WREATH LAYING Andrew McGuinness of Kilkenny City, Ireland, stands at the grave of Archbishop John Ireland after laying a wreath on it during a ceremony Sept. 12 at Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul. For the third year, a delegation from Kilkenny City has traveled to Minnesota to lay a wreath at the grave of Archbishop Ireland and also visit their sister city of Kilkenny, which is located near Faribault. Next to McGuinness, who came last year while serving as mayor of Kilkenny City, are Archbishop Bernard Hebda, second from right, who made remarks and led the praying of a decade of the rosary, and Father Daniel Haugan, pastor of Lumen Christi in St. Paul. Two other priests also were there: Father Joseph Johnson, rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, and Jesuit Father Christopher Collins, vice president for mission at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
BLESSING Archbishop Bernard Hebda blesses the cornerstone of the Carmelite Hermitage of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s new chapel in Lake Elmo Sept. 14. Joining the archbishop are Carmelite priests and religious brothers. The cornerstone consists of two parts: the heraldic shield of the Carmelite Order and a dedicatory text engraved in Latin. In English, the three lines read: “To the Virgin Mother of God, the Beauty of Mount Carmel. This is the gate of heaven. 2025.” Having outgrown their monastery, the Carmelite hermits are in a multi-year project to build the new chapel as well as new hermitages to welcome men waiting to enter the community.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the Sept. 19 “Practicing Catholic” radio show included Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who shared about how Sts. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati teach the faithful about courage, charity and authentic discipleship in the digital age. The program also included Pam Baker, executive director of Abria Pregnancy Resources in Minneapolis and St. Paul, who shared what it’s like to work in a pregnancy resource center. Listen to interviews after they have aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
A new playground was installed at St. Dominic School in Northfield this month. Funded by donations, the playground officially opened to students Sept. 8. In a newsletter, St. Dominic staff thanked the work of parents, the Knights of Columbus, community volunteers and Pete Brand, a parent of three St. Dominic students. Staff also thanked board members Jennifer Fischer, her husband KC, and Dale Fredrickson.
Sept. 10, Father Dan Haugan, pastor of Lumen Christi in St. Paul, blessed the newly transformed preschool playground at Highland Catholic School. The project was made possible through Ashlie and John Kennedy in memory of their stillborn daughter, Blair. Members of another unnamed family contributed to the playground in memory of their mother who died this summer.
The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul hosted a Monasticamp on Sept. 13. The day-long event at the university allowed students to experience a full day of the Divine Office prayers with lessons on Gregorian chant. There was a talk by Benedictine Father John Klassen, a retired abbot from St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, and workshops given by St. Thomas faculty, Benedictine monks from St. John’s University in Collegeville and nuns from St. Benedict’s Monastery.
The St. Thomas More Lawyer’s Guild hosted the annual Red Mass Sept. 19 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, celebrated by Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. All lawyers, judges, law students and those involved in the “administration of justice” were encouraged to attend. A Red Mass is meant to invoke the Holy Spirit in guidance for judges, lawyers and government officials. In his homily, Bishop Barron addressed the important role of conversation and the law in society: “When people stop talking to each other, bad things happen.” Lunch was provided after Mass in Hayden Hall.
The 2025 St. Paul Seminary Ireland Lecture will be held Sept. 29 in the O’Shaughnessy Education Center auditorium at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Professor Msgr. Martin Schlag will give a talk titled “From Leo XIII to Leo XIV: Catholic Social Thought in an Era of Anti-Humanism.” The talk will explore Pope Pius XI’s teachings on essential institutions that make society work, Msgr. Schlag wrote.
At the Coffman Memorial Union Theater at the University of St. Thomas, Jennifer Frey will lead the 30th annual Holmer Lecture in Christianity and the Humanities Oct. 2. Frey’s lecture will focus on understanding Flannery O’Connor’s storytelling as a student of St. Thomas Aquinas. Frey is a philosophy professor at the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The lecture is co-sponsored by Anselm House and Catholic Studies. Catholic Studies will host a seminar for students with Frey on Oct. 3.
Incarnation in Minneapolis will celebrate its reopening with the return of its parish festival reimagined as Oktoberfiesta Oct. 4. Incarnation’s original Octoberfest festival is now blended with the parish’s Latino community’s efforts. The church was devastated by a fire in 2022 that caused heavy smoke and roof damage. Restoration took two years. A bilingual rededication Mass will be held at 5 p.m. that day by Bishop Kevin Kenney. Visitors will be able to tour the restored church, parish rectory and Harvest from the Heart food pantry. Oktoberfiesta will be held from 3-9 p.m. with music and dancing, food, a beer wagon and family activities.
The St. John Vianney Seminary Virtuous Business Leadership program has a new lineup of speakers for the 21st gathering since its inception. St. John Vianney alumnus, Jamie Baxter, the founder of Exodus 90, is a keynote speaker for the year’s opening event Oct. 7. Baxter spent two years in St. Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana, and began working on Exodus 90 the day he left seminary.
Jesuit Father Brian Strassburger, director of the Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries based in Brownsville, Texas, will address immigration at 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at St. Thomas More in St. Paul in a talk titled “We Are The Body of Christ: An Ignatian Approach to Restoring the Humanity of Migrants.” Father Strassburger’s presentation is part of the Ignatian Inspired Talks series sponsored by the parish-based Ignatian Spirituality Center. The talk also will be livestreamed. More information can be found at ignatianspiritualitycenter.org/event/we-are-the-body-of-christ
Archbishop Bernard Hebda helped break ground for a new St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Corcoran, marking a major step in the parish’s expansion to meet the needs of a rapidly growing community. The parish has raised over $6 million and will begin site development soon, with an additional $2 million needed to begin construction. Learn more or support the project at churchofstthomas.org/future
St. Bartholomew Catholic School in Wayzata was recently recognized as a nationally certified STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) campus, awarded by the National Institute of STEM Education. The school has been committed to a STEAM curriculum adding the A for the arts while integrating faith into the curriculum. School officials said the STEAM approach immerses students in hands-on, real-world problem solving to cultivate critical thinking, promote collaboration and encourage a strong work ethic. Incorporating faith elevates the effort and ensures it is delivered in a way that aligns with the school’s mission, Ginger Vance, principal, and other school leaders said in a news release.
ONLY JESUS | BISHOP KEVIN KENNEY
We speak about bridgebuilding and most of us agree it is a good thing. The questions that always enter my mind are: By building bridges, are we expecting people to cross to our side, will we cross to their side, or do we meet in the middle? I tend to have a fear of bridges, especially when walking across them, but sometimes one needs to simply put aside one’s fears and cross to be present with God’s word and a listening ear.
I have spent the last three weeks away, across the pond. For two weeks, I attended a new bishops conference where bishops from all around the world gathered to listen to words of hope in this Jubilee Year. Hope is needed in our world today, and by building bridges, we can bring the hope we find in Jesus Christ to others who may have never heard of Jesus.
Pope Leo XIV, in his audience with us Sept. 11, presented on many themes. One thing Pope Leo said to us in his loving, fatherly voice was, “You are from very different cultures and situations, but the voice of the Church and the voice of the bishop is very important. Being attentive to the world around us, I mentioned that some of you live in areas of conflict and war; the Church’s life cannot be separated from the suffering around us, such as the poor, the sick, the suffering, the oppressed, victims of all kinds of injustice. A bishop needs the capacity to communicate with authenticity, to bring the presence of the Lord with our lives — not to be afraid to speak out and express the message of good and to promote the good for all people.”
Pope Leo thanked us for our “yes,” and said he understood the challenges and issues a new bishop faces at the beginning of his ministry, such as a feeling of unworthiness, fears, etc. Pope Leo, as did the other speakers, urged us to be close to the Lord, safeguard time for prayer and continue living with unconditional trust in
Construyendo puentes que nos atrevemos a cruzar
Hablamos de construir puentes y la mayoría coincidimos en que es algo bueno. Las preguntas que siempre me vienen a la mente son: Al construir puentes, ¿esperamos que la gente cruce a nuestro lado, cruzaremos nosotros al suyo o nos encontraremos en un punto medio? Suelo tener miedo a los puentes, sobre todo al cruzarlos, pero a veces es necesario simplemente dejar de lado los miedos y cruzar para estar presente con la palabra de Dios y un oído atento. He pasado las últimas tres semanas lejos, al otro lado del charco. Durante dos semanas, asistí a una nueva conferencia episcopal donde obispos de todo el mundo se reunieron para escuchar palabras de esperanza en este Año Jubilar. La esperanza es necesaria en nuestro mundo actual, y al tender puentes, podemos llevar la esperanza que encontramos en Jesucristo a quienes quizás nunca hayan oído hablar de Jesús.
El Papa León XIV, en su audiencia del 11 de septiembre, trató diversos temas. Una de las cosas que nos dijo con su voz amorosa y paternal fue: “Ustedes provienen de culturas y situaciones muy diferentes, pero la voz de la Iglesia y la del obispo son muy importantes. Atentos
annual formation courses for
al mundo que nos rodea, mencioné que algunos de ustedes viven en zonas de conflicto y guerra; la vida de la Iglesia no puede separarse del sufrimiento que nos rodea, como los pobres, los enfermos, los que sufren, los oprimidos, las víctimas de todo tipo de injusticia. Un obispo necesita la capacidad de comunicarse con autenticidad, de llevar la presencia del Señor a nuestras vidas; no tener miedo de hablar y expresar el mensaje del bien y promover el bien para todas las personas”.
El Papa León nos agradeció nuestro “sí” y dijo que comprendía los desafíos y problemas que enfrenta un nuevo obispo al inicio de su ministerio, como el sentimiento de indignidad, los temores, etc. El Papa León, al igual que los demás oradores, nos instó a estar cerca del Señor, a reservar tiempo para la oración y a seguir viviendo con confianza incondicional en el Espíritu Santo, fuente de nuestra vocación.
Una nota final del Papa León fue: “No estamos solos, llevamos la carga juntos y juntos proclamamos el Evangelio de Jesucristo”.
Construir puentes es tan importante como el diálogo. Pasé mi última semana en Albania, donde visité a mi sobrina, quien está en un monasterio con las Siervas del Señor y la Virgen de Matará. Fue un tiempo hermoso. Aprender sobre la historia de Albania y la Iglesia Católica allí fortaleció mi espíritu, pero me cansó saber los desafíos
que enfrentaron y que aún enfrentan hoy. Con la caída del comunismo en la historia reciente del país y el hambre y la apertura a la fe, la Iglesia Católica continúa creciendo. Al construir puentes, el diálogo interreligioso puede surgir y compartir buenas noticias.
Tenemos muchos puentes que construir hoy, o al menos que cruzar. Vimos, y seguimos viendo, cómo nos hemos unido en oración y acción estas últimas semanas. Sabemos que necesitamos dejar atrás la comodidad para encontrarnos a mitad de camino o cruzar al otro lado para encontrarnos con nuestros jóvenes, los pobres, los enfermos, los que sufren, los oprimidos y las víctimas de todo tipo de injusticia. Sabemos que hoy existe una gran necesidad de salir de nuestro aislamiento y renovarnos como una comunidad que se preocupa y comparte.
Al principio de esta columna, hablé de mi miedo a los puentes, literalmente. Sin embargo, para superar esos miedos, uno simplemente necesita cruzarlos.
La mayoría de las veces, el miedo surge cuando no puedo ver lo que hay al otro lado. He tenido encuentros desafiantes y hermosos cuando confié en el Espíritu Santo y fui guiado a áreas donde se necesitaba esperanza. Después de estrechar la mano del Papa León XIV y conversar con él unos segundos, me miró a los ojos y dijo: “¡Dios te bendiga!”. ¡Nunca olvidaré ese momento! Llevaré esa bendición conmigo a casa.
the Holy Spirit, the source of our calling.
One final note from Pope Leo was, “We are not alone, we bear the burden together and together we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Bridge building is important as is dialogue. I spent my last week in Albania, where I visited my niece who is in a monastery with the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará. It was a beautiful time. To learn the history of Albania and the Catholic Church there strengthened my spirit, yet tired me out to know of the challenges they faced and still do today. With the fall of communism in the country’s recent history and the hunger and openness to faith, the Catholic Church continues to grow. As bridges are built, interfaith dialogue can happen and good news can be shared.
We have many bridges to build today or at least to cross over. We saw, and continue to see, how we have come together in prayer and action these past few weeks. We know we need to leave the comfortable sides of the bridge to meet halfway or cross over to meet our youth, the poor, the sick, the suffering, the oppressed and victims of all kinds of injustice. We know there is a great need today to leave our isolation and be renewed as a community that cares and shares.
At the beginning of this column, I spoke of my fear of bridges, literally. Yet to overcome those fears, one needs to simply walk through them. Most of the time fear arises when I cannot see what is on the other side. I have had challenging and beautiful encounters when I trusted in the Holy Spirit and was led into areas where hope was needed. After I was able to shake Pope Leo XIV’s hand and chat with him for a few seconds, he looked me in the eyes and said, “God bless you!” I will never forget that moment! I will bring that blessing home with me.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:
Effective September 4, 2025
Reverend Peter Ly, assigned as parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Jerome in Maplewood. This is in addition to his current assignment as pastor of the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood.
Effective September 5, 2025
Reverend Stefano Motta, FSCB, assigned as sacramental minister for the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Saint Paul. This is in addition to his current assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Peter in North Saint Paul.
Reverend Stephen Ulrick, assigned as Minister to Clergy. Father Ulrick is a retired priest of the archdiocese.
Effective September 8, 2025
Reverend Daniel Westermann, granted faculties of the archdiocese and assigned as Spiritual Director and Formator for the Saint John Vianey College Seminary in Saint Paul. Father Westermann is a priest of the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan.
Effective October 1, 2025
Reverend Touchard Tignoua Goula, granted faculties of the archdiocese and assigned as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Odilia in Shoreview. Father Touchard is a priest of the Diocese of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands.
Bishop Peter Christensen, center, celebrates the annual outdoor Mass at the Nativity County Fair Sept. 14 at Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul. Bishop Christensen of Boise, Idaho, was the pastor of Nativity from 1999 to 2007, when he was named bishop of Superior, Wisconsin. He served there from 2007 to 2014, when he was named bishop of Boise. He noted at the County Fair Mass that this was his first celebration of Mass there since his bishop ordination and that the vestment he was wearing at the County Fair Mass was the same one he wore for his bishop ordination, which was Sept. 14, 2007, at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. At left is Deacon Don Tienter, who serves at the parish, and at right is Father Rolf Tollefson, the pastor of Nativity.
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By Josh McGovern
The Catholic Spirit
Just a few miles from Annunciation in Minneapolis, Father Dennis Zehren, the parish’s pastor, stood on a hill overlooking Lake Harriet and the bandshell Sept. 14.
Over a hundred people had gathered for an interfaith prayer service in memory of 10-year-old Harper Moyski, who died in a shooting Aug. 27 during an all-school Mass at Annunciation’s church. Father Zehren wore a baseball cap because the sun was shining.
“Standing here at Lake Harriet, we’re getting a lot of light and warmth from above,” Father Zehren told The Catholic Spirit. “We thank God for the light and the warmth that he keeps sending from heaven to get us through these difficult times. We know that it is a light that will scatter every darkness. He’s doing wondrous things in our midst.”
People walked over a mile in Annunciation shirts to get to the bandshell. They prayed together, shook hands and hugged. The message was “light,” a similar light Father Zehren felt on the hill overlooking the bandshell. Guests were given God’s Eyes, crafts made from woven yarn symbolizing protection and blessings.
Father Tom Hurley from Chicago, who offered remarks at the gathering Sept. 14, got to know the Moyskis when the family lived in Chicago. He said Annunciation is not just a parish in Minneapolis.
“It’s not just a place that’s going to be defined by the act of violence, but when you go all the way back in our Christian tradition to the Annunciation, it was a reality,”
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Harper Moyski’s parents, Mike Moyski and Jackie Flavin, address those gathered for Harper’s memorial service at the Lake Harriet Bandshell in Minneapolis Sept. 14. Harper was one of two students at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis who died in the Aug. 27 shooting at Annunciation’s church.
Father Hurley said. “It was a reality of a messenger from God, Gabriel, who came to a young woman named Mary ... and the angel came and said to Mary: You’re going to be part of something because God wants to bring peace to this world.”
Father Hurley said that everyone gathered on Sept. 14 were to be human messengers, to be those who bring the message of peace and nonviolence and “to bring the voices and the messages of justice and peace to our world.”
“We are part of that,” Father Hurley said. “We are part of that announcement. We are the ones who are called to be the Annunciation, to bring forth God’s peace and God’s dream for the world.”
Mike Moyski, standing with Harper’s mom, Jackie Flavin, said, “We have been so touched by the incredible
By Rebecca Omastiak
The Catholic Spirit
The pastor of Annunciation in Minneapolis released a letter expressing his gratitude for “the outpouring of love” the Annunciation community has received in recent weeks.
Father Dennis Zehren thanked leaders of the archdiocese and the faithful who responded after two children — 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski — died and 21 other people were hurt in a shooting during an all-school Mass at Annunciation’s church the morning of Aug. 27.
“I have been so in awe of the grace of God working through so many faithful followers of Jesus,” Father Zehren stated, in part.
The following letter from Father Zehren was published Sept. 16:
To Archbishop Hebda, Bishops Izen and Kenney, to the devoted staff members at the Archdiocese, to my brother priests and deacons, and to the many faith-filled people across the Archdiocese in our parishes, schools, seminaries, and institutions, St. Paul reminds us in his First Letter to the Thessalonians, “In all circumstances give thanks.” Never have I had such a mighty reason to do so. All of us at Annunciation Church and School have been fortified in so many ways by the outpouring of love we have received from you. Thank you! I have been so in awe of the grace of God working through so many faithful followers of Jesus.
We at Annunciation suffered a great loss on the Feast of St. Monica. We continue to grieve the loss of Harper and Fletcher. We pray for Sophia and all those who still need heavenly healing.
St. Monica will always be a special
‘outpouring of love’
OSV NEWS PHOTO | TIM EVANS, REUTERS
Father Dennis Zehren, pastor of Annunciation in Minneapolis, speaks to the media Aug. 30 about the Aug. 27 shooting during an all-school Mass at the church.
patroness and intercessor for us, helping us to grow strong in the patience, hope, and untiring devotion that leads to the conversion of all that is wayward in our world. We cherish St. Monica’s prayers for our children and for the next generation — so that all will know the precious gift of our Catholic faith. Again, thank you. While I am unable to respond personally to all who have reached out, pledging prayers and support, please know that we have been moved deeply. It has made us more appreciative than ever for the ways each of you is answering the call of Jesus. We rejoice to be with you as laborers for His harvest. Together in the peace of Jesus that surpasses all understanding,
— Father Dennis Zehren
love and support around us from our family and friends, neighbors, our Annunciation community, first responders and elected officials.”
Flavin said, “These last few weeks have felt like being dropped at the bottom of the ocean where it is dark, and the pressure is crushing, and no human is willing to survive it, and the light that we’re used to just doesn’t really reach all the way down there at the bottom of the ocean. But I have to say that even in the deepest, darkest places, life somehow finds a way and light breaks through down in the deep dark.”
Flavin said that she and her family can feel the thoughts and prayers from loved ones. There are three lessons Flavin said she learned from her daughter. Lesson one: Be your own kind of light. Lesson two: Let your light be big. Lesson three: Light glows when we share it.
Rabbi Jason Rodich from Temple Israel in Minneapolis recited a poem he wrote for the service.
“Harper Moyski was all in,” Father Hurley said. “She was all in, as a beautiful child of great creativity and great joy, great humor.”
As part of the emotional and spiritual healing taking place at Annunciation and in the broader community, Archbishop Bernard Hebda is inviting all the faithful to a Solemn Memorial Mass at 10 a.m. Sept. 27 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, marking the one-month anniversary of the Aug. 27 shooting during an all-school Mass at the Minneapolis church.
The family of 12-year-old Sophia Forchas says her continued healing is “nothing short of miraculous.” Forchas was in critical condition for two weeks after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. Then, Hennepin Healthcare reported on Sept. 11 that she had moved into serious condition defined as having “a chance for improved prognosis.”
In a statement published Sept. 22 by Hennepin Healthcare, the Forchas family indicated that Sophia continues to make progress, showing continued signs of neurological recovery. She was slated to move from acute care at HCMC (Hennepin County Medical Center) to an inpatient rehabilitation program, the family stated.
The Forchas family thanked all those who have prayed for Sophia: “Your prayers are working.” Sophia’s “healing progress is nothing short of miraculous; an undeniable testament to the mercy and intervention of our Lord Jesus Christ,” her family wrote.
Lydia Kaiser who was hurt while protecting her “little buddy” during the all-school Mass continued to recover at home and prepared for a second surgery, according to a GoFundMe webpage update posted Sept. 16.
Meanwhile, Ron and Sue Wilson, who were also recovering after being hurt in the Annunciation shooting, said in a statement Sept. 10 that they were praying for those also affected by the shooting.
“We never know when tragedy will strike, but in this one as in countless others, heroes emerge and the true colors of humanity shine through,” the Wilsons said.
They pointed to the quick actions of those inside the Minneapolis church at the time of the shooting: “While the shots were still ringing out, young heroes shielded their classmates from danger, teachers ushered children to safety without concern for their own well-being, and elderly people rushed to aid and comfort children who were dying and injured.”
Acknowledging the outpouring of support from the local community including from first responders, doctors, nurses, faith and school leaders, and others the Wilsons said, “Whole communities have volunteered to help us in any way they can. And we have seen how loved ones can rally together in crisis to support those in need and each other.”
The Catholic Community Foundation (CCF) has established the Hope and Healing Fund (ccf-mn.org/annunciation-hope-and-healing-fund) to support Annunciation and its families as well as help to provide for the needs of the church and school in the aftermath of the shooting.
By Jason Slattery
For The Catholic Spirit
“I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you” (Jer 29:1012).
Through their anguish and pain, members of the Annunciation community in south Minneapolis continue to demonstrate a deep care for others rooted in Christ that magnifies the flame of Christian hope and shows the true heart of a Catholic school.
Christian hope wells up from Jesus’ own victory over sin and death. We see this victory when ordinary children, women and men going about daily routines suddenly spring up and live out extraordinary acts of charity, kindness and tenderness. This was also part of the scene in south Minneapolis.
Just hours after the shooting, I heard parents, school staff, parish leadership and other community members ask about restarting the school year and getting students
back on campus. At first it sounded much like things do when we are in such shock and grief, as if pleading for a return to something that seems normal and routine. As the days passed, it became clear that, despite suffering the
unimaginable, this Catholic parish and school had a hope of returning to finish a day and live out a future that someone tried to take from them through violence. Rather than look away from the marks of the tragedy, they leaned into
the redemptive crucible of these circumstances in the hope of helping hold together a future for students and families. What a witness!
And last week, aided by prayers, solidarity and grace, something that seemed almost impossible on the afternoon of Aug. 27, Annunciation Catholic School opened its doors for students and families. As they have for more than a century, students returned to campus with their dedicated teachers, and alongside so many other supportive community members, are working on a way forward — together.
Their motto for the year, chosen before the start of school, is taken from the prophet Jeremiah: “to give you a future and a hope.”
In the days, weeks and months ahead, please join us in remaining near to the work of Annunciation parish and school through prayers, solidarity, and most of all, through helping others to see how it is that the community is trusting in the Lord and stepping forward in hope.
Slattery is superintendent of schools and director of Catholic education within the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
By Tim Montgomery For The Catholic Spirit
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (EOHSJ) hearkens back nearly a thousand years to a time when knights in armor mounted horses to escort Christian pilgrims to sites in the Holy Land.
Today, their chivalry takes a different form. Amid political strife in the Middle East, with waning faith and loss of hope, the order supports communities in a land that is the cradle of Christianity. The order’s support of education, medical care and the maintenance of holy places in the Holy Land creates a stabilizing influence on life in the region. The 2025 Annual Meeting of the EOHSJ Northern Lieutenancy held in the Twin Cities Sept. 19-21 reviewed activities of the past year and celebrated and encouraged members and supporters of the order.
“The mission of the order is to make sure that Christian communities in the Holy Land stay viable,” explained Tim Milner, a member from Mendota Heights who helped organize the 2025 Twin Cities gathering as co-chair of the event. Moreover, the order propagates the faith by defending the weak and working with charity toward all. Milner said that over the past year, membership supported schools in the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the only remaining Christian parish and hospital in Gaza. The order’s Legacy Society endowment fund made distributions to establish youth programs in Haifa and Ramallah. Milner said the roughly 30,000 members of the order worldwide donate $15 million to $16 million annually to financially support Christian parishes and schools in the Holy Land.
Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis Sept. 20 celebrated promotees in the ranks of the Northern Lieutenancy of the Order — a total of 108 knights and dames. Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul Sept. 21 celebrated new investees — 86 laity, seven priests, one abbot and one bishop. The theme selected this year was Pilgrims of Hope.
“It’s an opportunity to deepen our spirituality and increase it in new ways,” said investee Dwight Rabuse of St. Peter in Mendota, who was attending with his wife, Sandra. “And the emphasis on nurturing Christianity in the Holy Land appeals to us.”
“In a world often marked by division, anxiety and uncertainty, your generosity is a beacon of hope,” said Cardinal
the Equestrian Order have to be ready to act in this moment with the “loving boldness” that characterizes Catholics and Christians.
Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, in a letter to the membership that was read at the general session on Sept. 20. “It reminds us that the Gospel is alive and that faith continues to call hearts to action. As pilgrims of hope, you are called not only to look forward, but to walk forward with courage trusting in God’s providence and participating in his ongoing work.”
“I was mentored by Catholic women who did everything God asked them to do and didn’t ask for anything in return,” Di Leo said.
Sunday,October 5th
In his Sept. 20 homily, Archbishop Bernard Hebda tied calls for prayer and action after the recent shooting at Annunciation in Minneapolis to the prayer and action characteristic of Mary, patron saint of the order and of the Basilica, where promotions in the order were being celebrated.
In a dynamic afternoon address to a general session of the order at the Minneapolis Hyatt, Bishop Robert Barron, of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, followed the “trajectory of the temple” — from the building of old where animal sacrifice was offered up for sins to Jesus’ ultimate act of sacrificial love on the cross that cut through all the dysfunction of sin to sanctify humanity.
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Mary, the archbishop said, teaches us that both prayer and action are important aspects of our faith. The Gospel of Luke, he pointed out, expresses that in the aftermath of the Annunciation — when Mary was told by an angel that she would conceive and give birth to Jesus — Mary was compelled to service. Rather than focusing on her own condition, Mary traveled to the hill country to be of service to her elderly kinswoman, Elizabeth, who had conceived and was with child. The lesson, he said, is that people will recognize Jesus when we come into service bearing him in humility and prayer.
The world is at a critical moment in history, said the archbishop, and members of
“Your job as laypeople is not to become clerical priests,” concluded Bishop Barron. “Your job is to sanctify the world by turning your section of it to the right praise of God. And in that, we fulfill our vocation and become the living temple.”
Sal Di Leo next shared the story of his journey. When his father abandoned the family, young Di Leo and his 11 siblings were taken in at a Catholic orphanage outside Chicago by a nun of the Franciscan Sisters. Sister Paul was an important influence in his life, and he was later inspired to call her when contemplating suicide after a series of bad decisions. She told him he had the power to do something better with what he had and helped him change his life. His selfpublished memoir “Did I Ever Thank You, Sister?” is the inspiration for a film project to promote religious vocations for women.
Bishop Andrew Cozzens, of the Diocese of Crookston, spoke to the interior transformation of hope, which, he said, is not merely optimism but requires faith. He talked about what hope is and why it’s needed — and why it’s important to be pilgrims of hope.
“It’s pretty easy to see that we live in a world that’s in a crisis with regard to hope,” Bishop Cozzens said. He pointed to an increase of 37% in suicide rates and that some studies show 20% of teens have considered suicide (30% of female teens).
“Many people struggle to find purpose and meaning in our world today — signs of a lack of hope.”
Bishop Cozzens called for a revival in the sacrament of confession. The humility to acknowledge sin and receive forgiveness, he said, opens the door to love. Discovering you can still be loved despite your weakness is a moment when hope can be born.
Confession, said Bishop Cozzens, facilitates this encounter, and going to confession is an act of hope.
Divine mercy is the source of hope, concluded Bishop Cozzens. “This is what the risen Lord offers us, his mercy — because he wants to make us new so that we can become a source of hope for the world.”
By Christian Towalski For The Catholic Spirit
As summer winds down and the new school year begins, students and staff at St. Michael Catholic School are preparing for something special. This fall, the school — located in the heart of St. Michael — is celebrating its 150th anniversary.
“The atmosphere at St. Michael Catholic School is one of joy and anticipation as we approach our 150th anniversary,” said Heidi Gallus, the school’s principal, before the start of the new school year. “Excitement is really building in our community, especially as we hear and share amazing stories from generations who have been part of (our) history.”
One of those stories comes from the Hackenmueller family. According to Sister Mary Theresa Hackenmueller, a School Sister of Notre Dame, her German-born grandfather, George Hackenmueller, settled in the St. Michael area in 1857. George had 11 children — three boys and eight girls — who were raised in the Catholic faith.
When George’s oldest daughter discerned a vocation to religious life, she approached Father Ignatius Schaller, the parish pastor at the time. Over several years, Father Schaller worked out an agreement with the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Milwaukee through which George’s daughter joined the order. A short time later, the order sent three sisters to teach at the newly founded St. Michael Catholic School. Over the next several years, six more of George’s daughters would join the order.
St. Michael Catholic School has its roots in a small parcel of land purchased by Bishop Joseph Cretin, the first bishop of St. Paul. In 1856, Cretin purchased 20 acres of land in St. Michael for $60. Nine years later, St. Michael parish was incorporated into what was then the St. Paul Diocese, and work began on opening a Catholic school in the area. Founded in 1876 and originally staffed by the three School Sisters of Notre Dame, St. Michael Catholic School has grown into a powerful force of faith in the community. The original two-and-a-half-story school building housed classrooms and living space for the sisters and boarding students. The inaugural class of 15 students grew to 120 by year’s end.
Thirteen years later, in 1899, a second school building was constructed to serve as the main teaching space, with the original school converted into a spacious convent for the sisters who taught there. In 1940, the school’s current building was constructed — complete with community-focused amenities like a gymnasium and bowling alley. St. Michael briefly operated a Catholic high school in what is now its community education building, but students today attend grades 7-12 at the local public high school.
Eighty-five years later, St. Michael Catholic School continues to use its facilities to help students grow in their faith. “Our students are grounded in the truth of the Catholic faith,” said Father Brian Park, pastor of St. Michael. “Because of the strong foundation they receive at (St. Michael), along with the support of our parish youth ministry and their families, our young people are ready to stand firm in their faith and to be leaders in both school and community.”
That commitment to provide a strong Catholic education has resonated with local families, who often have multigenerational histories with the school. Several descendants of the Hackenmuellers are attending the school’s 150th year, and Melissa Zachman, the school’s director of Catholic identity and mission, is related by marriage to a direct descendant of the family. “I am truly humbled
JOE KOLENDA | FOR THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Heidi Gallus, principal of St. Michael Catholic School in St. Michael, high fives a second grader as she walks into school on the first day of the 2025-2026 school year. The school is marking its 150th year of serving the community of St. Michael, a community located northwest of the Twin Cities.
to be connected to this lineage and to help our school celebrate such a meaningful occasion,” she said.
What sets the school apart, Gallus said, is the school’s emphasis on forming the whole student — in mind, body and soul. Teachers and staff at St. Michael Catholic School work closely with parents and families to provide an educational experience that helps students achieve not only academic success but also grow in their relationship with God and become leaders in their faith community.
“We, as a community, share in the sacred responsibility of helping raise and form our children in faith and virtue,” she said. “Parents are the primary educators, but we know we cannot be an island. We entrust our children to a community that reinforces the values of our homes and our Church.”
The impact of the school isn’t limited to the world of academics. Utilizing spaces both new and old, the school offers athletic, cultural and educational enrichment courses to help
students develop skills in physical education, art, music and language.
As St. Michael Catholic School moves into its 150th year, staff and students are excited about what the future holds. Father Park noted that attendance at the school is not only healthy but thriving. “Generation after generation of families have entrusted their children to (the school) with the confidence that they will be formed not only academically, but spiritually. That legacy inspires us today to continue passing on the faith, ensuring that our students know, love and live for Christ in all they do.”
“We are blessed to be at 99% capacity, which speaks to the strong desire families in our community have for an authentically Catholic education,” he added.
St. Michael Catholic School will be celebrating its upcoming anniversary through several public events: a special Mass and dinner on Oct. 4, a parent and alumni trivia night on Jan. 24, and a spring Mass and social on May 17.
St. Michael Catholic School in St. Michael will host three special events in the coming year to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
On Oct. 4, the school will hold a 150th anniversary Mass. Afterward, the school will hold an anniversary dinner and program.
The school will also host a parent and alumni trivia night on Jan. 24 for current and former school families to connect and test their knowledge.
The school is also hosting a spring Mass and social on May 17 as a capstone of the school’s 150th anniversary celebrations.
The first Catholic Masses in the St. Michael area were held in 1856. The same year Bishop Joseph Cretin purchased his 20 acres, the first Catholic Masses in the area were celebrated in a log chapel along the Crow River.
St. Michael in St. Michael wasn’t always part of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. When St. Michael was founded, St. Paul was not yet an archdiocese. At the time, the Diocese of St. Paul encompassed all of Minnesota and included most of what is now North and South Dakota.
The original brick school building, which was torn down in 1939, was built for just $1,800 or roughly $54,000 today.
When the school first opened, tuition ranged from $1 to $7.50. St. Michael Catholic School’s inaugural class paid just $1 a month to attend. Students who required room and board paid $7.50 a month.
The Hackenmuellers’ seven vocations ties a School Sisters of Notre Dame record. After George Hackenmueller settled in the St. Michael area in 1857, he had eight daughters. One died in infancy and seven joined the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Only one other family, the Gonnerings in Wisconsin, committed more vocations to the order.
‘The only place where our children belonged’ Archdiocese’s commission has broad, long-term scope for supporting students with special needs in Catholic schools
By Maria Wiering For the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education
Editor’s note: This article was originally published by the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education within the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Clad like his classmates in a paint-splotched apron protecting his black Cretin-Derham Hall (CDH) polo shirt, Jono Krummen carefully dabbed royal blue paint on a canvas last spring as he worked on a portrait of his dog, Pearl, a mini goldendoodle.
Painting, he explained, is exciting and makes him feel happy.
That is true for much of Krummen’s freshman experience: playing tuba in band, participating in JROTC, swimming on the school’s team and working with micro:bits in science, his favorite subject. He showed off photos of a physics project with weightsupporting structures built of dry spaghetti noodles and marshmallows, and of himself tentatively reaching toward a Van de Graaff generator — the metallic orb designed to deliver an electric shock.
Now a rising sophomore, Krummen and his classmate Alex Thorton are also CDH’s first students with Down syndrome, pioneers in a new program called Common Ground. Its founder, CDH Learning Specialist and Common Ground Director Joe Miley, read about a similar program in a Jesuit high school in St. Louis and wanted to emulate it, especially when Krummen’s parents inquired about enrolling their son in the St. Paul Catholic high school.
Catholic school leaders in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are hoping likeminded efforts to integrate students with disabilities can be achieved across its 89 Catholic elementary and high schools, which enroll more than 30,000 students, and are taking key steps toward this goal.
‘Deep
Expanding local Catholic schools’ inclusion of children with disabilities “has been an area of deep pastoral concern for the archdiocese,” said Jason Slattery, the archdiocese’s director of Catholic education and superintendent of schools.
The hope is for schools to be in a “better position to accompany families with special needs,” he said, “and to really help ensure that our institutions are better equipped, and open and welcoming environments for all students whose parents are seeking a Catholic education.”
Slattery and other education leaders emphasize that this effort is rooted in the Church’s understanding of the dignity of the child, the purpose of Catholic education, its ministry to families and a Catholic pro-life witness that affirms and partners with parents raising children with special needs.
As a key step toward the archdiocese’s goal, in April, its Office for the Mission of Catholic Education (OMCE), which Slattery leads, launched the Archdiocesan Commission on Students with Special Needs in Catholic Education. The 17-member commission has a directive to make practical recommendations to Archbishop Bernard Hebda this fall in four strategic areas: parent support and involvement; programmatic needs; professional development; and cultivating school leadership and clergy support.
Members range from parents of children with disabilities to clergy, learning experts and school leaders, including Miley, with experience serving students with a range of learning needs. Their first meeting was April 30 at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul.
Students raise their hands in a classroom at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Robbinsdale.
‘This is who we are as Catholics’ Commission member Beth Lasseter is deeply committed to the effort, both as a teacher and the parent of a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who has struggled in various learning environments, including Catholic and public schools.
Her family’s journey, including the heartwrenching situation of being asked to leave a Catholic school her son attended, led Lasseter to become certified in special education through the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education’s Program for Inclusive Education, or PIE. Her first connection with PIE at a 2022 conference “blew me away,” she said.
“I heard stories from educators and researchers and experts and other people like me who saw this problem of kids who were just falling through the cracks in Catholic schools, and who were feeling like they didn’t belong and had needs that should be met,” she said. “I probably went through three boxes of tissues in two days, just with the amount of crying — not just because of the pain we’d gone through, but also tears of joy that this is actually possible in Catholic schools.”
The mother of five has since encountered examples of all kinds of Catholic schools across the U.S. that have successfully embraced enrolling students with disabilities, including small and low-resourced schools that recognize it is part of their mission.
“This is who we are as Catholics,” said Lasseter, who teaches middle school religion at Providence Academy in Plymouth. “We don’t have a legal mandate to do this. We have a Gospel mandate. We have Christ’s words himself, who said that ‘whatever you do for the least of my brethren, you do for me.’ We have the resources in the rich tradition of the Church and the preferential option for the poor and the marginalized. This is our call.”
The commission’s first meeting followed OMCE’s annual convocation for Catholic school leaders April 4, during which OMCE leaders shared their vision for the effort and why Archbishop Hebda is prioritizing it.
The need emerged both from school leaders’ conversations with parents and pastors, and from Archbishop Hebda’s 2022 pastoral letter “You Will Be My Witnesses,” which called for the creation of a Blue Ribbon Commission focused on “Parents as Primary Educators.”
Leading this effort are OMCE Associate Directors Megan Forgette and Gayle Stoffel, who bring both professional expertise and personal passion to the commission’s work. Forgette has worked with students with special needs over her 13 years as a public school psychologist, and her son with special learning needs attends St. Joseph Catholic School in West St. Paul. Stoffel comes from a family of educators with connections to special needs education, and she is deeply involved in a Catholic nonprofit that serves disabled children in Jamaica.
In the OMCE, Forgette helps Catholic schools access funding and services to which their students are legally entitled through their local public school districts. She said many families with children with disabilities feel like they must choose between having special services their child can obtain at a public school, and the faith-based education they desire from a Catholic school.
While local Catholic schools have done important work in recent years to leverage resources to serve their students, there is still a gap, Forgette said. The commission’s work, she said, is identifying the missing “pieces of the puzzle to really create that full inclusive environment in our Catholic schools.” That includes exploring the considerable challenges around funding, professional development, staffing, curriculum, accessibility and culture change.
And, Forgette told educators April 4, there are many local Catholic schools that are already doing commendable work in disabilities inclusion.
“We’ve seen so many unique, and good and beautiful ways that schools across our system are meeting different needs,” she said, “and so we also, at the same time, want to support and grow those efforts to make sure that we are setting all of you up as best we can to grow in who you are serving.”
While OMCE’s leaders speak of students with “special” or “unique needs,” they emphasize these efforts address a range of students, not only those who have received diagnoses, meet a special education category or have Individualized Education Program directives. Their broad efforts aim to address — and are not limited to — developmental, physical, sensory processing, emotional, behavioral, medical conditions, and speech and language needs, they said.
And expanding supports for disabilities and learning differences would benefit not only the students who experience a real or perceived barrier to attending Catholic schools, but also current students who would flourish with specialized help.
“What we’re really talking about is looking at the student in their school setting, and what … they need to be able to access the general education — our Catholic school classrooms with their peers — and what do they need to progress in their learning,” Forgette told educators April 4. “The whole goal is to make progress in widening who we are able to support in our Catholic schools.”
That message resonated with Sandy Kane, principal of St. Odilia School in Shoreview, which serves students in preschool to eighth grade. She previously was principal of Holy Spirit Catholic School in St. Paul while Jono Krummen attended middle school there. Kane saw firsthand how a school community could create a community of belonging for a student with Down syndrome.
“I was so proud of all the teachers and staff who worked with Jono, along with all the students who embraced him and helped him grow,” she said.
“The joy he brought to the entire community and the joy that we brought to him was life-giving for me and everybody else at that school, including his parents and his family, and to see there was a way to make it work for him to be in a traditional classroom, receiving a Catholic education all day, every week, just really touched my heart in a way that nothing else I’ve ever done in education has touched me,” Kane said. “So, how do we get to a place where no matter what the need is, we can serve it?”
As it explores that question, OMCE is leveraging the experience of schools in the archdiocese with proven success in disabilities inclusion, including St. John Catholic School in Little Canada and nearby Hill-Murray School, a Catholic middle and high school in Maplewood. Commission members include St. John Principal Dan Hurley and Sara Johnson, Hill-Murray’s director of literacy.
Like other educators, Hurley said his school staff noted an uptick in their students’ needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We just started to realize that one size does not fit all,” he said. “We started tailoring plans that meet the needs and strengths of students, especially students with learning disabilities.” School faculty adopted and created programs to meet those needs, particularly around reading and literacy. The school secured grants to hire specialty tutors and sought professional development for its staff, which was key, Hurley said.
“I had to really invest in training for all of the teachers here, so they could understand and support these diverse learners, because otherwise it wouldn’t have worked,” he said. “Our service and calling at St. John’s is to serve every single kid, no matter what their learning style is.”
Some of St. John’s graduates go on to HillMurray, which in 2012 opened The Nicholas Center, a physical hub for learning assistance and counseling, and a network of resources that school leaders say supports and enhances its full student body.
“Everyone needs to belong, and we need to welcome them,” said Melissa Dan, HillMurray’s president. “That can be more complicated in certain ways. But you look
By Gina Christian OSV News
The nation’s Catholic bishops have launched a new effort to more closely engage the faithful in addressing the issue of mental health, particularly at the local level.
In a Sept. 16 press release, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced its “Healing and Hope”
SPECIAL NEEDS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
at what the Church teaches about kids with special needs or who learn differently, and everyone contributes to our community in some way.”
The school’s staff see The Nicholas Center — named for St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children — as a reflection of Hill-Murray’s Benedictine values. “The idea behind The Nicholas Center is not just the idea that it’s helping neurodiverse kids,” said Brent Johnson, the center’s director. “It’s making sure that a Catholic school can help a whole family.”
The school’s approach is to see a student, not a student with special needs, he said. “When we accept a student, we do look at where they may have some learning differences, but overall we say this is a normal child, just like everybody else. So there shouldn’t be too much of a reason that we exclude this child because of this diagnosis. We need to work with best practices and instruction to reach that child.”
And sometimes that child’s special learning needs are not due to a diagnosis, but changes or stressors in his or her life, such as divorce or serious illness, Johnson noted, which is why The Nicholas Center’s learning philosophy permeates the whole school.
While looking to local success stories, commission leaders and members are also drawing on the expertise of other dioceses where schools have advanced disabilities inclusion, as well as from organizations and institutions that specialize in this area, such as the University of Notre Dame’s Program for Inclusive Education and St. Louis University’s
initiative as a “new component” of the USCCB’s National Catholic Mental Health Campaign.
Unveiled in October 2023, the campaign is spearheaded by Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of WinonaRochester, who also leads the USCCB’s
Herrmann Center for Innovative Catholic Education.
According to the National Catholic Educational Association’s annual report for 2024-2025, about 75% of U.S. Catholic schools report serving students with disabilities. Meanwhile, Catholic school inclusion of students with disabilities is on the rise nationally, with the percentage of their students with diagnosed disabilities rising to 9.1% from 7.8% in 2023-2024.
While important strides toward disability inclusion are being made in Catholic education nationwide, national experts say more work is needed broadly, including in the fundamental recognition that serving students with disabilities is at the core of Catholic education’s Christ-centered mission.
“All students bring God-given dignity and innate gifts,” Slattery said. Meanwhile, “not every student who comes to school has ever had the same levels of ability.”
That Catholic schools create an atmosphere where students with disabilities feel they belong not only recognizes those students’ dignity, but also witnesses to the Church’s pro-life worldview, which is often countercultural, he said.
That vision resonates with the Krummens, Catholics who had hoped to enroll Jono as a kindergartner in a faith-based school like his older siblings, but could not find any that would accept him. When looking at middle school, a friend suggested the Krummens consider Holy Spirit, a school Jill Krummen, Jono’s mom, was surprised to realize she had overlooked when searching for a kindergarten. The school welcomed Jono, and he had a
Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth.
“Healing and Hope” takes its name from the campaign’s introductory statement by Archbishop Gudziak and Bishop Barron, who stressed that “anyone who is suffering from mental illness or facing mental health challenges” remains “a beloved child of God, a God of healing and hope.”
The initiative is aimed at both those who suffer from mental illness and those who support them. A revived digital
wonderful experience — one that ultimately opened the door to his attending CretinDerham Hall (CDH).
“I see all the steps God put in place to get to the moment Jono started school at CDH, and it is pretty impressive,” she said.
“I’ve got to give Holy Spirit credit and immense gratitude, because they’re a small school and didn’t add staff,” she added. “They were creative, and they worked within the framework that they already had. They never made excuses. He had a lovely time there. He loved it.”
Krummen remembers looking across Holy Spirit’s parking lot at CDH’s campus and now thinks of the Holy Spirit’s work paving the way for Common Ground. “When it came time to look at high school it was not easy to once again become vulnerable and ask a school we knew didn’t currently have a program in place,” she said. “Knowing there were friends and teachers connecting the schools gave us the energy and confidence to ask.”
Holy Spirit’s approach stemmed from the school’s conviction “that Jono is a child of God, Jono deserves to be at Holy Spirit” and an attitude of “we’ll make this work, he can be part of this family,” she said. “And it came from the leadership … through the teachers, and then the kids catch it.”
That conviction is now evident at CDH, which takes the approach of “do what you can, not what you can’t,” Miley said, at a pace that makes sense for the school and the expectations of Common Ground students’ families.
He attributes the initiative’s early success to learning from other schools, strong partnerships with the students’ parents, and having a dedicated learning specialist and peer mentors to support and encourage the students
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campaign for the effort will include bishops’ reflections, posted to the USCCB’s social media platforms, that will “invite all people into deeper conversation on the realities and stigmas of mental health,” said the USCCB in its release. Parishes are being encouraged to “raise awareness of mental health” by observing “Mental Health Sunday” and praying at Masses during the Oct. 11-12 weekend, which follows World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10.
in their classes and activities.
“More than anything, what CDH has been able to bring them (Jono and Alex) is a community that has totally welcomed them in as their own, just accepted them into the environment, loves them, is excited to have them around,” Miley said. “Just a place for them to feel like they belong, and a place to challenge them to keep on growing and don’t set limits, and see where you can get by the time your four years here are over.”
At the commission’s inaugural meeting, parent-members shared stories, sometimes with tears, of their challenges to find a Catholic school where their child could flourish or even feel welcome. Several of them had been told their child would be better served at a public school, which are perceived as having more funding and resources for children with disabilities.
That response — although common — is backward, Catholic school leaders were told at their April 4 convocation.
“We know and believe that Catholic school is the best mode of education, and that Catholic school is the only place where education can be done as it’s truly meant to be done,” said J.D. Flynn, a Catholic journalist, canon lawyer and father of three, two of whom have Down syndrome. “The only place where our children belonged, as far as we were concerned, was in the Catholic school, to be educated for the whole of their life and for their eternal life.”
As the keynote speaker for that event, he shared stories from his own family’s journey with Catholic education and his work with the Denver affiliate of the FIRE Foundation, which provides educational resources and fundraising for disabilities inclusion in Catholic schools.
When people witnessed the positive effects of including students with disabilities, and especially the students’ friendships, “more school leaders wanted that, and more donors wanted to support that,” Flynn said.
In May, Forgette and Stoffel attended a conference organized by the Herrmann Center for Innovative Catholic Education, led by the nationally respected education inclusion expert Michael Boyle.
“It was really eye opening to see how what we were doing in our local Church is ultimately going to be helping guide and lead some of these other dioceses across the country,” said Forgette, who sees a role for the archdiocese to become a national leader in inclusive Catholic education.
As the commission continues its work over the summer, she emphasized that its members’ efforts are meant to start the conversation, and the OMCE is committed to continuing their work over the long term.
“This is a starting point,” Forgette said. “It’s not an ending point for us.”
Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.
By Mark Johnson
For The Catholic Spirit
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has what some might consider a surprising new mission field: its own Catholic high school students.
“High schools are at the front lines for the souls of our young people, because the risk is high that students will lose their Catholic faith after they graduate,” explained Jason Slattery, director of Catholic education in the archdiocese and the superintendent of schools. “Cultural and peer influences that seek to divert them from the rich freedom their faith offers are waiting at every fork in the road,” he continued. “They will need to vigorously swim upstream if they want to hold firm to their Catholic foundation.”
The archdiocese’s growing realization that a strong Catholic presence is necessary at this critical time, and that high schools are natural mission territory for priests, is the reason that the Archdiocesan Office for the Mission of Catholic Education — at Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s behest — is placing new emphasis on the role of priest chaplains in the archdiocese’s 16 Catholic high schools.
The new initiative will take different forms at different schools. While increased access to the sacraments is a priority, Slattery said, the expanded vision of the priest chaplain’s role is to move beyond being “viewed as a mere dispenser of sacraments — which are essential to the Christian life — to providing a vibrant, indispensable priestly presence throughout the school day.”
This new vision of high schools as “mission territory” is already bearing promising fruit, as conversations with school principals, students and the priest chaplains themselves make clear.
The Catholic Spirit took a deeper look at what is unfolding at four of these archdiocesan high schools: Benilde-St. Margaret’s in St. Louis Park, Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Providence Academy in Plymouth and Chesterton Academy in Hopkins.
Benilde-St. Margaret’s is a prime example of the benefits that can flow from this new emphasis on priest chaplains.
Benilde has always had a chaplain, and priests from neighboring parishes have also assisted with Mass and reconciliation. But this fall, Father Mike Maloney — Benilde’s new priest chaplain — will allocate half of his time to the position and be more present during the school day.
Headmaster Dan Wrobleski, who is also new to Benilde this year, is certain that Father Maloney’s “regular, visible presence will transform our school, bringing a new injection of Catholic energy and identity.”
Father Maloney said he foresees not only an enhanced sacramental life for students — weekly Masses and the availability of regular confession — but plans to lead retreats, advise student groups, work with faculty, and offer informal spiritual direction to students.
He anticipates that conversations with students, who attend grades 6-12 at the school, about academic concerns may sometimes open a “side door” to discussions with a spiritual dimension. Father Maloney, who has a college degree in physics, is well positioned in this respect. “I love math, especially calculus, and physics,” he said. He hopes to be available to tutor math, work with students on engineering and robotics projects, and even participate in the school’s chess club.
At age 27, Father Maloney — who has siblings in high school — knows firsthand the spiritual struggles that today’s teenagers face. He plans to attend school sporting events and intends to run with the cross-country team. Students will be interested to learn that, as a seminarian in Rome, he participated in the annual “Turkey Trot” 5K around Vatican City — “the world’s only 5K to go around a sovereign nation.”
Wrobleski says he expects Father Maloney to make immediate connections with Benilde students that will pay dividends.
“High school students took a huge hit in their spiritual formation during the COVID(-19) years, and we are focused on helping them regain and strengthen that foundation,” Wrobleski remarked. “Father Maloney’s priestly presence in our school will play a key role in that effort.”
Wrobleski noted with a wink and a smile that Father Maloney has already demonstrated his dedication to the “Benilde family” based on a recent conversation. “He informed me that he would be flying to Rome to take a comprehensive exam for his graduate degree in biblical theology on Sept. 25,” recalled Wrobleski. “‘But don’t worry,’ he assured me, ‘I fly back from Rome on the 26th, in time for the Benilde football game that same night.’”
Unlike Father Maloney, Father Michael Tix is not new to the priest chaplain’s role. He has served as chaplain at Academy of Holy Angels high school for 24 years — the longest-serving high school chaplain in the archdiocese. Father Tix, who is also a member of the Catholic high school’s board of trustees and served a term as its chair, is beloved by generations of Holy Angels students. His photo sits in a place of honor in the oak-paneled parlor across from the 94-year-old school’s original entrance door.
Father Tix’s impact on Holy Angels is especially remarkable given his heavy responsibilities elsewhere. He serves as the archdiocesan vicar general and also parochial administrator for the tri-parish community of St. John the Baptist in Vermillion, St. Mathias in Hampton and St. Mary in New Trier. “My calendar can be complicated, with some days being more a triage process than what I’ve necessarily planned,” he said with a grin.
“Father Tix just has a larger battery than the rest of us,” quipped Heidi Foley, who has been Holy Angel’s principal for an equally impressive 25 years.
One might expect that, given this heavy load, Father Tix would treat his Holy Angels chaplain’s assignment as “sacraments only.” In fact, he believes some of his most important work is the informal connections he makes as he greets students in the morning and enters into hallway conversations.
“The students’ recognition of his holy example in day-to-day conversation is indispensable to the emerging strength of our students’ faith life,” remarked Foley.
The same is true with sports, where his involvement is legendary.
“Sports are an opportunity to emphasize that Catholic identity is not just about yourself, but about serving others,” Father Tix explained. “No team competes well if it’s just a collection of individuals focused on their own performance.”
Father Tix celebrates Mass for the football team before each game and even drove the team bus one time when they played in a state tournament game. He roams the sidelines during games, he said, striking up conversations with team members and their friends and family.
Recently a student mentioned to Father Tix that her volleyball team had a game in a few days. “I told her I might be able to make it, and before I knew it all the kids on the team and their parents anticipated I’d be there.” He recalled that they were overjoyed when he showed up, and it resulted in good chats with most of them at or after the game.
“I believe that’s how relationships are built, and it can advance my overriding goal in chaplaincy work — to help students find a real relationship with Christ through real relationships with people,” he said.
Like students, Holy Angels administrators and faculty understand Father Tix’s vital role. When he is in the building, Father Tix stops in to check on Foley. “I value the time he gives me to discuss the challenges of building a Catholic culture at a high school in 2025,” she said.
The ripples of a priest chaplain’s work are often unexpected and extend far. As a football player, Mason Garcia, who graduated from Holy Angels last spring, attended all Father Tix’s pre-game Masses and often conversed with him on the sidelines. Garcia said he believes Father Tix made it to every game in his four years at the school, “even if it was 10 degrees outside and the game was 30 miles away.”
“Only a true ‘father’ would have that kind of dedication,” he observed.
On Nov. 18, 2023, this “father” would become even more important to Garcia. That night, he took a hit to the head during a Holy Angels hockey game, which left him with a traumatic brain injury and unable to speak or move. “Father Tix was one of the first to visit me in the hospital, and he stayed and prayed with me for hours,” Garcia recalled. This visit, Garcia said, marked the turning point when he began to believe he had a chance of getting better.
Garcia has now fully recovered. Next August, he will marry another Holy Angels graduate, whose entire family — which includes several other Holy Angels alumni — loves Father Tix.
The wedding will be celebrated at the Holy Angels chapel. Father Tix will officiate.
“My job as a chaplain,” explained Father Connor McGinnis, chaplain at Providence Academy, a K-12 school, “is to exemplify and teach about the full Catholic life — to offer something higher to students that is complementary to, but set apart from, their focus on good grades, colleges and careers.” He described his work as “going for the long game” of a fruitful Catholic future for students.
Father McGinnis has a strong focus on making the sacraments as accessible as possible, including an offer to students of reconciliation on a drop-in basis for 20 minutes each morning. “I find that when confession is integrated into the school day and readily available down the hall, students are eager to avail themselves of it.”
Providence senior Mary Rachel Nelson agreed that students are much more likely to participate in the sacraments if they are just a “quick walk” down the hall. “And he’s always ready to go the extra mile,” she said, referring to Father McGinnis. For example, when she approached him about starting Eucharistic adoration, “he relentlessly pursued all the details of making it happen and made special arrangements to include adoration as a permanent part of our school day.”
Nelson praised Father McGinnis’ multi-faceted engagement with students. This has included frequent hallway conversations, class retreats and — she hears from others — even regular workouts in the weight room. “When we toured the Cathedral (of St. Paul) in St. Paul,” she recalled, “the students on the bus had prepared all kinds of questions they thought would be theological stumpers for Father McGinnis, including nuanced interpretations of the effect of plenary indulgences.”
“He fielded all the questions with ease and grace,” she said with a smile, “and answered each one in detail.”
Father McGinnis said he believes that his role as a teacher of moral theology at Providence significantly enhances his work as chaplain. “I teach about the integrated moral life — ‘What is happiness?’ and other central questions that high school students are eager to pursue,” he said. As a teacher, he builds personal relationships with the 20 or so individuals in his class, and through them reaches a much broader group of Providence students, he said.
Todd Flanders, headmaster at Providence, said he believes a priest chaplain is uniquely positioned to respond to the “growing spiritual hunger” he senses among students. Because the chaplain does not issue grades or otherwise pass judgment on students, “young people naturally tend to turn to him with many of their deepest concerns, spiritual and otherwise.”
Father McGinnis “understands that God is actively creating us at each stage — we are real right now, we are being created — and God is at work at every moment,” Flanders said. Students,
he concluded, are not just sitting around waiting to become adults. They need to be formed, and Father McGinnis is a priest chaplain who understands that.
Father McGinnis is just one year into his assignment at Providence, and said more time is necessary to determine if he is achieving his goals. But he’s encouraged by what he’s seen to date.
For example, he recently heard from a Providence graduate who is now at college. During high school, the student had shown an increasing interest in the Catholic faith. The young man recounted that, in his senior year, he had prayed for a sign that he should take Catholicism more seriously. God had answered his prayer, he said, through a brief encounter with Father McGinnis in a Providence hallway. The former student reported that he is now taking significant steps toward embracing the Catholic faith more fully. “A small success,” concluded Father McGinnis. “I’ll take it.”
Are archdiocesan high schools doing all they can on the faith front if they provide good instruction in theology and sacred Scripture?
Father Brent Bowman, chaplain at Catholic high school Chesterton Academy, said he believes it is a missed opportunity if they do not go further. Father Bowman said he strives to bring faith from “the head to the heart,” by teaching students “how to pray, apply theology, deal effectively with life’s challenges, and encounter Christ in a myriad of deeper ways.” He believes doing so will turn the tide of young people who are abandoning their faith after high school.
Matt Gerlach, Chesterton’s headmaster, agreed that fostering this “head to heart” process is the high school priest chaplain’s critical role.
Father Bowman described the process as encouraging a “sticky faith,” a term he said was coined by Father Joseph Johnson, chaplain for the Chesterton Schools Network, Chesterton Academy’s umbrella organization, and rector at the Cathedral of St. Paul. Father Bowman has worked to build this stickiness in several ways. First, he does so through daily Mass and confessions, for which there are always long lines, he said. But there is much more, including rich, once-a-month spiritual formation sessions for students in each grade. In these gatherings, freshmen focus on going deeper with prayer and developing a personal relationship with Christ, explained Father Bowman. Sophomores talk about growing in emotional maturity, and juniors explore understanding daily and vocational discernment. The capstone is senior spiritual formation, which focuses on the “pursuit of spiritual greatness, understanding their gifting — discerning the calling of God upon their life.”
For Chesterton student Joe Bullard, a junior, these gatherings have been especially fruitful. He gave the example of a formation event last year when his class discussed “what went well last year and what can we improve on.” In the past, said Bullard, it has sometimes been as basic as “how to pray, how to build friendships in Christ, and how to place trust in others and assure them that you have their back and that none are excluded.”
There are also all-school retreats during Lent and Advent, and weekend class retreats that build on the faith formation themes.
One of Father Bowman’s greatest joys is offering 20-minute slots for “spiritual direction” on Monday and Friday afternoons, sessions which are particularly popular with students. Students sign up for these one-on-one discussions with Father Bowman focused on how to enhance their spiritual lives. Topics range from challenges with prayer to discerning the priesthood or consecrated life, said Father Bowman. The school views these spiritual direction sessions as so important that students are permitted to get out of class to attend.
Gerlach said he believes that Father Bowman’s unique background — he became a priest at age 44 after a highly successful business career — gives him particular credibility with high school students discerning their futures. They are impressed that he chose the priesthood after seeing so much of what the world has to offer.
“I didn’t become a priest because I hated business,” Father Bowman explained. “I had a desire to be used in a different way — to serve people in a manner that responded to the particular gifts for the Church God had given me.”
Father Bowman’s business acumen has also proven invaluable for the new headmaster as Gerlach helps lead Chesterton into a new chapter of institutional maturity.
“His ability to identify and integrate mission, goals and strategies — and then put it all on paper — has helped us all be more thoughtful in our planning to grow disciples,” said Gerlach. Not surprisingly, Father Bowman brings this skill set to his faith formation work at Chesterton Academy as well. He is mapping out a campus ministry strategy that will guide Chesterton Academy and, at the same time, support Father Johnson in building out a comprehensive Spiritual Formation Program for the 70-plus Chesterton schools around the world.
While Father Bowman makes powerful contributions to Chesterton Academy’s overall spiritual life, the most memorable gifts sometimes flow from what at first glance might seem to be small gestures. Last winter, Bullard attended a retreat led by Father Bowman and mentioned that he looked forward to making a confession when time and circumstances allowed. Without a moment’s hesitation, Father Bowman responded, “Let’s step outside and do this right now.”
The two went out the door, and Father Bowman heard Bullard’s confession in a blinding snowstorm.
There is still much to be done to increase the presence of priest chaplains in archdiocesan high schools, remarked Slattery. One step he would like to prioritize is strengthening fraternity among the high school priest chaplains, so that they can share the practical wisdom they are gaining.
Slattery added that more can also be done to ensure that parish priests and laypeople understand the critical role of priest chaplains. He concluded that the stakes are high. “The mission of high school priest chaplains is essential to seeking a vibrant Catholicism in our young adults,” he said, “and in building a vibrant Catholic culture in our parishes in the future.”
Classes will begin Tuesday, November 14. Classes will take place the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at Pax Christi Catholic Community in Eden Prairie, MN. Registration fee for the entire 12 months is $145.
With a team of qualified instructors, students will deepen their faith with a range of different theological and practical perspectives.
The Pax Christi Theology Academy is a twelve-month spiritual journey of formation for lay disciples of Christ. Rooted in the vision of Vatican II, the Academy deepens faith, builds community, and equips Catholics across Minnesota in meaningful leadership and service experiences.
Through theological study, prayer, reflection, and hands-on service, participants don’t just learn about the Catholic tradition, they live it. By integrating head, heart, and hands, Pax Christi Theology Academy shapes disciples ready to carry Christ’s light beyond our individual parishes, fostering a mission-driven culture that transforms both lives and communities.
Scan the QR code or visit our website to learn more and register. With limited availability, we hope to see you as part of our cohort.
The goals of the Academy are to cultivate opportunities for deeper discipleship, transform your spiritual life, develop leadership capacity, and hone in on a mission-oriented culture.
www.paxchristi.com/paxtheologyacademy
By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit
Jenny Keller has built a life around clay, spinning it into mugs, bowls and pitchers. Her craft doubles as prayer and practice.
“I feel so close to God when I’m able to see something come from nothing,” said Keller, 26, a member of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. By day she works in HR strategy, and by night she’s at the wheel.
Q What were your first artistic influences?
A My dad is an excellent sculptor. He works with teeth every day. Dentistry requires lots of fine-arts creativity. He also carved a series of tree stumps at St. Kate’s (St. Catherine University in St. Paul). We have two in our house. They’re such fun, whimsical pieces of art.
He used to carve the second-largest pumpkin in Minnesota every year into an insane face. His friend was a grower, and we’d take a trailer to pick it up. It was such an achievement to carve something so big in a set amount of time with Halloween as the deadline. Everyone was in the garage for days on end watching him carve. That core memory made me want to do something that was special.
Q He saw the whole wide world as a canvas for art! That sounds like a spiritual lens. How does your art relate to your Catholic faith?
A I didn’t connect my faith to my work in pottery until about five years into my business when I found (St. John Paull II)’s letter to artists and everything clicked. That was a point in my
Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Fr. Mark Pavlak and archdiocesan seminarians for a weekend of
life where I (felt) like I became who I still am today. My deep sense of purpose to create and my lowercase “v” vocation of being a potter really made sense.
Q How do your day job and your nighttime work fit together?
A They’re very different. They each inform the other.
I think I’ll always need to have both. I’m more creative at work because of pottery, and I’m a much better businesswoman and planner because of my day job. I love the routine and the paycheck of the day job, but I need to be by myself and be creative to recharge.
Q Describe your studio.
A I’m in a dark, dingy, unfinished basement. The light is flickering. There are no windows. The cement is crumbling all around me and mixing with clay dust on the floor. I always have a dehumidifier going. There’s usually laundry going. I have a Peloton tucked in the corner and pots everywhere. I’m wearing old jeans. I work in the evening, often till 11 p.m.
My all-time life dream would be to build a studio, kind of in the woods, where at least three sides show trees and skylights, somewhere above ground to have a really well-functioning studio.
Q What gets you into flow?
A If I’m really in (the) flow state, what helps me get there is a playlist of songs I know every word to. Bon Iver is one of my favorite artists, John Mayer to sing along with. If I’m really stressed out, I’ll throw him on. It feels comforting. I love throwing on “Pride and Prejudice” from 2005 — things that feel like home.
Q Is the work relaxing?
A If I’m going to make pots, my stomach is going to hurt. It’s not relaxing. My body hurts. It’s really laborious, and it’s all decision-making. I’m constantly making decisions and translating that through my hands to put the clay where I want it to go.
Q How do you make the pieces?
A I buy wet clay. The process of turning wet clay into pots is called throwing, which is my favorite part of the process, when I’m at the wheel. Warren MacKenzie, a famous potter from Minnesota, said: The first 10,000 pots are hard, the second 10,000 are a little less difficult.
I think I’m nearing about 10,000 pots now, and it’s absolutely true.
Once pots are leather hard, I trim the bases, stamp the pots with my signature and logo, and put it into the bisque firing where it will reach 1,850 degrees Fahrenheit. That turns it into a ceramic material called bisqueware. Then I apply a liquid glaze, fire again at 2,230 degrees Fahrenheit and the piece is in its final form!
Q Tada! It must be exciting to add color
through the glaze.
A I make all my own glazes. I’ve made over 70 glazes over the last year. I’m obsessed with color. Once the glaze has dried on the pot, I put it back in the kiln for the glaze firing, and then the pieces come out finished. It’s a time-consuming process that can take anywhere from two weeks to two months.
Q Why is it important to make things with our hands?
A It’s integral to the human experience to cocreate with God. The world does not encourage people to make things. Many people reach the conclusion at a young age that they don’t have a so-called gift for art and they move on. That does such a disservice to the needs of every human person. There’s this view of artists as prodigies that have something from the beginning.
But no, it’s not “you can do it, or you can’t.” It’s a skill, and like everything, you have to incorporate it into your daily life — not just in digital ways, but by actually making physical things, even if they turn out bad. That’s so important.
Q How did your business begin?
A It started slowly. I was making pots in my high-school class, and I completely fell in love with production pottery. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. As a kid, I was making business cards for my dog-walking business. I started selling pottery during my senior art show in high school, and I haven’t looked back. I started an Etsy shop soon after that. (etsy.com/shop/jennykellerceramics). The growth has been organic. I like to stick to smaller shows and pop-ups. I prefer connecting with people who buy my art. I don’t want it to be a transaction. I want it to be an experience.
Q Is it hard to put a price tag on your work?
A It’s the hardest part of my work and running a business. I want to make good pots accessible to all, but I also can’t justify the amount of time I spend each year making a fraction of minimum wage to do so. It’s a nauseating balance that I’ll never be satisfied with. Most of my mugs are around $35 depending on their size and complexity to make. The price of clay has doubled since I started making pots, and glaze is very expensive.
Q What’s your best seller?
A Mugs are my best seller and also the most fun to make. Cobalt is my favorite color. I’ve been trying to get this ultramarine cobalt blue and it has taken over a year of testing.
My favorite mug right now would have to be the Short Mug, my newest style. It’s squattier, but it’s not a squat mug. It’s perfect for tomato soup but also great for a latte.
Morning rituals are so important. When I get to spend the first moments of my day holding something handmade and beautiful it means so much more. It’s overwhelming to know my customers connect with my pottery as much as I do.
Q What keeps you going on hard days?
A I feel so much self-worth when I’m done. I feel valuable when I stand back and see the work I’ve done. I feel that I’ve done the thing that God has created me to do.
Q What do you know for sure?
A I know love is the most important thing — sharing and showing God’s love every day through the gifts we’ve each been given.
By Josh McGovern
The Catholic Spirit
Two Stillwater families were in Rome for the Sept. 7 canonization Mass for Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis. Both families — the Thompsons and the Andrews, parishioners of St. Michael and St. Mary in Stillwater, respectively — were also at the right place and right time to present their youngest babies to Pope Leo XIV for a blessing.
That Maria Andrews was in Rome for the canonization Mass was an unlikely reality. It was just as unlikely that her newborn son would be named Leo — in honor of the pope — when he was born just weeks earlier.
Andrews, an optometrist, gave all her children names that mean “light.” But when Pope Leo was elected in May, the Andrews were expecting a baby boy and wanted to name him after the pope.
“(Leo) means lion,” Maria Andrews said; initially, the family thought “there’s no connection to light. And we were really unsettled about a name. And two weeks before (Leo) was born, I was talking with a former religious sister and we were talking about how cool it would be to name a boy who is born right after the election of the first American pope, Leo.”
Andrews shared her naming dilemma with the former religious sister.
“She said there’s a connection with Leo and light,” Andrews said. “Jesus is the lion of Judah in Revelation and he’s the light of the world. And in addition, in Christian art, the lion’s mane symbolizes a halo of divine light or radiant light. Once I learned that, my husband and I thought, ‘Well, that’s it. It’s going to be Leo.’ And an American boy born within a few weeks of the election of the first American pope probably deserves his name.”
The Andrews were inspired by another Stillwater family to visit Rome. Andrew and Maggie Thompson traveled with their family to Rome Sept. 2 for the canonization Mass. They brought their youngest son, Eugene Giorgio Thompson, 10 months. The Thompsons’ two older daughters were there as well.
“That was part of the impetus for going to the canonization was the fact that (Pier) Giorgio (Frassati) was the namesake of one of our kids,” Andrew Thompson said. “(Frassati) was very influential in my vocational discernment, specifically the way that he felt a deep calling to serve the poor.”
While discerning his own vocation, Andrew Thompson turned to Frassati to help him draw closer to God. He decided 10 years ago that when Frassati was canonized, he would be in Rome to see it happen.
While eating dinner on Labor Day, Maria Andrews said to her husband, Charlie, that they should pray for the Thompsons’ trip.
Charlie Andrews replied, “Why aren’t we going?”
Maria Andrews didn’t have a birth certificate for Leo yet, let alone a passport for her son.
“It was a very, very quick decision to go and it just felt right,” Andrews said, explaining that she later obtained a passport for her son. “It’s hard to make it happen, but everything just fell into place, and it just felt like it was supposed to be. … While everything’s building up for me, my husband starts backing down. We have five kids total. We were going to take the older two, and he’s like, ‘I think this is too much. I think I should stay home with the two toddlers. Maybe ask your mom if she wants to go with you.’”
Maria Andrews’ parents were visiting Minnesota at the time. Andrews asked her mom if she happened to have her passport on the trip, which would allow her mother to
go on the trip to Rome and her husband to remain home.
“She said yes,” Andrews said. She recalled thinking, “Why would you have your passport?”
Maria Andrews continued the story, “My dad had the car started, and they were ready to drive away, their drive to Minnesota, and (my mom) ran back inside and quickly grabbed (her own passport) because they were going to have construction workers work on their house, and she didn’t want it in there while they were gone.”
After the canonization Mass, Pope Leo rode around in his popemobile. The Thompsons were right at the barrier, knowing they wanted to be in a position to get a blessing for Eugene. But the Italian sun was beating down on the family. Eugene was crying, upset by the heat, and Maggie Thompson was tempted to bring him to the shade. Friends from around the world the Thompsons met in Rome were helping fan the young boy.
Maggie Thompson decided to stay just a little longer, knowing Pope Leo was nearing them.
“Eugene was crying until the security guard took him,” Thompson said. “Some of the pictures from that moment, Pope Leo reaching out for him (Eugene) and then his gaze upon Eugene, it’s so powerful.”
During his blessing, Eugene stopped crying.
“It reminds you of how God the Father looks at us,” Thompson said. “Just that (Leo) ... was looking at him with so much love.”
Maria Andrews described something similar with her son, Leo. After the canonization Mass, she said people filed away from St. Peter’s Square. She stayed where she was because she had to nurse Leo.
“He actually wasn’t nursing well, so I was getting a little frustrated,” Andrews said. “But it was good he wasn’t nursing well because it allowed me to pay attention to what was going on around me. All of a sudden, people just started filing toward the barricades. And they said, ‘He’s coming!’ By the time I looked up, I saw the popemobile starting to come around.”
A crowd formed in front of the barricades.
Andrews wasn’t sure if she could get to the front to hand Leo over for a blessing, but she decided to try. She told the crowd in front of her that her baby’s name was Leo. The crowd, having heard this, parted the way for her to get to the front.
“They were all so kind and they just kind of parted the way and let me get up to the front with (Leo),” Andrews said. “And the guy behind me was a seminarian and he offered to take my phone to take pictures. Then the popemobile came, and I was holding Leo out over the barricade, and the security guard grabbed him and took him up to Pope Leo.”
Andrews said she was shaking and crying, realizing God’s love for her and her family.
“That he answered that prayer and allowed Leo to have that personal interaction with Pope
Leo, it was very special,” Andrews said. “It just brought together the full circle (of) us choosing his name, this trip working out so last minute. It just all felt like it was divinely orchestrated for that moment.”
The following Wednesday, Sept. 10, Andrews went to the general audience. Despite there being a torrential downpour and uncertainty if the audience would be canceled, Pope Leo surprised everyone by coming out in his popemobile 20 minutes before the audience was expected to start. At that time, it stopped raining.
Andrews made a sign that said her baby was named Leo with an American flag on it. The pope saw the sign and pointed to her baby.
“The popemobile stopped, and his security guard came to get Leo, and then he got another blessing,” Andrews said. “And this time,
Pope Leo knew that his name was Leo. And you could just see on his face this pride, this beautiful, humble pride, this realization that I’m holding a namesake in my hand. ... And you could just see this joy on his face that ‘I know this is an American Leo and I’m blessing him.’
Then he continued driving around (in) the popemobile. He blessed, I think, every baby along the barricades. I don’t think a single baby went unblessed.
“It reminded me a lot of (St.) John Paul II. He just had this joy for children and for babies, and he really was intentional to try to bless all of them. But he had to pass us one more time in order to get to his chair on the stage to start the audience. And as he was passing us, I yelled out to him, ‘We love you!’ And he turned to me, and he pointed to Leo, and he said, ‘Leo!’ ... And he did a fist bump.”
Andrews said that of all the personal interactions she could have with any politician or celebrity, the pope is the person she would have most wanted to share that experience with.
“It was such a blessing that, again, God showed his love for me through that experience,” Andrews said.
Maggie Thompson said that the experience, the canonization Mass and the papal blessing, were gifts from God.
“It really was so striking that it felt like a very concrete experience of the abundance of God’s gifts,” Thompson said.
Andrew Thompson said that their older daughters, who are 2 and 4, still talk about the experience.
“The way they talk about it, they feel so seen,” he said. “They feel that experience of God that it’s not us who pursues God, it’s God who pursues us. They talk about it like, ‘He saw me.’”
I’ve always loved St. Paul’s letters to Timothy. They’re heartfelt, punchy and personal — the testimony of an older disciple of Jesus to a younger disciple who is beginning his ministry, with the friendship between these two on full display. We get to read the tail end of the first letter to Timothy this weekend, and it begins with “but you.” Let’s dive a little more into the context for the letter to understand why Paul is giving young Timothy this injunction.
In the course of his letter, Paul has been offering all kinds of encouragement to the young preacher: “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12). Paul gives Timothy instructions for how to navigate the governance of the local Church entrusted to him, and then warns against a lot of the dangers and distractions of the day, including false teachers (1:3-11), an unformed conscience (1:19), false asceticism (4:1-5), pride (6:3-6), and
greed toward the things of this world (6:9-10). It’s almost as if the problems that Paul and Timothy faced in their day are perennial temptations of the human condition, present among us here today.
In the midst of that, Paul boldly proclaims to Timothy the words from earlier: “but you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness” (6:11). Right in the midst of so many distractions and temptations to go the way of the world, Paul exhorts Timothy to shun all of that and run after Christ with everything that he has. Whenever I read these words myself as a young priest, it seems like Paul is speaking directly to me. The world offers so many distractions, and the crummiest thing is that it distracts from the things that we actually do care about.
The first reading from the prophet Amos and the Gospel from Luke are meant to shock us out of our distracted states as well, especially in regard to how we interact with worldly riches. It’s no secret that we live in a Western culture of rampant consumerism, and it’s never a fun day when you wake up and realize that you’re the one being
COMMUNION AND MISSION | FATHER JOHN PAUL ERICKSON
Of note, among the many images that moved me deeply in the aftermath of the Annunciation tragedy, was the large congregation that gathered for Mass at the Saturday evening vigil of Aug. 30.
While unable to gather in the church itself for obvious and terrible reasons, the congregation assembled in its own auditorium. Within that room, the congregation heard the news of salvation, announced into the darkness of grief and bewilderment. They wept and hoped and mourned, waiting for the promise of the resurrection to come to full and glorious fulfillment.
The gathering of that heroic group of believers and supporters was an act of great courage and defiance. It was a communal no to the power of evil and sin, and a great yes to our need to stand together as a single people, united in our belief in the power of God and his salvation.
Gathering as the Church is the essence of what it means to be the people of God. We need each other, and we need Jesus. Jesus is found when two or more are physically gathered in his name, united around the altar of praise that is the heart of every sanctuary. But the candid fact is that whenever we gather together, we face danger. This is the price of a free society, and we do well to remember as we assemble the many Christians around the world who, every single day, must make a choice between physical safety and gathering with fellow believers. But just as real as any physical danger, we face the danger of being changed, a change that will inevitably happen when we seek to love others. And that is exactly what the Mass does — it puts us elbow
consumed. It’s a hard reality to face: All these things that distract us tend to eat us alive without us even being aware, and cause us to totally miss the things that matter most — care for the poor, the upward call of Christ, the state of our souls, etc.
That is why I need to hear Paul’s injunction. I tend to get distracted from the things that matter most and instead pay attention to all kinds of inane things that usually trend toward dissipation. The words of one of the patrons of our archdiocese here today are not meant to be an occasion for shame or despair, but rather one of deep encouragement and galvanization, for the grace of the Lord that was at work in Paul and Timothy is available to us as well. Let’s listen to our older brother in the faith, our dear St. Paul, and let us learn to truly pay attention to the things that matter: concern for the poor; the pursuit of righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness; and may we all find each other there in the heavenly kingdom.
Father Vance is parochial vicar of Our Lady of Grace in Edina.
Gathering as the Church is the essence of what it means to be the people of God. We need each other, and we need Jesus.
to elbow with other pilgrims of life, travelers on the road to heaven.
One of the effects of our mobile society is that where we worship is now a very personal choice. For the most part, the neighborhood parish is a thing of the past, at least in most metropolitan cities. If you don’t like the “flavor” of the church down the street, you can always just get in your car and drive to a site much more accommodating to your taste.
Of course, people should have the right to worship where they want, and parents have a great responsibility to find communities that will best support them in the raising of their children in the Catholic faith. But one of the costs of so much choice is that very often parishes and dioceses become just as fragmented as our society as a whole. And this is a scandal, which leads many to believe that ultimately, church is just like politics — tribal. In fact, if we are honest, at times the cable news channel you choose at night could be a pretty good determining factor as to what church you will attend on Sunday.
But what if we were to actually embrace the truth that in Jesus, all are one. That there is no east or west, slave or free person, male or female? What if in the face of the Gospel we all were to repent of our selfishness and strive to see “the other,” whatever their background, party affiliation or personality, as a son or
daughter of God? This will change us, and change is hard. But if we want to make the world a better place for our children, let alone save our souls, we must attempt to die to self and to live for unity and peace with fellow believers.
This call for unity should not be interpreted as a shirking from serious debate and significant differences that are real. Part of real love is the willingness to talk about difficult things. But it needs to be rooted in a willingness to make the effort to also see what unites us rather than to harp on those things that separate us. This is especially important in the Christian faith.
Talking to “the other” takes courage. Listening takes even more. But if we can start by worshiping together on Sundays, I think we will have made a significant start.
May our gatherings together, Sunday after Sunday, bear witness to our unity as believers. May we be willing to let down the walls that divide us and cling to the Christ who is the only source of lasting peace in a fallen world. May we announce the good news that all are one in Christ and bring hope and healing to all who will listen.
Behold, we are the servants of the Lord. Fiat!
Father Erickson is parochial vicar of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul and interim chairman of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission.
Sunday, Sept. 28
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Am 6:1a, 4-7
1 Tim 6:11-16 Lk 16:19-31
Monday, Sept. 29
Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, archangels Dan 7:9-10, 13-14 or Rev 12:712ab Jn 1:47-51
Tuesday, Sept. 30
St. Jerome, priest and doctor of the Church Zec 8:20-23 Lk 9:51-56
Wednesday, Oct. 1
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church Neh 2:1-8 Lk 9:57-62
Thursday, Oct. 2 Holy Guardian Angels Neh 8:1-4a, 5-6, 7b-12 Mt 18:1-5, 10
Friday, Oct. 3 Bar 1:15-22 Lk 10:13-16
Saturday, Oct. 4
St. Francis of Assisi Bar 4:5-12, 27-29 Lk 10:17-24
Sunday, Oct. 5
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Hab 1:2-3; 2:2-4 2 Tim 1:6-8, 13-14 Lk 17:5-10
Monday, Oct. 6 Jon 1:1–2, 11 Lk 10:25-37
Tuesday, Oct. 7 Our Lady of the Rosary Jon 3:1-10 Lk 10:38-42
Wednesday, Oct. 8 Jon 4:1-11 Lk 11:1-4
Thursday, Oct. 9 Mal 3:13-20b Lk 11:5-13
Friday, Oct. 10 Jl 1:13-15; 2:1-2 Lk 11:15-26
Saturday, Oct. 11 Jl 4:12-21 Lk 11:27-28
Sunday, Oct. 12
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Kgs 5:14-17 2 Tim 2:8-13 Lk 17:11-19
ST. JEROME (345-420) Born in what is now Croatia, St. Jerome studied in Rome from the age of 12 and was baptized at 19. He learned theology in Germany, Greek and Hebrew in Syria and was ordained at Antioch, though he never celebrated Mass. He became secretary to Pope Damasus I, who asked him to revise the Latin New Testament. This ascetic scholar, an early Christian theologian, moved permanently in 385 to Bethlehem, where he founded a monastery and boys’ school and wrote. His greatest achievement was the Latin Vulgate Bible. His feast day is Sept. 30.
I got lost on my way to Annunciation in Minneapolis for the first Sunday Mass after an Aug. 27 shooting during an all-school Mass. Having parked at the other end of the neighborhood, I began walking, passing trees with blue and green ribbons tied around them. There were signs in front yards announcing support for Annunciation.
I knew I was near the church, but I was still lost. I didn’t know where to go. I texted my boss, who was at Annunciation already, preparing for the Mass, and asked him where to go. He texted back, “Follow the faithful.”
It was the second time I’d ever visited the church and school. The first time was just a few days earlier on the morning of the shooting. Roads were blocked by police vehicles and instead of blue and green ribbons, yellow tape blew in the wind. Shell-shocked parents walked with their crying, shaken children in blue and green uniforms. They all walked away from Annunciation as my coworker and I walked toward it.
I followed the faithful for that first Sunday Mass after the shooting. Feeling lost and confused, we all walked to the place where we knew to go. We walked together to Mass. Many cried, most were distraught. People were in pain. There was plenty of healing needed and there still is.
But that day, we went where we needed to go. We went to Jesus.
A month ago, I planned to write this column about the relationship between death and faith and how this certainty of death helps shape the way we live. But what did I know about death, then? And what do I still know?
Father Joseph Bambenek, who is leading the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office for the Renewal of Structures, said throughout history, death has “been at the door.”
“We have more perceived control over our lives, and so events like this shake us more deeply because it’s a reminder that life is short and the hour of death is unknown,” Father Bambenek said.
I’m reminded of a painting of St. Francis of Assisi Francisco de Zurbaran produced in 1635. It is different from any depiction of the humble friar I’ve ever seen.
Most often, I see St. Francis painted in bright colors, preaching to birds. He’s in beautiful gardens or fields with blue streams and the sun is shining like God’s own eyes on him. These artworks are bright and cheerful.
But in Zurbaran’s interpretation, St. Francis is in a dark room. He is in shabby brown robes, and his face is hidden by shadows. There is an oppressive feeling of quiet contemplation, which St. Francis appears to be deeply in. He is looking down at an object in his hands: a skull. He’s contemplating death, maybe even his own.
For me, two Latin phrases come to mind
when I see this painting: “memento mori” and “carpe diem.”
I see these phrases everywhere. I see them too often. They’re often overused and have lost their meaning. Recent generations seem particularly fixated on these two mottos, but we use them carelessly.
I hear these phrases in tandem with ones such as, “Live like you’re dying.” Live like there is no tomorrow, we say. Death is suggested as the only certain truth. These phrases are serious. They’re meant to grab our attention. But for what?
When I hear people say these things, they follow it up with intentions to party more; or buy more things; or live indulgently, through sex, substances or experiences. We want more, and since life is short, we must take what we want before it’s too late.
To me, this is short-sighted. It takes the certainty of death and misdirects us. This thinking doesn’t look ahead. It doesn’t detach us from what is harmful but rather gives us permission to overindulge in a world of empty promises, false idols and unfulfillment. It puts our hearts into things that will turn to dust.
Father Bambenek said there are three directions we can go, in the wake of a tragic event such as this.
“One is to live our lives in paralyzing fear that (for) either (us) or our children, something like this is going to happen again,” Father Bambenek said. “Another is, ‘I’m going to die, so I’m just going to live it up. There aren’t many days to have here on
When kids start school, teachers will remind parents that it’s not a bad thing if children have meltdowns after coming home. “They’ve been holding in big emotions all day,” one kindergarten teacher assured us. “Now you as parents are their safe space to land.”
Right now, our country is mourning countless tragedies and violent deaths. While public expressions of grief are on full display, home is where we do most of our grieving, praying and processing. How does God meet us at home to help us heal?
We can start by turning to Scripture. As the prayerbook of the Bible, the psalms are full of ways to help us grieve at home, softening our hearts with God’s gentle mercy so we can love each other well during hard times.
When you need to let down your guard, find solace and solidarity with the psalmist who grieved at home, too: “I am wearied with sighing; all night long I drench my bed with tears; I soak my couch with weeping” (Ps 6:6).
When you need to know that your grief is seen and not wasted, lean into God’s attentive love: “Are my tears not stored in your flask, recorded in your book”
(Ps 56:8)?
If you struggle to eat and drink as grief zaps your appetite, let the Good Shepherd lead you to nourishment: “In green pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul” (Ps 23:2).
If you can’t sleep, remember in the night that the Lord “never slumbers nor sleeps” (Ps 121:4).
When you want to feel protected, pray with images of God as safe and strong: “You are my shelter; you guard me from distress” (Ps 32:7).
What might grieving at home mean for your family? Some families have traditions for visiting the cemetery; other mourners feel closer to their beloved dead in different times and places. After local or national tragedies, you might decide to pray together as a family before bedtime or light a candle after Mass.
Add something tangible to your home — a photo on your prayer altar, a funeral card or even a newspaper article on the fridge can remind you to pray. “Constructive” grievers often like to do something concrete: build a memorial, plant a tree or tend a garden.
Seek comfort in the calendar. The liturgical seasons pull us out of ourselves and into the home of the Church, reminding us we are never alone.
Earth.’ Or the third, the way we are called as Christians, is to walk forward. (God) doesn’t want us living here, living in fear. He doesn’t want us to be partying because there might not be a tomorrow. He wants us to be investing whatever time he’s given us (in) loving others and loving him.”
Father Bambenek said that turning to Jesus in these moments brings peace, and turning to other things brings conflict.
“Just as seeking peace through drugs and alcohol brings more confusion and more discontent, trying to find peace and solutions other than Jesus is going to cause more confusion,” Father Bambenek said.
“Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever” (1 Jn 2:16-17).
In the painting of St. Francis, his face is concealed. He is sidelined because the important focus point is the skull. St. Francis holds death in his hands, not for thrills, but for humble consideration. We are dust, and to dust we shall return. We’re left to wonder about the strangeness and mystery of death, to know that it can be held, but not understood. But we hold it, and consider it, with faith in our hearts that a greater life is to come.
McGovern is a reporter for The Catholic Spirit. He can be reached at mcgovernj@archspm.org
November brings a whole month to pray for those who have died, and at every Mass we remember how close the communion of saints comes during the Eucharist. Look outside the home for help, too. Just as we need a village to raise a child, families need the same during times of stress or sorrow. Therapists, teachers, support groups, pastors and lay ministers can connect us to community resources and sources of spiritual support that pull
us out of the pit of grief. God never wants us to suffer in silence or isolation. God gives us the gift of home — through people, places and sacred practices — to guide us along the road to healing.
Fanucci, a member of St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove, is an author, speaker and founder of Mothering Spirit, an online gathering place on parenting and spirituality at motheringspirit.com
Thank you for sharing your vocation with us at Hill-Murray!
I’ve been writing in recent columns about Jesus in his historical context. The purpose has been to show the way that the Church has always had a social teaching.
Jesus’ ministry centered around the proclamation of the kingdom of God, which meant that God was now acting to fulfill his promises to Israel by gathering the community of his people that would be this kingdom. And (spoiler alert!) the upshot of all of this is going to be that his kingdom — this revolution — is still going on, and that we can join it today. We call it the Church.
Most recently we’ve seen that Jesus’ call to “repent and believe in the Gospel” was an invitation to join his social movement. It meant something like “give up your own allegiances and be loyal to my kingdom.”
Along the way we’ve seen some of those other various allegiances that were available in Jesus’ day, and that are still available to us in different forms. Are we inclined toward violent revolution? Or toward quietist
withdrawal? Or, perhaps most temptingly, toward simply making due with the status quo, at least as long as it serves our interest? In Jesus’ day, as in our own, he is calling us to turn away from any of these and to be loyal to him.
This context of the kingdom is the key to understanding Jesus’ whole ministry. It’s not only that Jesus often speaks directly about the kingdom, as in his parables when he says, “the kingdom of God is like” this or that. But also, like some of the other revolutionary figures noted in previous columns, Jesus often performed symbolic actions that announced the kingdom even louder than words.
Let’s take a look at a few of these kingdom actions.
Like the revolutionary Theudas, who also led people out to the Jordan River, the practice of baptism by Jesus’ and John the Baptist’s disciples would have had obvious associations both with Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land and liberation from Egypt at the crossing of the Red Sea. Whichever image they saw, the point would have not been lost on anyone that here was a movement promising Israel’s deliverance
and the defeat of their enemies. Baptism was a kingdom action.
Or take the feedings of the multitudes. Like other revolutionaries who performed signs in the desert, in these actions Jesus was recalling God’s provision of manna for Israel in the wilderness, right after they had been freed from Egypt. Jesus was performing a freedom-meal, and implying strongly that he was the new Moses, the one who would set the people free. And liberation, of course, was precisely the task of the messiah, Israel’s true king.
In other words, Jesus didn’t walk around saying “I’m the messiah” as much as he showed it in what he did. So, when John the Baptist’s disciples came to him puzzled about Jesus’ identity, he said to them: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: The blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Mt 11:4-5). All these were things the prophets had said would happen when the great renewal — the kingdom — arrived. The implication of Jesus’ answer, without ever saying the word, was crystal clear: I am the one who is
Just as a house requires a solid foundation, a family’s spiritual life also benefits from stability and support.
Solid foundations are critical to get through the challenges of life.
Jesus taught the importance of a “rock solid” foundation subsequent and supplementary to his teaching on true discipleship: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock” (Mt 7:24). The antithesis to this spiritual “house on rock” our Lord tells us is one that, as time passes, sinks in sand.
Thank God and my parents I grew up with a well-formed, solid foundation in rural Iowa. What I remember most is simple yet foundational: Sundays were treasured. Growing up as Methodists, we went to church on Sundays as the commandment told us, and we observed the Lord’s Day as a day of rest, including partaking in relaxing activities. Much of Sunday morning was
devoted to age-designated Sunday school for youth and adults, and then a church service. (Note that I did not say Mass; I learned quickly as a Catholic convert the difference between a service and a Mass.) The service was often followed by a food and friendship gathering in our fellowship hall before we all went our separate ways. Did we live our lives outside of this day of worship undivided as fortified “Onward Christian Soldiers,” as the hymn goes, in the week ahead at home, work or in our rural culture? Probably not, since we’re all sinners, but we tried.
Yet leisure on Sunday was recognized as setting the stage for the week ahead. What is the big picture for a Catholic Watchman in providing a solid foundation to keep the Sabbath holy? I refer to our Church teachings, starting with a summary statement from our Catechism of the Catholic Church: “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are bound … to abstain from those labors and business concerns which impede the worship to be rendered to God, the joy which is proper to the Lord’s Day, or the proper relaxation of mind and body” (CCC 2193).
to come. I am the messiah. It’s time for the revolution.
These kingdom actions are the context in which we have to understand the fact that we often find Jesus positively trying to avoid attracting attention. He’s often telling people, in essence: “Don’t tell anyone what I’ve done for you.” Or, to Peter: “Keep this whole messiah business quiet.” Why would he do that?
Because performing kingdom actions that implied that you were the messiah was dangerous enough. To the wrong people, claiming to be a king would be treason, for there were others who bore that title — Herod Antipas in Galilee, the high priests in Jerusalem and even Caesar Tiberius himself. Jesus was very aware of how subversive his kingdom actions were, and that those who did these things usually ended up on crosses. He would eventually get there, but he had to bide his time, for he had other essential work to do first.
Miller is the director of the Center for Catholic Social Thought at Assumption in St. Paul. He is the author of “We Are Only Saved Together: Living the Revolutionary Vision of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker
After offering the necessary worship to God, what does leisure on this holy day of rest look like? As “Iron is sharpened by iron; one person sharpens another” (Prov 27:17) — Watchmen take part in many devotions and activities with other men. At the time of this writing, I’m nearing the zenith of an Exodus 90 challenge that I’m undertaking with a number of other men. Each Sunday while on this devotional journey, our online Exodus 90 spiritual guides, a couple of Franciscan brother-priests, have emphasized that the week begins with Sunday. It’s “a day of rest and renewal that sets the tone for everything that follows.” Using a description of Josef Pieper — a Catholic philosopher and a renowned 20th century St. Thomas Aquinas interpreter — getting the Lord’s Day right is “creating space for activities that open us to truth, beauty and contemplation. Holy leisure nourishes the soul and draws us closer to God.”
On Sunday, there is no such thing as a dreadful time going fishing, completing a honey-do chore, or playing a game of soccer or sandlot football on Minnesota turf, right? In all seriousness, the emphasis on
leisurely activities on the Lord’s Day can be foundational and nourishing — physically and spiritually — for the heart, body, mind and soul. The use of free time for enjoyment is a good gift from our gracious God — leisure rightly ordered — whether hiking with the family on Sunday, enriching yourself by reading an enjoyable book or taking a nap to simply relax and gather some energy. These are gifts we can receive while encouraging and prompting us to give more of ourselves to others. If we remember that the highest form of leisure on the Lord’s Day is the holy sacrifice of the Mass, true enjoyment can come from the graces of leisure. Because Jesus provides and unites us with such grace.
Deacon Bird ministers to St. Joseph in Rosemount and All Saints in Lakeville and assists with the archdiocesan Catholic Watchmen movement. See heroicmen.com for tools supported by the archdiocese to enrich parish apostolates for ministry to men. For Watchmen start-up materials or any other questions regarding ministry to men, contact him at gordonbird@rocketmail.com.
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In a time of both clergy and teacher shortages, especially in rural dioceses, foreign-born religious workers are essential for ensuring the availability of the sacraments and mission-critical staff. For decades, these ministers have helped meet the spiritual and social needs of Catholic communities across the country, but the system that allows them to serve is facing serious challenges.
Foreign-born religious workers serve across every state and in a wide variety of faith traditions. They include priests, deacons, pastors, rabbis, imams, religious sisters and brothers, monks, missionaries, cantors and others. Their work ranges from leading worship to providing social services to the vulnerable. Without them, many religious organizations would struggle to carry out their missions.
Catholics need to contact Congress and tell their representatives and senators to support the bipartisan Religious Workforce Protection Act (HR2672/S1298).
The Religious Worker Visa Program was originally created because the United States immigration system did not meet the unique needs of faith communities that depend on foreign-born religious workers, such as the Catholic Church.
Today, the program is in crisis due to a massive backlog in visa processing.
Religious workers already in the U.S. who have applied for permanent residency will hit the maximum limit of their temporary stay long before their green card is available. This forces them to abandon their ministries and return to their home countries. It is now projected to take over 20 years for these workers stuck in the
GUEST COLUMN | BISHOP DAVID O’CONNELL
backlog to receive a green card.
As a result, parishes will lose pastors, hospitals will lose chaplains, and the work of the Church will be diminished for people who rely on the spiritual leadership of foreign-born religious workers.
The bipartisan Religious Workforce Protection Act (RWPA), introduced in April 2025, offers a targeted solution for the problems created by the backlog. If passed, the Religious Worker Protection Act would let R-1 visa holders who have already started the green card process stay in the U.S. beyond the normal five-year limit. They could keep their R-1 status until their green card is approved, instead of being forced to leave their ministry and return home while they wait.
The RWPA does not alter the number of people who can immigrate to the United
States. Those who would be eligible for relief under the bill are already lawfully present and legally working in the country, and they would need to meet all eligibility requirements for permanent residence. The change would ensure that communities across the country could continue benefiting from the contributions of religious workers without interruption. Without swift action, growing numbers of religious workers who have faithfully served in the United States could be forced to leave the country.
Now is the time to act to support the religious workers who play a vital role in the Church. Visit the USCCB’s action alert (online at tinyurl.com/5n7suu84) to send a message to your member of Congress and urge support for the Religious Workforce Protection Act.
Inside the Capitol is a legislative update from Minnesota Catholic Conference staff.
The federal Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) is a historic step toward ensuring that parents are supported in their choice of an education for their child. It allows individual taxpayers to receive a federal tax credit for qualifying contributions to an eligible scholarship granting organization.
While every taxpayer is eligible for this permanent federal tax credit, the ECCA requires states to decide whether to allow scholarship granting organizations in their state to distribute the funds.
Parents in our community are counting on elected state officials in Minnesota to do the right thing and allow scholarship granting organizations to distribute eligible contributions in Minnesota, which in turn will help Minnesota parents choose a quality education option for their children.
I am grateful to so many national organizations that advocated for this help for students and families. In a special way, my gratitude extends to officials with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Catholic Education for their tireless efforts to advocate for parents, students and schools. Please read more about the ECCA from the chairman of the committee.
— Jason Slattery, director of Catholic education and superintendent of schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis (In July), the president signed into law the first federal school choice tax credit in our nation’s history. This new landmark legislation, led by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Bill Cassidy, R-La. and Tim Scott, R-S.C., was modeled on the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) — which aimed to expand parental choice in education to an estimated 2 million children across the country.
For years, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has endorsed this bill because it aligns with our Church’s teaching that parents are the first and primary educators of their children and, therefore, have the right to select the best educational environment for them.
The groundbreaking new law deserves accolades for its recognition of the rights of parents, but there are significant questions about how it will be implemented at the federal and state levels. The potential success of this law depends on what happens next. Ensuring that the greatest number (and the neediest) of children can benefit from this opportunity will require vigilance and discernment during the implementation and rulemaking process.
One challenge will be ensuring that states “opt in” to the new federal opportunity so that children in each state can access scholarships. For example, my own state of New Jersey currently has no state-level private school choice program. This new federal law could, for the first time, bring new resources to the children and families who wish to attend Catholic schools in our state.
In the Diocese of Trenton alone, we have tens of thousands of students who could benefit from such scholarships, and nearly 40 Catholic elementary and secondary schools to serve them. Lawmakers have the power to unlock millions of dollars in new education funding for students without adding a single dime to their budget or shifting any funding away from public education.
Ensuring that our religious liberty and private school autonomy are respected also remains an area where Church leaders, parents and legislators must be particularly vigilant. Canon law is crystal clear that Catholic schools must be centered on the principles of Catholic doctrine. Our Catholic identity is too important to ever jeopardize. Promoting the urgency of affirming our rights to religious freedom and autonomy is a crucial priority of the bishops’ conference during the rulemaking process.
The USCCB has made clear that the Catholic community has a responsibility to support parental choice in education. For years, state Catholic conferences and the Catholic laity have been deeply and tirelessly engaged at the state and federal level promoting laws that empower parents and strengthen communities — and I applaud these efforts. As a result of this work, more than 1.3 million children across the country are benefiting from school choice today. As bishops, we have a particular
responsibility to promote policies that support families in their choice of education. Canon law says that, as pastors of souls, bishops have a special duty to do all they can to make sure the faithful can avail themselves of a
Glass Half Empty or Half Full?
Catholic education. As a lifelong educator, I believe deeply in the value of a rich, authentic Catholic education, and as the chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Catholic Education,
PLEASE TURN TO SCHOOL CHOICE ON PAGE 23
A Special Presentation for the Business Sector
Theological Questions Regarding AI, By: Noreen Herzfeld
Thursday, October 9, 2025 - The Minneapolis Club, 729 2nd Ave. S, Minneapolis -11:30 a.m.: check-in and meal, 12:00-1:30 p.m.: presentation
As Silicon Valley forges ahead in the development of AI, forecasts about its impact vary widely—from dire warnings to optimistic visions. For leaders in the business sector, these questions are becoming increasingly urgent. What should we realistically expect in the near term? How can AI be thoughtfully implemented within business environments to serve the common good? And how might this technology reshape not only our work, but also our understanding of ourselves and our responsibilities to one another?
Noreen Herzfeld is the Director of Benedictine Spirituality and the Environment. She holds degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics from The Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Theology from The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. Herzfeld is the author of The Artifice of Intelligence: Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic World (Fortress, 2023), In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit (Fortress, 2002), Technology and Religion: Remaining Human in a Co-Created World (Templeton, 2009), and editor or co-editor of Encountering AI: Ethical and Anthropological Investigations (Pickwick, 2024), Religious and Cultural Implications of Technology-Mediated Relationships in a Post-Pandemic World (Lexington, 2023) and Religion and the New Technologies (MDPI, 2017). Herzfeld is also a senior research associate at the Institute for Philosophical and Religious Studies, Koper, Slovenia.
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BY HEATHER CHRISTMAN
Idecided to stop trying to come up with a particularly unique response to the question of “why I am Catholic” and instead steal G.K. Chesterton’s response: “The difficulty of explaining ‘why I am a Catholic’ is that there are ten thousand reasons all amounting to one reason: that Catholicism is true.”
I am Catholic because it is true. To our modern sensibilities, that probably sounds like a very arrogant statement, but for me it is actually a rather humbling one, since the reason I am Catholic has nothing whatsoever to do with any virtue on my part. The only skill I can claim is that I try to be reasonable and accept reality when I see it.
In fact, I have often wished that my faith rested less on my mind and that my heart was stronger instead — that I had a devoted, trusting heart — but that is simply not the case. My heart is weak and prone to many doubts, and so the Lord, who knows me well indeed, has chosen a different route for me and captured my mind with his truth.
As a cradle Catholic who went through some angsty, near-atheist teen years, my initial journey back to the faith was through an encounter with the truth. Now, when I say truth, I do not just mean facts. Rather, I mean the Truth who has a face, who has a
name, and who walked the streets of Galilee, declaring “I am the truth” (Jn 14:6).
I didn’t understand it fully at the time, but when I look back on the moment when I fell in love with the Lord for the first time in Eucharistic adoration, it was a moment of recognition that this is true: His presence in the Eucharist was true. His love for me was true.
When I began reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church two years later and then studied theology in undergrad and graduate school, I was struck again by the conviction, this is true: His teaching and words in Scripture were true. His authority was true. His Church was true. Even when those teachings were difficult to understand or hard for my heart to accept (as many of them still are!), they were true.
And now I suddenly find myself in a vocation where I have the privilege of sharing that truth with young people in a Catholic school. A student just reminded me last week, “You really love what you do. We can tell.” How could I not? Every day, I encounter the truth anew, discover further depths, and am amazed by its beauty. Even when my heart is uneasy, doubtful, or frustrated, when the grading piles up or my classroom feels out of control, I keep finding that constant refrain in
my mind and soul, this is true. He is true.
I am not here to give you a philosophical defense of the Catholic faith. My students hear that enough in class, and I entrust you readers to the much more qualified wealth of the Church’s tradition.
However, I do hope to encourage you to seek the truth ardently. It is not always an easy search, and the world will often try to lead you astray, but Jesus tells his followers to cast their nets “into the deep” for a catch. The truth cannot be found in the shallows, in quick answers, or easy solutions. It is found in the depths of our hearts, in the trenches of our broken but grace-filled world, in the silence of prayer, in 2,000 years of the Church’s reflection on the person of Christ.
Seek the truth. You will find him.
Christman, 26, teaches theology at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis. She belongs to St. Mary in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood and enjoys reading and baking.
“Why I am Catholic” is an ongoing series in The Catholic Spirit. Want to share why you are Catholic? Submit your story in 300-500 words to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with subject line “Why I am Catholic.”
St. Mark’s Fall Rummage Sale Sept. 25-28: at St. Mark, 2001 Dayton Ave., St. Paul. Clothes, furniture, household, books, children’s toys and more. parishcenter@onestrongfamily.org
Nordeast Catholic Underground with Aly Aleigha Sept. 27: 6:30-9 p.m. at St. Clement, 901 24th Ave. NE., Minneapolis. Indie-folk artist Aly Aleigha performs at this free event. ourholycross.org/ncu
Garage Sale Oct. 1-3: at St. Thomas the Apostle, 20000 County Road 10, Corcoran. A fundraiser for St. Thomas the Apostle, with proceeds supporting parish and community initiatives. churchofstthomas.org/events-1/garagesale25
Soup Social Oct. 4: 3-8 p.m. at St. Bernard, 212 Church St. E., Cologne. Soups include beef chili (gluten free), chicken chili, chicken noodle soup, chicken wild rice and hearty vegetable. Eat in or takeout. Cash, quilt and meat raffle. Freewill offering. Respect Life Breakfast Oct. 5: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at St. Michael, 11300 Frankfort Parkway NE, St. Michael. French toast, eggs, sausage, hash browns and fruit breakfast will be served. This freewill donation breakfast is sponsored by the Crow River MCCL Chapter and the Knights of Columbus Council 4174. Hymnfest for the Earth Oct. 5: 4 p.m. at St. Mary of the Lake, 4741 Bald Eagle Ave., White Bear Lake. A collection of hymns and text to celebrate the season of creation. stmarys-wbl.org
Oktoberfest Oct. 11: 5:30-9 p.m. at St. Katharine Drexel, 7633 161st Ave. NW, Ramsey. Live music, German beer, brats and sauerkraut, German potato salad, strudel, pretzels and children’s menu. Event follows 4:30 p.m. polka Mass. stkdcc.org
Roast Beef Dinner Oct. 12: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at St. Albert the Great, 3204 E. 29th St., Minneapolis. Dinner, country store and bingo. saintalbertthegreat.org/roastbeef
St. Boniface Annual German Dinner and Polka Mass Oct. 12: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at 633 NE Second St., Minneapolis. Rod Cerar Orchestra will also perform at the dinner following Mass. Roast pork
dinner, silent auction, dancing and more. Takeout available. Adults: $15, children (12 and under): $10. Info: 612-379-2761. stbonifacempls.org
September Silent Weekend Retreat Sept. 25-28: at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 Saint Francis Lane, Prior Lake. Three nights. Four conference talks; guided prayer; spiritual direction; Holy Hour; free time for personal reflection, confession and rest. All meals are cooked on site. franciscanretreats.net
Men’s Silent Weekend Retreat: “Pilgrims of Hope” Sept. 26-27: 7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. As pilgrims of hope, join us for three conference talks, Holy Hour and spiritual direction, healing service and personal time for prayer and reflection. Mass on Saturday and Sunday. kingshouse.com
Chapter Two Marriage Prep Retreat Sept. 27:
9 a.m.-8 p.m. at 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd. NE, Ham Lake. Chapter Two Retreat is designed for couples in which one or both are entering into a second marriage. The retreat is led by couples in second marriages who can speak firsthand about the unique challenges and complexities.
churchofsaintpaul.com/chapter-2-marriage-retreat
“A Pilgrimage through the Doors of Hope”: Serenity (12-Step) Retreat for Men and Women Oct. 3-5: 8 p.m. at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. Ruth Hoenick joins us again to continue our journey as pilgrims of hope through the doors of recovery. $50 deposit, two nights with a private room, five meals cooked onsite. kingshouse.com
Women’s Autumn Weekend Retreats Oct. 3-5: at 16385 Saint Francis Lane, Prior Lake. Pray among 60 acres of secluded nature with trails, gardens, a pond, a labyrinth, and outdoor Stations of the Cross. Spiritual direction. franciscanretreats.net/calendar-1
The 111th World Day for Migrants and Refugees: “Migrants, Missionaries of Hope”
SCHOOL CHOICE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20
it is my responsibility to encourage my brother bishops to promote policies that support parents in their liberty to pursue the education of their choice for their children — but particularly a Catholic education in a Catholic school. The new federal law offers the chance to unlock educational opportunities for millions of children across the country —
Oct. 5: 11:15 a.m. at St. Joseph, 8701 36th Ave. N., New Hope. Following the 10 a.m. Mass, learn about immigration and how it affects our communities. Listen to a talk from Bishop Kevin Kenney and meet local nonprofit staff who help immigrants in the surrounding communities. stjosephparish.com/the111th-world-day-for-migrants-and-refugees
From Leo XIII to Leo XIV: Catholic Social Thought in an Era of Anti-Humanism Sept. 29: 6:308:30 p.m. at 2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Msgr. Martin Schlag will be exploring a fresh perspective on Pope Pius XI’s vision of society’s essential institutions. tinyurl.com/3n7rfyra Hope and Healing Speaker: Carolyn Woo Oct. 1: 5-7:30 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Mary, 1600 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. Carolyn Woo is the former president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community. The Link Lecture Series. Cosponsored by the Initiative on Restorative Justice and Healing. mary.org
We Are the Body of Christ: An Ignatian Approach to Restoring the Humanity of Migrants Oct. 6: 7 p.m. at St. Thomas More, 1079 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Father Brian Strassburger, SJ, director of Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries based in Brownsville, Texas, will talk about the dynamic of migration on the U.S.Mexico border and in cities throughout the country. ignatianspiritualitycenter.org/event/we-are-thebody-of-christ
Consumerism and Idolatry Oct. 9: 6:30 p.m. at 51 Seventh St. W., St. Paul. Presenter William T. Cavanaugh is a professor of Catholic studies and director of the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology at DePaul University in Chicago. Register: catholicsocialthought.org/fall2025-speaking-event
Pilgrims of Hope Speaker Series Oct. 12: at Basilica of St. Mary, 1600 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. The presentation by Father Joe Gillespie will highlight various facets of hope in our lives and in our times. mary.org
but there is still more work to be done. Over the next several months, state Catholic conferences, parents, pastors, school leaders and all the Catholic faithful will have a special role to play to ensure that the law benefits the greatest number of children possible.
President John F. Kennedy once remarked, “children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.”
We owe it to them to provide them with the best education
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Fall Open House Oct. 2: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at 15525 Saint Croix Trail N., Marine on Saint Croix. Visit Dunrovin Retreat Center and taste our homespun hospitality. dunrovin.org/get-involved/open-house Stillwater Booyah: Knights of Columbus (1632) Oct. 4-5: at St. Mary, 423 Fifth St. S., Stillwater. Pick up your Booyah at St. Mary. Made with five meats (beef, chicken, pork shank, ox tail, ground beef) and 11 vegetables (cabbage, onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, rutabaga, corn, green bean, peas, tomato).
stmichaelandstmarystillwater.org
possible. I urge the Catholic faithful to continue to pray for parents and to support their efforts to fulfill their God-given right and obligation to direct their children’s education and for our elected leaders that they affirm the same.
Bishop O’Connell of Trenton, New Jersey, is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Catholic Education. This column was published by OSV News.
Hill-Murray
brings her Benedictine spirituality to all teams
By Dave Hrbacek
The Catholic Spirit
The Hill-Murray varsity football team had just finished an intense practice Aug. 26. In three days, the Pioneers would open the regular season.
Head Coach Rob Reeves let the players know they needed more preparation to be ready for the game. His words were loud and strong.
Then, a big mood shift took place. Reeves stepped aside after addressing the players at midfield on the practice field as 64-year-old Benedictine Sister Linda Soler — the chaplain of this team and all others at the school — approached.
Her demeanor was a little softer, but no less energetic. With all the players gathered around her, she instructed them to arrange their helmets in a special formation. It was part of a ritual she created in her role as football chaplain. She calls it the blessing of helmets, complete with a Benedictine prayer and a sprinkling of holy water. After completing this year’s blessing, she led the players in a raucous cheer.
Sister Linda has been team chaplain for the last eight years. She comes to every game and has formulated a pregame ritual in which players file out of the school building in Maplewood and onto the field, reaching out to touch a cross she holds up while standing at the gym’s exit door.
In this way, she provides what Reeves calls a “yin and yang” system for helping the boys develop both football skills and faith.
It worked so well with the football team that school leaders, including President Melissa Dan and Principal Susan Skinner, decided to broaden Sister Linda’s influence and appoint her as chaplain for all sports teams. That came out of a discussion between Skinner and Sister Linda several years ago when Skinner was then the vice president for mission.
“As we were chatting, we came up with this together, to say, ‘Why not take the secret sauce you have with the football team and provide that to all of our sports teams?’” Skinner recalled. “Right away, we just knew this was it. We just knew. There was no real long discussion, no in-depth study, no research papers on how this works in other schools. We just knew this would work.”
Stories abound describing the way Sister Linda reaches out to students to help them in whatever way they need, whether it be problems on the field or off. It can be as simple as giving them a shot of confidence or as deep as helping them with the loss of a loved one.
“She’s really everything that a Catholic school’s athletics should embody,” said Colton Ricker, a senior who has played both varsity basketball and baseball. “It’s a different experience that you don’t find anywhere else.”
Last spring, the Pioneers were in the section baseball playoffs. Sister Linda came to the game and walked up to the fence behind home plate when Ricker was in the on-deck circle. As he was getting ready to bat, he heard her tell him to “hit for Jesus.”
For some students, Sister Linda’s presence means far more. Abby Haldorson, who graduated in May, met Sister Linda in the classroom while in ninth grade. Haldorson’s friend had died by suicide and Haldorson was in the midst of managing her emotions, trying to find a meaningful way to bring good from her personal tragedy.
Haldorson approached Dan with a proposal to construct an outdoor classroom across the street from the school’s front entrance on land owned by the Benedictines. Dan wholeheartedly endorsed the idea and instructed her to reach out to Sister Linda. So, Haldorson sent Sister Linda an email. Before getting a reply, she went to a ceramics class where Sister Linda was serving as a substitute teacher that day.
“I had never met Sister Linda at this point,” said Haldorson, who now attends the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and is studying industrial and systems engineering. “I ended up taking a break from my ceramics project and I walked over to her, and we had a conversation” that lasted “the entire class period,” Haldorson recalled.
“She really just listened to me and let me share my story and talk about the struggles of what I was feeling and what I was hoping to do with my project.”
With Sister Linda’s support, Haldorson set to work constructing the outdoor classroom, which contains a small,
open space with limestone slabs arranged in a circle for students to sit on. Students in all grades began using it her sophomore year and Sister Linda led the prayer of blessing in the summer after the school year ended. Haldorson said it has been a hit with students and teachers, noting that a wide array of classes are held in the space.
Haldorson further connected with Sister Linda while competing in varsity soccer, swimming and track. Though her life as a college freshman is busy, Haldorson is by no means stepping away from her friendship with Sister Linda. She continues to come to the Benedictine Monastery for Mass, even though she is Lutheran. And there are many text exchanges between them.
“We are very much bonded,” Haldorson said. “She’s really special to me.”
Sister Linda feels the same way about Haldorson and all students at Hill-Murray. It’s why she has such passion for the role and doesn’t even think about retirement even as she approaches retirement age.
“The youth give me energy,” said Sister Linda, who also serves her community at the Benedictine Monastery near the school, including taking on leadership roles. “They are the future. I believe they nurture my vocation. They really do. They have so much life in them.”
Students bring that life into Sister Linda’s world. Haldorson noted that whenever Sister Linda walks into the school cafeteria, students flock to her. The running joke is that her office is in the cafeteria versus her official office just downstairs from the school’s front entrance. At many sporting events, especially football games, her presence on the sidelines evokes spontaneous chants from the crowd, with students yelling out “Sister Linda” followed by three quick claps.
She’s not hard to spot. She is in constant motion, wearing a green Hill-Murray jacket with her name on the back in large letters. Her high fives and motivating words are constant, from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. She also prays with the team before each game and even blesses the quarterback’s
hands before kickoff.
“It’s her gifts that make it happen,” Skinner said. “Kids are hungry for this. She’s good at it. It’s a love match. And it really provides a witness to the faith that kids may not (otherwise) get in that particular way.”
What Sister Linda brings goes beyond school grounds. She started a ride-along program with the Maplewood Police Department. “We call it Operation Sister Linda,” she said about assisting police who pull over students if they speed or commit traffic violations after leaving the parking lot. “(An officer) will call me to the car and here I come out of the (squad) car into the front seat of (the student’s) car. And they’re like, ‘Hi Sister Linda.’ And then I let them know why we’re doing what we’re doing. And then I’ll say, ‘Well, let’s call Dad.’”
Sister Linda asks the student to dial his or her father, then she lets him know what has just happened.
“Then I’ll say, ‘But they’re not getting a ticket today,’” she said. She then tells the father that she wants to meet with the student within the next few days — “just to check in, with no shame, blame or guilt; just to make sure everything’s OK.”
“I love it,” Dan said. “It works. ... I feel like it models Sister Linda, it models Hill-Murray working with the Maplewood police — like, ‘We care about you.’ That’s what I think it models: This is a community, and we care about you.”
Sister Linda hopes this part of her ministry mushrooms into a future role as a police chaplain. She is in dialogue about it now with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office and hopes to put something in place in the coming months. For now, she will keep doing what she has been doing. “I’m 64 years old and I have years ahead of me,” she said. “I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
What she does plan to do is continue to cherish each student she encounters and draw them closer to their faith and to a HillMurray community she is glad to be a part of.
“I would say they have a home in my heart,” she said. “And I just look at them with eyes of joy.”