MS Catholic 7/19/2024 by jacksondiocese

Traversing the U.S., eucharistic pilgrimage plants seeds of mission on Gulf Coast

BY TERRY DICKSON, GULF PINE CATHOLIC

BILOXI – After more than two years of prayer, planning and anticipation, pilgrims on the St. Juan Diego Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage recently made their way across the Mississippi Gulf Coast. For organizers and participants, it was truly a week to remember.

“This has been an amazing week. I think the Holy Spirit has had a humongous hand in it,” said seminarian Ricky Molsbee, a member of the Eucharistic Revival Committee for the Diocese of Biloxi. “Listening to the pilgrims’ testimonies has been one of the biggest gifts. To see the youth of our church mixed in with members of the religious communities and how they are filled with the Holy Spirit and how they want to share and evangelize with everybody has been an incredible thing to witness. You can just feel their love for the Eucharist.”

Molsbee highlighted walking

BILOXI – The St. Juan Diego Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage traveled through the Mississippi Gulf Coast between June 10-14. A group of parishioners and Knights of Columbus from St. Francis of Assisi in Madison traveled down to participate in the event on Thursday, June 13. (Photo by Michael Barrett Photography)

Pro-life advocates mark 2

all three days of the route as the pinnacle of his experience, spanning from Our Lady of the Gulf Church in Bay St. Louis to Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral in Biloxi.

“I was privileged to walk all 22 miles,” he said. It was tough. It wasn’t easy. We baked a lot in the hot sun, but having the opportunity to walk with our Lord was something that I will never forget for the rest of my life.”

Deacon William Stentz, who a part of the committee, agreed with Molsbee’s sentiments.“Our church is alive,” he said. “Beyond the beauty of the people who attended all the special Masses and especially those who processed – some were with walkers and canes, some were children, some were parents, some were single people, some were from religious orders, and some were clergy – what was most surprising was the number of passersby who would just fall to their knees when they got

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years since Dobbs: ‘We have a challenge on our hands’

BY KATE SCANLON

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Prior to the second anniversary of a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its prior abortion precedent, pro-life activists said much of their work remains to be done.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, told OSV News in a June 10 interview “we realized quickly we have a challenge

on our hands,” pointing to losses at the ballot box after the Dobbs ruling, with more such contests on the horizon.

“So after two years, there is still reason to celebrate because we know God’s grace is more powerful than all this, but also, we have to embrace the challenge that faces us,” he said.

The Supreme Court issued its historic decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization June 24, 2022, a little over a month after Politico published a leaked draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion in the case. The leak caused a public firestorm before the court issued its official ruling and is seen as the most

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SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT

DIOCESE – Fall Faith Formation Day – “Reimagining Communities of Faith,” Saturday, Aug. 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Francis Madison. Keynote speaker: Father Tim Donovan. All formation leaders and volunteers are invited to attend this day of formation and fellowship. Registration deadline is Aug. 9. Cost: $10 per person. Details: register at https:// bit.ly/FFDay2024 or contact Fran at fran.lavelle@ jacksondiocese.org.

BILOXI – Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat, Aug. 23-25. Rachel’s Vineyard is an international retreat that provides an opportunity for women and men to find forgiveness and healing from abortion. The retreat begins on Friday evening and ends on Sunday afternoon and will be held at the William J. Kelly Retreat Center in Bay St. Louis. If you or someone you know would like to attend, please contact Deacon Johnny Williams at (228) 702-2169 or email at rachelsvineyard@biloxidiocese.org. Details: for more information visit https://biloxidiocese.org/rachel

CHATAWA – Our Lady of Hope, Blessed Virgin Mary Day Retreat with Kitty Cleveland, Thursday, Aug. 15 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with speaker Roy Schoeman. Enjoy talks, music, Mass, prayer, lunch and more. Cost: $125. Details: (601) 202-3137 or email retreatsoloh3167@yahoo.com.

GLUCKSTADT – St. Joseph, Millions of Monicas: Praying with confidence for our children, each Tuesday, beginning in July from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the church. Join with other mothers, grandmothers and step-mothers as we pray to grow in holiness and humility, and for our children’s faithful return to the church. Details: church office (601) 856-2054 or email millionsofmonicas@stjosephgluckstadt.com.

HOMEWOOD, Ala. – Catholic Charismatic Renewal Conference of the Diocese of Birmingham, July 26-27 at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church Family Life Center (1728 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, Alabama). The conference theme is “Unity in the Body of Christ” and it will feature feature lay evangelist, Richard Lane. Cost $30 for individuals or $85 for a family of three or more. Register at www. catholiccharismaticrenewal.org. All are welcome! Details: for more information contact Sally Smith at mustardsally14@gmail.com or (205) 983-4150.

JACKSON – St. Richard, “Inspire” – a day retreat for women of all ages, Saturday, Nov. 2 from 8:30-3:30 p.m. in Foley Hall. Save the date. Details: church of-

Thank you for your support

fice (601) 366-2335.

LAS VEGAS – 23rd Annual National Conference for Single Catholics, Aug. 16-18. Details: visit https:// nationalcatholicsingles.com.

PEARL – St. Jude, Life in the Spirit Seminar by the Marian Servants of Jesus, Saturday, Aug. 17, registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and event ends with 4 p.m. vigil Mass. Presented by Father Bill Henry, Dr. Frank Hench, Mary Ann Henchy, Deacon John McGregor and the Marian Servants of Jesus, the Lamb of God Community. Topic: God’s Love, Salvation, New Life, Receiving God’s Gifts and Praying for Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Lunch will be provided. No cost but $10 suggested donation to cover lunch. Registration deadline is Aug. 12. Details: email your contact info to msofjlog@gmail.com to register or for more information.

LOUISIANA – Tenth Annual Fête-Dieu du Mississippi Eucharistic Boat Procession (from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, Aug. 14-15. The solemn flotilla will embark on the Mighty Mississippi for a Blessing of the River and the Great State of Louisiana. Regis ter for the all-night vigil and find out more informa tion at https://www.fetedieuduteche.org.

PARISH, FAMILY & SCHOOL EVENTS

BATESVILLE – St. Mary, Rummage Sale, Aug. 2 and 3 in the parish center. Details: church office (662) 563-2273.

CAMDEN – Sacred Heart, Hip-Hop Back to School Bash, Saturday, July 27 from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. For grades ninth through twelfth only. Presented by the Sacred Heart Young Adult Group. Cost: $10. Details: church office (662) 438-2354.

CLARKSDALE – St. Elizabeth, Annual St. Elizabeth Fair, Tuesday, Sept. 24 from 5:30-8 p.m. Enjoy the traditional spaghetti dinner at the school and enjoy prize booths and the popular frozen casserole booth. Details: church office (662) 624-4301.

CORINTH – St. James, Volleyball Tournament, Saturday, July 27 at 8 a.m. There will be food, and more for sale. Get your team together for a fun day on a sand court. Details: Register your team or get more details at (662) 415-0844.

GREENVILLE – St. Joseph, Vacation Bible School “Great Big Beautiful World,” July 28-30 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Open to all children entering Pre-K3 through fifth grade. Details: register at https://www.stjosephgreenville.org/vbs-registration or call Alyssa at (662) 820-0868.

The 2024 Luella and Floyd Q. Doolittle Memorial Golf Tournament was once again a huge success, bringing in 60 golfers and raising $16,500 for the Catholic Diocese of Jackson to defray the costs of seminarian education. The Diocese of Jackson and the Knights of Columbus 9543 at St. Francis of Assisi in Madison all for supporting our future priests and look forward to seeing you at Whisper Lake Golf Club next spring!

6-9 p.m. Tickets: $50 per person or $500 per table benefitting the food pantry. Keynote speaker: Cassandra Mobley of the Mississippi Food Network. Enjoy fabulous food, beverages, music and dancing. Must be 21 to attend. Details: call (662) 323-2257 or email andy. teresa93@gmail.com.

TUPELO – St. James, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level I Formation Course, beginning Aug. 23. Long weekend format (Friday through Sunday) with dates in Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and concluding in Jan. 2025. Course cost: $500 per participant; discounts available for parishes sending more than three participants. Details: contact Karen Mayfield, karen@stjamestupelo.com for course brochure and further information.

CORRECTION

Our June 14 edition contained an error in the book review for “The Saints of St. Mary’s.” We incorrectly identified the book publisher at Dogwood

FLOWOOD – St. Paul Early Learning Center, Annual Golf Tournament, Friday, Sept. 20 at Bay Pointe Golf Club. Registration information coming soon. Save the date!

JACKSON – Christ the King, Parish Picnic, Saturday, Sept. 21. Save the date!

SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, Fall Festival, Saturday, Oct. 5. Save the date!

Spanish as a Second Language Classes, Mondays at 6 p.m. in the education building, room number four. Join us for this free year-round class. No cost. Details: church office (662) 3421073.

STARKVILLE – St. Joseph, Black and White Gala, Saturday, Aug. 17 from

Thank you for your support to our apostolate of prayer. To donate online, please visit our website www.jacksoncarmel.com

God bless you! Our loving prayers, Carmelite Nuns of Jackson

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Living the Eucharist: a journey of faith, hope and love

BY BISHOP JOSEPH R. KOPACZ, D.D.

The National Eucharistic Congress is underway in Indianapolis this week and considerable faith, hope and love have been poured into the preparations that have made it all possible. Our Eucharistic Lord is working great wonders and inspiring many to recognize Him and love Him in the gift of His Body and Blood during this graced time in our nation’s Catholic history.

One obvious manifestation of the outpouring of God’s grace were the four national Eucharistic processions that converged earlier this week in Indianapolis. Recalling the words of St. Paul, many joyfully walked as pilgrims in adoration. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:4-5) It is a time of revival, renewal, and

rejoicing to know the enduring and eternal gift that the cruciﬁed and risen Lord has bequeathed to the church in the Eucharist.

As we enjoy this issue of the Mississippi Catholic that features the celebrations of the sacraments from around the diocese, it is abundantly evident that the Mass, the great prayer of Thanksgiving is the heart and soul of our identity as Catholics. Recently, at each closing session of our Pastoral Reimagining, the Eucharist was the centerpiece to express our gratitude, as well as to call upon the Holy Spirit to inspire us in our commitment to be faithful to the Lord in pastoral reimagining. The holy sacrifice of the Mass is our true north on the way to eternal life, the fulfillment of the promise the Lord made to all disciples who ate his body and drank his blood. “I am the living bread that comes down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)

Happy Ordination Anniversary

June 28

Father Stephen Okojie

St. Stephen Magee & St. erese Jackson

July 16

Deacon Mark Bowden

St. Jude Pearl

Deacon Dien Hoang

Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle Jackson

Deacon Wesley Lindsay

Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle Jackson

Deacon John Pham

St. Michael Forest

Deacon David Rouch St. Michael Vicksburg

Deacon Tony Schmidt

St. Paul Flowood

August 5

Msgr. Elvin Sunds Retired

The Eucharist, the center of the church’s life, somehow seems to say it all. It says in a hundred different ways: this is who we are, and this is who God is … When we look at Eucharist in all its rich fullness, we can rekindle within ourselves eucharistic amazement and wonder at this great gift God has given to us in his Son Jesus. (Stephen J. Binz, Eucharist, page 2) The psalmist captures these gifts of awe and wonder. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name,

August 14

Father AnthonyClaret Onyeocha St. Joseph Woodville & Holy Family Gloster

August 16

Father Joe Dyer Retired

Thank you for answering the call!

P.O. Box 2130 Jackson, MS 39225-2130 Phone: 601-969-3581 E-mail: editor@jacksondiocese.org

Volume 70 Number 14 (ISSN 1529-1693)

Publisher Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz

Communications Director Joanna Puddister King

Production Manager Tereza Ma

Contributors ......................................................................................................... Berta Mexidor

MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC is an oﬃcial publication of the Diocese of Jackson, 601-969-1880, 237 E. Amite St., Jackson, MS 39201. Published digitally twice per month January – April and September – December; once per month June, July and August. Mississippi Catholic mails 14 editions per year – twice per month in December and January; and once per month February – November. For address changes, corrections or to join the email list for the digital edition, email: editor@jacksondiocese.org. Subscription rate: $20 a year in Mississippi, $21 out-of-state. Periodical postage at Jackson, MS 39201 and additional entry oﬃces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mississippi Catholic, P.O. Box 2130, Jackson, MS 39225-2130.

Website: www.mississippicatholic.com  www.jacksondiocese.org

good indeed is the Lord. His mercy endures forever, his faithfulness lasts through every generation.” (Psalm 100)

Central to recognizing the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is our hunger and thirst for God’s Word. Our Liturgical/Sacramental Catholic world cannot exist without the proclamation of the scriptures during each administration of the sacraments. Emergency baptisms or anointings would be the exceptions. The Emmaus story in St. Luke’s Gospel embodies what Pope Saint Paul II meant in his document Ecclesia de Eucaristia at the turn of the millennium. In other words, the church is born from the Eucharist and the road to Emmaus portrays the fullness of Eucharistic faith when the Word burned in the disciples’ hearts, and they recognized the risen Lord’s presence in the Breaking of the Bread. The inspired Word of God prepares us to see the glory of God in the Lord’s body and blood on the altar.

Central to an authentic celebration of the Eucharist is the understanding that at the end of Mass the service continues.

“Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”

“Thanks be to God.”

As the Lord distinctly taught, it is urgent to put into practice what we have heard in order to build our house on rock, the solid ground of faith in action. Seizing the moment with all who are in attendance at the Eucharistic Congress will be the invitation to be Eucharistic missionaries, or missionary disciples on ﬁre with the joy of the Gospel. Afterall, we are the Body of Christ, the church, and we are to carry our holy communion with the Lord and one another into our lives and world as a leaven that witnesses to God’s Kingdom.

Indeed, the Lord is always near, and never more so than when the members of his body, the church, faithfully live the Good News.

BISHOP’S SCHEDULE

Tuesday, July 23, 12 p.m. – Burse Club Mass & Luncheon, St. John, Oxford

Aug. 10-11 – Mission Appeal, Keene, New Hampshire

Friday, Aug. 16, 11 a.m. – 50th Anniversary Mass & Celebration for Father Joe Dyer, Christ the King, Jackson

Saturday, Aug. 17, 10 a.m. – Fall Faith Formation Day, St. Francis of Assisi, Madison

Sunday, Aug. 18, 11 a.m. – Conﬁrmation, St. Francis, New Albany

Sunday, Aug. 18, 3 p.m. – Conﬁrmation, St. Matthew, Ripley

Tuesday, Aug. 27 and Sept. 10, 7:30 a.m. – Mass, Carmelite Monastery, Jackson

Thursday, Sept. 12, 12 p.m. – Bishop’s Cup Golf Tournament, Lake Caroline Golf Club, Madison

Sunday, Sept. 15, 10 a.m. – 75th Anniversary Celebration and Mass, St. Francis, New Albany

Wednesday, Sept. 25-29 – Mission Trip, Saltillo, Mexico

Sunday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m. – 100th Anniversary Celebration and Mass, Our Lady of Victories, Cleveland

All events are subject to change. Check with parishes for further details.

In memoriam: Father George R. Kitchin

GULFPORT – Father George R. Kitchin, age 81, of Gulfport, passed away peacefully on July 5, 2024.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Deacon Leon Kitchin and Effie Smith Kitchin; and two sisters, Leona Pollard Webb and Helene Kitchin Cohen.

Father Kitchin is survived by his siblings, Robert Kitchin (Ann) of Bolivar, Missouri, John Kitchin (Susan) of Gautier, Mississippi, and Peggy Kitchin of Ridgeland, Mississippi; his nieces and nephews, Trey Pollard (Guyanne), Justin Cohen (Eliany), Andrew Cohen, Paul Kitchin (Sarah), David Kitchin, Joseph Kitchin, Clare Kitchin, and Jonathan Kitchin (Renae); and his brother priests from the Diocese of Biloxi and the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson.

He was born in Durham, North Carolina and was raised in Greenwood, Mississippi. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 13, 1970 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Greenwood by Bishop Joseph Brunini. After his ordination, he was assigned to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and remained in the Diocese of Biloxi until his passing.

Father Kitchin served as associate pastor of Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church, Bay St. Louis, Sacred Heart Parish in Pascagoula, and Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Biloxi. In 1982, he was appointed as the founding pastor of St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic Church in White Cypress.

Other assignments included: 1988 to 2002, pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Ocean Springs; 2002-2014, pastor of St. James Catholic Church in Gulfport; and 2014 until his retirement, pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Gautier. He

– Father George R. Kitchin passed away on July 5, 2024 at 81 years of age. He was ordained for the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson in 1970 by Bishop Joseph Brunini at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Greenwood. (Photo courtesy of Diocese of Biloxi))

was the longtime director of the Diocese of Biloxi Charismatic Renewal Program.

Father Kitchin was a profound homilist and engaging conversationalist and enjoyed all aspects of American History, especially the American Revolution, and the history of the Catholic Church. He had a special devotion to the Blessed Mother, and enjoyed specific ministries within the church, especially the XLT Movement where he encouraged other to spend an hour of adoration with praise and worship along with offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Father Kitchin also had a deep connection to catholic education giving support to families in need ensuring that their children could receive a catholic education. The people of the Diocese of Biloxi are grateful for the 54 years of ministry he gave to the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

To continue to work helping families with tuition assistance, the family would prefer memorials be made to the Guardian Angel Program, c/o Office of Finance, Catholic Diocese of Biloxi, 1790 Popps Ferry Road, Biloxi, MS 39532.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated by Bishop Louis Kihneman with his brother priests serving as concelebrants at St. James Catholic Church in Gulfport on July 15, 2024. Interment will be private in St. James Cemetery.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let Your perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.

GULFPORT

Praying when it seems useless

IN EXILE

By Father ron rolheiser, oMi

Prayer is most needed just when it seems most useless. Michael J. Buckley, one of the major spiritual mentors in my life, wrote those words. What does he mean by them?

In the face of so many problems we can get the feeling that praying about them is useless. For example, in the face of the discouragement and helplessness we feel before some of the mega problems in our world, it is easy to feel that praying about them is useless. What will my prayer do vis-à-vis the wars raging in different parts of the world? What’s the value of my prayer in the face of injustice, famine, racism and sexism? What will my prayer do vis-à-vis the divisions and hatred now dividing our communities? It is easy to feel that praying about these situations is useless.

The same holds true about how we often feel about the value of prayer when serious illnesses beset us. Will prayer bring about a cure for someone with terminal cancer? Do we really expect a miraculous cure? Mostly, we don’t, but we continue to pray despite the feeling that our prayer won’t in fact change the situation. Why?

Why pray when it seems useless to do so? Theologians and spiritual writers have given us various perspectives on this which are helpful, though not adequate. Prayer, they say, is not meant to change the mind of God, but to change the mind of the person who is praying. We don’t pray to put God on our side; we pray to put ourselves on God’s side. As well, we have been taught that the reason it might seem that God doesn’t answer our prayers is that God, like a loving parent, knows what is good for us and answers our prayers by giving us what we really need rather than what we naively want. C.S. Lewis once said that we will spend a lot of time in eternity thanking God for those prayers that God didn’t answer.

All of this is true and important. God’s ways are not our ways. Faith asks us to give God the space and time to be God, without having to conform to our very limited expectations and habitual impatience. We can indeed be grateful that God doesn’t answer many of our prayers according to our expectations.

But still, still … when Jesus invited us to pray, he didn’t do so with a caveat: but you need to ask for the right things if you expect me to answer your prayer. No, he simply said: Ask and you will receive. He also said that some demons are only cast out by prayer and fasting.

So, how might the demons of violence, division, hatred, war, hunger, global warming, famine, racism, sexism, cancer, heart disease and the like be cast out by prayer? How is prayer useful in any practical way in the face of these issues?

In brief, prayer doesn’t just change the person who is praying, it also changes the situation. When you pray you are in fact part of the situation about which you are praying. Sincere prayer helps you become the change you are praying to bring about. For example, praying for peace helps you to calm your own heart and bring a more peaceful heart into the world.

While this is true, there is also a deeper reality at play. More deeply, when we pray there is something happening that goes beyond how we normally imagine the simple interplay between cause and

effect. By changing ourselves we are changing the situation; yes, but in a deeper way than we normally imagine.

As Christians, we believe that we are part of a body, the Body of Christ, and that our union there with each other is more than some idealized corporate community. Rather, we are part of a living organism in which every part affects every other part, just as in a physical body. Because of this, for us, there is no such a thing as a private act – good or bad. I hesitate to suggest that this is analogous to the immune system inside the human body because this is more than an analogy. It’s real, organic. Just as in a human body there is an immune system which

The Pope’s Corner

protects the health of the overall body by killing off cells and viruses that are endangering its health, so too inside the Body of Christ. At all times, we are either healthy cells bringing strength to the immune system inside the Body of Christ or we are a virus or cancerous cell threatening its health. Praying about an issue makes a difference because it helps strengthen the immune system inside the Body of Christ – precisely as it is dealing with the issue about which we are praying.

While on the surface prayer can sometimes feel useless, it is doing something vital underneath –something most needed precisely when we feel that our prayer is useless.

(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)

Pope: Heaven is for ‘everyone, everyone, everyone’

By Justin Mclellan

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Heaven is not a secure vault protected from outsiders but a “hidden treasure” that is reached by cultivating virtues, Pope Francis said.

Before praying the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29, the pope reflected on Jesus giving St. Peter, the first pope, the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

“The mission that Jesus entrusts to Peter is not that of barring the doors to the house, permitting entry only to a few select guests, but of helping everyone to find the way to enter, in faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus,” Pope Francis said after celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Heaven, he added, is “for everyone. Everyone, everyone, everyone can enter.”

The pope said that St. Peter “received the keys to the kingdom not because he was perfect, no, he is a sinner, but because he was humble, honest and the Father had given him sincere faith.”

Even after many trials and setbacks, the Apostle Peter was the first to experience for himself “the joy and freedom that come from meeting the Lord,” and the first “to understand that authority is a service in order to open the door to Jesus.”

The following day, Pope Francis again appeared in the window of the Apostolic Palace to keep his usual Sunday appointment of praying the Angelus with the faithful. He focused on the Gospel theme of inclusivity by reflecting on the day’s Gospel reading from St. Mark in which a woman is healed after touching Jesus’ cloak and a girl is resurrected after Jesus took her by the hand.

Highlighting the importance of physical contact in both healings, the pope asked, “Why is this physical contact important?”

“It is because these two women are considered impure and cannot, therefore, be physically touched – one because she suffers from bleeding and the other because she is dead,” he said. “Yet, Jesus allows Himself to be touched and is not afraid to touch.”

By carrying out the physical healing, Jesus “challenges the false religious belief that God separates the pure, placing them on one side, from the impure on another,” the pope said. “Instead, God does not make this kind of separation because we are all his children.”

He added that impurity “does not come from food, illness, or even death; impurity comes from an impure heart.”

Pope Francis urged Christians to take to heart the lesson from the day’s Gospel reading, that “in the face of bodily and spiritual sufferings, of the wounds our souls bear, of the situations that crush us, and even in the face of sin, God does not keep us at a distance.”

“God is not ashamed of us; God does not judge us,” he said. “On the contrary, He draws near to let Himself be touched and to touch us, and He always raises us from death.”

Pope Francis greets visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus at the Vatican June 29, 2024. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

' This is a grassroots movement ... it starts with everybody in the pews'

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a glimpse of the Monstrance containing Jesus.

“Cars would stop in turn lanes or park on the grass along Highway 90. People would honk their horns lovingly as they passed by, people would just stand and stare from their yards, people would stare from their windows, construction workers and delivery truck drivers would stop and try to take it all in. If they didn’t know what was going on, we have to pray that the Holy Spirit has sparked curiosity in them and they’ll reach out, wondering what do those Catholics have that I don’t have?”

Chantel Normand, a parishioner of Our Mother of Mercy Parish in Pass Christian, said she felt “a sense of wonder” as she saw Jesus being carried in procession along the Gulf Coast, comparing it to the thrill she gets when she rides her favorite Disney ride, Animal Kingdom’s Avatar Flight of Passage.

“Witnessing the magic of the Holy Spirit bringing families, parishes, and cultures together in solidarity was truly profound,” she said. “To witness the pleasure of seeing Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and experience the same feelings I felt as a child took me to a new level of magic, a magic that could only be found in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Father Rofinus Jas, SVD, pastor of Our Mother of Mercy Pass Christian, found the pilgrimage deeply moving. “It was very moving for me to witness Jesus ... walking, holding, touching, talking, praying, chanting, singing, and reflecting that our Lord Jesus was with us,” he said. “It was a joyful experience for me to see Jesus personally by touching and holding Him in my hands during procession.”

Reflecting on the impact of the event, Father Jas was moved by the strong sense of community.

“Along the way, we walked with Jesus; we united with one heart and many faces in praying and thanksgiving and believing with our whole hearts that God never abandons us.”

Ann Hale, a parishioner of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Long Beach, shared her perspective: “To feel like a disciple from 2,000 years ago following our precious Lord was an experience like no other. It was a privilege to show the world the beautiful sacrifice of Jesus’ love.”

Looking forward, Molsbee outlined the next steps for the Eucharistic Revival movement. “Year three of the Eucharistic Revival begins after the Eucharistic Congress, which takes place this month in Indianapolis. After that, we are going to be going out on mission,” he said.

“This is a grassroots movement. It starts with everybody in the pews. ... But, when you have the love of the Eucharist, you can’t shut up about it. ... It’s like what Peter says to Jesus after the Bread of Life Discourse when He asks the 12 apostles, ‘Are you going to leave too?’ and Peter says, ‘To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’”

The pilgrimage on the St. Juan Diego Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage was not just a physical journey but a spiritual awakening for many. It brought together a diverse community in profound unity and renewed their commitment to the Eucharistic faith, echoing the words of St. Francis of Assisi: ‘Preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words.’”

' ... We have to speak to the hearts of people who love women and love children ...'

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significant breach of the court’s confidentiality in its history.

The Dobbs case involved a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks, in which the state directly challenged the high court’s previous abortion-related precedents in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). The Supreme Court ultimately overturned its own prior rulings, undoing nearly a half-century of its own precedent on the issue and returning it to legislatures.

While Roe and its ensuing precedents were in place, states were generally barred from restricting abortion prior to viability, or the point at which a child could survive outside the womb. When Roe was issued in 1973, fetal viability was considered to be 28 weeks gestation, but current estimates are generally considered to be 23-24 weeks, with some estimates as low as 22 weeks as medical technology continues to improve. After the Dobbs ruling, states across the country quickly moved to either restrict or expand access to abortion.

Pro-life demonstrators in Washington celebrate outside the Supreme Court June 24, 2022, as the court overruled the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision. (OSV News photo/Evelyn Hockstein, Reuters)

While supporters often described Roe as settled law, opponents argued the court in 1973 improperly legalized abortion nationwide, a matter opponents said should have been left to Congress or state governments. Many, including the Catholic Church, opposed the ruling on moral grounds that the practice takes the life of an unborn child. Opponents of the ruling challenged it for decades, both in courts and in the public square, such as the national March for Life held annually in Washington.

Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life organization, told OSV News that after Dobbs, there was “so much confusion about what that means and anger and frustration from people who are confused about the inherent dignity of the unborn child and how abortion impacts women. So, I think that we’re still very much in the middle of that reverberation.”

When discussing abortion policy, Mancini said,

pro-life advocates should strive “to get very clear” on the specific state, law or situations involved “because there’s a lot of misinformation out there right now.”

In the years following Dobbs, some women in states that restricted abortion said they were denied timely care for miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies or experienced other adverse pregnancy outcomes as a result of medical professionals’ hesitation due to unclear abortion legislation. But pro-life activists said laws restricting abortion contained exceptions for such circumstances. Their opponents claimed bill texts insufficiently addressed those circumstances or lacked clarity on exceptions.

Public support for legal abortion also increased after Roe was overturned, according to multiple polls conducted in the years following the Dobbs ruling. In multiple elections since the ruling, ballot measures on abortion have so far proven elusive for the pro-

life movement. In elections in both 2022 and 2023, voters in Ohio, California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont and Kansas either rejected new limitations on abortion or expanded legal protections for it.

Kelsey Pritchard, state public affairs director for SBA Pro-Life America, told OSV News in an interview that since the Dobbs decision, “we’ve gained major ground in the fight for life.”

“And you look at the states, and today we have 24 states that have laws defending life at 15 weeks or sooner, and 20 of those states have a law that protects babies with a heartbeat,” she said.

Pritchard said pro-life advocates must respond to “fear-mongering” about state abortion restrictions, including arguing that “there is a life of the mother exception in every single state” with restrictions.

Asked about how pro-life advocates should approach ballot initiatives on abortion, Bishop Burbidge said that efforts have been made, and should continue to be made, “to win minds by proclaiming the truth and proclaiming the Gospel of Life.”

“We have to speak to the hearts of people who love women and love children. So do we. So do we, and we want to be there for every woman and every child,” he added.

Bishop Burbidge said that those seeking to aid the pro-life cause should offer their prayers, and they can sign up for alerts and resources on the committee’s work by visiting respectlife.org.

“I think beyond our role in advocacy too, the Catholic Church has long offered hope, healing, and material support to vulnerable mothers and children,” he said, noting that Walking with Moms in Need and Project Rachel are a means of such support.

Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. JULY 19, 2024

2024 SacramentS S pecial e dition

TUPELO – Vacation Bible School (courtesy of St. James parish)

Communion, Sunday, May

– St. Francis, First Communion, Saturday, May 4. Front row (l-r): Kody Pham, Thanh Nguyen, Jon-Michael Trimm, Finn Munnell, Skip Harkins, Braelynn Allen, Gates Doty, Teddy Doty, Anna Devassy, Cohen Klar and Eden Harris. Second row (l-r): Charles Dukes, Morgan McCullough, Malita Madison, Jacob Brock, Antonio Silva, Mollie Todd, James Todd, Mary Todd, Matthew Price, Thomas Caskey, Audrey Butler, Collins Kassinger and Joseph Bertucci. Third row (l-r): Scarlett Jones, Léa Pudin, McKenzie Young, Victoria Galina, Tyler Tassin, Hannah Burrage, Gabrielle Sosa, Harper Hall, Rylee Deery and Brynn Evans. Top row (l-r): Brittany Magaña, Mayrin Guerrera, Msgr. Michael Flannery, Father Albeenreddy Vatti, Msgr. Elvin Sunds, Juliet Akin and Kylie Young. (Photo by Paula Bennett)

CLARKSDALE – (Left) St. Elizabeth, First Communion, Sunday, April 14. Pictured (l-r): Catelin Britt, Emily Guevara, Allison Zuniga, Alexa Zuniga, Emery Ellis Alderson, Elizabeth Blaine Cauthen and Father Raju Macherla. (Photo courtesy of parish)

MCCOMB – St. Alphonsus, First Communion, Saturday, April 13. Pictured top row (l-r): Chris Ingrassia (instructor), Valentina Angel, Kimberly Fuerte, Daneli Nava and Wanda Esponge (instructor). Middle row (l-r): Kristen L. Jones (DRE), Luza Casarrubias, Nevaeh Lunkins and Father Suresh Thirumalareddy. Front row (l-r): Rodrigo Lopez and Angela Gonzalez. (Photo courtesy of parish)

MAGEE – St. Stephen, First

12. Pictured (l-r): Alexander Lien, Lila Breaux, Father Stephen Okojie and Kelsey Do. (Photo courtesy of parish)

MADISON

WOODVILLE – (Above) Channin Patrice Wilkinson received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion by Father Anthonyclaret Onyeocha on Saturday, April 27 at St. Joseph Church. (Photo courtesy of parish)

KOSCIUSKO – (Right) St. Therese, First Communion, Sunday, May 5. Pictured with Father Marco Sanchez are Emma Delgado, Max Nguyen and Sophia Nguyen. (Photo courtesy of parish)

TUPELO – (Below) St. James, First Communion, Saturday, April 27. Students receiving First Communion: Ezekial Acosta, Fernando Orostico, Jaspar Austin, Stefano Patawaran, Jones Bridges, Christian Perez, Jacob Candanedo, Isabella Castillo, Elisa Ramirez, Edwin De Leon Corona, Alan Renovato, Maria Isabella Cupino, Larios Rios, Gabbrielle Cupino, Carol Rodas Mejia, Johndeny Gaspar Ramirez, Cindy Rodas Mejia, Lyle Gaspar Ramirez, Emily Rodas Mejia, Santiago De Jesus Hernandez, Servando Tiscareno Diaz, Maria Isabel Hilario Galaviz, Lya Valentin, Ruby Koonlaba, Karina Vazquez, Luke Lockhart, Adrian Vazquez, Heriberto Macias Esparza, Oliver Vazquez Avina, Kaylee Martinez Malpica, Ava Weatherford, Isaac McGrath, David Ybarra, Chip Nelson and Samantha Ybarra. (Photo courtesy of parish)

MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC JULY 19, 2024

PHILADELPHIA – Children of Holy Cross Church celebrated First Communion with Father Jofin George on April 28. (Photo courtesy of parish)

VICKSBURG – St. Paul, First Communion. Pictured (l-r): Walker Ashley, Olivia Lawrence, Wiley Stokes, Frances Cappaert and Noah Corley. (Photo courtesy of parish)

MERIDIAN – Bennett Ethridge celebrated his First Communion at St. Joseph Church with Father Augustine Palimattam Poulose. (Photo by John Harwell)

VICKSBURG – (Below) St. Michael, First Communion. Pictured with Father Robert Dore are (l-r) Michael Tate, Joseph Nippes, Dixie Rice, Elvie Grace Bradley, Lilly Curro, Santiago Aguirre and Leiram Diaz-Mejias. (Photo courtesy of parish)

JACKSON – St. Therese, First Communion, Sunday, May 26. First Communicants pictured with Father Stephen Okojie are Alexander Urbano, Sofía Morales, Jose Urbano, Ashley Avalos, Ximena García, JenCarlos Hernández, Gabriel Hernández, Victoria Vaca, Melisa Mosqueda, Phoebe Barragan, Camila Martínez, Paris Juliette Ramirez Castellanos and Jason Moy Padron. Teachers photographed: Rosalinda Montoya, Maria Valadez, Reyna Solano and Maria Canela. (Photo by Jorge Alfredo)

PEARL – Children from St. Jude’s Atrium program celebrated their First Communion with Father Cesar Sanchez and Deacon John McGregor. (Photo courtesy of parish)

MERIDIAN – (Left) St. Patrick, First Communion, Sunday, April 14. Some students posed with Father Augustine Palimattam Poulose after Mass for a photo. First Communicant names: Mary Lela Alexander, Gaia Brauninger, Shelby Embrey, Bennett Ethridge, Jodie Le, Myles Owen, Rose Purdy, Sophia Rivera, John Shuler, Emily Suarez-Reyes, Carol Ibetoh, Jude Lee, Tommy George, Damien Craft, Jacob Craft and Elijah Johnson. (Photo by John Harwell)

FAYETTE – (Below) Mykell Edward Means and Matthew Francis Means celebrated their First Holy Communion with Father Anthony Okwum at St. Anne parish on Sunday, March 31. (Photo courtesy of parish)

– Basilica of St. Mary, First Communion, Sunday, May 5. Top row (l-r): Abigail Powers, Lewie Brown, Colt Atkins, Carmen Escamilla, Khloe King, Patrick Goldman, Easten Morris, Stevie Jenkins, Thomas O’Brien, Jacob Tran and Father Aaron Williams. Bottom row (l-r): Neil Willard, Tommy Malloy, Lauren King, Piper Smith, Tinley Blaney, Aubrey Ryan, Ella Blase Gaude, Elin Wagner, Jewel Killen and Harrison Williams. (Photo courtesy of parish)

NATCHEZ

YAZOO CITY – Michael Dew, Kiley Dew and Nicholas Swafford celebrated their First Communion at St. Mary parish on Sunday, April 21. (Photo courtesy of parish)

CORINTH – Children celebrated the Sacrament of First Communion with Father Mario Solórzano on Sunday, May 26. (Photo courtesy of parish)

STARKVILLE – St. Joseph, First Communion, Sunday, May 5. Front row (l-r): Giselle Herrera, Alexa Rodriguez, Laura Kate Buys, Claire Tseng, Emily Taboada and Luisa Velazquez. Back row (l-r): Father Jason Johnston, Declan Tseng, Alex Perkins, Silas Falls, Asher Clark, Abraham Chavarria, Fabian Herrera, Freddy Gonzalez and Daniel Ramirez. (Photo by Dave Monts)

JACKSON – St. Richard, First Communion, Saturday, April 27. Top row (l-r): Ross Ratcliffe, Lee White, Aeden Flood, Warren Davis, Jay LeBlanc, Carter Clayton and Mason Lester. Middle row (l-r): Ava Ren Lumaghini, Raegan Nelson, Reid Brown, Ethan Meeks, Francis Choufani, Hayden Matthews, Frances Stanton, Hadley Pharr and Roane Zimmerman. Front row (l-r): Elizabeth Neely, Morgan Gomez, Ellie Blain, Weezie White, Allie Vandiver, Sunny Davis, Makayla Carlson, Lizzie Smith and Lucy Arnemann. (Photo by Blaylock Photography)

NEW ALBANY – (Right) St. Francis, First Communion, Saturday, June 8. Top row (l-r): Mateo Ramirez, Jared Guerrero, Father Xavier Jesuraj, Yatziri Vianey, Leslie Giselle Tiscareno and Zoey Perez Hernandez. Front row (l-r): Mario Mendoza, Nicolas Gonzalez, Micah Sanchez, Emma Garcia, Aitanna Perez Hernandez and Daleyza Ximenna Perez Hernandez. (Photo by Joanna Manning)

PEARL – Children from St. Jude’s sacramental preparation program celebrated their First Communion with Father Cesar Sanchez. (Photo courtesy of parish)

– St. Joseph, First Communion. Front row (l-r): Antony Escudero-Simon, Yulisa Reyes-Varela, Shelby Laxson, Holland Portera, Beckham Lavender, Brooklyn Skok, Langston Lape, Laney Biasani, Nora James and Emily Tovar-Santos. Second row (l-r): Ana Wendy Contreras-Varelas, Sam Dahduh, Peter Beers, Tenessie Malin, Drake Harrison, Nathan Wilds, Audrey Shapley, Jack Agostinelli, Miller Beasley and Destiny Elias-Desiderio. Third row (l-r): Jack Finnegan, Rowan Portera, Edgar Sobernis-Fierro, Ari Rodriguez, Mirren Kern, Benjamin Cabrera, Haze Whatley and Tillie Berry. Fourth row (l-r): Karen Lopez-Gaspar, Uriel Reyes-Varela, Nadia Reyse-Varela and Father Matthew Simmons. (Photo by Paula Bennett)

BATESVILLE – (Left) St. Mary, First Communion, Sunday, April 28. Front row (l-r): Jacob Jimenez, Jacob Madrigal Garcia, Ward Mothershead, Armando Cruz and Abraham Martinez. Back row (l-r): Nicole Zamora, Shayla Delatorre, Father Pradeep Thirumalareddy, Alyssa Martinez, Kerri McKnatt (catechist) and Belinda Hernandez Moreno. (Photo courtesy of parish)

FLOWOOD – St. Paul, First Communion, Sunday, May 5. Front row (l-r): Oliver Cain, Blaine Pambianchi, Talon Nelson and Joseph Duffy. Second row (l-r): Jacob Gatlin, Rosie Newell, Annie Mize, Lillian Zinke, Kara Parker and Charlie Jordan. Third row (l-r): Xander Scott, Maddox Murphy, Abigail Callais, Brenden Thornburg, Angelina Thornburg, Dean Burns and Sterling Harkins. Top row (l-r): Father Gerry Hurley and Deacon Tony Schmidt. (Photo courtesy of parish)

RIPLEY – St. Matthew, First Communion, Saturday, June 22. Pictured: Alan Cruz, Eleazar Isai Cruz, America Elias, Leiliany Gonzalez, Luis Gonzalez, Yishaq Gonzalez, Chloe Ibarra, Xavi Ibarra, Rodrigo Monroy, Jaky Ruedas, Brayan Santos and Andrea Santos, with Eduardo Padilla, Sylvia Santos, Sister Carol Ann Prenger, SSND, Father Xavier Jesuraj and Sister Rode Mock, SSND. (Photo courtesy of parish)

GLUCKSTADT

Rosarios elaborados por una feligrés en Biloxi sirven como recuerdo de la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional

POR TERRY DICKSON

BILOXI (OSV News) – Los peregrinos de la Ruta de San Juan Diego de la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional dejaron la costa del Golfo de Mississippi con un recuerdo especial – algo que se ha estado gestando por varios años.

Tammy DiLorenzo, directora de la Oﬁcina de Finanzas de la Diócesis de Biloxi, es también una artista consumada que crea hermosos rosarios en su tiempo libre. Para conmemorar la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional, DiLorenzo creó un rosario especial, que contiene imágenes de los vitrales de cinco de las iglesias que fueron paradas en la Diócesis de Biloxi en la Ruta de San Juan Diego.

Las vidrieras representadas en este rosario siguen la vida de Jesús. Incluyen el vitral de la Anunciación dentro de Our Lady of the Gulf Church en Bay St. Louis; la ventana de la Cruciﬁxión dentro de la Capilla de San Pablo en Pass Christian; el vitral de la Natividad de Nuestro Señor dentro de la iglesia de St. Thomas the Apostle en Long Beach; la ventana de la Resurrección dentro de la Iglesia St. James en Gulfport; y la ventana de las Bodas de Caná dentro de la catedral Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary en Biloxi.

En la parte posterior de la medalla central hay un botón que contiene arena de la playa de Long Beach, que representa la Bendición inaugural del Mar, que tuvo lugar el 12 de junio cuando la peregrinación pasó por la diócesis.

DiLorenzo, feligresa de la parroquia

El padre Ignatius Shin, fraile franciscano de la Renovación, recibe un rosario especial conmemorando la peregrinación de Biloxi de manos de Tammy Dilorenzo el 11 de junio del 2024 en la iglesia de Santo Tomás Apóstol de Long Beach. El padre Shin es uno de los peregrinos que recorren la Ruta de San Juan Diego de la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional. (OSV News/courtesy of the Gulf Pine Catholic)

St. Thomas the Apostle en Long Beach, ha sido creativa toda su vida, pero sólo se ha dedicado más activamente al arte y a las manualidades durante los últimos 12 años, después de que sus hijos estaban al ﬁnal de su adolecencia y sus 20’s. Ella dijo que la idea de utilizar imágenes de vidrieras de la Iglesia de St. Thomas the Apostle surgió varios años después.

DiLorenzo sabía que quería hacer algo con esas imágenes, pero no estaba segura de qué, hasta que tuvo una revelación durante una noche de insomnio. Por la mañana, la idea de utilizar las imágenes para crear una medalla central y las cuatro cuentas del Padre Nuestro se había solidiﬁcado. Luego fue cuestión de convertir esos pensamientos en realidad.

Luego, poco después de que la pandemia de Covid-19 había disminuido, DiLorenzo estaba trabajando como voluntaria en la conferencia juvenil diocesana y estaba armando un rosario usando las imágenes de la ventana de la catedral para un compañero de trabajo jubilado cuando Bunny Thompson, una feligrés de la parroquia Our Mother of Sorrows, una histórica parroquia afroamericana en East Biloxi, se acercó a ella.

“Ella me vio trabajando (en el rosario) y me preguntó qué estaba haciendo. Le expliqué que hago estos rosarios de vez en cuando. ... Entonces, me preguntó si podía tomar fotografías de las ventanas del interior de Our Mother of Sorrows Church y Blessed

Rescatan a migrantes torturados en el lado mexicano de la frontera, donde abundan los secuestros

POR DAVID AGREN

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO (OSV News) – Las autoridades mexicanas rescataron recientemente a 13 migrantes secuestrados en una casa secreta de Ciudad Juárez, lugar donde “fueron golpeados, torturados, agredidos sexualmente y extorsionados por miembros de una organización criminal transnacional para que pagaran más por el contrabando”, según el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos.

El rescate se produjo el 11 de junio – pero fue dado a conocer casi dos semanas más tarde – después de que agentes especiales de Homeland Security Investigations compartieran información con la policía del estado de Chihuahua y la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional de México, que descubrieron a los migrantes en la zona de Anapra, en Ciudad Juárez, cerca de la frontera estadounidense con New Mexico y Texas.

Seis sospechosos de entre 16 y 24 años fueron detenidos y acusados de delitos con armas de fuego, drogas, agresión sexual y secuestro agravado.

Una de las víctimas necesitó tres intervenciones quirúrgicas por la “tortura por quemaduras” que sufrió, según el periódico El Diario de Ciudad Juárez. Las víctimas – entre las que había ciudadanos de Guatemala y Honduras – “sufrieron contusiones por golpes, quemaduras, costillas rotas y marcas de ligaduras”, mientras que “algunas de las mujeres migrantes fueron agredidas sexualmente”, según el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional. Las autoridades mexicanas están investigando la muerte de dos migrantes posiblemente asesinados en la casa secreta para migrantes.

Las autoridades estadounidenses recibieron información sobre el escondite después de que dos migrantes cruzaran Santa Teresa, en New Mexico, el 8 de junio y se entregaran a los agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza. Los migrantes denunciaron haber sido secuestrados, pero liberados tras el pago de rescates, y mostraron a los agentes quemaduras y heridas provocadas por palizas durante su cautiverio. Enrique Rodríguez, jefe de información de la Fiscalía General del Estado de Chihuahua, le dijo a

Univision Noticias que los secuestradores obligaron a los migrantes a grabar videos después de ser torturados “para presionar a sus familias a pagar por el monto de sus rescates”.

El rescate de este grupo de migrantes en Ciudad Juárez fue un duro recordatorio de los riesgos a los que se enfrentan los migrantes en su tránsito por México para intentar llegar a la frontera con Estados Unidos y del creciente control que ejercen los cárteles de la droga y los grupos delictivos sobre el ﬂujo de migrantes.

También puso en evidencia la crueldad de los secuestros, en los que los grupos delictivos atacan a los migrantes, que se ven obligados a suplicar a sus familiares en sus países de origen o en Estados Unidos que paguen rescates por su liberación. Los inmigrantes secuestrados en Ciudad Juárez, que se encuentra frente a El Paso, Texas, pagan hasta 20.000 dólares por su liberación.

Frecuentemente, los secuestradores llaman a la

– Continúa en la página 2 –– Continúa en la página 2 –

Sirviendo a los Católicos Hispanos de la Diócesis de Jackson desde 1997

‘...

DiLorenzo

se sintió honrada de poder crear los Rosarios de Peregrinación ...’

Francis Xavier Seelos Church, justo al final de la calle”, dijo DiLorenzo.

“Así lo hice, y casi al mismo tiempo, la escuela St. Vincent de Paul volvía a celebrar su evento anual para recaudar fondos y me propusieron de nuevo hacer una donación para una subasta silenciosa. Decidí hacer otro rosario usando las imágenes de las vidrieras de Santo Tomás. Sin embargo, dado que la mayoría de los niños de esa escuela asistían a la Iglesia Holy Family en Pass Christian, también le pregunté al padre Mike Austin, pastor de Holy Family, si podía hacer un rosario usando las ventanas de su iglesia y estuvo de acuerdo”.

Al padre Austin le gustó tanto el rosario que hizo DiLorenzo que le pidió que considerara hacer rosarios adicionales para venderlos a sus feligreses.

“Originalmente no me propuse vender estos rosarios, pero cuanto más lo pensaba, más fuerte me sentía acerca de ponerlos a disposición de los feligreses”, dijo.

“Estos (rosarios) son muy personales para la gente. La gente ama a sus parroquias.

Ese es nuestro hogar. Ahí es donde celebramos todos los sacramentos. Ahí es donde vamos a Misa todas las semanas. Ahí es donde bautizamos a nuestro pueblo. Ahí es donde enterramos a nuestra gente. Ahí es donde tenemos bodas. Son tantas las cosas que suceden en nuestras iglesias parroquiales. Estamos muy apegadas a ellas. Entonces decidí hacerlo”.

Los rosarios se hicieron aún más populares después de que DiLorenzo publicara fotografías de los rosarios de las iglesias St. Thomas y Holy Family en su página de Facebook.

“Diferentes personas se acercaron a mí y me dijeron: ‘Bueno, mi parroquia también tiene ventanas bonitas’. ¿Pensarías en venir y hacer eso en mi par-

roquia?’”, recordó. “Entonces, lo he hecho en varias parroquias de la Diócesis de Biloxi, así como en parroquias de fuera del estado”.

Por lo general, se necesita un poco más de una hora para crear cada rosario, pero ha contado con la ayuda de varios miembros de su familia cuando la ha necesitado.

“Ha sido una gran bendición para mí”, dijo DiLorenzo. “Terminé convirtiendo una de las habitaciones de mi casa en un estudio de arte y ahí es donde trabajo por las tardes y los fines de semana. ... Es un momento de meditación para mí”.

“Cuando creo estos rosarios, rezo por las personas que van a recibirlos. Sé que ver la belleza de una iglesia y poder convertir esa belleza en un rosario es un don que se me ha concedido. El rosario es una hermosa tradición de oraciones en nuestra fe católica y me encanta poder compartir la belleza que veo”.

DiLorenzo se sintió honrada de poder crear los Rosarios de Peregrinación y compartirlos con los peregrinos que pasan por la Costa del Golfo de Mississippi durante la Ruta de San Juan Diego de la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional.

“Cuando me di cuenta de que visitarían cinco iglesias, pensé que sería perfecto armar un rosario para conmemorar la peregrinación”, dijo.

Debido a que los miembros del equipo de peregrinación solicitaron el rosario de la peregrinación para ellos mismos, DiLorenzo los está poniendo a la venta al público. Las ganancias se destinarán a la capilla de adoración de St. Thomas the Apostle Parish. Pueden adquirirse en fairee-designs.square.site o enviando un correo electrónico a faireedesigns@gmail.com.

Terry Dickson es editor del Gulf Pine Catholic, el periódico de la Diócesis de Biloxi.

Imagen del rosario creado por Tammy DiLorenzo, directora de la Oficina de Finanzas de la Diócesis de Biloxi, con motivo de la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional. Este rosario contiene imágenes de los vitrales de cinco de las iglesias que fueron visitadas por los peregrinos de la Ruta de San Juan Diego. (OSV News/Juliana Skelton, courtesy of the Gulf Pine Catholic) – Viene de la página 1 –

‘... Convirtiendo la vida de demasiados migrantes ... en una verdadera pesadilla ...’

– Viene de la página 1 –

familia “ después de una semana de tener a la persona secuestrada, para que las familias estén más ansiosas y propensas a pagar”, según un informe que publicarán próximamente el Hope Border Institute y Derechos Humanos Integrales en Acción, o DHIA, una organización de derechos humanos con sede en Ciudad Juárez. “En los casos en que las familias no pueden pagar o no pueden hacerlo a tiempo, hemos observado situaciones de tortura y violencia sexual. Si las familias pueden pagar, los cárteles suelen exigir un segundo pago antes de dejar al individuo cerca del muro fronterizo.”

Los migrantes también deben pagar a una de las tres organizaciones delictivas de Ciudad Juárez para cruzar la frontera estadounidense entre los puertos de entrada, proporcionando una palabra clave como prueba del pago. Esta extorsión se produce a veces “en una zona cercana a la frontera, bajo amenaza de lesiones corporales”, cerca de la Guardia Nacional de Texas, según el informe.

La policía del estado de Chihuahua y el ejército mexicano detuvieron a cuatro hombres y dos mujeres por la presunta tortura, secuestro y agresión sexual de 13 migrantes que fueron rescatados de una vivienda en el barrio de Anapra de Ciudad Juárez, México, el 11 de junio de 2024. (Foto OSV News/cortesía de la Policía Estatal de Chihuahua vía Homeland Security Investigation)

Los autores del informe revisaron los registros policiales que muestran aproximadamente 400 secuestros en Ciudad Juárez durante los primeros cinco meses de 2024. Sin embargo, afirmaron que la mayoría de los migrantes no denuncian los secuestros por temor a sufrir represalias.

Las conclusiones del Hope Border Institute-DHIA – que coinciden con los resultados de un proyecto de seguimiento de organizaciones como el Servicio Jesuita a Refugiados en Ciudad Juárez – reveló que el 50% de los migrantes en tránsito por Ciudad Juárez se encontraban en “condiciones extremadamente

vulnerables”. Al menos el 60% de los que se encontraban en condiciones vulnerables habían sufrido violencia y el 53% “había sufrido violencia adicional en Ciudad Juárez tanto a manos de las autoridades como de elementos criminales”.

Para complicar las cosas, sugiere el informe, hay reportes de una presunta complicidad de algunos funcionarios mexicanos de inmigración y miembros de la Guardia Nacional en los secuestros. Muchos de los secuestros tienen lugar cerca del aeropuerto y la estación de autobuses de Ciudad Juárez, según el informe, y los funcionarios de inmigración “(alertan) a los miembros de los cárteles sobre la presencia de los migrantes para que puedan interceptarlos”.

Los católicos que trabajan con migrantes en otras partes de México han denunciado que los secuestros son rutinarios. En el estado de Tamaulipas, al noreste del país, la Diócesis de Matamoros informa de que un gran número de inmigrantes acuden a sus albergues tras ser liberados por sus captores. “Bajo la presión de Estados Unidos, ha habido un aumento significativo en la actividad de aplicación de la ley por parte de México para reducir la migración a la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México”, dijo Dylan Corbett, director del Hope Border Institute, a OSV News.

“Hemos visto que cada vez que hay una represión de la migración por parte del gobierno mexicano, coincide con un aumento de la vulnerabilidad de los migrantes a los actores corruptos”, dijo. “Lo que estamos presenciando ahora es un cóctel mortal que incluye todos esos elementos, convirtiendo la vida de demasiados migrantes que viajan a través de México en una verdadera pesadilla”.

Vivir la Eucaristía: un camino de fe, esperanza y amor

Por obisPo JosePh r. KoPacz, D.D.

El Congreso Eucarístico Nacional está en marcha en Indianápolis esta semana y se ha vertido una considerable fe, esperanza y amor en los preparativos que lo han hecho todo posible. Nuestro Señor Eucarístico está obrando grandes maravillas e inspirando a muchos a reconocerlo y amarlo en el don de Su Cuerpo y Sangre durante este tiempo de gracia en la historia católica de nuestra nación.

Una manifestación de la efusión de la gracia de Dios fueron las cuatro procesiones eucarísticas nacionales que convergieron a principios de esta semana en Indianápolis. Recordando las palabras de san Pablo, muchos caminaron alegremente como peregrinos en adoración. “Regocíjense siempre en el Señor. Lo diré de nuevo: ¡alégrate! Tu bondad debe ser conocida por todos. El Señor está cerca”. (Filipenses 4:4-5) Es un tiempo de renacimiento renovación y regocijo para conocer el don duradero y eterno que el Señor crucificado y resucitado ha legado a la Iglesia en la Eucaristía.

A medida que disfrutamos de este número de la revista Mississippi Catholic que presenta las celebraciones de los sacramentos de toda la diócesis, es muy evidente que la Misa, la gran oración de Acción de Gracias es el corazón y el alma de nuestra identidad como católicos. Recientemente, en cada sesión de clausura de nuestra Reimaginación Pastoral, la Eucaristía fue la pieza central para expresar nuestra gratitud, así como para invocar al Espíritu Santo para que nos inspire en nuestro compromiso de ser fieles al Señor en la renovacion pastoral. El santo sacrificio de la Misa es nuestro verdadero norte en el camino hacia la vida eterna, el cumplimiento de la promesa que el Señor hizo a todos los discípulos que comieron su cuerpo y bebieron su sangre. “Yo soy el pan vivo que ha bajado del cielo; el que coma de este pan vivirá para siempre; el pan que yo daré es mi carne y lo dare para la vida del mundo”. (Juan 6:51)

La Eucaristía, el centro de la vida de la Iglesia, de alguna manera parece decirlo todo. Lo dice de cien maneras diferentes: esto es lo que somos, y esto es lo

que es Dios... Cuando miramos la Eucaristía en toda su rica plenitud, podemos vivir en nosotros el asombro eucarístico y la maravilla ante este gran don que Dios nos ha dado en su Hijo Jesús. (Stephen J. Binz, Eucaristía, página 2) El salmo capta estos dones de asombro y maravilla. “Entren por sus puertas dando gracias, en sus atrios canten su alabanza. Denle gracias y bendigan su nombre, Si el Señor es bueno, su amor dura por siempre, y su fidelidad por todas las edades”. (Salmo 100)

Un elemento central para reconocer la presencia real de Jesús en la Eucaristía es nuestra hambre y sed de la Palabra de Dios. Nuestro mundo católico litúrgico/sacramental no puede existir sin la proclamación de las Escrituras durante cada administración de los sacramentos. Los bautismos o unciones de emergencia serían las excepciones. La historia de Emaús en el Evangelio de San Lucas encarna lo que el Papa Juan Pablo II quiso decir en su documento Ecclesiastico de Eucaristia en el cambio de milenio. En otras palabras, la Iglesia nace de la Eucaristía y del camino.

Emaús representa la plenitud de la fe eucarística cuando la Palabra ardía en el corazón de los discípulos, y reconocían la presencia del Señor resucitado en la fracción del pan. La inspirada Palabra de Dios nos prepara para ver la gloria de Dios en el cuerpo y la sangre del Señor en el altar.

Un elemento central de una celebración auténtica de la Eucaristía es la comprensión de que al final de la Misa el servicio continúa.

“Vete en paz, glorificando al Señor con tu vida”.

“ Demos Gracias a Dios”.

Como el Señor enseñó claramente, es urgente poner en práctica lo que hemos escuchado para construir nuestra casa sobre la roca, el terreno sólido de la fe en acción. Aprovechando el momento con todos los que asisten al Congreso Eucarístico estará la invitación a ser misioneros eucarísticos, o discípulos misioneros encendidos con la alegría del Evangelio. Después de todo, somos el Cuerpo de Cristo, la iglesia, y debemos llevar nuestra santa comunión con el Señor y unos con otros a nuestras vidas y al mundo como una levadura que da testimonio del Reino de Dios.

El Señor está siempre cerca, y aun más cuando los miembros de su cuerpo, la Iglesia, viven fielmente la Buena Nueva.

El Papa: El cielo es para ‘todos, todos, todos’

Por Justin McLeLLan

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – El cielo no es una bóveda segura protegida de los extraños, sino un “tesoro escondido” al que se llega cultivando las virtudes, dijo el Papa Francisco.

Antes de rezar el Ángelus en la Plaza de San Pedro en la fiesta de San Pedro y San Pablo el 29 de junio, el Papa reflexionó sobre Jesús dando a San Pedro, el primer Papa, las llaves del reino de los cielos.

“La misión que Jesús confía a Pedro no es la de atrancar las puertas de la casa, permitiendo la entrada sólo a unos pocos invitados selectos, sino la de ayudar a todos a encontrar el camino para entrar, en fidelidad al Evangelio de Jesús”, dijo el Papa Francisco tras celebrar la Misa en la Basílica de San Pedro. El cielo, añadió, es “para todos. Todos, todos, todos pueden entrar”.

El Papa dijo que San Pedro “recibió las llaves del reino no porque fuera perfecto, no, es un pecador, sino porque era humilde, honesto y el Padre le había dado una fe sincera”.

Incluso después de muchas pruebas y contratiempos, el apóstol Pedro fue el primero en experimentar por sí mismo “la alegría y la libertad que vienen del encuentro con el Señor”, y el primero “en comprender que la autoridad es un servicio para abrir la puerta a Jesús”.

Al día siguiente, el Papa Francisco volvió a asomarse a la ventana del Palacio Apostólico para cumplir con su habitual cita dominical de rezar el Ángelus con los fieles. Se centró en el tema evangélico de la inclusividad

reflexionando sobre la lectura evangélica del día de San Marcos en la que una mujer es curada tras tocar el manto de Jesús y una niña resucita después de que Jesús la tomara de la mano.

Destacando la importancia del contacto físico en ambas curaciones, el Papa preguntó: “¿Por qué motivo es importante ‘tocar’?”. “Es porque estas dos mujeres – una porque tiene pérdidas de sangre y la otra porque está muerta – se consideran impuras y por lo tanto con ellas no puede haber contacto físico”, dijo. “Y, en cambio, Jesús se deja tocar y no teme tocar”.

Al llevar a cabo la sanación física, Jesús desafía una concepción religiosa equivocada, según la cual Dios separa a los puros por un lado y a los impuros por otro”, dijo el Papa. “En cambio, Dios no hace esta separación, porque todos somos sus hijos”.

Añadió que la impureza “no deriva de alimentos, enfermedades y ni siquiera de la muerte, sino que la impureza viene de un corazón impuro”.

El Papa Francisco instó a los cristianos a tomar en serio la lección de la lectura del Evangelio del día, que “frente a los sufrimientos del cuerpo y del espíritu, frente a las heridas del alma, frente a las situaciones que nos abaten e incluso frente al pecado, Dios no nos mantiene a distancia”.

“Dios no se avergüenza de nosotros, Dios no nos juzga”, dijo. “Al contrario, Él se acerca para dejarse tocar y para tocarnos y siempre nos levanta de la muerte”.

El Papa Francisco saluda a los visitantes reunidos en la Plaza de San Pedro para rezar el Ángelus en el Vaticano el 29 de junio de 2024. (Foto CNS/Vatican Media)

Nicaragüenses llevan una estatua de María durante una peregrinación el 14 de agosto de 2018 en León para exigir el fin de la violencia en el país. El 15 de agosto es la fiesta de la Asunción de María. (CNS photo/ Oswaldo Rivas, Reuters)

NATION

LAFAYETTE, La. (OSV News) – El 24 de junio, el gobernador Je Landry, republicano de La., vetó un millón de dólares en fondos estatales para los servicios de refugios de emergencia para personas sin hogar gestionados por Caridades Católicas de Acadiana. Landry más tarde citó el trabajo más amplio de Caridades Católicas, el brazo caritativo doméstico de la Iglesia Católica en los EE.UU., en el servicio a los migrantes como su razón, sin embargo, el veto de línea artículo destripó financieramente los servicios sin hogar por Caridades Católicas abrumadoramente servir a los nativos de Luisiana. Caridades Católicas de Acadiana había solicitado financiación estatal para apoyar sus operaciones generales de refugio de emergencia en Lafayette. En una declaración facilitada al medio de comunicación local KATC, Landry, católico, no especificó la labor de Catholic Charities of Acadiana; sin embargo, hizo una acusación general de que Catholic Charities en EE.UU. apoya la inmigración no autorizada, lo que el brazo caritativo de la Iglesia católica ha negado enérgicamente. Caridades Católicas de Acadiana dijo en un comunicado a OSV News que estaba “profundamente entristecida” por el veto de la financiación, que “tendrá un impacto paralizante” en la “capacidad de mantener los servicios de refugio” de la agencia durante el próximo año fiscal, que comienza el 1 de julio. “Los créditos de refugio vetados son un revés significativo a nuestros esfuerzos pro-vida para cuidar a nuestros vecinos vulnerables que experimentan la falta de vivienda”, dijo el CEO Kim Boudreaux. La decisión de Landry se produce en un momento en que los

TOME NOTA

Vírgenes y Santos

San Joaquín y Santa Ana. Julio 26

Santa Marta. Julio 29

La Transﬁguración del Señor. Agosto 6

Asunción de la Virgen María Agosto 15

Santa Rosa de Lima, Virgen. Agosto 30

obispos estadounidenses han empezado a manifestar que la creciente hostilidad de sectores políticos y sociales hacia la labor de Catholic Charities y otros ministerios católicos que atienden las necesidades básicas de los inmigrantes supone una amenaza para la libertad religiosa de la Iglesia.

VATICANO

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – El documento de trabajo para la asamblea de octubre del Sínodo de los Obispos sobre la sinodalidad pedía respuestas sobre cómo todos los bautizados pueden servir mejor a la Iglesia católica y ayudar a curar las “heridas más profundas de la humanidad”. El documento decía que el sínodo debería impulsar a la Iglesia a convertirse en “refugio” y “cobijo” para los necesitados o angustiados y animar a los católicos a “dejarse conducir por el Espíritu del Señor hacia horizontes que antes no habían vislumbrado” como hermanos y hermanas en Cristo. “Esta es la conversión permanente del modo de ser Iglesia que el proceso sinodal nos invita a emprender”, dice el documento. El documento de 30 páginas, denominado “instrumentum laboris”, se hizo público en el Vaticano el 9 de julio. Servirá como guía de debate para la segunda sesión del sínodo, del 2 al 27 de octubre, que reflexionará sobre el tema: “Cómo ser una Iglesia sinodal misionera”. Las reflexiones son el siguiente paso en el tema general del sínodo: “Por una Iglesia sinodal: comunión, participación y misión”. La práctica sinodal “nos llama al cuidado mutuo, la interdependencia y la corresponsabilidad por el bien común”, afirma, y está dispuesta a escuchar a todos, en contraste con los métodos “en los que la concentración de poder apaga las voces de los más pobres, los marginados y las minorías”.

Envíenos sus fotos a editor@jacksondiocese.org

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MUNDO

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (OSV News) – El gobierno nicaragüense cerró la emisora de radio católica más importante del país, mientras el régimen sandinista sigue persiguiendo a la Iglesia y atentando cada vez más contra la libertad religiosa y de culto de los ciudadanos. El 9 de julio, el Ministerio del Interior de Nicaragua extinguió la personalidad jurídica de Radio María, que emitía contenidos católicos en todo el país centroamericano. Era un medio importante para los católicos que carecían de celebraciones eucarísticas después de que sus sacerdotes huyeran del país para evitar la persecución o se vieran obligados a exiliarse. El Ministerio del Interior aﬁrmó que Radio María no entregó informes ﬁnancieros entre 2019 y 2023 y alegó que el mandato de su junta directiva expiraba en 2021. Otras once organizaciones no gubernamentales también vieron revocada su personalidad jurídica el mismo día. Radio María Nicaragua operaba en Nicaragua desde el año 2000 y pertenecía a la Familia Mundial de Radio María, fundada por la Archidiócesis de Milán. En los últimos años se ha retirado la personalidad jurídica a más de 3.000 organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro en Nicaragua, entre ellas las Misioneras de la Caridad por supuestas irregularidades y por tener demasiados extranjeros en su patronato. El cierre de Radio María culminó una campaña de acoso del Régimen Sandinista en el poder. Sus cuentas bancarias fueron congeladas en abril y la emisora había estado emitiendo una programación limitada, aunque en directo por Internet las 24 horas del día. Radio María evitaba los contenidos polémicos transmitiendo únicamente misas y oraciones.

STARKVILLE – (Right) St. Joseph, Confirmation, Wednesday, May 1. Front row (l-r): Eliza Artigues, Emma Wietig, Maria Keith, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Grace Word and Olivia Portera. Second row (l-r): Father Jason Johnston, Joseph Rollins, Fabian Fuentes, Patricio Lespron, Joseph Coleman and Deacon Jeff Artigues. (Photo by Dave Monts)

– (Above) St. Michael, Confirmation, Wednesday, April 24. Front row (l-r): Father PJ Curley, Julia Tuminello, Camila Martinez, Farrell Roberson, Taryn Lusby and Dalton Windham. Second row (l-r): Hannah Ryan, Elizabeth Bednar, Quaid Farmer, Presley Kaysen Hossley, Evan Farrell, William Roberson and Corbin Ramshur. Top row (l-r): Deacon David Rouch, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Father Robert Dore and Deacon Dien Hoang. Not pictured is Mary Evelyn Hossley. (Photo courtesy of parish)

MCCOMB – (Right) St. Alphonsus, Confirmation, Thursday, May 2. Front row (l-r): Ryan Weber, Lydia Tullos, Holden Cutrer, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Ann Elise Gatlin, and John Michael Heroman. Top row (l-r): Mary Roberts (youth minister/confirmation instructor), Father Suresh Thirumalareddy, Father Bill Henry and Angie Barrios (confirmation instructor). (Photo courtesy of parish)

on Tuesday,

PEARL – Youth from St. Jude celebrated Confirmation

April 23 with Father Cesar Sanchez, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Father Andrew Bowden and Deacon Mark Bowden. (Photo courtesy of Rhonda Bowden)

VICKSBURG

GLUCKSTADT – St. Joseph, Confirmation, Sunday, April 21. Front row (l-r): Aristotle Nguyen, Daynie Parish, Ava Spence, Katie Honigfort, Samantha McNeil, Azul Garcia, Ivy Le, Campbell Miller, Kirsten Fontenot and Konner Le. Second row (l-r): Laura Ribeiro do Nascimento, Summer Rives, Mia Morgan Word, Madelynn Soucie, Sarah Chase Porter, Sydney Lieb, Elaina Price, Kate Kosek, Yosvani Arenas-Alvarez, Mason Robertson and Coleman Andy. Third row (l-r): Father Matthew Simmons, Anibal Tolentino de La Luz, Austin Love, Brittany Soberanis, Aaron Emrick, Denley Holloway and Ford Johnson. Top row (l-r): Mason Towler, Tyler Stovall, Matthew D’Alfonso, Andrew Raffaelle, Garrett Smith, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, William Sheehan, Clark Estess, Charles Thomas, Jr., Benjamin Sylve, James Smiley IV and Patrick Dussouy. (Photo by Paula Bennett)

and

– St. Francis, Confirmation, Sunday, April 28.

Second

and Deacon Denzil Lobo. (Photo courtesy of parish)

MADISON

Front row (l-r): Elizabeth Alimont, Abigail Garcia, Sydney Collins, Avery Hornback, Lilly Hlavac

Elizabeth Vanderloo.

row (l-r): Johnathan Warnock, Colin McElwain, Rachel Chmielewski, Cameron Moody, Annsley Maynor and Cole Allen. Third row (l-r): Gabe Leo, Finley Bergin and Reece Chandler. Fourth row (l-r): Father Guy Wilson, ST, Msgr. Elvin Sunds, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Father Albeen Vatti

BROOKHAVEN – On May 11, the communities of St. John (Crystal Springs), St. Martin (Hazlehurst) joined with St. Francis Brookhaven to celebrate confirmation. Pictured (l-r): Aurora Varas, Irene Joseph, Father Manohar Reddy Thanugundla, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Christian Franklin, Ismael Delcid Reza and Father Kevin Slattery. (Photo by Yvette Howard)

YAZOO CITY – Clayton Clark, Dalton Clark and Caroline Swafford received the sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday, June 23, at St.

TUPELO – (Below) St. James, Confirmation, Saturday, April 20. Pictured: Andrea Brohawn, Andrea Tiscareno, Averi Coleman, Cindy Juarez, Cindy Gonzalez, Emily Lira, Estrella Candanedo, Evelyn Pickering, Joselyn Flores, Mariana Ramirez, Miranda Luna, Nancy

Mary’s Church. (Photo courtesy of parish)

TUPELO – St. James, Confirmation, Saturday, April 20. Pictured: Cooper Hairald, Michael Gusmus, Andrew Bizon, Andy Hernandez, Andy Tran, Angel Perez, Angel Mendez, Christopher Salinas, Dawson Arriola, Drew Hebert, Ethan Arriola, Andrew Kline, Irving Quevedo, Ivan Candanedo, Landon Nelms, Mariano Moralez, Bryce Vaughn, Oscar Chaires, Santiago Salgado, Victor Salgado, Gehovani Alonzo, Austin Escobar (St. Helen Amory). (Photo courtesy of parish)

Cruz, Tereza Perez, Valeria Diaz, Vanessa Acosta, Vanessa Castillo, Hannah Montanez (St. Francis Booneville), Angela Alvarez (St. Francis Booneville). (Photo courtesy of parish)

JACKSON – St. Richard, Confirmation, Sunday, Feb. 25. Those Confirmed were: Ruby Hospodor, Anderson Abide, Ella Abide, Susanna Berman, Sebastian Brown, Samuel Clements, Samantha Cochran, Thomas Coco, Ben Compretta, Trey Compretta, Ken Core, Eva Claire Courson, Hills Ezella, Kennedi Fair, Declan Foley, Jacob Gomez, Logan Gomez, Daniel Harris, Emily Hodges, Nicholas Jones, Katie Lancaster, Avery Malouf, Cash Malouf, Amelia McCaughan, Warren Rogers III, Allie Shuetzle, Ben Smith, Charlie Smith, Amelia Taylor, Caleb Underwood and Chamblee Ezelle. (Photo courtesy of parish)

FLOWOOD – (Right) St. Paul, Confirmation, Wednesday, May 8. Pictured Front row (l-r): Anna Claire Vowell, Madalyn Bergeron, Morgan Thornton and Allie Curro. Second row (l-r): Monique Callais, Aurora Latimer, Kalyn Oubre, Haidyn Borne, Emma O’Brien, Mary Lou Fede, Adelette Nichols, Izzie Frederick and Jess Boman. Third row (l-r): Daniel Latimer, DJ Peters, Jacob Maggio, Stephen Heintzelman, Brady Eubanks, Jacob Garner, Christopher Owen and Eli McFadden. Back row (l-r): Father Gerry Hurley, Bishop Joseph Kopacz and Deacon Tony Schmidt. (Photo courtesy of parish)

Juan

Kopacz, Carlos

Rony Alexander, Isidro Vieyra,

Eric

JACKSON – St. Therese, Confirmation, Sunday, April 7. Pictured front row (l-r): Maribel Melo (teacher), Sindy Marbeli Mejia, Feliciano Sebastian, Alexa Castillo, Bishop Joseph

Rivas Perez,

Rivas Perez, Mirian Nicolas-Juan, Father Stephen Okojie and Jill Hisaw (teacher). Back row (l-r):

Melo (teacher),

Edmundo Rios, Mario Villasenor (DRE), Gael Chacón-Gonzales, Jesus Bolaños, Juvey Loredo and Ingrid Piernas (teacher). (Photo courtesy of parish)

CLARKSDALE

– St. Elizabeth, Confirmation, Saturday, April 6. Pictured (lr): Catelin

Britt, Kevin Elias, Angel Zuniga, Dominic Birdsong, Priscila Lopez, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Bella Favi, Ayden Lutts, Bailey Martin and Father Raju Macherla. (Photo courtesy of parish)

NATCHEZ – Gabe Orr, Jack Henry Stubbs, Joshua Britt and Ella Skates received the sacrament of confirmation with Father Aaron Williams at the Basilica of St. Mary. (Photo courtesy of parish)

CORINTH – Youth received the sacrament of confirmation on Saturday, May 25 at St. James the Less parish with Bishop Joseph Kopacz and Father Mario Solórzano. (Photo courtesy of Bernardo Sorcia)

PEARL – Youth and adults received the sacrament of initiation on Holy Saturday, March 30 at St. Jude parish with Father Cesar Sanchez and Deacons Mark Bowden and John McGregor. (Photo courtesy of Rhonda Bowden)

Erin Watson and Dr. Josephine Calloway (director of religious education).

BATESVILLE – (Right) St. Mary, Confirmation, Sunday, June 2.

Pictured: Juan Lazalde, Donna Smith (catechist), Camren Becerra, Father Pradeep Thirumalareddy, Jennifer Aguilar Moreno, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Luis Hernandez, Joey Azar and Rigoberto Salas. (Photo courtesy of parish)

PONTOTOC – (Below) Youth at St. Christopher celebrated their Confirmation on Saturday, April 20 with Bishop Joseph Kopacz and Father Tim Murphy. (Photo by Luis Gordillo)

GREENVILLE – (Below) Youth from the Greenville area parishes of Sacred Heart, St. Joseph and St. Francis, celebrated their Confirmation on Wednesday, April 10 with Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Father Tom Mullally, SVD, Father Hilary Brzezinski, OFM, Father José de Jesús Sánchez and Deacon Dien Hoang. (Photo courtesy of parish)

VICKSBURG – St. Mary, Confirmation, Wednesday, April 24.

Pictured: Father Joseph Nguyen, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, LaMarcus Martin, Erin Watson, Ke’Asia Slaughter,

(Photo by Deacon David Rouch)

TUPELO – (Left) Pictured (l-r) are Ethan Arriola, Dawson Arriola, Andrew Bizon, Andrea Brohawn and Averi Coleman, who received the sacrament of confirmation at St. James parish this spring. Pictured behind them are Christi Houin, Page Moore, Mike and Gail Boland, Ched Bautista and Rayli Arriola. (Photo courtesy of parish)

– Two St. Patrick School students were welcomed into the Catholic Church through baptism on Thursday, Feb. 29. Pictured are Zorah and Elijah Johnson with their parents, Jennifer and Kenneth Johnson, Father Augustine Palimattam Poulose and Melanie Pressly, their Godparent. (Photo courtesy of Helen Reynolds)

MERIDIAN

COLUMBUS – Julie and Chris Mitchell had their daughter Lily baptized at Annunciation parish by Father Jeffrey Waldrep this spring. (Photo courtesy of parish)

COLUMBUS – Chris and Janel Vander-Zanden had two of their children – Isaiah and Everett – baptized on Feb. 16 at Annunciation by Father Jeffrey Waldrep. (Photo courtesy of parish)

GREENVILLE – Emily McGraw and Alex Rester celebrated their confirmation at St. Joseph Church on Pentecost Sunday, May 19. (Photo courtesy of parish)

CHURCH GROUPS FOR

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A bittersweet farewell: celebrating the legacy of Sacred Heart Parish

FROM THE ARCHIVES

By Mary WoodWard

Parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish in Rosedale gathered around Bishop Joseph Kopacz and SVD Fathers Sebastian Myladiyil and Tom Mullally to celebrate a final Mass in the church on Sunday afternoon June 30. Friends from the nearby parishes of St. Francis in Shaw, St. Mary in Shelby and Our Lady of Victories in Cleveland joined in the bittersweet celebration as a sign of support for their Bolivar County neighbors.

During the diocesan pastoral reimagining discussions over the past year and even before that, Sacred Heart parishioners had begin discussing among themselves and with Father Myladiyil, the sacramental minister, what the future of the parish would be after the death of their longtime, dedicated Lay Ecclesial Minister, Dr. James Tomek in August 2022.

Ultimately, through much prayerful discernment and fortitude, these devoted parishioners were ready to make a leap of faith. I was honored to be able to meet with them in late April to answer questions about what would happen if they chose to close the doors.

The discussion revealed a deep sense of love and concern for each other and the legacy of the parish’s long-standing families. Ultimately, they decided together to close and hold a final Mass as a community with Bishop Kopacz.

This decision was indeed a communal decision grounded in a firm and faith-filled realization that the church went beyond a single building. It also was a painful decision to let go of what has been a home filled with memories of baptisms, weddings and funerals. And it was a bittersweet decision that brought about a profound resolve and a quiet relief in those present at the meeting.

Located just off Highway 1 near the Mississippi River in the Delta, Sacred Heart officially became a parish in 1968, but Catholic history in the Rosedale area goes back to early French explorations of the River. Rev. Jacques Marquette, SJ, and Louis Jolliet ventured down the Mississippi in the spring of 1673 seeking to determine whether the “great river” was a path to the Gulf of Mexico or turned and went west to the Pacific.

Marquette’s expedition mission was evangelization; while Jolliet, a trader and mapper, was seeking to establish new trading posts. The journey involved a crew of five assisting the duo in two canoes paddling down that massive current.

The team traveled from Canada to the Arkansas River’s confluence with the Mississippi, just south of where Rosedale sits today. Some historians note that Marquette celebrated Mass there. This potentially marks the first known Mass in the lower Mississippi Valley – predating the Easter Mass near Fort Adams in 1682, which was part of the LaSalle expedition.

Marquette and Jolliet did not venture farther down the river, as they heard the Spanish were slightly south. So, the team turned around and paddled back up the river to what is now Michigan. They did finally establish that the river did flow into the Gulf and not westward.

Catholicism did not return to the area for another 200 years. In 1888, Father John Koerstenbroek, pastor in Greenville, started ministering to the Rosedale Catholics. Mass was celebrated in Edward Scott’s home. Scott’s son, Norbert, was the first recorded baptism in 1894.

In the early 20th century, priests from Our Lady of Victories in Cleveland served Rosedale. In 1968, Bishop Joseph Brunini established it as a parish and appoint Father Tony Pudenz as its first resident pastor, overseeing the church’s dedication in March 1971. Other pastors

included Msgr. Mike Flannery, Father Dan Gallagher, and Father P.J. Curley. Having just returned from serving in the mission on Saltillo, Mexico, Msgr. Flannery began a Hispanic ministry in the area.

Eventually, Women Religious administered the parish, with sacramental ministers celebrate Mass and confer the sacraments. Notable members included Sisters Patricia Fitzgerald, Mary Genevieve Love, Vivian Votruba, Jeroma Day, Catherine Leamy and Celia Evers, who devoted themselves to migrants and prison ministry.

Dr. Tomek served faithfully from 2010-2022. His commitment to Sacred Heart was much appreciated by the parish and the diocese.

Near the end of the Mass on June 30, as a final symbolic act, the altar cloth was slowly folded and placed in the center of the altar. Bishop then offered the post Communion prayer, many thanks were extended, the final blessing was imparted, and the congregation gathered for photos and a lovely reception in the gathering area outside the church proper.

Parishioners shared many stories and a few tears, but still held on to that deep faith that has guided them together through a myriad of sacred moments and will continue to guide and keep them.

Special thanks to Cleta Ellington for her book Christ the Living Water, which provided much of the historical information.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)

ROSEDALE – Members of Sacred Heart Parish gather around Bishop

Joseph Kopacz, Father Sebastian Myladiyil, SVD and sacramental minister, and Father Tom Mullally, SVD, after the Last Mass was celebrated in the church on Sunday, June 30. (Photo by Mary Woodward)

Reflections on the legacy of Catholic schools

THINGS OLD AND NEW

By Ruth PoweRs

Now that the summer break is a little more than halfway over, parents and students begin to turn their attention to the start of the next school year. Although this topic may seem more suited to the celebration of Catholic Schools Week in January, as we look toward the start of the new school year it may be beneficial to take a look at the history of Catholic schools in our country and the role they played in transmitting the faith to our children. My own family has benefitted as we have had our faith shaped by Cathedral School in Natchez for six generations (my grandchildren being the sixth.)

Catholic education in what would become the future United States began with Franciscan friars establishing schools in Spanish territories in the 1500s, educating both Indigenous people and Spanish settlers. The French later established schools along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Notably, the Ursuline Academy in New Orleans, founded in 1727, which is still in operation today.

In English colonized areas, however, there was a different story. Although the original Puritan settlers came looking for religious freedom, they did not practice religious toleration. Their strict Calvinists beliefs led to hostility towards Catholics, influencing attitudes across the original colonies, especially in New England and the Northeast. Maryland, initially a haven for persecuted Catholics, was overtaken by Calvinist rebels in 1689, leading to the outlawing of Catholicism.

After the Revolutionary War religious toleration became much more widespread in law, allowing Catholics to again freely worship without fear of persecution, but social attitudes remained staunchly anti-Catholic in many places. Into this situation stepped

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, an Episcopalian convert to Catholicism, who is credited with founding the U.S. Catholic School system. Seton was approached by a priest of the Sulpician order to come to Maryland and start a school for Catholic girls, which she did in 1810. She also gathered a number of women around her and founded the Daughters of Charity. Members of this religious order travelled around the United States and founded Catholic Schools in areas where there were concentrations of Catholics.

From the 1820s through the 1850s Catholic immigration from Ireland and Germany dramatically increased, sparking a rise in anti-Catholic sentiment. This era saw the formation of the “Know-Nothings,” a political party aimed at halting Catholic immigration and eradicating Catholic influence in the United States. To achieve this, the public school system, where most immigrant children were educated due to the scarcity of Catholic schools, became a battleground. Horace Mann, the system’s advocate, staunchly opposed institutional religion, particularly Catholicism. The idea was for the Protestant teachers to use Protestant prayers, hymns, and study of the Protestant Bible to indoctrinate Catholic children against the teachings of the Catholic Church.

In response to the Know-Nothing movement and the violence it engendered, a series of Councils were held in Baltimore, Maryland in 1852, 1866 and 1884. The second and third of these councils were instrumental in the development of the system of parish-based Catholic schools that many of us grew up with. The Second Council called for the erection of parochial schools in every Catholic parish, and Catholic teachers working in public schools should be employed in Catholic parish schools wherever possible. Catechism classes were to be provided for students who couldn’t afford to attend the parish school. The Third Plenary Council went even further. It called for

Wedding bells muse

AMID THE FRAY

By GReG eRlandson

I must have skipped the chapter in my “how to parent” instruction manual where it talked about weddings. Not my wedding, of course, but all the weddings of my kids, the friends of my kids and the kids of my friends. For me, the year 2024 is turning into a banner year for nuptials, including the wedding of one of my sons. Yet we have been invited to at least five other weddings this year as well. We are swamped by the logistics of attending. We get savethe-date cards with a photo, then the actual wedding invitations. We negotiate wedding websites to R.S.V.P. and send gifts. In case you didn’t know, department store gift registries are now as old fashioned as department stores. It is far busier for some of our children, who have even more weddings to attend, bridesmaid dresses to buy, bachelor parties to throw, and travel and hotel expenses to cover. I can’t complain, however. My wife and I are cheered by this nuptial rush, for the statistics about young people getting married have been falling for years. Marriage has been in something approaching freefall since the 1960s. Catholic marriage rates have been dropping precipitously as well.

Some of this freefall is due to a rampant distrust of institutions that harkens back to Mae West (“Marriage is a great institution, but I’m not ready for an institution yet”). Some of it reflects a distrust of the church itself. Some of it is cautiousness about commitment in an era of divorce. And some of it is the result of a crisis in dating.

the establishment of Catholic high schools and addressed parents as well. It stated, “we not only exhort Catholic parents … but we command the with all the authority in our power, to procure a truly Christian education for their dear offspring … (and) send them to Catholic … schools,” unless they otherwise obtained permission from their local bishop.

Parochial schools grew exponentially after this, due in large part to the work of women religious who were willing to staff them for very little in the way of salary or benefits. Catholic schools continued to flourish, and the next waves of immigrants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century (Italians) and after WWI (Poles and other Eastern Europeans) found schools ready not only to help their children learn academics, but also to enculturate into American society without giving up their Catholic faith.

Parochial schools thrived until the early 1960’s, but declining numbers of religious vocations necessitated hiring lay teachers, coupled with rising operational costs, leading to the closure of numerous Catholic schools in recent years. Increased tuition has further restricted access for many families, resulting in a significant resurgence of Catholic students in public schools, marking a pivotal moment in the landscape of U.S. education.

Currently, there is a move to once again integrate religious chaplains and required bible study into public school classrooms. Catholic parents need to look back at what happened in the nineteenth century and ask some hard questions – what will these chaplains do, which Bible will be taught, and who will be doing the teaching to make sure there is not another attempt to indoctrinate our children.

(Ruth Powers is the program coordinator for the Basilica of St. Mary in Natchez.)

We are hearing far too many stories of young men and young women (and some not-so-young men and women) who want marriage but are not finding suitable partners. Even worse are the stories of young men and women who don’t know how, or are afraid, to ask someone out on a date. Colleges are even offering dating instruction courses, for which there appears to be a real need. Young men tell me they are afraid that any expression of interest may be interpreted as harassment, and young women tell me of men who seem to be mired in perpetual adolescence.

And for parents who worry about their single children, it is usually made absolutely clear to them that they are not allowed to play matchmaker. Meanwhile, their (quite wonderful) children wait and wait for lightning to strike. But I digress.

What I want to tell all the couples that are getting married this year is that they should not focus on the wedding day. It is just one day, after all. It is not worth going into debt for or causing all your friends to go into debt for. The destination, the trappings, the dress – these are all irrelevant when compared to what this day signifies the start of: a shared life together.

After 41 years of marriage, I can testify that (a) marriage is great, (b) marriage does take work (on oneself), and (c) all the effort is worth it.

For Catholics, the challenge and the joy of “becoming one flesh” is that the couple is committing to helping each other become more like Jesus, that is to grow in life-giving and generous love. That is why we get married, why we hope to have children, why we make a lifelong commitment. Marriage is an ongoing seminar in selflessness. It’s not always easy. We even fail at times. But after 41 years of marriage, I can testify that the rewards are greater than anything those young couples can imagine right now.

(Greg Erlandson is an award-winning Catholic publisher, editor and journalist whose column appears monthly at OSV News.)

BY MICHAEL O’LOUGHLIN MILWAUKEE, Wis.

– Thirty-ﬁve School

Sisters of St. Francis of the United States Province celebrated milestone anniversaries of service as women religious on June 15, 2024. A Jubilee Mass was celebrated in St. Joseph Chapel at the sisters’ motherhouse in Milwaukee.

In addition, six lay women in Associate Relationship with the community celebrated their 25, 40, and 50-year jubilees.

School Sisters of St. Francis celebrate jubilees

Five School Sisters of St. Francis are celebrating milestone jubilees in 2024. Pictured (l-r): Sister Bernadette Engelhaupt, SSSF celebrating 60 years; Sister Kathleen McNulty, SSSF celebrating 60 years; Sister Ramona Ann Schmidtknecht, SSSF celebrating 70 years; Sister Michele Doyle, SSSF celebrating 80 years; and Sister Arlene Welding, SSSF celebrating 85 years. Each served in the Diocese of Jackson. (Photos courtesy of School Sisters of St. Francis and Laura Grisham)

Five sisters who are each celebrating 60, 70, 80, and 85 years of consecrated life have signiﬁcant service in the Diocese of Jackson.

60 Years – Sister Bernadette Engelhaupt (St. Mary, Iuka) and Sister Kathleen McNulty (St. Francis School, Yazoo City and CADET School, Holly Springs)

Sister Bernadette Engelhaupt was born in Spencer, Nebraska. She has a bachelor’s degree from Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a master’s degree from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois. In the Diocese of Jackson, she served as the parish minister at St. Mary Parish in Iuka (2002–2009).

Sister Kathleen McNulty was born in Blue Island, Illinois. She has a bachelor’s degree from Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a master’s degree from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. In the Diocese of Jackson, she taught at St. Francis

School in Yazoo City (1968–1969) and CADET School in Holly Springs (1969–1975 and 1976–1978).

70 Years – Sister Ramona Ann Schmidtknecht (St. Mary School, CADET School, Child Care Center, Holy Family School, Holly Springs and Sacred Heart Southern Missions, Walls) Sister Ramona Ann Schmidtknecht was born in Galesville, Wisconsin. She has a bachelor’s degree from Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a master’s degree from St. Louis University in Missouri. In the Diocese of Jackson, she has served in Holly Springs as a teacher at St. Mary School (1963–1969); teacher at CADET School (1969–1973 and 1975-1995); director of Child Care Center (1973–1975); and food service manager at Christopher Care Center (1999–2001). At Holy Family School in Holly Springs, Sister has ministered as a teacher (1995-1999 and 2004-2016) food service manager of the early childhood center (2001-2004), volunteer and substitute teacher (20162024). Since 2016, Sister has also volunteered at the Sacred Heart Southern Missions Garden Café.

Sister Dorothy Heiderscheit, OSF celebrates 60th jubilee

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Sister Dorothy Heiderscheit, OSF, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, of Dubuque, Iowa, celebrated her Diamond Jubilee (60 years) on Sunday, June 23, at Mount St. Francis Center in Dubuque.

Sister Dorothy Heiderscheit, OSF

Sister Dorothy was born in Iowa. She received a bachelor’s degree from Briar Cli University, Sioux City, Iowa, and Marycrest College in Davenport, Iowa; and a master’s degree from Tulane University, New Orleans.

Sister served at Region V Community Mental Health Center, Greenville, Mississippi, and was Director of Family Ministry at Catholic Charities from 1987-2000. She now resides at Mount St. Francis Center in Dubuque and serves as a facilitator and consultant for religious congregations.

“Community and ministry have been a blessing in my life. The gift of experiencing God in everyone I encounter and share life with is truly the Gospel coming alive. The joy of this Jubilee is deeply embedded in my gratitude for family, community and the People of God around the world who have touched my life,” she said of her Jubilee.

Cards may be sent to Sister Dorothy at 3390 Windsor Ave., Dubuque, IA 52001.

80 Years – Sister Michele Doyle (St. Francis High School, Yazoo City; State College, Jackson; Director of Religious Education and

Lay Ministry Program, Diocese of Jackson; Director of Education at St. Francis Early Learning Center, Madison)

Sister Michele Doyle was born in Forest Park, Illinois. She has a bachelor’s degree from Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and master’s degrees from Loyola University in Chicago and the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. In the Diocese of Jackson, she taught at St. Francis High School in Yazoo City (1949–1969 and 1973-1975) and State College in Jackson (1969–1975). She served the Diocese of Jackson as director of adult religious education (1975–1983) and in the diocese’s lay ministry program (2006-2021). She also served as director of education for St. Francis Assisi Parish in Madison (1991-2006).

85 Years – Sister Arlene Welding (St. Francis School, Yazoo City)

Sister Arlene Welding was born in Oakdale, Nebraska. She has a bachelor’s degree from Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco. In the Diocese of Jackson, she taught at St. Francis School in Yazoo City (1953-1962).

Cards and donations in honor of sisters’ years of service may be mailed to each sister’s attention, c/o Jubilee Committee, School Sisters of St. Francis, 1545 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53215.

US bishops discuss anti-poverty arm, pastoral frameworks, groundbreaking proposals at spring meeting

By Peter Jesserer smith

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (OSV News) – Gathered in Louisville for their spring plenary assembly, the U.S. bishops’ June 12-14 meeting saw a mix of important matters discussed – with some unexpected twists and moments of robust discussion – starting with how the bishops would continue to address the scourge of poverty in the U.S. and ending with a view to the future for the National Eucharistic Revival.

The first day of the bishops’ public session was June 13. Behind closed doors, the bishops discussed the future of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, their domestic anti-poverty initiative, which has suffered in recent years from declining donations and questions about grant-making decisions that had depleted its funding reserves.

In a June 13 press conference, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for Military Services USA, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told reporters that no decisions had been made yet. But he emphasized the bishops remain committed “to the vital work of fighting poverty in this country.”

In a shift from previous assemblies, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal ambassador to the U.S., did not focus his address to the bishops on the process of becoming a synodal church but instead focused on the National Eucharistic Revival, affirming the central importance of the bishops’ endeavor. He urged them to experience this revival as bishops, and emphasized Pope Francis’ insight that Eucharistic devotion is connected with the church’s mission of “washing the feet of wounded humanity.”

The U.S. bishops voted to send a message to Pope Francis, joining him in praying for peace in the world, calling for diplomatic solutions that affirm human fraternity, and thanking him for sending Cardinal Luis A. Tagle as his delegate to the National Eucharistic Congress in July.

Over the course of both days, the bishops also heard about the ongoing progress of the Synod on Synodality, and that its second session this October will zero in on what a synodal church should look like. The bishops heard that becoming a synodal church was about creating a place of encounter in the church, where tensions could be fruitfully transformed for the sake of the church’s health and holiness.

Bishop Daniel E. Flores, who served last year as a president delegate of the synod assembly and a member of the synod’s preparatory commission, emphasized it would help bishops “to think together with our people about how to be about what we should be about, which is the concerns of Christ the Lord.”

The bishops of the Latin Church also voted to approve all their agenda items related to English translation texts for the Liturgy of the Hours and the Roman Missal – a process which the bishops’ chair of the Committee on Divine Worship, Bishop Steven J. Lopes of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, said finally completed the work on the new English translation of the Liturgy of the Hours that the bishops began in 2012.

The U.S. bishops overwhelmingly voted June 14 to approve a pastoral framework for Indigenous Catholic ministry, which also included an apology for the church’s failures over the course of its history in North America “to nurture, strengthen, honor, recognize and appreciate those entrusted to our pastoral care.”

However, the bishops’ pastoral framework for youth and young adult ministry hit a snag that stunned the bishops and Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota – chair of the bish-

ops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth – who had presented on it just the day before as a “watershed moment” in forming youth and young adults for “missionary discipleship” and “Christlike leadership in society.”

Initially falling short of the two-thirds threshold needed to pass by two votes at bishops’ assembly, the USCCB in Washington announced June 18 the framework passed with 188 votes in favor, four against, and four abstentions, following a canvass of bishops eligible to vote.

The aspect of the bishops’ meeting that most resembled a real debate was a vigorous discussion June 14 over creating a national directory of instituted ministries. The bishops had a lively exchange regarding lay ministries and whether they should together consider the ministries of acolyte, lector and catechist – the former two which Pope Francis expanded to include women and the latter which he formally instituted – or start work on guidelines for the catechist, an ancient office in the church and now an instituted lay ministry. They also expressed concern about proper formation, but also about a kind of “professionalization” that would exclude faithful people from living this ministry – particularly those who had valuable experience from Latin American contexts.

Bishop Lopes suggested the bishops should continue by considering all three together, and work on clarifying their complementary roles in carrying out the local church’s mission, saying Pope Francis seemed to be inviting them to understand these ministries as not simply serving a liturgical function but encompassing a “larger reality” of lived discipleship.

Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes, archbishop emeritus of New Orleans, however, advocated an amendment to start some preliminary work on the ministry of catechist – making adjustments at a later date with respect to the ministry of acolyte and lector – that the bishops could examine at their meeting in November.

Speaking on behalf of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, he cited the urgency of catechesis given the high rates of Catholic adults disaffiliating from the church. The committee’s amendment ultimately carried the day, and the bishops approved the national directory proposal.

The bishops had another robust discussion the day before, June 13, following the update on their mental health campaign, which included presentations on how Catholic Charities can help the bishops form a “trauma-aware church,” and the vital importance of parish engagement and accompaniment in this effort to save lives.

The bishops’ exchange affirmed their view that ending the stigma surrounding mental health was not only good for the faithful, but also for clergy, allowing them to open up about their own mental health needs.

The bishops also voiced their unanimous approval for the plans of Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, to open a cause for the canonization of Adele Brise, a Belgian-born immigrant from the 19th-cen-

tury, whose visions of the Virgin Mary Bishop Ricken had declared worthy of belief in 2010. The bishop suggested Brise provided a model for their evangelization and catechesis efforts.

Although the bishops’ public sessions had opened with matters that seemed routine, the June 14 session included presentations inviting the bishops to authorize groundbreaking efforts on combatting abuse and an urgent call to engage with lawmakers on immigration policy affecting religious workers from foreign countries.

Suzanne Healy, chair of the bishops’ National Review Board, introduced proposals toward combating sexual abuse, including the issuance of guidelines that would address the sexual or spiritual abuse of adults, a new John Jay College to study abuse allegations since 2011, and a 2027 national day of prayer as an act of restorative justice.

Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, chair of the bishops’ Committee on Migration, reported to the bishops that a foreign-born priest who applies for a green card has a 15-year wait – and current rules on the federal Temporary Religious Worker Visa Immigration program mean that priest would have to go back to another country every five years.

Bishops on the floor likewise expressed their concern about how confusing the rules were for religious workers to navigate. Bishop Seitz said a “partial fix” from the federal administration might shorten that time, but without Congress intervening, the situation is ultimately “simply not sustainable for our ministries.”

The bishops’ final agenda item June 14 was the matter of the National Eucharistic Congress. Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, board chair of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., told the bishops that they expect a sold-out stadium of 50,000 people for the weekend of July 17-21 at the National Eucharistic Congress.

But he emphasized that their eye was already toward the future, from initiatives to invite Catholics to “consider walking one person back to the faith,” along with forming “Eucharistic missionaries,” and planning future national Eucharistic congresses, similar to what takes place in other countries.

Peter Jesserer Smith is national news and features editor for OSV News. Follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) @peterjesserersmith.

The Diocese of Jackson has launched a third-party reporting system that will enable all diocesan employees, volunteers and parishioners to anonymously (or named if preferred) make reports. Examples of this activity include fraud, misconduct, safety violations, harassment or substance abuse occurring at a Catholic parish, Catholic school or at the diocesan level. The system is operated by Lighthouse Services.

To make a report visit www.lighthouse-services.com/ jacksondiocese or call 888-830-0004 (English) or 800-216-1288 (Spanish).

The Association of Priests of the Dioceses of Jackson and Biloxi provide a small pension to our retired priests. As you consider your estate plans, please remember these faithful servants by making a donation or leaving a bequest to the Association of Priests. Our parish priests dedicate their lives to caring for us, their flocks. Let us now care for them in their retirement. Donations can be made payable to the Association of Priests and can be mailed to: Diocese of Jackson, P.O. Box 22723, Jackson, MS 39225-2723

Around the diocese

VICKSBURG – On Sunday, June 23, family and friends joined Father Rusty Vincent to celebrate his 10th ordination anniverary to the priesthood. This was the first time his family all joined together at the same Mass since Father Rusty became a priest on May 31, 2014. (Photo by Connie Hosemann)

CRYSTAL SPRINGS – Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Yvonne Florczak-Seeman and the 2023/2024 Tomato Queen, Lindsay Willett cut the ribbon at the new Butterfly Garden in downtown Crystal Springs. The facility is centered around the theme of: “A Place of Healing and Transformation” and is specific to helping women in the community. (Photo courtesy of Jeannine M. Smith)

MADISON – (Above) Children learn about the ichthus fish symbol as they make their own beaded fish at Vacation Bible School at St. Francis parish. (Below) Children sang VBS theme songs for parents and friends at their closing program. (Photos by Mary Catherine George)

Please, give generously August 17 & 18, 2024