The Catholic Spirit - June 6, 2019

June 6, 2019

Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

THE LISTENING CHURCH

A mural of the Holy Spirit painted in the apse of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Archdiocesan synod planned for 2021 Archbishop Hebda has wanted to hold a synod since he took the helm of the local Church in 2016.

What it is, why it matters and how it aims to engage every Catholic in the archdiocese.

Pages 1A–4A

Preparatory process begins this year On June 8, Catholics from around the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will gather at St. Peter in Mendota to pray with a particular intention in mind: to invite the Holy Spirit’s guidance throughout an archdiocesan synod process starting this year.

With the 7 p.m. Vigil Mass for Pentecost, our local Church will officially mark the beginning of the two-year process of prayer and consultation that will culminate in the archdiocesan synod — the first the archdiocese has held since 1939.

The process is designed for Catholics to have ample opportunities to share their views on the pastoral needs of the local Church, beginning this fall with prayer-infused listening sessions.

Scheduled for Pentecost weekend 2021, the synod assembly will gather delegates representing all facets of the local Church to help Archbishop Bernard Hebda discern and shape pastoral priorities for the following five to 10 years.

ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD

2A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Moving forward together

A

t this year’s Vigil of Pentecost, I will be formally announcing that our archdiocese will be embarking on a synod, our first since 1939.

A synod is a formal representative assembly designed to help a bishop in his shepherding of the local Church. It is my hope that the process outlined in these pages, involving every parish in our archdiocese, will help us over the next two years to draw on the gifts that have been bestowed in such abundance on the faithful of this archdiocese to discern and establish clear pastoral priorities in a way that will both promote greater unity and lead us to a more vigorous proclamation of Jesus’ good news.

When St. John Paul II promulgated the new Code of Canon Law in 1983, he recognized that the laws of the Church needed to take into consideration the “new way of thinking” that had emerged from the Second Vatican Council. In particular, he identified a need for new canonical structures to reflect the conciliar teaching that presented the Church as the “People of God” and as a “communion,” as well as the doctrine by which “all members of the People of God share, in a manner proper to each of them, in the threefold priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ.”

One of the structures that took on a new prominence in that purposeful revision of the Code was the diocesan synod, a traditional structure for consultation and governance in the Church. The notion of the Synod was broadened and reconfigured precisely to serve as a tool for the bishop to engage the People of God (laity, clergy, consecrated men and women, and bishops all walking together) in exercising the responsibility that flows from our common baptism, always in the hope of strengthening the communion that is the Church. Since the reboot of this ancient structure, diocesan synods have consistently served as important instruments in effecting conciliar renewal within the local Church.

In the time that I have served in this archdiocese, I have come to believe that our local Church is particularly ripe for a synod. After the listening sessions that were held in 2015 when I was still serving as the temporary administrator, I drew up suggestions for the next archbishop, never thinking it would be me. At the top of that list was the convoking of an archdiocesan synod. We are blessed here with a particularly well-educated and articulate laity with a strong tradition of service to the Church, who along with their clergy and consecrated brothers and sisters, want to be involved in shaping her future, seeing that appropriately as both their right and their responsibility.

After the pastoral pause necessitated by the bankruptcy and related issues, I have sensed that many of you seem to be ready to roll up your sleeves to address some of the pastoral needs that had been placed on the back burner. The enthusiasm surrounding the new Lay Advisory Board would seem to confirm that. Without losing sight of either the critical importance of our Catholic schools or the urgency of creating safe environments and engaging in outreach to those who have in any way been harmed by the Church, we now need to be deliberate in moving forward on other fronts.

It is in that context that I have been hearing Pope Francis’ repeated articulation of the need for us to be a “listening Church.” While stressing that “discernment is a gift of the Spirit to the Church, to which she responds with listening,” he has concretely modeled for us how a more intentional “listening” might work in discerning and establishing pastoral priorities. In the six years of his pontificate, he has held three synods, plus the recent global summit, and at each of them he has opened wide the process of consultation and encouraged even difficult discussion.

The Holy Father has emphasized that he is not talking about listening that is merely “pro forma,” but rather a sincere and respectful “mutual listening” in which everyone has something to learn. Moreover, it is not just listening to one another but to the Holy Spirit, the “Spirit of truth” (Jn 14:17), to know what the Spirit “is saying to the Churches” (Rev 2:7).

The pre-synod process that we will be using over the next year has been designed to help us as a local Church to listen to each other and to the Holy Spirit. It reflects not only the excellent organizational work of the executive team headed by Bishop Andrew Cozzens, Therese Coons and Father Joseph Bambenek, but also the insights from members of a prayer team who have been meeting for the past seven months and supporting this effort in their daily prayer. They have wisely made sure that the 31 regional or focused listening opportunities that will shape our future discussion and deliberations will all be grounded in prayer and in God’s word. As Pope Francis has noted: “Only in the silence of prayer can one learn the voice of God, perceive the traces of his language (and) have access to his truth.”

I am hoping, brothers and sisters, that you will be active participants in this process. Please keep your eye on your parish bulletin, The Catholic Spirit and a new Synod webpage, archspm.org/synod, to see how and when you can become involved. The synod will bear fruit only if you, God’s people, are willing to share what is on your heart and what is in your prayer. In the meantime, I would be particularly grateful for your prayers this Pentecost for me and for all those who will be involved in this critical undertaking. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. Enkindle in us the fire of your love.

— Archbishop Bernard Hebda

2019 JUNE 8 PENTECOST VIGIL MASS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Begins the pre-synod process

AUTUMN PRAYER AND LISTENING EVENTS Held at parishes and other sites across archdiocese

2020 WINTER PRAYER AND LISTENING EVENTS Held at parishes and other sites across archdiocese

MAY 31 PENTECOST Marks the beginning of second year of pre-synod process

SPRING/ SUMMER Archbishop Hebda announces topics that will shape synod

AUTUMN PARISH CONSULTATION PROCESS Small groups meet in parishes to pray and discuss synod topics

2021 JANUARY & FEBRUARY DEANERY CONSULTATION PROCESS Parish representatives meet at deanery (regional) level to pray and discuss synod topics

MAY 21-23 PENTECOST SYNOD ASSEMBLY Invited delegates from across the archdiocese meet to discern synod topics and vote on recommendations for the archbishop

NOV. 21 FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING Anticipated publication of pastoral letter from Archbishop Hebda addressing synod’s topics with pastoral plan to shape following 5-10 years

JUNE 6, 2019

Synod process aims to be collaborative, wide-reaching and led by Holy Spirit

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

I

n autumn 2015, Archbishop Bernard Hebda was apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, an interim role to help the local Church transition between archbishops. He held 10 listening sessions around the archdiocese to gather information for the next archbishop — only to have Pope Francis appoint him to the job the following March.

During those listening sessions, the archbishop was struck by people’s care for the Church, their willingness to share their experiences and ideas, and their hopes for the future, despite wounds inflicted by the clergy sex abuse scandal.

He had planned to recommend to the incoming archbishop that he hold a synod once he was appointed here — and the idea remained after Archbishop Hebda was given the role. Now, four years later, the time is right, he said, and planning is well underway, with Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens the chairman of a 19-member executive team commissioned with determining and executing the logistics of the pre-synod process and the synod itself.

The central goal of that process has been to craft an archdiocesanwide discernment process that allows the Holy Spirit to speak.

“A synod is a consultation process that the Church gives as a tool for a bishop to be able to discover what the faithful and others think about particular topics,” Bishop Cozzens explained.

Archbishop Hebda wants to use a synod to identify pastoral priorities that can direct the Church in the coming years, he added.

Therese Coons, the executive committee director, calls the synod a “spiritual strategic plan” for the archdiocese. Fellow committee member Debbie Keller, former president of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, thinks of it as a family meeting within the local Church, where the conversation is informed by members’ ideas and experiences, rather than assumptions.

The synod is expected to take place over Pentecost weekend in 2021 and involve around 500 invited delegates from across the archdiocese. The “pre-synod” process leading up to the synod begins with a June 8 Mass, but will get underway in earnest with a series of more than 20 prayer and listening events this autumn and winter. The three-hour events have been organized to take place in each part of the archdiocese and at various days and times to make them accessible to as many people as possible, Coons said.

The aim of the pre-synod prayer

MASS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 7 p.m. June 8 • St. Peter, Mendota 1405 Sibley Memorial Highway

All are invited to attend a Mass on the Vigil of Pentecost celebrating the beginning of the archdiocesan synod process. Mass will be led by local Catholic charismatic communities. A prayer meeting with praise and worship music will follow Mass. and listening events is for Archbishop Hebda, Bishop Cozzens and the synod’s consultative bodies to hear the needs expressed by Catholics and to discern with the Holy Spirit which topics should be addressed at the synod.

This approach is unique to the archdiocese’s synod and pre-synod process, Bishop Cozzens said.

“Many other dioceses have done very successful synods recently,” he said. In those other dioceses, he added, the bishops and their leadership determined the synods’ themes at the onset. “What’s unique to our process is that Archbishop Hebda has decided he doesn’t want to determine those priorities, but wants to spend time broadly listening to the people to determine those priorities,” he said.

Archbishop Hebda described the local pre-synod and synod process as following Pope Francis’ “listening Church” model. “It’s the confidence that comes from believing that the Holy Spirit works in the faithful, and it’s in sharing those things that are most important to us that we’re able to recognize the promptings of the Holy Spirit,” he said.

The executive committee decided to dedicate a year to the prayer and listening process. Once the priorities are identified, a second year will be dedicated to listening to Catholics speak to the particular concerns and ideas around those priorities through a parish consultation process — which will include small groups — and a deanery consultation process, leading up to the synod assembly itself.

Also unique to the local synod is the parish-centered approach, said Father Joseph Bambenek, assistant director of the synod and outgoing pastor of St. Pius X in White Bear Lake. “Recognizing the workload already carried by pastors and parish staff, the parish processes are being intentionally designed to minimize the burden placed upon pastors and parish staff.”

In addition to the executive team, other groups, such as the recently formed Lay Advisory Board and Priest Synod Advisory Group, are also assisting the pre-synod process.

Canon law values consultation, especially for a diocesan bishop, said Amy Tadlock, a canon lawyer, CONTINUED ON PAGE 3A

JUNE 6, 2019

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2A director of the archdiocese’s tribunal and a member of the synod’s executive committee. It mandates that the bishop consult advisory bodies, such as the diocese’s college of consultors or presbyteral council, before making certain decisions. The synod is a means for the diocesan bishop — in the case of the archdiocese, Archbishop Hebda — to expand his base of consultation, she said.

The local pre-synod consultation process outlined by the executive committee — including the fact that the synod’s topics are not predetermined by archdiocesan leadership — is very exciting, Tadlock said. “It speaks to the importance of the role of the laity,” she said. “This is actually a really exciting time for the lay faithful to be involved and to exercise this right that they have.”

The synod’s leaders are hoping to hear not only from Catholics who are active in their parish and regularly attend Mass, but also from those who have irregular Church participation, have left regular practice of the faith or otherwise feel disconnected from the Church.

Catholics throughout the archdiocese should care about the synod and participate in the pre-synod process “because it’s their Church — they are the Church,” Bishop Cozzens said.

He said it “does take an act of faith to believe God works through his Church,” but there are markers in the discernment process that give confidence the Holy Spirit is guiding it. It will always speak in concert with what it has already said through the Church, he said. It will also show itself through its nine fruits, listed in Paul’s letter to the Galatians: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

“We can surround the process in prayer and trust in the power of that prayer to bring us new insights and new light,” he said. To that end, Archbishop Hebda established a 26-member prayer team specifically for the synod that began meeting monthly seven months ago to reflect, pray before the Blessed Sacrament and share what they were hearing. And that’s also why the pre-synod process is officially opening with a Mass of the Holy Spirit on the Vigil of Pentecost, the Church’s commemoration of Christ sending the Holy Spirit to his Apostles, and why the synod will take place over Pentecost weekend in 2021.

Archbishop Hebda emphasized that the synod isn’t just an “organizational structure,” but rather a process that is rooted in the Catholic faith.

“The goal isn’t the synod,” he said. “The goal is renewal that takes place after the synod.”

Bishop Cozzens said he expects the pre-synod process and the synod to result in several “byproducts” that will strengthen the local Church, such as unity, healing, evangelism, re-engagement, catechesis and hope. He and other committee members said they’ve been inspired by the multi-year V Encuentro process recently undertaken in the U.S. by Latino Catholics. It involved local and regional meetings that informed a larger gathering.

Executive committee member Estela Villagrán Manancero held various leadership roles in V Encuentro.

She is excited for the local Church to engage in similar consultation and discernment, because she found it to be an experience of “the Church fully alive.”

“The listening sessions will bring hope for everyone, because at that moment they’re all dreaming about what the Church could be, this new way of being Church,” said Manancero, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Latino Ministry.

Fellow committee member Yen Fasano, a Catholic speaker who is also part of the prayer team, said she has confidence in the process because it’s been driven by prayer. “What is special about our bishops’ (vision) is that it’s not just this to-do list, and it’s not just an action course to take, but that it’s a very meaningful and purposeful process (meant) to be inclusive of our entire Catholic Church,” she said, “so that everyone has a voice and an opportunity to take ownership of their faith and where it is that the direction and the priorities of the archdiocese should be set to best serve our local Church in the upcoming years.”

Her perspective was echoed by Pat Millea, a member of the executive committee and prayer team who is the senior high youth director at St. Joseph in West St. Paul.

“It gives the bishops a chance to listen in a really focused and particular way, (and) it gives the faithful a chance to speak in a way that is genuine and in a way that they know they’re being heard, which I think is really valuable,” he said. “It gives the Holy Spirit a chance to work in both ways.”

ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD

825,000

The approximate number of Catholics in the archdiocese

187

The number of parishes in the archdiocese

20

The number of general prayer and listening events planned around the archdioceses in fall and winter 2019-2020. Eleven others will be held for focus groups such as clergy and college students

19,000

The anticipated number of Catholics who will participate in the parish consultation process in fall 2020, based on an estimated average of 100 people per parish

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3A

Synod executive committee members FATHER JOSEPH BAMBENEK is pastor of St. Pius X and chaplain of Frassati Catholic Academy, both in White Bear Lake. As of July 1, he will join the Archdiocesan Catholic Center staff as assistant director of the archdiocesan synod and will help the Parish Services Team with parish planning. He was ordained in 2010 after working in strategic planning with electric utility companies in Michigan.

THERESE COONS is an accountant and attorney who is a member of the board of trustees of The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul and a parishioner of St. Anne in Hamel. She is director of the archdiocesan synod. She and her husband, Mike, have three children.

YEN FASANO is a parishioner of St. Anne-St. Joseph Hien in Minneapolis. She serves on the executive board of the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation and on the board of directors for the Aim Higher Foundation. A Catholic speaker, she has dedicated two decades to teaching in schools and parishes. She and her husband, Frank, have three children.

JILL FINK is the director of faith formation for Epiphany in Coon Rapids. She and her husband, David, have three children.

2,000

The anticipated number of Catholics who will participate in the deanery consultation process, based on an estimated average of 10 people per parish

500

The anticipated number of Catholics who will participate as invited delegates to the synod assembly in 2021

Synods around the United States In the Archdiocese of Detroit, parishes and schools may no longer schedule Sunday sports games or practices, according to a policy Archbishop Allen Vigneron recently established to encourage Catholics to reclaim Sunday as a day of holiness, rest and family. The policy is a direct response to questions about living the sabbath that arose during that archdiocese’s synod, held over three days in November 2016.

The policy illustrates how tangible directives that come of out diocesan synods can be, said Amy Tadlock, a canon lawyer and member of the synod’s executive committee.

“That’s a concrete result of that process of consultation — listening to the people saying ‘this is something that’s important to us,’ and a bishop taking action and hearing that ... and putting something in place to support it,” she said.

In the past decade, several U.S. dioceses have held diocesan synods.

In addition to Detroit, others include Bridgeport, Connecticut; Burlington, Vermont; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; San Diego, California; and Washington, D.C.

DEBBIE KELLER is a longtime parishioner of St. Pius X in White Bear Lake. She recently completed a two-year term as president of the board of directors for the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. Debbie and her husband, John, have five grown children.

CHRIS KOSTELC is the director of faith formation at Holy Name of Jesus in Medina, where he and his wife, Liz, and their three children are also parishioners. Kostelc is also a speaker and retreat leader.

PAT MILLEA is a senior high youth director at St. Joseph in West St. Paul, which is also his family’s home parish. He also ministers as a speaker and musician.

Millea and his wife, Kenna, have six children.

SHERYL MORAN came into the Catholic Church in 1988 and is a member of Our Lady of Grace in Edina. She and her husband, Dan, have two adult children and the two of them have volunteered for various Catholic organizations in the archdiocese. Moran has recently been involved in evangelism initiatives at the parish and archdiocesan levels.

TERESA EDALI MENDEZ ORTEGA is a member of St. Gabriel the Archangel in Hopkins, where she is coordinator of Latino ministry and Spanish-language faith formation programs. She and her husband, Jose, have six children.

PATRICIO PENA is the director of Latino ministry at Assumption in Richfield and has worked for 19 years in Latino ministry in the archdiocese. He and his wife, Maria Enriqueta, have four children.

PATTI WATKINS is the director of faith formation at St. Ambrose in Woodbury, where she and her husband are also parishioners. She has served as a faith formation leader in the archdiocese and the Diocese of New Ulm for 29 years.

Patricio Pena Director del Ministerio Hispano en la Iglesia de la Asunción en Richfield, MN. Miembro del equipo Diocesano para el proceso del V Encuentro Nacional.

The synod executive committee also includes seven current members of the Archdiocesan Catholic Center staff: Crystal Crocker, director of the Office of Evangelization; Tom Halden, director of the Office of Communications; Estela Villagrán Manancero, director of the Office of Latino Ministry; Father Thomas Margevicius, director of the Office of Worship; Deacon Steve Maier, director of the Office for Parish Services; Jean Stolpestad, director of the Office of Marriage, Family and Life; and Amy Tadlock, director of the tribunal. Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens is the committee chairman.

ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD

4A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Synod 101

F

or Catholics familiar with the term, a “synod” evokes the idea of the Synod of Bishops, or a gathering of bishops at the Vatican to discuss a particular topic, sometimes over several weeks. Recent synods of this kind include the Synods of Bishops on the Family in 2014 and 2015, and the Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment in 2018.

At those synods, the participating bishops voted on recommendations for Pope Francis, who later issued documents known as post-synodal apostolic exhortations on the topics discussed. “Amoris laetitia,” or “The Joy of Love,” was released in 2016 as a response to the Synod of Bishops on the Family, and “Christus vivit,” or “Christ is alive,” was released in March 2019 as a response to the Synod of Bishops on Young People.

In 1965, with the Second Vatican Council’s call to revive structures that deepened the communion of bishops, Pope St. Paul VI established the structure for the World Synod of Bishops. There are three types: ordinary general synods, which address a theme chosen from bishops’ recommendations; extraordinary general synods, which address an urgent need in the Church; and special assemblies, which are limited to a certain region in the Church, such as the Synod of Bishops for the PanAmazon region, which is scheduled to meet in Rome in October.

Since 1967, popes have convened 15 ordinary general synods, three extraordinary general synods and 10 special assemblies, including one in 1999 on the Church in America.

So what’s a diocesan synod?

Simply put, a diocesan synod is a coming together of the local Church.

According to Canon 460, a diocesan synod is an “assembly ... of selected priests and other members of Christ’s faithful of a particular Church which, for the good of the whole diocesan community, assists the diocesan bishop.”

The 1983 Code of Canon Law also allows each diocese’s bishop to determine the timing and frequency of synods.

Diocesan synods have a long history in the Church for establishing local Church law and pastoral priorities, and they follow structures outlined in canon law. The 1983 Code of Canon Law — the most current promulgation of the Catholic Church’s law — was inspired by the Second Vatican Council to renew the concept of diocesan synods and dedicate eight canons (Canons 460-468) to outlining their norms. Unlike previous versions, the 1983 Code requires that lay people be involved in a diocesan synod, and it permits the involvement of non-Catholics.

A synod is not a process for changing Church teaching, or wielding or amassing influence or political power.

And while the synod itself will include voting, it’s also not a democratic exercise, Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens said.

“It’s meant to be a spiritual exercise,” he said. “It’s a process of discernment that is meant to help the shepherds be better shepherds.”

Is it like a Church council?

Synods — whether of bishops or on a

diocesan level — are a type of Church council. The best known Church councils are those known as “ecumenical councils” held periodically since the time of the Apostles. The Book of Acts records the first council, the Council of Jerusalem, which met around 50 A.D. to debate whether circumcision was necessary for nonJewish converts to Christianity.

There have since been 21 ecumenical councils, some focused on Church doctrine, others on pastoral issues. The better known among them are the First Council of Nicaea in 325, which established the date of Easter as well as the wording of the Nicene Creed, and the Council of Trent from 1545 to 1563, which launched the CounterReformation in Europe. The most recent councils were the First Vatican Council from 1869 to 1870, and the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965.

JUNE 6, 2019

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20

9 10 13 4 19 11 14 3 17 15

What’s the role of the laity?

Not only does canon law allow lay Catholics to participate in a synod, the archdiocese’s pre-synod process and synod itself are designed to leverage as much input as possible from Catholics in the pews, executive team members said. The prayer and listening events, parish consultation process and deanery consultation process aim to engage lay Catholics to share their perspectives and ideas, and lay Catholics will be among the official delegates at the synod.

Bishop Cozzens pointed to Canon 212, which states that laypeople have a responsibility to make their needs known to their pastors: “Conscious of their own responsibility, the Christian faithful are bound to follow with Christian obedience those things which the sacred pastors, inasmuch as they represent Christ, declare as teachers of the faith or establish as rulers of the Church.

“The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.

“According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.”

— Maria Wiering

Approximate event locations within the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

1 12

What form will it take locally?

Church documents recommend the synod takes place at the cathedral, and require that the archbishop presides over the gathering. Official synod delegates invited from all areas of the local Church attend. While the details are yet to be determined, delegates may hear presentations and engage in discussion on the synod’s topics, and then vote on recommendations to be made to the archbishop on those topics.

Following the synod, Archbishop Bernard Hebda and his consultative bodies are expected to reflect on those recommendations. Ultimately, he anticipates publishing a pastoral letter addressing the work of the synod. That letter may include a pastoral plan to guide the work of the archdiocese over the next five to 10 years.

5

16

8

18

7 6

Prayer and listening events Twenty prayer and listening events are scheduled around the archdiocese in fall 2019 and winter 2020. The three-hour events will include prayer, a presentation or reflection, and discussion. Archbishop Hebda or Bishop Cozzens plan to attend each event, along with members of the synod’s consultative teams. The prayer and listening events will inform the themes chosen for the synod assembly in 2021.

1 Tuesday, Sept. 24, 6–9 p.m.

St. Victoria 8228 Victoria Drive, St. Victoria

12 Tuesday, Jan. 28, 6–9 p.m.

Pax Christi 12100 Pioneer Trail, Eden Prairie

2 Saturday, Sept. 28, 9 a.m.–noon St. Michael 11300 Frankfort Parkway NE, St. Michael

13 Saturday, Feb. 1, 9 a.m.–noon St. Stephen 2211 Clinton Ave. S., Minneapolis Bilingual (English and Spanish)

3 Friday, Oct. 11, 6–9 p.m.

Guardian Angels 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale 4 Saturday, Oct. 12, 9 a.m.–noon Our Lady of Guadalupe 401 Concord St., St. Paul Bilingual (English and Spanish)

14 Tuesday, Feb. 11, 6–9 p.m.

Providence Academy 15100 Schmidt Lake Road, Plymouth 15 Saturday, Feb. 15, 9 a.m.–noon Lumen Christi 2055 Bohland Ave., St. Paul

5 Saturday, Oct. 26, 9 a.m.–noon St. Peter 1250 South Shore Drive, Forest Lake

16 Tuesday, Feb. 18, 6–9 p.m.

St. Stephen 525 Jackson St., Anoka

6 Tuesday, Oct. 29, 6–9 p.m.

Divine Mercy 139 Mercy Drive, Faribault

17 Thursday, Feb. 27, 6–9 p.m.

Our Lady of Grace 5071 Eden Ave., Edina

7 Thursday, Nov. 7, 6–9 p.m.

St. Wenceslaus 215 Main St. E., New Prague

18 Saturday, Feb. 29, 9 a.m.–noon St. Pius V 410 Colvill St. W., Cannon Falls

8 Friday, Nov. 15, 6–9 p.m.

All Saints 19795 Holyoke Ave., Lakeville

19 Saturday, March 7, 9 a.m.–noon Transfiguration 6133 15th St. N., Oakdale

9 Sunday, Nov. 17, 1–4 p.m.

St. Anne-St. Joseph Hien 2627 Queen Ave. N., Minneapolis Bilingual (English and Vietnamese)

20 Saturday, March 14, 9 a.m.–noon St. Alphonsus 7025 Halifax Ave. N., Brooklyn Center Bilingual (English and Spanish)

10 Sunday, Jan. 5, 1–4 p.m.

Holy Cross 1621 University Ave. NE, Minneapolis

Eleven other prayer and listening events will be held for particular focus groups: priests, retired priests, deacons, consecrated religious, archdiocesan staff, parish staff, Catholic school principals, youth, college students, the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, and seniors at various retirement and assisted living facilities.

11 Saturday, Jan. 25, 9 a.m.–noon St. Peter Claver 369 Oxford St. N., St. Paul

June 6, 2019 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

New priests Five men ordained by Archbishop Bernard Hebda May 25 share their faith journeys.

— Pages 1C-8C

Bells keep ringing Renovated towers signal resurgence of St. Paul parish community.

— Page 5B

Helping Venezuelans Archdiocese’s mission parish plans hospice to expand outreach in the struggling nation.

— Page 6B

Priest appointments Clergy across the archdiocese receive new assignments.

— Page 7B

Being ‘beloved’ Woman’s speaking ministry inspired by realization of God’s love.

— Page 8B

Knights’ new look Fourth-degree Knights of Columbus trade the honor guard’s longstanding capes and plumes for blazers and berets July 1.

— Page 9B

Controversy stirred McCarrick’s former secretary releases documents he says proves ministry sanctions in place but disregarded; Pope Francis responds.

— Page 10B

Legacy of love Father John Clay, until recently the archdiocese’s oldest serving pastor, celebrated at Mass marking retirement, ministry’s emphasis on God’s love.

— Page 16B

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Maria O’Brien of Holy Family in St. Louis Park approaches a reliquary containing the heart of St. John Vianney May 30 with guidance from Father Joseph Johnson, pastor of Holy Family, during an event at the church to honor the saint and venerate his incorrupt heart.

Heart of a saint Hundreds venerate St. John Vianney’s incorrupt heart, pray for renewal in the Church

By Sam Patet For The Catholic Spirit

W

hen St. John Vianney died in 1859, he was one of the most well-known priests in France.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims traveled annually to meet him, drawn by his sanctity and ability to read souls in the confessional.

Today, he’s still attracting droves of pilgrims, as recent events in the Twin Cities demonstrate. On May 30 and 31, hundreds of people from across the archdiocese came out to venerate the saint’s incorrupt heart, which was on view at Holy Family in St. Louis Park and then the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

Normally enshrined in Ars, France, the relic has been on a nationwide tour since

November under the care of the Knights of Columbus for the renewal of the Church and its priests.

Named the patron saint of parish priests in 1929 by Pope Pius XI, St. John Vianney has special ties to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that likely include his knowing several of the early missionary priests who served the fledgling St. Paul Diocese, such as Bishop Joseph Cretin and Msgr. Louis Caillet, first rector of The St. Paul Seminary.

“If I can’t go to France to see his incorrupt body, I’m blessed to see his incorrupt heart,” said Betty Rockwell, a parishioner of Holy Family who attended the public veneration there May 30.

“Having it (his heart) coming here for the purpose of renewing the priesthood … is just wonderful.”

Events at Holy Family included evening prayer, or vespers, at 7 p.m. and public veneration through the night.

The next day, Archbishop Bernard Hebda

celebrated Mass at the Cathedral while the relic was there for veneration.

On May 30, Holy Family pastor Father Joseph Johnson carried the reliquary containing the saint’s heart to the front of the church, then led vespers. Priests, seminarians, more than a dozen altar servers and members of the Knights of Columbus fourth-degree honor guard preceded Father Johnson in the procession.

In a reflection, Father Johnson told the congregation that many of St. John Vianney’s contemporaries thought he didn’t have the human qualities needed to be a priest. Yet he had a heart that trusted completely in God, which is what all Catholics — priests and laity — are called to cultivate, Father Johnson said.

“He comes to remind us that even when the challenges of the world around us — even when the challenges within the Church — seem overwhelming, trust PLEASE TURN TO ST. JOHN VIANNEY ON PAGE 5B

2B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 6, 2019

PAGETWO NEWS notes

$4,000

The amount of scholarship money St. Therese, a Catholic nonprofit senior living organization in New Hope, awarded to high school seniors who volunteer with senior citizens in their communities. St. Therese recognized Nehita Onwubuya, 17, of Blaine and Sophia Johnson, 17, of Andover for their service with $2,000 in scholarship money each.

Onwubuya attends Blaine High School and volunteers with memory care residents at the Landmark of Fridley, a senior living facility in Fridley. Johnson attends Andover High School and volunteers with residents at Arbor Oaks Senior Living, a senior living facility in Andover.

$1,545,836

The amount raised for Catholic schools at the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence Bash May 11. Funds from the event at the Hilton Minneapolis will assist improving education and enrollment at Catholic schools. CSCOE, an Edina-based nonprofit, supports marketing and initiatives for the 79 Catholic elementary schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

ART-A-WHIRL Renee Hickman, right, of Holy Name of Jesus in Medina shows her artwork to Theresa Sampson of northeast Minneapolis May 19 at St. Clement in northeast Minneapolis. The church participated in the local community’s annual Art-a-Whirl, an open studio tour which features art, music and food. Hickman runs a business called HandMaidArt, producing what she describes as foil paper art. “It’s paper that is highly reflective,” she said. “I call it paper stained glass.” She calls herself an “art evangelist” and helped start the Faithful Art Guild with her husband, Jon, and a local artist and Catholic convert, Eric Bjorlin.

13

The number of presidents in the history of The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.

Barbara McDonald, 61, a member of St. Olaf in Minneapolis, will assume the role at the Catholic college Aug. 5, the institution announced May 30. She has served as president of North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park since 2015.

2020

The year when the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Office of Evangelization will lead its first-ever grandparents’ pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The trip will run Jan. 7-16 and includes sites such as the Sea of Galilee and Mount of Olives. Father Joseph Bambenek, pastor of St. Pius X in White Bear Lake, will lead the pilgrimage.

For more information, visit archspm.org/grandparents-pilgrimage.

$40

The cost of attendance for the new Archdiocesan Women’s Retreat 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m.

Sept. 28. The retreat at Epiphany in Coon Rapids will include Mass with Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, adoration and reconciliation. Speakers include Bishop Cozzens, Dia Boyle, Nell O’Leary and Father Brian Park. For more information, visit archspm.org/womensretreat.

3

The anticipated number of inaugural “Stewies,” stewardship awards going to parishes in August for their efforts in prayer, participation and generosity. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Office of Stewardship, which sponsors the awards, is accepting nominations until June 15. For more information, visit archspm.org/stewies.

CNS

SHARED GOALS Pope Francis meets with Romanian Orthodox Patriarch Daniel at the patriarchal palace in Bucharest, Romania, May 31 during a three-day trip to Romania. The pope said both churches must “go out and engage” with their flocks who fall prey to the uprooting of “traditional values and weakening ethics and social life” that “leads to attitudes of rejection and hate.” “We need to help one another not to yield to the seductions of an individualistic ‘culture of hate’ that, perhaps no longer ideological as in the time of the atheist persecution, is nonetheless more persuasive and no less materialist,” he said.

in REMEMBRANCE

The deadline date in July for people to submit proposals for their own artwork to be part of the new Iverson Center for Faith at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

The 23,000-square-foot center will expand the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas to better serve the college’s campus ministry and liturgical needs. For more information, visit link.stthomas.edu/icfcalltoartists.

8 a.m.

The start time of Mass at the Catholic Grandparent Conference Aug. 24 at Epiphany in Coon Rapids. The conference, which runs until 3:30 p.m., includes speakers, music, adoration and reconciliation. Registration is now open. For more information, visit catholicgrandparenting.org.

Deacon Becker, 89, served at St. Michael in St. Michael A deacon who served two decades at St. Michael in St. Michael died May 24 at age 89.

Deacon Donald Becker was born in Rogers, served in the U.S. Army and worked as a dairy farmer. He was ordained a deacon in 1995 and his ministries included visiting the sick and celebrating baptisms.

He retired from active ministry in 2015.

Deacon Becker was preceded in death by his wife, Rose. Survivors include their five children.

His funeral Mass was May 31 at St. Michael Church; interment was at St. Michael Cemetery.

1

244-0 DEACON DONALD BECKER

The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 24 — No. 11 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief

The combined score by which the University of St. Thomas football team beat three conference schools in 2016, an example of why the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced May 22 its dismissal of the St. Paul Catholic school from the conference at the end of spring 2021. One of the founding members of the MIAC in 1920, St. Thomas has begun a multi-year transition to find a new conference. St. Thomas President Julie Sullivan said the MIAC Presidents’ Council had concerns about “athletic competitive parity” in regards to St. Thomas’ dominance of MIAC athletics.

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3B

FROMTHEMODERATOROFTHECURIA ONLY JESUS | FATHER CHARLES LACHOWITZER

For the beauty of the earth “N

ow if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods, let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these; for the original source of beauty fashioned them.

“Or if they were struck by their might and energy, let them realize from these things how much more powerful is the one who made them.

“For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen” (Wis 13:3-5).

It is the season of the great outdoors. Minnesota, the land of more than 10,000 lakes, is also blessed with resorts, parks, trails and river voyages. In addition to this natural beauty, forests and prairie produce an abundance of timber and food. It is one of the first steps of faith to go from the beauty and providence of nature to the existence of its Creator.

The breath of God is the big bang of the universe.

Out of nothing. Out of love. All matter and all life.

Word and Spirit. In all of creation are the goodness

Por la belleza de la tierra

“A

hora bien, si por gozo es su belleza pensaron en ellos dioses, déjalos saber cuán mucho más excelente es el Señor que estos; para la fuente original de belleza que los creó.

“O si fueron alcanzados por su poder y energía, que se den cuenta de estas cosas cuánto más poderoso es el que los hizo.

“Por la grandeza y la belleza de las cosas creadas su autor original, por analogía, se ve” (Sabiduría 13, 3-5).

Es la temporada de los grandes espacios al aire libre. Minnesota, la tierra de más de 10.000 lagos, también está bendecido con Resorts, parques, senderos y viajes por el río. Además de esta belleza natural, los bosques y la pradera producen una abundancia de

of God and the sacredness of all life.

In the beginning, in the Book of Genesis, we are given the gift of the world around us and told to master and subdue it. Subdue we do. Nevertheless, we are to master creation in the image and likeness of the Master’s hand.

It is our responsibility to defend and protect all human life, from conception to natural death — the jewel in the crown of the sacredness of all life. From this central truth flows our love and gratitude to God for all of God’s creation from which we receive our sustenance.

It is disturbing to hear of islands of plastic garbage floating in the oceans, rivers used as sewer pipes, lands transformed into toxic dumps and cities with unbreatheable air. Illegal fishing and poaching deplete food stocks and threaten natural treasures.

Human intervention is necessary to keep tigers, whales and condors, to name a few, from going extinct. It is a global problem.

The indifferent exploitation of our natural world is like slapping the hand of the gardener or biting the hand that feeds us. Our awareness grows for the need to preserve, conserve, prudently use and cause

madera y alimentos. Es uno de los primeros pasos de la fe para pasar de la belleza y la Providencia de la naturaleza a la existencia de su creador.

El aliento de Dios es el gran estallido del universo. De la nada. Por amor.

Toda la materia y toda la vida. Palabra y espíritu. En toda la creación están la bondad de Dios y el carácter sagrado de toda vida.

Al principio, en el libro del Génesis, se nos da el don del mundo que nos rodea y se nos dice que dominemos y lo sometamos. (c.f. Génesis 1:28ff) Someter hacemos. Sin embargo, debemos dominar la creación a imagen y semejanza de la mano del maestro.

Es nuestra responsabilidad defender y proteger toda la vida humana, desde la concepción hasta la muerte natural, la joya de la corona de la santidad de toda vida. De esta verdad central fluye nuestro amor y gratitud a Dios, por toda la creación de Dios, de la cual recibimos nuestro sustento.

Es inquietante escuchar de las islas de

to flourish these providentially provided natural resources. Clean air, water and land are not just basic human rights, they are basic human responsibilities.

There are a myriad of things within our personal lives to show our respect for God’s creation. In our basic prayer before meals, our gratitude to God can include all the food and labor that came before the kitchen. To be aware is to care.

Science, economics and governments are divided on cause and effect. As Catholics, we do not need to stand at the poles of polls. Our stewardship of the environment comes from our belief in the Creator, in the word of life in Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of truth. We believe and are called to proclaim through our practices the sacredness of all life.

We behold what is beautiful in the eyes of God and our hearts are filled with all good gifts. Our efforts to love and care for all God’s people and the world around us are our gifts of gratitude back to God. “For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen.”

basura plástica flotando en los océanos, ríos utilizados como tuberías de alcantarillado, tierras transformadas en vertederos tóxicos y ciudades con aire inrespirable. La pesca ilegal y la caza furtiva agotan las existencias de alimentos y amenazan los tesoros naturales. La intervención humana es necesaria para mantener a los tigres, las ballenas y los cóndores, por nombrar algunos, de extinguirse. Es un problema global.

La explotación indiferente de nuestro mundo natural es como abofetear la mano del jardinero o morder la mano que nos alimenta Nuestra conciencia crece por la necesidad de preservar, conservar, utilizar prudentemente y ayudar a florecer los recursos naturales proporcionados por Dios. El aire limpio, el agua y la tierra no son sólo derechos humanos básicos, son responsabilidades humanas básicas.

Hay una infinidad de cosas dentro de nuestra vida personal para mostrar nuestro respeto por la creación de Dios.

En nuestra oración básica antes de las comidas, nuestra gratitud a Dios puede incluir toda la comida y el trabajo que vinieron antes de la cocina. Ser consciente es cuidar.

Como católicos, no necesitamos estar en los polos de las encuestas. La ciencia, la economía y los gobiernos se dividen en causa y efecto. Nuestra Mayordomía del medio ambiente proviene de nuestra creencia en el creador, en la palabra de vida en Jesucristo y en el espíritu de verdad. Creemos y estamos llamados a proclamar a través de nuestras prácticas la sacralidad de toda vida.

Contemplamos lo que es bello a los ojos de Dios y nuestros corazones están llenos de todos los buenos dones.

Nuestros esfuerzos por amar y cuidar a todo el pueblo de Dios y al mundo que nos rodea son nuestros dones de gratitud hacia Dios.

“Por la grandeza y la belleza de las cosas creadas su autor original, por analogía, se ve.”

MCC director denounces lawsuit challenging abortion measures

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit A lawsuit challenging health and safety measures related to abortion in Minnesota is an attack on bipartisan legislation that protects and respects life, the executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference said.

“It’s an unfortunate, saddening attack on solid, bipartisan legislation that protects women and children, ensures that people make the decision with informed consent and makes sure that human remains aren’t put in the trash,” Jason Adkins said of the lawsuit, filed May 29 in Ramsey County District Court.

The lawsuit targets a number of Minnesota’s requirements for obtaining an abortion, including its 24-hour reporting period; two-parent notification for patients under 18; prohibition of non-physicians performing abortions; and hospital settings for abortions performed after 16 weeks.

The lawsuit also seeks to end data collection on abortions and the requirement that fetal remains be

buried or cremated instead of being treated as medical waste.

The lawsuit was filed by St. Paul-based Gender Justice and New York-based Lawyering Project, which argue that the laws deny women access to constitutionallyprotected abortion services and impose undue burdens on health care providers.

Adkins said he views the lawsuit’s chance of success at less than 50 percent, but it’s still “much higher than anybody would like it to be.”

If the lawsuit reaches the state Supreme Court, the court’s seven justices — five of whom were appointed by then-Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat — might view any restrictions on abortion with skepticism, Adkins said. But, they also could be reluctant to politicize the court by striking down the abortion measures, he said.

“If the court struck down these regulations, it would politicize the Minnesota Supreme Court in a way that our court and our state has thankfully avoided,” he said.

“I think that’s going to weigh heavily on the justices.”

The lawsuit in Minnesota has been filed amid action in a number states to prepare for any rulings the

U.S. Supreme Court might make in regard to Roe v.

Wade, the 1973 case that legalized abortion across the country, Adkins said. One example is New York, which in January expanded the conditions under which abortions can be performed, Adkins said.

Minnesota’s Constitution already states that women have a right to an abortion, so bipartisan regulation of abortion such as the state laws being challenged in the latest lawsuit is where most of the action will be in Minnesota, Adkins said.

“Legislators don’t need to enact these sort of radical bills like they’ve seen in New York,” Adkins said of his thoughts about Minnesota’s situation, “and the bipartisan consensus around some of these regulations that have already been on the books for years would hold. But it seems that extremist, pro-abortion activists are going to try to challenge them in court.”

Priests’ new assignments — 7B

SLICEof LIFE

4B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

LOCAL

JUNE 6, 2019

Crowning achievement

SLICEof LIFE

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Kyllian Quinlan of Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in St. Paul and a sophomore at CretinDerham Hall High School in St. Paul puts a floral crown on a statue of Mary during a dedication ceremony May 17 for the parish’s Sister Cleo Rosary Garden. The garden is named in honor of Sister Cleo Schoenbauer, who served at Maternity of Mary School and parish for 32 years before her death in 2011. It includes a stone path in the shape of a rosary, with oval stones representing rosary beads. It was designed by parishioner Barbara Grundman, and its construction coincides with the 70th anniversary of the parish. “It’s pretty exciting to see it all come together,” Grundman said.

“I think parishioners, for a long time, have been looking for something like this. And, the minute we announced that we were going to do it this year, the passion and the enthusiasm for the project really came forth from everyone. We had people of all ages wanting to donate flowers or help dig, and help put the paving stones in. So, it’s been a really great community-building project.” The dedication ceremony also featured a blessing of rosaries by Father Timothy Cloutier, the parish’s pastor, and the praying of one decade of the rosary.

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5B

Late grandmother’s paintings dedicated for display at Our Lady of Lourdes

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit Mildred Griffith was a teenager in the early 1900s when she started painting religious art. Two of her pieces now reside at Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis, where her grandson, Father Daniel Griffith, is the pastor.

He dedicated the pieces — one of Mary and the other of Jesus wearing the crown of thorns — during Mass May 24 at Our Lady of Lourdes. Several family members were there, including his father, Bill, and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

Father Griffith is thrilled to pay tribute to his grandmother and put the two paintings on permanent display in Hofstede Hall. Mildred Griffith painted for a brief time during her teenage years in Milwaukee and in her early 20s before getting married.

For decades, the paintings were stored at the home of one of her daughters, Terry Griffith Bartzen. Terry’s son, John Bartzen, later stored the paintings after she died. He contacted Father Griffith a year ago about restoring them and putting them in the church.

“I thought this would be the perfect place for those (paintings),” Bartzen said.

Father Griffith agreed. He already had one of his grandmother’s paintings, which he received as a gift

Father Daniel Griffith, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis, says a prayer of dedication for paintings done by his late grandmother, Mildred Griffith, during Mass May 24 at Our Lady of Lourdes.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

when he was ordained a priest 17 years ago. It depicts Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

“I’m not an art aficionado, but I just saw how talented she was,” Father Griffith said. “So, when John had said that he had two of these (paintings), I thought, ‘Boy, they’d be perfect at Lourdes.’”

“I’m just very thankful (to have the paintings in the church),” Father Griffith added. “I didn’t know grandma all that well because I’m the youngest of 33 (grandchildren). ... (But) obviously, she was a really talented artist if she was doing that level of work when she was a teenager.”

Restored bells ring in new era for St. Bernard

ST. JOHN VIANNEY

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit

the Lord and do not fear,” Father Johnson said.

He encouraged everyone to ask St. John Vianney to intercede for the priests who had impacted their lives, as well as for men considering a priestly vocation.

Both of those intentions were on Deanna Lelemsis’ heart as she prayed before the relic. A parishioner of St. Bonaventure in Bloomington, Lelemsis attended vespers with five of her eight children.

“I tried to recall and pray for not only the priests who gave me the sacraments, but [for those] who have been there to baptize my children, give them their first Communion and hear their confessions,” she said.

She also prayed for her four sons, “that they’d be able to follow their vocation, especially if they … might be called to the priesthood.”

Venerating St. John Vianney’s heart was especially meaningful for seminarian Joe Wappes, a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony who’s entering his fourth year at St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul. He and the other seminarians who assisted at vespers prayed privately with the relic before the event began.

“It’s great to see all these people praying for our priests,” Wappes said. “As Father was preaching and during the prayer, I was really moved with … how amazing John Vianney’s love for the people was.”

His love for God’s people, though, isn’t bound by time. Father Johnson noted that the saint desires to bring hope and healing to the Church in America today.

“He comes to each one of us wanting to speak heart to heart, to remind us that the answer to problems is not a program, but a saint,” Father Johnson said. “God’s answer to the problems of the world — the crisis within the Church — is that each one of us becomes a saint.”

Bells chiming in St. Bernard’s renovated bell towers since Easter Sunday signal more than sacred times in St. Paul’s North End neighborhood.

Completion of a nearly $1 million project to repair the iconic twin bell towers signifies a resurgence of a parish community once on the brink of closing. Arrival of Latino and Karenni immigrants has helped fuel forward momentum over the past five years that includes contributions from those parishioners and others for the bell work.

St. Bernard’s pastor, Father Ivan Sant, said the Latino community chipped in with food sales and the Karenni community “contributed very much“ to the campaign. All told, the parish raised $872,098 for the project, including a $15,000 neighborhood improvement grant through the city of St. Paul.

The bell towers date to 1906, when the current church — which is on the National Register of Historic Places — was being built. The three bells, now with new clappers as part of the renovation, have names: Virgin Mary, Help of Christians is in the north tower, and St. Bernard and St. Joseph are in the south tower.

More than 160 St. Bernard members and friends celebrated the completion of the bell towers at the 4 p.m. Mass June 1.

The celebration continued at a reception after Mass at the parish.

“It’s a sign of hope, a beacon of hope, here in the North End,” Father Sant said about the bells. “It makes a whole different atmosphere in our neighborhood. The ringing of the bells is also our voices ... announcing the Gospel to the generations.”

Founded in 1890, St. Bernard became a fixture in its neighborhood as a primarily German parish. It gradually shrank after World War II, when many parish families moved to the suburbs, according to parish archivist Charlie Deutsch. The parish’s K-8 school and high school closed in 2009

The bells at St. Bernard in St. Paul continue to ring thanks to a nearly $1 million project to repair the church’s iconic bell towers.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

and 2010, respectively. In 2010, former pastor Father Mike Anderson told The Catholic Spirit that the number of registered households in the parish had dipped below 400.

But around that time, a Karenni family, attracted by the bells of St. Bernard, started attending Mass there, Father Anderson said. That started an influx of Karenni immigrants to the parish.

Karennis came to the U.S. over the past 30 years from Myanmar, formerly Burma.

Locally, more Karennis joined St. Bernard over the past nine years, including many converts through the parish’s Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. The community grew large enough to bring in a Karenni priest, Father Joseph Kureh, in 2013 to minister to the community as an assistant to Father Sant.

The parish has also attracted members of St. Paul’s Karen community, which is also from Myanmar but culturally distinct from the Karenni community.

Julia Marksue, 31, a Karenni member of the parish since 2012, said Father Kureh works tirelessly, spending his weekends reaching out to parishioners.

“We’re growing every year,” Marksue said about the community.

Latino immigrants moving to the neighborhood also have alleviated St. Bernard’s struggles, many joining the parish in the past three years. In 2017, Father Sant said, he met a Latino family after Mass, and they requested a Spanish Mass.

The first Spanish Mass at St. Bernard that same year drew 75 people. Now, the regular 2 p.m. Sunday Spanish Mass draws more than 250 people, Father Sant said.

About 600 people attended weekend Masses in 2016. Today, the parish averages 930 people at Sunday Masses.

Participation in faith formation has doubled in the last four years, from 60 students in 2015 to 120 students this year, he said.

When Father Sant arrived in 2015, he noticed that the large bell in St. Bernard’s north bell tower didn’t ring. The parish tried to repair the bell in 2016 but found more damage in the north tower, with water damage on the top floor and rusted metal beams beneath the bell. Staff also found damage to bricks in both towers.

Parishioners found ways to raise the money to make repairs.

“They stepped up and they helped,” Father Sant said.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B

LOCAL

6B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 6, 2019

Hospice latest of Father Schaffer’s efforts for Venezuelan mission

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit Father Greg Schaffer sees people’s desperation and hunger on the streets of San Felix, Venezuela.

“What’s hard to see is your own parishioners — elderly (and) children — going to the trash in the streets to find something to eat,” said Father Schaffer, longtime pastor of Jesucristo Resucitado in San Felix, the mission parish of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Father Schaffer, who began serving the archdiocesan mission in 1997, sees the hunger hitting the elderly particularly hard. He said many are dying from malnutrition and limited access to healthcare. He can address part of their need in the near future with the purchase of a building for a hospice, which he plans to open next year. It has been funded by private donors and special collections at parishes.

“There’s a great many elderly adults that have been abandoned by their families,” said Father Schaffer, speaking to The Catholic Spirit May 17 during a trip to Minnesota.

He sees the elderly’s plight as a local symptom of an economic plague effecting the country more intensely in the past five months than in recent years.

Gladys Brito, Jesucristo Resucitado’s accountant who also spoke to The Catholic Spirit May 17, said most of the elderly in the parish suffer from malnutrition. She added that her sister sees it firsthand when she visits the “barrios,” or neighborhoods, in the parish.

Venezuela’s economy plummeted in the past five years under President Nicolas Maduro. Oil, the country’s primary industry, took a hit in 2014 with the global oil crisis. Maduro began printing money excessively, which increased inflation.

The economy worsened this year with a political battle between Maduro and Juan Guaido, who also claims the presidency. The U.S. set up sanctions against Maduro’s government designed to reduce Venezuela’s oil exports. Meanwhile, inflation continues to grow.

While economic challenges make it difficult to meet Venezuelans’ physical needs, many continue to find spiritual nourishment at Jesucristo Resucitado, which is packed at each weekend Mass. Father Schaffer said faith

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Father Greg Schaffer talks May 17 about the hardships faced by people in Venezuela. is one thing to which people can still cling.

“I just tell people over and over, we can’t use the crisis that we’re living in as an excuse to not live as Jesus taught,” Father Schaffer said.

Father Schaffer doesn’t see much hope for improvement under the current government and recognizes people are desperate for a change. He also doesn’t let the violence and crime in Venezuela dissuade him from continuing the mission.

Father Schaffer makes security a priority. He put up rebar on the rectory windows and roof 15 years ago. He has a dog that barks if there are people near the property.

“We kind of live in a cage, but that’s what everybody does,” he said.

Other security measures include keeping car windows closed, discretion with cell phones and not staying out late, he said. Other priests serving the mission have run into danger.

In 2016 , former parochial vicar Father James Peterson, now pastor of Immaculate Conception in Columbia Heights, was robbed at gunpoint. Father Dennis Dempsey, who served in Venezuela from 1994 to 1999, was robbed at gunpoint once, too.

Father Dempsey, the pastor of St. Dominic in Northfield, plans to return to serve the archdiocesan mission in July. That will give the mission a second priest for the first time since Father Peterson was

Emily & Elliot Benincasa Recently retired owners of Emily’s F&M Café Parishes: Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale and St. Bridget, Minneapolis

Co n

t i o a l n u s t a gr to The Catholic Spirit’s

winners

2019 Leading With Faith

Steve Blum Chief Financial Officer, Star Bank Parish: St. John the Baptist, New Brighton

Dr. Richard Endris Chiropractor/Doctor, Endris Chiropractic Parish: St. Joseph, West St. Paul Vicky Iacarella Creative Director, Target Corp.

Parishes: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Minneapolis and St. Olaf, Minneapolis

reassigned last year. Father Schaffer said Father Dempsey will focus on pastoral ministry, particularly serving the people in the barrios surrounding the parish. Father Schaffer invited Father Dempsey to Venezuela in January to see how the conditions have changed.

“He’s coming in knowing that,” Father Schaffer said about safety, which, he added, comes down to using common sense.

For Father Schaffer, that includes being careful about what he preaches and discusses. He doesn’t talk about politics in order to protect the parish.

In early May, members of the Venezuelan National Guard loyal to Maduro launched tear gas at churchgoers attending Mass at a Catholic church in San Cristobal, in the Diocese of San Cristobal.

The bishop of that diocese, Bishop Mario del Valle Moronta Rodriguez, protested the attack. Bishop Moronta is known for speaking out against the government, Father Schaffer said.

Despite Venezuela’s challenges, Father Schaffer remains hopeful that the archdiocesan mission will continue to engage Venezuelan Catholics as the mission concludes its first half-century of service next year.

He keeps the mission moving forward with efforts such as the hospice. The building, which cost $90,000, will house 10 elderly people. Care will include medication, meals and prayer. Projected expenses for renovating and operating the hospice are in flux because of inflation, Father Schaffer said.

The hospice will use the parish’s soup kitchen, which feeds 63 people daily Monday through Friday. Father Schaffer said the soup kitchen’s service can’t expand much further until he finds more regular, steady donors.

The archdiocese supports the mission through private donations, and the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation also provides annual support.

“There’s so many more needs that we have,” Father Schaffer said. “If we’re going to expand the number of people that we’re feeding, we have to do so in a way that we’re sure that we can feed them for the long haul, not just feed them for two weeks or a month and all of a sudden, we have to say, ‘Well, we can’t continue to help you.’”

Mark Novitzki President, Premier Banks Parish: St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony Michael G. Richie, MD Owner and Medical Director, Richie Eye Clinic and Crossroads Surgery Center Parish: Divine Mercy, Faribault Mary Shuman Charge Nurse, Hennepin Healthcare Parish: Epiphany, Coon Rapids John E. Trojack, JD Owner/Attorney, Trojack Law Office, P.A. Parish: St. Agnes, St. Paul

Join us as we honor the winners at the Leading With Faith Award luncheon Thursday, August 1, at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

For details, visit archspm.org/leadingfaithlunch • FREE on-campus parking Presenting Partner

Hospitality Partners Duffy Development Company, Inc.

LOCAL

JUNE 6, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7B

OFFICIAL Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:

Retirements Effective June 30, 2019 Reverend Balufu Cletus Basekela, granted the status of a retired priest. Father Basekela has served the Archdiocese as a priest since his arrival in 1999, most recently as parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Jerome in Maplewood. Father Basekela was ordained a priest in 1971 and incardinated into the Archdiocese in 2007.

Reverend Kevin Clinton, granted the status of a retired priest. Father Clinton has served the Archdiocese as a priest since his ordination in 1974, most recently as pastor of the Church of Saint Wenceslaus in New Prague.

Reverend Patrick Kennedy, granted the status of a retired priest. Father Kennedy has served the Archdiocese as a priest since his ordination in 1977.

Effective April 15, 2019 Reverend Peter Williams, appointed temporary parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Lake Saint Croix Beach, while the pastor, Reverend Mark Underdahl, is on a leave of absence. This is in addition to his current assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint Ambrose in Woodbury.

Effective May 3, 2019 Very Reverend Michael Tix, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Vermillion, the Church of Saint Mathias in Hampton, and the Church of Saint Mary in New Trier, while the pastor, Reverend Cole Kracke, is on a leave of absence.

This is in addition to Father Tix’s current assignment as Episcopal Vicar for Clergy and Parish Services for the Archdiocese.

Effective May 11, 2019 Reverend Timothy Wratkowski, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Joseph in West Saint Paul. This is a temporary assignment while the pastor, Reverend Michael Creagan, is on military deployment. Father Wratkowski has been serving as parochial vicar of the same parish.

Effective June 12, 2019 Reverend Paul Baker, appointed parochial vicar of the Church of the Epiphany in Coon Rapids. This is a transfer from his current assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park and as chaplain to Totino-Grace High School.

Reverend Joseph Connelly, appointed parochial vicar of the Church of Saint John Neumann in Eagan. Father Connelly was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 2019.

Father Gifford was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 2019.

Reverend Seraphim Wirth, fbp, appointed to ministerial service to the apostolate of the Franciscan Brothers of Peace and as chaplain for the Karen Community. Father Seraphim was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 2019.

Reverend Andrew Zipp, appointed parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park and as chaplain to Totino-Grace High School. Father Zipp was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 2019.

Effective July 1, 2019 Reverend James Adams, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Francis de Sales in Saint Paul. This is a transfer from his current assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Mary in Le Center, the Church of Saint Henry in Saint Henry, the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Marysburg, the Church of the Nativity in Cleveland, and the Church of Saint Anne in Le Sueur.

Reverend Jake Anderson, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of St. Lawrence in Minneapolis, as Director of the Newman Center and Chapel at the University of Minnesota, and as Chaplain to the University of Minnesota. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as Director of the St. John Paul II Newman Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

Reverend Neil Bakker, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Jordan.

Father Bakker has been serving as parochial administrator of the same parish.

Reverend Joseph Bambenek, appointed to the Archdiocesan Catholic Center as Assistant Director of the Archdiocesan Synod. This is a transfer from his current assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint Pius X in White Bear Lake and as chaplain to Frassati Catholic Academy.

Reverend Michael Barsness, appointed parochial vicar of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Savage. This is a transfer from his current assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings.

Reverend Dennis Dempsey, will provide ministry to the Parroquia Jesucristo Resucitado in Puerto Ordaz, Estado Bolivar, Venezuela.

Father Dempsey previously served as pastor of the Church of the Annunciation in Hazelwood and the Church of Saint Dominic in Northfield.

Reverend Bryce Evans, appointed parochial vicar of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis and as part-time chaplain to The Institute for Catholic School Leadership at The Saint Paul Seminary. This is a transfer from his current assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus in Wayzata.

Reverend Louis Floeder, appointed parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Stephen in Anoka.

Father Floeder was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 2019.

Reverend Edison Galarza, o.cc.ss, appointed half-time parochial vicar of the Church of the Risen Savior in Burnsville and half-time chaplain at Regions Hospital in Saint Paul. This is a transfer from his assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of the Guardian Angels in Chaska and the Church of Saint Nicholas in Carver.

Reverend Joseph Gifford, appointed parochial vicar of the Church of All Saints in Lakeville.

Reverend Nels Gjengdahl, appointed chaplain to Holy Family High School in Victoria and as

sacramental minister to the Parish of Saints Joachim and Anne in Shakopee. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as pastor of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in Bloomington.

Reverend Daniel Griffith, appointed Liaison for Restorative Justice and healing for the Archdiocese. This is in addition to his assignment as Pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis and as faculty at the University of Saint Thomas School of Law. Reverend Bryan Hajovsky, OFM Conv., granted faculties of the Archdiocese and appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Bonaventure in Bloomington. Father Hajovsky is a member of the Conventual Franciscan Friars.

He replaces Reverend Richard Kaley, OFM Conv., who will be in residence at the Saint Bonaventure Friary.

Reverend Robert Hart, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Dominic in Northfield, and the Church of the Annunciation in Hazelwood. Father Hart is a retired priest of the Archdiocese.

Reverend Spencer Howe, appointed pastor of the Church of the Holy Cross in Minneapolis.

Father Howe has been serving as parochial administrator of the same parish.

Reverend Peter Hughes, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Boniface in Saint Bonifacius, and the Church of Saint Mary of Czestochowa in Delano. Father Hughes was previously in residence at the Church of Our Lady of the Lake in Mound.

Reverend Andrew Jaspers, appointed as sacramental minister of the Church of Saint Stephen in Minneapolis. This is in addition to his current appointment as spiritual director of the Saint John Vianney Seminary.

Reverend Kevin Kenney, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Olaf in Minneapolis and parochial administrator of the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Minneapolis. This is a transfer from his current assignment as pastor of the Church of the Divine Mercy in Faribault and the Church of Saint Michael in Kenyon. Father Kenney succeeds Father Patrick Kennedy at Saint Olaf and Father Daniel Griffith at Saints Cyril and Methodius.

Reverend John Klockeman, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Gerard Majella in Brooklyn Park. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as Assistant Director of Spiritual Formation at the Saint Paul Seminary and as Director of the Archbishop Flynn Catechetical Institute.

Reverend Abraham Kochupurackal, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Bernard in Cologne and the Church of the Ascension in Norwood Young America. This is a transfer of his previous assignment as spiritual director of the Saint John Vianney Seminary.

Reverend Kyle Kowalczyk, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Maximilian Kolbe in Delano. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of the Epiphany in Coon Rapids.

Reverend Allen Kuss, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Patrick in Edina. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as Director of Pastoral Formation and as Director of the Teaching Parish Program at the Saint Paul Seminary.

Reverend Nathan LaLiberte, appointed pastor of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in Bloomington and as canonical administrator of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Catholic School in Bloomington. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint Maximilian Kolbe in Delano.

Reverend Toulee Peter Ly, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint John Neumann in Eagan.

Reverend Kevin Magner, appointed as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in New Brighton. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Medina, the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle in Corcoran, and the Church of Saint Anne in Hamel, as well as chaplain to Ave Maria Academy in Maple Grove.

Reverend Thomas McKenzie, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Pius X in White Bear Lake and as chaplain to Frassati Catholic Academy. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as pastor of the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood.

Reverend William Murtaugh, appointed pastor of the Church of Christ the King in Minneapolis.

This is a transfer from his previous assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of Pax Christi in Eden Prairie. Father Murtaugh succeeds Reverend Herbert Hayek, OP, who has been reassigned by his religious superior.

Reverend Marc Paveglio, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Rose of Lima in Roseville and the Church of Corpus Christi in Roseville. Father Paveglio has been serving as parochial administrator of the same parishes.

Reverend James Peterson, appointed pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Columbia Heights. Father Peterson has been serving as parochial administrator of the same parish.

Reverend Cory Rohlfing, appointed pastor of the Church of the Divine Mercy in Faribault and the Church of Saint Michael in Kenyon. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi and as Minister to Clergy for the Archdiocese.

Reverend Timothy Sandquist, appointed parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Mary in Le Center, the Church of Saint Henry in Saint Henry, the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Marysburg, and the Church of the Nativity in Cleveland. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Savage.

PLEASE TURN TO OFFICIAL ON PAGE 14B

8B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

LOCAL

JUNE 6, 2019

Speaker: When God heals wounded hearts, they become more beautiful

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit Yen Fasano knew her identity as a wife, mother, Catholic and VietnameseAmerican, but something was missing.

Then, four years ago, God revealed to the mother of three her spiritual identity as his beloved, and he offered healing for childhood wounds so she could receive his love, she said.

“I’ve learned that God is love and he’s personal and merciful, and he graces me and blesses me even though I don’t deserve it, simply because I am his,” Fasano, 36, said at a March 30 women’s retreat at Immaculate Conception in Columbia Heights titled “Heart of the Beloved,” where she was the keynote speaker.

“It’s not who I am and what I do but whose I am that makes all the difference,” she said.

Drawing from her experience of losing her relationship with her father as a girl, Fasano shared about finding her true identity in God, who sees the beauty in people’s hearts, and loves and heals his children.

Fasano grew up in Eagan attending the Vietnamese parish St. AnneSt. Joseph Hien in Minneapolis, where she and her family remain parishioners.

She has a master’s degree in educational leadership, and at the parish she provides faith formation for post-confirmation-aged youths, leads retreats, mentors young adults and formerly served as the parish’s director of evangelization.

She has given talks and led retreats around the archdiocese, including at parish and young adult leadership retreats, and at gatherings of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women and other organizations.

During her two retreat talks at Immaculate Conception and an interview afterward, Fasano described the YEN FASANO wound she suffered in the fifth grade when her parents divorced.

As she grew up, Fasano strived to succeed in school and in her career so she could earn her dad’s love. She practiced her Catholic faith but found herself unable to absorb God’s blessings.

“I didn’t know why that joy didn’t take residency in my heart,” she said during the interview.

Fasano struggled with feelings of unworthiness and inadequacy.

“Looking back on my life in those places of suffering, graces were always there. I just didn’t see it,” she said.

Since her conversion experience four years ago, she has learned that as God’s beloved daughter, her heart is beautiful, unique and vulnerable, though imperfect and often wounded.

In humanity’s brokenness, Christ walks alongside all men and women, leading them to his Father, she said. He

wants his children to share their tears, tragedies and doubts.

“If I hadn’t gone through the suffering that I did, I may never have realized the Father’s love or who I truly am, because I would have identified myself as something far inferior to being God’s beloved daughter,” she said.

God’s healing of human hearts can be compared to Kintsugi, developed as an art form possibly in the 15th century, in which broken items are repaired and the cracks embellished, often with gold, Fasano said. In Japanese culture, the repaired pieces are considered more beautiful than they were before breaking.

Cracks, like wounds, symbolize the events in the object’s life, rather than its destruction, Fasano said. “Sometimes those experiences plant in us seeds of shame, and for me it was just unworthiness, abandonment, betrayal and failure,” she said.

Instead of gold, healing grace and mercy fills the faithful’s broken hearts, she said.

“When I learn to follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit in that broken heartedness, I slowly see the transformation. We offered our shattered hearts to God and we welcome him to reveal those hidden places of darkness in order that he may also change us,” she said.

Every time hearts break a little, they become more alive, and it reveals their sensibility, tenacity, challenges and

strengths, Fasano said, adding that also shows humans’ capacity to love. Hiding scars hurts more because they’re part of who people are.

Fasano’s faith has helped her overcome her wounds, said her aunt, Chau Nguyen, who attends St. John Neumann in Eagan and St. AnneSt. Joseph Hien. Carrying her own cross has helped Fasano understand others in their suffering, she said.

“I think God is really working on her,” Nguyen said. “She wouldn’t be the person she is today. God is working and the only thing you can do is trust him.”

Fasano serves on the boards of the Aim Higher Foundation, which provides scholarships at archdiocesan Catholic schools, and the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation. She also helps administer scholarships for racial minorities as part of the Minnesotabased Page Education Foundation. She is a member of the archdiocesan synod executive committee.

Through grace, Fasano said she has strived not only to forgive her father but to do it out of love for God. Each time she turns toward truth and generosity in vulnerability, Fasano said, she steps away from fears, lies and doubts.

“You can choose to trust that when [God] calls you ‘beloved’ he wants you to be loved,” she said. “You don’t have to prove it. You only have to truly allow yourself in all your sinful glory to be loved for who you are.”

JUNE 6, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9B

NATION+WORLD Archbishop ‘deeply disappointed’

by Senate passing confession bill

Come July 1, Knights of Columbus start new look after 79 years

By Pablo Kay Catholic News Service

By Mickey Conlon Catholic News Service

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said he was “deeply disappointed” by the California Senate’s passage of a bill that would force priests to disclose information about child sexual abuse that they hear in the sacrament of confession of a fellow priest or co-worker.

After legislators voted 30-2 in favor of the measure May 23, the archbishop urged the state’s Catholics “to continue to pray and make your voices heard on this issue, which is so vital to our faith and religious freedom.”

The bill is expected to have a vote in the lower house, the California State Assembly, in September.

“I continue to believe we can strengthen mandated reporting laws to protect children’s safety while at the same time preserving the sanctity of penitential communications,” he said.

“My brother bishops and I will continue to work with our lawmakers in the Assembly.”

As the bill, S.B. 360, made its way through the Senate, the California bishops urged lawmakers to strengthen and clarify mandated reporting requirements while maintaining the traditional protections for “penitential communications.”

Before the measure went to the Senate floor, lawmakers “accepted several of the Church’s recommendations to strengthen mandated reporting requirements for clergy,” as Archbishop Gomez noted in a May 20 statement.

The bill as passed by the Senate now protects the seal of the confessional — except in cases where a priest is hearing another priest’s confession or in

cases where a priest is hearing the confession of a co-worker.

However, despite the changes, the bill remained “an unacceptable violation of our religious freedoms that will do nothing to protect children,” the archbishop said in his May 20 statement.

Current California law requires clergy to report suspected abuse or neglect unless the information about the abuse was obtained during confession.

S.B. 360, authored by a Bay-area Democrat, Sen. Jerry Hill, seeks to eliminate this so-called “exemption” for “penitential communication.”

On May 16, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 4-2 to send an amended version of S.B. 360 to the full Senate for a vote.

In his statement, Archbishop Gomez said that as amended, “S.B. 360 still denies the sanctity of confession to every priest in the state and to thousands of Catholics who work with priests in parishes and other Church agencies and ministries.”

In the run-up to the Appropriations Committee hearing, Archbishop Gomez had urged a no vote on S.B. 360. More than 1,300 people contacted their senators through the website of the California Catholic Conference to urge lawmakers to keep the seal of confession sacred.

“I am grateful that senators heard the voice of the Catholic people — who understand that confession is a sacred space, an intimate dialogue between the believer and the living God,” Archbishop Gomez said. “We know that no government, for whatever reason, should violate the privacy and confidentiality of that sacred conversation.”

A long-standing tradition will end this summer as the Knights of Columbus discard the ceremonial capes and plumed chapeaus of its fourth-degree members.

July 1 will mark the end of a 79-year era when the Knights change the ceremonial Color Corps regalia long associated with the fraternal Catholic order. The Color Corps, which acts as an honor guard at religious and civic functions, is distinguishable by its official regalia of tuxedo, cape, chapeau, white gloves and sword.

The preferred dress for fourth-degree members worldwide will no longer include the cape and chapeau. The new uniform will be a jacket and beret. The ceremonial swords will continue to be part of the uniform.

It’s all part of the Knights’ efforts to attract new members, particularly younger men who have said they would not join the order if they had to wear the old regalia, said Dan Heffernan, state deputy for the organization in Ontario, Canada.

But that is a misconception, Heffernan said. Many believe all Knights must wear the regalia, but it’s only for fourth degree members, “and even then you don’t have to wear the regalia,” he said. “You could become a member, be a fourth degree and never buy a uniform. ...

You’re just not part of the color guard.”

The uniform of the fourth degree has undergone several changes since it was adopted in 1900. But it has remained relatively the same since 1940. The modernized version will be a blue blazer

CNS

A member of the Knights of Columbus in the Knights’ new uniform. with the fourth-degree emblem, dark gray slacks, a blue tie and a black beret.

In 2017, the international Knights’ board of directors unanimously voted to adopt a new uniform for the fourth degree. The new look debuted at the 135th Supreme Convention in St. Louis that year and Knights could begin purchasing the new uniform.

While there has been resistance, there has also been significant buy-in, Heffernan said. That is reflected in demand for the new regalia. Their supplier, Heffernan said, is having difficulty keeping up with orders and there is a long waiting period before a member can get the new uniform.

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NATION+WORLD

10B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 6, 2019

Former secretary: Officials knew McCarrick’s ministry was restricted

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Pope Benedict XVI had imposed restrictions on the public ministry of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in 2008, but they were not formal sanctions and were not followed strictly, even during the papacy of Pope Benedict himself, McCarrick’s former secretary said.

Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo, who was the former cardinal’s secretary for nine months in 1994-1995, but continued to assist him from Rome, released extracts from correspondence May 28, saying he wanted the truth out about what was known about McCarrick, when and by whom.

Besides knowing about the restrictions himself, the monsignor also said he had evidence that recently retired Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington knew about them, as did Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, then-prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, then-Vatican secretary of state; and Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who was nuncio to the United States at the time.

Msgr. Figueiredo said he decided to publish online excerpts of correspondence in his possession — available at thefigueiredoreport.com — after attempting “since September 2018 to share and discuss these with the Holy See and other Church leaders.” He did not publish the full texts of any of the correspondence or emails he quoted online.

The monsignor, who in October was suspended from driving in England for 18 months after pleading guilty to drunk driving and hitting a car driven by a pregnant woman, said in his online report that “the hierarchy’s abuse of authority and cover-up, in their various and serious manifestations, have inflicted consequences upon me,” including “seeking consolation in alcohol.”

Pope Francis removed McCarrick from the priesthood in February after he was found guilty of “solicitation in the sacrament of confession and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power.”

After an initial investigation in the Archdiocese of New York, the Vatican ordered McCarrick’s removal from ministry last June. A month later, Pope Francis accepted his resignation from the College of Cardinals.

In August, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former nuncio to the United States, published a document calling on Pope Francis to resign because, he claimed, Pope Francis had known there were sanctions on McCarrick and not only lifted them, but also allegedly made McCarrick a trusted confidant and adviser on bishops’ appointments in the United States.

Archbishop Vigano later clarified that Pope Benedict issued the sanctions “privately” either because McCarrick was already retired or because the pope

Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo, who was former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s secretary for nine months in 1994-95, in a March 11, 2017, photo.

CNS

thought “he was ready to obey.”

Msgr. Figueiredo quoted a letter he says he was asked to translate into Italian for McCarrick. In the letter to Cardinal Bertone, Vatican secretary of state under Pope Benedict, McCarrick acknowledged one case of “an unfortunate lack of judgment,” without explaining further.

McCarrick also has been accused of regularly inviting too many seminarians to his New Jersey shore beach house so that one of the young men would have to share a bed with him.

In the letter to Cardinal Bertone, McCarrick wrote, “I have always considered my priests and seminarians as part of my family, and just as I have shared a bed with my cousins and uncles and other relatives without thinking of it being wrong, I had done this on occasion when the Diocesan Summer House was overcrowded. In no case were there minors involved, but men in their twenties and thirties.”

In the same letter, Msgr. Figueiredo said, McCarrick told Cardinal Bertone, “I have never had sexual relations with anyone, man, woman or child, nor have I ever sought such acts.”

The letter to Cardinal Bertone, according to the monsignor, was written after Archbishop Sambi, the nuncio, had presented McCarrick with a letter from Cardinal Re of the Congregation for Bishops apparently ordering him not to “accept any public appearances or talks without the express permission of the apostolic nuncio or the Holy See itself.”

Msgr. Figueiredo said the letter from Cardinal Re should be in the files of the Congregation for Bishops.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, current prefect of the congregation, in a response to Archbishop Vigano’s allegations, said in October that McCarrick “was strongly exhorted not to travel and not to appear in public so as not to provoke further rumors” about his sexual misconduct.

However, Cardinal Ouellet said, “it is false to present these measures taken in his regard as ‘sanctions’ decreed by Pope Benedict XVI and annulled by Pope Francis. After reexamining the archives, I certify that there are no such documents signed by either pope.”

Cardinal Ouellet’s letter was published a day after the Vatican announced that the pope had ordered a “thorough study of the entire documentation present in the archives of the dicasteries and offices of the Holy See regarding the former Cardinal McCarrick in order to ascertain all the relevant facts, to place them in their historical context and to evaluate them objectively.”

As of May 28, the report had not been published.

Msgr. Figueiredo said the information on his website had been reviewed by “lawyers and journalists.”

He also said, “Additional documents and other sensitive correspondence from McCarrick that offer further background on these and other issues are in my possession. They will form the basis of further possible reports if this contributes to the good of the ongoing investigation and efforts to address the abuse crisis, love of holy mother Church, and ultimately the salvation of souls.”

Pope denies knowing of McCarrick’s ministry restrictions

By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service Nearly a year later, Pope Francis denied claims made by a former apostolic nuncio to the United States who accused him and other Church officials of failing to act on accusations of abuse of conscience and power by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

“I knew nothing, obviously, of McCarrick. Nothing, nothing. I said several times that I didn’t know, that I had no idea,” the pope said in an interview with Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki published by Vatican News May 28.

In an open letter published in August, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who served as nuncio to the United States from 2011 to 2016, claimed he told the

pope of the allegations in 2013.

However, the pope told Alazraki, “I don’t remember if (Vigano) spoke to me about this.”

“If it is true or not, (I have) no idea!

But you know that I didn’t know anything about McCarrick; otherwise, I would not have stayed quiet,” Pope Francis said.

The pope, who was in Dublin for the World Meeting of Families at the time of Archbiship Vigano’s accusations, had refused to comment directly on the allegations and told reporters to “read that statement attentively and make your own judgment.”

The pope told Alazraki that response was “an act of faith” in people reading the document. “Maybe when a bit of time has passed, I’ll talk about it,” he had said on his return flight to Rome.

CNS

Pope Francis waves outside St. Patrick in the City Church in Washington, Sept. 24, 2015, accompanied by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, then the apostolic nuncio to the United States.

At the time, he said, he had not read Archbishop Vigano’s entire letter and decided to “trust in the honesty of journalists” and asked them to make

their own conclusions.

Pope Francis said the reporting on inconsistencies in Archbishop Vigano’s testimony “was very good, it was better than me explaining to defend myself.

(Journalists) judged with the proof they had in their hands.”

Another reason for remaining silent, he said, was to try to imitate the approach Jesus took on Good Friday, where in the face of “a climate of viciousness he closed his mouth.”

“The Lord taught us that path and I follow it,” the pope said.

“In front of a climate of viciousness, you cannot answer,” Pope Francis said.

“And that letter was vicious as you later realized by the results, that it was — as some of you reported — paid for. I do not know (if that is true) but I look at the consequences.”

NATION+WORLD

JUNE 6, 2019

HEADLINES Vatican officials support continued care of man in vegetative state. The withdrawal of nutrition and hydration from a patient whose body can absorb them is a “serious violation” of the person’s dignity, said Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, and Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. The statement issued May 21 addressed the case of Vincent Lambert, 42, of France, who has been in a vegetative state but able to breathe on his own since a 2008 motorcycle accident. His wife and six of his siblings have supported a recommendation made by doctors in 2013 to stop providing nutrition and hydration through a gastric tube. Lambert’s parents and two other siblings have been fighting the decision in courts.

Pope chooses theme for World Meeting of Families 2021. Christian family life is a vocation and, when lived with fidelity, it is a path to holiness, said the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life. The office announced May 17 the theme Pope Francis has chosen for the next World Meeting of Families, which will be in Rome June 23-27, 2021: “Family love: A vocation and a path to holiness.” The dicastery asked that families and pastoral workers prepare for the meeting by reading Pope Francis’ 2016 exhortation on the family, “Amoris Laetitia,” and his 2018 exhortation on the universal call to holiness, “Gaudete et Exsultate.”

Supreme Court allows fetal burials, rejects abortion limits in Indiana. The U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on two different aspects of Indiana abortion laws May 28. It upheld a state law — reversing an appeals court ruling — that requires abortion providers to bury or cremate fetal remains. It refused to take up a challenge to state law that prevents women from obtaining abortions based on the gender, race or a potential diagnosis of Down syndrome of the fetus. In a 20-page opinion not joined by other justices, Justice Clarence Thomas said he agreed with the court for not taking up the issue of abortion limits at this time. But he said it would have to do so in the future, warning that the provision promotes a “compelling interest in preventing abortion from becoming a tool of modern-day eugenics.”

Irish archbishop wants ‘show funerals’ for gang members to end. In the midst of a bitter feud between two drug gangs that has left at least 20 people dead in the Irish capital, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has moved to ensure that funerals of those killed are not used as overt shows of wealth or perceived influence. Speaking at Mass in St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral June 3, Archbishop Martin said every Catholic has a right to a dignified burial, but he warned that those guilty of trafficking in evil “will no longer be allowed to exploit religious services.”

New Hampshire Catholic officials laud state’s death penalty ban. On May 30, New Hampshire lawmakers garnered enough votes to abolish the death penalty in the state, overriding a veto from Gov. Chris Sununu and becoming the 21st state to ban capital punishment. Bishop Peter Libasci of Manchester thanked lawmakers in a statement shortly after the vote, recognizing the grief of crime victims but the need to stand together as citizens supporting human dignity.

— Catholic News Service

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 11B

Virginia Bishop: Conquer bitterness with love Catholic News Service Bishop Barry Knestout of Richmond, Virginia, celebrated Masses at St. Gregory the Great and St. John the Apostle churches in Virginia Beach June 2, two days after 12 people were killed in the city’s Municipal Center.

One victim, Kate Nixon, was a member of St. Gregory the Great; another, Mary Lou Gayle, was a member of St. John the Apostle.

Authorities said an employee of the city’s Department of Public Works entered the building and began shooting people. In addition to those killed, six were injured.

“After tragedy and sudden loss, we often have many unanswered, and even unanswerable questions,” the bishop said in his homily. “This leads to anxiety and maybe even depression or despair.

How can one move forward with so much loss?”

CNS

Women attend a June 1 prayer vigil for the victims of a shooting that left 12 dead at the municipal government complex in Virginia Beach, Va. He noted that the ordination of five priests for the diocese the previous day and the feast of the Ascension that Sunday were to be occasions of joy and thanksgiving, but “there seems little for

us to celebrate.”

Drawing upon the readings for the Ascension, Bishop Knestout said that during their “time of uncertainty, confusion and loss,” the apostles kept their feet on the ground and “their eyes fixed on the prize of heaven.” That, he said, allowed them to persevere, despite bitterness, anger and despair.

“To me this is the best way to confront situations of tragic loss and evil violence,” he said. “Don’t let it conquer us in bitterness and anger, but conquer it with self-giving, sacrificial love.”

Also in the wake of the shooting, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Florida, called for American society to examine why such violent incidents continue to occur.

Society must look at ways to “root out the causes of such evil,” he said.

12B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 6, 2019

FOCUSONFAITH SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER MICHAEL JOHNSON

Holy Spirit fans flame of faith, drives out fear

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.

You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” Samwise Gamgee offers these words of wisdom to his friend, Frodo Baggins, as they embark on a journey into an unknown future as captured in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.”

The allegory of the “Lord of the Rings” meets reality in the lives of the Apostles. Ordinary men given the commission to do the impossible, to carry the impossible, to be the impossible.

This Sunday we encounter the Apostles as they begin their apostolic journeys. Yet, this

Sunday’s first reading begins with them locked away in a home. The word “apostle” means one who is sent, but they did not go. After the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, they did not proclaim the Gospel. They did not fulfill their mission, their purpose. They were not true to their name.

In one of the three Gospel options that we might hear this week, we are told why they could not go to begin their journeys, “When the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews” (Jn 20:19).

The Apostles’ fear prevented them from going where Christ had sent them, and so they locked themselves in a home.

Locked away with them was the Gospel message.

Though the Apostles were content to cower in fear, God was not because, “Then there

ASK FATHER MIKE | FATHER MICHAEL SCHMITZ

How should we think about the Age of Distraction?

Q. I have

all of these plans for my day, but then I just get so distracted that it seems like I don’t get anything done. Even more, I am always “somewhere else” when I should be with the people who matter the most to me.

Is that even possible?

A. This is such a great question. I maintain that we live in an “Age of Distraction.” If there is any common experience that unites almost all of us in the developed world, it is this battle against distraction.

Actually, I should be more precise. Not all of us are in a battle against distraction; many of us have capitulated and handed over the reins of our lives to the next distraction. It has become the “default setting” with which most of us proceed through life. How many of us can stand in line, sit in a waiting room, or simply be by ourselves without giving in to the constant pressure to be somewhere else by turning to our phone or device?

This is nothing new. Human

beings have almost always experienced this challenge. In the 17th century, mathematician and Catholic thinker Blaise Pascal wrote, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” He placed his finger on the inner impulse we all experience to distract ourselves.

Before going further, it could be helpful to spell out what I mean by “distraction.” A distraction is anything that takes a person away from what he or she ought to be doing. That is how I have defined this term in the past, and it provides some framework for moving forward.

This implies a few important things. First, it is predicated on the idea that a person will know what he or she ought to be doing. And this is the first obstacle for many of us. How many people have a clear sense of what they should be doing in any given moment?

This is going to be critical, because if people do not have a clear sense of what they ought to be doing in any given moment, what happens after a bunch of those moments are strung together? What happens after an entire season of a person’s life (or an entire life) goes by without the person

appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:3-4). The Holy Spirit came, swept them off their feet with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and sent them out the door. Three thousand people were baptized by the end of the day (Acts 2:41).

The Holy Spirit would quickly drive the Apostles throughout the Roman Empire and well beyond its borders. They went out and courageously proclaimed Christ and set the world on fire with their message.

Today, the rite of confirmation is not accompanied by tongues of flame descending upon our brow, but rather the hand of the bishop imparts the sacred chrism with the words, “Be sealed with the Holy Spirit.” The sealing of the Holy Spirit should unlock us for the mission placed before us. Yet all too often, we react like the Apostles before Pentecost. Too often, we lock the Gospel message behind closed doors. Too often, we refuse to allow ourselves

to be swept off our feet and out into the world. God is not content to allow this to happen.

having a clear sense of what he or she ought to be doing? The Age of Distraction reveals the first problem: Too many people walk through life without clear meaning and purpose.

Second, the definition of distraction implies that people have made the decision to do what they ought. They have, out of a variety of options, chosen which option is the most important.

Years ago, I came across the term “option-itis,” which might also be referred to as FOMO, the “fear of missing out.” This “condition” afflicts many of us.

In the face of numerous options, a person chooses not to choose any of them. Knowing that by walking through one door that other doors are closed, a person decides not to decide. What this means is that, ultimately, all doors are closed and one is left with whatever is left over. But he or she believes that he or she is sparing himself or herself the pain of choosing one thing and eliminating the other things. It is a fool’s bargain, because the individual surrenders the ability to have an active role in his or her own life. Yet it is tempting to leave one’s options open.

The result of this “not choosing” is the constant desire to be somewhere else. Even if people have a clear sense of what they ought to be doing, if they do not choose to be there and “do the thing,” they are choosing to live a pointless existence. The Age of Distraction reveals that too many people walk through life “off mission,” wishing that they were somewhere else, doing

something else.

This distraction clearly costs us. It costs us enjoyment of life.

It costs relationships. (Think about how often you have seen couples or groups of people “spending time” with each other as everyone is on their phones.)

It can cost us even more.

St. Alphonsus Liguori once wrote that there are two ways for a person to lose his or her soul: through mortal sin and through voluntary distraction.

The first is obvious to anyone who is a Catholic Christian; the second can come as an initial shock. But it makes sense once we reflect on it. If people live their lives intentionally distracting themselves from what it is that they ought to be doing, they will be throwing their lives away.

To be a saint is to will what God wills. But if I don’t know what God wills, how can I do it?

If I know what he wills for me but keep wanting to be somewhere else, doing something else, how could I ever become a saint? To be holy is to “will one thing.” To choose one thing (God’s will for this moment) and not to be deterred from that thing. This is what it is to be holy — to be a saint. But to remain in a constant state of distraction is the opposite; it is not only to throw away this life — it is throwing away eternal life.

I remember the first time that I felt the Holy Spirit move in me after my confirmation. It was four years after I had received the sacrament, when I had no other choice but to go with my sister to the Church of St. Paul in Ham Lake — the local charismatic parish. I resisted, I bargained, I said ‘no,’ but ultimately I had to go with her if I was going to get to Mass. That Sunday, Feb. 17, 2002, was the day I stepped out of my front door and was swept off my feet, and the wind of the Spirit drove me into the seminary and beyond.

This Pentecost, ask the Holy Spirit to fan into flame the gift you were given in baptism and confirmation. Ask the Holy Spirit to rock your world, this world, once again. Ask the Holy Spirit to aid you in your mission to proclaim the Gospel.

Father Johnson is the judicial vicar of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Father Schmitz is director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Reach him at fathermikeschmitz@gmail.com.

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, June 9 Pentecost Acts 2:1-11 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 Jn 20:19-23 Monday, June 10 Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church Gen 3:9-15, 20 Jn 19: 25-34 Tuesday, June 11 St. Barnabas, apostle Acts 11: 21b-26; 12:1-3 Mt 5:13-16 Wednesday, June 12 2 Cor 3:4-11 Mt 5:17-19 Thursday, June 13 St. Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church 2 Cor 3:15–4:1, 3-6 Mt 5:20-26 Friday, June 14 2 Cor 4:7-15 Mt 5:27-32 Saturday, June 15 2 Cor 5:14-21 Mt 5:33-37 Sunday, June 16 Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Prov 8:22-31 Rom 5:1-5 Jn 16:12-15 Monday, June 17 2 Cor 6:1-10 Mt 5:38-42 Tuesday, June 18 2 Cor 8:1-9 Mt 5:43-48 Wednesday, June 19 2 Cor 9:6-11 Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 Thursday, June 20 2 Cor 11:1-11 Mt 6:7-15 Friday, June 21 St. Aloysius Gonzaga, religious 2 Cor 11:18, 21-30 Mt 6:19-23 Saturday, June 22 2 Cor 12:1-10 Mt 6:24-34 Sunday, June 23 Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Gn 14:18-20 1 Cor 11:23-26 Lk 9:11b-17

JUNE 6, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13B

COMMENTARY

TWENTY SOMETHING | CHRISTINA CAPECCHI

How to accept criticism: a spiritual exercise

More than 19 million people tuned in to watch the final episode of “Game of Thrones” May 19, making it the most viewed show to ever air on HBO. Yet many were dissatisfied with what they saw, hurling gripe after grouse online. The finale didn’t fit the ethos of the show, they insisted. It was overly sentimental. It tarnished the show’s legacy. More than 1 million people signed an online petition to re-make the show’s final season.

Several “Game of Thrones” actors took umbrage, including Sophie Turner, who called the criticism “disrespectful” and defended the show’s writers and filmmakers.

Whether the many critiques are fair remains subject to debate, but one fact gives me pause: The petition was drafted before the show’s finale aired, meaning a million people lobbied for a re-made season before seeing how it would resolve.

We live in an unfortunate era for online criticism.

Critics fling insults they would never dare utter face to face. Defendants — typically privileged public figures — bristle with self-righteousness, dubbing their critics “haters,” earning praise for “clapping back” in their own defense.

I wonder if we’re growing too defensive. When we clap back so fiercely, do we take the time to consider the criticism? Are we cooling down enough to find the teaching moment in the hot exchange? Or are we digging our heels in and sticking our fingers in our ears?

A media executive once offered a handy guide on when to take criticism to heart. Ask yourself two questions about your critic, she said: Can you trust that this person is acting in good faith and not on some ulterior motive? Does this person have some knowledge of this particular situation that I do not?

SIMPLE HOLINESS | KATE SOUCHERAY

Summer Twentieth

Summer is finally here and we must remember to enjoy it! Last summer, our then-4-year-old granddaughter and her cousins planned a day of fun at our house, which they named “Summer Twentieth.” When we told the girls my husband and I would not be home on the day of their planned event, they assured us they didn’t need us to be present for them to enjoy the day. And so began the tradition of Summer Twentieth. The first annual celebration, complete with swimming, painting, workbooks of all kinds, lots of playing and dress-up, and a favorite lunch, produced dozens of great stories to last until the next Summer Twentieth celebration.

These little girl cousins, along with their millennial moms, planned a complete day of summer fun on the first day of the season, which has become legendary through the tales and giggles that have followed throughout the past year. Of course, this year will host the Second Annual Summer Twentieth, complete with similar activities, as well as those events the girls have created within the past year to help celebrate the coming of the new season.

As Catholic Christians, we celebrate the joy of the

“

We must learn to cast aside unfounded criticism while accepting difficult feedback from trusted sources: a sibling or spouse, a spiritual director, a confessor.

iSTOCK | BRUEV

If the answers are yes, then heed their words. If the answers are no, make like Taylor Swift and shake it off.

Lately I’ve been struggling to determine when to be gentle with myself and when to push myself to a higher standard. In my sleep-deprived days with an infant, it’s easy to justify the former. But there are moments I look at my choices and I know I can do better. More green smoothies, earlier bedtimes. Less binge TV, fewer donuts. I know it’s all connected: sleep, sugar, the limits of my patience, the frequency of my prayer.

I used to cling to St. Francis de Sales’ quote: “Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself.” It is so tender, so loving.

But I’d been missing his subsequent statement, meant to be taken as a whole, to moderate the first part: “Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them. Every day begin the task anew.”

This is a high bar: Address a shortcoming “instantly.”

St. Francis’ charge is two-fold, pointing us to a middle ground: to be both patient with yourself and to consider your imperfections.

Catholic spirituality equips us with the tools for an examination of conscience and asks us to do so bravely, honestly, daily. This may be harder to do than ever before, in this time when social media makes our personal lives feel public, and we sink in the quicksand of fearing others’ judgment while too readily casting judgments of our own.

It may be harder to do than ever before but also more important. We must learn to cast aside unfounded criticism while accepting difficult feedback from trusted sources: a sibling or spouse, a spiritual director, a confessor. And then, with courage and humility, we can “set about remedying” and find a path toward progress. Again and again, sunrise, sunset — we can begin anew.

Easter season, which concludes with Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire upon the Apostles as they huddled in fear. Like those ancient followers of Jesus, we have the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit more fully into our lives, through a renewed commitment to live our faith more passionately each day. As we ponder how we might do this, let us think about a few potential activities that might serve to draw us closer to one another through our own summer events and celebrations.

You may dedicate a day of your summer to serving others. As a family, you could gather with friends and drive to a nearby park, gloves and bags in hand, ready to clean up debris and trash you find scattered there.

As you offer your service in this way, you will provide an environment that encourages the responsibility of all park users to put their waste in the nearest trash receptacles, as well.

You may reach out to Feed My Starving Children and ask if they have a shift you could join on a day that is convenient for you. As you do so, you will find the meals you help prepare will be sent to parts of the world you may have never heard of, to people you will never meet, as you help relieve their hunger. In doing so, you will convey to someone on another continent your concern and care for their welfare. For as Matthew’s Gospel states, “Whatsoever you do to care for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for me.” At the conclusion of your shift, you may decide to go for dinner and talk about your experience and what it meant to you and your family to serve others

ACTION CHALLENGE

Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

Think about something fun you can do this weekend to celebrate the summer season. Commit your entire family to the activity and enjoy one another’s company. in need.

You may decide to go for a hike at a state park and enjoy the lovely, spacious environment and vistas it provides. As you do so, give honor and glory to God for the beauty in which you partake and commit yourself to bringing that same peace and tranquil experience back to your everyday life. In doing so, you will infuse your life with the encouragement you feel while breathing in the freshness of the outdoors and God’s creation.

Finally, you may decide to have a picnic and a day of fun with family and friends and create your own annual version of Summer Twentieth, immersing your life in the joy and happiness of the summer season.

Again, Matthew’s Gospel states: “Unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child — this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Soucheray is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a member of Guardian Angels in Oakdale. She holds a master’s degree in theology from The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.

14B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

COMMENTARY

JUNE 6, 2019

FAITH AT HOME | LAURA KELLY FANUCCI

In praise of dad jokes and divine humor

My husband is down in the kitchen, cooking eggs for our four boys. From upstairs, I hear him serve up a little extra on the side: a classic dad joke about “makin’ bacon.” As I smirk to myself, I can practically hear our sons roll their eyes.

But having been raised by a dad who puns with the best of them, my hunch is that they’re also secretly smiling. Dad jokes are goofy and lovable. A genre all their own.

The man I married didn’t used to crack corny jokes.

One of the charms that won me to him right away was his razor-sharp wit. At our wedding, the best man described watching the two of us at dinner, volleying quips back and forth “with that bizarre sense of humor they share.” We like our sarcasm dry.

But as he has grown into fatherhood, his cheesy dad jokes have grown alongside him. Now I find myself groaning with the kids as he delights in his newfound comedy. Where on earth is he getting this stuff? Does he swap jokes with fellow dads? Did the nurses at the hospital pass out some manual I missed?

Years ago, while meditating on the mystery of God, I was delighted by a surprising idea: God must have the best sense of humor. Not only in the cutesy way we describe our plans in relation to God’s providence — “God must have a great sense of humor; look at how this turned out!” Not just in the childish assigning of quirky parts of creation (like the platypus) to a chuckling Creator.

| K V OC YLO T iS OP IK

“

Years ago, while meditating on the mystery of God, I was delighted by a surprising idea: God must have the best sense of humor.

But as centuries of theologians and philosophers have claimed that God is by definition the perfection of any positive characteristic we can conjure — allmerciful, all-loving, all-knowing — then by extension, couldn’t we conceive that God’s sense of humor would be the greatest, beyond all imagining?

Think about the power and possibility of pure humor. Not snarky asides or cruel jokes at another’s expense, but the delight of sharing true laughter over a hilarious joke or a well-placed pun.

Most of us love to be in the company of someone with a great sense of humor: a clever observer of human behavior or a warm personality who draws people together with funny stories and fresh laughter.

What might have made Jesus laugh, fully human as he was, sharing in our delight? What parts of creation might have made God laugh out loud, chuckling with sheer pleasure?

The Psalms describe how “the one enthroned in heaven laughs” (Ps 2:4) ­— sometimes at human folly, but also because humor must be a divine attribute.

Just as our compassion, kindness and forgiveness can aspire to reflect God’s nature — as we ourselves are

“imago Dei,” made in the image and likeness of God — could our sense of humor hope to embody God’s loving laughter, too?

My husband’s goofy dad jokes are more than sheer silliness. At their heart, his puns are one of the many small ways he shows love to his children. To invite them into delight. To build a home where laughter is welcomed. To form them into men who bring wit and wisdom into a world that needs more of both. To model fatherhood that is caring and compassionate, slow to anger and quick to smile.

This Father’s Day, let us sing the praises of dad jokes. Let us give thanks for a God of love and laughter. And let us never forget the power of humor to make us more human, as we reflect the divine.

Fanucci, a parishioner of St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove, is a mother, writer and director of a project on vocations at the Collegeville Institute in Collegeville.

She is the author of several books, including “Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting,” and blogs at motheringspirit.com.

OFFICIAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7B Reverend Leo Schneider, appointed pastor of the Church of the Holy Name in Minneapolis. Father Schneider previously served as parochial administrator of the same parish.

Reverend Matthew Shireman, appointed as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings. Father Shireman previously served as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Stephen in Anoka.

Reverend Paul Shovelain, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in New Brighton. Father Shovelain previously served as parochial vicar of the same parish.

Reverend Michael Skluzacek, appointed to the formation faculty of The Saint Paul Seminary. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in New Brighton. Father Skluzacek will also serve as sacramental minister at the Church of Saint Wenceslaus in New Prague.

Reverend James Stiles, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Mary in Le Center, the Church of Saint Henry in Saint Henry, the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Marysburg, and the Church of the Nativity in Cleveland. Father Stiles previously served as parochial vicar of the same parishes. He will no longer be assigned to the Church of Saint Anne in Le Sueur.

Reverend Eugene Theisen, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Wenceslaus in New Prague. Father Theisen previously served as parochial vicar of the same parish.

Reverend Victor Valencia, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Jerome in Maplewood. This is a transfer from his current assignment as pastor of the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer in Montgomery and the Church of Saint Patrick in Shieldsville.

Reverend Jon Vander Ploeg, appointed Assistant Director of Spiritual Formation at The Saint Paul Seminary. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as pastor of the Church of St. Lawrence in Minneapolis, as Director of the Newman Center and Chapel at the University of Minnesota, and as Chaplain to the University of Minnesota.

Reverend Chad VanHoose, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi. This is a transfer from his current assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of All Saints in Lakeville.

Reverend Joseph-Quoc Thien Vuong, appointed parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Gerard Majella in Brooklyn Park and chaplain to the Vietnamese community at the same parish. This is a transfer from his current assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint Boniface in Saint Bonifacius and the Church of Saint Mary of Czestochowa in Delano.

Effective July 8, 2019 Reverend Colin Jones, appointed parochial vicar of the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus in Wayzata. Father Jones is returning to the Archdiocese after completing academic studies in Rome.

JUNE 6, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 15B

CALENDAR Music

FEATURED EVENTS Archdiocesan Marriage Day Celebration — June 15: 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. Married couples are invited to celebrate their vocation during Mass with Archbishop Bernard Hebda. Special recognition will be given to those celebrating silver and golden anniversaries in 2019. A reception will follow immediately in Hayden Hall (lower level of the Cathedral). All couples may request a special certificate commemorating the day. Submit requests

by June 10 via email to mfl@archspm.org, or by mail to Office of Marriage, Family and Life, Attn: Marriage Certificates, 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106. For more information, call 651-291-4488. archspm.org/ archdiocesan-marriage-day-celebration.

Widows’ Day of Reflection — June 15: 8 a.m.–1 p.m. at Our Lady of Grace, 5071 Eden Ave., Edina. Catholic author and speaker Jeff Cavins will lead reflection.

Cost is $20 and includes continental breakfast and lunch. For more information or questions, contact Jason Godin at 952929-3317 x9039, or jasongodin@olgparish.org. archspm.org/2019-widows-day-of-reflection.

Rural Life Sunday — June 23: 1:30 p.m. at the home of Dick and Mary Jo Hruby, 31695 171st Ave., New Prague. Mass will be celebrated by Father Charles Lachowitzer, vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, followed by lunch, music, hay wagon rides and children’s activities.

Visitors also will be able to see farm animals. archspm.org/rural-life-sunday.

Giving Insights Educational Forum — June 25: 6–8:30 p.m. at Cretin-Derham Hall, 550 S. Albert St., St. Paul. Experts will discuss the impact of Catholic education on families, parishes and the community. The free event is sponsored by the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota. ccf-mn.org/forums.

John Becker Concert and Singalong — June 7: 7 p.m. at Guardian Angels, 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale.

Collection for Hope for the Journey Home Family Shelter. guardian-angels.org.

Summer concert series: Songs for the Solstice — June 21: 7 p.m. at Guardian Angels, 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. guardian-angels.org.

Ongoing groups Calix Society — First and third Sundays: 9–10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. A group of men, women, family and friends supporting the spiritual needs of recovering Catholic alcoholics. Kathy at 651-330-3387. calixsociety.com.

Dementia support group — Second Tuesdays: 7–9 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. RSVP sarnold@benedictinecenter.org.

Grieving with Hope — Second and fourth Tuesdays: 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at St. Ambrose, 4125 Woodbury Drive, Woodbury. LeAnn at 651-768-3009. saintambroseofwoodbury.org.

Job transitions and networking group — Tuesdays: 7–8:30 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker, 7180 Hemlock Lane, Maple Grove. Bob at bob.sjtw@gmail.com. sjtw.net.

CARITAS cancer support group — Wednesdays: 10:30 a.m.–noon at St. Joseph’s Hospital, second floor, maternity classroom 2500, 45 W. 10th St., St. Paul.

Career transition group — Third Thursdays: 7:30–8:30 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus, 155 County Road 24, Wayzata. hnoj.org.

Healing Hope grief support — Second and fourth Thursdays: 6 p.m. at St. Timothy, 707 89th Ave. NE, Blaine. Facilitator Bob Bartlett, licensed therapist.

No fees or required registration. churchofsttimothy.com.

Parish events St. George rummage sale — June 5-6: 8 a.m.–7 p.m. June 5; 9 a.m.–1 p.m. June 6 at 133 N. Brown Road, Long Lake. 952-473-1247. stgeorgelonglake.org.

St. John Byzantine rummage sale — June 6-8: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. June 6 and 7; 9 a.m.–1 p.m. June 8 at 2201 Third St. NE, Minneapolis. stjohnsminneapolis.webs.com.

Men’s Club rummage sale — June 13–15: 8 a.m.–5 p.m. June 13 and 14; 8 a.m.–noon June 15 at Blessed Sacrament, 2119 Stillwater Ave., St. Paul.

Donations accepted through 2 p.m. June 11.

651-738-0677. blessedsacramentsp.org.

“Living, Dying and the Power of Presence” featuring filmmaker Kevin Dunn — June 18: 7 p.m. at St. Michael, 451 Fifth St. SW, Pine Island. Dunn shares testimonials from those most affected by “assisted dying” laws: the elderly and people with disabilities or mental illness. 507-356-4280 or stmichaeloffice@bevcomm.net.

St. John’s of Savage Super Sale — June 19-22: 5–8 p.m. June 19; 9 a.m.–8 p.m. June 20 and 21; 9 a.m.–1 p.m. June 22 at 12508 Lynn Ave., Savage. stjohns-savage.org.

Holy Name of Jesus Church rummage sale — June 20-22: 9 a.m.–8 p.m. June 20; 9 a.m.–6 p.m. June 21; 8 a.m.–noon June 22 at 155 County Road 24, Wayzata.

Benefits local pro-life groups and other organizations that aid women and children. hnoj.org.

Corpus Christi procession — June 23: 11 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist, 20087 Hub Drive, New Prague. Procession of the Blessed Sacrament following 10 a.m. Mass. npcatholic.org.

Prayer/worship Pentecost Jazz Mass — June 9: 9 a.m.–noon at Guardian Angels, 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. Ensemble Aventura at the 9 and 11 a.m. Masses. guardian-angels.org.

Taize prayer — Third Friday: 7–9 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. Simple chants based on Scriptures and periods of silence.

Refreshments following. benedictinecenter.org.

Retreats Silent retreat weekend — June 20-23 at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. 952-447-2182. franciscanretreats.net.

Directed retreat — June 21-28 at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. benedictinecenter.org.

CALENDAR submissions DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, 14 days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication. We cannot guarantee a submitted event will appear in the calendar. Priority is given to events occurring before the next issue date.

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief no­tices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and organizations. If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your submission. Included in our listings are local events submitted by public sources that could be of interest to the larger Catholic community.

ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication: uTime and date of event uFull street address of event uDescription of event uContact information in case of questions ONLINE: thecatholicspirit.com/calendarsubmissions MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106

Singles Sunday Spirits walking group for 50-plus Catholic singles — Sundays. Usually meets in St. Paul.

Kay at 651-426-3103 or Al at 651-439-1203.

Singles group — Second Saturdays: 6:15 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul, 9100 93rd Ave. N., Brooklyn Park.

Gather for a potluck supper, conversation and games.

763-425-0412.

Speakers Senior lunch and icon presentation — June 11: noon at St. Richard, 7540 Penn Ave. S., Richfield.

612-869-2426. strichards.com.

Our Evolving Spirits — June 11: 7–8 p.m. at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 700 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul. CCCR and Council of the Baptized open forum led by Tom SmithMyott. cccr-cob.org.

Gifted and Thriving: Raising the Gifted Child in Today’s Catholic Family — June 19: 6:30–8 p.m. at St. Ambrose, 4125 Woodbury Drive, Woodbury. cscoe-mn.org.

Young adults

Conferences/workshops

Trivia Night — June 14: 6:30–8:30 p.m. at Guardian Angels, 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. guardian-angels.org.

Order Franciscans Secular (OFS) — Third Sunday: 1 p.m. at Catholic Charities, 1200 Second Ave. S., Minneapolis. Learn about this lay group of Catholic men and women following the example of St. Francis.

952-922-5523.

Other events Knights of Columbus bingo — Wednesdays: 6–9 p.m. at Solanus Casey Council Hall, 1910 S. Greeley St., Stillwater.

Marketplace • Message Center Classified Ads Email: classifiedads@archspm.org • Phone: 651-290-1631 • Fax: 651-291-4460 Next issue: 6-20-19 • Deadline: 3 p.m. 6-13-19 • Rates: $8 per line (35-40 characters per line) • Add a photo/logo for $25 CEMETERY LOTS ACCESSIBILITY SOLUTIONS STAIR LIFTS - ELEVATORS WHEELCHAIR LIFTS FOR HOMES, CHURCHES & SCHOOLS Arrow Lift (763) 786-2780

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CEILING TEXTURE Michaels Painting. Popcorn Removal & Knock Down Texture: TextureCeilings.com (763) 757-3187.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Resurrection Mausoleum. Value $11,035.00.

Spaces for 4 entombments in Crypt 105, Tier A, Queen of Peace Corridor. evjkuch@gmail.com

Familiarity with Life Teen and social media platforms is also desirable. Interested persons should send an application or letter of interest stating experience to:

Gethsemane Mausoleum: Prime Interior Chapel Aisle, true companion crypt, No. 35, Tier B. Transfer to be handled by cemetery.

Value $22,580; Price $17,500 (651) 260-5869.

Business Office St. Bronislava Parish P.O. Box 158 Plover, WI 54467 businessoffice@stbrons.com

Resurrection Cemetery: 2 graves; Sec-61; Blk-32; Lt-20; Graves 3&4. Value $3550.00/pair.

Selling price $3250. Call Sue 612-386-6515.

FINANCIAL ADVISOR

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES St. Bronislava Parish in Plover, WI is seeking an energetic and faith-filled individual to serve as full time Director of Youth Formation.

Responsibilities include directing religious education and confirmation preparation for Grades 6 – 11, along with youth ministry initiatives. Applicants must possess strong organizational, computer and inter-personal skills. Degree in Religious Education or related field is preferred. (Continued next column)

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PRAYERS NOTICE: Prayers must be submitted in advance. Payment of $8 per line must be received before publication.

RELIGIOUS ITEMS Pax Enterprises Father of His Glory shirts, religious items. Call for brochure: Kaye 651-330-9744.

VACATION/FAMILY GETAWAY Knotty Pines Resort, Park Rapids, MN. 1, 2 & 3 bdrm cabins starting at $565/week. www.knottypinesresort.com (800) 392-2410.

Mention this ad for a discount!

WANTED TO BUY Estate & Downsizing: I buy Van Loads and Bicycles. Steve (651) 778-0571.

16B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 6, 2019

THELASTWORD LEFT Father John Clay reacts to applause during Mass at St. Stanislaus in St. Paul May 19 honoring his service to the parish and his retirement as pastor.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda was the main celebrant, and invited the congregation to express its appreciation for how Father Clay has ministered in the parish since becoming its pastor in 1975.

BELOW Father Clay is all smiles as he talks to Anita Gonzalez during a reception after Mass.

PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

LOVE LANGUAGE Outpouring of affection marks Mass for priest retiring at 92

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

S

ince 1975, Father John Clay has been repeating these simple words to his parishioners at St. Stanislaus in St. Paul: “Smile, God loves you.”

During Mass May 19 to mark his retirement as pastor, more than 200 people packed the pews and returned that message to him.

Joining them was Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who not once but twice during Mass invited the congregation to show appreciation for all Father Clay, 92, had done in 44 years of ministry in the parish.

Worshipers rose to their feet the second time, and the applause was augmented by loud cheering. Father Clay, who sat in a chair during Mass due to declining health, smiled as he took it all in.

The affection was palpable for a man who wrote four books and was known for his ministry to grieving families. At least one person joined the Church because of his help during a time of loss.

“If you could boil down everything that Father Clay was teaching in all of his years of ministry, ... it’s all going to boil down to love — that God has such deep love for us, that we’re called to have deep love for God and deep love for one another,” the archbishop said during his homily at the Mass.

People told stories at the end of Mass and afterward during a reception for Father Clay describing how he showed them love and compassion.

“I feel that Father Clay saved our family,” said Kathy Donnelly Kostohryz, 60, who grew up in the parish and was married there in 1981 by Father Clay and her father, Deacon Pat Donnelly. She and her six siblings grew up in the parish, and she credits Father Clay with helping her dad experience a significant inner healing stemming from childhood trauma.

“My dad was born in a very abusive family of 14,” she said. “He was kicked out of his home at the age of 16.”

The abuse haunted him throughout his life, even after becoming a deacon in 1981. He knew he needed to forgive his father for some of it, but he couldn’t.

Eventually, his father died, and Deacon Donnelly continued to carry the weight of that unforgiveness.

He admitted this to Father Clay, who guided him to a path of healing.

“Father Clay put his arms around my dad (now deceased) and just said, ‘It’s never too late (to forgive). And now, your dad can actually hear you,’” Donnelly Kostohryz said. Father Clay “literally changed (Deacon Donnelly’s) life with just those few words,” and the Donnelly family “just experienced a lot of goodness from that.”

Father Clay ministered to the family again in 2013 when David Riggs, the 20-year-old son of Peggy (Donnelly) and Craig Riggs, died after being hit by a car while on a motor scooter. The entire family was devastated, but Father Clay once again found words to soothe the pain and bring healing.

“We went and spoke with him shortly after,” said Peggy Riggs, 58. “And, the thing I think that resonated with me the most is he told me not to feel guilty for questioning my faith, my God. He said we should question it. He said it’s OK to ask: Why us? Why did this have to happen to us? ... So, just sitting in Father Clay’s presence and having him tell me and Craig these things just really helped dearly because I knew (during that time) that God was still with us. And, he still gets me through these days. But, it’s because of Father Clay that I can say that.”

Father Clay has helped many more grieving families, said Pat Heroff, who meets with every family when there is a funeral at St. Stanislaus. She has known Father Clay since she moved back to the Twin Cities in 1979, and she currently is the parish sacristan.

“He always says (to the families) God loves you no matter what,” said Heroff, 80. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve been, what religion you are, if you believe in God or not. It doesn’t matter. God loves everyone.”

He also tells people not to carry guilt over unresolved conflicts with a loved one who has died. Rather, he advises people to channel those feelings toward doing better in the future.

Heroff was on the receiving end of Father Clay’s pastoral gifts after her daughter Christy was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2007. It happened during Fourth of July weekend while the Heroffs were up at their cabin. They remained there for several days afterward, and Heroff said Father Clay called at least five times to ask how the family was doing.

When they returned to the Twin Cities, he helped her plan the funeral, and gave her the encouragement to complete a very important part of it. She wanted to deliver the eulogy, and he asked her if she felt emotionally capable.

When she said yes, he let her know of his support.

“He said, ‘Well, if you think you can’t, I’ll be there with my hand on your shoulder helping you. And, Christy will be on the other shoulder,’” she said.

“Well, the funeral was beautiful, and with that peace from him, it just flowed so smoothly and everything went well.

And, because of that attitude that he has and has given me, I know that my daughter — my Christy — is up there waiting for me.”

Anita Gonzalez, who had drifted away from the Church, lost her mother in 2016, and an aunt suggested talking to Father Clay about it. Though she had never met him, she went to see him.

After that, she began the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults in fall 2016. She was in the class with two other women, and completed her journey into the Catholic Church in 2017. She had been baptized and raised Catholic, but had never been confirmed and stopped practicing the faith while in college. Father Clay helped bring her back.

“It was an amazing year to be (in class) with Father Clay, just the three of us for 90 minutes every two weeks,” said Gonzalez, 55. “And, it was a really beautiful thing to be confirmed by Father Clay here.”

She especially likes his approach to confession. He encourages people to do it face-to-face, she said, and he uses the sacrament as an opportunity to ask people how they would like God to help them.

“Then, you talk about what’s in your heart,” she said. “It’s very beautiful and healing.”

She needed more of that healing just 10 months after her mother died when another person close to her committed suicide. He had suffered with mental health issues, and she had brought him to Mass with her at St. Stanislaus. She and others close to him did “everything we could,” she said.

She said Father Clay called her regularly after this loss and offered words of comfort.

“He said to me that, as tragic as this experience is, that it would deepen my faith,” she said. “And, it has. But, I don’t know if I could have survived that without Father Clay and all of St. Stan’s because it’s such a loving, genuine community.”

During Father Clay’s retirement Mass, Gonzalez and four others came forward at the end to read quotes written by people who have been helped and inspired by the priest, who grew up in New Ulm and was ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1951. Father Clay then added his own words before the final blessing by Archbishop Hebda.

He used a story to explain how he learned about love, a word that has inspired his priestly ministry and a word he put in the title of all four books he has written: “Dear People Whom God Loves” (1999), “Surrounded by Love“ (2005), “Awesome Love” (2013) and “Mysterious Love” (2015).

Father Clay described an encounter he had with a 5-year-old boy who came on a visit with his mother to another church where Father Clay was serving at the time. After touring the church and rectory, the boy asked Father Clay if he ever got lonesome, and Father Clay said yes. The boy got a serious look on his face, then came back later with his mother.

He reached into a bag and pulled out his teddy bear. He gave it to Father Clay and made one simple remark.

“He said, ‘Now, you won’t be lonesome anymore,’” Father Clay recalled. “His teddy bear was his whole life. And, he gave it to me because I was lonesome.

Now, what do you call that? That is plain, ordinary, deep love. He had nothing to gain from it — nothing at all. That’s where I most learned about love — (from) a child, 5 years old.”

GOOD shepherds

F

ive men ordained to the priesthood May 25 were encouraged by Archbishop Bernard Hebda to learn from their brother priests the grace of being good shepherds who walk with their flocks to the foot of the cross; from those in consecrated life the joy of trusting in God’s providential care; and from the faithful what it means to be self-sacrificing, to love with the love of a parent and how to meet life’s challenges, whatever the vocation.

“I know you already to be men of great compassion, and I pray that the love you have for Christ’s flock, today, will never weaken,” Archbishop Hebda said in his homily at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. “They are counting on you to be authentic icons of Christ the good shepherd, who came to serve, rather than to be served.”

ABOVE From left, newly ordained Fathers Joseph Connelly, Seraphim Wirth, Joseph Gifford and Andrew Zipp process down the aisle at the conclusion of their ordination Mass May 25 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Not visible is Father Louis Floeder.

RIGHT Father Floeder watches his mother, Chany, react after he blesses and greets her following the ordination Mass.

JUNE 6, 2019 • ORDINATION • 1C

PHOTOS IN THIS SPECIAL SECTION

BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Read more about the priestly ordination Mass, each of the newly ordained priests and the tradition of a priest’s first Mass in The Catholic Spirit’s special ordination coverage on pages 2C–8C. — Joe Ruff

ORDINATION

2C • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 6, 2019

Father Connelly finds connection with late father in the Mass FAT HE

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit

EP CO

ewly ordained Father Joseph Connelly made his late father’s reception of last rites possible only weeks before entering the seminary in 2011.

NN ELLY

Father Connelly administered CPR when his father, Frank, suffered a heart attack in their Savage home July 2, 2011. With their house located across the street from St. John the Baptist, then-pastor Father Mike Tix hurried over after he saw an ambulance arrive. Father Tix gave Frank Connelly last rites.

“Being able to resuscitate him long enough for him to get his last rites, I was very grateful for (that),” said Father Connelly, 34. “His eyes opened up. He wasn’t able to speak. It was enough for him to keep the heart going until the ambulance came and started hooking him up to machines.”

Father Connelly saw the priesthood in action that night. Father Tix went to the hospital and stayed with the family until Frank Connelly’s death.

“His witness that night was phenomenal,” Father Connelly said.

Now, Father Connelly can offer similar witness as a newly ordained priest, completing at his May 25 ordination a 16-year journey to the altar after working blue-collar jobs his first eight years out of high school. Beginning June 12, he will serve as parochial vicar of St. John Neumann in Eagan. He looks forward to the many ways he can minister as a priest.

“Just being part of people’s lives, walking with them with Christ, being able to give them the sacraments, be an instrument of God, bringing grace into their life — whether it’s a wedding or a baptism or a funeral — bringing the love of Christ to those people, whether it’s rejoicing with them or whether it’s crying with them,” Father Connelly said.

His journey to the priesthood began in his family as the fifth of 10 children. Devout Catholics, they attended Mass each Sunday and regularly prayed the rosary together, he said.

OS

H

N

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“I guess I thought about the priesthood when I was a kid, but I think that most Catholic kids probably think about it,” Father Connelly said.

His father loaded barges, worked construction and cleaned airplanes, and his mother, Mary, worked at the welcome center at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Their work ethic and influence led Father Connelly down a similar path after he graduated from Burnsville High School in 2003. He cleaned airplanes, then worked as a valet driver for a casino in Prior Lake.

“It was working a lot and paying bills and everything like that, and I never stopped going to Mass or anything like that,” Father Connelly said.

“The idea of the priesthood kind of came back, and so I prayed about it.”

He completed an associate degree in criminal justice at Normandale Community College in Bloomington and began law enforcement training in Jordan before he heard the call to the priesthood. He talked with a priest about it and decided to live at a parish, St. John the Baptist in New Brighton.

Father Connelly kept working third shift at the casino but helped at the parish where he could. He attended adoration regularly and prayed night prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours.

“I had never seen a breviary before,” he said.

Father Connelly said he still wasn’t certain about

Congratulations Fr. Jerry Dvorak upon on your 40 years of Priestly Ministry.

Well wishers are invited to an open house at St. Peters Church, 6730 Nicollet Ave, Richfield, June 12 from 6:30 to 8 pm.

People may send greetings through the parish website

stpetersrichfield.org.

priesthood at that point, but he entered St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul in 2011. His family supported the decision but didn’t pressure him, he said. He still remembers his father’s words.

“Before entering seminary, his whole mindset was ‘if you become ordained, I’m proud of you, but if it’s not for you, don’t feel like you have to be pressured into anything,’” Father Connelly said. “Just follow what you think God is calling you to do.”

Father Connelly received his acceptance letter to SJV a week after his father’s funeral.

“It was hard because everybody wants their parents to kind of see them through the process,” he said.

“Seminary was a great place for me for grieving and especially … having daily Mass, spiritual direction (and) all these things that I wouldn’t have had if I wasn’t in seminary.”

Father Connelly said he grew in his discernment at SJV, but it really solidified in major seminary. He took a year off from seminary after graduating from SJV in 2014 to look at religious orders, but he returned to seminary in 2015, entering St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul.

“I saw the beauty of the diocesan priesthood — kind of belonging to a diocese and belonging to a particular territory,” he said.

Father Connelly described his time at St. Paul Seminary as an “opportunity for grace” with prayer, the sacraments and studies. He said he particularly enjoys the works of St. Francis de Sales.

“St. Francis de Sales, in his gentleness and humility, really puts things back into perspective,” he said.

Father Connelly sees teaching as central to his life as a priest and a fruitful way to live celibacy. Teaching experiences in seminary helped him embrace celibacy, he said.

“By teaching I was able to fulfill that natural good,” he said. “Just because you’re called to celibacy doesn’t mean you’re not supposed to be a father.”

Father Connelly anticipated remembering his father at the priestly ordination Mass.

“I was thinking, though he’s not here physically, every time we go to Mass, it’s not just the people there, we’re celebrating with all the angels and all the saints, the cloud of witnesses,” Father Connelly said. “I’m having a connection with my father and my grandparents and all those who have passed before.”

The parish community of St. Gabriel the Archangel congratulates

REV. LOUIS FLOEDER on his ordination.

May you lead all to Know, Love and Share Jesus.

From Fr. Jim Liekhus, Deacon Francis Tangney, Deacon Darrel Branch, the staff and all parishioners.

Father Joseph Connelly

As you begin your priestly ministry.

Tu es sacerdos in aeternum.

From the parishioners of the Cathedral of Saint Paul.

ORDINATION

JUNE 6, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3C

Father Floeder’s vocation thoughts go back to first grade FAT HE

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

I

FL OE

DER

Chany Floeder pulled out an assignment that Louis, her second-oldest child, had completed in the first grade. In it, he had written that he wanted to become a priest someday.

These words were the start of what he now calls the “love story” of his journey to the priesthood, which brought him to the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul May 25 for his ordination.

By the time Father Floeder saw his first-grade paper, he already appeared to be on a path toward a religious vocation. During his junior year at Mounds View High School, he had an inspiring visit to St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul at the urging of his father, Steven.

Though a career class at Mounds View seemed to point to engineering, an experience at SJV grabbed his attention and drew him toward the priesthood.

“I saw 160 guys giving it all during the Holy Hour, and I remember Father (Bill) Baer (then rector of SJV) saying as Catholic men, we need to build up the faith with one hand and defend it with the other,” said Father Floeder, 26, and then a member of St. Louis, King of France in downtown St. Paul. “So, seeing these men kind of sparked something in me.”

He applied to SJV, which is at the University of St. Thomas, during his senior year and was accepted that January. But, it was by no means a foregone conclusion when he got to campus in the fall that he would be ordained someday. He said what he calls the “priest-o-meter” at that time was hovering at

OU

S

F

ather Louis Floeder received what he called a “crazy thing” from his mother when he graduated from high school eight years ago.

RL

about 50 percent.

“You enter to discern,” he said. “So, I guess the priesto-meter went up in percentage the more I had concrete experiences of God’s love for me.”

He said “the most powerful example of this” was when he spent 11 weeks the summer after his sophomore year serving the poor in the Bronx, New York, at St. Crispin Friary of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. In this poverty-stricken neighborhood, he met alcoholics, drug addicts, abusive fathers and convicted felons. The experience working alongside the Franciscans helped him understand more deeply the dignity and worth of every person.

“They’re so beautiful in God’s eyes,” Father Floeder said of the poor he served while there. “After 11 weeks, they became kind of the brothers that I never imagined that I would have.”

As he reflected in the chapel on his last day there, he began to cry. He asked himself — and God — why he was so deeply touched.

“It was because of the beauty of these men’s souls,” he said, “and the gift that they were that summer, that God had given them to me.”

By the time he returned home, the priest-o-meter had gone up to 90 percent.

He spent the spring semester of his junior year at St. Thomas studying in Rome. While there, he went to Assisi during Lent and visited the place where St. Francis is buried. The group went down to the crypt and meditated on the Gospel reading for that day, which was the story of the prodigal son. That caused a vocation connection.

And, that put an end to the priest-o-meter.

“At that point, it’s like, ‘OK, Lord, my vocation isn’t a percent (on the priest-o-meter), it’s a yes,’” he said.

Since that semester, Father Floeder has not wavered in giving his daily yes to his calling to the priesthood.

Providing support along the way, especially at the St. Paul Seminary, is his uncle, Father John Floeder, who is on the SPS faculty and serves as dean of seminarians and an instructor of moral theology.

“He’s like a rock that I can go to for anything,” Father Louis Floeder said.

Father Floeder’s first assignment as a priest will be as parochial vicar of St. Stephen in Anoka, effective June 12. At his May 25 ordination, he looked forward to the portion of the Mass where priests attending give an embrace, called the Kiss of Peace, to the newly ordained.

“That’s just such a beautiful moment,” Father Floeder said. “I’ve thought of my uncle going down the line and welcoming me into this reality that he’s been living, this gift from God that is our vocation.”

Looking ahead, Father Floeder envisions the possibility of doing the same thing for his younger brother Francis, who is currently a junior at SJV. When it comes to priestly ministry, Father Floeder had a quick answer to what his favorite part will be.

“I’m really looking forward to praying the Mass,” he said, “because that’s the best thing that a priest can do, not only for his people, but for the whole world.”

Congratulations Fathers Joseph Gifford, Louis Floeder, Joseph Connelly and Andrew Zipp!

SAINT PAUL SEMINARY The Seminaries of Saint Paul

semssp.org/sps (651) 962-5050

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4C • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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ABOVE Archbishop Bernard Hebda instructs and encourages the five ordinands during his homily at their ordination Mass May 25 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

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RIGHT Archbishop Hebda anoints the hands of Father Joseph Gifford during the Rite of Ordination.

PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Archbishop: Newly ordained priests called to discern, serve

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

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s Archbishop Bernard Hebda prepared to ordain five men to the priesthood before a congregation of more than 2,000 people at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, he urged them to discern God’s will and serve others.

“As a good Jesuit, Pope Francis calls for the Church to be a Church of discernment. A listening Church,” the archbishop said in his homily May 25.

“These five men, soon to be ordained, have devoted their lives to discernment,” he said.

They must continue that work in prayerful contemplation; humble

assessment of their lives and activities; attentiveness to their brothers and sisters, particularly those in need; and commitment to seeking God’s will, he said.

Called by Christ to priestly service, they will never be alone, Archbishop Hebda assured them. The faithful of the Church, their families and friends, religious brothers and sisters, and brother priests will be among those supporting them, he said, even as Christ calls them to serve their flocks through the sacraments and Scripture, and they dare to walk with the faithful to the foot of the cross.

“May the cross of Christ be your strength, as you respond to that call,” the archbishop said.

Ordained were Fathers Matthew Connelly, Louis Floeder, Joseph Gifford and Andrew Zipp, all of whom will serve the archdiocese, as well as

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h h Franciscan Brother of Peace Father Seraphim Wirth. His religious community serves in the Twin Cities, including the poor, victims of torture from around the world and the Karen community. Father Seraphim is the first Franciscan Brother of Peace to be ordained a priest.

The first reading of the Mass and part of the sacred, choral music were in the Karen language.

Archbishop Hebda laid hands on the head of each ordinand, the effective sign of the permanent conferral of the priestly office, and all the priests in attendance laid hands on the five men as well, signifying the candidates’ incorporation into the presbyterate.

Fathers Gifford and Seraphim said the laying on of hands was a particularly moving experience for them.

“The sense of brotherhood and fraternity from that was wonderful,”

Father Gifford said.

Father Seraphim said that at that moment he felt part of something much bigger than himself. Summing up his feelings about the entire ordination, he said he felt “at peace. Profound peace.”

After the ordination, the newly ordained priests conferred their blessings on people who requested.

Those lining up included parents, siblings and friends.

Father Floeder’s mother, Chany, tearfully described her feelings shortly after receiving a blessing from her son, watching him as he assumed his priestly responsibilities.

“I am just amazed and honored and blessed by the good Lord,” she said.

“We have 10 kids, and whenever I was pregnant I dedicated my kids to the Lord. And it’s so nice to see the Lord taking him.”

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ORDINATION

JUNE 6, 2019 • 5C

New priests’ first Masses provide opportunity for thanksgiving

y Susan Klemond or The Catholic Spirit

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riestly ordination at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul May 25 was the culmination of years of prayer and reparation for the archdiocese’s four new riests — but the next day also was momentous.

The four priests celebrated Masses of hanksgiving — their first Masses serving as he main celebrant — at their home parishes May 26 with family, friends, teachers and thers in the congregation. Father Seraphim Wirth of the Franciscan Brothers of Peace lso was ordained at the Cathedral, and he elebrated his first Mass the next day at t. Casimir in St. Paul.

“The Mass is very significant and special o me,” said newly ordained Father Louis loeder, 26, who celebrated his first Mass at t. Louis King of France in St. Paul. “My Mass f thanksgiving is thanking God to be one of his priests to serve, and also seeing lots of amily and friends who’ve been a huge upport to me and my vocation as a priest.”

Before their ordination, Father Floeder nd his classmate, Father Andrew Zipp, 26, poke with The Catholic Spirit about plans or their first Masses.

Two archdiocesan priests ordained in ecent years — Father Aric Aamodt and ather Bruno Nwachukwu — recalled their rst Masses and the opportunity to celebrate with family and friends in a way that brings Christ to the center of the gatherings.

First Mass traditions

The first Mass tradition may have started n medieval times, said Father Tom Margevicius, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Worship, as well as The St. Paul eminary liturgy and homiletics director. echnically, a priest’s ordination Mass is his rst Mass, but the first one he presides over rom beginning to end commonly is referred o as his “first,” Father Margevicius said.

The first Mass also is a time when some newly ordained priests give special gifts to heir parents. Mothers sometimes receive the maniturgium,” a cloth used during the rdination Mass that was wrapped around heir sons’ hands after their hands were nointed with holy oil.

Father Zipp, for example, gave his mother his maniturgium and his father a rosary at his Mass at St. Michael in St. Michael.

Among his guests, Father Zipp invited Auxiliary Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt orres of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, a former instructor at The t. Paul Seminary, to concelebrate and reach the homily. He also asked his pastor, ather Peter Richards, and five other rchdiocesan priests to concelebrate.

Father Louis Floeder concelebrated the Mass with several priests, including his ncle, Father John Floeder, the dean of eminarians and an instructor at The St. Paul eminary, who also gave the homily.

While they celebrate only one first Mass, riests are not restricted to one Mass of hanksgiving, Father Margevicius said. Father ipp planned to offer Masses at two other arishes where he has served.

Father Louis Floeder said he was grateful to ffer his first Mass with the Society of Mary Marist) priests at his parish, where he and his family have been members for five years nd where he’s served at Mass during

seminary breaks. He also invited people who have written him letters expressing their support for his vocation.

“God’s people are really good at caring for vocations, so sometimes people send letters,” he said. “I’ve never met some of these people, but I sent them an invitation.”

Expecting the unexpected Father Aamodt’s and Father Nwachukwu’s memories of their celebrations included an unexpected complication for Father Aamodt.

After practicing thoroughly beforehand, Father Aadmot said, he was less nervous about his first Mass last year at St. Odilia in Shoreview. But he didn’t anticipate having to shout opening prayers when his microphone malfunctioned.

Still, as he celebrated the Mass, he realized it wasn’t about him, said Father Aamodt, 28, now associate pastor of St. Hubert in Chanhassen.

“My whole family was there,” he said.

“But as celebrant it wasn’t about me. Even as I was praying the prayers, I recognized this is an offering. I now have a different role. …

God was coming to meet us on this unique occasion.”

But while the new priest is not the center of attention at his first Mass, neither is he irrelevant, Father Margevicius said. Since it is possible to gain an indulgence at a priest’s first public Mass, “the fact that it is him celebrating it and not another priest indicates that who it is matters,” he said.

Recalling his first Mass, Father Nwachukwu, 39, said he was grateful for all who attended the celebration at his teaching parish, St. Joseph in West St. Paul, in May 2015 — including many who traveled from his native Nigeria.

At the end of the Mass, Father Nwachukwu, now chaplain at North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale and DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, gave his mother his maniturgium. He gave his father the stole he wore while hearing his first confession.

Father Nwachukwu also gave the parish a chasuble embroidered with an image of its patron — St. Joseph — and a papal blessing.

Both new priests’ parishes prepared light receptions following their first Masses. Father Nwachukwu recalled that his parish reception of food, music and dancing reflected his home country’s hospitality and respect for priests.

“Seeing all those people coming to celebrate with me made me feel like I was in Nigeria,” he said.

Father Zipp said his first Mass was an opportunity to thank his parish, where he and his family have been members since 1998, and to use the chalice that parishioners and Father Richards gave him.

It was important “to be at the parish with the people that helped foster this vocation in me growing up, even though I first heard the call in high school,” Father Zipp said.

Along with support from his parish, Father Louis Floeder thanked God for his life and for choosing him to be an “other Christ.”

“When you think of the Mass, it’s the most powerful thing we have as Christians,” he said, “and so to be chosen by his free will — me — to do that, that’s amazing.”

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit” -Matthew 28:19

Congratulations Father Joseph Connelly From your summer internship parish St. John the Baptist, New Brighton

Congratulations on your ordination

Priesthood Fr. andrew ZiPP to

May God Bless you abundantly in your priestly ministry.

From your home parish,

6C • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

ORDINATION

JUNE 6, 2019

Father Gifford lets go of music aspirations to say ‘yes’ to God

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

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“I can’t delay this any longer,” he recalls thinking at the end of his senior year in college, when he was deciding between seminary and graduate studies in music. “I know this (priesthood) is where God has been leading me for the last three or four years.”

Father Gifford played the piano and baritone as a child, but he first took music seriously as a junior in high school, when he was enrolled in the Post Secondary Enrollment Options program at AnokaRamsey Community College in Coon Rapids. That year, he joined its selective chamber singers. Then, his senior year, he took the lead in the college’s production of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Elijah.”

Despite his natural talent, he wasn’t considering going professional when he enrolled at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, in 2010. He wanted to major in theology and nursing — the latter inspired by years working as a lifeguard. But, by the end of his first semester, his interest in nursing had waned. And the idea of priesthood popped into his head.

It wasn’t the first time. He started thinking about it during his junior or senior year in high school, but he thought he had other plans for himself.

Father Gifford grew up in Ham Lake as the third child in a family of four boys. For much of his childhood, he could walk across his backyard to the grounds of his

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ather Joseph Gifford traded the stage for the sanctuary. The 27-year-old newly ordained priest was on track for a promising career in opera when he discerned God was calling him to the priesthood.

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parish, St. Paul. His parents, Doug and Elaine Gifford, were involved in different ministries, and Father Gifford was a regular daily Mass server while in middle school.

He developed a deep admiration for Father Jon Vander Ploeg, the parish’s pastor at the time. (He has since been assigned to St. Lawrence Catholic Church and Newman Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.)

On Christmas break of his freshman year, Father Gifford told Father Vander Ploeg he wanted to transfer to St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul. But Father Vander Ploeg encouraged him to finish the year at Benedictine before making a decision to transfer.

He did, and he began taking music classes — and he loved them.

That summer, he returned to Minnesota and Father Vander Ploeg guided him through a 30-day retreat that included two daily Holy Hours before the Blessed Sacrament. At the end of the retreat, Father Gifford felt confident that he should enter seminary after finishing

his degrees at Benedictine. But, he still felt restless about his discernment process until a friend gave him advice that seemed to stick: “Joe,” she told him, “your vocation right now is to be a student. Worry about that, do that well, (and) everything else will fall into place.”

That truth gave him peace and grounded him through the rest of college. By the end of his senior year in 2014, he had job offers to teach music and had been accepted at several graduate-level music programs.

At the same time, he applied to St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul. Despite his musical aspirations, he felt God affirming his call to the priesthood.

When he was accepted at St. Paul Seminary, he took that as God’s “yes,” and he hasn’t looked back.

Father Gifford’s teaching parish for three years was St. John Neumann in Eagan. He served in the University of St. Thomas’ campus ministry, at the Ramsey County jail and at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, where he also worked with homeless veterans.

Those experiences helped him meet people from all walks of life, he said, and taught him to “stretch myself so I can learn to bring Christ to everyone.”

A kickboxer and avid reader — especially of Russian literature — Father Gifford hasn’t had to abandon the stage entirely. In April, he played the narrator — the largest role — in the seminary’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

Father Gifford’s first assignment as a priest takes effect June 12, as parochial vicar of All Saints in Lakeville.

Speaking to The Catholic Spirit before his May 25 ordination at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, he said that he loves preaching and looked forward to hearing confessions as a priest.

“You experience people at such a vulnerable moment in their lives,” he explained. He anticipated it would be a place of experiencing the “deep fatherhood” of the priesthood, he said. “You’re able to show that you care for this other person in a deep way ... and you’re able to give advice ... even if it’s just a little bit.”

www.TheCatholicSpirit.com

ORDINATION

JUNE 6, 2019

Late grandmother inspires religious vocation

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

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School in Maplewood to enroll 50 Karen students at the start of the current school year, and he has baptized members of the Karen community during his time as a transitional deacon, including 13 on Easter Sunday at St. Casimir in St. Paul.

He is looking forward to continuing his ministry to this community as a priest. In addition to being appointed to ministerial service to the apostolate of the Franciscan Brothers of Peace, his first assignment, effective June 12, will be as chaplain and sacramental minister for the Karen community.

Father Seraphim has learned the Karen language and plans to say Mass in the community’s native tongue. Celebrating Mass for the Karen people is one of the things he is most looking forward to in his upcoming priestly ministry.

“I worked with the priest from their country ... who helped me learn to celebrate the Mass in their language,” he said. “When I was back for Easter, I was practicing my pronunciation with them.

And, they said, ‘Oh, the people will be surprised (at hearing Mass prayers in their native tongue)’ because the language is very difficult.”

Father Seraphim said his life in the Franciscan community has been crucial in preparing him for priesthood. He will be the first member of the community, founded in 1982, to be ordained a priest. Currently, there are 11 men living in two friaries, both in St. Paul.

Father Seraphim will live in the newly opened Blessed Solanus (Casey) Friary.

And, he will continue to enjoy the everyday life of being a Franciscan Brother of Peace.

“Even though I’m going to be a priest, I’m still going to cook evening meals,” he said. “I have a day a week that I cook.

I also do the dishes. So, it keeps you grounded. It’s a way of life. And, that Franciscan charism, that Franciscan simplicity of just living in the community has really contributed to my formation and my growth.”

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While her grandson was taking classes at the University of Minnesota in 2005, Elaine Wirth moved to a senior care facility in St. Cloud to get help with a serious illness.

Father Seraphim, now of the Franciscan Brothers of Peace, felt drawn to her, and made frequent visits to the center where she lived before her death in 2008.

“I went down to visit her every weekend, and we’d pray the rosary,” said Father Seraphim, 40, who grew up in Sauk Rapids and belonged to Sacred Heart with his parents and three siblings. “Just being with her, going through that time in her life, just kind of re-opened my eyes up to the faith in a deeper way.”

During those months, he started feeling a call to the priesthood. She encouraged him to follow up with the Vocations Office of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which he did. She also gave him a book: “Journal of a Soul: The Autobiography of Pope John XXIII.” She was the first person he told about his vocation desire.

“It was a relief to share that with somebody,” he said. “We didn’t talk about it too much after that. ... But, I know she was praying.”

In 2006, he attended a summer discernment retreat held by the Little Sisters of the Poor in St. Paul. At the time, he knew he wanted a religious vocation and was leaning toward becoming a priest of the archdiocese.

But, at the retreat, one of the sisters encouraged him to explore the Franciscans, and she suggested a few Franciscan communities.

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grandmother with strong faith played a key role in Father Seraphim Wirth’s journey toward the priesthood.

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He visited the Franciscan Brothers of Peace in St. Paul, and found his home there. He joined in 2007, and made his permanent profession Oct. 22, 2013. It was the feast day of St. John Paul II, and he was later able to go to Rome for the canonization of both Sts. John Paul II and John XXIII April 27, 2014.

He went with Brother Paul O’Donnell, one of the founding members of the Franciscan Brothers, who died less than a year after the visit to Rome.

“We had to stand in line to get into the canonization, and he stood on the street with me in the middle of 50,000 people for 12 hours,” Father Seraphim recalled. “I was taken aback by his dedication to be out there, given his health at the time.”

He was supported by Brother Paul in the pursuit of priesthood, and inspired

by St. John Paul II. One saying in particular by this late pope caught Father Seraphim’s attention and stayed with him. While he was pope, St. John Paul II repeated this phrase often: “Be not afraid.”

These words have guided Father Seraphim in his ministry with the Franciscan Brothers, who reach out to the poor in the Twin Cities, care for victims of torture from around the world and serve the Karen community of St. Paul.

Father Seraphim has spent most of his ministry time with the Karen community. He worked with St. Jerome

Blogs and commentary: CatholicHotdish.com

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7C

Religious community gains first priestly vocation When the Franciscan Brothers of Peace were founded in 1982 in the Twin Cities, it was the vision of the founder, Brother Michael Gaworski, to someday have a member be ordained a priest.

It finally happened May 25 with the ordination of Father Seraphim Wirth, who has been with the Franciscan Brothers since 2007.

“It really opens up a lot of great possibilities ... for our community,” said Brother Conrad Richardson, the community servant, or leader, of the 11-member Franciscan Brothers. “Of course, having holy Mass celebrated (by Father Seraphim) in our chapels of our friaries, which we have two of in St. Paul, is such a blessing.”

Brother Conrad said this is an exciting time for the community, which endured the long illness and death of Brother Michael in 2003, plus the death of a longtime community servant, Brother Paul O’Donnell, four years ago.

“The brothers are feeling a real renewal in our own religious community, both individually and collectively,” Brother Conrad said. “There’s just so many beautiful fruits that have been born” in recent years.

Brother Conrad said he took part in Father Seraphim’s vocational discernment, which is a community-wide process. He saw qualities in then-Brother Seraphim that he thought would make him a good priest.

“I admire Brother Seraphim’s ... mild manner, his humility, his kindness and his pastoral sense,” Brother Conrad said. “He really has a genuine care for others ... (and is) a true son of St. Francis.”

Brother Conrad said there are no immediate plans for another priest in the community, but the brothers always will remain open to anyone who might feel that calling.

— Dave Hrbacek

ORDINATION

8C • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 6, 2019

Father Zipp hears call to priesthood while praying for others FAT HE

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

Rev. Louis Sebastian Floeder on his Ordination to the Priesthood We wish you, Father, many years of fruitful ministry.

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The Church of Saint Louis King of France

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od’s call to the priesthood came to Father Andrew Zipp while he was praying for others.

But the ground was laid long before that, first by his parents, Scott and Lisa, and six younger siblings.

“I grew up in a very faith-filled home,” he said. “We prayed together daily before meals, before bed. We (lived) just down the street from the church” of St. Michael in St. Michael.

His father is an accountant and his mother is assistant to the principal at St. Michael Catholic School, where Father Zipp, 26, and his siblings attended through sixth grade.

He and his three brothers did a lot of camping and other activities with the Boy Scouts, and they were involved with youth ministry at the parish. A big part of his faith life was participating for several years in Extreme Faith Camp, a weeklong retreat for middle school students held at various sites in Minnesota that includes swimming and other activities.

It was there, just after his freshman year in high school as part of a leadership team that spent the week praying for the younger campers, that Father Zipp first heard Christ call him to the priesthood.

“In that time the Lord worked on my heart,” Father Zipp told The Catholic Spirit, just weeks before his May 25 ordination to the priesthood. “I can’t say if it was a particular day or moment. But I know the Lord was calling me to be his priest. I didn’t know what to do with that.”

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He decided to talk with then-seminarian Paul Shovelain (now Father Shovelain, parochial vicar of St. John the Baptist in New Brighton) as they rode back to St. Michael together after the retreat. Father Shovelain prayed with him and suggested he visit with the pastor of St. Michael at the time, Father Michael Becker.

Father Becker, now rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, suggested more prayer and discernment, Father Zipp said.

The call remained through his years at St. MichaelAlbertville High School, a time that included retreats, prayer and in 2011, his senior year, starting a pro-life group of students known as ALIV. Father Zipp entered St. John Vianney seminary the fall after his graduation from high school, and he

continued at The St. Paul Seminary as he prepared for the priesthood.

“It’s been quite an adventure,” he said.

The adventure included traveling with fellow seminarians to Rome, Ireland and the Holy Land and studying for a semester in Rome, Father Zipp said. He enjoyed his time as a transitional deacon at Holy Family in St. Louis Park, and at his teaching parish at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings.

In his first assignment as a priest, Father Zipp will serve as parochial vicar of St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park, effective June 12. He presided at his first Mass as a priest May 26 at St. Michael in St. Michael.

As a seminarian, he particularly looked forward to celebrating the Mass and hearing confessions, with all the meaning that is involved in “being able to share with others the Eucharist, and bring others back to the Lord’s love in the sacrament of confession,” he said.

Support from family and others has been important in his journey to the priesthood, Father Zipp said, including lifelong friends Kyle Salonek, Tyler Ferry and Grant O’Neil.

Father Peter Richards, current pastor of St. Michael, Father Shovelain, Father Becker and John O’Sullivan, youth minister at St. Michael and founder of Extreme Faith Camp, have been key mentors, he said.

Such people, he said, have “kept me accountable at times and are a constant witness of faith, love and devotion.”

Father Seraphim, we treasure your friendship with St. Jerome School.

We are happy for you as you begin your life as a priest and we pray for

God’s blessings upon you every day.

st. Jerome school Classical K-8 Educaton Maplewood, MN

Congratulations

to our new priests!

May God bless your ministry to our local Church.

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