By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit
AsCatholics around the globe celebrated Cardinal Robert Prevost’s May 8 election as pope and he took the name Pope Leo XIV, people across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis joined in the festivities. May 22, 2025
The first American pope’s ties to the archdiocese were quickly recognized, including that as a seminarian in 1980, Pope Leo XIV lived at least three months in Minneapolis and became friends with a Lutheran classmate and his wife that lasts to this day.
“I emailed Pope Leo — or Bob, as I called him — about a week before they went into the Sistine Chapel,” said the Rev. John Snider, 70, of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in West St. Paul.
“Dear Bob,” the reverend’s April 27 email read. “Polly and I send our love and prayers for you in these momentous days. As I near retirement — three weeks — you are taking on such intense responsibility. God is with you, John Snider.”
Then-Cardinal Prevost responded April 30, before entering the chapel May 7 as a voting member of a papal conclave that ended the next day with his own election as pope.
“Hello, John and Polly,” then-Cardinal Prevost’s reply read. “Many thanks for your message. Everything’s in God’s hands. Thanks for your friendship through the years. Best wishes, Bob.”
“It’s wild. It’s just wild,” Rev. Snider said May 14, adding that he heard reports of white smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel — indicating the election of a pope — as he entered a Menards home improvement store May 8.
“I went out of Menards and turned the radio on to reports of ‘Robert Prevost.’ I said, ‘Wow!’”
Rev. Snider met seminarian Prevost, a
native of Chicago who joined the Order of St. Augustine and now is Pope Leo XIV, when they were in a three-month summer class with three other students and a supervisor at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. They trained to minister as chaplains and met in a group to discuss successes and challenges. Rev. Snider was 24 at the time and the future pope was 23.
The two became friends, along with Rev. Snider’s wife, Polly. They went to movies together, had dinner and enjoyed other outings. The future pope lived in a small apartment on the hospital campus, one likely for nurses, students and others connected to the complex, the reverend said.
“He was one of the best listeners (Polly) said she ever encountered,” Rev. Snider said. “Just absolutely present. Everybody counted.”
Prevost also took the initiative to insist that if they were to be friends, it would take a commitment, Rev. Snider said. “That’s kind of what our summer became. He brought that Augustinian sense of community,” which helped the Sniders — who had been married three years at that time — set priorities of their own, the reverend said.
“He was grounded. He was mature,” Rev. Snider said. “He knew how to move among people, to say his piece, to be aware of others. If you know how to love, you’ve come a long way. And I think Bob knew how to
love; that has not changed.”
Traveling to Toledo, Ohio, for an internship shortly after the class ended, Rev. Snider and his wife stopped to visit Prevost in the Augustinian house in Hyde Park, Illinois. Another visit happened one winter, when the future pope spent a weekend with Rev. Snider’s parents, brother and sister in Elkhart, Indiana.
“He went snowmobiling with my brother, Mark,” Rev. Snider said.
In 2010, Rev. Snider and his wife visited then-Father Prevost in Rome.
Rev. Snider retired after Lutheran services May 18, the same day a Mass inaugurated Pope Leo XIV’s papacy in Rome.
“It’s amazing to see a friend go do what he’s doing,” Rev. Snider said, reflecting on the dramatic changes that are required for his friend to move from Chicago to being a missionary in Peru, to leading the international Augustinians, to working in the Vatican, to leading 1.4 billion Catholics around the globe.
“Somebody said that’s why a name change, from Simon to Peter, from Bob to Leo,” Rev. Snider said. “Bob Prevost is gone. There’s a whole new thing going on.”
‘Our Church has once again given us a (Holy) Father’
Stories by Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit
Celebrating Mass for newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Archbishop Bernard Hebda reflected in his homily on the gift Jesus left his Church through St. Peter and his successors.
“Jesus says, ‘it’s upon this rock that I will build my Church,’” the archbishop said May 8 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. “He tells Peter that whatever he binds on Earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever he looses on Earth, will be loosed in heaven. It’s an extraordinary role for any individual. It’s all because it is Jesus’ desire and because he promises his Holy Spirit to the Church that we could ever believe such a thing.
“But for 20 centuries, Peter and his successors have been leading our Church, giving us the certainty of sound doctrine,” the archbishop said. “Our understanding of how it is that we can trust Peter and his successors is one of those things that distinguishes us from other Christian groups.”
“We certainly continue to remember Pope Francis’ teaching and his powerful example,” the archbishop said of the late pope, who died April 21. “And today, with the election of Pope Leo XIV, our Church has once again given us a (Holy) Father.”
Auxiliary Bishops Michael Izen and Kevin Kenney concelebrated the Mass with the archbishop. Among those attending the Mass was Andrew Salemme, 25, of St. John the Baptist in New Brighton. Salemme said he didn’t know much about Cardinal Robert Prevost before the cardinal was elected pope May 8, but he was excited to learn and pleased to be at Mass to pray for him.
Brandon Wanless; his wife, Kelsey; and their six children also attended the Mass. A professor of dogmatic theology at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Wanless said he and his family attended a special Mass mourning the death of Pope Francis and decided to attend Mass for the new pope.
“We thought, let’s go and pray with our kids and for our Holy Father,” Wanless said.
Also in his homily, Archbishop Hebda said there is great joy in learning more about the new pope as people share stories of Pope Leo’s childhood in Chicago, his ministry as an Augustinian and “the ways in which he’s always willing to serve the Church.”
Pope Leo XIV is the first North American to be elected pope and, before the conclave, was the U.S. cardinal most mentioned as a potential successor of St. Peter.
White smoke indicating the election of a new pope poured from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel at 6:07 p.m. Rome time May 8. A few minutes later the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica began to ring.
As soon as news began to spread, people from all over Rome ran to join the tens of thousands who were already in the square for the smoke watch. Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri was among them.
French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, protodeacon of the College of Cardinals, appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at 7:12 p.m. He told the crowd: “I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope (‘Habemus papam’),” saying the cardinal’s name in Latin and announcing the name by which he would be called.
A longtime missionary in Peru, the 69-year-old pope holds both U.S. and Peruvian citizenship. La Repubblica, the major Italian daily, described him April 25 as “cosmopolitan and shy,” but also said he was “appreciated by conservatives and progressives. He has global visibility in a conclave in which few (cardinals) know each other.”
That visibility comes from the fact that as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops for the past two years, he was instrumental in helping Pope Francis choose bishops for many Latin-rite dioceses, he met hundreds of bishops during their “ad limina” visits to Rome and was called to assist the world’s Latin-rite bishops “in all matters concerning the correct and fruitful exercise of the pastoral office entrusted to them.”
The new pope speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and can read Latin and German.
reporters the
Archbishop Bernard Hebda addresses the news media May 8 about Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV on the
“I never thought I would see an American pope,” the archbishop said May 8 on the front lawn of the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul. “How exciting is that?”
Part of his excitement stemmed from the experience Pope Leo had growing up in the Church in the United States and can share as pope, such as understanding the multicultural roots of the U.S. Church and the needs of Catholic education, Archbishop Hebda said.
Asked why he never expected an American as pope, the archbishop said two things: The U.S. Church’s experience can be perceived as distant from the Church in Rome and the politics can be challenging.
“How is it that the Holy Father is able to deal with President Trump, for example, or whoever” the United States’ president might be? Archbishop Hebda asked. “Would those ties be too close or too distant? And so, I just never imagined that we would have an American pope. I have great confidence that Pope Leo will do a wonderful job of navigating that.”
While born and raised in Chicago, Pope Leo XIV joined the Order of St. Augustine and in 1985 he joined its mission in Peru. He largely worked in Peru until 1999 when he was elected head of the Augustinians’ Chicago-based province. He served as prior general of the worldwide order from 2001 to 2013.
The archbishop said he has never met Pope Leo, though he has exchanged letters with him having to do with administration of the Church.
The pope is not just for Catholics, the archbishop said, “but for all people. One of the things that amazed me was with the passing of Pope Francis to see how many non-Catholics, non-believers, reached out and said that they’re missing the moral voice that Pope Francis had. So, the pope has a global pulpit to be able to speak about issues and to do it in a way that really calls for trust from people as well. We certainly need that moral voice in our world. And I’m hoping that Pope Leo will be able to be that voice that we need. I trust that he will.”
By Rebecca Omastiak
The Catholic Spirit
Roughly 50 people gathered May 14 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis for a noon Mass of Thanksgiving to celebrate Pope Leo XIV less than a week after he was announced as the 267th pope.
“As a basilica, we have a special relationship with the Holy Father because it is the pope who gives the title of ‘basilica’ to a church,” said Johan van Parys, the Basilica’s director of liturgy and the sacred arts, in an interview before the Mass.
He explained that because of this special designation, the Basilica community both mourned Pope Francis and offered prayers for a new pope. “We had a Requiem Mass shortly after Pope Francis passed away. Then, right before the conclave began, we had a Mass of the Holy Spirit, and then today we’re celebrating the election of Pope Leo XIV.”
Basilica pastor Father Daniel Griffith celebrated the Mass and Father Joseph Gillespie concelebrated.
During his homily, Father Griffith said that he is “overjoyed with the selection of Pope Leo XIV.”
Father Griffith said that Pope Leo XIV’s messages have been “well-received by just about everybody and so that is a wonderful thing, to know that we have a new pope — habemus papam. We have a pope, and it happens to be an American pope, who would’ve thought?”
According to OSV News, the 69-yearold Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago.
He obtained a mathematics degree from Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, before joining the Order of St. Augustine. He made his solemn vows in 1981 and was ordained a priest the following year. He obtained a degree in theology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a doctorate degree from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. A longtime missionary in Peru, the pope has both U.S. and Peruvian citizenship. Pope Leo XIV was serving as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, when Pope Francis named him as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2023.
Father Griffith said Pope Leo XIV’s strengths in his papacy will come, in part, from his experience as a missionary. “He was a missionary in Peru and later a bishop there, appointed by Pope Francis, wading in the waters with his people, advocating
Basilica pastor Father Daniel Griffith celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving May 14 and Father Joseph Gillespie concelebrated, to welcome Pope Leo XIV as the 267th pope.
REBECCA OMASTIAK THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
for his people strongly when certain things befell them.”
Father Griffith said that just as Jesus called St. Peter to an important role within the Church, so, too, are Catholics called “to preserve our communion of faith and love and to foster our mission.”
“What is our mission? To continue the saving work of Jesus until he comes again,” Father Griffith continued. “And we do that by announcing the Gospel, we do that by being a source of grace in the sacraments and we do that by serving our brothers and sisters.”
Living this mission requires unity within the Church, Father Griffith said. “We’ve got to be united so we can effectively go out. And the pope has already taken small gestures toward unity in the Church.”
Father Griffith invited those in attendance to pray for Pope Leo XIV and
for all members of the Church: “It’s not the pope alone, it’s the pope with all of us. … We are called to go out with the good news and that takes all of us according to our unique gifts that we have been given.”
Since the announcement of Pope Leo XIV, van Parys said there has been a lot of local interest in learning more about the new pope and what he might bring to the role.
“We believe that the Holy Spirit inspires the election and that for every age, the right pope is elected,” van Parys said. “We’ll see how Pope Leo (XIV) evolves because every pope, of course, brings their own spirituality, their own personality to the papacy.”
“I think it’s a wonderful time for the Church and the fact that he was born in the United States, I do believe that there will be some rejuvenation of the Catholic Church in the United States” as a result, van Parys said.
Mary Ritten, 87, said she is hopeful Pope Leo XIV will enact a papacy that is “welcoming (and) non-judging.”
“The older I get, the more I know that I don’t know even half about the things that are happening, so how can I possibly judge?” she said.
Ritten said the appointment of Pope Leo XIV has created a buzz among members of the Basilica community she has interacted with: “I think we’re all really enthusiastic about it.”
A May 18 Mass in St. Peter’s Square officially inaugurated Pope Leo XIV’s papacy, according to the Vatican.
By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit
“Habemus papam, we have a pope!” exclaimed Levi Meyer, a junior at St. John Vianney College Seminary (SJV) in St. Paul who is studying in Rome and was in St. Peter’s Square May 8 when white smoke began pouring from a specially installed chimney in the Sistine Chapel.
About 30 minutes later — Meyer said in a videotape produced by SJV — the first American pope stepped onto a balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and emotionally acknowledged the outpouring of support expressed by thousands in the square. Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost took the name Pope Leo XIV.
“My heart is filled with a lot of joy,” Meyer said. “I’ve been praying the rosary for Leo XIV. And I entreat you, all of you, especially to pray and to fast for Leo XIV and his pontificate.”
Charles DeReuil was also in St. Peter’s Square; the seminarian from St. Joseph in West St. Paul who is studying at the Pontifical North American College said he was with fellow seminarian Steven Lang of St. Michael in Stillwater and others.
“Initially, we were in shock,” DeReuil said of learning the pope was an American. “After the shock and surprise began to die down, I was filled with a sense of pride that the vicar of Christ was from our country and moreover from the Midwest.
“I believe it gave a number of us more profound appreciation for the Incarnation,” DeReuil said. “If we were so honored and amazed that the pope was one of us from the United States, how much more amazed should we be that God chose to become one of us and to take flesh?”
DeReuil was not alone in his surprise that an American would be elected pope. Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Kenney, Auxiliary Bishop Michael Izen and Bishop Emeritus Richard Pates expressed similar astonishment.
The day after Pope Leo XIV stepped onto that balcony, Bishop Kenney shared some of his perspective on Twin
Cities Public Television’s (TPT) Almanac program, saying he had presided at a funeral at St. Olaf in Minneapolis when someone stepped up to whisper, “There’s white smoke, there’s white smoke.” Bishop Kenney watched television with others in the parish’s gathering room as the moment in Rome unfolded.
“We were all just amazed and overly excited,” Bishop Kenney said. “The emotion was just incredible. But to think he’s an American, an American pope. Oh, my goodness. Nobody ever thought in their lifetime they would see an American pope.”
Asked why that might be the case, Bishop Kenney said the American Church is younger than most of the Catholic Church worldwide.
“There’s always been a little bit of distrust in the American Catholic Church, and they’ve always felt that we were on the outside or not participating completely with Rome. And so, this is really an affirmation of the Catholic Church in the United States,” Bishop Kenney said.
Bishop Kenney followed up with an email to The Catholic Spirit, saying “When Pope Leo XIV stepped onto the balcony, his composure and presence emulated confidence, composure and peace. It was a grand moment.”
Bishop Pates said the cardinals voting for a pope in the conclave in the Sistine Chapel might have been looking for a candidate who could handle the Vatican’s difficult finances, unify the Church and bring broad experience beyond the United States. Pope Leo fits the bill as a former missionary in Peru, former leader of the international Order of St. Augustine and most recently head of the office that advises the pope on the appointment of bishops, Bishop Pates said.
John Boyle, a professor in the Catholic Studies department at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, was in St. Peter’s Square with his wife, Dia, expecting to see black smoke on their visit May 8, indicating the cardinals had not yet elected a pope. Then came white smoke.
“There was wonderful joy in the square with the white smoke,” said Boyle, who was teaching in Rome. “I prayed my rosary.”
“We saw movement up there,” Dia Boyle said. “There was lots of excitement because we knew something was going to happen but we didn’t know who.” She heard the name Roberto, then Pope Leo. A rumor ran that the new pope was Peruvian, then comments that he looked American. He was from Chicago, someone said, then, “It is a Midwestern pope.”
Even before Pope Leo XIV emerged from St. Peter’s Basilica, Bishop Izen presided at a Mass and prayed for “our pope” after white smoke billowed, breaking up an all-staff meeting at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul.
“Praying for him without knowing his name was powerful,” Bishop Izen said. “That was the only time that you could possibly say a Mass for a pope and you don’t know his name.”
At weekend Masses May 17-18, Father Joseph Johnson, rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, distributed holy cards commemorating Pope Leo XIV’s election and the Mass inaugurating his papacy. Father Michael Creagan, pastor of St. Michael and St. Mary parishes in Stillwater, created a template for the cards and offered it to priests to print at their parishes, Father Johnson said.
The cards also are an opportunity to evangelize as interest in the Church has grown since Pope Francis’ death April 21 and the election of Pope Leo, Father Johnson said, citing one statistic reported by Catholic nonprofit news agency Zenit: Global online searches for “how to become Catholic” surged by 373% between April 20 and April 26.
“That (report) became my incentive to do this for the Cathedral as a way of evangelization in addition to praying for the pope,” Father Johnson said.
Father Colin Jones, a priest of the archdiocese who is living at the Pontifical Irish College in Rome and Anne Cullen Miller, president of St. Paul-based Catholic Community Foundation, are among people in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who met thenCardinal Prevost last November, as he fulfilled his duties leading the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome.
Father Jones was present at a Mass when the cardinal was WE HAVE A POPE! CONTINUED ON
a boy from the Czech Republic carrying the flag of his country sliding into the
chief celebrant, and Cullen Miller was in the congregation at a separate Mass when she visited Rome as part of a delegation with Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities (FADICA).
“All of us celebrating Mass that day were struck with how revitalizing and inspiring his homily was,” Cullen Miller said. After lunch with the cardinal, those in the FADICA delegation commented on “how easy to talk to and engaged the cardinal was. He really wanted to get to know our group.”
Father Jones, who is studying for his doctorate in biblical theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and living at the Pontifical Irish College, said then-Cardinal Prevost presided at a community Mass at the Irish College and gave a talk about his work in the dicastery.
“He told us that he had a standing meeting with Pope Francis at 7:30 every Saturday morning to put before him the work that the dicastery had been doing throughout the previous week,” Father Jones said. “Cardinal Prevost said he was always moved by how prayerfully the Holy Father performed this task of choosing bishops. He could feel the Holy Spirit’s presence as these decisions were being made.”
The cardinal also shared a beautiful reflection on obedience within the context of being called to (the dicastery) by Pope Francis, Father Jones said.
“He said that one should trust the Church’s judgment as it is made manifest through the Holy Father. The Lord will provide the strength for what is clearly beyond the capacity of human strength to carry out. I remember finding these words very encouraging because they
mapped on to my own experience of coming to Rome to do doctoral studies.”
Father Jones said he hopes that “Pope Leo XIV will bring his deep spirituality and love for the Lord to his ministry as the successor of Peter. I believe that it will be a blessing to receive from Pope Leo’s life of prayer and his readiness to do the Lord’s will. I hope that he will inspire and challenge us all to be credible witnesses to the power of Jesus’ resurrection.
“Being in the square and hearing Pope Leo’s first words to the world, I was really struck by his emphasis on the resurrected Christ,” Father Jones said. “I believe the Resurrection will be a big theme for him, as it always has been for Christ’s Church.”
would eliminate state support for essential services at private schools, including school nurses. By May 15 that proposal was not
past the session’s end.
By Josh McGovern The Catholic Spirit
On May 7, a rally was held at the Minnesota State Capitol rotunda, where students, parents and nonpublic school leaders gathered to protest cuts to nonpublic school pupil aid that were in Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed budget.
Eight days later, on May 15, Walz announced a bipartisan agreement on state budget targets that retained state aid for essential services at nonpublic schools, including busing, textbooks and school nurses.
However, Senate Democrats began to dispute the claim that the $100 million in aid over the biennium had survived without any cuts, said Christopher Mulcahey, the communications manager for the Minnesota Catholic Conference, in a May 19 email to The Catholic Spirit.
Lawmakers and the governor have been wrestling with the budget. The Legislature did not make its May 19 deadline to end the legislative session, and a special session was in the forecast. To avoid a government shutdown, a budget agreement must be reached by June 30.
Minndependent, a nonprofit that works to connect and strengthen Minnesota’s independent schools, also sponsored the rally, which drew hundreds of people. After the rally, students, parents and school leaders marched to Walz’s office to deliver an official statement protesting the budget cuts. Throughout the day, rallygoers and others met with their lawmakers about the issue.
In an open letter May 15 to Catholic school leaders and partners, Jason Slattery, the director of Catholic education and superintendent of schools for the
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, announced that nonpublic school pupil aid at that point remained in the governor’s budget.
Mulcahey said the MCC remained cautiously optimistic.
“Although we remain cautiously optimistic that nonpublic pupil aid will be preserved, the outcome is not yet certain,” Mulcahey wrote in the email. “This issue will be settled once the education budget is made public and has passed both chambers. We are in ongoing discussions with legislators and school leaders, and we strongly encourage Catholics to continue emailing, calling and meeting with their state legislators to urge protection of nonpublic pupil aid.”
Action can be taken by Catholics in the archdiocese at tinyurl.com/2v4xxb2k.
ANOTHER STEP TOWARD PRIESTHOOD From left, Dominic Miller of Sts. Joachim and Anne in Shakopee, Sebastian Spencer of St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony and Peter Romens of St. Paul in Ham Lake prepare to be ordained transitional deacons May 10 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. At right, Bishop Kevin Kenney ordains Deacon Spencer a transitional deacon. Seminarians Charles DeReuil of St. Joseph in West St. Paul and Steven Lang of St. Michael in Stillwater are studying in Rome and will be ordained transitional deacons there in October. The deacons will continue their studies for another year as they prepare to be ordained to the priesthood.
NEW POPE MOMENT Steve Dornbach, middle school English teacher at Benilde-St. Margaret’s school in St. Louis Park, explains details about the Vatican and the importance of the election of a new pope to his seventh grade students on May 8, as Cardinal Robert Prevost was introduced as Pope Leo XIV. Students, faculty and staff at the school paused for the announcement of the new Holy Father. At the conclusion of the day, the entire school community offered a special prayer, written by the school’s campus minister, Mike Jeremiah, for Pope Leo.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the May 16 “Practicing Catholic” radio show featured a discussion with transitional Deacons Randy Skeate and Stephen Boatwright about their journey to the priesthood. The program included Father Colin Jones and seminarian Dominic Wolters and their experience while studying in Rome during the papal election. Also, Father Troy Przybilla and The Catholic Spirit photographer Dave Hrbacek talked about finding God’s presence while fishing. Listen to interviews after they have aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
Here we’ll break something. Better not.
Pope Leo XIV, while laughing and looking around at the Vatican’s antique furniture as the world’s highest-ranked tennis player, Jannik Sinner, an Italian, invited him to play May 14. Sinner visited with the pope, who is a tennis fan, after advancing to the semi-finals of the Italian Open. Sinner presented Pope Leo with a custom-made white tennis racket, matching the papal cassock. Clearly enjoying the moment, the pope gestured to his cassock and quipped that Wimbledon would let him play – referencing the tournament’s famous all-white dress code. Sinner lost to Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the men’s final of the Italian Open May 18.
Five men are preparing for their priestly ordination at 10 a.m. May 31 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. They are Deacons Stephen Boatwright of St. Joseph in Rosemount; Benjamin Eichten of St. Mark in St. Paul; Alexander Marquette of St. Timothy in Maple Lake; Zachary Ochsenbauer of St. Peter in Forest Lake; and Randy Skeate of St. Patrick in Oak Grove. St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights won the battery electric prototype division and the urban concept hydrogen fuel cell division at the recent 2025 Shell Eco-marathon Americas competition April 2-6 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. The team also won the vehicle design award for its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. For its wins, the team took home a total of $9,000 in prize money. The Shell Eco-Marathon is one of the world’s leading student engineering competitions focused on energy optimization. Conceived 40 years ago, high school and university teams are asked to design, build and drive some of the world’s most energy-efficient vehicles.
ONLY JESUS | BISHOP KEVIN KENNEY
Habemus papam! Who would have guessed we’d have a new pope at the time of this writing? These past weeks have been filled with transitions as the month of May sends us whirling into new life with renewed spirits.
Sunshine strengthens and sunsets linger, rounding out the fullness of our days. As temperatures swing, people don shorts and sweatshirts around the fire pit. Neighbors see each other and wave from a distance. Many of us step outside for exercise and well-being.
People seem happy yet still cautious about tomorrow. Easter joy resounds even as alleluias fade and the sprinkling rite wanes. We await renewal through the Holy Spirit as we celebrate Jesus’ ascension, empowering us to go forth and share the good news of the Gospel.
The election of Pope Leo XIV sent waves of hope throughout the world. Our mourning after the death of Pope Francis led to the excitement of Pope Leo XIV’s election. The papal conclave kept us glued to our devices. White smoke was a sign of hope.
As the days march on, we celebrate
¡Habemus papam!
¿Quién hubiera imaginado que tendríamos un nuevo papa al momento de escribir esto? Estas últimas semanas han estado llenas de transiciones, ya que el mes de mayo nos impulsa hacia una nueva vida con ánimos renovados.
El sol brilla con más intensidad y los atardeceres se prolongan, completando la plenitud de nuestros días. Conforme suben las temperaturas, la gente se pone pantalones cortos y sudaderas alrededor de la fogata. Los vecinos se ven y saludan desde lejos. Muchos salimos al aire libre para hacer ejercicio y disfrutar del bienestar.
La gente parece feliz, pero aún cautelosa ante el mañana. La alegría pascual resuena incluso cuando se desvanecen los aleluyas y el rito de la aspersión. Esperamos la renovación del Espíritu Santo al celebrar la ascensión de Jesús, que nos da el poder para salir y compartir la buena nueva del Evangelio.
La elección del Papa León XIV infundió esperanza en todo el mundo. Nuestro duelo por la muerte del Papa Francisco despertó la emoción por la elección del Papa León XIV. El cónclave papal nos mantuvo pegados a nuestros dispositivos. El humo blanco era una señal de esperanza.
Con el paso de los días, celebramos aniversarios, graduaciones, primeras comuniones, confirmaciones y bodas. Mayo es el mes en que celebramos los aniversarios de ordenación, los votos perpetuos y el ministerio en la
anniversaries, graduations, first Communions, confirmations and weddings. May is the month we celebrate ordination anniversaries, final vows and ministry within the Church. Many priests celebrate their anniversaries, not believing how fast the year past has gone, yet thankful for God’s grace that has enabled us to serve in many different capacities. The richness of the priesthood, religious life, and a lay vocation only increases as investing in the love of Jesus Christ offers life-giving dividends. We celebrate all who mark anniversaries and especially those who have served for an abundance of years. Thank you for your ministry.
We acknowledge many accomplishments in May. Graduations abound, from pre-school to eighth grade to high school to undergraduate and graduate studies. We celebrate all who are making significant transitions from studies to more studies, to making their way in the world. Exciting but fearful times await with new challenges, and the unknown lies around every corner.
We pray for our youth and young adults who have so much to offer in a changing and challenging world. New beginnings offer fresh hope when seasoned with humility.
In the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, we check to see which clergy members are being reassigned, who will stay in their parish and where the soon-tobe-ordained will begin their ministries.
Iglesia. Muchos sacerdotes celebran sus aniversarios, sin creer lo rápido que ha pasado el año, pero agradecidos por la gracia de Dios que nos ha permitido servir en diversas funciones. La riqueza del sacerdocio, la vida religiosa y la vocación laica aumenta a medida que invertir en el amor de Jesucristo ofrece frutos vivificantes. Celebramos a todos los que celebran aniversarios y, especialmente, a aquellos que han servido durante muchos años. Gracias por su ministerio. En mayo, reconocemos muchos logros. Abundan las graduaciones, desde preescolar hasta octavo grado, pasando por la preparatoria, la licenciatura y los estudios de posgrado. Celebramos a todos los que están haciendo transiciones significativas de sus estudios a otros más, para abrirse camino en el mundo. Nos esperan tiempos emocionantes, pero a la vez temibles, con nuevos desafíos, y lo desconocido acecha en cada esquina.
Oramos por nuestros jóvenes y adultos jóvenes que tienen tanto que ofrecer en un mundo cambiante y desafiante. Los nuevos comienzos ofrecen una nueva esperanza cuando se acompañan de humildad.
En la Arquidiócesis de San Pablo y Minneapolis, verificamos qué clérigos serán reasignados, quiénes permanecerán en su parroquia y dónde comenzarán sus ministerios los futuros ordenados.
Apreciamos a los hombres y mujeres que se jubilan y oramos para que encuentren tiempo para sentarse y relajarse con Dios. Oramos por todos los que están inmersos en una transición que invita a las almas discernidoras a abrirse a la gracia de Dios. Oramos por los feligreses y buscamos su paciencia, comprensión y amor al dar la bienvenida a un nuevo párroco o vicario
We appreciate the men and women who are retiring and pray that they find time to sit and relax with God. We pray for everyone who is engrossed in a transition that invites discerning souls to be open to God’s grace. We pray for parishioners and seek their patience, understanding and love as they welcome a new pastor or parochial vicar. We pray for those who serve in the many capacities that go unnoticed as the Holy Spirit enables them to serve with the message of Jesus Christ’s love for all.
We pray that Mary, our mother, continues to intercede for her Church in this archdiocese and in the world. In this Jubilee Year with its theme Pilgrims of Hope, we look for hope, we work for justice and we pray for peace. So many need our prayers.
Speaking for all priests, deacons, bishops and religious: We thank you for your prayers. Your prayers keep us enveloped in God’s spirit, aware of our humanness, and they encourage us to take time to relax.
Encourage your priest, pastor, friend, religious brother or sister or sibling these spring and summer days to go to a ballgame, take a walk, read a book, go fishing, eat some ice cream. We all need support and encouragement.
“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.”
Amen and alleluia!
parroquial. Oramos por quienes sirven en las diversas funciones que pasan desapercibidas, mientras el Espíritu Santo les capacita para servir con el mensaje del amor de Jesucristo por todos.
Oramos para que María, nuestra Madre, siga intercediendo por su Iglesia en esta arquidiócesis y en el mundo. En este Año Jubilar, con el tema «Peregrinos de la Esperanza», buscamos la esperanza, trabajamos por la justicia y oramos por la paz. Muchos necesitan nuestras oraciones.
En nombre de todos los sacerdotes, diáconos, obispos y religiosos: Les agradecemos sus oraciones. Tus oraciones nos mantienen envueltos en el espíritu de Dios, conscientes de nuestra humanidad, y nos animan a tomarnos un tiempo para relajarnos.
Anima a tu sacerdote, párroco, amigo, hermano, hermana o hermano religioso estos días de primavera y verano a ir a un partido de béisbol, dar un paseo, leer un libro, ir a pescar o a comer un helado. Todos necesitamos apoyo y ánimo.
“Ven, Espíritu Santo, llena los corazones de tus fieles y enciende en ellos el fuego de tu amor”.
¡Amén y aleluya!
Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:
Effective June 1, 2025
Deacon Dominic Miller, assigned to exercise diaconal ministry for a summer assignment at the Church of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings. Deacon Miller was ordained to the diaconate on May 10, 2025.
Deacon Peter Romens , assigned to exercise diaconal ministry for a summer assignment at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Minnetonka. Deacon Romens was ordained to the diaconate on May 10, 2025.
Deacon Sebastian Spencer , assigned to exercise diaconal ministry for a summer assignment at the Church of Saint Mary in Stillwater, and the Church of Saint Michael in Stillwater. Deacon Spencer was ordained to the diaconate on May 10, 2025.
Reverend Robert Hart , assigned as parochial administrator of the Church of the Holy Name in Minneapolis and as parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Leonard of Port Maurice in Minneapolis. Father Hart is a retired priest of the Archdiocese.
Reverend Michael Maloney , assigned as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Therese in Deephaven, and as chaplain to Benilde-St. Margaret School in Saint Louis Park. Father Maloney is returning to the Archdiocese after completing academic studies in Rome.
Reverend Leo Schneider , assigned as pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis. This is a transfer from his current assignment as pastor of the Church of the Holy Name in Minneapolis and as pastor of the Church of Saint Leonard of Port Maurice in Minneapolis.
Reverend Joseph Wappes , assigned as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Joseph in West Saint Paul. Father Wappes is returning to the Archdiocese after completing academic studies in Rome.
Reverend Peter Williams , assigned as parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Lake Saint Croix Beach. This is in addition to his assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint Ambrose in Woodbury.
Effective August 1, 2025
Reverend Stephen Ulrick , assigned as temporary parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Bartholomew while the pastor, Reverend John Klockeman, is on sabbatical.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda is inviting everyone to participate in a Holy Hour of Adoration from 7-8 p.m. June 6 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, calling upon the Lord to set a posture of prayer for the entirety of Pentecost weekend. Join Archbishop Hebda, Bishop Michael Izen, Bishop Kevin Kenney and many members of Archdiocesan Synod 2025 as they open themselves to the movement of the Holy Spirit as the Synod convenes June 7.
From front left, George Mutua of St. Peter in Forest Lake greets Virginia Kiilu and Father George Marete May 11 at St. Gerard Majella in Brooklyn Park following a Mass to celebrate the 20th anniversary of a partnership between the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Kitui, Kenya. Kiilu and Father Marete were part of a delegation from Kitui that included priests, religious men and women, and lay leaders. They came to the archdiocese to meet people and rekindle relationships formed during previous exchanges of delegations from each diocese. “Being part of the Kitui partnership has been the most significant thing that I have been a part of in my 25 years of serving in the Center for Mission,” said Deacon Mickey Friesen, the center’s director who has been to Kitui as part of an archdiocesan delegation. “We have had the great opportunity to grow together and share many gifts over the last 20-plus years. … I have experienced the great joy of the Kitui people and the way they give their whole selves to worship and service.”
By Tim Montgomery For The Catholic Spirit
A Mass, tours, dinner and an evening of music outdoors under a canopy of twinkling lights on Nicollet Island were part of a May 3 on-campus celebration of the 125th anniversary of DeLaSalle High School, founded in 1900 as the first Catholic high school in Minneapolis.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Bishop Kevin Kenney (class of 1978) and Bishop Emeritus John LeVoir of New Ulm (class of 1964) concelebrated the Mass, along with clergy who have ties to the school.
“One of the areas where DeLaSalle has excelled is helping people to give witness to Jesus in their lives,” said Archbishop Hebda, who graduated from a LaSallian high school in Pittsburgh. In his homily, the archbishop acknowledged the clergy present who were DeLaSalle alumni and who had given their lives to the Gospel — but he also recognized the dedication and credible witness of others.
“So many of the graduates of this institution in their married lives, in their work as fathers and mothers, have also given their lives to the Gospel,” Archbishop Hebda said. “All of us are called to do that.”
Bishop Kenney, whose father (class of 1948) and grandfather (class of 1910) also graduated from DeLaSalle, said after the Mass that his experience at the school inspired him to live a Christian life in the community.
school was the Minneapolis Vocational School, and then in 1902, it became DeLaSalle Institute, not a high school, because it wasn’t a four-year school,” said De La Salle Christian Brother Michael Kadow, who works with faculty and staff in LaSallian formation. “(The school) was emphasizing vocational arts because part of the LaSallian tradition was that students are not only spiritually formed, but are prepared to go out in the world and make a difference — a wholistic salvation.”
“Our motto is one island, one family,” said DeLaSalle sophomore Zaven Christianson, “and when I walk in these doors, I do feel that. I feel connected as one family, whether with alumni like Bishop Kenney or with current students. It’s nice being here.”
“One of my favorite aspects of DeLaSalle was when they put us to work out in the community,” said Bishop Kenney, referring to his opportunity to assist children at a grade school in Minneapolis. “The diversity DeLaSalle brings is a wonderful gift.”
DeLaSalle President Patrick Felicetta also announced a new effort to raise $30 million to upgrade facilities, increase student access through tuition assistance and academic support and increase the school’s endowment fund.
A lead gift of $10 million has been received, Felicetta said, from Dave Thies, a 1955 graduate of the school, and his wife, Marlys. Thies played major league baseball briefly for the then-Kansas City Athletics and went on to found a Midwest property management company.
By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit
“I sometimes wish the Lord would say, ‘This my commandment, be part of the Archdiocesan Synod,’” Archbishop Bernard Hebda said while smiling during his homily at a May 14 evening of reflection preparing for a June 7 Archdiocesan Synod Assembly.
“But he doesn’t say that. He says, ‘love one another,’” the archbishop said, quoting from the Gospel for the day’s Mass, John 15:9-17. “As we prepare for the Synod, let’s do so in the context of that call.”
The archbishop’s homily set a tone for quiet reflection during the three-hour gathering at Holy Name of Jesus in Medina, which drew nearly 100 people.
The evening began with opportunities for confession, then Mass, and it closed with time for private prayer after talks from Deacon Joseph Michalak, pastoral letter and formation adviser in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Discipleship and Evangelization, and Mary Shaffer, a spiritual and retreat director in addition to her work as co-founder and artistic director of Missed the Boat Theatre in St. Paul.
Three similar gatherings for reflection were held at geographically strategic sites across the archdiocese in the months leading up to the June 7 event, titled Be My Witnesses Assembly.
Synod planners also released 13 videos detailing 12 propositions to be discussed in preparation for the assembly as the archbishop seeks pastoral priorities for the
years ahead. In addition, planners offered four optional, online gatherings for further reflection on the propositions. Participants expected at the upcoming Synod — nearly 500 people — also were encouraged to engage in service projects, such as serving meals to people experiencing homelessness.
In his talk, Deacon Michalak asked participants to step away from the temptation to concentrate solely on what’s next for the archdiocese and to remember that the Lord most desires everyone to be close to him and to one another.
“He simply wants you,” Deacon Michalak said. “We are to abide in him.”
Shaffer encouraged those gathered to view their role as helping form the Church in the image of the bride of Christ. “Every good and holy act we do as Christians is being woven into the wedding dress,” Shaffer said. “She is the pilgrim bride of Christ. She is moving toward who she is supposed to be at the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
The Archdiocesan Synod process is bearing fruit in action. All 12 propositions to be discussed June 7 were top vote-getters at Archdiocesan Synod Assembly 2022 and were noted in Archbishop Hebda’s post-synodal pastoral letter, “You Will Be My Witnesses: Gathered and Sent From the Upper Room.” The propositions can be found at archspm.org/synodpropositions
Four of the propositions are already being implemented: Parishioners are forming small groups, particularly under a model called Parish Evangelization Cells System, while archdiocesan officials, parishes and schools
Justin Kaster, a 1995 graduate, said an advanced placement English teacher at DeLaSalle was instrumental in encouraging his academic development. And the school’s spiritual focus and opportunities to meet good people from many backgrounds helped him find common ground for friendships.
“It was a great experience in terms of meeting a lot of different people from different walks of life,” Kaster said.
In helping to found DeLaSalle as a school run by the LaSallian Christian Brothers, Archbishop John Ireland hoped to educate the children of working-class immigrants who were moving into Minneapolis from many European countries.
“The first two years, the name of the
“The kids that are coming through here are completely self-assured and confident and equipped to take on college or whatever they’re doing next,” said Leah Kaiser, a 1987 graduate and parent of three current students.
Kaiser also noted that the school has a foreign exchange program, the international Global Advantage Program, which uses the network of LaSallian communities across the globe to help students experience different cultures and still feel at home.
Alumni support has been a key factor in sustaining the school and its LaSallian premise — commitment to a quality faith-based education, inclusive of all communities, supporters said.
“Faces change, personalities come and go, but the mission endures,” said Felicetta, urging those in attendance to continue to share the DeLaSalle story.
are educating people on the beauty, form and meaning of the Mass, and encouraging more active participation in it. Action is being taken now to help form and inspire parents to fulfill their responsibility as the first teachers of their children in ways of the faith.
In his pastoral letter, the archbishop expressed a desire to hold Archdiocesan Synod 2025 to continue fostering unity, renewal and evangelization in the archdiocese by listening, discerning and adapting.
At the May 14 gathering, Gigi DesLauriersKnop, 55, of Holy Name in Minneapolis, said the archbishop’s vision is working. She participated in the first Synod and looks forward to the June 7 assembly. Prayerful preparations for Archdiocesan Synod 2025 will foster fruitful dialogue, she said.
“It’s been a really great experience,” DesLauriers-Knop said, even better than the
preparations for Synod 2022. “I will be more fully prepared to participate,” she said.
Adam Eberhard, 28, of Transfiguration in Oakdale, said the June 7 Be My Witnesses Assembly will be his first Synod. Preparing for it has inspired him to hope “that God can and wants to do something with us,” he said.
In his homily, Archbishop Hebda said he has confidence in the Holy Spirit.
“It is very significant that Pope Leo XIV has talked about his commitment to walking with one another,” the archbishop said of the pope who was elected May 8 to follow in the footsteps of the late Pope Francis.
“We can hope we are in the heart of the Church, that we are following Pope Leo,” Archbishop Hebda said. “We can be active participants, to give the Lord all that we have, not out of any strategic process, but out of love for one another and the knowledge of the love that God has for each one of us.”
Hrbacek
Evie Begalle returned to alertness after an afternoon nap. The energetic 2-year-old looked around the dining room table of her home in Andover and sized up her five siblings — Austin, 19; Cameron, 17; Abby, 15; Charlotte, 12; and Veronica, 10.
In unison, all of them held out their arms to cuddle her. Evie’s parents, Jill and Andy Begalle, both 44, asked Evie which one of them she wanted to go to. It was a friendly competition. They all offered her inviting smiles to go with their outstretched arms.
In the end, she chose Charlotte, a seventh grader at Epiphany Catholic School in Coon Rapids. Evie then jumped around to different laps and found her way to Cameron, a senior at Andover High School. Just one year ago, he became certified as a personal care attendant (PCA) so he could spend more time with Evie.
Evie has Down syndrome. Jill had a sense as she was carrying Evie in utero that Evie had this condition. Only momentarily did Jill and Andy feel grief. Once Evie began to show them her infectious and joyful personality, everything changed. Born on Sept. 4, 2022, Evie saw her siblings for the first time the day after her birth when they came to the hospital in Maple Grove. The five older siblings snuck into the room — COVID-19 protocols at that time only allowed two people in the room at a time. Their bond with Evie was instantaneous.
“It just naturally formed,” said Cameron, a three-sport athlete who will attend the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) in the fall and continue to play sports, starting with football. “It wasn’t forced. My parents weren’t like, ‘You need to love her more.’ It was just: She’s special and I want to protect her.”
The other four siblings felt the same way. When the family goes to Sunday Mass at their parish, St. Paul in Ham Lake, they all take turns holding Evie throughout the liturgy. Most Sundays, she gets passed all the way down the pew until each sibling gets a turn.
Starting when she was a few months old, Evie became a regular at Cameron’s football games, basketball games and track meets. She was even bundled up in late fall to attend his football games. He was a wide receiver on the football team, and he always looked for her in the crowd of fans.
“My mom takes her to the back of the end zone,” he said. “And after every time I score, I see them, and I give them a little wave.”
Then, in sign language, he adds a special message to Evie: “I love you.”
“My first touchdown this year was three
games in,” he said. “I caught a touchdown in the left corner of the end zone and she was right there. It was like, ‘Oh, this is a great feeling.’”
Already, Cameron is letting his parents know that he wants Evie to come to his football games at UMD, where Andy and Jill met during the year and a half when they attended the Duluth school. Andy and Jill plan to take Evie there to watch Cameron’s games. They acknowledge the special bond the two siblings share and are happy to oblige.
The family also has shared Evie and her vibrant personality with extended family members, friends, parishioners and the broader community. The evening Evie was born, Jill texted people to let them know about the birth and that Evie had Down syndrome. Right away, one of her best friends, Angela Johnson, sent an inspiring text message. She is the daughter of Mary Ann Kuharski, founder of Prolife Across America, the organization that puts up billboards along freeways across the country.
The night of Evie’s birth, Jill and Andy had a lot to process. In addition to having Down syndrome, Evie was born with leukemia and a congenital heart defect that would require extensive medical intervention. Johnson then called her, and Jill poured out her heart to her friend.
“Angie was the first one to call me at the hospital,” Jill recalled. “She called me, and she cried along with me. And she congratulated me. She said, ‘I can’t wait to see Evie.’”
Her friend’s words turned grief into excitement. “To hear Angie’s voice of happiness and love and saying that over and over to me was amazing,” Jill said.
There was more that Jill’s friend had to say. The next day, Johnson told Jill that Prolife Across American wanted to feature Evie on its billboards. That led to a photo shoot that included shots of Evie alone and with each of her parents. Evie was only twoand-a-half weeks old. In about six months, Evie’s face started showing up on billboards across the country. Andy estimated there were “several hundred” billboards featuring Evie that were put up. Many of the billboards have appeared in Minnesota, the family noted.
Evie’s face is enough to draw people to her. And she welcomes every encounter with another person, to the point where she seeks people out who look sad or lonely.
Like the time Jill brought Evie and two of her sisters to the dentist. Evie spotted a woman who looked distraught and went up to her and offered a smile and a greeting. The woman smiled back and her anxiety over a procedure she was about to undergo melted away.
Evie does this at home, too. One time recently, Andy came home from a hard day at work and received comfort from a daughter who demonstrates strong intuition about the suffering of others.
“She just has a sixth sense when somebody is not doing well,” Andy said.
times little pats on the back during a long hug.
“If you’re having a bad day, she’ll just brighten you,” said Veronica. “I can’t imagine my life without her.”
“I’ve always said, ‘She’s impacted more people in her two and a half years than I ever will in my lifetime,” Jill said. “That’s what I truly believe. I can’t imagine what she’s going to do (throughout) her whole life.”
Evie continues to bring encouragement and joy to a world that sorely needs it. Rather than imagining how they will care for her as the years go by, the Begalles imagine how Evie can change the world for the better.
“I’m very excited to see how she is as she grows up,” said Austin, the oldest sibling.
“My friends will go by them and send me a picture,” Abby said.
“Me and my dad were on the way to North Dakota for a football visit,” Cameron recalled. “We drove right past it (a billboard with Evie on it). I took a picture of him next to it. We stopped on the road and then I took a picture and sent it to my mom and
“Two weeks ago, three weeks ago, I had a bad day at work, just a bad day. She would not leave me. She kept hugging me. She just knew that her dad was having a bad day.”
Evie’s simple gestures of comfort worked.
“She allowed me to just calm down,” Andy said, “in a way that was so beneficial that I wouldn’t have been able to do on my own.”
Evie’s siblings receive her comfort, too. Sometimes, it’s a kiss on the forehead, other
“We are very blessed to have someone so special in our family that not a lot of families get the chance to have.”
Cameron already has thought years ahead to the day when Evie’s parents might die while she is still living. Jill recounted Cameron’s simple pledge to Evie:
“No matter where I am, she’s going to have a room in my house.”
By Maura Keller For The Catholic Sprit
To honor graduating high school seniors in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, The Catholic Spirit asked three Catholic high schools to nominate students who might share their stories of faith and education. The three students selected credit their Catholic education as they deepen their faith and live out their principles. Congratulations to all our graduates!
Throughout his life, Alex Dehmer has sought to give back to others and to the community. For many years, he has volunteered at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge in Sherburne County, where his father, Greg, works. He has also volunteered at St. Michael in St. Michael, where he, his father and his mother, Nora, are parishioners.
As a senior at Holy Spirit Academy in Monticello, Dehmer actively shows his love for Christ by attending daily Mass at school as often as he can.
“I enjoy leading other kids and telling them about my faith experience and just trying to be an example to them,” Dehmer said. “I try to pray a lot with my family and have time for personal prayer as well. It is really just about being grateful and joyful and showing my love of Christ to others.”
Dehmer joined Holy Spirit Academy for his junior year. He was homeschooled as a freshman and attended Trilogy STEM Academy in Rogers his sophomore year. In addition to participating in robotics clubs, he has been involved in fencing and this year he joined Holy Spirit Academy’s drama program.
“Holy Spirit Academy has definitely grown and helped my faith life,” Dehmer said. “They integrate how our faith can be incorporated into everything, in all aspects of our lives. For example, in all of our subjects — literature to computer programming — they show how our faith can apply to that. It’s definitely been an eye-opener for me.”
To continue his faith journey and further strengthen the formation he’s received at Holy Spirit Academy, Dehmer sought a college that had a good Newman Center or was a solid Catholic or Christian college that would fit his budget. University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, proved to be the ideal fit and will offer the mechanical engineering program Dehmer is seeking.
“I’m excited to get involved in the school’s faith program, but I also want to try to attend daily Mass as often as I can,” Dehmer said. “I know they say the Liturgy of the Hours around campus, so I want to be involved in that as well.”
For Nathan Kelly, a senior at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, having attended Catholic schools all his life means that his Catholic faith is a core part of his identity. He wears his faith on his proverbial sleeve in managing the school’s soccer team and as captain of the lacrosse team.
As part of the campus ministry team at Holy Angels, Kelly is able to share his faith with fellow students in meaningful ways.
“We lead retreats for the freshmen, sophomore(s) and the juniors. Specifically, for the freshmen retreat, I was lucky enough to get to speak to them and just give a testimony of my faith,” Kelly said. “It’s great to be able to practice my faith and do it so openly at school.”
Kelly also works in the warehouse at Bridging, a social services organization in Bloomington. He volunteers for the Savage-based American Bandy Association at the Richfield Ice Arena, teaching kids about Bandy, a Swedish sport similar to ice hockey.
Kelly and his mother, Mary, and father, Mike, are parishioners at Our Lady of Grace in Edina, but they also attend Annunciation in Minneapolis.
“I’ve been really involved in Annunciation’s youth ministry program,” said Kelly, who went on Annunciation’s mission trip last summer to Savannah, Georgia. He expects to serve on this summer’s mission trip in Denver.
“I painted an elderly lady’s home; I helped add a shelter for runaway youth, and I also helped deliver hurricane relief package meals; in the event that there’s a hurricane and people can’t get out of their homes, they have supplies,” Kelly said. “There are about 70 kids who attend these mission trips, and we really work on building each other up and improving our faith.”
Strengthening his faith has also been at the core of Kelly’s experience at Holy Angels.
“While we have religion class and focus on the core history of the Church, we also spend time learning about different kinds of prayer and our relationship with Christ — building that up. My faith is such a crucial aspect to my identity, and it’s behind every decision I make. I ask: WWJD — What Would Jesus Do? That’s what I like to incorporate into my life. And that all stems from my experience attending a Catholic school.”
In the fall, Kelly will be attending Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, where he will study finance; he plans to be active in the university’s Newman Center.
Hannah Rae Schreier and her parents, Jennifer and Marty Schreier, attend Nativity of our Lord in St. Paul. Throughout her time at Visitation School in Mendota Heights, Schreier has participated in a wealth of athletic activities — from serving as softball team captain, to participating in the curling club, to playing volleyball and managing the varsity basketball team.
Leadership is second nature to Schreier, who served on the school’s student council and its Leadership Crew, which helps organize fun events at Visitation. For the past two years she has served in the school’s Eucharistic Ministry group; she became a Eucharistic Ministry Coordinator this past year. Schreier has volunteered serving food to people in need through Loaves and Fishes and tutoring at Dakota Woodlands homeless shelter in Eagan. Last spring, she began volunteering at the Visitation Monastery of Minneapolis in north Minneapolis.
“I have tried to show my love of Christ through action. I strive to show my faith by actively participating in devotion towards Christ,” Schreier said. “Through these actions, I bring the light of Christ to others by sharing him and his words with the school community.”
Visitation has also gifted Schreier with various ways to grow in her faith. “Visitation incorporates faith in the school day by beginning each morning bell with a prayer. Many teachers begin their own classes with prayer as well, reminding each of us that we are always in the presence of God and should carry him into each class,” she said. “Through these faithful opportunities, both big and small, Visitation has allowed me to grow closer to God.”
Next year, Schreier will be studying at Villanova University’s School of Business in Villanova, Pennsylvania.
“As I enter this new phase of my life, I will carry my faith forward through the little virtues,” Schreier said. “At Visitation, I have learned little virtues such as gentle strength, joyful optimism and humility. These little virtues have taught me how I can maintain my faith through simple tasks. As I move into the next chapter of my life, I acknowledge that I don’t need to do big things to have big faith. Rather, I know that living the little virtues allows me to do small things with great love.”
By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit
Father Thomas Sieg, 79, used to tell his family and others with humor that he would be the first American pope.
After the retired priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis suffered a serious fall May 8 and was taken to a hospital in St. Louis Park, his younger sister, Maggie McDonnell, broke the news that Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost had been elected that day as the first American to lead the Church.
Father Sieg, who served for nearly 54 years at seven archdiocesan parishes and at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, didn’t seem disappointed that the election of Cardinal Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV — ended his childhood dream, his sister noted. That might have been because God was calling Father Sieg, considered a gifted homilist and teacher by his family, colleagues and friends, to his eternal rest. Father Sieg died May 9.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda was scheduled to preside at Father Sieg’s 4 p.m. May 28 funeral Mass at St. Michael in Prior Lake.
Father Sieg was born Sept. 28, 1945, in Albert Lea, into a family of teachers. After his priestly ordination in 1971, he served as an assistant pastor at Holy Spirit in St. Paul for two years and then as an associate pastor of St. Peter in North St. Paul for five years before going to Washington, D.C., in 1978 to pursue graduate studies in homiletics at the Catholic University of America.
Father Phillip Rask, a retired priest of the archdiocese, said he got to know Father Sieg at Catholic University while Father Rask was there studying the Bible. Father
Rask’s later faculty work at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul overlapped with Father Sieg’s as Father Sieg served at the seminary as associate professor of sacramental theology and homiletics during the first half of the 1980s.
Father Rask, who will offer a eulogy at Father Sieg’s funeral, noted one of his friend’s instructions to seminarians was to write out their homilies to help organize their thoughts, but not use the notes during the homily “because it’s deadly to read it,” he said. Father Sieg “was devoted to the Word and then interested in improving the preaching of the priests and
followed that example in the sermons that he gave,” Father Rask said. “He worked at it and what he told the students to do, he did.”
Father Sieg returned to parish work in 1985, serving as pastor of Presentation of Mary in Maplewood for three years. He was briefly parochial administrator of St. Thomas the Apostle in Minneapolis before being assigned as pastor of Risen Savior in Burnsville in 1988. During the latter assignment, Father Sieg completed a semester-long sabbatical program at Notre Dame University’s Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies in Jerusalem.
In 1998, Father Sieg began a six-year assignment as pastor of St. Patrick in Edina and then served as pastor for 11 years at his final parish assignment at St. Michael in Prior Lake. He retired in 2015.
While at St. Michael, Father Sieg also served from 2008 to 2013 on the Archdiocesan Chancery College of Consultors, a diocesan body of priests required by canon law that advises the archbishop on major decisions.
Apart from his ministry, Father Sieg enjoyed collecting icons and traveling, often with his friend, Father George Grafsky, also a retired archdiocesan priest and one of his seven ordination classmates. The “odd couple” friends frequently talked on Saturday mornings about their weekend homilies and regularly traveled together in the winter to visit friends in Florida or on cruises.
“We were the opposite in many ways,” said Father Grafsky, who lives in Montgomery, noting that Father Sieg liked art and classical music while he prefers sports.
“We did learn in being together, but people always say we became connected because we make each other do things that we would never have done.”
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
God’s love, mercy and goodness lie at the foundation of every vocation, including that of the pope, Pope Leo XIV said.
“Let us ask the Lord for the grace to cultivate and spread his charity and to become true neighbors to one another,” he said, paraphrasing his predecessor, Pope Francis, in a homily at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls May 20.
“Let us compete in showing the love that, following (St. Paul’s) encounter with Christ, drove the former persecutor to become ‘all things to all people,’ even to the point of martyrdom,” he said.
The pope visited the basilica and tomb of St. Paul two days after the Mass for the inauguration of his Petrine ministry in St. Peter’s Square. It was part of a series of visits to the city’s major papal basilicas after his election.
People cheered and applauded as he entered the basilica, and he blessed the crowds. He walked to the steps descending to the apostle’s tomb where he knelt briefly in silent prayer.
The prayer service was dedicated to St. Paul, the so-called “Apostle to the Gentiles” who brought the Gospel to peoples
across the central and eastern Mediterranean, exemplifying evangelical zeal and the missionary spirit. The visit was part of entrusting “the beginning of this new pontificate to the intercession of the apostle,” the pope said.
Pope Leo’s homily reflected on a reading chosen from the opening of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, where the apostle expresses his complete allegiance to the Lord and his faith in God’s justifying action in Jesus.
St. Paul received the grace of his vocation from God, acknowledging “that his encounter with Christ and his own ministry were the fruit of God’s prior love, which called him to a new life while he was still far from the Gospel and persecuting the Church,” the pope said.
St. Augustine also was a convert who experienced choosing God after having realized God had chosen him first, he said. “We cannot love unless someone has loved us first.”
In fact, “at the root of every vocation, God is present, in his mercy and his goodness, as generous as that of a mother who nourishes her child with her own body for as long as the child is unable to feed itself,” he said, quoting from the saint who founded the religious order he joined in his 20s.
When St. Paul speaks of “the obedience of faith,” he said, he is referring to what happened to him on the road
to Damascus, when the Lord appeared and “did not take away his freedom, but gave him the opportunity to make a decision, to choose an obedience that would prove costly and entail interior and exterior struggles, which Paul proved willing to face.”
“Salvation does not come about by magic, but by a mysterious interplay of grace and faith, of God’s prevenient love and of our trusting and free acceptance,” he said.
Quoting from Pope Benedict XVI’s 2011 address to young people, Pope Leo said, “’God loves us. This is the great truth of our life; it is what makes everything else meaningful.’ Indeed, ‘our life originates as part of a loving plan of God.’”
“Faith leads us to ‘open our hearts to this mystery of love and to live as men and women conscious of being loved by God,’” he continued.
“Here we see, in all its simplicity and uniqueness, the basis of every mission, including my own mission as the successor of Peter and the heir to Paul’s apostolic zeal. May the Lord grant me the grace to respond faithfully to his call,” he said.
After praying before the altar above the apostle’s tomb, Pope Leo concluded the service and processed out the basilica, again to applause, blessing those present and making the sign of the cross on the foreheads of several babies.
By Tim Montgomery For The Catholic Spirit
Father John Klockeman, 63, brings a wealth of experience to his ministry at St. Bartholomew in Wayzata, but he is grateful for continuing opportunities to learn and develop. He was assigned as pastor of St. Bartholomew in 2021, after two years as pastor of St. Gerard in Brooklyn Park and following 16 years as a spiritual director and formation director at St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul and at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, where he also taught classes.
He began his ministry in the archdiocese as associate pastor at St. Olaf in downtown Minneapolis, focused on catechesis and young adult outreach as well as wider public outreach through a cable television show called “Generation Cross.”
“There are a number of hats that a pastor has to wear,” said Father Klockeman, who has explored new and creative ways to adapt his years of seminary teaching to ministering to the parish and its school.
Father Klockeman said he knew since his early years growing up in West St. Paul as a member of St. Joseph that his life would be different from his siblings’ lives. He graduated from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and international business and had planned to go on to graduate studies.
While living in Arizona, however, he became involved with LifeTeen, a Catholic youth ministry organization centered on the Eucharist that started in the Diocese of Phoenix. Through LifeTeen, he deepened his faith. During one Mass, as the priest prayed the doxology — “through him, with him, and in him” — Father Klockeman heard his own voice say, “this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” For the next year, he wrestled with pursuing a vocation through marriage and family life or through the priesthood, finally deciding he was called to the priesthood.
Other experiences continued to influence his path to the priesthood. On his first trip overseas to Spain, he was at the Shrine to St. Teresa in Ávila with a crowd of pilgrims and asked the Lord for time alone in prayer. Everyone suddenly cleared the room, and he pledged his service to the Lord in that sacred moment.
His parish in Arizona helped arrange for humanitarian aid to Croatia during the Balkan War. The late Father Doug Lorig, a big influence, had raised funds and organized a shipment of nine 40-foot-long containers filled with relief supplies.
Father Klockeman was sent to help with distribution. He was staying in the small town of Gaj with a priest, who took him to a cathedral in nearby Ludbreg where a Eucharistic miracle had occurred in 1411. Kneeling on stone before the Blessed Sacrament in a beautiful gemstone inlaid silver monstrance, he felt the overwhelming strength, warmth and power of God’s presence inviting him to enter into the depth of relationship.
Father Klockeman went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio; a Master of Divinity degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul; and was ordained a priest on May 27, 2000.
“The Lord has blessed me with profound spiritual experiences,” said Father Klockeman, who added that he is excited by the prospect of young people returning to the Mass and feels blessed to be a spiritual shepherd at St. Bartholomew.
By Tim Montgomery For The Catholic Spirit
Father Greg Esty, 75, grew up on St. Paul’s east side and entered seminary in the ninth grade at Nazareth Hall in Roseville, a school that educated students from 1923 to 1970 and is now part of the University of Northwestern-St. Paul campus in Roseville and Arden Hills. After college at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, he left for graduate studies in Rome and was ordained a priest by Pope Paul VI on June 29,1975.
In 50 years of ministry, Father Esty has served various parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, including St. Stephen in Anoka, St. Helena in Minneapolis, St. Richard in Richfield, and St. Thomas Aquinas in St. Paul Park. In 2012, he accepted the assignment of merging St. John the Baptist in Hugo and St. Genevieve in Centerville. It was a challenging scenario, but not without precedent for Father Esty — he had previously helped guide the merger of three Catholic schools in Richfield.
Known as a respected and respectful man with an open heart and a willingness to listen, Father Esty relied on his TEAM outlook — an acronym meaning Together Everyone Accomplishes More — in achieving the successful merger. He is now in his thirteenth year as pastor of St. Genevieve.
“I really believe in communication and synodality,” said Father Esty, who said he works to build relationships between people, “talking with each other and not to each other.”
Father Esty said he sees the role of the Catholic Church as nourishing the faith — being not so much a museum for saints as a hospital for sinners. People can choose to nourish either faith or fear in life, he said. If people nourish faith, Father Esty said, fears will diminish; whereas if people nourish fears, faith will diminish. Paraphrasing from the Gospel of John 14:27, he said, “do not let your hearts be fearful.”
With strong currents of individualism and narcissism in the world, Father Esty said, one organization with great sway is the universal Catholic Church. Father Esty said a portrait at St. Genevieve of the late Pope Francis offering a thumbs-up reflects his feeling that today’s Catholics are living during a good time in Church history, with good popes.
“I love being here,” said Father Esty, who said he is grateful for his supportive parish community. “I love being a priest, and, health permitting, I can continue as part of the TEAM.”
“Father Greg has been so wonderful and welcoming,” said Susie Irlbeck, the parish business administrator and a parishioner for 28 years. “He’s a real asset to the parish.”
Festivities to mark the 50th anniversary of Father Esty’s ordination are planned for the weekend of June 28-29. There will be an open house and a picnic served at the Parish Community Center at St. Genevieve after the 4:30 p.m. Mass on June 28 and after the 10:30 a.m. Mass on June 29. A breakfast will be served after the 8:30 a.m. Mass June 29 at the parish’s St. John site.
In addition to Father Greg Esty and Father John Klockeman, The Catholic Spirit is honored this year to highlight other priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who are marking 50 years or 25 years of ministry. Members of men’s and women’s religious communities who are marking milestone anniversaries this year, and who are serving or have served in the archdiocese, will be recognized in our July 10 edition. With gratitude and joy, we congratulate all those celebrating major anniversaries.
FATHER JOHN HOFSTEDE, 76, has been retired since 2016. Before retiring, he served as chaplain at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Fairview and pastor of St. Cecilia in St. Paul (2014-2016). Prior to this, he was chaplain for pastoral health care and hospitals in the chancery in St. Paul and at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis (2002-2014). He was pastor of Christ the King in Minneapolis (1992-2002) and then-St. John in St. Paul (1985-1992). He was associate pastor of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in Bloomington (1982-1985), Annunciation in Minneapolis (1979-1982) and then-St. Luke in St. Paul (1975-1979).
FATHER ALBERT BACKMANN, 88, has been retired since 2011 but remains active, including part-time as a minister to clergy in the chancery since 2019. He was parochial administrator of Sts. Joachim and Anne in Shakopee (2021-2022) St. Patrick in Edina (2018-2019), Transfiguration in Oakdale (2018), St. Stephen in Minneapolis (2016-2017), St. Therese in Deephaven (2015-2016), St. Michael in Kenyon (2015) and Divine Mercy in Faribault (2015). He was the director of the retired clergy office at the chancery (2011-2015) and spiritual advisor at Cursillo de Cristiandad (2009-2016). Prior to his retirement, he served as spiritual director at St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul (2009-2011), chaplain for the Knights of Columbus in Lindstrom (2006-2009), and pastor of St. Brigid of Sweden in Lindstrom (2006-2009), Immaculate Conception in Columbia Heights (2001-2006) and St. John Neumann in Eagan (2000-2001).
FATHER SCOTT CARL, 50, has been vice rector and faculty member of The St. Paul Seminary since 2004 and has served as sacramental minister for Latino Ministry at St. Odilia in Shoreview since 2020. In addition, he ministered at Assumption in Richfield (2014-2021). His parish work also included serving as associate pastor of St. Anne in Hamel, St. Thomas the Apostle in Corcoran and Sts. Peter and Paul in Loretto (2011-2014). Moreover, he served as chaplain for Serra Clubs (2011-2021) and for the former Marriage, Family and Life Office at the chancery (2009-2013). He served in Hispanic ministry at St. Odilia in Shoreview (2008-2011) after returning from graduate school in Rome (2004-2008). Before going to Rome, from 2002 to 2004 he served as parochial vicar of St. Therese, St. Leo and St. Gregory the Great (three parishes now merged as Lumen Christi in St. Paul) and as parochial vicar and parochial administrator of Presentation of Mary in Maplewood (2000-2002).
FATHER ROBERT GRABNER, 70, has been retired since 2021. Before retiring, he was spiritual moderator of the Archdiocesan Association of Holy Name Societies (2010-2021). His parish work included serving in South St. Paul as associate pastor of St. Augustine (2009-2011) and Holy Trinity (2009-2021) and in St. Paul as parochial administrator of then-St. John (2004-2005) and then-St. Vincent de Paul (2003-2004). He was parochial vicar of St. Peter in North St. Paul (2001-2002) and All Saints in Lakeville (2000-2001).
FATHER ROBERT (BOB) HART, 76, has been retired since 2018, but continues as a minister to those with chemical dependency through the Clergy Services Office at the chancery, a ministry he accepted in 2017. He has been parochial administrator of Annunciation in Minneapolis since 2024. Prior to this, he was parochial administrator of St. Bonaventure in Bloomington (2020-2021), Annunciation in Hazelwood and St. Dominic in Northfield (2019-2020). Before retiring, he was parochial administrator, then pastor, of St. Patrick in Inver Grove Heights (2010-2018), pastor of Transfiguration in Oakdale (2002-2010) and parochial vicar of Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul (2000-2002). He was chaplain of the Knights of Columbus on St. Paul’s Eastside (2007-2008).
By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service
Launching his papacy with a call for reconciliation and communion, Pope Leo XIV formally began his ministry as the successor of St. Peter by calling for “a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.”
“In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest,” the new pope said in his homily during his inauguration Mass May 18.
“For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world,” he told the estimated 150,000 people gathered in and around St. Peter’s Square. “We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: ‘In the one Christ, we are one.’”
A version of the quote from St. Augustine is the pope’s episcopal motto and is featured on his coat of arms.
Ecumenical and interreligious guests and more than 100 government delegations joined the new pope for Mass in St. Peter’s Square. The United States was represented by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, accompanied by their spouses and senior White House aides.
Vance and the second lady, Usha Vance, visited Pope Francis’ tomb in the Basilica of St. Mary Major the evening before the Mass. “He was beloved by many Catholics around the world, and I hope you will join me in praying for the repose of his soul,” he wrote in a post on X. Among the Christian leaders present was Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, along with other delegations from the Orthodox churches, the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Methodist Council, the World Communion of
Reformed Churches and various evangelical and Pentecostal communities. Representatives of the Jewish community as well as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Zoroastrian and Jain traditions also were in attendance.
Before the Mass began, Pope Leo rode through the square in the popemobile for the first time since his election May 8, greeting the faithful as cheers of “Viva il papa!” (“Long live the pope!”) poured out from the crowd. He then entered the basilica to pray at the tomb of St. Peter, accompanied by patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic churches.
Following the Gospel reading, three cardinals from the different orders within the College of Cardinals took part in the formal beginning of the Petrine ministry: Italian Cardinal Mario Zenari placed the woolen pallium on the pope’s shoulders, symbolizing his role as shepherd of the universal Church; Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presented him with the fisherman’s ring, evoking St. Peter’s mission to draw people into Christ’s net; and Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo offered a prayer invoking the strength of the Holy Spirit for the new pontificate.
Representing the universal Church, 12 people — clergy, religious and laity from around the world — then came forward to offer their obedience to the new pope.
Reflecting on the Gospel reading from St. John — in which Jesus asks St. Peter three times to tend to his sheep — Pope Leo said in his homily that the ministry of Peter is rooted not in authority for its own sake, but in love that serves and unites.
“Peter is thus entrusted with the task of ‘loving more’ and giving his life for the flock,” he said. “The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ.”
The successor of St. Peter, he said, “must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him.” Instead, “he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them.”
Pope Leo also recalled the period of mourning following
the death of Pope Francis, and he said that the conclave that followed the late pope’s death was “a moment of grace.”
“I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family,” he said.
“With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world,” he said, calling for a Church that “proclaims the word, allows itself to be made ‘restless’ by history and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.”
At the end of Mass, the pope called for prayers for regions afflicted by war: Gaza, Myanmar and Ukraine, which “finally awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was present for the Mass and was to have a private meeting with the pope later in the day, the Vatican press office said.
Immediately after the Mass, Pope Leo met with several government representatives including Vance and Rubio, as well as Peruvian President Dina Boluarte. The pope had spent more than 20 years in Peru as a missionary priest and bishop and has Peruvian citizenship.
Editor’s note: This is the full text in English of the homily given by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square during the Mass of Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry May 18, 2025. The homily was delivered originally in Italian.
Dear brother cardinals, brother bishops and priests, distinguished authorities and members of the diplomatic corps, brothers and sisters I greet all of you with a heart full of gratitude at the beginning of the ministry that has been entrusted to me. St. Augustine wrote: “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Confessions, I: 1,1).
Pope Leo XIV on social media: Instagram and X accounts are up and growing. While Pope Leo XIV has deleted the account he began in 2011 as Father Robert Prevost on Twitter, now X, the Vatican has launched new accounts for him on X and Instagram. “The Holy Father Leo XIV has chosen to maintain an active social media presence through the official papal accounts on X and Instagram,” said the Dicastery for Communication. The first post on the “Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex” account on X was released May 14 and was a quote from his inaugural greeting to the public May 8 when he was elected: “Peace be with you all! This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.” His first papal Instagram post featured the same quotation – in seven languages – alongside a photo of him greeting the crowd May 8 from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. The new @pontifex Instagram account of Pope Leo XIV had more than 13 million followers by May 16.
Dialogue and bridge-building mark early signs of Pope Leo’s dynamic with Jews and Muslims. Dialogue and bridge-building have emerged as early indicators of what Pope Leo XIV’s interreligious approach to Jews and Muslims may look like, giving hope that Pope Francis-era advances in the Church’s ecumenical and interfaith relations will continue, experts told OSV News. From an early message of assurance to the American Jewish Committee to continued references to peace and dialogue in his communications, Pope Leo’s first days as pontiff signal reason for optimism. He has pledged to uphold the Second Vatican Council’s “Nostra Aetate,” the declaration on the Church’s spiritual kinship with the Jewish people. In addition, the pope’s formation as an Augustinian
and his studies at Chicago Theological Union and Villanova University – where Catholic dialogue with the Jewish and Muslim communities has long flourished – are promising signs, said scholars. The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed el-Tayeb – with whom Pope Francis met during a 2019 apostolic journey to the United Arab Emirates, and with whom he signed a “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” – also extended his congratulations to Pope Leo, saying he looks forward to “strengthening interfaith dialogue and promoting the values of human fraternity, in pursuit of global peace, coexistence, and a better future for all humanity.”
With jobs disappearing, one cardinal says he “rejoiced” at the pope’s name choice. Cardinal Michael Czerny said that when Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected pope and chose the name Leo XIV, “I rejoiced, I really rejoiced.” The new pope said he chose his name in homage to Pope Leo XIII, often referred to as “the father of Catholic social teaching,” recognizing that the Church’s social doctrine needs to be renewed to respond to the new industrial revolution, including the development of artificial intelligence, which poses “new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.” Speaking to Catholic News Service May 13, Cardinal Czerny said, “The issue of work is of vital importance to the vast majority of people on the planet” and Pope Leo has made it clear that it is an issue important to him as well. People all over the globe, he said, are asking themselves how they can survive and thrive and support their families when decent, fulfilling jobs are becoming more difficult to find. “Society doesn’t seem to be even remotely ready to face this problem – just keeps discarding the workers and applauding AI for its innovations,” said Cardinal Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
JIM LIEKHUS
Felicidades P. Jim Liekhus
Thank you for your 20 YEARS of dedication and service in the priesthood
Gracias por sus 20 AÑOS de dedicación y servicio en el sacerdocio
Peru’s Augustinian friars remember “Monsignor Roberto” as a defender of “those who have nothing.” Pope Leo XIV’s journey from American missionary to bishop of Chiclayo and now pope is a story deeply rooted in Peru – and in the Augustinian tradition. Father Jorge Majail, spokesman for the Order of St. Augustine in Peru, recalls the young superior general as humble and approachable: “He doesn’t complicate life,” Father Majail said, using a Peruvian phrase meaning, “He doesn’t sweat the small stuff.” Ordained in the United States, Pope Leo fell in love with Peru’s people and mission, serving in some of the country’s poorest regions and embracing a leadership style marked by simplicity, pastoral closeness, and unity. “He learned to be a priest here,” said Father Majail. “And he always sought communion among bishops, a hallmark of synodality even before it became a buzzword.”
Fellow Augustinian Father José Romero described him as prayerful, accessible, and deeply human: “He always spoke in very simple language so that everyone could understand,” Father Romero said. “Monsignor Prevost is intellectually very wellrounded (but) was approachable. In what way? He spoke simply to people. He didn’t speak about Jesus, rather about his love.” And, many say, his first apostolic letter will speak with a Peruvian heart.
Angelicum rector: The pope’s election is the “greatest mercy God has shown the Church in America.” As the name “Leo XIV” echoed through St. Peter’s Square on May 8, Dominican Father Thomas Joseph White, rector of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the Angelicum, was stunned. An American pope – and an Angelicum alumnus – had just been elected. “It’s arguably the greatest mercy God has shown the Church in America,” Father White told OSV News May 12. Pope Leo XIV, previously Cardinal Robert Prevost, completed his doctorate in canon
law at the Angelicum in 1985. His thesis, deeply Augustinian, emphasized servant leadership: “We possess authority only if we serve,” the future pope wrote, quoting St. Augustine. Father White sees continuity between Leo XIV and Leo XIII, especially in their shared commitment to Catholic social teaching rooted in Thomistic thought. Father White believes Leo XIV’s formation – blending law, mission and pastoral care – uniquely equips him to unify a polarized Church. His episcopal motto, “In Illo uno unum” (“In the One, we are one”), reflects this vision. Looking ahead, Father White said he prays the pope will appoint bishops with hearts for justice, mercy and pastoral wisdom. “We’re still discovering what this pontificate will look like,” he said, “but we already sense it will be one marked by humility, unity, and joyful service.”
“We look toward the new pontiff with Christian hope,” says an ecumenical patriarch. Church leaders across the Christian East are welcoming Pope Leo XIV with messages of hope and unity. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who was in Athens when he heard the news, expressed his desire for the new pope to be “a dear brother and collaborator” in the push for Christian unity and global peace. The patriarch highlighted Pope Leo’s first words from the balcony – “Peace be with you” – as a powerful opening message. Patriarch Bartholomew, who had planned to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in Turkey with Pope Francis, said he hopes Pope Leo will visit both Nicaea and the Ecumenical Patriarchate this year. Pope Leo told journalists on May 12, “We are preparing for it,” though no date was announced. Leaders from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Greek Orthodox and SyroMalabar churches also shared messages of support, underscoring hopes for dialogue, synodality and healing.
POPE HEADLINES CONTINUED ON PAGE 19B
May God gift Pope Leo XIV with Wisdom, Understanding, Justice, and Love.
As President Trump returns from the Middle East with massive arm deals, patriarch says “no” to weapons. As U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up his visit to Gulf Arab countries, concerns grew among Catholic leaders in the region over escalating conflicts in the Middle East. Despite the signing of a record $142 billion defense deal with Saudi Arabia and $1.2 trillion in economic agreements with Qatar, Church leaders like Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, emphasize the need for peace and humanitarian aid in Gaza. Pope Leo XIV made a call for peace in the region in his May 11 Regina Caeli address, urging for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza. Cardinal Pizzaballa warned that the humanitarian crisis is worsening, with food scarcity, displacement, and widespread destruction. Meanwhile, the U.S. plans to lift sanctions on Syria, sparking concern from religious freedom advocates who fear it may empower the Islamic regime of President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
U.S. bishops release an updated pastoral letter on pornography amid a rise in sexual exploitation. The U.S. bishops recently released an updated version of their 2015 pastoral letter on the dangers of pornography, a document they said is “still needed today” amid increased social acceptance of – and addiction to – such material. “Create in Me a Pure Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography,” prepared by the USCCB’s Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, is now available for download from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website at usccb.org/resources/Create-in-Me-aPure-Heart-Statement-on-Pornography-2025_0. pdf. A print version of the letter is also available from Ascension at ascensionpress.com/products/ create-in-me-a-pure-heart-a-pastoral-responseto-pornography. The document – with a title,
slightly modified for its 10th anniversary, evoking Psalm 51 – has a new preface with numerous action steps for parents, clergy, educators, and lay and civil leaders. The bishops offer an unchanged message that denounces pornography as “gravely wrong,” and “a mortal sin if it is committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.” Another constant stressed by the bishops: the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness are “abundant.” “God’s grace and concrete help are always available,” the bishops wrote. “Healing is always possible.”
Catholic Charities is tasked with Afrikaner travel fees as President Trump keeps other refugees in limbo. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington has confirmed to OSV News that its offices are assisting with some travel expenses, at the request of the state of Virginia, for dozens of white South Africans, whose refugee applications were expedited by the Trump administration due to what the State Department called “racial discrimination.” The administration’s fast-tracking of the applications comes amid threats of mass deportations and the ending of protections for other groups of migrants – including those from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and now Afghanistan, where violence, political and economic instability have endangered millions. A flight carrying an initial group of 59 Afrikaner refugees landed in Washington May 12. Catholic Charities clarified to OSV News the aid was “limited” and “temporary,” consisting of “luggage fees for the South Africans’ next domestic flight to their final destination,” doing so “on behalf of the Commonwealth (of Virginia) which is reimbursing us for the service and expenses.” The aid comes amid a lawsuit, now on appeal, filed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops against the Trump administration for terminating a longstanding contract with the USCCB for refugee
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resettlement. The termination of the refugee resettlement contract has led to mass layoffs of Catholic Charities employees involved in refugee resettlement all over the United States.
Planned Parenthood annual report shows abortions and public funding are up after Dobbs. Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report shows an increase in abortions from the previous year’s report, while also showing a $100 million increase in government funding amid an overall decrease in cancer screenings and prevention services. The organization’s 2023-2024 annual report, titled “A Force for Hope,” detailed its operations from 2022-2023, most of which followed the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade and sent the abortion issue back to lawmakers, resulting in a number of states passing restrictions on abortion. However, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, performed 402,230 abortions in that time, an increase from the previous year’s report at 392,715. Total cancer screening and prevention services – such as pap tests and HPV vaccinations – decreased from the previous report, from 464,021 to 426,268. The report showed Planned Parenthood – with $2 billion in revenue – received about $792.2 million in “Government Health Services Reimbursements & Grants” during that time – up more than $100 million over the previous year’s report ($699.3 million).
The mission for the whole Church is to become proof for doubters, says Omaha’s new archbishop. Archbishop Michael McGovern became the sixth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Omaha before about a thousand people who packed St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha for his installation Mass May 7. In attendance were nearly 30 bishops and archbishops, hundreds of priests, several civic leaders, laity from across northeast Nebraska and about 40 of Archbishop McGovern’s family members and friends. The former bishop of Belleville, Illinois, succeeds now-retired Archbishop George Lucas. “With you, I am a Christian. For you, I am a bishop,” he said, quoting St. Augustine. Recalling that St. Thomas the Apostle needed proof before he would believe that Jesus had risen, he said that people today need proof, too, and that the mission of “all of us in this local Church” is to become the proof for doubters.
Civil rights probe is launched over a state abuse reporting law’s lack of Catholic confession protections. The Justice Department said May 5 it opened a civil rights investigation into the development and passage of legislation in Washington state that will require clergy to report child abuse or neglect without exceptions for clergy-penitent privilege. Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2 signed into law Senate Bill 5375, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Noel Frame of Seattle, which will make members of the clergy mandatory reporters, or people required by law to report suspected or known instances of child abuse or neglect. The version of the legislation
signed into law did not include an exception to the requirement for sacramental confessions. Other mandatory reporters in Washington state include school personnel, nurses, social service counselors and psychologists. While some have argued the bill closes an important omission from the state’s list of mandatory reporters, others have expressed concern that without exceptions for clergy-penitent privilege, the law could place Catholic priests at odds with civil law as they uphold Church law regarding the seal of the confessional.
Pope Francis’ final gift to Gaza: Popemobile will be transformed into a mobile clinic for children. In a final gesture of compassion, Pope Francis donated his 2014 popemobile to Caritas Jerusalem – repurposing it into a mobile health clinic for children in Gaza. The vehicle, once used during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, is being outfitted with medical supplies including vaccines, oxygen and diagnostic tools. It will serve as a “Vehicle of Hope,” delivering care amid a collapsing health system and blocked aid corridors. Caritas officials say it could be operational as soon as the humanitarian corridor reopens. Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius helped secure the pope’s blessing, and Caritas leaders say this act reflects Francis’ enduring concern for Gaza’s most vulnerable. In his final Easter message, the pope called for a ceasefire and urgent aid. Children will now sit in the pope’s former seat – treated, quite literally, as miracles. As Caritas Sweden’s Peter Brune put it: “The children of Gaza are not forgotten.”
Can the U.S. have Catholic charter schools? Justices to decide after hearing a case. The U.S. Supreme Court on April 30 heard oral arguments in a case concerning the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s effort to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would be the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school if it survives the challenge. If the high court ultimately sides with the school, the case could result in allowing public dollars to directly fund religious schools. In more than two hours of argument, lawyers arguing in favor of a state school board’s 2023 vote to approve an application by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual School argued the proposed Catholic school met all criteria for approval as a charter school and should not be discriminated against for its religious identity. But a lawyer for the state of Oklahoma argued it would be a violation of both constitutional separation of church and state, and Oklahoma state law. In a joint statement released in response to the arguments, Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City and Bishop David A. Konderla of Tulsa said, “We are grateful that the U.S. Supreme Court heard our case and now entrust it to their wisdom.” The bishops said they “pray and hope for a decision that stands with religious liberty and the rights of Oklahoma families to make their own decisions in selecting the best educational options for their children.”
– CNS and OSV News
By Josh McGovern The Catholic Spirit
A medical condition at a young age left Robin Doheny, a parishioner of Lumen Christi in St. Paul, blind in her left eye. Growing up, she was often bullied, and her home life was chaotic. Because of stigma around mental health, she never felt free to talk about her struggles.
“It’s very difficult for my generation to ask for help,” said Doheny, 65. “But it’s so necessary. I could’ve retreated into myself, but I refused to do that. … If I don’t tell my story, others won’t either.”
When Doheny read about Lumen Christi’s The Mental Health and Well-Being Ministry in a church bulletin last year, she decided to help as much as she could. She set up informational tables, helped with retreats and steered a message of support the ministry hoped to convey. She explained that simply offering the ministry assists people struggling with mental health because they know Lumen Christi has a support system and staff ready to help.
Breaking the stigma that people with mental health challenges too often experience will go a long way toward helping them make the personal choice to speak up, Doheny said. “Life will make you or break you,” Doheny said. “Sometimes it does both.”
Dennis Degeneffe, who leads the ministry, knows personally what suffering from a mental health crisis can look like. His eldest son, Andre, suffered from a serious mental health disorder and was unwilling to accept help due to stigma. He died in 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions for family members, the funeral had to be postponed to Nov. 11, 2020, what would have been Andre’s 40th birthday.
health challenges and a discussion led by facilitators.
Available support structures for parishioners at Lumen Christi include Mental Health Connect, Ramsey County resources, and consultation services with Steve Regnier, the parish’s director of care, support and justice. There is also a developing Stephen Ministry.
“We’re looking at mental illness, but also well-being,” said Cleta Galvez who has a Ph.D. in organizational development and is a member of the parish’s mental health and well-being ministry committee. She supports Degeneffe and Regnier with organization and program development work.
“All of us are susceptible to something happening. ... We understand in today’s world, anything can happen,” Galvez said. “A child who develops schizophrenia, (experiences) a car accident, these things happen, and people’s lives change overnight. There is a way to live with a mental health challenge and still live a good life.”
God is with everyone, “whether you’re languishing or struggling with mental illness,” Galvez said.
In addition to offering education and resources, ministry staff hope that by opening conversations through speaker events, homilies and other opportunities, the stigma surrounding mental health challenges can be lifted. The priority for the past three years has been education and connecting parishioners to resources.
And the heart of the ministry is a desire to dispel the stigma that can surround mental health challenges. This work is being done through a team of five staff members — Degeneffe, Galvez, Regnier, Jeff Maciej and Nan Cedarblade — and a board of advisors.
All of us are susceptible to something happening. ... We understand in today’s world, anything can happen.
A child who develops schizophrenia, (experiences) a car accident, these things happen, and people’s lives change overnight. There is a way to live with a mental health challenge and still live a good life.
Carrying the weight of losing a son, Degeneffe decided it was time to talk about mental health at his parish to help others with their challenges. After the funeral, Dennis talked with the Social Justice Committee and together they decided to start what became The Mental Health and Well-Being Ministry.
Cleta Galvez
The ministry follows the model of mental wellbeing offered by Living Compass, a nonprofit that equips organizations with tools and training to improve spirituality and wellness. The model encompasses four areas of personhood, including the heart (relationships and emotions), the soul (spirituality and rest and play), the mind (vocation and organization), and strength (resilience and care for the body).
In December of 2020, the first meeting was held at Lumen Christi, officially launching the ministry. The committee also did external research and ultimately connected with Dr. Wendal Callahan and Deacon Ed Schoener, who were starting up The Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers. Also, Degeneffe was working with Mental Health Connect, an aggregation of Twin Cities faith-based organizations that provided education, collaboration and navigation of the mental health system.
Lumen Christi’s pastor, Father Dan Haugan, suggested as the ministry formed that change can be incremental and it doesn’t help to force the issue. The ministry focuses on creating a “culture of care” in which there is a space to share in parishioners’ most difficult and joyous moments.
Talking with The Catholic Spirit, Lumen Christi ministry staff said the ministry is critical now. They quoted from the U.S. surgeon general’s report in May 2023, warning that there is an epidemic of loneliness and isolation.
Ministry staff said that Lumen Christi’s 3,800 parishioners need to know how to help prevent a mental health crisis and where to find help.
Thus far, the ministry’s outreach has included 11 talks and programs offered to Lumen Christi parishioners, including a well-being fair and Sanctuary Series, eight online sessions with testimonies from Catholics about living with mental
These services and partnerships are reflected in the ministry’s mission statement: “The Mental Health and WellBeing Ministry is inspired by the Lumen Christi Mission, whereas we aim to shine light upon the importance of caring for ourselves and others in whole and complete ways, recognizing that well-being incorporates the spirit, mind, and body. In taking care of ourselves and others, our light to the world will be brighter, stronger, and more impactful.”
The ministry also hopes to work grow a network of mental health ministries through Catholic parishes in the Twin Cities. It’s mission statement for this effort reads:
“By uniting Catholic churches across the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis area, our Mental Health and Well-being Ministry can harness the collective wisdom, resources, and talents of many to create a program that is both relevant and impactful for parishioners. A coalition approach fosters collaboration, allowing parishes to share expertise, broaden outreach, and develop initiatives that are more sustainable and comprehensive than any one parish could achieve alone. While individual church ministries remain invaluable, parishes working together enables us to amplify support, address diverse needs, and ensure no one is left behind in our mission to uplift mental health and well-being. Through partnership, we can cultivate a thriving network of care — one that reflects the strength of our shared faith and commitment to spiritual and holistic healing.”
Father Haugan plays an important role as a spiritual leader in this ministry. He stressed that the parish is not equipped to provide psychological help, but it is able to connect people with mental health professionals. Each person, he said, is made in the image and likeness of God, no matter the issues. But priests, he said, shouldn’t try to reach beyond their capabilities.
“We have to know our limitations on the Church level which, of course, are limitless when it comes to the soul,” Father Haugan said. “But when you realize somebody might be experiencing bipolar or schizoaffective disorder, I can bless this person, I can pray for deliverance from evil, I can pray with them, I can try to help them with an attachment or an addiction to help at least recognize it, name it for what it is. But I can’t help that person find full wellness when it comes to schizoaffective or bipolar (disorders).
But I know that co-working with a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a counselor of some sort who is trained in that … that we can find ways and paths for that person to receive such a beautiful wellness, or at least head towards that and to begin to realize that there is light at the end of the tunnel. That all is not lost.”
As a practicing Catholic, Doheny believes prayer helps people deal with mental health struggles. But prayer alone is not enough.
“So much in life is beyond our control,” Doheny said. “But we’re not meant to be alone on a mountaintop. If we don’t interact with people, we’ll be lonely. I had a small group of friends I could reach out to. You have to reach out. Sometimes it’s the only way to get through difficult times. … Keep talking. Find someone you trust. Reach out so people can know you’re hurting.”
Doheny, having struggled with her own mental health, feels deep compassion for others who might be experiencing the same. She said there are more people in pain inside the parish doors than Catholics might realize.
“I notice because I was noticed,” Doheny said. “God puts people ahead of you and behind you, to lead you forward and to catch you when you fall.”
Father Dan Haugan, pastor of Lumen Christi in St. Paul, said he has seen a shift in the Church landscape in recent years regarding mental health challenges. When he was ordained in 2003, he said he might have met one or two people with clear mental health issues. Now, it’s more common.
“I’m not terribly old, but I remember eight tracks (cassettes), and I remember records, and I remember telephones that were attached to a cord, and you couldn’t go any farther than the cord,” Father Haugan said. “But now everybody’s individualized. The family unit is broken down. It seems in culture and society we no longer center our culture around the family. It’s around the individual. Now (it is) autonomy and individual rights and people have lost a sense of community, lost a sense of agency.”
Father Haugan said he sees a generation of people who are lonely and despondent. He has noted a “general malaise and sadness” in people and a “yearning for relief in a great many different places” other than God or the family — “other than what we used to find comfort and consolation in.”
“Now it’s drugs or alcohol or promiscuity,” Father Haugan said. “If I do this, then they’ll love me or they’ll like me,’ and you realize very quickly they just objectified you, used you. It wasn’t love; it wasn’t acceptance. It was just somebody using you for a utilitarian purpose, whether it was to get material things or pleasure. And again, their hopes are dashed. ‘I just want to be loved. I just want to be part of the community. I just want to be accepted.’ And everybody is looking out for themselves, not looking out for the other.”
But Father Haugan also said that he has seen the younger generations find great satisfaction in altruistic causes, such as helping the poor, caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, helping the marginalized. But in society as a whole, Father Haugan said, people continue to seek happiness apart from God.
“Somebody once described that as a sin, finding pleasure and seeking happiness away from God,” he said. “Society (has) turned away from God. We can’t talk about God. We can’t pray together as we once did. Fastest way to make somebody run away is to say, ‘I’d like to talk to you about Jesus.’ Boy, you see people running the opposite direction.”
Technology has played a role in this, Father Haugan said. “Where’s the sense of wonder? We’re assured of everything, but now we’re wondering, ‘Does anybody love me? Does God exist? Does God love me? Will I ever find somebody to love me?’ These are not things people should be worrying about.”
By Kimberley Heatherington OSV News
Mental illness in America has been declared an official social health care emergency — especially since the COVID-19 pandemic and as community-fragmenting forms of social media continue to multiply.
“Recent data show that the United States is in (a) mental health crisis, experienced by people of all ages,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in August 2024. “This trend was observed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but has been worsened by pandemicrelated factors.”
According to Mental Health America — a nonprofit dedicated to promoting mental health, well-being and prevention — nearly 60 million adults (23.08%) experienced a mental illness in 2024, while almost 13 million adults (5.04%) reported serious thoughts of suicide. In 2022, those who took their own lives numbered the highest ever recorded in the U.S.
And the faithful are not exempt: One in five individuals in the United States live with some form of mental illness, and 20% of Americans identify themselves as Catholics.
That’s a lot of Catholics statistically in need of mental health help; but some may still feel challenged to admit it — or to find faithful practitioners and resources for healing.
But they do exist.
“Historically, we are few and far between,” said therapist Kenna Millea, clinical director and co-founder of the Martin Center for Integration, a Minneapolis-based practice that offers “faith-filled mental health services for individuals, couples and organizations.”
The center takes its name not from Millea or her husband, Pat — the center’s formation and operations director and co-founder — but rather, from a family of saints.
“It’s well-documented that Louis, Zélie and Thérèse — and several of Thérèse’s sisters — all suffered with various mental illnesses,” said Kenna Millea, referring to Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and her siblings.
Currently operating with 10 clinicians, Martin Center staff will grow to 16 by the end of 2025.
“We were praying about what God might ask us to do with Pat’s and my respective backgrounds,” Millea told OSV News. “And this need we saw rising — certainly in the Twin Cities, but in the Church globally.”
“The field of psychotherapy is a traditionally very secular field,” Millea explained, “and the doctrine of our faith around suffering; around the dignity of a human person; around being made in the image and likeness of a triune God; around the value and the goodness of our embodied incarnate experiences, thanks to God’s incarnation — all of that is missing from what we think of when we think of the world of psychotherapy and mental health care.”
Which critically underscores the need for Catholic mental health therapists.
“As I began to practice and began to work with clients, I saw that I could support them; I could help them connect the dots in their story,” Millea said. “But I could only take them so far if I was unable to bring in the concepts of our faith, and this belief of what we’re made for and what actually fulfills us as humans — what helps us to be fully alive; what helps us to thrive and to grow.”
Millea confirmed that Americans are in the midst of a mental health calamity.
The Catholic Psychotherapy Association supports mental health practitioners by promoting the development of mental health practices encompassing a full understanding of the human person, family and society — all in fidelity to the magisterium of the Catholic Church.
“When they feel like somebody is going to really understand them from that worldview — appreciate, value and not push back on their spiritual principles,” Catholic patients may feel more at ease seeking treatment, said Mullen. That’s especially true when a therapist has skills and competency integrating faith into the treatment plan. “I do think it’s important for clinicians to be able to describe themselves as Catholicintegrated clinicians for that purpose,” affirmed Mullen.
We were praying about what God might ask us to do with Pat’s and my respective backgrounds. And this need we saw rising — certainly in the Twin Cities, but in the church globally.
Kenna Millea
“People are showing up in our emergency departments not for a medical need, but for something of a psychiatric or psychological nature,” she said. “So, yes, I absolutely think that the numbers aren’t lying.”
While the issue of social stigma has decreased, it does still remain. By some estimates — the American Psychological Association reported in 2024 — as many as 83% of those who could benefit from treatment don’t seek it out.
“It’s true that stigma remains an issue for certain subpopulations — and perhaps even more so for people of faith,” said Shannon Mullen, president and chair of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association. “And having the option of clinically integrated Catholic therapists, it definitely makes it more approachable. So, the barriers to getting care are reduced.”
The mental health crisis hasn’t escaped the notice of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which — in 2023 — launched the National Catholic Mental Health Campaign, a year-round initiative including a Nationwide Novena for Mental Health, Mental Health Sunday, special roundtable discussions on mental health and more. Plans are also underway for new components.
“It started out with a central idea that there were three goals,” shared Paul Jarzembowski, associate director for laity in the USCCB’s Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, “to raise awareness; to remove stigmas; and to advocate for people — just to encourage people who need help, to get help.”
Bishops have shared their own stories of mental health struggles as an encouragement to others, while simultaneously advocating with respect to mental health public policy.
Echoing Millea and Mullen, Jarzembowski also emphasized the need for a holistic outlook.
“One of the thought processes through this campaign has really been taking a dual approach of saying there’s the professional clinical support, and then there’s the spiritual support,” explained Jarzembowski. “The pastors and those in the communities certainly can provide the spiritual support — but we can make sure that our Catholic leaders are fully aware of the clinical and professional support networks that are out there.”
St. Thomas the Apostle and Christ the King of Minneapolis congratulate Father Erich Rutten on the 20th Anniversary of your ordination to the priesthood
By Christina Capecchi
For The Catholic Spirit
Carol McBrady’s dreams of motherhood came to a halt when she endured three miscarriages and a divorce. But God provided another way. She traveled to Zambia in 2002 and fell in love with the many street children abandoned by their parents. Two years later, McBrady sold her home in Crystal and moved to Zambia, where she still lives. She founded Action for Children Zambia, which provides housing, crisis intervention and a built-in family. (Learn more at afczambia.org.)
“When you think your world has ended, God has another plan,” said McBrady, 65, a member of St. Timothy in Maple Lake, who is visiting parishes in the Twin Citites to do fundraising for the next few weeks.
Q What fostered your faith as a girl?
A It’s the nuns. We were taught by Benedictine nuns at St. Timothy’s Catholic School (in Maple Lake): Sister Claire, Sister Nathaniel, Sister Alice. I took piano lessons at the convent with Sister Mary Conrad, and that woman was filled with unconditional love. You could practice and be horrible and she’d say, “It’s OK.” When I wanted to play “Bohemian Rhapsody” for my senior recital, she said, “That’s OK.” And I did!
Q Did your parents demonstrate the Catholic call to serve the poor and marginalized?
A Yes. My dad was the Santa Claus. He was a toymaker, and every Christmas we picked a family (that) wouldn’t have much. He’d do a lot of the putzing in the garage, and then most of the painting was done at the kitchen table with help from my mom. Dad would put it together and Mom would do the painting. Then he’d dress up as Santa Claus and we’d deliver a box of toys to a family on Christmas Eve before we went to Mass. He instilled that in us: If you can, you help.
Q You were a social worker in alternative education. What inspired your first trip to Zambia?
A I had read an article about AIDS running rampant through Africa and how babies were dying in the hospitals without their parents. I had commented to a friend, “When I retire, I’m going to go down and rock all those babies.” She looked at me and said, “Why wait till retirement? What’s keeping you?” I laughed and said, “I don’t know. I can’t afford it.” It was a Monday night. By Saturday a neighbor said, “We will pay for your trip.” God made it happen.
Q And you acted quickly. You didn’t overthink it.
A Oh no! You would never leave home if you thought about all the bad things that can happen in foreign countries. You’d talk yourself out of it.
Q Before long, you decided to move there permanently. How did you discern that?
A I’d worked in poverty, I’d been a social worker, I’d been to reservations, and I thought, “I’m good at this, I know what I’m doing.” Then I got to Zambia, and I thought: “I know nothing.” It was poverty beyond our imagination. There was no place to go to the bathroom. I used what little money I had left with me, and we made peanut-butter sandwiches.
When I came back to Minnesota, I’d left part of my heart with those kids. By that point, I’d learned: “Whatever God wants, he’s going to get, so I might as well be quiet and let him have his way.” I was reading Scripture, and God just totally stripped me bare. I knew I had to go.
I’d get these big consulting contracts and then leave the money for the kids to go to school, and I’d go back the next summer, and they weren’t in school.
Q Was there a final nudge?
A A boy had fallen off the train and gotten run over. I was there. The kids came running to me, and we found him lying there next to the railway. No one was helping him. I ran to the police post, thinking they’d call an ambulance, and they said, “It’s OK, we’ll pick him up later.” Which meant (that) after he dies, we’ll take his body. I’m like, “You can’t do that!” So, I got a taxi, and a lady standing next to me gave me her wraparound skirt to put all his body parts in, and we drove him to the hospital. He’d be screaming and screaming, and then I’d come in and he’d
stop, and we’d pray and I’d sing silly little songs. One of the doctors came to me and asked, “Do you know what he’s saying? He’s screaming, ‘Mum, come.’” That’s when it hit me: “I get it now. I’m a mom.” It was two o’clock in the morning, and I went out to the parking lot, and I got on my knees and I said, “OK, God I’m in. Whatever you set before me, I will take care of.” I have lived that promise for the last 20 years, and I will live it till the day I die. And that boy lived.
Q It must’ve been scary to sell everything and move there. A Ignorance is a great asset when you’re doing this. You don’t really know what’s in store. My faith compelled me. I didn’t tell many people because they would’ve thought I was nuts.
Q Before long, eight kids were living in your little apartment. Since then, you’ve built multiple homes where Zambian parent figures live with the kids.
A We love being together. They call me Mama Carol. I can show the kids a mother’s love and bring them joy. We do a lot of singing and praying when we’re in the streets. The children make requests. It’s little songs they remember, that stick in their hearts and brains. “Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory.”
They learn how to live in a community. We teach them how to behave in a family and in school, and then we send them to school. We have outreach programs and a farm where they can work. We’ve got monkeys running around and goats and pigs and a huge garden. We have 16 Zambians on our staff, most of whom have grown up with us, so they know the games we play with the kids. Once the kids figure out you mean what you say and you say what you mean, you gain their trust, and you can make a lot of change. Right now, we’ve got about 38 kids with us.
Q Could you feel your heart stretching to love all those children?
A I couldn’t feel the stretching. What I could feel was the awe of the blessing. I just stand in awe of the fact that I am the only mother these children will ever feel God’s love from. People will say, “This is a Mama Carol case. No one
else is going to take this child.”
Q Do you believe we are all capable of giving more love?
A I always say, especially when I go into the streets: I’m one of the most loved people on the planet. Yeah, they’re not the kings and the queens and the presidents, but it’s an unlimited number of children, and as long as that number is unlimited, the love is unlimited.
I believe people keep themselves from this kind of love because of judgment. You have this mindset of what the people you love should be and you don’t let people in. When I’m on the streets, people will say, “What are you doing with that boy? He stinks!” And I say, “Well, give us a little soap.”
They’re afraid of that person who is different from them — and then they lose all this love that God and this person may have for them. It’s the judgment and that privileged lifestyle when you have enough that you’re not looking around for more.
Q Do you write some of your stories down?
A They all just pile up in my head. I just don’t have that kind of time, nor do I know if it’s my gift. I would love to have somebody to have some documentation at some point. If God wants that, it’ll happen. But I don’t think I’ll be the one doing it.
Q What’s your go-to prayer?
A The Hail Mary. I could pray the Hail Mary a hundred times a day sometimes. It was my mantra when I was in prison. I would kind of rock while I prayed it. In the early years, I was often arrested for feeding children in the street. There was corruption. The government or police wouldn’t let me if I didn’t pay them enough. They demanded 15 percent of all my donations. I’d say, “Show me the law where it says that?” That’s where it was good to have been a social worker. I can go right at them without raising my voice.
Q What do you know for sure?
A I know for sure that I love these kids, they love me, and God has got my back. Is that all? And joy is a way of life.
By Josh McGovern
The Catholic Spirit
Many bishops, priests and others gathered at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul May 13 to celebrate Bishop Emeritus Richard Pates as he received the Spirit of Francis award from the Catholic Extension Society for his service to the Catholic Church.
Guests mingled during a social hour before the dinner and presentations. During dinner, Bishop Pates spent time making his rounds around the room, saying hello to people and thanking them for coming.
Father Jack Wall, president of Catholic Extension, spoke highly of Bishop Pates before introducing his friend to the stage.
He
education and training to seminarians, priests, religious sisters, deacons and lay leaders.
In two videos shown during the dinner, Bishop Pates was honored by Bishop John Doerfler of Marquette, Michigan; Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle; Bishop Jim Powers of Superior, Wisconsin; and Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
(Bishop Pates) certainly embodies the mystery of one who believes in the transformative power of the risen Christ, and believes that it’s in you; that walking around the room tonight, looking in your face, connecting once again with you, is that reminder of what this mystery is.
“He (Bishop Pates) certainly embodies the mystery of one who believes in the transformative power of the risen Christ,” Father Wall said, “and believes that it’s in you; that walking around the room tonight, looking in your face, connecting once again with you, is that reminder of what this mystery is.”
Father
Jack Wall
The Catholic Extension Society, which is based in Chicago, was founded in 1905 and helps build Catholic faith communities in the poorest regions of the United States, cited Bishop Pates’ roles in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Twin Cities in honoring him with the award. The society invests in church facilities and ministries, and it offers
Archbishop Hebda attended the event and offered a few remarks.
“It’s really powerful to experience somebody in the flesh who really exemplifies and lives out the spirit of Francis,” the archbishop said. “Bishop Pates to all of us has been the model of what it means to be a good shepherd.”
Bishop Pates, after receiving the award, shared stories of spending time with relatives in Ireland and his experiences interacting with the late Pope Francis.
“I told him of the program in the Diocese of Des Moines of preparing our priests to be agents of ‘Laudato Si’,’ the environmental encyclical,” said Bishop Pates, who served as bishop of Des Moines and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “His eyes locked onto mine with full strength and he said, ‘Avanti, avanti!’ (Go for it! Go for it!).”
Bishop Pates concluded his speech with everyone in the room reciting the prayer of St. Francis, which was provided on a card at each table.
By Caroline de Sury OSV News
Catholics in Normandy commemorated the 100th anniversary of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s canonization with three days of solemn celebrations May 16-18. These included a live broadcast of Pope Leo XIV’s May 18 inauguration Mass on giant screens in the Basilica of St. Thérèse in Lisieux.
The famed French saint, affectionately known by devotees as “The Little Flower,” born Thérèse Martin, died of tuberculosis in 1897 at age 24, after nine years of religious life at the Carmelite convent in Lisieux. She quickly became the object of astonishing devotion, far beyond the borders of France. Beatified in 1923, she was canonized in Rome on May 17, 1925, by Pope Pius XI, who proclaimed her patroness of missions in 1927.
One hundred years after her death, in 1997, Pope John Paul II declared her a doctor of the Church.
Father Emmanuel Schwab, since 2023 rector of the Sanctuary of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, oversaw the organization of the festivities. “They were designed to be widely open to an audience unfamiliar
with the Church,” he told OSV News. “The entire city got involved, and activities were planned to appeal to everyone, regardless of their age, level of faith or religious practice.”
On May 16 in the evening — a procession carrying the relics of St. Thérèse on a horse-drawn cart traveled through the streets of Lisieux, followed by several hundred people.
“We took (the relics) out of the Carmelite convent and brought them to St. Peter’s Cathedral, where Thérèse used to go to Mass with her family,” Father Schwab explained. “Thérèse’s relics always stir up a lot of emotion and fervor.”
The procession then made its way to the sanctuary’s basilica, where pilgrims participated in a vigil of prayer late into the evening. Built between 1929 and 1954, in a neo-Byzantine style, the basilica can hold up to 3,000 pilgrims and welcomes nearly 1 million visitors a year, according to the Lisieux Tourist Office. It is particularly busy around Oct. 1, the liturgical feast day of St. Thérèse.
On May 17, St. Thérèse’s reliquary was displayed on the esplanade of the basilica
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
The Catholic Church wants to reach out and embrace all people who need and yearn for truth, justice and peace, Pope Leo XIV said in his first meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See.
“The Church can never be exempted from speaking the truth about humanity and the world, resorting whenever necessary to blunt language that may initially create misunderstanding,” he said. “Yet truth can never be separated from charity, which always has at its root a concern for the life and well-being of every man and woman.”
Because truth is an encounter with the person of Christ who is “alive in the midst of the community of believers,” he said, “truth then, does not create division, but rather enables us to confront all the more resolutely the challenges of our time, such as migration, the ethical use of artificial intelligence and the protection of our beloved planet Earth.”
In his May 16 speech to diplomats in the Clementine Hall, Pope Leo said, “Religions and interreligious dialogue can make a fundamental contribution to fostering a climate of peace.”
Therefore, “full respect for religious freedom in every country” is necessary since “it is difficult, if not impossible, to bring about the purification of the heart necessary for building peaceful relationships” without religious experience, he said.
Every person is called to “begin to eliminate the root causes of all conflicts and every destructive urge for conquest,” he said. “It demands a genuine willingness to engage in dialogue, inspired by the desire to communicate rather than clash.”
So, “new life” must be given to multilateral diplomacy and international institutions tasked with remedying disputes within the international community, he said.
Pope Leo’s motto and coat of arms pay homage to St. Augustine. Pope Leo XIV’s devotion to St. Augustine, his life and ministry as a member of the Augustinian order and his focus on the unity of the Church are reflected in his episcopal motto and coat of arms. His episcopal motto is, “In Illo uno unum,” or literally “In the One, we are one.” Vatican News explained that the phrase is taken from St. Augustine’s “Exposition on Psalm 127,” where he explains that “although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.” His shield, now topped by a miter instead of the red galero hat on the shield of cardinals, is divided diagonally into two. The upper half features a blue background with a white lily or fleur-de-lis, symbolizing the Virgin Mary, but also his French heritage. The lower half of the shield displays an image common to the religious orders named after and inspired by St. Augustine: a closed book with a heart pierced by an arrow. Vatican News said, “This is a direct reference to the conversion experience of St. Augustine himself, who described his personal encounter with God’s word using the phrase: ‘Vulnerasti cor meum verbo tuo’ – ‘You have pierced my heart with your Word.’”
Pope Leo thanks members of the media and urges them to be peacemakers. Pope Leo XIV
There must also be a move to stop the production of “instruments of destruction and death.”
The pope highlighted the purpose of “papal diplomacy,” saying, “The Holy See is inspired by a pastoral outreach that leads it not to seek privileges but to strengthen its evangelical mission at the service of humanity.”
“Resisting all forms of indifference, it appeals to consciences, as witnessed by the constant efforts of my venerable predecessor, ever attentive to the cry of the poor, the needy and the marginalized, as well as to contemporary challenges, ranging from the protection of creation to artificial intelligence,” he said.
“The pillars of the Church’s missionary activity and the aim of the Holy See’s diplomacy,” he said, are peace, justice and truth.
Peace is “an active and demanding gift” that “engages and challenges each of us,” starting with working on oneself, he said.
“Peace is built in the heart and from the heart, by eliminating pride and vindictiveness and carefully choosing our words. For words too, not only weapons, can wound and even kill,” Pope Leo said.
“Working for peace requires acting justly,” he said, and the Vatican will not fail “to make its voice heard in the face of the many imbalances and injustices that lead, not least, to unworthy working conditions and increasingly fragmented and conflict-ridden societies.”
“It is the responsibility of government leaders to work to build harmonious and peaceful civil societies,” he said.
asked journalists to be peacemakers by shunning prejudice and anger in their reporting, and he called for the release of journalists imprisoned for their work. “The suffering of these imprisoned journalists challenges the conscience of nations and the international community, calling on all of us to safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press,” the pope said May 12. Not counting his meeting May 10 with the College of Cardinals, Pope Leo’s first special audience was reserved for members of the media who covered his election and the death of Pope Francis. “Thank you for the work you have done and continue to do in these days, which is truly a time of grace for the Church,” he told the media representatives and staff of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication.
Besides Leo XIII, 12 other popes have shared that name with the new pontiff; five are saints. When Catholics heard on May 8 the new pope had chosen the name Leo XIV, the thoughts of many turned immediately to Leo XIII, the last pope to bear the name. Pope from 1878 to 1903, he is especially remembered for articulating the Church’s teaching on social justice in a rapidly changing and ever industrialized society. Twelve others share a name with the new pope, and five of those predecessors have been proclaimed saints: Leo the Great (c. 400-461), a bold defender of the faith amid times of controversy and division; Leo II (611-683), who only reigned for just under nine months and is
“This can be achieved above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman.”
Also, he said, “no one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike.”
Pope Leo, the first pope from the United States, said he is “a citizen, the descendant of immigrants, who in turn chose to emigrate.” Anyone can end up being “healthy or sick, employed or unemployed, living in our native land or in a foreign country” in life, and yet their human dignity always remains unchanged.
The third “pillar” of the Church’s mission, he said, is truth.
“Truly peaceful relationships cannot be built, also within the international community, apart from truth,” he said. Where “ambiguous and ambivalent” words and “the virtual world, with its altered perception of reality, takes over unchecked, it is difficult to build authentic relationships, since the objective and real premises of communication are lacking.”
The Catholic Church will always seek to speak the truth and dedicate itself to lovingly serving others and protecting the life and well-being of everyone, he said.
Currently, 184 countries have full diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
Pope Leo said it was “a gift” to see representatives from so many different nations attending the audience, demonstrating “a visible sign of your countries’ respect for the Apostolic See.”
“It allows me to renew the Church’s aspiration — and my own — to reach out and embrace all individuals and peoples on the Earth, who need and yearn for truth, justice and peace!” he said.
“I intend to strengthen understanding and dialogue with you and with your countries, many of which I have already had the grace to visit, especially during my time as prior general of the Augustinians,” Pope Leo said.
He said he hoped there would be more occasions to get to know their countries and “to confirm in the faith our many brothers and sisters throughout the world and to build new bridges with all people of goodwill.”
The Jubilee Year dedicated to hope, he said, “is a time of conversion and renewal and, above all, an opportunity to leave conflicts behind and embark on a new path, confident that, by working together,” each person can help “build a world in which everyone can lead an authentically human life in truth, justice and peace.”
“It is my hope that this will be the case everywhere, starting with those places that suffer most grievously, like Ukraine and the Holy Land,” he said, thanking the diplomats for the work they do “to build bridges between your countries and the Holy See.”
best remembered today through various hymns he composed for the Liturgy of the Hours; Leo III, who reigned as pope for nearly two decades before his death in 816, crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in 800; Leo IV, whose eightyear pontificate ended in 855, restored several churches in Rome after Muslim invaders plundered the sacred structures; and Leo IX (1002-1054), who brought reform to the Church, reiterating mandatory clerical celibacy and defending the Church’s belief in Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist amid scandal.
Who are the Augustinians, Pope Leo XIV’s order? In his first words as pope May 8, Pope Leo XIV described himself as a “son of St. Augustine,” signaling his deep roots in the Augustinian tradition. The Augustinian order, inspired by the fifth-century saint’s rule of life and spirituality, emerged from communities of hermits in 13thcentury Tuscany. Known today in the U.S. for educational institutions such as Villanova University and Merrimack College, the 800-year-old order includes over 2,800 members across nearly 50 countries. The first American and first Augustinian friar to become pope, the Chicago native’s journey to his order was influenced by an Augustinian high school seminary and continued through Augustinian-run Villanova University. Augustinians worldwide hailed Pope Leo’s election as a moment of pride. Quoting St. Augustine, the new pope
told the world, “For you I am a bishop, with you, I am a Christian,” pledging to walk with the Church “toward that homeland God has prepared.”
As a missionary in Peru, the future pope was always close to the poorest, say Augustinian sisters. Two days before the May 7 conclave began, Augustinian Sister Carmen Toledano texted her religious brother Monseñor Robert, whom others called Cardinal Robert Prevost. She was surprised to hear his name in the news as a front-runner for pope and told him the way she saw it, the Church needed a person who knew how to break barriers –a unifier, a builder of communion, someone like him. “His response was, ‘We’re in God’s hands,’ something like that,” recalled Sister Carmen hours after watching the cardinal become Pope Leo XIV. For decades, Augustinian sisters in Peru like Sister Carmen had a front-row seat to a pope in the making. As an Augustinian priest, thenFather Prevost spent many years as a missionary in Peru. The sisters traveled with him and saw his work up close in places like Chuquibambilla, one of the most poverty-stricken parts of Peru. “His enthusiasm impressed me,” Sister Carmen told Global Sisters Report. “He had that desire of being close to the poorest. He lived that experience as a gift, a responsibility. ... I saw how comforting he was with the most humble. That was a sign.”
Alex Sobieski, a parent of four St. Agnes School students in St. Paul, was among those at the rally. Accompanied by his fifth-grade daughter, Anna, Sobieski spoke to those gathered about their concerns. For Anna, who has Type 1 diabetes, asthma and allergies, visiting the school nurse is not a luxury; it’s an everyday need, Sobieski said.
“That means being able to participate in gym class and in recess without worrying about an asthma attack or without her blood sugar dropping,” Sobieski said. “It lets her be a normal kid. As a parent, I entrust her life to the professional care of a nursing staff that we work with daily. The nursing staff helps us manage her symptoms and helps us communicate with her care team, and it makes it part of her ability to integrate into this education system. It also means that as a parent, I don’t have to leave work multiple times a day to come dose her or (administer) medication.”
Sobieski said the nonpublic school pupil aid is an issue of safety and of life and death. He said that it’s easy to think of private schools as being for affluent people.
“I’m a single working father of four,” Sobieski said. “I’m in charge of my children’s tuition by myself. It is
because of very generous donors and the support of our state that allows Anna to have access to textbooks and to the most vital care of a nurse. We rely on their support for essential services, and it makes it so we don’t have to prioritize her life and her care over (my) job and (my) ability to provide support.”
Also addressing rally-goers was Benito Matias, the principal of Ascension School in North Minneapolis, who said the proposed budget cuts are an injustice. Impacting more than nurses in private schools, Matias focused on the impact the cuts would have on transportation.
Matias pointed out that across the country and in the state of Minnesota, schools face the challenge of absenteeism.
“For the state of Minnesota to then turn around and say we’re no longer going to support the transportation that gets our scholars to and from school every day just because they attend a nonpublic school is an injustice,” Matias said. “We have to recognize and stand up to injustices, and it’s our opportunity to stand up and do something. We talk about the state of Minnesota supporting counseling, supporting nursing, supporting textbooks; for them to say that they’re no longer going to do that is an injustice.”
in the presence of a large crowd, while some of her writings were read and accompanied by hymns and chimes.
Bishop Jacques Habert of Bayeux-Lisieux presided over the solemn anniversary Mass, together with other bishops of Normandy. It began with the reading of the homily that Pope Pius XI had delivered in Rome during the Little Flower’s canonization Mass in 1925.
Throughout the weekend, visitors, pilgrims and curious onlookers participated in activities related to the life and spirituality of St. Thérèse. They were able to make a jubilee pilgrimage and go to confession, but also take part in treasure hunts for children, guided tours of the wax museum, and help build a large structure out of Lego-style building bricks.
In places where St. Thérèse lived, such as her home — called “Les Buissonnets” — people who were dressed in late 19th-century costumes welcomed visitors and helped them immerse themselves in the atmosphere of everyday life in Lisieux in St. Thérèse’s time.
as possible!” Father Schwab said.
“All the popes of the 20th century took a keen interest in St. Thérèse,” Father Schwab pointed out. He said people of Normandy have felt really proud since the election of Pope Leo, knowing that his paternal grandmother was born in Normandy in 1894.
For Bishop Habert, there is still today a “mystery” surrounding the fact that St. Thérèse has always attracted a lot of attention, in addition to the enormous success of the book “Story of a Soul,” which combines her autobiographical accounts and her spiritual testament.
“When I walk across the square in front of the basilica in Lisieux, I am always struck by the number of people who clearly are not used to going to church,” he said. “They have heard about Thérèse, are interested in her, and want to come in and light a candle. It is a kind of attraction that is beyond our understanding. Many Carmelite nuns lived holy lives.”
“During World War I, many soldiers, both French and German, testified to their devotion to her and the graces they had received through her intercession,” Father Schwab added. “And since then, enthusiasm for her has not waned.”
For the rector, it is the “little way” of Thérèse that explains her enduring success. “When we talk about love, it attracts everyone, in every age,” he said. “In her writings, it is striking to see the constant attention she paid to God’s action in her life. She perceived God’s love and mercy directed toward her, and wanted to renounce her own strength in order to make herself available and dependent on God’s love. This way of seeing things was very original in her time, when a more severe conception of God as judge of the living and the dead was widespread. She had an astonishing spiritual freedom.”
Among the speakers who took part was the greatgrandson of architect Louis-Marie Cordonnier, who was commissioned to build the basilica, which Pope Pius XI wanted to be “very large, very beautiful and built as quickly
“Humanly speaking, it is quite incomprehensible that such a short, laborious, and even difficult life, and one that was so hidden, have aroused so much interest,” Bishop Habert concluded. “But what we see is that Thérèse placed God’s love at the center of her life. Clearly, this continues to bear fruit today.” THE
Bishop Habert told OSV News that Thérèse would not be one of the founders of great orders” and “her death was a completely private event — yet she very quickly attracted crowds of people, and Pope Pius X called her ‘the greatest saint of modern times,’ even before she was canonized.”
By Josh McGovern
The Catholic Spirit
During a news conference held at the Minnesota State Capitol on May 12, Bishop Kevin Kenney urged lawmakers to protect access to health care for all people, regardless of immigration status.
“Are we going to let them (undocumented immigrants) die in the streets?” he said. “Are we going to just let them suffer? Or are we going to allow them, all of us, the basic health care that we need?”
Bishop Kenney said that health care doesn’t have to be free but urged policymakers to find creative solutions to the issue of providing health care to undocumented immigrants. Refusing to provide access to health insurance and other services based on legal status, he said, is a “simplistic and blunt approach to a more complex problem.”
“Politicians have long taken advantage of our broken immigration system to induce many people to come here, and those who do can rarely get legal status or citizenship,” Bishop Kenney said. “As (the) late Pope Francis said, ‘Immigrants are sometimes treated like pawns on the chessboard of humanity.’”
Three days after the news conference, Gov. Tim Walz announced a bipartisan agreement on the biennium state budget that included the removal of access for undocumented adult immigrants but continued inclusion of children for MinnesotaCare coverage.
Walz, in a news conference at the Minnesota State Capitol, said the budget is fiscally responsible. He said budgets are fiscal and moral documents.
“Nobody got everything they wanted,” Walz said. “Budgets are fiscal documents, and they are moral documents. I think at the end of the day to get a deal done we compromised on that. It’s not about punishing anyone in that case.”
Meanwhile, Democratic legislators were videotaped
“Christ goes before us, and the world needs His light.”
protesting outside the doors where Walz was speaking. Meanwhile, Minnesota lawmakers remained deadlocked past the May 19 deadline to finalize a budget. A special session will be called; to avoid a government shutdown, a budget agreement must be made by June 30. Some Republican lawmakers have argued for the 2023 Immigrant Inclusion Act to be repealed; however, Democratic legislator Marlee Schlegel said the removal of undocumented adults from coverage was a vendetta “fueled by hate, fear mongering, and lies.”
Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth, a Republican, explained that providing health care to undocumented immigrants in Minnesota started on Jan. 1, with a projected number of 5,700 undocumented people who would benefit
from that health care at the time. But by April 24, that number rocketed to over 20,000 undocumented immigrants joining the free health care.
“That was something we looked at fiscally that could not go on,” Demuth said. “The compromise that we came to is that will need to come to an end. But we also recognize the importance of allowing that care for children that are here. Adults on MinnesotaCare as undocumented, that will come to an end. ... It’s not a measure of being uncaring. It’s a fiscal issue. ... Those that are here illegally can still join the private market. It’s not that health care is being denied in any way.”
Bishop Kenney said that the system needs to be fixed at the federal level. But he said steps need to be taken in the meantime to ensure the dignity and needs of immigrants.
In the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC)’s “Inside the Capitol” column, MCC staff wrote that the MCC has long advocated for allowing undocumented immigrants access to health insurance through MinnesotaCare, a health coverage program in the state for low-income individuals and families without employee health insurance.
“Access was granted in the 2023 legislative session, yet enrollment has outpaced initial expectations,” the MCC wrote in the column, that appeared in the May 8 edition of The Catholic Spirit titled “Why undocumented immigrants should have access to health care.”
“With a tight budget forecast, some legislators are proposing that access to this subsidized program for lowincome Minnesotans be eliminated. MCC is opposed to the cuts, especially for children,” MCC staff wrote.
“The program need not be free or cheaper than what a U.S. citizen pays, but they (undocumented immigrants) need access to health insurance because health care is an important component of stewarding the gift of life that God has given to each of us,” Bishop Kenney said.
P O P E L E O X I V
Pope Leo XIV’s first words from the balcony in Rome were “Peace be with you.” Of all the things our new Holy Father could have chosen to say, that was the greeting he wanted the world to hear. He didn’t invent this ancient greeting, but his calm, peaceful demeanor seemed to embody the expression and say a great deal about him.
The risen Lord proclaimed “Peace be with you” when he appeared to the fearful disciples in the locked room. It’s the greeting we respond to at every Mass as we prepare to offer the sign of Christ’s peace to one another. It’s one of the greeting options for the priest to say at the beginning of Mass, which Archbishop Hebda often uses.
In this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Jn 14:23-29), Jesus says to his disciples, “Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give it to you.”
This teaches us that the gift of peace comes from our Lord. We are not the creators of peace, so much as ambassadors of his peace, bringing what we have received from the Prince of Peace to others.
This teaches us that the gift of peace comes from our Lord. We are not the creators of peace, so much as ambassadors of his peace, bringing what we have received from the Prince of Peace to others.
Jesus compares his peace to the peace of the world, because the world is always trying to offer some kind of temporary or lesser peace or security instead. The day after he was chosen, Pope Leo offered his first Mass as pope with the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel. In his homily he said:
“Today there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak, and unintelligent, settings
COMMUNION AND MISSION | FATHER JOHN PAUL ERICKSON
where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure. ... A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family, and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”
Jesus longs to give his peace to all. Christ is the very peace that we all desire. May God bless Pope Leo XIV in abundance as he leads us in the path of Christ’s peace. May our prayers assist him in the great calling that God has given to him.
Father Deziel is pastor of St. Joseph of the Lakes in Lino Lakes.
This is confirmation season. While some of our candidates receive this great sacrament in the fall or winter, the vast majority of young people within the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis receive the sacrament in the weeks and months right after Easter. It’s a very, very busy time for our bishops, as well as for the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul and the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.
Confirmation cannot be understood apart from baptism. Indeed, confirmation takes its name not from the personal assent of the one being confirmed (as in, “I confirm my choice to be Catholic,” or “I confirm my faith in Jesus Christ”) but rather from the confirmation of baptismal grace, which most of us receive as infants. Because of the age at which most of us receive confirmation nowadays, midadolescence, it is easy to assume that the sacrament is like many of the other events in our young life at that time — a time of transition to adulthood when more serious duties are assumed. But this misunderstanding is largely a consequence of the current widespread timing of the conferral of confirmation, which has been shaped and molded by many different factors throughout the years, including the lowering of first Communion age by St. Pius X over a century ago. Keep in mind that the confirmation of infants is still the practice of the Eastern Churches.
Rather than a graduation or personal affirmation of faith ceremony, the sacrament of confirmation seals and strengthens the gifts of grace given in baptism, which includes the powerful gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within the souls of all the baptized in a state of grace. Just as the Apostles received the life-changing message of the Resurrection on Easter but still required the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to proclaim that message boldly, so too we need both the saving waters of baptism and the compelling fire of the Holy Spirit. Easter and Pentecost are inextricably connected.
On the façade of our world-renowned Cathedral are found the two
greatest of Apostles, Peter and Paul. I’d like to suggest that these two figures represent the sacraments of baptism (Peter) and confirmation (Paul) and therefore the two great directions of the Church — communion (Peter) and mission (Paul). Baptism makes us a member of the body of Christ, joined to the mystical and hierarchical Church. Peter and his successors stand at the visible center of that communion. Without Peter there is no lasting unity. A man of frailty and selfdiagnosed sinfulness, Peter was nevertheless chosen by Christ to “strengthen his brethren in the faith.” Not every pope has been a saint. But every pope has been given a divinely appointed task to preserve the unity of the Church, which has baptism as its sacramental beginning.
But it is not enough for the Church to simply preserve unity. She is also called to go out to all the nations and proclaim the good news. This is a particularly Pauline vocation. Paul came to realize, after his union with Peter had been secured through repentance and baptism, that he had been given the mission to make Jesus Christ known and loved by the Gentiles. And so, the Church continues to follow this great missionary’s example, by boldly proclaiming to all people that “Jesus Christ is Lord.” In confirmation, we are given the power to do just this — to witness before the world the wondrous things the Lord has done and to call all peoples to the saving waters of Christian faith.
At times, these two dynamics within the Church can seem to be in tension. How do we maintain doctrinal clarity, our liturgical traditions and our moral teachings, while also speaking language that the modern man and woman will understand and find compelling? How do we as a Church properly evaluate what is good in the world, while also remaining true to our history and most important memories? It’s not easy. It requires both Peter and Paul. Unity and mission. Baptism and confirmation.
Come Holy Spirit!
Father Erickson is parochial vicar of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul and interim chairman of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission.
Sunday, May 25
Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Rev 21:10-14, 22-23 Jn 14:23-29
Monday, May 26
St. Philip Neri, priest Acts 16:11-15 Jn 15:26—16:4a
Tuesday, May 27
Acts 16:22-34 Jn 16:5-11
Wednesday, May 28
Acts 17:15, 22—18:1 Jn 16:12-15
Thursday, May 29 Acts 18:1-8 Jn 16:16-20
Friday, May 30
Acts 18:9-18 Jn 16:20-23
Saturday, May 31
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Zeph 3:14-18a or Rom 12:9-16 Lk 1:39-56
Sunday, June 1
Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord Acts 1:1-11
Eph 1:17-23 or Heb 9:24-28; 10:19-23 Lk 24:46-53
Monday, June 2
Acts 19:1-8 Jn 16:29-33
Tuesday, June 3
St. Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs Acts 20:17-27 Jn 17:1-11a
Wednesday, June 4 Acts 20:28-38 Jn 17:11b-19
Thursday, June 5
St. Boniface, bishop and martyr Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 Jn 17:20-26
Friday, June 6 Acts 25:13b-21 Jn 21:15-19
Saturday, June 7
Acts 28:16-20, 30-31 Jn 21:20-25
Sunday, June 8
Pentecost Sunday Acts 2:1-11
1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Rom 8:8-17 Jn 20:19-23 or Jn 14:15-16, 23b-26
ST. MARY MAGDALEN DE PAZZI (1566-1607) Born to a wealthy family in Florence, Italy, Caterina began meditating at age 9 and had her first ecstasy, or vision, at 12. She entered a Carmelite convent at 16, becoming Mary Magdalen, and was allowed to profess vows early when it seemed she might be dying. She had long periods of daily ecstasies, but also experienced five years of spiritual dryness, during which she was constantly tempted and in pain. Her confessor had her dictate her experiences to fellow nuns, who filled five volumes over six years. This medieval mystic also served her community as mistress of novices and subprioress. Her feast day is May 25.
In the years since I quit drinking, I’ve prayed for the intercession of different saints when sobriety reached its hardest moments, when I felt myself losing the courage to keep going. Saints like Augustine, Mark Ji Tianxiang and a man formerly named Saul, who encountered a sudden change of heart on the road to Damascus.
On that road to Damascus, Saul was determined to find, arrest and imprison followers of Jesus and return them to Jerusalem in chains. His heart was self-serving, and he breathed “murderous threats” (Acts 9:1) against the disciples of Jesus. His darkened heart led him out onto the road to seek violence against those who “belonged to the Way” (Acts 9:2).
During his journey, he was suddenly blinded by a tremendous light. He fell to the ground, unable to see, and he heard a voice.
When Saul asked who was there, the voice responded, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:5-6).
Saul did as he was told. He followed God’s direction to Damascus. This new road led him not to persecute Christians but to martyrdom under a new name: St. Paul. If St. Paul were a recovering alcoholic, some might say he experienced a moment of clarity on a road to recovery. As Catholics, we understand this moment as repentance after an encounter with God. St. Paul experienced a change of heart, a change of direction, new sight.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “God’s very
KELLY FANUCCI
One year ago, on the feast of the Ascension, we attended Mass in a hotel basement.
One of our older kids was in a weekend tournament, and a priest from one of the Catholic school teams offered to say Mass for anyone who wanted to attend. So, we trooped downstairs to a large conference room, where we sat in uncomfortable chairs under drab fluorescent lighting — and one of the loveliest moments of my motherhood unfolded.
My youngest child was tired and cranky, whining and wrestling in my lap until he fell asleep on my shoulder, snoring straight through the Gospel. Strangers around us smiled, laughing as they listened to him sleeping loudly. Before us stood a Cistercian priest, preaching on the Ascension. “When love seems absent,” he said, reading a homily that he had written 15 years earlier after the death of his mother, “love is actually closer than we know.” Cistercians are known for silence, contemplative prayer and manual labor. Mothers, too (well, at least the last one is guaranteed). But what the priest preached that day spoke straight to my heart as a parent.
being is love” (CCC 221) and to love is “to will the good of another” (CCC 1766). It continues to say that all other affections “have their source in this first movement of the human heart toward the good.”
On the road to Damascus, Saul encountered love incarnate in Jesus Christ, whose being of love was blinding. When we encounter love, we can be stopped dead in our tracks, knocked down to the ground, but we are then called to stand and move. Love urges us to remain in it, by moving with it, by treading new paths, by changing our hearts.
Father Joseph Bambenek, associate director of the Office for the Renewal of Structures at the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, shared with me that we are invited to recognize our story in the stories of the lives of the saints and in the Scriptures. I noticed that in the same way Saul was stopped, knocked off his high horse, and propelled into a new life, the recovering alcoholics and addicts I encounter each week in AA speak of their own tremendous conversions, what’s known as their moment of clarity.
The Big Book, the basic text of the AA recovery program, defines a moment of clarity as “that point in time when an addict or alcoholic finally sees, clearly, for the first time, the insanity of his or her behavior.”
After a moment of clarity, a recovering alcoholic or addict might feel called to begin the 12-step recovery process. In these steps, we metaphorically step forward from this moment of clarity and begin walking through affections “that have their source in this first movement of the human heart toward the good” (CCC 1766). Graduating from each step will lead a recovering alcoholic or addict forward into a deeper understanding of forgiveness, community and service. Recovery has the power to blind us, at first, then reshape our hearts to make them capable of “willing the good of another” (CCC 1766) which is love.
In my own experience, July 6, 2022, remains a mysterious day for me. Nearly three years later and I’m still not entirely sure what happened that morning. But something happened because the direction of my life changed in a matter of minutes.
What I realize now, after praying for St. Paul’s
The feast of the Ascension bears witness to the lasting truth of love every Easter season. In the Resurrection and Ascension, love moves, changes, transforms and even becomes unrecognizable from how it began — just like Jesus in his newly resurrected body. But love never leaves.
This is what I want my children to know: If they ever fear that love has gone forever, love has not left. Even in death, life is changed but not ended.
Love never leaves.
That Sunday, my son snored through the whole Eucharistic Prayer. My arms ached, but I wouldn’t put him down. Fifteen years earlier, a nurse, a doctor and a doula had worked together to place a warm, wailing newborn into my weary arms for the first time, and I wept with joy. Now I knew too well how quickly those carrying years pass.
So, I carried my son up to Communion, back to the uncomfortable chair, up the steep stairs, outside the hotel and down the street to dinner after Mass. His baby-soft cheek was still smushed against mine, his gangly limbs dangling heavy at my sides. He had not fallen asleep that way for months or even years: in my arms, from my rocking, with my warmth, body to body.
Mothering is a presence that pulses in flesh and blood. A love that can never go absent, even when it looks like it has left.
When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene on Easter morning, he greeted her by name and then told her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father” (Jn 20:17). Until I understood the mystery of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, this line had puzzled me. Why wouldn’t Jesus want his dear friend to embrace him? How would his ascending to the Father make it possible for Mary to hold on to him later?
But once you hold the host in your hands and realize that the gift of the Eucharistic presence came from what looked like absence — Jesus’ ascension into heaven, and
intercession, is that when I woke up that day in July, the scales fell from my eyes. When I sought forgiveness from my then-girlfriend, who is now my wife, I encountered Christ’s love, like a blinding light, mediated through her and my loved ones who lifted me up from the ground and guided me to the next steps when I couldn’t see. That love and forgiveness was a gift, freely given, and I had to make a choice: continue serving myself, or remain in that greater love I encountered, that willing of good, through a conversion of my heart.
Father Bambenek said to me, “Just as St. Paul’s life was nurtured by his love of Christ, by growing in faith in his relationship with Christ, by entering into the sacrament of marriage and experiencing the love of your wife, that mediates Christ’s love in a way that propels you to keep fighting the good fight, to finish the race as St. Paul instructed.”
St. Paul reminds us that we are not defined by who we used to be. That we always have an opportunity to encounter God and calibrate our hearts to something greater than ourselves. When we encounter love, we can’t be afraid to change, even if it means giving all of ourselves over to walk a new road, to forge a new path, because this new road can lead to grace we never knew was possible. Look to the saints. St. Paul, pray for us.
McGovern is a reporter for The Catholic Spirit. He can be reached at McGovernj@archspm.org
Resources for information about recovery include:
• Trinity Sober Homes – trinitysoberhomes.org
• Catholic in Recovery – catholicinrecovery.com
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association national helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
the gift of himself that he left behind — then you realize the paradox of every powerful love.
When love looks like it has left, it is never truly gone. When God feels most absent, God may be most present.
At the street corner, my son finally woke in my arms — just as he had awakened a thousand times before, blinking and returning to the world after rest.
“What happened to Mass?” he asked, confused. “Where did Communion go?”
“Here,” I pressed a kiss against his sweaty forehead. “Right here.”
Fanucci, a member of St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove, is an author, speaker and founder of Mothering Spirit, an online gathering place on parenting and spirituality at motheringspirit.com
“Definitely a community-building experience! I am growing closer to others in our group as we, together, learn more about our faith. I am also able to offer prayers for their families.”
Diane Barr, 66, St. Jude of the Lake, Mahtomedi
Archbishop Bernard Hebda is encouraging the faithful to experience the small-group model Parish Evangelization Cells System (PECS) in their parishes. Designed to strengthen parish life through small groups and encourage parishioners to share their faith and hope in Jesus Christ with each other and then the broader community, it is having an impact. At last count, there are nearly 1,800 groups and more than 16,000 participants in 138 parishes across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. See the opportunities to join a small group at archspm.groupvitals.com/groupFinder.
In this column, I have been setting the stage for a look at how Jesus’ life itself was a social and political movement. Jesus proclaimed that “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:15). I’ve been suggesting that this message indicates the longed-for renewal that the Old Testament prophets had foretold was finally taking shape. The community that God had called beginning with Abraham would be reconstituted. This kingdom, Jesus said, was breaking in now.
But it helps to understand the uniqueness of Jesus’ kingdom to realize that he was not the first, nor the last, prophetic or messianic figure to appear in Israel saying such things. We’ve already seen that the Pharisees, the Sadducees and other groups had their own vision for what this kingdom would look like. But there were others, who, like Jesus, promised that some sort of historical change was afoot. Knowing a little about these figures helps us see more clearly what Jesus himself was up to.
The first event worth mentioning is recorded in the books of the Maccabees. In the second century before Christ, the land of Israel had been taken over by the Greek king Antiochus Epiphanes. He made the practice of the Torah illegal and established pagan worship in the Temple, potentially wiping out Judaism altogether. Many in Israel were compelled to go along with this and convert to paganism.
The books of the Maccabees recount the revolution that started in the Galilean countryside — led by Judas Maccabeus and his family — that eventually led to the defeat of the pagan army and freed Israel in its own land. In 164 BCE, the revolutionaries recaptured Jerusalem, expelled the pagans, reestablished the Torah, cleansed the Temple and restored the sacrificial system.
All this can seem a little crude to us, so it’s worth recalling the bigger picture and what the motivations were. God had called Israel to be a special people, set apart from the nations, to be a light to those nations and, precisely by not living like them, to show how different Israel’s God, Yahweh, was from their gods. This different way of life was the point of most of the Old Testament. The Temple and its sacrificial system, the purity and food laws, circumcision, the Sabbath, the yearly festivals in Jerusalem — all these were badges of Israel’s special status as a special people.
Negatively, this meant the absolute prohibition of the worship of pagan gods, and the way of life that went with them. They were to be banned from (ideally) all of the Holy Land, surely from Jerusalem, and surely from the Temple, including any of those images the Gentiles associated with their gods. And this was precisely because religion, unlike in our own day, was never a compartmentalized, inward or private spiritual sphere. It always meant a whole way of life, and many Jews didn’t want any of that pagan stuff where God’s set-apart people lived.
But, as we see in the case of the Maccabees, there were
For three successive years, my wife and I along with some friends have participated in the physical and spiritual journey of a 22-mile Walk to Mary in eastern Wisconsin — one of many Marian crownings held this month for honoring the Blessed Mother.
This year, we joined a gathering of around 7,000 pilgrims May 3 on the annual pilgrimage from the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion. We made still more friends as we walked in body and spirit with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
An energetic group of faith-filled believers led the procession, carrying a statue of Our Lady to the holy shrine. In groups and individually, followers prayed the rosary, chanted the Regina Caeli and brought other
special and common prayers to our Lord.
Many pilgrims loaded daypacks with intentions and petitions for themselves and for their loved ones. At the end of the journey, the intentions were placed at the only Church-approved Marian apparition site within the United States. It was a hearty, spiritual trek, reminding participants that we are indeed body and spirit.
We do this because the Blessed Mother centers and leads us — as she did the first Apostles — closer to and more deeply in love with Jesus. In “Benedictus,” a book of day-to-day reflections written by Pope Benedict XVI during his papacy, the late pope notes that “Mary is the great believer who humbly offered herself to God as an empty vessel for him to use in his mysterious plan. She did not try to live according to human calculations but put herself completely at the disposal of God’s mysterious, incomprehensible design. All
pressures both from outside and from inside that put this divine vocation — the distinctness to which Israel was called — in jeopardy. From the outside, the pagans threatened this vocation. From the inside, there were always Jews, especially those in leadership, who were far too willing to compromise with the pagans.
The Maccabees, on the contrary, “burned with zeal for the Law” (1 Macc 2:26) — the Jewish way of life — and set themselves to “give their lives for the covenant of their fathers” (cf. 1 Macc 2:50). They raised up a guerrilla rebellion and successfully “cleansed” the land, all seemingly in keeping with God’s declared intentions for his chosen people.
It is hard to overestimate the significance this event had for Jews all the way down to the time of Jesus. After the successful revolution, the Maccabees’ story was recounted every year in the festival of Hanukkah. From then on, the idea of raising up a conventional military force to throw off the pagan overlords appeared to have official and even divine sanction.
If someone heard “the kingdom of God is at hand,” then, at the time of Jesus, the Maccabees would not have been far from anyone’s mind.
Miller is the director of the Center for Catholic Social Thought at Assumption in St. Paul. He is the author of “We Are Only Saved Together: Living the Revolutionary Vision of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement,” published by Ave Maria Press.
she wanted to be was the instrument and servant of the Word.”
Since Mary was the first disciple and evangelist, her example shows us how to be the same in serving the Lord — not only during this special month, but year-round. Mary became that instrument and lived in servanthood as the mother of God. As told by the angel Gabriel to Mary early in Luke’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit “… will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you …” (Lk 1:35).
Jesus promised his disciples that the same Holy Spirit would be with them “until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20) to shine and burn in their hearts and help them lead others.
The feast of the Ascension is May 29 and June 8 we celebrate Pentecost, when Jesus’ disciples experienced the joy and supernatural help of the Holy Spirit. Mary was there and she is here today leading the way with all the saints and angels.
Catholic Watchmen with their families and friends devote prayers and petitions in honor of Mary and for the dignity of women. For the days that remain in May, a daily rosary can be complemented by Regina Caeli chants (it is still Eastertide) at the hours of 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. Prayer vigils can be held among small groups with Marian devotions. This can carry the faithful to the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated May 31.
Deacon Bird ministers to St. Joseph in Rosemount and All Saints in Lakeville and assists with the archdiocesan Catholic Watchmen movement. See heroicmen.com for existing tools supported by the archdiocese to enrich parish apostolates for ministry to men. For Watchmen start-up materials or any other questions regarding ministry to men, contact him at gordonbird@rocketmail.com.
It is with heavy hearts and deep gratitude that we remember Jean Swenson, a woman whose life bore witness to the truth that every human life, no matter the challenges or burdens faced, is of immeasurable value.
Swenson’s voice helped shape the conscience of our state. As a member of the Minnesota Alliance for Ethical Healthcare, she was a formidable presence in the fight against physician-assisted suicide. After a tragic accident left her a quadriplegic, Swenson could have withdrawn from public life. Instead, she chose to testify, both literally and spiritually, to the dignity of life through suffering.
Year after year, Swenson showed up at the Minnesota State Capitol, sometimes in person, other times through written testimony, to oppose efforts to legalize assisted suicide. Her presence helped prevent its passage in Minnesota for over a decade. This year, the bill didn’t even receive a hearing. That is not a political victory, it is a personal one. Swenson helped keep hope alive for thousands of Minnesotans whose lives are at risk of being devalued by a culture that too often equates dignity with independence or productivity.
Swenson’s life was not easy. But her suffering did not define her. Swenson poured herself out in service to others. She used every moment, every breath, to be a steward of the life she had been given.
Swenson showed us that our lives are not our own. They are gifts. And like any gift, we are called to receive them
(Jean) Swenson’s voice helped shape the conscience of our state.
As a member of the Minnesota Alliance for Ethical Healthcare, she was a formidable presence in the fight against physicianassisted suicide. After a tragic accident left her a quadriplegic, Swenson could have withdrawn from public life. Instead, she chose to testify, both literally and spiritually, to the dignity of life through suffering.
with gratitude and offer them back with love.
In a culture that tempts us to discard what is hard, inconvenient, or seemingly unproductive, how are we stewarding the gift of life? Are we speaking up for the vulnerable? Are we encouraging those who suffer? Are we resisting the false mercy of assisted suicide with the true compassion of accompaniment and care?
We can’t do all that Swenson did, but we can do something. A conversation. A prayer. A vote. A testimony. A life lived in quiet, faithful witness to the truth that every person, no matter their condition or capacity, is worthy of love.
Swenson’s life was a masterpiece of courage, hope and
love. Let us honor her not only with words, but with lives that reflect the same fierce commitment to truth and dignity.
May her memory be a blessing. And may we, like Swenson, use every opportunity to affirm life, offer hope, and reflect the love of Christ.
What are you doing to be a good steward of life?
Sign up online to join the Alliance for Ethical Healthcare: ethicalcaremn.salsalabs.org/ alliancejoinformindividual/index.html
Inside the Capitol is a legislative update from Minnesota Catholic Conference staff
In these days, we have experienced intense emotions. The death of Pope Francis filled our hearts with sadness. In those difficult hours, we felt like the crowds that the Gospel says were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36). Yet on Easter Sunday, we received his final blessing and, in the light of the resurrection, we experienced the days that followed in the certainty that the Lord never abandons his people, but gathers them when they are scattered and guards them “as a shepherd guards his flock” (Jer 31:10).
In this spirit of faith, the College of Cardinals met for the conclave. Coming from different backgrounds and experiences, we placed in God’s hands our desire to elect the new Successor of Peter, the bishop of Rome, a shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking to the future, in order to confront the questions, concerns and challenges of today’s world. Accompanied by your prayers, we could feel the working of the Holy Spirit, who was able to bring us into harmony, like musical instruments, so that our heartstrings could vibrate in a single melody. I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family. Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus.
We see this in today’s Gospel, which takes us to the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus began the mission he received from the Father: to be a “fisher” of humanity in order to draw it up from the waters of evil and death. Walking along the shore, he had called Peter and the other first disciples to be, like him, “fishers of men.” Now, after the resurrection, it is up to them to carry on this mission, to cast their nets again and again, to bring the hope of the Gospel into the “waters” of the world, to sail the seas of life so that all may experience God’s embrace.
How can Peter carry out this task? The Gospel tells us that it is possible only because his own life was touched by the infinite and unconditional love of God, even in the hour of his failure and denial. For this reason, when Jesus addresses Peter, the Gospel uses the Greek verb agapáo, which refers to the love that God has for us, to the offering of himself without reserve and without calculation. Whereas the verb used in Peter’s response describes the love of friendship that we have for one another.
Consequently, when Jesus asks Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (Jn 21:16), he is referring to the love of
the Father. It is as if Jesus said to him, “Only if you have known and experienced this love of God, which never fails, will you be able to feed my lambs. Only in the love of God the Father will you be able to love your brothers and sisters with that same ‘more,’ that is, by offering your life for your brothers and sisters.”
Peter is thus entrusted with the task of “loving more” and giving his life for the flock. The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity
Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world. In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest. For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him!
and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did. The Apostle Peter himself tells us that Jesus “is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:11). Moreover, if the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat,
your
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you and your priestly ministry.
Thank you for your dedication and commitment. With love and prayers, your parish family, Church of St. Gerard Majella
lording it over those entrusted to him (cf. 1 Pet 5:3). On the contrary, he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them, for all of us are “living stones” (1 Pet 2:5), called through our baptism to build God’s house in fraternal communion, in the harmony of the Spirit, in the coexistence of diversity. In the words of St. Augustine: “The Church consists of all those who are in harmony with their brothers and sisters and who love their neighbor” (Serm. 359,9).
Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world. In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest. For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one. This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!
This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.
Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion “were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?” (Rerum Novarum, 21).
With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the Word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity. Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another.
St. Alphonsus Garage Sale – May 23-25: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at St. Alphonsus, 7025 Halifax Ave. N., Brooklyn Center. St. Alphonsus is hosting an annual garage sale in the gym. There will be indoor and outdoor seasonal decorations, furniture, houseware and home goods, clothing items and jewelry. stalsmn.org
St. Bridget Rummage Sale – May 29-31: 1-5 p.m. May 29, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. May 30, 8-11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. May 31, at St. Bridget, 3820 Emerson Ave. N., Minneapolis. stbridgetnorthside.com
St. Rita’s Perennial Plant Sale – May 31: 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at St. Rita, 8694 80th St. S., Cottage Grove. St. Rita’s Mission Outreach Commission is holding its yearly sale of perennial plants. The sale includes a large variety of gardener-tested perennials including hostas, lilies and many more. saintritas.org
Minnesota Catholic Home Education Conference and Curriculum Fair – May 30-31: 4-8:30 p.m. May 30, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. May 31, at St. Paul College, 235 Marshall Ave., St. Paul. Featuring Ken and Kerri Davison of Holy Heroes as keynote speakers, this event empowers parents as the primary educators of their children. Don’t miss the inspiring workshops, outstanding vendors, and community support. mnconference.org
Unchaste Celibacy Part III: A Webinar for Survivors and Those Who Care for Them –May 26: 6:30-8 p.m. Virtual webinar on the topic of hierarchical responses to clergy sexual misconduct and abuse of adults. Stephen de Weger, presenter, is an academic from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. He completed his master’s degree and Ph.D. on victim-survivor experiences of both clergy sexual misconduct against adults in the Roman Catholic Church, and
the reporting thereof. For more information, contact Paula Kaempffer at kaempfferp@archspm.org Register at tinyurl.com/yrc9bzn4. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the link to join the meeting.
Benilde-St. Margaret’s Class of 2025 Commencement – May 30: 7-9 p.m. at BenildeSt. Margaret, 2501 Highway 100, St. Louis Park. bsmschool.org
A Celebration of St. Philip Neri – May 28: 4-9 p.m. at St. Mary in Lowertown, 267 Eighth St. E., St. Paul. The aspiring Lowertown Oratory invites you to an evening of prayer, reflection and a catered dinner to celebrate St. Philip Neri and the work of the Oratory. tinyurl.com/4nwv9bw6
Catholic in Recovery – Every Sunday starting April 20: 7-8 p.m. at St. Mark, 2001 Dayton Ave., St. Paul. Catholic sacramental recovery and fellowship for those seeking freedom from addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments. We overlap scripture reading, liturgical themes, and 12 step recovery topics. Questions? Call Eileen M. at 612-483-2973. catholicinrecovery.com
Calix Society – First and third Sundays: 9-10:30 a.m., hosted by the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. In Assembly Hall, Lower Level. Potluck breakfast. Calix is a group of men, women, family and friends supporting the spiritual needs of recovering Catholics with alcohol or other addictions. Questions? Call Jim at 612-383-8232 or Steve at 612-327-4370.
Career Transition Group – Third Thursdays: 7:30-8:30 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus, 155 County Road 24, Medina. The Career Transition Group hosts speakers on various topics to help people looking for a job or a change in career and to enhance job skills. The meetings also allow time for networking
with others and opportunities for resume review. hnoj.org/career-transition-group
Gifted and Belonging – Fourth Sundays: 6:30–8 p.m. at St. Matthew, 510 Hall Ave., St. Paul., and Second Fridays, 6:30-8 p.m. at Maternity of Mary, 1414 Dale St. N., St. Paul. Providing Catholic fellowship for young adults with disabilities, seen and unseen. Gather together to share a time of prayer and reflection, followed by games and social activities. Invite friends, and bring a caregiver as needed. For more information on monthly activities and/or volunteer opportunities, call Megan at 612-456-1572 or email giftedandbelonging@gmail.com. Please note that the Gifted and Belonging dates and location will change beginning in June.
Natural Family Planning (NFP) – Classes teach couples Church approved methods on how to achieve or postpone pregnancy while embracing the beauty of God’s gift of sexuality. For a complete list of classes offered throughout the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, visit archspm.org/family or call 651-291-4489.
Quilters for a Cause – First Fridays: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at St. Jerome, 380 Roselawn Ave. E., Maplewood. Join other women to make quilts to donate to local charities. Quilting experience is not necessary but basic machine skills are helpful. For more information, call the parish office: 651-771-1209. facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087945155707
Restorative Support for Victims-Survivors –
Monthly: 6:30-8 p.m. via Zoom. Open to all victims-survivors. Victim-survivor support group for those abused by clergy as adults – first Mondays. Support group for relatives or friends of victims of clergy sexual abuse – second Mondays. Victimsurvivor support group – third Mondays. Survivor Peace Circle – third Tuesdays. Support group for men who have been sexually abused by clergy/ religious – fourth Wednesdays. Support group for present and former employees of faith-based institutions who have experienced abuse in any of its many forms – second Thursdays. Visit archspm.org/healing or contact Paula Kaempffer,
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outreach coordinator for restorative justice and abuse prevention, at kaempfferp@archspm.org or 651-291-4429.
Secular Franciscan Meeting of St. Leonard of Port Maurice Fraternity – Third Sundays: 2:15-3:45 p.m. at St. Olaf, 215 S. Eighth St., Minneapolis. General membership meeting of Secular Franciscans who belong to the Fraternity of St. Leonard of Port Maurice. Any who are interested in living the Gospel life in the manner of St. Francis and St. Clare are welcome.
By OSV News
As Pope Leo XIV begins his pontificate with an emphasis on peace, justice and bridge-building, the Vatican has reaffirmed its “unwavering support for the mission of the United Nations” amid conflict and other urgent challenges facing the global community.
Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin addressed U.N. representatives at the entity’s New York headquarters
during a May 19 reception in honor of Pope Leo’s election.
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations, organized the reception.
Cardinal Parolin said the pope, “in his first days as the Successor of Peter, has expressed his deep commitment to building bridges, underscoring the need to meet, dialogue and negotiate.”
The cardinal described the U.N.’s mission as creating “a
forum where states engage in dialogue, bringing forth the voices of their peoples, and where solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges are forged.” He said such diplomacy “listens with humility, acts with compassion, and seeks the common good above all.” He added that “the Holy See, committed to truth and justice, will continue to offer its moral voice in defense of the poor and those in need, and in the pursuit of peace and integral human development.”
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and Repair.
Prayers must be submitted in
By Rebecca Omastiak
The Catholic Spirit
A recently installed chimney on the roof of St. John Vianney College Seminary (SJV) in St. Paul billowed white smoke into a clear, blue sky May 8, mirroring the smoke that emitted from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney in Vatican City and signaling the election of a new pope.
“The chimney was one of the three phases that we came up with to prepare for the celebration of the new Holy Father; we wanted to have some sort of celebration as soon as he was elected,” said 20-year-old Brennan Crow, a junior at SJV. Crow said planning was underway less than a week before Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected pope and took the name Pope Leo XIV.
Crow said Father Jonathan Kelly, rector of the seminary, had the idea to install the chimney; “he had a friend who owns a sauna company,” Crow said. “So, we took a sauna stove with a bronze pipe, just like they have in the Sistine Chapel, and we hooked a fog machine up to it.”
Crow joked that “we’re not as advanced as the Sistine Chapel,” and said different materials were used to recreate the two types of smoke. To create black smoke (signaling the College of Cardinals had not yet reached a two-thirds majority decision on a new pope), the seminarians used black smoke bombs. To create white smoke, Crow said a mixture of water and a special soap was added to the fog machine.
Crow said that earlier that day, as he and some fellow seminarians were going over plans for a procession — another phase to mark the announcement of the new pope — Crow received a text from a friend that white smoke was visible from the Sistine Chapel.
“I was like, he’s gotta be kidding me, there’s no way that’s happening this soon,” Crow said. “But we started the chain of events; we were well-planned.”
With the white smoke from the chimney as a backdrop, students, staff and seminarians gathered on the lawn outside SJV. The roughly 50 T-shirts and 70 mugs that the seminarians had made for the occasion went quickly.
The procession included a mock motorcade complete with decorated golf carts and seminarian Nicholas Deutsch dressed as a pope. As the procession wound through the University of St. Thomas’ campus, seminarians handed out over 200 boxes of candy and over 400 ice cream treats, even tossing some into the crowds of those gathered.
“Our seminary, they always show up and show out for big events,” said 24-year-old Kylie Watts, a student in the University of St. Thomas’ Graduate School of Professional Psychology who was observing the crowd. “It’s cool that they’re being really celebratory of the new pope. And it’s cool that we have an American pope; I never thought I’d see the day that that happened. It’s cool to see people be excited about it.”
“We knew there was a tradition here prior, to go big and celebrate a lot when the (new) pope came in,” said Joseph Johnson, a sophomore at SJV, as crowds gathered around the mock motorcade that had stopped briefly outside the Anderson Student Center. Shouts of “Leo! Leo! Leo!” and “First American pope!” could be heard. Originally from Chicago, Pope Leo XIV became the first American-born pope in history.
“I was just shocked that we have an American pope, I wasn’t expecting that at all,” said Father Kelly, who was also part of the crowd.
Father Kelly said that then-Cardinal Prevost visited SJV seminarians at the Pontifical Irish College in Rome last fall; “so, our men had dinner with (Pope) Leo XIV, about six months before he’s been elected.”
Crow recalled being at the college — where, he explained, SJV seminarians spend their semester abroad in Rome — and listening to the presentation from then-Cardinal Prevost, who was serving as the prefect for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops.
“He came in and he gave a wonderful presentation on the process of how that works,” Crow said.
At the time, the thought that he might be listening to a future pope didn’t even cross Crow’s mind. “It’s one of those things, thinking back like: If only you knew.” But Crow said he did note then-Cardinal Prevost’s “dedication to his work and his willingness to share that with us … he was very, very open to our questions.”
Matthew Schumacher, 22, who is in his second year at SJV, said watching Pope Leo XIV as he approached the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica “was incredible to see.” Schumacher said he
felt “an overwhelming sense of joy, just seeing him come out onto the papal balcony, to know that this is now my Holy Father.”
Crow agreed. “We could barely contain our excitement and joy, and we wanted to hear what he had to say but we were just so excited that that’s the first American pope.” He added that some of the seminarians “just ran like a frenzy up to the fifth floor (of SJV) to grab the American flag, to throw that into the procession.”
Reflecting on what he hopes to see from the new papacy, Schumacher said, “Part of the role of the pope is to shepherd people, to love Jesus and to love like Jesus loved. To see an increase in faith, hope and charity in the world, I think would be a great thing.”
Johnson said he hopes “to see a continuation of the Church’s tradition … I think I’d just like to see a pope who really loves Jesus, who really wants to spread that (love).”
Tess Munshower, 24, and a graduate student in the university’s leadership and student affairs program, hopes to see a continuation of values that Pope Francis championed, “particularly with social justice issues.”
Munshower mentioned that in Pope Leo XIV’s first address, “he’s saying he’s a pope for the people, for everyone, the whole world — that’s what I hope for.”
a senior at St. John
College
St.
in white and joins other SJV seminarians May 8 in a celebratory motorcade on campus announcing the election of the new pope in Rome. At the Vatican in Rome, Cardinal Robert Prevost, the first American-born pope, was elected and chose the name Pope Leo XIV.
“We’re in a time where we need to have more community and less division,” Watts added. “I would like to see him (Pope Leo XIV) continue the legacy of Pope Francis of coming back to the root of the Church being a Church based in love and in welcoming.”
Ahead of an afternoon Mass on campus to celebrate the new pope, many who had gathered to see the procession lingered, an energetic buzz continuing through the crowd.
“It’s a worldwide celebration,” Schumacher said as music played from a speaker nearby. “Obviously the Church is very, very happy that we have a Holy Father again. Even in the short time that we didn’t have a pope, that was so painful. So now finally to have (Pope) Leo is amazing.”
Crow agreed. “(F)or all the Catholics, for the Christians and honestly for the whole world, this is a time of unity, of joy and of hope.”
Meanwhile, a celebration of Pope Leo XIV took place at The St. Paul Seminary, also in St. Paul.
“It is really nice to have a successor to Peter in the chair, one who we can rely on for spiritual guidance, for spiritual fatherhood, to be an example to all of us and he’s one of our own from here in the United States,” Deacon Alexander Marquette, who is preparing for ordination to the priesthood May 31, said in a video the seminary shared. “Very grateful to God to have someone to take over the role of Peter.”
“The energy was just absolutely electric,” Deacon Marquette said about what it was like to be gathered in the seminary, watching the announcement. “Many of our brothers from the seminary ... are studying in Rome” and he and his fellow seminarians tried finding them in the crowd at St. Peter’s Square.
“To see the whole Church united in St. Peter’s Square was really amazing,” Deacon Marquette said.
“It’s exciting because we’re all about family and when Jesus gave the keys to Peter, he gave the keys to a papa, to a father who would take care of the family. And in all the things that we’re facing these days in the world, we need to be fathered, we need to be cared for, provided for, protected,” said Jeff
Cavins — speaker, author and instructor at The St. Paul Seminary Catechetical Institute — in a video the seminary shared.
“People from all over the world are rejoicing over something that transcends politics. It is familial, and it’s good.”
“It’s fantastic to be here with the seminarians, because they are the future priests and the ones who are going to be bringing this familial family message out to the people and, of course, they are going to have that connection with the pope,” Cavins added.
Also in a video shared by the seminary, Father Joseph Taphorn, rector of the seminary, acknowledged the importance of the moment in Church history.
“As Catholics, we really do believe that Christ is alive, that he continues to appoint shepherds, that he entrusted to St. Peter guidance of the Church and now to his successors,” Father Taphorn said. “And so here we are, almost 2,000 years after the Resurrection, and we have the gift of a new pope, a new successor of St. Peter.”
“Obviously there’s a lot of excitement and there will be a lot more to come,” Father Taphorn said, also acknowledging that first would come prayer for the new pope. “We’re grateful for this day and we’ll continue to receive the gift that God has given to us and to the Church.”