NEWS notes

Alumni, parents, teachers, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and other community members are invited to participate in the June 24 Rock the Lawn event at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield. The annual, community-building, outdoor event includes food, beverages, games, music and fellowship, organizers said. This year, Catholic parish liturgists and accomplished musicians Paul Peterson and Tommy Barbarella will perform, and they are assisting in co-chairing the event, a development that Academy of Holy Angels Advancement Director Jesse Foley called “a blessing to our school and to our larger Catholic community.” Proceeds go to the school. Ticket information can be found online at: e giveSmart com/eventS/vPu

Father James Radde, a Jesuit priest, made a pilgrimage to Rome earlier this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. While there, he met with Pope Francis Feb. 13 and presented him with a porcelain cross he had made for him. In a letter Father Radde had written to the pope asking for a visit, he reminded the pope that the two had been theology students in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1968-1969. To read an essay Father Radde wrote about his experience, visit thecatholicSPirit com

Bishop Michael Izen and Father Michael Creagan helped celebrate the recent ordination of longtime parishioner Father Julian Druffner of St. Michael in Stillwater, where Father Druffner held a Mass of Thanksgiving. Father Druffner was ordained for the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin. The Mass and a dinner afterward took place May 29. On July 1, Father Creagan — pastor of St. Joseph in West St. Paul — will take on the role of pastor of the Churches of St. Michael and St. Mary in Stillwater from Bishop Izen, who was ordained as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis April 11. In addition to his ministry as bishop and a vicar general for the archdiocese, Bishop Izen will be pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in Lake St. Croix Beach. For a complete list of the most recent clergy assignments, see page 7.

Retired teacher and historical reenactor Arn Kind recently visited St. Hubert Catholic School in Chanhassen to educate the school’s fifth graders on the Revolutionary War. Through participation activities, students learned what it was like to be a soldier in the Continental Army, learned the basics of military training and procedures of the time, and viewed wooden replicas of Revolutionary War muskets.

Nearly 1,700 people have been anointed by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Anointing Corps since the Corps’ inception on May 5, 2020, for people in the archdiocese suffering from COVID-19. The Corps and those who signed up to assist in their prayers also have prayed for patients’ families, priests and health care workers. An online prayer opportunity encourages one Our Father, one Hail Mary and One Glory Be for those involved with the care of people isolated with any type of contagious illness. There have been no known anointings since April, but in many parishes, ministering to those with COVID-19 or other contagious illnesses has become part of their routine, and training by the Corps to other priests open to this mission continues. Those wishing to receive the notifications can sign up online at eva uS/ac429c28. The prayer opportunity will remain open until responsibility for such ministry is fully transferred out of the Corps itself.

Members of Boy Scout Troop 524, which typically meets at Epiphany Catholic School in Coon Rapids, recently built bee houses as part of a pilot program with the Coon Rapids Sustainability Department. The scouts will monitor the bee houses, which are set up near local watersheds, and track the pollinators throughout the summer.

On the June 2 “Practicing Catholic” radio show, Joe Ruff, editor-inchief of The Catholic Spirit, interviewed Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who gave an update on formation of Synod Evangelization Teams and small groups at parishes. Also featured was Father Michael Van Sloun, director of clergy personnel for the archdiocese, who provided tips for supporting couples preparing for marriage; and Sam Backman, director of music at Holy Cross, and Chorbishop Sharbel Maroun of St. Maron, both in Northeast Minneapolis, who described an upcoming June 11 eucharistic procession. Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingcatholicShow com or anchor fm/Practicing-catholic-Show with links to streaming platforms.

ON THE COVER Fathers William Kratt, right, and John Rumpza, left, hug during their ordination Mass May 27 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Partially visible behind them are the other two ordinands: Fathers Kyle Etzel, left, and Ryan Glaser. See more on pages 12-17.

ONLY JESUS | ARCHBISHOP BERNARD HEBDA