‘A joyful celebration’ at Our Lady of Fatima
The Alcoa parish holds a 75th-anniversary Mass and dinner to cap a yearlong series of events
By Dan McWilliams
Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa completed a Jubilee Year of celebration on Nov. 22 as it marked 75 years from its humble beginnings in 1950 to its thriving community of more than 1,500 families today.
Bishop Mark Beckman joined host pastor Father Peter Iorio and a church filled with parishioners, visitors, and Our Lady of Fatima’s fellow Blount County church and community partners for a bilingual anniversary Mass and a dinner and program that followed at the Airport Hilton. The Mass was held on the vigil of the feast of Christ, King of the Universe.
“Brothers and sisters, what a beautiful evening to gather to celebrate 75 years in which this community has lifted high the cross of Christ,” Bishop Beckman said in his greeting at the start of Mass. “Jesus Christ is the true King of the Universe.”
Father Iorio also welcomed the gathering “for this joyful celebration of our parish’s 75th anniversary. It is also, thanks be to God, the vigil of the solemnity of Christ, the King of the Universe. We warmly welcome our parishioners, guests, community partner agencies and organizations, and all friends of our parish.”
Our Lady of Fatima Parish held celebrations from March through October to mark its jubilee year. A Mass on March 11 celebrated the 25th anniversary of its current church building. Events were held
Sam
on the 13th of each month from May through October, the particular day being chosen because the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin to the three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, occurred monthly on the 13th from May to October 1917.
A “Fatima Pilgrimage Passport” was given to all parishioners that could be stamped at each monthly
Goodwin
event. Those receiving all six stamps were given a special recognition at the anniversary dinner.
“Throughout this jubilee year, we have journeyed together month by month in prayer, remembrance, and renewal. We have honored the generations who have come before us, celebrated the blessings of the present, and embraced with hope the mission that continues to lead
us forward,” Father Iorio said. “All of those moments come together today in this beautiful Mass of thanksgiving. We give thanks for the countless parishioners, families, clergy, neighbors, community partners, and friends who have shaped this community over 75 years and for all who continue to make Our Lady of Fatima Parish a place Fatima continued on page B2
shares amazing story at St. Patrick
Catholic traveler, on his way to visit every country, tells of imprisonment in Syria and promise to God
By Dan McWilliams
In coming to St. Patrick Church in Morristown on Oct. 25, Sam Goodwin continued to fulfill a promise he made to the Lord more than six years ago.
Mr. Goodwin, a cradle Catholic from a family of seven in St. Louis and one of few people to visit all 193 United Nations-designated countries in the world, was taken hostage by state police in Syria in 2019 and held in prisons for more than 60 days, including at the infamous Branch 215 that was the site of an untold number of tortures and executions. His release to neighboring Lebanon came only after much prayer, a little assistance from a Maronite saint, and a phone call made by his sister that most directly led to his freedom when the efforts of U.S. and international leaders were seemingly at a stalemate.
“On June 14, 2019, I made a promise to God that if He got me out of the situation I was in, I would never pass up an invitation to share this story with others. It’s a privilege to be here in Morristown and to share a little bit of my story with all of you this evening,” Mr. Goodwin said to an audience of 125 in the St. Patrick parish center.
Parishioner Renee McGarel emceed the talk, which followed a catered buffet dinner, and the event was among the first facilitated by St. Patrick’s new social-activities coordinator, Kimberly Toby.
Mr. Goodwin, an entrepreneur who has also visited all 50 states and delivered keynote talks around the world, wrote Saving Sam: The True Story of an American’s Disappearance in Syria and His Family’s Extraordinary Fight to Bring Him Home, published by Center Street in September 2024. The author signed copies of his book after his talk at St. Patrick.
Accompanying him to the Morristown church, as it has to every country in the world, was Mr. Goodwin’s backpack from his high-school days made by The North Face.
Mrs. McGarel welcomed longtime parishioners, newcomers, and guests to Mr. Goodwin’s talk and thanked volunteers for helping set up and clean up.
“Your presence breathes life into our parish family,” she said.
St. Patrick pastor Father Miguel Vélez and associate pastor Father Hoan Dinh attended the talk, with Father Vélez prefacing the blessing of the meal by saying that the full parish center was a sign “we need a bigger place.”
Mr. Goodwin has family in St. Patrick Parish and spoke there two weeks before his wedding. He now lives in Tampa, Fla., with his bride.
Mrs. McGarel said Mr. Goodwin’s talk came about after a friend “gave me a book to read ... about a relative of mine.” The friend introduced Mrs. McGarel to Mr. Goodwin’s parents, and she soon heard from the speaker.
“We connected, had some conver-
sations, and set the date, and here he is to share his story,” she said.
Mr. Goodwin is a former Division I hockey player at Niagara University and holds a bachelor’s degree from there, a master’s from Washington University in St. Louis, and a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University. He co-founded a tech company and NGO in Singapore, spending six years in that country after starting with the intent to work there only three months.
His talk at St. Patrick opened with a video of a newscast announcing his release from captivity in Syria.
Mr. Goodwin began his world
travels on weekends and other breaks in his work schedule while in Singapore.
“Throughout this time, I traveled as much as I could. I was in my early 20s, in the heart of southeast Asia, had a little bit of flexibility in my work schedule, and had the world’s best airport in my backyard,” he said. “I took advantage of the opportunity to explore as much of the region and beyond as possible. I didn’t like to repeat places, so even if I went somewhere and had a fantastic experience—the next weekend, the next holiday, the next opportunity I had—I would Sam Goodwin continued on page B4
where we learn, pray, and serve together.
“Thank you for celebrating this joyous occasion with us. May God bless you and your families as we begin this liturgy of gratitude and praise.”
A founding parishioner of Our Lady of Fatima, 84-year-old Florence McCain Shirley, was among those attending the Mass and dinner, during both of which the parish looked forward to its next 75 years.
Our Lady of Fatima parochial vicars Father Joseph Austin and Father Renzo Alvarado Suarez concelebrated the Mass along with Father Jhon Mario Garcia and Father Elijah John Joseph. Father Elijah is from the Benedictines of Divine Will in Blount County, and members of his order along with local Benedictine Daughters of Divine Will were present at the Mass.
Deacon Bill Jacobs, who emceed the dinner with parish secretary Ana Carballo, and Deacon Leon Dodd assisted at Mass. Former pastor Father Bill McNeeley attended the dinner.
Luis Ramos, Our Lady of Fatima pastoral associate and coordinator of high-school and young-adult ministry, translated Bishop Beckman’s homily into Spanish at the Mass, and Father Iorio gave his remarks at Mass in English and Spanish.
Dr. Christy Lee, director of music and liturgy for the parish, led a group at Mass that included members of the Fatima Blue and Fatima Gold choirs and Coro Hispano, as well as guest cantors and instrumentalists. A Communion meditation song, “Jubilate Deo,” made its world premiere at the anniversary Mass, having been composed by Bahamas native Sonovia Pierre after it was commissioned by Our Lady of Fatima’s music ministry.
In his homily, Bishop Beckman spoke of another anniversary marked this year.
“One hundred years ago, 1925, was the first time that the Church celebrated the great feast of Christ the King,” he said. “Pope Pius XI inaugurated the feast day for the Church universal because of the world that was unfolding in those days. They had just been through the Great War that was to end all wars, what we call today World War I. The communist revolution had taken place in Russia and the revolution in Mexico, and Mussolini and Hitler were rising in Europe.
“Pope Pius XI wanted to remind the Catholic faithful throughout the world that to Christ alone belongs the allegiance of our hearts.”
A quarter-century later, “the seed of God’s kingdom was planted here at Our Lady of Fatima in East Tennessee,” the bishop said. “The good news of Jesus Christ, the firstborn of
all creation, was proclaimed here 75 years ago.”
The destructive events of the 20th century foretold at Fatima continue to this day through “powers that have risen that claim to be universal,” Bishop Beckman said.
“Today more than ever, we are here to acknowledge Christ as King. But did not the mother of Jesus, Our Lady of Fatima, warn us about the unfolding clouds of the 20th century?” the bishop asked. “Her protective care, a mother’s care for us, her children, is still with us here. Today, we celebrate. We thank Christ, our king. We sign ourselves with that beautiful mystery of God’s love that is the sign of the cross.
“May the Lord in His goodness continue to allow the seeds of His Word here at Our Lady of Fatima to grow and to flourish in the coming century. This we ask through Christ, Our Lord.”
In his closing remarks at Mass, the bishop offered words of gratitude to Father Iorio—also the diocesan vicar general and moderator of the curia—and to Dr. Lee for the music ministry.
“I’m always grateful to celebrate with you here at Our Lady of Fatima. What a beautiful community of prayer this is,” Bishop Beckman said.
“In lifting up to the Lord our voices in song, I’m reminded of St. Augustine, who said, ‘a song is a thing of joy and a thing of love.’ You all have helped us to lift our hearts and minds to God in praise. Father Pete, I want to thank you for the beautiful pastoring that you are doing here at this parish of Our Lady of Fatima and for your generosity in also assisting me now in the diocese in every way.”
Father Iorio returned the bishop’s thanks as the Mass ended. The Alcoa pastor connected the founding of his parish to the Diocese of Nashville, which in 1950 encompassed the entire state and gave Knoxville its fourth bishop in 2024.
“Of course, we have a special word of gratitude to you, Bishop, for being here and celebrating the 75 years of Our Lady of Fatima here in Blount County,” Father Iorio said. “I am remembering that as you came to us from Nashville, we were originally 75 years ago under the Diocese of Nashville. Bishop William Adrian is the one who established this parish, so it is full circle, and we are most grateful for your pastoral leadership of us now. Thank you,” he ended, to a round of applause.
Deacon Jacobs gave the opening prayer at the dinner, during which a slide show played, depicting the life of a thriving parish over threequarters of a century.
“We’re going to take a few moments to look back on this incredible journey that brought us here: 75 years of worship, ministry, and love in action,” Deacon Jacobs said.
Father Iorio commented on the
Parishioners from the early days Bishop Mark Beckman and Our Lady of Fatima pastor Father Peter Iorio stand at the anniversary dinner with charter parishioner Florence McCain Shirley (center) and longtime parishioners Philip Malach and Teresa McKinnon.
packed dinner space at the Hilton as he gave a reflection on the anniversary. The pastor made pilgrimages in 2024 and this year not only to Fatima, Portugal, but also to the original Our Lady of Fatima Church site in Maryville and to the parish’s longtime home on Wright Road, where it also operated a school from 1955 to 1970. He concluded with a visit to the Fatima Center, a former AT&T building now part of the church’s current campus on Louisville Road that served as the worship space between the departure from the Wright Road site and the dedication of the new church in 2000.
“It’s awesome to see so many celebrating the anniversary of our parish. My reflection begins on last year, when I went on pilgrimage, and one of the places I went to was Fatima, Portugal. I call it the mother ship,” he said. “Our Lady of Fatima Church was named after the apparition that took place in that little village of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, to three shepherd children in the year 1917. News of that miracle spread throughout the world quickly.
“The miracle was accepted as worthy of belief as proclaimed by the bishop of that local church in Portugal only in the year 1930. Then 10 years later, in 1940, the Holy Father proclaimed that it is a miracle accepted by the Church. When you think about that, only 10 years
later, in 1950, the bishop of Nashville, William Adrian, named the new Catholic church in MaryvilleAlcoa-Blount County after Our Lady of Fatima. I think that’s quite remarkable.”
Pilgrimages are “an important theme and part of my spiritual life,” Father Iorio said. “In the course of preparing for this night, I made a little pilgrimage—prayerful visits— to important locations connected to the history of our parish. To 211 Ellis Ave. in Maryville, right near the courthouse, where the first church was transformed from a house, and then to the current standing building that is the former church. How many of you went to that church on Wright Road?”
A number of hands were raised.
“That’s a good number. It’s still in good use as a church, and the school right next to it is now a child-care center,” Father Iorio said. “Then I went on a meditative walk through our social hall, because that was the place of worship. How many of you worshiped in the Fatima Center, the social hall, during the transition from the Wright Road church to our current place of worship?”
The Fatima Center has on a back wall a “rogues’ gallery,” as Father Iorio called it, of former pastors, including the founding one, Father Paul Clunan.
“What caught my eye were the pictures of my predecessors, and I
was amazed to discover—looking at the 13 pictures on the wall—that I have personally known 10 of them. Some of those priests have gone to God. Some are serving faithfully still. I’m glad that my immediate predecessor, Father Bill McNeeley, is able to join us tonight,” Father Iorio said.
That same back wall has, farther down, “a group of pictures of saints with ethnic diversity that a young women’s prayer group in the parish put up, and it reflects the universal Church and the reality of our church being an immigrant parish, as we have people from all over the globe worshiping within our walls,” the pastor continued. “That tells me how amazing God is and how He works in different times and places in our world and brings us all together. Part of my pilgrimage was spent praying in front of the columbarium, the final resting place of those who have gone before us, and the souls of those who have died speak to me not only of the history of our parish but to the legacy of faith, community, and love that they set firmly and want us to continue.”
Our Lady of Fatima Parish has a connection to those shepherd children in Portugal more than a century ago, Father Iorio said, drawing a line from the founding families in the late 1940s and early 1950s “to those who were part of the move to the current church and our campus in the millennium year, and today, to all of us celebrating the 75th anniversary. We’re all ordinary people. We’re beloved sons and daughters of God, and yet in some way, great or small, we have been inspired by the extraordinary power and love of our God.
“The people who make up our parish of Our Lady of Fatima make a difference. We are important citizens and neighbors in our community who want our love of Christ to help the common good. This has been a wonderful jubilee year for us as a parish and for the universal Church at large. Pope Francis named it ‘A Pilgrimage of Hope.’ Let us continue to hope in our Lord and trust in Him as we go forward for the next 75 years and beyond.”
Deacon Jacobs asked parishioners at the dinner to stand if they were members when Our Lady of Fatima moved to its current church in 2000, then to remain standing if they were parishioners in 1990, 1980, 1975, 1970, 1965, and 1960. As less than three or four were standing by that point, he counted down each year from 1959 to 1950, and only Mrs. Shirley remained standing.
The deacon recognized the bishop and the priests at the dinner along with area church leaders and anniversary-committee members.
The Knights of Columbus were one of the first ministries of the young Our Lady of Fatima Parish, as Council 3832 was established in 1954. Current Grand Knight Peter Lloyd showed the dinner audience a plaque with all past Grand Knights’ names, with a blank nameplate at the end “that’ll probably be for me,” he said.
“There probably weren’t very
many ministries in that setting in 1954,” Mr. Lloyd said, comparing them to branches of a tree that start with the bishop as the trunk. “The ministries are all the limbs that come from that. I think that’s what shows you the growth of the church: the ministries.”
He then asked anyone involved with a parish ministry to stand up, and a number of people did and received an ovation.
“This is what makes our church grow, from one ministry and now look at all these people here. I’d like to thank them all and wish we could continue to grow this church tremendously,” he said.
Mr. Lloyd said the Knights recently cleaned out a storage room they used at the church that Father Iorio needed for another use, and in it they found a cross from the Wright Road site, which the Grand Knight then presented to Father Iorio.
“Father, I’d like to pass this on to you and see if you had a place to put it in our church right now. It’s been around for a long time,” Mr. Lloyd said.
Mrs. Carballo followed next by asking for a moment of silence to honor deceased parishioners.
Bishop Beckman then spoke about “what a beautiful evening this has been” after having seen the slide show during the dinner.
“When I look up at the photographs of the whole story of the history of the parish, it’s so beautiful to see that this beautiful tradition of faith has been handed on and that you all continue to live that faith and hand it on to the next generation, so congratulations on all 75 years and blessings for the 75 to come.”
Parish council chairman Greg Ward and finance council chair Monica Gawet talked about the future of the parish.
“As we celebrate this wonderful 75 years of God’s faithfulness, I want to take a moment and recognize something at the heart of our parish strength: it’s you. It’s all of us who make this such a special place,” Mr. Ward said. “You sustain the church. You give of your time, your generosity, your talent, and your finance.”
Ms. Gawet said, “I’m pleased to share that Our Lady of Fatima is strong and very stable and in a very stable financial position. This is the direct result of consistent leadership, thoughtful planning, and incredible support of parishioners who believe in our mission. We continue to meet our operating needs. We invest in necessary improvements, and we plan constantly for the future.
“Over the next few years, we’ll be able to strengthen our ministries, maintain and improve our campus, and expand programs that support families, youth, outreach, and faith formation. We have paid off our debt”—which drew a round of applause—and “we’ve received some extraordinary gifts. We’ve added staff to improve overall office functions. We’ve gathered feedback from the parish on church needs, and your support allows us not only to sustain what we have but to contin-
ue to build a vibrant and welcoming parish for the next generation.”
Mr. Ward said that “every gift, whether it’s financial or whether it’s a gift of volunteering or giving of your time and talent, all of that is simply being present in our parish life and making that lasting impact. You make it possible for our parish to remain a spiritual home where people can encounter Christ, grow in faith, and serve with purpose.”
He said that when Mr. Lloyd asked for those involved in parish ministries to stand, “about half the room stood up.”
“One of the things as we look forward to our next 75 years is we need everybody to stand up,” Mr. Ward said. “There is so much going on at Our Lady of Fatima, and to be a part of that is such a rich and rewarding experience. There is so much that you get by giving and showing up. As we look to these next 75 years and beyond, we do so with confidence and with hope. With your continued partnership, we’ll continue to strengthen these ministries, care for our parish home, and invest in the future of our community.
“Thank you for your faith and your trust. Thank you for believing in the mission of Our Lady of Fatima, and with God’s help, for continuing that mission as we go forward. On behalf of the pastoral parish council and the finance committee, we thank you for your generous stewardship, your faith and love for this community, and together we look forward to all that God has in store.”
Deacon Jacobs asked jubilee event committee member Bruce Damrow and wife Donna to stand, and the couple received applause as they were celebrating their 57th wedding anniversary that night.
Mrs. Shirley noted that she was 9 years old when Our Lady of Fatima Parish was founded in 1950.
“I was in it from the beginning,” she said.
Two other longtime parishioners, Teresa McKinnon and Philip Malach, attended the celebration.
“I was born in ’57, and I was baptized that October at Our Lady of Fatima,” Mrs. McKinnon said.
Mr. Malach was an altar server at the church on Ellis Avenue in
Maryville at age 7 in 1952.
“They had it in the house first. I remember the house,” he said.
Mrs. McKinnon remembered an early pastor who followed Father Clunan. Father John Baltz was a longtime priest of the Diocese of Nashville who served a number of parishes in East Tennessee.
“He always kept his Kleenex in his sleeve,” Mrs. McKinnon recalled. Mr. Malach remembered Father Baltz as well.
“Right after Mass, he was out there in his coveralls doing yardwork,” he said.
Mrs. Shirley said her father and her two oldest brothers “helped put the roof on” the Ellis Avenue house. Mrs. McKinnon described the growth of the parish as “wonderful.”
“I can remember when I was in high school in ’74-75. To me it felt like the church was getting smaller,” she said. “I actually left the church for a little while and came back in ’96, and when I came back, I couldn’t believe the number of people who were coming then.”
Mrs. Shirley said she didn’t expect such growth, thinking we would never “grow out of” the Wright Road church.
Mr. Malach, a cradle Catholic, said his father was born in 1898 and his mother in 1903.
“They were German Catholics. All the brothers and sisters were born up in Illinois. In 1941, they decided to move to Chattanooga. He got hired as a plumber. In 1943, he went to work on the Manhattan Project,” he said. “We stayed here for that, and we’ve been here ever since then.”
Mr. Malach attended the Mass and dinner in uniform. He has served in the Naval Reserve, including two and a half years on the USS Quillback, a submarine that saw its first service in World War II, before going to the Army National Guard and a 28-year career with the Knoxville Police Department.
Mrs. Shirley is also a lifelong Catholic, born in Maryville. She attended Mass as a child at Knoxville’s downtown church and was educated at its former school.
“We used to go to Knoxville to go
continued on page B5
just go somewhere different. I put this formula into play for about six years, and in early 2018, I realized that I had traveled to 120 countries in the world.”
That made him start counting countries.
“I remember thinking: well, how many are there?” he said. “Most importantly, I learned: travel was the best education I ever had. It was never about ticking boxes or checking places off a list.”
When he learned there were 193 fully recognized UN sovereign states, he “thought to myself: maybe I could go to all of them. The competitive athlete in me likes setting goals and working toward achieving them.”
More research involving a map, his bank account, and people who could help with visas led him to “ultimately decide I was going to give this a shot. I had no idea if I could do it. I might fail miserably. I didn’t know what that would look like, but I then worked toward achieving something that I thought was extraordinary.”
By spring 2019, he had been to 180 of the 193 countries.
“It was at this point when the next place I was going to go to was Syria, a country that’s experiencing arguably the most tragic humanitarian disaster of our lifetime,” Mr. Goodwin said. “By conservative estimates, a half a million people have died in the conflict. The UN stopped counting at 250,000. But one of the most important things that I have learned through my travels is that places that are negatively perceived or that western media tells us we’re not supposed to like—these are the same places where I’ve had many of my best experiences and where my perspectives were most meaningfully impacted.
“Despite everything that was happening there, I was confident that the same would be the case. One of the most important or compelling things for me about Syria specifically was its religious significance. It’s the cradle of civilization. It’s mentioned more than 300 times in the Bible. Mary Magdalene was of Syrian descent. King David conquered northern Syria. Paul the Apostle’s conversion took place on the road, of course, to Damascus.”
Mr. Goodwin’s Catholic faith “was a big part of my travel journey,” he said.
“I’d been to Mass in 65 countries. I’d visited Catholic churches in 115. In fact, the reason that I chose to enter Syria on a Saturday was so that I could attend Mass there the following morning,” he said. “Little did I know, God had other ideas, and I didn’t make it to Mass that Sunday or any of the next nine Sundays.
“On May 25, 2019, I went to the northeast region of Syria. I went to a town called Qamishli. Just two hours after arriving, I was walking through a roundabout on the way to meet up with my guide, when all of a sudden a black pickup abruptly pulled up next to me. Two armed men jumped out of the back seat and instructed me to get inside. Thankfully, they weren’t violent, but I didn’t have a choice. I was scared, confused—I had no information or anyone to help. I was desperately trying to understand what’s hap-
pening. These men were loyal to the then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and told me that they were skeptical of my travel history and my travel motives.”
The truck “sped down back alleys of the city, with the officers in the vehicle accusing me of espionage, of being an American spy, and collaborating with terrorists. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before,” Mr. Goodwin said. “The truck drove for about five minutes, then it stopped. Then the officer in the vehicle next to me reached into his pocket, and he pulled out a blindfold and put it over my eyes. The truck drove for about one minute, then it stopped. I stepped out of the vehicle. They took the blindfold off. I looked up, and I was underneath a massive Syrian military airplane out on the tarmac of an airport.
“They handcuffed me behind my back, took me over to the ladder, and threw me into the cargo hold of the plane. About 30 minutes later, the plane took off. I realized now at this point that I was lying on an airplane but didn’t know where it was going, and this overwhelming cloud of uncertainty was beginning to grow all around me. About 90 minutes later, we landed in what I learned to be Damascus, the Syrian capital city. I was taken from the airport, driven in to the center of town, and taken into the basement of a facility that I now know is called Syria’s military intelligence prison No. 215, a facility notoriously known for housing political prisoners.”
The officer in charge spoke a bit of English and escorted Mr. Goodwin to a cell “in the back of the basement. When he put me in there, he went to the inside of the cell door, and he said, ‘Food, water, toilet— knock—otherwise quiet, no talking,’ and he slammed the door and left,” he said. “I was stunned and in disbelief at what had happened in just a few short hours. My life had spiraled out of control in the most terrifying of ways. I felt exactly the way they wanted me to: hopeless, utterly cut off from any control of my life.
“Thankfully, the cell wasn’t too small—I could walk around just a little bit, but it had no window, it was all-concrete. I had nothing but a small blanket to lay on the concrete floor as a bed. I remained here in solitary confinement for 27 days. The only human interaction I had was for a few seconds in the morning and evening when the guards brought bread and boiled potatoes and water. During this time, I was never physically harmed, but the facility was not soundproof. Every day I would hear the sounds of inmates in neighboring cells being beaten and tortured.”
Mr. Goodwin said he “couldn’t help wondering: when is my turn?
I realized I was in an environment where nothing was off limits. I never stopped caring about dying or the long list of other bad things that I thought might happen, but I began to lose the energy to be afraid. Normal or average prisoners spend their time counting down the days to the end of their sentences, but hostages count up.”
In his cell, Mr. Goodwin “leaned on perspectives that I’d developed from traveling different corners of the world, which provoked gratitude just for the basic food and
water I was being given” and on competitive-athlete skills and perspectives such as mental toughness and critical thinking.
“I leaned on the belief that I had a purpose in life and a desire to see family and friends again, but most importantly in that cell I leaned on my faith,” he said. “Everything had been taken from me: my material possessions, my communication, my freedom. But no matter what, I knew my faith was absolute. My prayers became this uninterrupted conversation with God. I was constantly talking to Him, pacing back and forth, kind of like I’m doing right now, saying things out loud. Even though they told me not to talk, I said, ‘God, I’m here. I’m listening. What are you trying to tell me today? What can I learn today? What are perhaps the positives about my situation today? My No. 1 prayer was always, ‘God, please keep my situation safe and peaceful. Please keep me physically unharmed.’”
His second prayer was about the timeline, Mr. Goodwin said.
“If this was all going on peacefully, then the next question was ‘when?’ And this was the prayer that for me became the most tricky and intense, and I remember almost positioning it like a business deal. I said, ‘God, I know you have a plan, but is it possible, would you consider, an adjustment to the timeline? Can that work with your plan?’” Mr. Goodwin shared. “I then finished all of my prayers by saying the rosary. I would dedicate each decade to something different. I would pray for my family, my friends, anybody who I thought would be working to get me out of this situation. I would pray for world peace. I would pray very hard for the courage to forgive my captor. And through that, I discovered that I was working to forgive people who weren’t even sorry, and that’s strength. Forgiveness, I found, is not a feeling—it’s a choice.”
The strength from those prayers helped him make it to day 27, Mr. Goodwin said.
“It was at this point I was taken out of solitary confinement. I was driven across town to the outskirts of the city and taken to a facility called Adra, which is the country’s central federal prison. I was put in a cell with about 40 other men, and I remained here for the next 35 days, for another month,” he said. “During this time, I was also put on trial in Damascus. I went to court four times, and in all four sessions, the judge denied me a lawyer, denied me a translator, continued to characterize me as a spy and a terrorist, without providing any meaningful information about what may happen.
“The whole process was taking place inside this ideological vacuum. It was not going to be impacted by anything I said or did. Back at Adra, the other inmates became friends. We cooked and shared food together. They taught me Arabic; I taught them English. There was a prison basketball court. I taught several of them how to play knockout. One of them even smuggled a note out of the prison on my behalf, a note that successfully navigated a game of geopolitical telephone and made it to my father in St. Louis, serving as the first time I managed to communicate that I was alive.”
He said he was grateful to his fellow prisoners, most of whom had done no more to deserve confinement than he had.
“These men truly risked their lives to help save mine, and what a remarkable display of humanity,” Mr. Goodwin said. “I learned very quickly that virtually none of them were true criminals—they were just victims of a corrupt system and had been caught up in the instability of conflict. I have to say that these men reinforced some of the most significant things that I had learned through my travels. For example, never judge people by the actions of their government. I’ve learned that people who have the least often give the most, something I’ve found to be true in all corners of the world.”
Although Adra “was unquestionably an upgrade from solitary confinement, I had reached the twomonth mark of being held captive as a political prisoner in the Middle East, and this overwhelming cloud of uncertainly was continuing to grow all around,” Mr. Goodwin said. “On July 26, 2019, one of the prison officials came to the cell I was in, called my name, and he indicated that I was being moved. As he escorted me outside, he stopped and said, ‘Sam, you’re very lucky. President Assad has agreed to release you.’”
With all he had been through, Mr. Goodwin could not believe that great news.
“This sounded encouraging, but I had been lied to so many times in the past two months that I had essentially become immune to believing anything like this. Outside, I stepped into a black SUV, which turned out to be part of a five-vehicle convoy that raced out of Damascus at what seemed to be 100 mph,” he said. “We didn’t stop at traffic lights. We used the shoulder of the road to maneuver around traffic. We drove west toward the mountains. Nobody in the vehicle said a word.
“The nice cars, the professional nature of the operation, made me think that this was either really good or really bad. I’m about to experience one extreme of the captivity spectrum here, but I don’t know which one it is. We came up to a checkpoint, one that seemed to be some kind of significant border, and as we passed through, the officer in the vehicle sitting next to me tapped me on the leg and said, ‘Sam, you’re in Lebanon. You’re safe now.’ This was also very encouraging, but I was still putting all the pieces together. We drove from there for about another hour into Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon.”
St. Charbel Makhlouf (1828-1898), a Maronite monk and priest in Lebanon, likely provided some assistance from above.
“I was taken to the office of Lebanese internal security, kind of like the equivalent to the FBI here in the U.S. When I walked into the office, in addition to dozens of government and military-intelligence officials and journalists—my parents were there, culminating this moment that was indescribably emotional, one that many people thought would never happen, and a breathtaking display of God answering prayers,” Mr. Goodwin said. “I had the opportunity there to meet and thank a man named Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who heads Lebanon’s internal
to church before they had the church here, at Immaculate Conception. I went to school there at St. Mary’s and then Knoxville Catholic (High School), class of 1959.”
Mr. Malach is a KCHS grad from 1963.
After dinner, Father Iorio called the day’s events “a beautiful celebration and a perfect way to end the year.”
He said he had visited that day the Wright Road church, now Springbrook Church, and the former Our Lady of Fatima School, now Little Sprouts Learning Center.
The tremendous expansion of the parish from a handful of families in 1950 to 1,500-plus is another blessing, Father Iorio said.
“It’s great to see the growth, and the growth continues: we have a lot of new people moving into the parish and to our diocese, so that just adds a richness to our experience of the faith,” he said.
Bishop Beckman said following the dinner program that “it’s incredible that this community after 75 years has grown to be such a large, vibrant, faith-filled community.”
Bishop Beckman grew up in Lawrenceburg in the Diocese of Nashville and was serving in the city of Nashville when he became bishop of Knoxville on July 26, 2024.
“Bishop Adrian would have been
Sam Goodwin continued from page B4
curity. He had mediated my release with the Syrians.
“That evening, my parents and I went to the town of Byblos in Lebanon, and we prayed together at St. Charbel Monastery. St. Charbel, as some of you may know, is a 19thcentury Lebanese monk well known for working miracles and whose feast day was just one day earlier than the day my release was granted. The next day, as we made our way back to the U.S., to St. Louis, I learned that Gen. Ibrahim’s negotiations led to President Assad and Syria finally figuring out what had happened and dropping his false charges against me. I became and I am the only American civilian that he ever released.”
Support from family and friends has sustained Mr. Goodwin since his release as he deals with posttraumatic stress disorder and how to “survive survival.” That included “interesting conversations with my bank,” as he attempted “to convince them that being held hostage in a foreign country is grounds for them to forgive credit-card late fees.”
His desire to visit all 193 countries did not change even after his horrific experience in Syria.
“Despite everything that had happened, my original curiosity about the world had really never been stronger,” Mr. Goodwin said. “When I first came home, my family pretty much shackled me to the kitchen table and wanted to throw away my passport, but toward the end of 2019, after several months of reflection and putting things into context, I became very committed to not letting what happened conquer me.
“One of the most significant steps I took to address that was to continue what I had been pursuing beforehand. On Dec. 31, 2019, I made one final trip, and that trip was to the nation that is home to more Catholics than any other in the world. It was Brazil, and with that I had traveled to every country in the world, joining a group at the time of only 100 people in history who had ever done that.”
His choice to visit Syria made for contrasting comments from those who hear his story.
“A lot of people say, ‘This guy is an idiot who never should have tried to go to every country and never should have been in Syria in the first place,’” Mr. Goodwin said. “There are a lot of other people who hear this story and say, ‘This guy is a hero for surviving.’ The truth is I’m neither of those extremes. I became part of an extraordinary circumstance and just did my best to embrace and manage it. What I’ve learned to be true is that we can’t always choose the exact path that we take in life, but we can always choose the manner in which we walk it.”
the bishop of Nashville when this parish was created. It was part of the Diocese of Nashville, and then of course Pope Francis called me from Nashville to be the bishop here,” he said.
A number of church leaders of other faith traditions attended the dinner, including Ann Owens Brunger of Highland Presbyterian Church in Maryville.
“I am a minister of the Presbyterian Church USA, and I have served a congregation in Maryville for 20 years,” she said. “I am retired now, but during those 20 years I was very involved in the community and in ecumenical ministries, and that’s how I started working with the wonderful people at Our Lady of Fatima.”
The Rev. Brunger said her church’s collaboration with Our Lady of Fatima “was really fruitful in the ’90s. We have an organization in this community that’s called the Blount County Ecumenical Action Council, and all the different churches would come to our monthly meetings, and at those meetings we began sharing the issues that all of our churches faced, which was constant phone calls from people needing help with their electric bills or car repairs, just emergencies.
“Out of that discussion, we were inspired to create a program called
The first question he usually receives is “Sam, how exactly did you get out?”
“Much of what I have told you so far this evening has been a story about one man in a cell, but in truth there was something much bigger happening,” Mr. Goodwin said. “It was God’s story. I was Assad’s hostage but only until God accomplished what He intended to through my captivity.”
The fact that his communications with family and friends “went dark” after visiting Syria was the first sign of trouble.
“I was always very good about keeping in touch, especially if I was in more of an unstable place. I had communicated that I was going to be in Syria for just a few days,” Mr. Goodwin said. “When that time passed and they weren’t hearing from me, they began to worry. My father works in civil engineering, and my mother is a registered nurse-turned-educator. Both of them are smart people and have had relative success in their respective professional fields, but they’re just an average family from St. Louis. They had no idea what to do when their son went missing in the Middle East.”
His parents reached out to the FBI field office in St. Louis, which “escalated to some of the highest levels of the U.S. government in Washington,” Mr. Goodwin said. “Throughout my captivity, my family had kind of a roller-coaster experience with the U.S. government. But early on, the government communicated two key things to my family. First, they said, ‘We strongly recommend that you keep this out of the news. Keep all of the communication very tight. Don’t let the press get hold of this because if they do, and Sam’s captors—depending on who they are, which was still unknown at the time—feel that type of pressure, they might just kill him.’
“The second thing they said was ‘you should really manage your expectations. We have no diplomatic or economic ties with Damascus. There may not be a whole lot we can do here to help.’”
Mr. Goodwin’s younger sister, Stephanie, then made a choice that went against the government’s advice but ended up leading to his release.
“Three weeks later, my younger sister, who was 25 years old at the time and living here in Tennessee in Nashville, particularly became overwhelmed with everything that was happening, and she decided that she needed to call someone and talk to them about this and just blow off some steam, which was against the recommendation of the U.S. government about keeping all the communication very tight,” Mr. Goodwin said. “She decides that she’s going
Good Neighbors. My congregation, Highland Presbyterian, and Our Lady of Fatima got together to do a pilot project to see if this concept would work, and it did, and Good Neighbors is really thriving today. It’s been going for over 30 years. The idea is that the different churches would pool their resources, send their volunteers to work with this, and meet with our neighbors who needed a helping hand, who needed to get through a crisis, and we wanted to give them that boost in that way. That cooperation with the churches was a beautiful, beautiful
to call her former college roommate, who is coincidentally also named Stephanie, so there’s this phone call between the Stephanies. My Steph says, ‘Well, actually things aren’t very good.’ She goes on to explain that ‘my brother’s been missing for weeks. Nobody’s heard from him. We’re working with all of these agencies and officials, and nobody’s been able to help. We’re really scared.’
“Roommate Steph is of course shocked to hear something like this, but she says all the right things and offers her full support, and at the end of the call, as the story goes, roommate Steph says, ‘Hey, if there’s anything I can do, just let me know.’ And my Steph responds, almost jokingly or sarcastically, ‘honestly, unless you know someone who knows Assad, the Syrian president, please just pray.’ And roommate Steph says, ‘Wait—let me call you back.’”
That presaged an amazing example of God’s hand at work in Mr. Goodwin’s release.
“It turns out that roommate Steph is Lebanese, and her uncle is good friends with Gen. Abbas Ibrahim,” he said. “Gen. Ibrahim has a somewhat secret back-channel relationship with the Syrians and was able to mediate my release when so many others were struggling to do anything. When my sister called her college roommate, she didn’t really even know that she was Lebanese. She didn’t know Lebanon was close to Syria. She couldn’t find Lebanon on a map. (Her phone call) wasn’t strategic. She was just calling a friend at a time when she desperately needed support.”
Mr. Goodwin speculated on what would have happened if another person was chosen to receive his sister’s phone call.
“I can tell all of you here this evening I believe that if, in that moment, she would have decided to just call a different friend, I might not be here,” he said. “The FBI, the CIA, the White House, the Pentagon, and Pope Francis were involved, and Russian intelligence, Middle East NGOs, and private-sector security companies were all struggling to be effective, but my sister’s college roommate could identify a path to get an American hostage released from captivity in the Middle East.
“So, what do all of us here this evening do with a story like this? What’s the message? I have to say I’m still processing many of these experiences, and sometimes I feel like the best thing I can offer is to recommend having a resourceful sister, which is important,” he added to laughter.
Mr. Goodwin took more than a dozen questions from his St. Patrick audience after his talk and hinted that a movie about his Syrian captivity could be in the offing.
example of ecumenical partnership and fellowship.”
For more on the history of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, see the November issue of The East Tennessee Catholic or visit either etcatholic. org/2025/11/our-lady-of-fatimaparish-celebrating-75th-anniversary or www.ourladyoffatima.org/history
Bishop Beckman said it “was very, very moving” to meet Our Lady of Fatima parishioners of long standing, including Mrs. Shirley, “to know that there was at least one parishioner here when it was created. I love that.” ■
‘I’ve been everywhere, man’ Sam Goodwin brought his high school backpack, made by The North Face, to St. Patrick for his talk. Mr. Goodwin has taken the backpack to all 193 UN-recognized countries in the world.
When asked about his most memorable experiences besides Syria, Mr. Goodwin mentioned coaching hockey in North Korea and visiting the Holy Land in Israel. In early 2019, he went to dinner in Samoa, and a woman he knew there brought her boyfriend, Paul, to the Italian restaurant where they ate. When the woman paid for the meal with the country’s tala paper money, Mr. Goodwin did a double take as he noticed that Paul, a team captain for the Samoan national rugby team, was pictured on the currency with two other team captains.
“I looked at him and was like, ‘You’re on the money of this country?’” Mr. Goodwin said. “I think when people are on money, it’s like George Washington, the queen— and Paul.”
More information about Mr. Goodwin and his book may be found at www.samrgoodwin.com. To suggest a St. Patrick event to Ms. Toby, e-mail stpatrick.social.activities@gmail. com
Mr. Goodwin said his sister showed “the way that God will use ordinary people to do extraordinary things, as He did. I was being held hostage amidst a brutal civil war where war crimes and crimes against humanity were running rampant. The most connected and influential people in the world were working on it, struggling to do anything, and the result that they were working toward had never happened before.
“ Doesn’t sound very encouraging, does it? But when God was ready to solve this problem, He did so very quickly and very simply with a phone call between two 25-yearold girls who used to be college roommates. How does that happen? Because it’s God’s story,” he said to conclude his talk. ■
Chattanooga Deanery Holy Spirit, Soddy-Daisy
Monsignor Al Humbrecht’s next book study will take place from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the church. The book is A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. To register, call the church at 423-332-5300 or e-mail hscc_parish@holyspirittn.com
St. Bridget, Dayton
The Women’s Council enjoyed its annual Christmas luncheon at the parish hall on Dec. 3. They celebrated November and December birthdays and enjoyed a “steal a gift” exchange game.
The Knights of Columbus once again partnered with the Mount LeConte Jug Band group to entertain the residents of Dayton Life Care Center on Dec. 4. St. Jude, Chattanooga
The annual Helping Hands Alternative Gift Project began Nov. 24 and continues through Jan. 26 to benefit St. Jude’s twin parish in Gros-Morne, Haiti. Gifts may include books for schoolchildren, help for farmers, salary for a Haitian teacher, religious-instruction books, fuel to run generators, or a Christmas donation that can cover many needs. Make a gift or donation at stjudechattanooga.org/news/ alternative-helping-hands-gift-project
Children of the parish and St. Jude School have been asked to donate a pair of gloves or another cold-weather accessory to the Star Tree at the church as part of the Warm Hands, Warm Hearts project.
St. Jude held a Christmas Cookie & Treat Exchange in the parish life center on Dec. 13 and Breakfast with Santa in Siener Hall on Dec. 7.
The Council of Catholic Women’s Christmas ornament exchange took place at its meeting on Dec. 2.
Boy Scout Troop 172 sold poinsettias this month as a fundraiser.
Pre-confirmation candidates hosted a Living Saints Museum on Nov. 12.
St. Mary, Athens
The Knights of Columbus are sponsoring a coat drive. Donations of new or gently used clean coats, hats, sweaters, scarves, and gloves will be accepted through Jan. 31.
St. Stephen, Chattanooga
The Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary hosted a Christmas party at the Knights’ hall on Dec. 11 and will have a Christmas cookie bake sale at the church administration building after weekend Masses on Dec. 20-21. The bake sale will support the parish, the Maclellan Shelter in Chattanooga, the Ladies of Charity, and other area organizations.
The Knights named Bob Adney as Knight of the month in November.
Anniversaries: James and Marjorie Goller (60), Terry and Kitty Roberts (56), Kirk and Karen Steely (53), Glenn and Judy Perry (52), Ken and Laure Buss (40), Gabriel and Emily Nunley (5), Rodrigo and Aline Vaccari (5)
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Cleveland
The Council of Catholic Women sponsored a feast of St. Nicholas celebration on Dec. 7 in Breen Hall.
Parishioners took part in a blanket drive for a Three Kings Feast on Dec. 6.
Cumberland Mountain Deanery
Blessed Sacrament, Harriman
The annual Christmas Potluck Party is set for 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21, in the church hall. Five gift baskets will be presented, and the event will have activities for children along with a visit from Santa.
The Ladies Guild in November sold Blessed Sacrament fleece vests with
the church name and pictured embroidered on the front.
St. Francis of Assisi, Fairfield Glade
A rosary was prayed by the Social Action Committee for the prisoners of Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville following the 8 a.m. Mass on Nov. 6.
Sally Kowalski at 931-335-1008 and Tom Racklyeft at 630-346-8143 are Ministers of Care, helping parishioners who cannot attend Mass, even for a short time, to receive the Eucharist in their homes.
Volunteers with the Caring Hearts and Hands ministry reach out to parishioners in need of comfort and encouragement and offer celebratory greetings on birthdays and anniversaries through phone calls and words of encouragement. To learn more or to volunteer, call DeDe Walker at 352-3288857 or Liz Fagan at 708-217-4569.
The youth group of St. Alphonsus Parish in Crossville displayed luminaries in the St. Francis of Assisi columbarium after the 5 p.m. Mass on Nov. 8.
The Social Action Committee, the Knights of Columbus, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society distributed Thanksgiving food boxes to the poor of Cumberland County on Nov. 17 in the parish hall. Some volunteers delivered the boxes to homes.
A Christmas Giving Tree in the main entrance of the church benefits children of Cumberland County. The late Ethel Wagner, a parishioner who realized the need for warmer clothing for poor children in Cumberland County schools, started a small Christmas tree that was soon loaded with crocheted hats, scarves, underwear, and shoes. Her tree is in the back entrance by the religious articles on sale.
A Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree Spouse Appreciation Dinner was held recently in the parish hall.
Deacon Daniel Cooper, ordained on Nov. 15 (see the story that begins on page A5) has been assigned to St. Francis of Assisi. He preached a homily there on Dec. 14.
Anniversaries: Edwin and Grace Johnson (72), Phil and Rose Poynter (61), Robert and Carol Loghry (58), Roger and Donna Dudley (56), Don and Deidre Walker (55), Michael and Victoria English (54), Roger and Barbara Dever (53), Gary and Linda Nyquist (53), Dennis and Nancy Ashman (53), Chris and Elaine Gifford (25), Mark and Debra Tune (15), Tony and Patricia Zimmerman (5)
St. John Neumann, Farragut
A parish Jubilee Year Advent miniretreat took place on Dec. 13.
The young-adult group on Dec. 13 held a Christmas party in Loudon featuring a potluck, a gift exchange, and an ugly-sweater contest.
Women of the parish attended a Christmas Brunch with Cookie Exchange on Dec. 6 in Seton Hall.
St. Joseph, Norris
Father Brian Barker celebrated morning Mass on Dec. 11, and after a soup supper that evening led a parish Advent retreat.
The Men of St. Joseph group sponsored a couples dinner at La Sierra Mexican Restaurant in Andersonville on Dec. 11.
The parish’s Breakfast with Santa was held Dec. 6.
St. Joseph parishioners made and sold popcorn for the Norris Winter Festival on Dec. 6.
The Council of Catholic Women is giving residents of Norris Health and Rehabilitation Center a Christmas card each week during Advent and collecting 2026 calendars for them. The CCW
Parish notes continued on page B10
COURTESY OF KIMBERLY TOBY (2)
St. Patrick surprises deacon on his 40th anniversary of ordination
St. Patrick Parish in Morristown held a surprise reception for Deacon Jim Fage on Nov. 30, the 40th anniversary of his diaconate ordination. In the top photo, Deacon Fage holds a plaque presented to him by Dave Howells (left), Grand Knight of Knights of Columbus Council 6730 at St. Patrick, and Greg Oparyk, financial secretary of the council. Below, Deacon Fage stands with (from left) daughters Lyra Noel and Veronica Fage and grandson Skyler Fage. Deacon Fage was ordained at St. Patrick Church by Nashville Bishop James D. Niedergeses, and he has served at the Morristown parish ever since. He served as a youth minister for 44 years and has been involved with the parish Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (formerly RCIA) for 34 years. Deacon Fage has baptized two of his three children and all four of his grandchildren.
The Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus will host its sixth annual Cathedral Christmas Festival at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19, and at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21, part of the Cathedral Concert Series. The Dec. 19 concert features the Scruffy City Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Ace Edewards, and the Dec. 21 concert presents the Tennessee Wind Symphony under the direction of Dr. John Zastoupil, combined with the cantors of the cathedral, the cathedral youth choir, and musicians of the Diocese of Knoxville performing instrumental and choral music. There will be an all-sing of “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Sing to the Lord.” Admission to the concerts is free, but seating is limited. Doors open one hour before the concerts. Tickets for both events are available via the Eventbrite link at shcathedral.org/cathedral-concert-series The events will also be livestreamed, recorded, and archived with access available at m.youtube.com/c/ SacredHeartCathedralKnoxvilleTN
Called by Name is a diocesan-wide campaign to identify faithful young Catholics, both men and women, who could be future leaders in the Church. This includes those who may be called to priesthood and religious life but also anyone who is serving the Church with their gifts and talents. Bishop Mark Beckman is asking all parishes to participate on the weekend of Jan. 17-18. Parishioners are asked to submit the names of young people in high school or older, boys and girls, who show love and devotion to the Church and who possibly could be called to priesthood or religious life. Parishioners can submit names using pew cards or by visiting dioknox.org/ called-by-name-form. The Office of Vocations (dioknox.org/vocations) will offer support to the young people as they discern their vocations. More information is available at dioknox.org/ called-by-name
Bishop Mark Beckman invites young adults ages 18-35 to explore the mystery of Catholicism at meetings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on selected Tuesdays at the Diocese of Knoxville Chancery. Young adults interested in a systematic exploration of being Catholic are invited to attend. The series began Sept. 9 and continues Jan. 13, 20, and 27, with dates subject to change because of the bishop’s schedule. More dates will follow. Attendees are invited to bring their own beverages and snacks. Visit dioknox.org/events for more information
The diocesan Office of Vocations is holding a Men’s Discernment Group for men interested in discerning if God is calling them to the priesthood. The group will be hosted by Father Mark Schuster from 9 a.m. to noon on fourth Saturdays in the St. John Paul II Conference Room at the Chancery office in Knoxville, with the next meeting Jan. 24. If you are interested in joining the Men’s Discernment Group, fill out the form at forms.office.com/r/ CmSwudiVnf or e-mail vocations@ dioknox.org. There will be a Zoom option for those not in the Knoxville area.
Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga will kick off its 150thanniversary celebration with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Mark Beckman at 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Many area priests will also be in attendance along with the entire student body as well as faculty and alumni. A light breakfast reception will follow Mass. The school’s seventh annual Green & Gold Gala is set for Saturday, Feb. 7, at The Chattanoogan Hotel, and a 150th Jubilee campus celebration will take place Sept. 12.
High-school and college-age students are invited to “How to Keep Your Catholic Identity When You Go to College,” a free event at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20, in Seton Hall at St. John Neumann Church in Farragut. A panel of current college students and recent graduates will share experiences and practical advice on topics such as culture shock and adjusting to college campus life; secular vs. Catholic colleges; finding your community; how to make the sacraments a priority;
and dating, discernment, and discovering your God-given calling. Dinner will be provided; RSVPs are requested. To learn more, contact Lisa Sinclair at 703-862-8165 or lisasinclair@gmail. com. RSVP at dioknox.org/events/ how-to-keep-your-catholic-identitywhen-you-go-to-college
A dinner and a talk on “St. Josephine Bakhita and the Gift of Understanding” will take place from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10, at St. Mary Church in Johnson City. The dinner will start at 6:15 with the talk at 7 and dessert and discussion at 7:15. RSVP at dioknox.org/events/ st-josephine-bakhita-and-the-giftof-understanding
The diocesan Office of Marriage and Family Life along with St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut are offering the divorce support program Divorce and Beyond beginning in January for men and women who have experienced or are experiencing divorce. The program provides a safe environment to explore the myriad feelings that divorce brings and seeks to provide hope and healing through listening and sharing experiences and insights. Divorce support helps men and women understand what they are going through and learn from others who have gone through the same things. The 10-week Catholicbased program will take place at 4 p.m. on Sundays from Jan. 11-March 15 at St. John Neumann Church. Cost for supplies is $15. Online payment is available at the time of registration. Registration is open through Sunday, Jan. 4. Register at dioknox.org/events/ divorce-and-beyond-2026/20260111
For more information, contact facilitator Mary Coffey at 865-966-3237 or mccoffey86@gmail.com
The Chesterton Academy of St. Margaret Clitherow in Knoxville will celebrate its fourth annual Vision Gala (formerly called the Pearl Gala) at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17, at On Broadway Event Center, 4683 Old Broadway in Knoxville. Bishop Mark Beckman will attend. The event is free, and it features signature cocktails, a catered dinner, performances by Chesterton Academy students, table games and entertainment, and presentations about Knoxville’s first classical Catholic high school. Formal attire is requested. The academy’s enrollment doubled last year, and enrollment is expected to double again next year. For more information on the Chesterton Academy of St. Margaret Clitherow, visit knoxchesterton.com or e-mail zach@knoxchesterton.com RSVP for the gala at knoxchesterton. com/gala
Knoxville Catholic High School will host its 15th annual Green & Gold Gala on Friday, Jan. 23, at the University of Tennessee’s Student Union Ballroom. Tom and Mindy Coulter will be honored as “Irish Legends” at the event. Alumni, past and current parents, corporate partners, and other community friends are welcome to attend. The evening will include cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a gourmet meal, and silent and live auctions. Tickets are $175 per person and include all food and beverages for the night. Proceeds from the gala will support Knoxville Catholic’s campus technology and security. Become a sponsor or RSVP at knoxvillecatholic.com/gala/. To learn more or donate an auction item, which may include a restaurant gift card, wine, bourbon, or sports tickets, e-mail megan.erpenbach@knoxville catholic.com
Picture of Love retreats for engaged couples are scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 24, at St. Stephen Church in Chattanooga and Saturday, Feb. 7, at Immaculate Conception Church in Knoxville. Each retreat will meet from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with check-in at 8:30 a.m. and Mass at 5 p.m. A wineand-cheese reception will conclude the retreat at IC. This marriage-preparation program is a supplement to a couple’s marriage formation with their parish priest or deacon. Picture of Love explores the joys and challenges of living out the sacrament of matrimony with special focus on the importance of inviting Jesus to be the center of mar-
Calendar continued on page B10
Fidelis chapters unite for fall retreat
The Holy Ghost and West Knoxville Fidelis chapters came together recently for a combined fall retreat at Rocky Meadows Farm in Blaine. Above, Father Valentin Iurochkin celebrates an outdoor Mass at the retreat. Fidelis is a multigenerational and national sisterhood of women with chapters across the country, meeting weekly to grow in virtue. For more information, visit fidelissisterhood. org. For information about Fidelis’ brother organization, visit fraternus.org.
St. Bridget youth raise funds with car wash
The youth group from St. Bridget Parish in Dayton held a car-wash fundraiser on Oct. 4 to benefit its various activities.
St. Thomas the Apostle holds fall festival Sofia and Suleymi Gonzalez stand with John Merrill aka “Big John” at the International Fall Festival held Oct. 19 at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City. The day featured intercultural and intergenerational experiences, food, music, and children’s activities.
Advent penance services scheduled around the diocese
Here are the remaining Advent penance services received as of press time. Note that many parishes are having, instead of penance services, extended or additional times for confession during Advent:
Chattanooga Deanery
Monday, Dec. 15—St. Stephen, Chattanooga, 6 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 18—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Cumberland Mountain Deanery
Tuesday, Dec. 16—St. Francis of
Assisi, Fairfield Glade, 6 p.m. CST; Saturday, Dec. 20—Blessed Sacrament, Harriman, extended time for sacrament of penance, 10:30 a.m. to noon
Five Rivers Deanery
Monday, Dec. 15—Notre Dame, Greeneville, 7 p.m.; Tuesday, Dec. 16—St. John Paul II, Rutledge, 6 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 18—St. Dominic, Kingsport, 7 p.m.
Smoky Mountain Deanery
Monday, Dec. 15—Holy Family, Seymour, 6 p.m. ■
Praying for Perspective by George
Valadie
