That includes Father Charters and the two people he leaned on heavily in responding to the disaster: Brother Corey and Lorena Reynoso, who is director of religious education and Hispanic ministry for St. Michael the Archangel.
In fact, the parish still is engaged in disaster-relief efforts six months later. On April 4, Father Charter’s team held a clothing drive to distribute remaining clothes from disaster-relief donations. And on April 5, the team took two truckloads of baby supplies to a pregnancy help center in Mountain City whose building was flooded in the storm.
Father Charters is caught between trying to move on from the initial disaster relief to disaster recovery and reliving that awful autumn day and the harrowing days that followed.
He effortlessly gives a chronology of how the disaster unfolded for him, Brother Corey, and Mrs. Reynoso.
The wall of water created by historic amounts of Hurricane Helene rainfall in the mountains of western North Carolina and upper East Tennessee on Sept. 26 and into Sept. 27 overwhelmed the Nolichucky and Pigeon rivers, whose headwaters are in North Carolina and eventually flow into the Tennessee River. The Nolichucky runs through Erwin to Douglas Lake, and the Pigeon runs through Newport to Douglas Lake.
The rapidly and aggressively rising Nolichucky swamped Unicoi County’s new hospital, prompting emergency evacuations. Patients and employees who couldn’t make it out by vehicle had to be airlifted from the hospital roof.
Not far from the hospital, an industrial park filled with businesses was underwater with little to no warning.
Father Charters, Brother Corey, and Mrs. Reynoso vividly recall Friday, Sept. 27, as a pleasant, ordinary day, unaware of what was unfolding just a short distance from the church.
“It started like any normal Friday. … We weren’t watching the news, but through our family WhatsApp we started getting messages,” Mrs. Reynoso recalled.
“How we first found out was my nephew was working at the hospital, and my sister-in-law sent a message saying, ‘Hey, have you seen the news? This part of Erwin is getting flooded. He’s at the hospital and they’re on the roof waiting to be evacuated. Could you all please say a prayer for him and everybody there?’ We started checking and we saw other people we knew posting (online) messages. One said, ‘Please pray for my mom; she’s stuck. They couldn’t evacuate on time.’ We started hearing from another person saying they couldn’t find so many people,” she added.
Mrs. Reynoso called Father Charters and asked him to lead adoration and prayers for people who were missing in the flood. After lateafternoon adoration, Father Charters accompanied her to Unicoi County High School in Erwin, which had become an impromptu community disaster-response center, to see if any parishioners were there and to see if there was anything they could do.
“When we got to the high school, that is when it really hit. It was heartbreaking. Everyone was just trying to grasp onto the smallest hope. I can’t imagine what the families were going through,” Mrs. Reynoso said, noting that some of the people who made it to the high school had been rescued from the river while oth-
and asked if I could come and do a funeral. This is very common in our Glenmary missions.” It has been widely reported that those who drowned were clinging to a semi-trailer in the industrial park awaiting rescue when the trailer tipped over, spilling them into the fast-moving rapids.
As the entire county of Unicoi was thrust into the stages of grief, Father Charters knew he was needed to help shepherd residents—Catholic and non-Catholic alike—through anger and depression toward acceptance and hope.
Father Charters was joined by Protestant pastors in ministering to the community. And other Erwin churches also became relief centers as did Unicoi County Care & Share, a local public-assistance organization. He believes it is divine mercy that St. Michael the Archangel and the Diocese of Knoxville are in Erwin and able to be an important resource to alleviate suffering.
“The question that might be asked is what if the Catholic Church was not here at all? Fifteen years ago, it wasn’t. If this had happened 15 years ago, the Catholic Church would not have been here,” the Glenmary priest said. “That is what I think speaks strongly for the Catholic presence. People know the Catholic Church is here, and they know they care. And they know they care for people whether they are Catholic or not.”
That’s why he believes it is so important that Glenmary is in Unicoi County, to establish the parish community and pull people together.
ers were family members who were searching for missing loved ones.
Later Friday night, Mrs. Reynoso went to comfort a family she knew personally whose daughter was missing.
The next day, on Saturday, Sept. 28, St. Michael the Archangel’s role in the community began to change dramatically.
Father Charters said for four to six weeks, St. Michael the Archangel closed down for everything except Mass and disaster-relief operations.
“Our religious-education building became a center for clothes, food, and other assistance,” he noted.
Trucks of all sizes and from all over were delivering donated supplies to the church. According to Father Charters, Brother Corey, and Mrs. Reynoso, parishioners generously volunteered to unload the trucks and move supplies, which went on for weeks.
“On Saturday, Sept. 28, God just put everything into motion,” Mrs. Reynoso recalled.
Suddenly and quite unexpectedly, St. Michael the Archangel had become an official hub in the county for donation collections and distribution.
Father Charters and Mrs. Reynoso credit Brother Corey for organizing St. Michael’s disaster-relief effort.
“God put Brother Corey here. He coordinated everything along with my sister, Carmen. That’s how we got started providing help for people who needed it,” Mrs. Reynoso said. “We had so much help from our parishioners. On that Monday, big loads of donations began arriving.”
Parish youth volunteered their time for days because school was out for six weeks.
“We had a lot of help. I am very blessed with a big family, and they are very helpful. Anytime I asked them for help, my nieces and nephews, sisters, and brothers would show up and help unload the trucks. We had a lot of support. Everyone was so willing to help,” Mrs. Reynoso shared.
The tragic loss of life cast a pall over disaster relief as the help efforts ramped up throughout Erwin.
Relief comes in many forms
Father Charters was called on to offer another kind of relief.
“I had three funerals in eight days. The last body to be found was a month after the flood. We had her funeral on Nov. 30. That was the last one,” Father Charters said. “I’ve had funerals for people who aren’t Catholic. The funeral home called
“It’s an evangelization aspect. It’s a social-ministry aspect. It’s saying we care, the Church cares. The parish has always been strong. It has always been a strong parish. It is a welcoming parish. We have a lot of new families here. We have so many people here now. For me, it’s like being in a cathedral. It really is,” he continued. St. Michael the Archangel has shifted gears in recent weeks and has been doing more disaster recovery, assisting people in getting their homes rebuilt. Unused disaster-relief goods at St. Michael are being sent to other centers that need them.
“We’ve been sending things to Mountain City (St. Anthony of Padua Parish) to Father Jesús (Guerrero) and to Elizabethton (St. Elizabeth Parish). This is a good sign. We contacted Deacon David (Duhamel) at Catholic Charities, and they came and picked up things to take to Kentucky because they were flooded,” Father Charters said.
“The needs go down. It’s not that the needs aren’t here. People aren’t knocking on the doors because they’ve been able to touch base with other organizations,” he noted. He said meetings are ongoing in Erwin with all the government offices, nonprofit organizations, and churches that assist the public to discuss how to continue to help people in the community.
“The recovery will go on. It’s the smaller things you’re hearing about now. The wave is over with,” he observed.
Father Charters and Mrs. Reynoso agree that a silver lining from the disaster has been the people in the Erwin community who have been working together to remedy the disastrous effects of the flooding.
“A community meeting we recently had was to plan in case something else were to happen in the future. We now have a plan. There was no plan before that. That is gratifying and very healthy,” Father Charters shared.
The Glenmary Home Missioners pastor said it is common for Glenmary priests to encounter crises of one kind or another in their mission work. It goes with the ministry. But the size and scale of the flooding last fall was unusual, even for a Glenmary.
Unintended consequences
And there are lasting impacts in the community, not the least of which are the physical and mental wellbeing of people.
“People who have been through it are dealing with ramifications. We
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Erwin
Assessing the damage Top: Father Tom Charters, GHM, right, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Erwin, and Brother Corey Soignier, GHM, also of St. Michael the Archangel, on March 12 survey the destruction in Erwin left behind by Hurricane Helene flooding last fall. Bottom: The normally tranquil Nolichucky River has returned to its natural state, but left behind by the flooding are bridge spans that were swept away.
DAN MCWILLIAMS (2)
Ministry in an emergency: A six-month lookback at historic
are still providing funds for mentalhealth counseling,” Father Charters said, noting that people were physically injured in the disaster who have delayed getting treatment out of deference to others in need.
Father Charters, Brother Corey, and Mrs. Reynoso believe it’s imperative for everyone to have access to health care, and they are making sure those they come in contact with do. But they also are inspired by the sense of community that has emerged in Unicoi County.
“This flood was unexpected. It was a big tragedy for the community, but it also helped to unite us as a community. And when I say unite, I’m talking about everybody, regardless of your skin color, regardless of what language you speak. It just gave us a sense of community,” Mrs. Reynoso said.
“Also, you see God’s mercy in all of this, and you see people’s compassion in wanting to help. People gave monetary donations, and that was great. But people also gave their time and their service to help everyone who was in need. That was beautiful to see. Everyone joined together to help,” she continued.
During the early days of the disaster, Mrs. Reynoso was inspired by daily prayer that was led in the high school auditorium. And residents of the county, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, joined in the rosaries that were prayed.
“You know, we get very comfortable with life. Sometimes we forget what Jesus calls us to do. But it was so eye-opening and beautiful to see how we all have that within us when it really matters. It came out. You could see it in people. That was beautiful,” she said.
As autumn pivoted to winter and disaster relief continued, there was concern how the impacted residents would get through the Christmas holiday and the cold months.
For the volunteers, that meant the job was ongoing, and the urgency of making sure people were sheltered, warm, and fed was palpable.
The disaster-relief supply chain also was a concern as everything tends to slow down during the holidays.
“The first two weeks of winter, it was tough. We were trying to get things in, and they didn’t come in when we had it planned,” Brother Corey said. “For the winter months, yes, it wasn’t too bad for the parish. But for the wider community, the first two weeks of winter were tough. Once the heaters and propane tanks came in, we were able to get those out into the community and into the mountains. And then as supplies began to come in, it was smooth sailing because we had it figured out.”
As Erwin entered the new year, a new phase for the county was apparent.
“We were at phase two of the recovery. We were beyond getting food and supplies to people immediately. We were now determining how to help people rebuild and recover and get some sense of dignity returned to their lives,” Brother Corey said. “Among the supplies distributed during the winter months in addition to propane were blankets, jackets, food, cleaning supplies, and home appliances like microwaves.”
And there were multiple trips to retail stores to purchase additional supplies for those in need.
Father Charters and Brother Corey credited Catholic Charities of East Tennessee and its director, Deacon Duhamel, for assisting St. Michael the Archangel in the relief effort, as well as Bishop Mark Beckman and donors to Glenmary Home Missioners.
Brother Corey described how Bishop Beckman met with Bishop Brian L. Cole of the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee as disaster relief was underway. Brother Corey said Bishop Cole told Bishop Beckman that he had no Episcopal parish that was affected by flooding, but he wanted to help in some way.
“He (Bishop Cole) reached out to us three times, and he was able to donate to help us financially to bring in support for the people here. Funds
have come from everyone everywhere, so many different locations,”
Brother Corey said.
Monetary funds, like all the donations of goods, services, time, and talent, have been as vital to the second phase of recovery as in the first phase of disaster relief.
A new normal
Many are wondering what Unicoi County and Erwin will look like after phase two.
“In talking with other organizations in the relief effort, we don’t talk about what was normal. We talk about what is the new normal,”
Brother Corey said.
“There was so much that was impacted, so much that was changed in the county. We can never be back to 100 percent normal before the flood. We’ve had to come up with a new normal. What does a new normal look like today? There was such a significant impact, such significant damage done to different areas,” he added.
That also has implications for St. Michael the Archangel as it tries to return to normal, whatever that might be.
Father Charters said parish religious education and first Communion preparation, which had to be altered when the religious-education space had to be converted to disaster-relief space, must get back to normal.
“We still struggle to find teaching space. They are still teaching around boxes. It’s a new normal, and we’re adapting,” he said.
Father Charters laments how the Hispanic community was especially hard hit, but it is trying to recover. However, lingering aftereffects of the flood continue to devastate this com-
munity, which is vital to St. Michael the Archangel and the larger upper East Tennessee region.
The stories of loss and survival are heartrending.
“I see them recovering. I can think of one person who, I will be honest with you, really went through hell. She was in the water for two hours. One of the workers held on to her for two hours as the water was rushing by. She was ready to give up. Her fellow workers were telling her to hang in there,” Father Charters said. “I have since gotten her to be involved in Mass, to read. I did that right away, a couple of Sundays after this happened. I just wanted to try to get her back into something normal in the parish.”
He shared another story of a parishioner and her son who were at work as the flooding began. The son told his mother they needed to move their car as the water was rising.
“They moved their car, but by the time they turned around, as I understand, they couldn’t get back in (to work). That’s what saved their lives, otherwise they would have been wiped out, too,” Father Charters said
The spiritual and personal recovery of residents is just as important as reopening roads and businesses, Brother Corey believes, and he is working with Father Charters to keep making that happen.
Brother Corey is seeing positive signs of recovery as he continues to go out into the community, representing the parish.
“There are expectations for the plants that were destroyed in the flood. All of them are willing and wanting to rebuild here in Erwin. So, that gives a sense of hope of people being able to get back to their jobs,” he said.
Father Charters added that some people immediately found other places to work when the flood rendered them jobless, but in some cases that meant leaving the area for work and returning home on the weekends.
St. Michael the Archangel has a strong Spanish-speaking congregation, with upward of 90 percent of members being Hispanic, while 10 percent are Anglo. Father Charters said except for one family, the Anglo community is retirees. And of the Anglos, only one family has children who are in school.
The aftermath
Mrs. Reynoso continues to mourn the death of a close relative who died in the flood. There are many who, like her, are grieving.
But as Erwin mourns the deaths of its residents, it is trying to get on with the life of the community, its survivors, its homes, its businesses, its churches.
Mrs. Reynoso is hopeful for the future—immediate and long-term—because of the resiliency of the people of Unicoi County and their willingness to help each other.
“God knew this was going to be tough, and He just put the right people in the right place,” she said. “You know, if we still need to provide support, then we will provide support. We will continue until our supplies run out and there are no more left. We were thinking we would be finished in January, then February, then March, and now April.”
Brother Corey had only been at St. Michael the Archangel for a month when the flood hit. He joined the Erwin parish from Hartsville, Tenn., where he had served for a year.
“I was just learning the area, just getting to know the area, and all of a sudden I got a crash course on what the area is,” he shared.
He said the flood has had a profound impact on his vocation.
“This really opened my heart and my eyes to what it means to serve the entire county of Unicoi and not just Erwin, Tenn., or St. Michael the Archangel. It has helped me understand that calling as Glenmarys, the calling that everyone in this county is our parishioners, as Father Charters said. It helped me really see that,” the Glenmary Brother pointed out.
In the early days of the disaster that also seriously affected Mountain City, Newport, and Greene County, Bishop Beckman, who visited upper East Tennessee, referred to the importance of the ministry of presence in the impacted areas, whether by priests, religious, parishioners, or Catholic Charities of East Tennessee.
And for Father Charters, the comprehensive response that has occurred since Sept. 27 can be summed up in one word: ministry, which was encountered each day and in many ways.
“For me, the ministry was a ministry of presence. Walking with my collar on through the community. I think that spoke loudly,” he said.
Father Charters is very grateful for Brother Corey’s service during and since the flood, saying he was invaluable in doing all that the parish was called to do.
“Brother Corey’s presence has been a tremendous blessing to this parish, and he is a good model of what it is to be a religious Brother.”
Father Charters describes Mrs. Reynoso in the same way.
“It was a blending of different personalities, different ministries. Different gifts and talents made all this possible,” the priest said. “I was able to use the gifts God gave me, and they blended well with the gifts Corey has and with the gifts Lorena has. All three of us have been a good team.”
Mrs. Reynoso expresses similar sentiments about Father Charters and Brother Corey. She also thanked her family and her husband for their support during the monthslong crisis.
“God puts the people in your life when you need them,” she said, speaking of her immediate family,
St. Michael the Archangel family,
her
and her Erwin-Unicoi County family. ■
Erwin
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOTO/JEFF ROBERSON
Providing relief Top: Lorena Reynoso sits surrounded by cases of water and other donated supplies inside St. Michael the Archangel Church on Oct. 3. Bottom: Bishop Mark Beckman and Father Tom Charters, GHM, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish, support the Erwin community at Unicoi County High School on Oct. 2, where community members had gathered for information on flood-rescue and relief efforts.
BILL BREWER
BILL BREWER
Piling on Mounds of debris, including plastic pipe, litter the banks of the Nolichucky River as work crews have for months been removing the waste caused by Hurricane Helene flooding.
like, why? Just look around. There’s nothing over here. I was not paying attention to anything.”
Ms. Vasquez, who is a program manager for Catholic Charities of East Tennessee’s Office of Immigrant Services, lives within a couple miles of the Nolichucky River. As Hurricane Helene battered western North Carolina, the waters poured over and down the mountains, causing quick, historic flooding in East Tennessee, especially along the Nolichucky. Though she couldn’t yet see it from her home, the river had spilled over its banks and was rising rapidly. Ms. Vasquez soon began receiving alerts on her phone saying those within two miles of the river needed to evacuate.
“I started looking at Facebook and seeing where bridges were coming down, and I was like, oh, this is serious,” she said.
Ms. Vasquez was like many in Greene County who were caught off guard by the severity of the flooding. The water levels rose quickly at two feet per hour. Around 1 p.m., the power went out at Ms. Vasquez’s home.
“We have no power, no water. I had a little battery on my phone—that was it. Once it went out, there was no way to charge it,” she recalled Water rushed over the Nolichucky Dam near Highway 70—at one point the dam took 1.2 million gallons per second, twice the force of Niagara Falls at its peak, according to the Tennessee Valley Authority. TVA estimated water levels reached eight feet over the previous record elevation. There were concerns that the dam, built in 1913, would fail, which would have caused catastrophic devastation as far downstream as Douglas Lake. Thankfully, the dam held.
Around 5 p.m., Ms. Vasquez could see the rising water from her house. By evening, it had crested and was already beginning to recede. It was then that she knew that she and her family were safe.
Others in Greene County were not so fortunate; dozens lost their homes along the river, and two men died in the flooding.
But the disaster in Greene County also manifested in a broader way, affecting those who live far from the floodwaters. The flooding hit the infrastructure of power and water systems that most people take for granted every day.
Power was out for several days for thousands across the county. Several bridges were overrun by the floodwaters. Some were washed away completely.
One of the washed-out bridges, Kinser Bridge on Highway 107, affected a major route into Greeneville.
With the strong flood waters hammering bridge structures, Greene County made the decision to close all the bridges in the county until each could be inspected for structural damage.
Ms. Vasquez was one of many “trapped” in her section of the county for several days, as all the bridges connecting it to other communities were either swept away or closed for damage inspection until traffic was allowed back on them.
“The Washington County sheriff referred to the area where I live as ‘the 107 island,’” Ms. Vasquez said. The number is a reference to Highway 107, which before the flood connected the communities of Tusculum and Afton in Greene County to Embreeville in Washington County and Erwin in Unicoi County.
While videos of the overrun dam and washed-out bridges drew considerable attention, the broadest impact across Greene County was the damage to the municipal water pumps, which pull and process water from the Nolichucky to tens of thousands of homes. It would take up to two weeks to get temporary pumps installed and a few more days beyond that before a boil advisory would be lifted.
From celebration to conservation Notre Dame Parish in Greeneville was holding its Festival of Nations
on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 28. The annual event is the parish’s biggest fundraiser and features booths of food from different countries represented in the parish along with games, music, and a yard sale.
The church still had power that morning, and except for parishioners like Ms. Vasquez, who couldn’t make it to town due to the bridges being closed, many people still attended the festival to check in on one another and try to rally some cheer.
However, only about an hour into the festival, city and county authorities announced the damage to the water pumps and that the county would run out of water in less than 24 hours. People were urged to conserve water, and businesses were closed.
The decision was made to close down the festival early.
“There was food left, lots of good food,” said parishioner Maggie Rowe. “So, we packaged up what we could, and I took it down to 911.”
The emergency-response office in Greeneville had been working around the clock, taking calls from people caught in the flooding or struggling without power. The office also was where several agencies were coordinating a response. Notre Dame parishioners took the dishes from the international booths and dropped them off for the 911 office workers.
“I thought, well, they’re stuck in their office over there; we’ll take them some food because they can’t leave. They’re the brain. They’re keeping everybody connected. They’re sending messages to the other departments. They're orchestrating and keeping everybody informed.
“So, we took the food there, to 911. And they were very grateful. We got a nice thank-you note from them because they couldn’t leave their post,” Ms. Rowe said.
The next day, parishioners donated the packaged bake-sale items to first responders as well.
As the municipal water ran out that Sunday, tens of thousands of people faced a shared need. Basic tasks like washing, cooking, and flushing toilets required planning and resourcefulness. And no one was sure exactly how long it would take for temporary pumps to arrive and be installed. Local shelves of bottled water could not meet the need. Fortunately, water donations began arriving quickly, and churches, including Notre Dame, stepped up to make sure everyone had access to this vital resource.
“We set up a water distribution right here at the church,” said Father Joseph Kuzhupil, MSFS, pastor of Notre Dame.
Parishioners Joe and Elizabeth Dolan had a well on their property. They hauled tanks of well water to the church, where people could bring smaller containers and fill up. Once the church had its water restored, it offered its facilities for showers for those who needed it.
As the county restored water services, the immediate needs of water and food subsided, and the long-term needs of those who had lost their homes or jobs came to the forefront.
Like other parishes across the Diocese of Knoxville, Notre Dame held a second collection to support Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, which was offering immediate relief and planning for long-term aid for those most affected.
“The parish matched the amount collected [from the second collection] and sent it to the disaster relief organized by the diocese,” Father Kuzhupil said.
Deacon David Duhamel, executive director of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, noted the overwhelming, generous spirit parishes showed in responding to this disaster and the desire to help their
neighbors.
“By the second week, people were mobilized and trying help out as much as they can,” Deacon Duhamel said. “And in that spirit of giving, the diocese saw record numbers of contributions for the relief effort.”
Since the Festival of Nations had shut down early, Notre Dame Parish still had all the items for its yard sale. The parish held its sale the following weekend, with the proceeds going to local disaster relief.
DJ Dalton, who was one of the organizers of the yard sale, also offered to match the money raised dollar for dollar. Together, the parish raised around $2,000 for AIDNET.
AIDNET is a unique program in Greene County that was ready to respond to the local disaster. It was founded in 2001 as a response after the county suffered terrible flooding. AIDNET activates in times of county-wide disasters to coordinate resources and monetary donations. It focuses on long-term recovery and the rebuilding of homes. Before Hurricane Helene, it was only activated one other time, in 2011, when tornadoes tore through the southern part of the county.
All of AIDNET’s funds stay in Greene County. Because of its local nature, AIDNET was able to connect to those in need quickly. It began rebuilding 10 homes on Nov. 12, just six weeks after the flood. The parish also donated items from the yard sale directly.
“There were people who came to the yard sale who were taking truckloads of stuff up to North Carolina because they got hit pretty badly, too, in Asheville,” Ms. Dalton said. “We had some pieces of furniture and stuff, and we just let them load that up on their vehicles. We didn't charge them for it to take to the flood victims. It was nice that we were able to give away so many of our items.”
On Oct. 10, the parish hosted a vaccine clinic in partnership with the Greene County Health Department to give hepatitis, tetanus, and flu vaccinations to those who needed them. Hepatitis and tetanus were particular concerns for those who were working to clear debris from the flood.
“I think our community did a great job, orchestrating together and taking care of our own,” Ms. Rowe said. “I think that’s what the beauty of it was. We do know how to take care of each other and offer whatever resources we have.”
Building back
Six months later, one can still see the damage of the powerful flooding along the banks of the Nolichucky. In some places, the course of the river has shifted several feet, taking away some people’s property while adding land to others.
As of March 18, AIDNET had 27 cases still open, working with families to rebuild their homes in Greene County.
Since Oct. 4, the county has been relying on temporary pumps to get water to homes. For the residents who live near the pumps, there is a constant hum of the diesel-fueled generators. Permanent pumps are expected to be installed sometime in the summer.
After some bridges were deemed safe in the week following the flood, residents of southern Greene County and the “107 island” have found new, longer commutes into town. Work on the damaged bridges and the ones that were swept away continues. Concrete beams for the new Kinser Bridge went in place in late March.
Ms. Vasquez can see bridge construction progress every morning on her way to work. She said the amount of slow-moving trucks, along with limited routes, has made her commute much longer.
“There’s construction everywhere, so you just have to have a lot of patience,” she said.
She noted that the construction work leaves a lot of mud in the area, laughing that she recently received a
Then and now Above: The Kinser Bridge over the Nolichucky River on Highway 107 in Greene County is being replaced in this December photo. Below: Historic flooding from Hurricane Helene rainfall swelled the Nolichucky River and washed away the Kinser Bridge in this Sept. 27 photo. The intense flooding redirected the river in places.
Reconnecting the community A closer look at work underway to rebuild the Kinser Bridge on Highway 107 in Greene County. The bridge crosses the Nolichucky River.
COURTESY OF DANIEL SHRADER Greene continued on page A25
COURTESY OF DANIEL SHRADER
COURTESY OF DANIEL SHRADER
Ministry
membership to a car wash
“I was like, where is this mud coming from? Well, it’s from the trucks. It’s just not a little mud; it is like, a lot of mud. I realize it’s because of the trucks they have in a parking area near my house. When they come in and park and then they leave again, they leave all that mud there,” she said, describing the scene.
Ms. Vasquez has heard that the work on the major bridges is expected to be completed sometime between June and August.
“They’re working seven days a week, and they’re early, you know, they’re working early, and they’re working late. So, they’re working very hard. But I’m sure you know, it takes a long time,” she said.
And despite mud and longer commutes, she is thankful for how lucky she is to have made it through the disaster unscathed.
Sometimes after natural disasters, the attention and support can wane over time. But Notre Dame Parish has not stopped working to help its neighbors.
In the fall, as the weather started to turn cold, the parish collected three van loads of winter coats and baby supplies as well as two portable grills. The items were donated to migrant workers in Unicoi County whose work in the tomato fields was impacted by the flooding.
In January, the parish held a fundraiser for disaster relief.
“We had a French toast, sausage, and pancake breakfast at the church,” said Andrea Pletsch, who, along with Elaine Janaskie, organized the fundraiser. “We did it as a free-will offering, and all of that money went to help flood-relief victims, those who were struggling to find food sources because they’re either homeless, living in tents, or living in motorhomes and needed stuff to keep them warm.”
The parish raised around $1,500, which was donated to Catholic Charities for its disaster relief efforts.
For many in Greene County, the disaster revealed the fragility of infrastructure and the importance of planning, coordination, and community.
Good engineering and strong craftsmanship ensured the Nolichucky Dam held.
Local authorities, from 911 responders to the police department to local government offices, worked hard to reach those most affected, open bridges safely and quickly, and get accurate information out to residents.
Churches used their networks and their physical spaces to coordinate water supplies and donations, as well as serve as places of prayer and connection.
AIDNET was able to activate and work with families to rebuild. Its reputation also offered a centralized, trusted place for locals to make donations, similar to how the faithful of the Diocese of Knoxville knew they could trust their donations with Catholic Charities of East Tennessee
Preparing for the next need
Deacon Duhamel said that this disaster has shown the importance of disaster-response infrastructure and readiness for organizations like Catholic Charities. He is taking what he has learned from this and is preparing ways that CCETN can be even more prepared to help disaster-recovery efforts in the future.
Some ways CCETN is planning to build up its disaster response infrastructure is by developing a more robust volunteer program, expanding its mental-health services, and offering mentalhealth and first-aid classes and certifications in parishes.
“Our goal is to respond to the needs of our community, in whatever way that might be,” Deacon Duhamel said.
CCETN has received disaster-response funds from grants and Catholic Charities USA that will help the organization in future situations.
“Some of the money we received, we’re using
those monies to invest in future capabilities,” Deacon Duhamel explained.
And like AIDNET’s is, Deacon Duhamel hopes CCETN disaster relief can be set up and ready to activate on a local, personal level whenever disaster strikes.
The disasters don’t have to be broad, affecting hundreds of thousands of people across multiple counties. CCETN disaster relief is organizing to help from individual house fires to 500-year floods.
Deacon Duhamel mentioned recent fires in East Tennessee, one in Cumberland County and one near the Georgia border. In both cases, CCETN was able to offer assistance immediately.
“Those are disasters to that family. They’re not very big disasters to the community as a whole. But they’re still disasters,” he said.
With the hiring of two disaster-relief managers, disaster relief is becoming a new area in which CCETN is reaching out to communities and helping those most in need.
“We now have this mentality of looking for disaster” rather than waiting to hear about one, Deacon Duhamel said. “We’re able to reach out to families and find out what they need and offer
some limited assistance to them to help.”
As CCETN expands its services into disaster relief, Deacon Duhamel sees it as just another continuation of the organization’s mission.
“Our focus hasn't changed. We’re still here to provide help and offer hope to our clients. This is just a new area. People come in dire need because of a specific event, and we now have that capacity. This aligns 100 percent with our mission here at Catholic Charities,” he explained.
Many Notre Dame parishioners expressed gratefulness for being spared a worse outcome. They were happy to support one another as bridges and water pumps were restored, and they rallied to lend aid to other communities affected.
They are already planning the next Festival of Nations for Sept. 20. And Ms. Dalton is looking forward to the next yard sale.
“There’s something about the yard sale that makes people happy,” she said. “To me, that's the happiest part of the fall festival, the yard sale. Because everyone leaves with a big smile and a nice bag of goodies.”
Hopefully this year’s Festival of Nations will be a successful day of celebration, marking one year since the worst of natural disasters revealed the best of a community’s generosity. ■
Culinary whiz kids
Young chefs at Notre Dame Church in Greeneville whip up some delights for a fundraiser breakfast as part of disaster-relief efforts. Notre Dame parishioners joined together in a variety of ways to lend assistance for those in Greene County in need following historic flooding last September.
Adapting to disaster Notre Dame Parish displays a variety of items at its annual yard sale, which is usually held during its Festival of Nations but was postponed a week due to Hurricane Helene. The Sept. 28 festival was shut down when Greene County announced it was running out of water due to flood damage.
COURTESY OF SUSAN COLLINS (3)
Managing donations Rosemary Murphy, one of the yard-sale organizers, sorts clothes for the Notre Dame sale. Parishioners donated hundreds of gently-used items to the sale.
Caring customers Shoppers browse items at Notre Dame Parish’s yard sale. Proceeds and leftover items from the sale went to Hurricane Helene flood relief.
COURTESY OF ANDREA PLETSCH (3)
“My first impression was, when we were getting closer to the Johnson City area, it was just pitch black, no lights. There were no lights at all, not even in Johnson City,” Father Guerrero said. “They lost power in most of the town. No power in Mountain City.”
Father Guerrero, also pastor of St. Elizabeth, spent that Sunday night in Johnson City and was driven to Mountain City from his Elizabethton parish the next day and saw on the way the severe damage in the Hampton community in Carter County. Elizabethton’s main remaining damage from the storm is the closed Broad Street bridge, scheduled to reopen in early July.
“I didn’t know anything about Hampton at that point. They told me that Elizabethton suffered some flooding, but there was no real damage in the town. On our way here, they decided to stop by Hampton, especially where the high school is in that area, and I was in shock by what I saw,” he said.
“What I saw was kind of a warzone image, because people were looking in the debris for their belongings. Homes destroyed, washed away by the water. It was bad, bad. If I could describe it, it was a war zone because people— you could see it in their faces that they had lost everything. They knew. That was Monday morning—it had been like three days already—they were still looking for their belongings, whatever was left.”
Father Guerrero was attending his niece and goddaughter’s quinceañera in Texas when the flooding occurred. He had intended on that Sunday to fly down to Mexico to see his parents but changed his plans. He was unable to hear firsthand reports from Mountain City because of the cellphone service being down.
“When I heard through the news and people sending me text messages, it was not people from St. Anthony because we lost any type of communication. There was no cellphone reception, no electricity, no running water—there was nothing here in Mountain City,” Father Guerrero said in a March 25 interview, which also included St. Anthony of Padua Deacon Joe Herman.
Word had gotten out quickly about the fatalities and storm damage in Erwin in Unicoi County while Father Guerrero was still in Texas.
“I started learning about what happened through people from Unicoi because they were asking me for prayers. They had missing people, people I knew from St. Mary’s in Johnson City, my former assignment,” Father Guerrero said. “I started checking the news, and I was seeing images that were pretty bad about Erwin, but I didn’t know anything about Mountain City at that point.
A bleak picture
“It wasn’t until the next day, Saturday, when I contacted Deacon Joe and asked him if there was any damage in Mountain City. He replied back with some pictures of our rectory here, and the pictures were not good. The rectory was covered in trees and branches, and it was pretty bad. The shed was pretty much demolished by a tree.”
Those photos sent by Deacon Herman started Father Guerrero worrying, he said in the interview at his church in Mountain City.
“Then I tried to contact people around here, and nobody replied back, so I was even more worried because I didn’t know anything. I was getting anxious because I wanted to get back,” he said. “My mind wasn’t there [in Texas] anymore—I was thinking about Mountain City. I made arrangements so I could get back the following day, which was Sunday. Instead of going down to Mexico, I came back.”
When he returned to the diocese, Father Guerrero could communicate with parishioners of St. Elizabeth in Elizabethton.
“I was asking them for a ride, and they were telling me, ‘Father, I don’t think it’s going to be possible for you to get to Mountain City,’ and now I was thinking, ‘OK, this is bad,’” he said. “Somehow, I got here, and Deacon Joe met me at the rectory. When we got there, we saw how bad it was. It was not only the rectory—it was the whole neighborhood. Every single home had wind damage, all of them. Some homes were worse than the rectory. And that’s when everything hit me—I was like, this is bad.”
Deacon Herman then informed Father Guerrero that the Parkdale Mills plant, which employed several Hispanic parishioners of St. Anthony of Padua, sustained flooding damage as did the apartments across the street from the plant where those same parishioners lived. Parkdale Mills, an international yarn manufacturer, permanently closed its Mountain City facility in early December because of the storm damage.
Mountain City, home to Deacon Herman’s company, Danny Herman Trucking, sustained a “mixture between the flood and the wind damage,” the deacon said in thinking back.
“From what I remember, those who weren’t necessarily affected by flooding, they got the wind damage, like up at the rectory,” he added. “One of our employees at Danny Herman Trucking lives kind of across the street from Father Jesús—a tree fell down and
took out their carport. The whole neighborhood—most of the homes sustained some form of damage, some serious, some not as serious, but there was some damage. Most of that was wind.”
Some of the Parkdale Mills employees were at work when the plant flooded, but the river current was not as strong as that in Erwin, where several lives were lost outside of an industrial plant, Father Guerrero said.
The storm, however, devastated the lives of the Parkdale Mills employees, who lost their jobs, their automobiles, and their apartments.
“All the cars were in the parking lot, so they were totaled. They not only lost their jobs, they lost their belongings, their homes. They lost their cars,” Father Guerrero said. “That’s when we understood the magnitude of the problem. I knew this was not going to be like something you could fix in a week or two. I knew it was going to take a long time to get back to normal.”
The communications cutoff may have temporarily delayed aid to Mountain City, but that help did come. Father Guerrero got the word out to Blanca Primm, director of Hispanic Ministry for the diocese; to Father Michael Cummins, pastor of St. Dominic in Kingsport; and to Deacon David Duhamel, executive director of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee.
“When I saw that in Hampton, I decided to contact the diocese. I contacted Blanca Primm first and Father Michael Cummins, then contacted Deacon David Duhamel, to let them know how bad it was around here,” Father Guerrero said. “I was taking pictures, and
I text-messaged those pictures to them because it was really bad. I think everybody was focusing on what happened in Erwin because it reached national news—the image of people asking for help from the hospital roof in Unicoi County. … It wasn’t until I sent those pictures and short videos to Blanca Primm, and I asked Blanca, ‘Please share these with everybody in the Chancery office. They need to know what’s going on here. We need help.’ And she did that, and Deacon Dave Duhamel reached out to Deacon Joe and to me, and the following day they were sending help.”
Deacon Herman said “when there’s a disaster there are stages as far as what kind of supplies they send. The most immediate need was for drinking water.”
People were “walking on the streets” of Mountain City “because there was no gas, no electricity, no cellphones, no running water,” Father Guerrero said. “I remember that first week that people were walking to our church asking us if they could use our shower.”
Father Guerrero returned to Elizabethton for the first couple of nights but decided to stay in Mountain City afterward, “in a rectory with a tree on the roof. There were ticks all over the place. We were without cellphone reception for one week.”
Parishioners of St. Elizabeth urged Father Guerrero to stay in a hotel in Elizabethton, but he slept on a couch in the church office. The rectory there was undergoing renovations at the time, although the work on it is now complete.
“I didn’t have any blanket, anything. I wasn’t prepared for it,” Father Guerrero said. “I used one of my albs as a blanket, just to cover myself at night. I spent a couple of nights there, and then I decided not to, even though they were pushing, really insisting, ‘Father, get a hotel. We’ll pay for it. You need to rest. You need to be safe.’”
But he had his parish in Mountain City on his mind.
“I was thinking about these people here, and I was like, ‘I cannot abandon them. I’ve got to go [to St. Anthony],” Father Guerrero said. “That’s when I started staying in this rectory. It wasn’t that bad on the inside, really. It was just outside. I describe that as God putting His hands around the house. It was just damaged on one side by two trees, but the rest of the house was just fine.
“There was no electricity, no utilities, but I was not the only person in the neighborhood without—pretty much everybody was all in the same boat. I think it was important for me to feel I was on the same boat with them, and so that’s why I stayed. I wanted to be sensitive to what others were experiencing, especially those who lost everything.
St. Anthony of Padua operates the St. Anthony Bread pantry, the largest in Johnson County, and that drew people to the church seeking food.
“They were coming to see if we had anything to share with them. At first, those who volunteered at the food pantry were affected by the storm as well. Almost no one was able to come here, even to try and help others, because they had their driveways blocked by dozens of trees,” Father Guerrero said, with Deacon Herman adding that “they were in an area that maybe had eroded and flooded out.”
The St. Anthony Bread staff did its best to get to the building on the church campus after the storm hit.
“Several of the parishioners who operate the food pantry couldn’t get out, but those who could really went above and beyond,” Deacon Herman said. “Our food-pantry folks do a dynamic job.”
So many came to St. Anthony that “honestly, I didn’t know how to help them. It was overwhelming,” Father Guerrero said.
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'Above and beyond' Top: Father Jesús Guerrero, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in Mountain City, stands inside the St. Anthony Bread food pantry. The pantry, the largest in Johnson County, assisted local residents in the wake of the flooding. Bottom: Father Guerrero and Deacon Joe Herman stand outside the rectory, which sustained wind damage, at St. Anthony of Padua
Closed crossing The Broad Street bridge in Elizabethton has been closed since the flooding from Hurricane Helene. The bridge is scheduled to reopen in early July.
Ministry in an emergency: A
Deacon Herman agreed.
“It was overwhelming and helpless. For me, it was like you knew what you had to do, but where do you start? That’s kind of how I would describe it,” he said. “It really worked on me, spiritually and internally, and feeling kind of like guilt, because where I live, I live up on a hill and don’t have any trees around me. If I had to worry about flooding, they’d have had to have an ark because I sit up high enough. We have a generator at our house, so we had access to water. You knew the need was so great, but where do you start?”
East Tennessee Catholics came to the rescue of St. Anthony.
“People from St. Mary’s in Johnson City, parishioners—especially those owning companies, business owners—started calling me and asking me if we needed any help,” Father Guerrero said. “That was a godsend because we did need that help. They went to Johnson City’s stores and got us air mattresses, space heaters—even though it was in September, the temperature up here at night, especially at that time of year, drops all the way to 30 degrees.”
Having no electricity added to the hardship in the chilly weather, and those in the apartments across from the Parkdale Mills plant remained there but got sick from mold.
“They didn’t have anywhere to go, literally nowhere to go, so they were staying there as it was. They were getting sick,” Father Guerrero said. “They had kids, even babies. They had lost pretty much everything: furniture, clothing, cars, everything. There was no job—the plant was flooded. There wasn’t any income. It was like Deacon Joe said, I felt like I couldn’t help them. I was helpless.”
St. Anthony’s Mass in Spanish saw increased attendance in the wake of the storm.
“We used to have 15-20 people attend on a good Sunday. After the hurricane, we had 60 to 80 people attending the Spanish Mass,” Father Guerrero said.
Much of those increased numbers is due to the fact that volunteers originally in need of help after the flooding hit began assisting in the recovery and then going to the church themselves.
“These people came to seek help. They saw the need to help, so they started volunteering. I didn’t know them. They offered their help, and I accepted their help to unload the trucks, and eventually they became my helpers,” Father Guerrero said. “They started getting involved with St. Anthony. We put a team together helping every day with the distribution of goods, and eventually the food-pantry volunteers started coming regularly to help out. We set up schedules to help the community, and eventually those volunteers who happened to be Catholics affected by the floods not only started helping in the distribution of goods but also started coming to Mass.”
One person in Johnson County died in the flooding, but others left the community to find employment at the Parkdale Mills plant in Sparta, N.C., a couple of counties east of Mountain City.
The pastor of St. Anthony helped others find jobs locally.
“Father Jesús I know helped a lot of those people who were working at Parkdale Mills with jobs in Elizabethton, Johnson City, and Kingsport through connections he has,” Deacon Herman said. “Not everybody left, but we lost people because they had to leave. They didn’t lose their lives. Fortunately, as far as I know, there was only one death in our county because of the hurricane. One life was too many, but fortunately we didn’t experience the loss of life here in Johnson County like they did in Unicoi County and some other areas.”
St. Anthony of Padua received
a shipping container as well as aid a couple of times from Catholic Charities. Helpers also came from nearby North Carolina and Virginia.
“We were getting donations from out of state as well, trucks loaded with stuff that were stopping by in our parking lots asking us if we wanted whatever they had,” Father Guerrero said, adding that he had to coordinate the new volunteers who helped with heavy lifting with the established staff of the food pantry.
That job was a little easier than dealing with the initial shock of the storm damage.
“That was one of the challenges, that nobody was ready to face a situation like that, and I don’t know if anybody ever will be ready to do that,” the diocesan priest said. “I hope that doesn’t
“After the shock and you start the rebuilding process, it gives you faith in humanity, that there are still good people, and God sent a lot of them to Johnson County to help our people,” he said.
The cathedral parish in Cape Girardeau, Mo., sent an 18-wheeler to Mountain City.
“They sent a truck full of stuff in December,” Father Guerrero said. “That was three months later—we were still helping people. The truck had furniture. A lot of people lost everything—they needed furniture. I was asking in the Johnson City area for donations of used furniture because people needed it.”
Deacon Herman credited Deacon Duhamel and Catholic Charities for “helping a lot by sending gift cards so people could go out and buy what they needed, because different people’s needs vary. Catholic Charities was good with that. They’ve helped some people with rent, utilities, things of that nature, things that after that initial punch, they were able to start rebuilding.”
Six months later, some of the families in Mountain City are dealing with different dynamics in their households.
“Those parishioners who stayed, both mom and dad used to work—they had jobs, both of them. They managed because they had different shifts to take care of the kids,” Father Guerrero said. “But now that they lost their jobs, they’ve got a job which is probably out of town, and unfortunately, especially women are not able to get jobs as much as men.
“Now they are surviving with just one income, and a lot of times it’s not enough to provide for what they need, so they are still struggling to meet all their needs. So far, we still have some cleaning supplies in that container, and we’ve been helping them at least with that, diapers and wipes, so they don’t have to buy those with their paycheck.”
Deacon Duhamel told Deacon Herman that the door from Catholic Charities “is still open” six months afterward. “They haven’t cut us off by any means.”
The head of Catholic Charities also asked St. Anthony if the parish could help others in need.
“He asked if we could help flooding victims in Kentucky. Deacon Dave reached out to us, asking us if we had anything to share with them, to be taken to Kentucky. We immediately said yes, we do,” Father Guerrero said. “And so, we shared a little resources, what we had, with them. We know how [flooding] feels like, so we wanted to help. We needed to help.”
Highway 67 was the only usable road into Mountain City after the storm struck, but since then Highway 91 and U.S. 421 have reopened. Many roads had to have their surfaces repaired to enable them to reopen.
Leading a driving tour of those roads and the storm damage, Deacon Herman reflected on the Mountain City spirit.
happen anymore.”
Turning a corner
Deacon Herman said the parish’s early need for bottled water and canned goods was filled, and then the repairs got underway.
“People started fixing things, so you saw people donating, I think it was St. Joseph up in Illinois sent a lot of heaters, a lot of dehumidifiers, started sending a lot of the things to start rebuilding,” he said. “There were a lot of people who came from New York, Florida, Virginia, Texas, pulling a good-sized utility trailer with them, and they’d pull up in front of somebody’s house and say, ‘Hey, do you need some repairs to that?’ and they might spend a week there.”
Deacon Herman said, “There’s a silver lining in every cloud.”
“We’ve got a very resilient community. Living in a small community has its pluses and its minuses, but when something like that happens, people really dive in and help their neighbors,” he said.
Last Christmas was “tough,” Deacon Herman said, “especially for people who had younger families that were affected.”
“Catholic Charities really came through for a lot of that,” the St. Anthony of Padua deacon continued. “My goodness, they sent a lot of toys up. I know (volunteer) Rick Sample and some others shopped at Walmart, went on a pretty good shopping spree, and supplied a lot of toys and brought them up to St. Anthony’s to give out to kids that otherwise wouldn’t have had anything. They sent a bunch of coats. That was very much a blessing because we had a pretty cold winter.” ■
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Discussing a disaster Top: Deacon Joe Herman and Father Jesús Guerrero talk about the flooding from Hurricane Helene as they sit in an office at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Mountain City, where Father Guerrero is pastor. Bottom: A cabin along U.S. Highway 421 near the North Carolina line in the Trade area of Johnson County shows damage from the flooding
Plant closed Top: Parkdale Mills' facility in Mountain City was forced to close after the Helene flooding, putting several parishioners of St. Anthony of Padua out of a job. Many of them lived in apartments across from the plant and had to be evacuated as the water rose. Bottom: Hampton High School outside Elizabethton still shows signs of damage six months later
Archbishop Naumann: Heroic witness to life
In a world marked by pick-and-choose approaches to protecting human dignity — what Pope Francis has called “the throwaway culture” — brave and steadfast champions of life are sorely in need.
This is why Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann deserves particular attention — and his ministry deserves to be celebrated.
The outgoing shepherd of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kan., whose age-required resignation was accepted by Pope Francis on April 8, has been a consistent witness for the cause of life throughout his 50 years of ordained ministry.
Pope Francis has named Bishop Shawn McKnight of the Diocese of Jefferson City, Mo., to succeed Archbishop Naumann.
Blending personal conviction with effective advocacy, the 75-year-old prelate has refused to compromise on any aspect of what St. John Paul II called the “gospel of life.” In a sense, Archbishop Naumann was prepared to play this role before he was even born. In 1948, while his mother was still pregnant with him, his father was murdered. But instead of turning to vengeance, his mother raised her two sons to embrace mercy — a witness to the value of every life that left a deep impression on the future archbishop.
“Whether it’s the unborn child [in] a difficult pregnancy, or whether it’s the criminal on death row — every life is sacred, and destroying life is never what the Gospel calls us to do,” Archbishop Naumann said in 2021.
Archbishop Naumann’s embrace of the goodness of life has defined his efforts to end abortion, prompting him to defy the false dichotomy the culture of death sets up between a mother and her child. As the Archdiocese of St. Louis’ priest coordinator of pro-life ministry, he established a local Rachel’s Project group in 1986, bringing healing to women involved in abortion. And as the head of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life efforts from
COURTESY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF KANSAS CITY, KAN.
Sanctity of life advocate Archbishop Joseph Naumann will retire this year after 50 years of ministry as a priest, including 20 years leading the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kan.
2018 to 2021, he launched Walking with Moms in Need, an effort to equip parishes to be pro-life hubs. A constant presence at the national March for Life, Archbishop Naumann has played a prolife leadership role for more than 40 years.
Archbishop Naumann has also been a compelling witness for protecting life at all stages. He has consistently called for the end of the death penalty, a position made more compelling by his own personal story, and criticized the Trump administration for resuming federal executions in 2019. He has also referred to the Church’s teaching on human life and dignity to ground his advocacy on issues like immigration, criticizing policies that have contributed to human trafficking and also the failure to distinguish ordinary people seeking a better life from violent criminals.
In short, wherever human life has been threatened by modern-day manifestations of Moloch
worship, Archbishop Naumann has been there to demand that we all choose life.
“There can be no sacred cows that impede taking steps to protect our children,” he wrote in a 2022 commentary for the Register, connecting the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, with other attacks on innocent life.
Archbishop Naumann has been unafraid to take this message to the loftiest heights of earthly power. In 2021, he said then-president Joe Biden should “stop defining himself as a devout Catholic,” given the former president’s support for abortion rights. And in 2022, he publicly supported San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s decision to bar then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi from Holy Communion over her abortion advocacy.
Adding to his track record of courageous leadership, Archbishop Naumann spent the weeks leading up to Pope Francis’ acceptance of his resignation combating a planned “black mass,” urging Kansas Catholics to pray and take the Satanists to court.
Certainly, many of our bishops in the United States share Archbishop Naumann’s convictions about life and his willingness to defend it boldly But perhaps no American Church leader’s ministry has been as wholeheartedly devoted to the cause. After all, the retiring shepherd chose Vitae Victoria Erit — “Life Will Be Victorious”— as his motto when he was first made a bishop back in 1997
Because we are followers of Christ, who has already decisively defeated death, we know the idea expressed in Archbishop Naumann’s motto is true. Life wins; death loses. We also know that God calls us to participate in His life-giving work here on earth. And so we thank the Lord for Archbishop Naumann’s courageous promotion of life at all stages, and we pray that others in the Church will be drawn to imitate his witness. ■
plement it at the council level.”
Mr. Kelly unveiled Cor at the Knights’ 141st Supreme Convention, held Aug. 1-3, 2023, in Orlando, Fla. Components included “Into the Breach,” a 12-episode video series; “Men of the Word,” a Bible study; Patris Corde, a study of St. Joseph’s life as a model for Catholic men; recitation of the rosary; Holy Hour; a monthly challenge from the Knights’ supreme chaplain; and a wealth of supporting materials.
“What we’re being more intentional about is actually going back to the basics, of when Blessed McGivney started the order,” Mr. O’Connor explained. “It was very much to help the widows and orphans; no doubt about it. But if you read the history of him and his writings, he cared deeply about the formation of men. And so, we’re simply being more intentional about that. It’s nothing new for the Knights; it might feel that way, but it’s really not.”
Reactions speak for themselves. According to the Knights, more than 5,500 councils are running or have expressed interest in running Cor in 2025. The Knights have noted the program has grown 68 percent in 2024-2025 over the previous 2023-2024 cycle, and that almost every council running Cor has experienced membership growth.
As a result of Cor, “What we’re finding is men are now asking to join the Knights of Columbus, rather than us asking them,” Mr. O’Connor said. “Because they’re growing in their faith; they’re enjoying their time together and they want more.”
Mr. Kelly, Mr. O’Connor emphasized, “deserves all the credit.” He recalled a conversation they had a number of years ago.
“I remember saying to Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly ... ‘If we could really evangelize our guys; if we could really offer them quality faith formation, I believe it changes the world, because we have 2 million members. So, if you had even 30 percent that really became evangelists, it changes the world,” Mr. O’Connor reflected. “And I remember he said, ‘I think about this every day.’”
Jimmy Dee, jurisdictional director of evangelization and faith formation for the Tennessee Knights of Columbus, said that Tennessee “was one of the original pilot locations” that helped the Knights’ Supreme Council “design and launch this series of new truly incredible, Christo-centric programs, an initiative that’s helping reignite the hearts of our Catholic men across the country and around the world.”
“We’ve been a wonderful observer and participant in its growth from an idea to, now, a national call to all Knights to return to our roots,” Mr. Dee said.
He is enthusiastic about Cor’s flexible design.
“What I like the most about the way this particular initiative has been designed is that it’s both Christo-centric and parish-centric in that each parish will find its own proper mix of these events and activities that will speak to the men of their parish,” Mr. Dee explained. “So, unlike more traditional programs that we’ve offered in the past, which were very much replicated the same, regardless of where you were, in what council, or what parish, this initiative is driven at the parish level by the hearts of those who are literally on the frontlines. And they are the ones who are listening to the needs of their pastors and then taking actionable steps to help our priests with their pastoral mission.”
And that can differ from parish to parish.
“It may be the Church needs a boost in the fraternal activities, or the things that bring people together in a fun and joyous way. Maybe they need to focus more on helping men create better prayer habits in their day-to-day routines. Or is it possible they could use a little more catechesis and learning more about the details of our faith?” Mr. Dee questioned. “It’s not one size fits all. It’s what are we hearing in the pews and with our priests that we need to be able to provide in order to strengthen the Catholic man, the Catholic family, as well as the parish, and our Catholic community as a whole.”
But Cor isn’t simply about personal enrichment, Mr. Dee stressed.
“These events and activities are helping us to build and create programs and pathways of discipleship that will help men gain that confidence necessary for them to be a witness of their faith and share it with others while inviting them into a relationship with Jesus Christ,” Mr. Dee noted. “We're getting right down to that frontline problem of Catholics are great when it comes to practicing their faith, but we’re not real good at sharing it. This initiative is getting to the absolute heart of that problem pun intended,” he laughed. “In Tennessee keeping in line with this new initiative we’re telling people that our new state motto is, ‘We are Knights to our Cor.’” In Laredo, Texas, Héctor Chapa, Grand Knight for Council 9626 at St. Martin de Porres Church when they launched Cor at the parish, told OSV News he witnessed his council’s membership more than double after it began Cor gatherings. “They’ll start asking, ‘What do I need to do to join?’ It’s just great,” Mr. Chapa said of the Cor participants. “It builds character within the parish itself. We have a better understanding and working relationship with our priest.” Mr. Chapa added, “Once we got started, they wanted more.” Fall and spring sessions offered
Strengthening men's faith Jimmy Dee, jurisdictional director of evangelization and faith formation for the Tennessee Knights of Columbus, leads a breakout session during the Appalachian Highlands Men's Conference (see story on page B1) on March 8 at St. Dominic Church in Kingsport. Mr. Dee has been developing and implementing the Knights of Columbus Cor initiative
an interactive, multi-week men’s program called “That Man Is You!” developed by Paradisus Dei, but Mr. Chapa and his fellow Knights explored the “Into the Breach” video series for the summer.
“Our common hope here is, we need to do everything that we need to do to make sure we get our families to heaven,” Mr. Chapa said, “before anything else.”
The Cor initiative, Mr. Chapa is certain, contributes to that effort.
“It sets you up to be able to build yourself up, and basically hey, we need to go into battle, guys! We understand that the devil is coming after our families,” Mr. Chapa said. “What are we going to do about it? We need to sharpen our swords, more than anything else.” ■
DAN MCWILLIAMS
Catholic Charities of East Tennessee celebrates partners with Chattanooga, Knoxville events
Supporters of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee and its many ministries serving those in need and in vulnerable situations gathered in Chattanooga on March 27 and in Knoxville on March 6 to see the work the Diocese of Knoxville social-services agency has performed over the past year.
Bishop Mark Beckman and Deacon David Duhamel, CCETN executive director, were the featured speakers at both fundraising events.
Deacon Duhamel told the organization’s partners that the theme for the galas was “Creators of Hope” because “each and every one of you are partaking with us as creators of hope.”
“Our motto at Catholic Charities is we provide help and create hope. Each one of you plays a very important role in that, and I want to thank you for participating,” Deacon Duhamel said.
Bishop Beckman told the groups that his time in the diocese since being ordained and installed on July 27 has been “overwhelmingly wonderful.”
“One of the things I’ve been able to witness is this Catholic community in action. This Catholic community of East Tennessee is alive and well,”the bishop said. “One of the things that has been most impressive to me is this community of faith lives its faith in action. What you all are doing for the people of East Tennessee ... is so real and profound.” ■
The pope concelebrates Mass every morning in the small chapel near his rooms on the second floor of his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, and he works during the day at his desk
The pope is in “a good mood” and welcomes the many signs of affection from the faithful, the press offi ce noted.
Even on his worst days in Rome's Gemelli hospital, Pope Francis was governing the Catholic Church, although on some days, he did not seem to have the energy to sign his full name, said Cardinal Parolin.
The cardinal, who as Vatican secretary of state, coordinates much of the work of the Roman Curia, said it was true that the pope simply initialed some documents “F.”
“He did,” Cardinal Parolin told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera , “but now he is signing in full.”
“It was not the ideal situation,” he said in the interview published on March 29. “But I emphasize that the pope is in a position to still
govern the Church, and we are happy that he was able to come home.”
While he was in Gemelli hospital Feb. 14-March 23 for treatment of the bronchitis, multiple infections, and double pneumonia, his doctors said he had several breathing “crises” and was in danger of death.
“There is no change in the essentials” of how the Roman Curia works, Cardinal Parolin said. While the pope needs rest, documents are brought to him for “issues on which he and only he can and must decide.”
“The governance of the Church is in his hands,” the cardinal said. “But there are many more routine matters on which his Curia collaborators can proceed even without consulting him, on the basis of previously received indications and existing regulations.”
All the Vatican dicasteries work in the pope’s name, he said. “Obviously, the more important decisions must be made by the pontiff, but there are also others that can be taken within each dicastery following the guidelines the
heart!
pope has given them.”
Pope Francis also can delegate certain tasks, Cardinal Parolin said, and Catholics may see that during the pope’s convalescence.
For example, he said, “in the case of canonizations, it is the pope who pronounces the formula, but even this, if necessary, can be delegated to a collaborator, who pronounces it in the name of the pontiff.”
The issue is particularly relevant given the scheduled canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis on April 27 during the Jubilee of Teenagers. Blessed Acutis, an Italian computer whiz, died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15.
Pope Francis can delegate a cardinal to preside over the canonization rite and read the formula to “declare and defi ne” Blessed Acutis a saint and to order that he be venerated as such by the universal Church.
As of late March, the pope had not delegated anyone to take his place, though, the cardinal said. “It will depend on how the Holy Father is feeling then.” ■
Pope continued from page A15
Creators of hope Top: Bishop Mark Beckman, assisted by Deacon David Duhamel, blesses CCETN's new ultrasound van. Bottom: Bishop Beckman addresses CCETN supporters in Knoxville on March 6.
Knoxville Catholic leader and social worker Mary Catherine Hughes Willard died in her home on Feb. 16. She was 90 years old.
Mrs. Willard was a longtime leader in the Diocese of Knoxville. She coordinated the installation of the first two bishops of Knoxville and participated in the installation of Bishop Mark Beckman last year.
Pope Benedict XVI honored her with a papal recognition in 2006 when she was awarded the Benemerenti Medal for service to the Church
She served as the organist and choir director for Immaculate Conception Church for more than 60 years, beginning her service when she was an eighth-grade student at St. Mary School in Knoxville.
She received a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee College of Social Work.
An advocate for services for the poor, she worked with Father Charles Strobel when he was assistant pastor at Immaculate Conception to feed the homeless and needy in Knoxville. She continued and expanded that vocation when she worked as assistant director at the Senior Citizens Home Assistance Service for many years.
Mrs. Willard was a widely recognized and honored social worker. She was a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging in 1995 and a recipient of the John J. Duncan Award for Senior Advocacy from the Knox County Office on Aging in 2006, among many honors.
Mrs. Willard was born on May 2, 1934, to Mary Annette Prickett Hughes and Joseph Patrick Hughes. She was a devoted wife to her husband of 56 years, George N. Willard, who preceded her in death. She is survived by children: Patrick
(Diane), Michael, and Ned (Maria) Willard; Ann (Danny) MacDonald; Jean (John) Asinger; Mary Jo (Jim) Schmalz; and Karen (Kenny) Kidner, 21 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Willard also is survived by her sister, Therese (Pat) Hurley, along with many cousins, nieces, and nephews. She also was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Sister Mary Jolita Hughes, RSM; her twin brother, Patrick Joseph Hughes; and her sister, Patricia Hughes.
A funeral Mass for Mrs. Willard was celebrated on April 5 at Immaculate Conception. Bishop Mark Beckman was the celebrant, and concelebrants were Father Tim Sullivan, CSP, Father Jim Haley, CSP, Father Chris Michelson, Monsignor Patrick Garrity, and Father Peter Iorio. Deacons Hicks Armor and Joe Stackhouse assisted at the Mass.
Donations in Mrs. Willard’s memory may be made to the Sister Jolita Fund at St. Joseph School or the George and Mary Catherine Willard Fund at Knoxville Catholic High School.
Judith Erickson DiStefano
Judith Erickson DiStefano, age 63, passed away peacefully on March 1 at Sacred Grounds Hospice House.
Mrs. DiStefano was born on Feb. 27, 1962, in Milford, Conn., to Eric and Sheila Erickson, and was a proud resident of Knoxville.
She was a 1980 graduate of Knoxville Catholic High School and a 1984 graduate of the University of Tennessee. She married Michael Blaise DiStefano on Aug. 4, 1984.
Mrs. DiStefano served more than 25 years in early-childhood education and touched the lives of countless families and students. Her
dedication extended beyond the classroom; she also volunteered at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, embodying her compassionate and nurturing spirit.
Known affectionately as Judy, she was a shining light to all who had the privilege to know her. Her empathetic nature made her a beloved figure throughout her teaching career. A social butterfly, Mrs. DiStefano loved hosting gatherings, ensuring that everyone felt welcome and valued. Her infectious smile and unmatched kindness drew people in, and she had a remarkable ability to make anyone feel at home.
Mrs. DiStefano’s competitive spirit shined through on the tennis court and during games with family and friends. She cherished time spent with her family, especially at the beach, and played an active role in her grandchildren’s lives, creating lasting memories through play, swimming, and bedtime stories. With an abundance of love, she always kept favorite snacks and art supplies on hand for her grandchildren.
Mrs. DiStefano’s love story with her husband, Mike, was one for the ages. They enjoyed cozy evenings by the fire pit, sharing music and life stories, daily walks at Lakeshore Park, and attending church services together followed by dinners at local restaurants. Their love for each other and their faith in Jesus defined their fairy-tale marriage
Mrs. DiStefano is survived by her loving husband of 40 years, Mike DiStefano; their children, Laura (Andrew) and Mark (Chelsea); and her four cherished grandchildren, Olivia, Hayes, Adelaide, and Elle. She is also survived by her motherin-law, Shirley DiStefano; siblings Greg (Betsy) Erickson, David (Amy) Erickson, and Jill (Joe) Cody; in-laws David (Susan) DiStefano, and Kathy (Steve) Floyd; as well as beloved nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Eric and Sheila Erickson, and her father-in-law, James DiStefano.
A funeral Mass for Mrs. DiSte-
fano was held on March 7 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Donations in Mrs. DiStefano’s memory may be made to the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society.
Thomas W. Dunne
Thomas Dunne, 73, of Knoxville, died on March 13, after a long battle with posterior cortical atrophy.
Mr. Dunne was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Betty, and his eldest sister, BJ. He is survived by his sisters, Kathy, Pat, and Nancy; his wife, Cynthia; his children, Rachel, Brian (Alex), Colleen, and Kevin; and his granddaughters, Bea and Rosie.
Mr. Dunne spent the majority of his career teaching German at Bearden High School.
A devout Catholic, he was a steadfast member of Immaculate Conception Parish for nearly 40 years. He was passionate about community service and volunteered for the Office on Aging, recorded books for the blind, and donated blood for the Red Cross. He also served in various leadership roles in the Fountain City Lions Club.
He maintained his sense of humor through the end, making him a favorite of his friends, colleagues, and caregivers. His memory will live on in the hearts of all those who loved him.
A funeral Mass for Mr. Dunne will be held at Our Lady at St. Germaine Church in Oak Lawn, Ill., on April 25 followed by a graveside service at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Chicago. Donations in Mr. Dunne ’ memory may be made to Alzheimer ’ s Tennessee or the Lions Club International Foundation. ■
