PAGETWO

Several members of St. William in Fridley shared the faith this summer on separate mission trips to Guatemala and Indiana. They shared their experiences with fellow parishioners after Sunday Mass July 23 with slideshows and commentary. Gina and David Archambault with their children David, Annie, William and Peter worked in two orphanages and in the city of Yalu in Guatemala June 10-22. The family built wood stoves in five homes to relieve respiratory problems people experience from open fires in their houses. They also built beds and helped distribute food donations from international charities. From July 8-15, five young people and two adults from the parish attended a workcamp in Huntingburg, Indiana, run by Florida-based Catholic Heart Workcamp that assisted the elderly and people in need. Construction, landscaping, working in senior living facilities and cleaning and conducting repairs in homes were among projects the group worked on. Mike Casey, director of faith formation and safe environment coordinator at St. William, said the parishioners’ actions demonstrate the way “members act as the hands of Christ, in performing services for those less fortunate.”

Grammy-nominated Catholic songwriter and musician Sarah Hart planned to perform a free concert July 26 at St. Paul in Ham Lake. In addition to performing — including for Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City — the award-winning artist from Nashville, Tennessee, produces music, writes books and speaks at retreats. “To be able to do this work and offer a little bit of an oasis to people — a little time to delve in and have fun and look deeper into their faith and desire more — that’s really rewarding to me,” Hart said in a statement.

Monica Kooiman, left, stands with her parents, Roger and Jan Storms, in the produce section of the Bountiful Basket in Cologne, a free source of food for struggling individuals and families. Working with Bountiful Basket Food Shelf in Chaska, the Cologne center opened July 13 in St. Bernard parish’s former school building. Roger Storms, a member with his family of St. Bernard, said he noted the need for a food shelf, in part because there are few grocery stores in the area. Staffed by volunteers from the parish and community, the Cologne food shelf is open late afternoon Thursdays and mid-morning to early afternoon Fridays. Individuals and families can shop there twice a month.

COLOGNE

RUSSIAN ATTACK Debris surrounds the Ukrainian Orthodox Holy Transfiguration Cathedral, which was damaged in a July 23 Russian missile strike on Odesa, Ukraine. The historic cathedral (Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral) is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the damage prompted international outrage and pledges to rebuild. Amid a July 23 nighttime attack by Russia on Odesa, an X-22 anti-ship missile directly hit the central altar, partially destroying the building, including the three lower floors, and significantly damaging icons. The missile was one of 19 of various kinds launched against the city that evening in a barrage that killed one and injured 22, including four children. Since abandoning the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17 — a deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations to ensure vital grain supplies from Ukraine to Africa, the Middle East and Asia — Russia has relentlessly targeted Odesa, the key port for such shipments. “We cannot allow people around the world to get used to terrorist attacks. The target of all these missiles is not just cities, villages or people. Their target is humanity and the foundations of our entire European culture,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Along with the cathedral, almost 50 other buildings, 25 of them architectural monuments, had also been damaged that night in Odesa’s historic center, which as a whole forms a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Catholic young adults from around the world, including from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, are making the pilgrimage to Lisbon, Portugal, for World Youth Day 2023. The event — held every three years — was first instituted by St. John Paul II in 1985 and draws young adults from around the globe. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Williams is attending WYD with a young adult cohort from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that includes at least 16 pilgrims. More groups from parishes around the archdiocese are attending separately. Held Aug. 1-6 this year, thousands are expected to gather to celebrate the universal Church. Early estimates from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops put pilgrims from the United States at more than 28,600 people, most between the ages of 18 and 25, and more than 60 U.S. bishops.

Modern Catholic Pilgrim and the Franciscan Brothers of Peace are offering an 18-mile walking pilgrimage from St. Paul to Stillwater July 29, with a 3-mile option starting at Liberty Square in Stillwater, for the intercession and canonization of Blessed Solanus Casey. The pilgrimage will begin with an optional 6:30 a.m. Mass and breakfast at 7 a.m. at the brothers’ Blessed Solanus Casey Friary in St. Paul. It will end with opportunities for confession, personal prayer and the Sunday Vigil Mass for Blessed Solanus’ feast day at St. Michael Church in Stillwater, where Blessed Solanus was confirmed. Supper at St. Michael Parish Hall will follow. The pilgrimage is free, but a $20 donation is suggested to help cover the cost of dinner and transportation back to Liberty Square or St. Paul. Blessed Solanus, who was born in Wisconsin, was a Capuchin Franciscan friar who worked as a prison guard in Stillwater before entering consecrated life. He ministered for years in Detroit. More information and registration can be found at moderncatholicPilgrim com/Pilgrimage-calendar/bl-SolanuS. A similar pilgrimage July 29 starting at 7 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul — with several shorter routes also offered — is being organized by the Stillwater parish. More information about that walk can be found at StmichaelandStmaryStillwater org

On the July 21 “Practicing Catholic” radio show, host Patrick Conley interviewed Father David Bailey, a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Native American Advisory Board, who discussed the prevalence of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Also featured were Bob Beck, director of marketing and operations at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center in Prior Lake, who described the types and value of retreats; and Catholic blogger Mackenzie Hunter, who discussed the importance of sharing Catholic content on social media. Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingcatholicShow com or anchor fm/Practicing-catholic-Show with links to streaming platforms.

ON THE COVER: Amber Tseabe Roy of the St. Kateri Rosary Circle in Chicago, center, dances in a powwow July 22 during the Tekakwitha Conference in Bloomington, a five-day event that drew several hundred people. Joining her were Pheji Hota-Wiya G. Cosson, right, also of the St. Kateri Rosary Circle, and Latecia Fernandez, left, of the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

ONLY JESUS | FATHER CHARLES LACHOWITZER