July 7, 2016
LOCAL
At veneration, martyrs commemorated not only for heroic deaths, but also lives
God’s servants first After King Henry divorced Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn in 1533 without an annulment from the pope, he severed ties with the Catholic Church and established the Church of England. He demanded England’s bishops sign a document acknowledging him as head of the Church. Only one — Bishop John Fisher — did not. Later, the king required all men who held office in England to recognize his marriage to Boleyn by signing the Act of Succession, which confirmed that his children with Boleyn were legitimate heirs to the throne. Again Bishop Fisher abstained, as did More, who had resigned his position as chancellor. Both men studied the king’s divorce with great care, Boyle said, and deliberated over their responses. “They understood with remarkable clarity what was at stake at that time, which was an attack on the Church,” he said. Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher were imprisoned for treason in the Tower of London for months. They were beheaded 14 days apart in 1535; Bishop Fisher was 65, Thomas More was 57. St. Thomas More’s famous last words were, “The king’s good servant, but God’s first.” The relics on tour were a personal ring with a cameo of the philosopher Aristotle that St. John Fisher wore
in BRIEF FRIDLEY
Totino-Grace to take on boarders Totino-Grace High School will open its doors to international and domestic students this fall to live on campus and attend the school. In partnership with the Cambridge Institute of International Education, Totino-Grace will house up to 40 students. The former residence of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, and most recently, the Totino-Grace Retreat Center, will be converted to a 20-room dormitory. Amenities of the 14,800-square-foot residence include a commercial kitchen, dining room and study hall, recreation room, laundry facilities and an outdoor courtyard. On-site dormitory coordinators will manage the facility and serve as advisors to the residents, plus provide support to international boarding students.
By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit Hundreds of Catholics visited the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul June 26 to venerate the relics of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, icons of religious liberty because of the circumstances of their martyrdom. Their relics were briefly on view at the Cathedral as part of a national tour coinciding with the Fortnight for Freedom. The 6:30 p.m. prayer service featuring the veneration included eucharistic adoration, a Gospel reading and presentations on the 16th-century British martyrs from John Boyle, professor of theology and Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, and Jan Graffius, curator at Stonyhurst College in England, which holds the relics. Following the brief prayer service at which Cathedral Rector Father John Ubel presided, people waited as long as an hour to process up the Cathedral’s center aisle to the Communion rail, where the relics were displayed in two simple glass boxes. People briefly kneeled and prayed before the relics; many touched the reliquaries or pressed rosaries, medals or other holy objects against them. During his presentation, Boyle didn’t focus on the saints’ stance on religious freedom as much as “how they did it” — how their daily practices fostered a life of deep faith and the formation, confidence and courage they needed to face martyrdom. “They did not set out to be martyrs, but when the time came, they were ready,” he said. Generally more well-known today than his contemporary St. John Fisher, St. Thomas More daily spent early morning hours in a library and chapel in prayer and study — time he prioritized despite his responsibilities as a husband, father, lawyer and the first layman to serve as chancellor of England. He also regularly attended Mass and confessed his sins. St. John Fisher was also known for a deep love for the Church, despite the failings of its clergy that played a role in the Protestant Reformation that was underway. Both men were recognized in their youth for their high intelligence, and both began serving King Henry VIII early in their vocations. St. John Fisher taught Henry as a boy; St. Thomas More was advisor and friend to the king and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Both men were described by contemporaries as good, virtuous and holy. “Goodness, virtue and holiness: This is the secret to the lives and martyrdom of these two saints,” Boyle said. “They worked hard at knowing and loving their sweet savior, Jesus Christ.” Prayer, study and discipline helped them discern what was right, and how to act rightly, he added.
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MAPLEWOOD Jan Graffius, curator from Stoneyhurst College in England, shows Sister Lucille Botz the ring of St. John Fisher, during a special visit at the Holy Family Residence run by the Little Sisters of the Poor in St. Paul. Jim Bovin/For The Catholic Spirit throughout his life, and a tooth and jawbone of St. Thomas More that his daughter, Margaret, saved from his severed head, which she received after it had been exposed on London Bridge. Sarah Kunkel, a 38-year-old self-described “history buff,” brought her 9-year-old son, Thomas, to venerate the relics. St. Thomas More was one of the saints for whom her son is named, she said. Due to long lines, the pair was among the last to venerate the relics at 8:30 p.m., a half-hour past the event’s scheduled end. “I wanted him to see this,” Kunkel, a pharmacist and parishioner of St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, said of her son. “It’s such a strong character, a strong intellectual standing up to King Henry VIII at that time. I’ve always been inspired by that.” George Younes, a building contractor and parishioner of St. Maron in Minneapolis, also brought three of his four young children with him to venerate the relics. He said national religious liberty issues have piqued his recent interest in St. Thomas More. Younes, 38, said the martyrs’ examples challenged him “to look at all controversial issues in the light of Christ’s Church and be prepared to accept the consequences to our own lives by following the decrees of his Church,” he said, “whether that means we are ostracized, we are criticized or even if we lose our own life; it is better than losing our soul.” St. Paul was the fifth city the relics visited after arriving in the U.S. Other stops included Miami, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Washington. In Minnesota, the relics stopped in each diocese in a tour facilitated by the Minnesota Catholic Conference. The national “Strength of the Saints” tour was cosponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Knights of Columbus as part of the Fortnight for Freedom, two weeks of prayer, education and advocacy for the cause of religious freedom in the United States, June 21-July 4. This year’s theme was “Witnesses to Freedom,” which highlighted men and women in the Church’s past and present who have fought for religious liberty. Among them were Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, whose feast day was June 22. Also recognized were the Little Sisters of the Poor, who took their opposition to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ “contraception mandate” to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled earlier this year to send the case, Zubick v. Burwell, back to the lower courts. Before arriving at the Cathedral of St. Paul, the relics visited the Little Sisters of the Poor’s Holy Family Residence in St. Paul, symbolically uniting past and present “witnesses to freedom.” The Little Sisters and residents in their care had the opportunity to venerate the relics for about an hour before they went on to the Cathedral.
Hill-Murray hires former Viking Hill-Murray School hired Pete Bercich as its director of development and the Pioneers’ head varsity football coach. Bercich grew up in Joliet, Illinois, where he played football at Providence Catholic High School. He was a starting linebacker at the University of Notre Dame and graduated with a degree in finance. Drafted in 1994, he played linebacker and special teams for the Minnesota Vikings for seven seasons. Following his retirement, he joined the Vikings’ coaching staff for five seasons. He retired as an NFL coach in 2005 and became an NFL broadcaster and analyst. HillMurray’s new football stadium is slated for completion in time for Bercich’s high school coaching debut.
MINNEAPOLIS
Catholic Eldercare to open transitional care facility In October, Catholic Eldercare plans to open a transitional care unit for people recovering from illness, injury or surgical procedures. The new 23,015-square-foot facility in the St. Anthony West neighborhood will include 24 private rooms with amenities. Patients will have access to therapies, equipment and specialists to aid in their recovery before returning home. It also will provide approximately 40 new jobs. Dan Johnson, Catholic Eldercare president and chief executive officer, said the new service fills a gap to prevent rehospitalization. “Catholic Eldercare did not have a short stay service, nor is there a fully dedicated one in the wider community we serve. . . . Our purpose is to provide that care, plus the housing and services needed by older adults to live fully, with dignity, within a caring community. Transitional care moves us that much closer to fully meeting our mission,” he said in a June 28 statement. Please turn to IN BRIEF on page 18
OFFICIAL Continued from page 3
Deacon James Saumweber, appointed to exercise the
ministry of a permanent deacon at the Church of Saint Odilia in Shoreview. This is in addition to his current assignment at the Church of the Assumption in Saint Paul.
Retirement Effective July 1, 2016 Reverend Michael Tegeder, released from his assignments as
pastor of the Church of Saint Francis Cabrini and the Church of Gitchitwaa Kateri, both in Minneapolis, and as chaplain for Indian Ministries for the Archdiocese, and granted the status of retired priest. Father Tegeder has served the Archdiocese as a priest since his ordination in 1978.