Cardinal DiNardo:
Pope Leo is a ‘citizen of the entire world’
ROME (CNS) — While it is interesting and perhaps even a point of pride that the new Pope Leo XIV was born in the U.S., most of the U.S.-based cardinals who participated in the conclave that elected him said nationality was not a factor.
Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop Emeritus of Galveston-Houston, said that while the cardinals chose a pope who is a U.S. citizen, “he’s really a citizen of the entire world since he has spent so much of his life, ministry, missionary work and zeal for Christ in South America,” mainly See CONCLAVE, page 7
POPE LEO XIV
NEWS PHOTO/ALESSANDRO GAROFALO, REUTERS An American flag is seen in St. Peter’s Square as Pope Leo XIV, formerly Robert Cardinal Prevost, waves as he arrives to celebrate his inauguration Mass at the Vatican May 18. He is the first U.S.-born pope in history.
A Shepherd’s Message
By Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez
In this message, Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez shares some of his thoughts he delivered in his homily during the Mass on May 12 at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, a Mass offered in prayer for the newly elected Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.
Brothers and sisters, let me express my gratitude, first of all, to our cardinal, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo. During the conclave, he and the other cardinal electors voted for and elected our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. We are thankful for them. I believe they chose an excellent successor of Peter to shepherd our Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Of course, we know that he was born here in the U.S., a native of Chicago, but he has traveled to many places as a missionary. He has gone to various parts of the world and served our Universal Church. We’re grateful for him and his international experience. May God grant Pope Leo a long and blessed pontificate!
On May 8, Pope Leo greeted the world with “Peace be with you,” the greeting of the risen Christ that is, as he said so beautifully, “a disarmed peace and a disarming peace.” It seems clear that our Holy Father is committed to offering a powerful witness to peace. I have been thinking about his words that have captured my imagination: “a disarmed peace and a disarming peace.”
According to Pope Leo, Jesus, our risen Lord, comes to His disciples and to us with “a disarmed peace.” When Jesus Christ reveals Himself to His disciples, He opens His hands and shows His feet and side, which have been pierced by nails and lance.
Even after the Resurrection, the wounds of the cross remain; they are
not erased or covered. For all eternity, His wounds will be visible — even in heaven! The wounds are the marks of His love for us! To save us, Jesus Christ handed Himself over to us, even to endure the suffering of the Cross. Our Savior did this out of love for humanity — for you and for me. He became vulnerable. The Paschal Mystery is the supreme expression of the vulnerability of Jesus. He becomes vulnerable.
After His resurrection, the Risen Lord still loved His disciples, even though they had left and abandoned Him. When He came to them, He came to them with the same vulnerability — a disarmed peace. Pope Leo may want us to recognize Christ as One who has an open heart ready to receive us with love.
The second part of Pope Leo’s words is also significant. The Risen Lord comes to us with a “Disarming Peace.” These words mean that once the disciples have seen and experienced the vulnerable Jesus Christ, they too can become like Him: vulnerable. Can we become like our Lord and help others find the peace that only He gives?
Arzobispo Vásquez comparte su mensaje en línea en español. Visite www.archgh.org para leer su artículo en línea.
“Never again war... No more wars!” Pope Leo is determined to speak out against war and call for lasting peace, a “disarming peace.” All of us seek that peace, which only Christ can give.
On May 11, the Church celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday. Good Shepherd Sunday is a day to give thanks to God for the gift of vocations and to promote both priesthood and religious life. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, and the priests present at this Mass, to all men and women religious, to all deacons: thank you for your vocation. To the priests, your priesthood is a blessing to many people. They look to you to be shepherds leading them to Christ!
ARCHBISHOP
JOE S. VÁSQUEZ
Our world prefers to be selfprotected, shielded, strong and immune. The world does not want to appear weak or vulnerable. This attitude can lead to hearts growing cold and indifferent, and eventually, this can lead to violence, war and cruelty.
Our Holy Father has prayed for an end to war in Ukraine, Gaza, and between India and Pakistan — he said,
The Gospel on May 12 continued the theme of the Good Shepherd. Jesus calls Himself the Shepherd of the sheep: “The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out.” The Good Shepherd is always calling us by name. For Him, we are never a number, a member of a group, or an unknown person — He personally knows us. He is concerned about our lives. He knows our worries and problems, but He is also aware of our joys and blessings.
Dear brothers and sisters, we have come to the Eucharist because He has called us by name, and we have heard His voice. He leads us to this altar to come and partake of the cup of everlasting salvation and from the Bread of Life: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” †
HEARING THE CALL
PHOTOS BY JAMES RAMOS/HERALD
Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, set four men onto their next step toward the priesthood when he ordained seminarians James Schnitzler, David Basil, CSB, Joshua Svajda and Thomas Vũ as transitional deacons on May 10 at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. Deacons Schnitzler, Svajda and Vũ were ordained as transitional deacons for the Archdiocese, while Deacon Basil was ordained for the Congregation of St. Basil, a religious community that serves in several Catholic institutions in the Archdiocese. In his homily, Bishop Dell’Oro called the transitional deacons to remain faithful to the call of Christ and be the “faces of charity” of the diaconate to the Church and to the world.
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THE FIRST WORD
Celebrating the four women doctors of the Church
BY COLLEEN PRESSPRICH Special to the Herald
(OSV News) As Catholics, we are blessed to have the communion of saints and are encouraged to find patrons among them. The Church designates saints as patrons of countries, cultures, occupations, interests and illnesses to help people find the right saint for their needs.
The Church categorizes saints, and one of the lesser known categories, but one of great importance, is that of Doctor of the Church. Not a medical doctor, this title is meant to convey something like the gravitas of a doctoral degree. The Doctors of the Church are the saints that many of us need to understand the faith better and, more than that, to grow in our relationship with the Lord.
Nestled among these 37 great saints are four women Doctors of the Church, the only women in Church history to rise to this distinction.
ST. HILDEGARD OF BINGEN
St. Hildegard of Bingen, born in 1098 to a noble family, experienced mystical visions from a young age. She entered religious life early, where her talents flourished. At 43, her visions were authenticated by Church theologians, leading her to document them in “The Scivias.”
She received papal permission to travel and preach, a rare privilege for women of her time. St. Hildegard’s theology emphasized finding God through the senses. A prolific writer, she authored the first known morality play, lyrical poetry, a cookbook, medical treatises, and even created her own language.
Her music remains celebrated globally. St. Hildegard died in 1179 and was canonized in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI, who also declared her a Doctor of the Church. Her feast day is Sept. 17.
ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA
St. Catherine of Siena, born in 1347, was the youngest of 25 children in a respected family. She consecrated herself to Christ early, refusing marriage and joining the third-order Dominicans, allowing her to live at home. Initially a hermit, she later traveled extensively, influencing Church and Italian politics.
Known for her clear insights into Church leaders’ sins, she prioritized obedience to the Lord and the Church, striving to draw people to Christ and bring peace.
Catherine is credited with ending the Avignon Papacy and returning the pope to Rome. She wrote extensively, with nearly 400 letters surviving, offering advice to spiritual children and Church leaders. Her mystical experiences included dictating “The Dialogue,” a blend of theology and personal prayer. At 28, she received the stigmata. St. Catherine died at 33 and was canonized in 1461. Her feast day is April 29.
ST. TERESA OF AVILA
THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS
her father and older sisters. She felt called to religious life early and, during a pilgrimage to Rome, asked the pope for permission to enter the Carmelite order at 15. Despite his refusal, she joined Carmel at 15. Thérèse struggled with scrupulosity and depression but maintained a deep, childlike faith in God’s love.
Her doctrine of faith, “Story of a Soul,” written under her prioress’s order, preaches holiness through ordinary life and total trust in God. This work led her to become the youngest Doctor of the Church. Thérèse died at the tender age of 24 of tuberculosis. She was canonized in 1925, and her feast day is Oct. 1.
PASTORAL APPOINTMENT
Effective May 5
Father Christopher Meyer Administrator – Sacred Heart, Pattison
BRIEFS
AYC registration continues
HOUSTON — The 2025 Archdiocesan Youth Conference (AYC), set for July 25 to 27 at the Hilton Americas Hotel, gathers participants both youth and adults from all over the local Church. This year’s theme is “Pilgrims of Hope.” Major presenters include Gian Gamboay, Katie Prejean McGrady and Sister Nicole Trahan, FMI, Abraham Salas and Father J Serrato. To register, contact your parish’s youth ministry leaders, and for more information, visit www. archgh.swoogo.com/ayc2025. †
Catholic Charities’ food distributions continue in Galveston, Houston and Fort Bend counties
HOUSTON — Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston continues offering food assistance at three locations.
In Houston, staff at the Guadalupe Center Market (326 S. Jensen St.) are hosting the following distribution schedule: on Tuesday, May 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., walk-ins are available for seniors aged 62 and older; On Wednesday and Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., walk-ins are open to the public; On Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., walk-ins for individual food bags are available for people without homes. Drive-through distributions are available on the last Saturday of each month, from 7:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Call 713-251-6919 for more information.
The Beacon of Hope Isle Market in Galveston (4700 Broadway, Suite B-101) is open for appointments only on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. To make an appointment, which is required, call 409-762-2064. Emergency pre-packaged food bags are available on Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 409762-2064 for more information.
St. Teresa of Avila, born Teresa Sanchez de Cepeda y Ahumada on March 28, 1515, came from Spanish nobility. Influenced by the lives of saints, she and her brother once ran away to become martyrs.
At age 20, Teresa entered the local Carmelite convent. This particular convent was known for being lax in its practices, and as a result, the extroverted and popular Teresa spent a great deal of time socializing in the parlor with visitors. Indeed, for years, she struggled greatly, torn between the worldly and the divine.
Her full conversion at age 40 led to a deep spiritual awakening and the restoration of the Carmelite order, founding the Discalced Carmelites. Despite resistance, she established 16 new convents. Teresa wrote extensively to guide her sisters toward greater intimacy with God. Her most famous work, “The Interior Castle,” details the soul’s journey to Christ, blending theological truths with relatable insights.
St. Teresa of Avila died at age 67 in 1582. She was canonized a mere 40 years after her death in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. Her feast day is Oct. 15.
ST. THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX
St. Thérèse of Lisieux was the youngest of nine children to Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin and was deeply loved by her family.
After her mother’s death when she was 4, Thérèse was raised by
OTHER WOMEN DOCTORS?
Throughout Church history, various academic and religious (and sometimes both) groups have petitioned the Holy See to add other women to the list of Doctors of the Church. Among them are St. Faustina, who through her visions and writings, the Church has come to a deeper understanding of Christ’s merciful love, and her insights into the Divine Mercy of Our Lord have changed the face of the Church.
Another is St. Edith Stein, a Carmelite woman who actually did hold a doctoral degree. Her doctoral dissertation was on the subject of empathy, a topic that she would return to in later writings after her conversion to Catholicism. Within her 28 volumes of writings, there is ample theological insight of value to the entirety of the Church.
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque is yet another woman whose writings have influenced the entirety of the Church. Her name might be less familiar to many than other saints, but the devotion to the Sacred Heart, which we owe to her, is not.
There are more women — these are only three examples — to be found within the Church’s history and, more women Doctors of the Church to come in the future. †
Colleen Pressprich, author of “The Women Doctors of the Church,” writes for OSV News from Michigan.
In Fort Bend County, the Mamie George Community Center (1111 Collins Rd., Richmond) hosts client-choice food distributions by appointment only on Mondays, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.; and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. To make an appointment or for more information, call 281-202-6200.
For general information, visit www.catholiccharities.org/ food or call 713-526-4611. †
MEMORIAL OF ST. CHARLES LWANGA AND COMPANIONS
June 3
Charles and 21 other Ugandan martyrs, ages 14 to 30, were officials and pages in the court of King Mwanga II of Buganda. The king, after first accepting Christianity among his people, began to insist that converts abandon their new faith. As head of the pages and their chief catechist, Charles tried to protect his charges. But, when they would not reject Christianity, they were killed in 1885-86; some were speared to death and others, like Charles, were burned alive.
These first martyrs from sub-Saharan Africa were canonized in Uganda in 1964 by Pope Paul VI; they are the patrons of African Catholic youth, converts and torture victims.
ST. HILDEGARD OF BINGEN ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA ST. TERESA OF AVILA ST. THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX
ROME (OSV News) — Following the April 21 death of Pope Francis, a great curiosity hovered across the world as the College of Cardinals, including Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, entered into mourning and prepared to elect a new pope.
On May 8, the curiosity was sated as white smoke billowed from the small chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, and a short time later, the world was introduced to Pope Leo XIV. The man, only hours before, had been Chicago-born Robert Cardinal Prevost. With one word — “Accepto” (“I accept”) — his life was forever changed.
One thing seemed clear from the moment Pope Leo stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: He was not another Pope Francis — or another Pope Benedict XVI or St. John Paul II. He intended to do things his own way.
The traditional red mozzetta (shoulder cape) and stole draped over his shoulders — where, for Pope Francis, it had not been — was a sign that perhaps there would be a return to a kind of “normalcy” the papacy had been missing for the past 12 years. No matter what a person’s feelings were toward Pope Francis, it could be agreed upon that the past dozen years were a change from the previous.
Certainly, each of Pope Francis’ immediate predecessors brought unique tastes and innovations to the office they held. But Pope Francis’ unconventional departures from his predecessors (particularly manifested in dropping of many of the traditional trappings, such as the mozzetta, associated with the papacy) left many questions for the new pope to answer — questions which, before Pope Francis, would not have existed.
In addition to wearing the mozzetta, Leo has also brought back the “P.P.” after his signature — a symbol used by popes prior to Francis for centuries as an abbreviation of “Pastor Pastorum.” This stands for “Shepherd of Shepherds” in Latin, a title long ascribed to the papacy as a key indicator of his primary ecclesial status.
Pope Leo’s signature is, according to
custom, on the official formal portrait released by the Holy See just days after his election.
A NORTH AMERICAN POPE
Pope Leo was born Sept. 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Augustinian-run Villanova University in Pennsylvania and joined the order in 1977, making his solemn vows in 1981. He holds a degree in theology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
He joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 and largely worked in the country until 1999, when he was elected head of the Augustinians’ Chicago-based province. From 2001 to 2013, he served as prior general of the worldwide order. In 2014, Pope Francis named him bishop of Chiclayo in northern Peru, and the pope asked him also to be apostolic administrator of Callao, Peru, from April 2020 to May 2021.
The new pope speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and can read Latin and German.
On the balcony, after his greeting to the faithful assembled in St. Peter’s Square following his election, Pope Leo offered the blessing in Latin, and the same with a Hail Mary (“Ave Maria”) he spontaneously led the crowd in praying.
At his first Mass with the cardinals on the day after his election, and again on the following Sunday at his first “Regina Coeli,” Pope Leo offered prayers beautifully in song.
So far, Pope Leo’s style is relatively low-key. He is joyful but calm. He seems intent upon intentionally disarming a Church that has become terribly polarized. And he seems determined to create a neutral ground from which he can begin to implement needed reforms and strengthen unity.
A Christocentric emphasis has come to define Pope Leo’s first weeks. His very first words to the Church as pope were not his own but the words of the risen Christ: “Peace be with you all!” Pope Leo shows how Jesus Christ is needed in the world and in the Church, the only one to truly bring unity. He encouraged hope to proceed in faith
amid darkness and division.
“Let us move forward, without fear, together, hand in hand with God and with one another!” he said just after his election. “We are followers of Christ. Christ goes before us. The world needs His light. Humanity needs Him as the bridge that can lead us to God and His love. Help us, one and all, to build bridges through dialogue and encounter, joining together as one people, always at peace.”
But he also, in his first homily as pope with the cardinals, acknowledged Christ necessarily brings division.
Beginning by echoing St. Peter’s words —“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16) — he outlined simply, yet comprehensively, the threats today opposed to that proclamation, which exist in “many settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman. This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism.”
We embrace a faith often countered today with “many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure,” he said. Pope Leo lamented society’s temptation to cast Jesus aside. “Once (Jesus’) presence becomes irksome because of His demands for honesty and His stern moral requirements, this ‘world’ will not hesitate to reject and eliminate Him,” he said.
As a means to unite all in Christ, Pope Leo has exhibited no interest in continuing or perpetuating the various ideological divisions so prevalent in the life of the Church.
He has recalled Pope Francis and key points of his legacy since his first words on St. Peter’s balcony and offered thanks for his pontificate on several occasions since his election, including during a visit to pray at Pope Francis’ tomb in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major. Pope Leo has mentioned synodality, recognizing it as a worthwhile opportunity for the Church, while also indicating he will move it ahead in his own way.
Pope Francis and other immediate
CNS PHOTO/LOLA GOMEZ
Pope Leo XIV greets people at the conclusion of his inauguration Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican May 18. The pope used the papal ferula designed in 1963 by Lello Scorzelli first used by St. Paul VI and subsequently used by each pope since then.
Texans living, visiting Rome welcome Pope Leo
BY JO ANN ZUÑIGA AND JAMES RAMOS Texas Catholic Herald
ROME — When the white smoke floated out of the Sistine Chapel chimney and the three seagulls flew away, Archdiocesan seminarian Ethan Sicking was among the thousands who crowded St. Peter’s Square waiting for the new pope on May 8.
After a “normal” Thursday morning of classes at the Pontifical North American College (PNAC) in Rome — which is a five-minute sprint or a 10-minute walk from the campus to St. Peter’s Square — Sicking went to the square that morning to see black smoke.
Then, that evening, he came back for the conclave’s next round of voting, which, as the world knows, resulted in the election of Pope Leo XIV.
After a pause of shock, Sicking said next came a wave of excitement and joy, maybe even adrenaline, that caused him to run into the frenetic crowd to watch the white smoke rising and wait for the new pope to step out onto the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
While waiting in the packed square surrounded by people of all ages, cultures and vocations, Sicking, who calls Sacred Heart in Richmond home, said he felt moved to begin to pray the Our Father for the new pope.
“I said them slowly, entrusting all to God and believing that His will would be done,” he said.
EMBRACING THE PEOPLE OF GOD
Reflecting later, Sicking said he realized a major grace that he received from his time in the square was the inspiration to think about the pope’s humanity and his own as well.
“I wondered at how incredible it is that a human being (was) about to walk out onto that balcony and take up the task of guiding God’s Church, of shepherding Christ’s Sheep,” he said. “While my own heart was beating with anticipation, I pondered how a single human heart could embrace, with love and affection, the entire people of God and, indeed, the entire world. That, by divine ordination, one man was about to take up such a great responsibility ... of loving and serving God’s Church and becoming for all people a living icon of God’s love and presence in the world. What a marvel God was working!”
his ordinary “for as long as he could remember,” was special because he learned from Cardinal DiNardo as the seminarian watched the cardinal “prepare for and then return from the work God had called him here to do in the conclave.”
“The beauty and fruit of these interactions were not that I gained some kind of ‘inside knowledge’ of the conclave process, but rather that I got to witness and be inspired by the holiness and humility of Cardinal DiNardo, by his great love for the Church and for the Lord, and by his deep faith and trust in the Holy Spirit,” Sicking said. “He understood the importance of the role God has called him to play at this moment in the Church, carried at the same time an interior peace that stems from his trust in the promise of Our Lord Jesus to be with the Church always; He who is the true and eternal shepherd of the sheep.”
HISTORY BEFORE OUR EYES
Father Francis Macatangay, pastor of Houston’s St. Cecilia Catholic Church, started running toward the Vatican when he heard bells tolling and joined the crowd, including nuns in habits, rushing to find out about the new pope.
Eventually, Pope Leo came forth with a smile and a wave to greet the crowd and the world, sharing a message of peace and giving his first Urbi et Orbi message and papal blessing.
TRUSTING IN GOD’S PROMISE
Leading up to the conclave, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo stayed at the PNAC, where he was able to meet with Sicking and other seminarians from the U.S. Sicking said spending time with Cardinal DiNardo, who had been
“We could feel the excitement and expectation. We were there for the unfolding of history right before our eyes,” Father Macatangay said.
As they gathered around the plaza, screens all over the square announced a general confirmation of a new pope’s election.
When the name was announced, the hordes quieted down as if not hearing correctly for a moment.
“Prevost? I never thought we would have an American pope in my lifetime,” he said.
The priest, along with Father Wayne Wilkerson, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Sealy, led a group of 47 pilgrims from their churches and several other parishes to initially attend an audience with Pope Francis. Instead, they were in Rome in time for the
conclave to select his successor.
Father Wilkerson said, “I am thrilled with the new Holy Father and his name selection, which is rooted in social justice. Even in the small, rural town I’m in, there is fear with this current government. Now, there is great hope.”
They were present to receive Pope Leo XIV’s first papal blessing and to hear his
“I wondered at how incredible it is that a human being was about to walk out onto that balcony and take up the task of guiding God’s Church, of shepherding Christ’s Sheep.”
ETHAN SICKING
Archdiocesan seminarian studying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome
remarks that he had written, putting pen to paper in a measured approach despite the swirling around him.
In addition to being there for the election, the group also attended Mass at St. Mary Major and paid respects at the tomb of Pope Francis. They also prayed at seven basilicas and churches through their Holy Doors, which opened for the Jubilee Year. †
CNS PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA
Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican after his election as pope May 8. Texans visiting and living in Rome were among the thousands in the square to welcome the new pope.
ETHAN SICKING
New
pope’s
Black, Creole roots illuminate rich multiracial history of U.S.
NEW ORLEANS (OSV News) — A New Orleans genealogist has found that the first U.S.-born pope has Black and Creole roots — and the discovery illuminates the nation’s rich multiracial history, the experience of Black Catholics and the importance of the Church’s sacramental records.
Jari Honora, a certified genealogist and a family historian for the Historic New Orleans Collection museum, told OSV News that Pope Leo XIV’s former surname, Prevost, immediately piqued his interest.
Yet for all his extensive research experience, even Honora was surprised when he discovered that the maternal grandparents of Pope Leo XIV, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, were listed on several census documents as Black or mulatto.
Their 1887 marriage license names Martinez’s country of birth as Haiti, with birth records showing his city of birth as Santo Domingo (then part of Haiti and now the capital of the Dominican Republic).
“We have a lot of Prevosts here in New Orleans and in south Louisiana, but that wasn’t the direction I was going in,” Honora said. “I honestly thought that by him (Pope Leo XIV) being a native Chicagoan — so many of the people in that Great Lakes region … who have French surnames, they’re French Canadian, or they come from people who in more recent decades migrated from France. And that’s what I was expecting.”
The expectation “has proven to be true” on the pope’s paternal side, with that lineage hailing from “French and Italian immigrant backgrounds,” he said.
Honora said he “stumbled across a transcript of the Holy Father’s mother’s birth certificate, as well as her Social Security death index entry.” Those documents, he said, “both gave her parents’ names as Joseph Martinez” — commonly pronounced in New Orleans with a stress on the first syllable, he explained — “and Louise Baquié.”
While he surmised that “Martinez could come from a lot of places,” Honora said the name Baquié “sounds like it comes from quite
close to home. That’s a New Orleans name. And sure enough, the birth certificate gave … the birthplace of the mother as New Orleans.”
Honora said he “just pursued it from there,” and “lo and behold, the pope has deep, deep connections on his mother’s side … to New Orleans.” Once the family had moved from New Orleans to Chicago sometime between 1910 and 1912, however, the family began identifying itself as white, as indicated in the 1920 U.S. Census.
The practice — known as “passant (passer) à blanc,” French for “passing (to pass) for white” — was then a common means of avoiding racial discrimination, as described by Stanford historian Allyson Hobbs.
Honora said the switch in the racial identification of the pope’s family reminded him of the 19th-century Healy family, whose 10 children — several of them later assuming prominent roles in the U.S. Catholic Church — were born of the union between Georgia plantation owner and slaveholder Michael Healy and his common-law wife Eliza, who was of mixed race.
Many of the couple’s sons and daughters, considered slaves by birth, were able to pass as white and were sent by their father to the nation’s North — which had gradually abolished most forms of slavery — for their education. Several entered religious life, most notably Bishop James Augustine Healy of Portland, Maine, the first African American Catholic bishop; Jesuit Father Patrick F. Healy, who in 1873 became the 29th president of Georgetown University; Father Sherwood Healy, rector of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston; and Eliza Healy, a superior in several convents of the Congregation of Notre Dame.
“All of them, in order to pursue their vocations in America back in the 1840s and ’50s, they had to conceal their mixed-race identity. They were born to a formerly enslaved woman and an Irish dad,” said Honora. “And the fact that here, 150, 160-odd years later, our first American pope — his family shares in that story of being of mixed race and then having to conceal that ... You can’t make it up.” †
FAMILY TIES
GRAPHIC BY OSV NEWS
Cardinal DiNardo: Pope Leo XIV
in Peru. Pope Leo “is an American” and “he represents the big, big picture of the Church,” he continued.
Cardinal DiNardo was joined by several other U.S.-based cardinals at a May 9 news conference at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, the day after Pope Leo was elected.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York said, “The fact that he was born in the United States of America ... that’s a sense of pride and gratitude for us,” but the new pope is also a citizen of Peru. And he has worked in the Roman Curia as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops for the past two years.
“Where he comes from is now sort of a thing of the past. You know, Robert Francis Prevost is no longer around. It’s now Pope Leo,” Cardinal Dolan said. “He’s the pontiff of the Church universal. Where he came from, (that’s) secondary.”
This was Cardinal DiNardo’s and Cardinal Dolan’s second conclave, the two first participated in the 2013 conclave that saw the election of Pope Francis.
Cardinal DiNardo noted the history and legacy tied to the name Pope Leo chose. Pope Leo XIV is a man aware historically of where all are, he said.
“Pope Leo XIII was an important figure in the history of the most recent Church to actually speak about it in a very concrete way about Rerum Novarum, of the new things. And that was about industry and about the speculation of things that made workers live in difficulties,” Cardinal DiNardo said.
He recalled the story of St. Leo the Great, the fifth-century pope who led the Church when it “was truly a mess.”
St. Leo convinced Attila the Hun not to invade Italy and the Eternal City.
Cardinal DiNardo said St. Leo, who convened the largest gathering of bishops in history at that time, “preached Christ crucified and he preached Him as truly Son of God and truly as his phrase is also ‘consubstantial with us,’ Jesus is truly one of us.”
Cardinal DiNardo called the new Pope Leo XIV “a wise, wise man” as his name draws from St. Leo the Great to Leo XIII, “all of whom can speak to us, both on terms of social doctrine and in terms of doctrine of who Jesus is.”
The cardinals were asked to what extent could people interpret the election of Pope Leo “as a reflection of the desire of the cardinals to offer a counterweight
to the global influence of President (Donald) Trump.”
Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, said, “The cardinals were quite aware of things that have occurred in the United States, statements that have been made, political actions that have been taken.”
“But what the cardinals were concerned about primarily, at least from my conversations with them,” Cardinal Gregory said, “was, ‘Who among us can bring us together; who among us can strengthen the faith and bring the faith to places where it has grown weak, bring the faith to places where there seems to be less enthusiasm or appreciation of the common things that draw us together?’”
Cardinal Dolan responded, “It should not startle us that we would look to Pope Leo as a bridge builder. That’s what the Latin word ‘pontiff’ means. He’s a bridge builder. Will he want to build bridges with Donald Trump? I suppose, but he would want to build bridges with the leader of every nation. So, I don’t think at all that my brother cardinals would have thought of it as a conduit to any one person.”
The cardinals at the news conference all mentioned the cardinals going into the conclave looking for someone who could proclaim the Gospel and strengthen the unity of the Church while also continuing the approach and projects of Pope Francis.
“We are looking for someone to follow
the pathway of Francis, but we are not looking for a photocopy,” Robert Cardinal McElroy of Washington said. “I think the impact of him being an American was almost negligible in the deliberations of the conclave and surprisingly so.”
Blase Cardinal Cupich of Chicago, Pope Leo’s hometown, told reporters that the Church does not speak of replacements for a bishop or pope but of successors for them.
“That’s a very important distinction to make, and that is what we were looking for as well,” Cardinal Cupich said. The cardinals asked themselves, “Who could bring forward not only the ministry and life and tradition of Francis but everything that preceded him, especially from that pivotal moment of life in the church (that was) the Second Vatican Council.”
Christophe Cardinal Pierre, the papal nuncio to the U.S., quoted the French poet Charles Peguy: “Everything begins in mysticism and ends in politics.”
The conclave was the opposite, he said. In the days of preparation for the conclave, the media particularly had
taken a political view of the election of the new pope.
“What I experienced was that everything begins in politics and ends in mysticism. This is what we lived” in the conclave, Cardinal Pierre said. The conclave began “in this kind of confusion” of languages, cultures and not knowing each other.
The only solution, he said, was to dialogue and listen to one another, setting aside prejudices and entering into a process of prayerful discernment.
Joseph Cardinal Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, said he had known Pope Leo for 30 years; they were in Rome together in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Cardinal Tobin was superior general of the Redemptorists and Pope Leo was superior of the Augustinian friars. More recently, Cardinal Tobin served as a member of the Dicastery for Bishops, where the former Robert Cardinal Prevost was prefect.
Talking about the new pope’s international experience, Cardinal Tobin first referred to him as “Bob” and then corrected himself, “Pope Leo.”
Describing the new pope’s leadership style, Cardinal Tobin said, “I don’t think he’s one that likes to pick fights, but he is not one to back down if the cause is just. And I guess the last thing I’d say about Bob is that he really is a listener, and then he acts.”
Cardinal Tobin said that during the actual election in the Sistine Chapel, when he went up to cast his ballot as the outcome became clearer, he walked by then-Cardinal Prevost, “who had his head in his hands.”
“I was praying for him because I couldn’t imagine what happens to a human being when you’re facing something like that. And then when he accepted it, it was like he was made for it,” the cardinal said. “All of the anguish or whatever was resolved by feeling — I think — that this wasn’t simply his saying yes to a proposal, but that God had made something clear, and he agreed with that.” † – James Ramos contributed to this report.
PHOTO/LOLA GOMEZ
At right, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop Emeritus of Galveston-Houston, speaks with Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York during a news conference with U.S. cardinals at the Pontifical North American College in Rome May 9. The cardinals reflected on the conclave and the election of Pope Leo XIV.
Who is Leo? Peacemaker and openness in a historic name
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Even before he stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and spoke May 8, Pope Leo XIV’s choice of a name was a powerful statement.
Following Pope Francis, who chose a completely new name in Church history, Pope Leo opted for a name steeped in tradition that also conveys an openness to engaging with the modern world.
The pope’s choice of name is a “direct recall of the social doctrine of the Church and of the pope that initiated the modern social doctrine of the Church,” Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, told reporters after the election of the new pope.
Pope Leo XIII, who was pope from 1878-1903, is known for publishing the encyclical “Rerum Novarum” on workers’ rights — considered the foundational document for the Church’s social teaching. The document emphasized the dignity of workers and condemned the dangers of unchecked capitalism and socialism.
The name Leo is a “direct” reference to “men and women and their work, also in the time of artificial intelligence,” Bruni said.
Pope Leo XIII also opened the Vatican secret archives to scholars, founded the Vatican observatory to demonstrate the Church’s openness to science, and was
the first pope to be filmed on a motion picture camera.
Tied to the new pope’s first words to the faithful: “May peace be with you all,” his namesake Pope Leo XIII was also a peacemaker who reconciled the Church with the governments of France, Russia, Germany and Great Britain during his pontificate.
Pope Leo’s name also has a Marian significance since Pope Leo XIII wrote 11 encyclicals on the Rosary and was also the first pope to embrace the concept of Mary as mediatrix, which holds that Mary helps distribute Christ’s grace through her intercession.
The first pope who took the name Leo became pope in 440. Known as “Leo the Great,” he promoted the doctrine of papal primacy based on succession
from St. Peter and was a peacemaker who convinced Attila the Hun to turn back from invading Italy in 452.
Pope Leo X, pope from 1513-1521, was the last pope not to have been a priest at the time of his election to the papacy.
The new pope’s predecessor, Pope Francis, was the first pontiff since Pope Lando in 913 to choose an entirely new papal name. Before him, Pope John Paul I, elected in 1978, also broke with tradition by forgoing a numeral, though his name was a blend of his two immediate predecessors’ names.
By contrast, Leo is among the most frequently taken names by a pope, with only Benedict, Gregory and John having been chosen more often. Of the 13 previous popes named Leo, five are canonized as saints. †
Pope Leo’s motto, coat of arms pay homage to Augustine
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — 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.
When he appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica shortly after his election May 8, he introduced himself as “an Augustinian, a son of St. Augustine.”
And he explained that the cardinals who elected him “have chosen me to be the Successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a Church, united, ever pursuing peace and justice, ever seeking to act as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, in order to proclaim the Gospel without fear, to be missionaries.”
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.”
As a cardinal, he told Vatican News in 2023, “As can be seen from my episcopal motto, unity and communion are truly part of the charism of the Order of St. Augustine, and also of my way of acting and thinking.”
“I believe it is very important to promote communion in the church, and we know well that communion, participation and mission are the three
keywords of the Synod” of Bishops on synodality, he said. “So, as an Augustinian, for me, promoting unity and communion is fundamental.”
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 and his French heritage.
The lower half of the shield has a light background and 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.’” †
Who is St. Augustine, the father of Pope Leo XIV’s order?
VATICAN CITY (OSV News) — “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
St. Augustine’s famous words addressed to God introduce his account of how a headstrong, self-indulgent young man became one of the most important Christian thinkers of all time and a saint — and the father of the Augustinian order, to which Pope Leo XIV belongs.
What follows — the story of Augustine’s conversion, as he tells it in his “Confessions” — is itself a landmark in Western spiritual and literary history.
Don’t look here for a flattering
self-portrait, though. As one of this book’s many translators explains, the “Confessions” was written largely “to persuade Augustine’s admirers that any good qualities he had were his by the grace of God, who had saved him so often from himself.” In this, clearly, the volume succeeds beyond even the author’s hopes. He was born in 354 in Thagaste, a Roman town in what is now Algeria. His pagan father, Patricius, was a landowner and minor official; his mother, Monica, was a devout Christian woman who eventually won her husband over to
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Christianity. Recognizing their son’s intellectual giftedness, his parents sent him, as a teenager, to study in Carthage — described by Augustine as “a hissing cauldron of lust,” where he indulged his own evil passions, took a mistress and fathered a son whom he called Adeodatus, which means “given by God.”
Amid all this, he nevertheless was at the top of his class in rhetoric — an important discipline in those days when the ability to speak well was an essential tool in practicing law, holding public office and many other pursuits.
will see their errors for himself.”
The bishop was right. When a Manichean leader named Faustus, with a reputation for wisdom, visited Carthage, Augustine questioned him at length and found him intellectually shallow. Still, thinking he had nothing better to turn to, Augustine remained loosely associated with the Manichees.
When he was 19, however, he read a book by the Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero that moved him to take up the pursuit of truth. Now began a tug and pull that would plague him for years. “Give me chastity and continence, but not yet,” he prayed.
Monica had seen to it that he became a catechumen as a child, but — not uncommon at that time — his Baptism was put off till later. Now, reading the Bible and finding that it did not measure up to his sophisticated literary tastes, Augustine turned instead to the Manichees, a popular sect notable for its “dazzling fantasies” about the origins of evil. Horrified, his mother begged a Christian bishop to tell the young man to break off this attachment.
“Leave him alone,” he advised her. “He
Having taught rhetoric in Thagaste and Carthage and grown disgusted there at the rowdy behavior of the students, the young man moved to Rome to teach in 383. The following year, he was offered an attractive teaching position in Milan, at that time the seat of the imperial government, so he moved there. He also made the acquaintance of the local bishop, Ambrose, and began attending church to hear him preach — not for the message of the homilies but for their literary style. After a while, though, the message of this future saint also started sinking in. So much, in fact, that now Augustine made a final break with the Manichees. But despite feeling increasingly drawn to the Christian faith, he hesitated for fear of being wrong again. And besides — there were certain other ties he didn’t care to break.
“Why do I delay?” he asked himself when turning 30. “Why do I not abandon
POPE LEO XIII
ST. AUGUSTINE
Catholic groups welcome pope with missionary heart
HOUSTON (OSV News) — Catholic groups are welcoming Pope Leo XIV — the second pope from the Americas, and the first U.S.-born pontiff — who was elected May 8, the second day of the papal conclave.
Hilda Ochoa, director of the Mission Office of the Archdiocese, celebrated Pope Leo’s election.
“It is encouraging to know that our leader has real-life understanding and experience in the mission world,” said Ochoa.
The former Robert Cardinal Prevost, a Chicago native, most recently served as the prefect for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops. Prior to that appointment, he was the Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, having lived there for more than two decades.
“His memories as a missionary priest and bishop in Peru will serve him well as he seeks to respond to the needs of the whole Church,” Ochoa said. “There is a real excitement in response to his election among my fellow Pontifical Mission Societies staff.”
She was also inspired by Pope Leo’s travels; as the superior of the Augustinian order, he visited 47 countries.
“He already has some insights from these visits. His gift of language, including English, Spanish and Latin, will enhance his ability for communication and dialogue,” she said.
Monsignor Roger J. Landry, national director of The Pontifical Mission Societies USA, said May 8 that Pope Leo
had “a missionary at heart,” and was one who “served for many years as a priest and bishop bringing Christ and his Gospel to the people in rural Peru.”
The societies, which operate at the service of the pope, consist of four mission societies designated as pontifical by Pope Pius XI in 1922 and serve 1,124 missionary dioceses and territories worldwide.
Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) CEO Sean Callahan, who leads the official
humanitarian agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S., called the election of the first U.S.-born pope “a momentous occasion for American Catholics.”
Callahan said that “global experience will surely have an impact on his papacy.”
“He has seen firsthand the struggles that our sisters and brothers around the world are experiencing,” Callahan said. “We are confident that he will be a voice for the voiceless and a fierce supporter of human dignity for all people.”
Callahan added that the new pope’s election “comes at a critical time for the global Church, as communities around the world navigate challenges such as increasing hunger, environmental degradation and migration crisis.”
Estrella del Paso, a Catholic nonprofit ministry that provides legal assistance to migrants in the Diocese of El Paso, said in a May 8 statement that it was “heartened” by Pope Leo’s “clear alignment with the social teaching of the Church and Pope Francis on migration.”
The agency said the new pope “has long demonstrated a pastoral heart, especially toward migrants and those on the margins,” and that “as a bishop in Peru, he consistently emphasized the Church’s mission to walk with displaced and vulnerable populations. His ministry reflected a commitment to upholding the dignity of every person, particularly those forced to flee their homelands due to violence, poverty or persecution.”
Through his involvement with the Missionaries of Mary apostolate, Armando Ruiz said he had a chance to meet the new pope when the latter was still serving as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru.
“He’s American and Latino, so he’s got a heart for the people, but he’s direct and takes care of business,” Ruiz said, acknowledging the Holy Father’s U.S.-Peruvian dual citizenship. “It’s this incredible moment that he’ll bring calmness, decisiveness and that missionary love.” †
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A woman holds an image of former Robert Cardinal Prevost in front of the Cathedral of St. Mary in Chiclayo, Peru, May 8, after he was elected the pope at the Vatican and chose the name Leo XIV. As an Augustinian priest, he spent many years as a missionary in Peru.
Pope reaffirms commitment to ecumenical, interreligious dialogue
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — During a special audience with religious leaders who came to Rome for the inauguration of his papal ministry, Pope Leo XIV vowed to continue working toward Christian unity and promoting dialogue among all religions.
“Now is the time for dialogue and building bridges,” the pope said May 19 as he met with the leaders in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace.
His guests included Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and Catholicos Awa III, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, as well as Anglican, Methodist and Lutheran leaders. Representatives of the Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain communities also attended.
“As bishop of Rome,” Pope Leo told them, “I consider one of my priorities to be that of seeking the re-establishment of full and visible communion among all those who profess the same faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Full Christian unity must be based on unity in faith, he said, noting how his election took place in the year that Christians are celebrating the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which “represents a milestone in the formulation of the Creed shared by all churches and ecclesial communities.”
The late Pope Francis had been planning to travel to Iznik, Turkey,
CNS PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA
Pope Leo XIV greets a Muslim leader during a meeting with religious leaders at the Vatican, May 19. The leaders had to come to Rome for the pope’s inauguration Mass.
site of the ancient city of Nicaea, to commemorate the anniversary with Patriarch Bartholomew. A Vatican official said planning is underway for Pope Leo to make the trip.
“Unity has always been a constant concern of mine,” the new pope told his guests, pointing to the motto he chose when he became a bishop in 2014: “‘In Illo
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uno unum,’ an expression of St. Augustine of Hippo that reminds us how we, too, although we are many, ‘in the One — that is Christ — we are one.’”
Pope Leo told the Christian leaders that “the more faithful and obedient we are” to Jesus, “the more united we are among ourselves. We Christians, then, are all called to pray and work together
LEO, from page 4
predecessors have often been quoted in the talks Pope Leo has given since his election. He has eased the tensions by seamlessly weaving together the thoughts of his predecessors since the Second Vatican Council — neither on one side or the other, but seemingly just modeling what the late Francis Cardinal George of Chicago referred to as “simply Catholicism.”
In small ways, these signals and gestures all indicate a somewhat normal state of affairs in the Vatican and Church life at large — a result in itself that is both
AUGUSTINE, from page 8
my worldly hopes and give myself up entirely to the search for God and the life of true happiness?” But he already knew the answer: “Not so fast! This life is too sweet. It has its own charms.”
Worldly esteem, marriage to a wealthy woman and respectable sensuality — enjoying a life like that, he told himself, he might even find a little time to spare for intellectual pursuits.
Pressured by his devout mother, Monica, he agreed to marry a young woman of good standing, though the union was delayed due to her age. He ended a long-term affair, but his battle with lust continued, and he soon took another mistress — evidence of what he later called his “disease of the flesh.”
Augustine’s intellectual brilliance only deepened his spiritual unrest. He sought answers through reason, not faith, until he began reading the epistles of St. Paul. Paul’s writings, especially on selfdiscipline and spiritual devotion, struck a chord. Still, Augustine felt torn between two wills — one drawn to earthly pleasures, the other yearning for God.
to reach this goal, step by step, which is and remains the work of the Holy Spirit.”
“Aware, moreover, that synodality and ecumenism are closely linked, I would like to assure you of my intention to continue Pope Francis’ commitment to promoting the synodal nature of the Catholic Church and developing new and concrete forms for an ever stronger synodality in ecumenical relations,” he said.
Pope Francis and many ecumenical leaders focused on how synodality — literally “walking together,” listening to one another and valuing the gifts and talents of all — could help Christians see how much they have in common and how they must work together to bring the Gospel to world.
Pope Leo also praised Pope Francis’ emphasis on how, since everyone is a child of God, they are brothers and sisters to each other.
“The witness of our fraternity, which I hope we will be able to show with effective gestures, will certainly contribute to building a more peaceful world, something that all men and women of goodwill desire in their hearts,” the pope told the religious leaders.
“In a world wounded by violence and conflict,” he said, “each of the communities represented here brings its own contribution of wisdom, compassion and commitment to the good of humanity and the preservation of our common home.” †
disarming and unifying.
In his“Regina Coeli”address on his first Sunday in office, Good Shepherd Sunday, and again at his address to media the next morning May 12, Pope Leo spoke of the need for peace in the world. He came across as intent on making peace at all levels a true priority of his pontificate, a peace he described as “unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering … that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.”
In his first weeks, Pope Leo appeared to be modeling this for the Church, modeling how to be disarming in the hopes that the world will follow suit. †
In the summer of 386, while staying at a friend’s villa with Monica and his friend Alypius, Augustine reached a breaking point. In a moment of anguish, he retreated to the garden and collapsed in tears beneath a fig tree. There, he heard a childlike voice repeating, “Take it and read.” Interpreting it as divine instruction, he opened the Bible to a passage in Romans urging a life free from indulgence and devoted to Christ. The effect was immediate — his doubts vanished.
He shared the experience with Monica, who rejoiced at the answer to her years of prayer. Augustine, Alypius and his son Adeodatus were baptized the following Easter. Monica died soon after, her mission fulfilled.
Augustine returned to North Africa, eventually becoming bishop of Hippo. Over the next three decades, he wrote extensively, producing theological works, letters and sermons.
Augustine’s most influential works include Confessions, considered the first true autobiography, and City of God, a foundational text of Christian philosophy and theology. He died in 430 during the Vandal siege of Hippo. †
Every vocation, even the pope’s, springs from God’s love, pope says
ROME (CNS) — 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.
In Peru, Pope Leo saw youth as the present and the future of the Church
CHICLAYO, Peru — Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Robert Cardinal Prevost served as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, where he left a lasting impact — especially on the youth.
Known for his warmth and simplicity, he often joined young people gathered behind the bishop’s residence,
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encouraging their music, worship, and, yes, even their joyful noise.
“This is great — keep making a mess,” he once told them, echoing Pope Francis’ call at World Youth Day 2013.
During his eight years in Chiclayo, he emphasized service, formation and Catholic Social Teaching. He challenged youth to study Church doctrine — often assigning encyclicals like “Laudato Sí” before community cleanups.
People involved with youth ministries say the pope saw young people as both the present and future of the Church — and prone to leaving the flock if not formed properly in the faith.
Pope Leo, a tennis fan, meets world’s No. 1 player
ROME (CNS) — The day after advancing to the semi-finals of the Italian Open, Jannik Sinner paid a visit to a fan.
While in Rome for the tournament May 14, the world’s highest-ranked tennis player walked into the halls of the Vatican and met with Pope Leo XIV, who proved to be a well-informed spectator of the young champion.
“Last night you won,” the pope said while shaking his hand, referencing the Italian’s straight-sets victory over 17th-
seeded Francisco Cerùndolo. Sinner presented the pope with a custom-made white tennis racket, matching the papal cassock. Pope Leo, clearly enjoying the moment, gestured to his white cassock and quipped that Wimbledon would let him play — referencing the tournament’s famous allwhite dress code.
Chicago Archdiocese, White Sox team up to celebrate Pope Leo and his ‘message of peace’
CHICAGO (CNS) — The Archdiocese of Chicago has scheduled a Mass and a special program on June 14 to celebrate Pope Leo XIV, a native son of the Windy City. The archdiocese said in an announcement that the events, including the Mass, preceded by music, a film, speakers and prayer will all take place at Rate Field, the ballpark of the Chicago White Sox.
In its announcement, the archdiocese said, “Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace, unity and the key to a meaningful life have touched hearts across the globe. This celebration is an extraordinary opportunity for people from the city and beyond to come together in shared pride for one of our own.” †
POPE LEO BEGINS PAPACY CALLING FOR ‘UNITED CHURCH’ IN A WOUNDED WORLD
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — 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.”
He said, “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,” in his homily during his inauguration Mass May 18, which Daniel Cardinal DiNardo concelebrated.
“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, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, joined the new pope for Mass in St. Peter’s Square. †
CNS PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA
Pope Leo XIV receives the fisherman’s ring, symbolizing his role as successor to St. Peter, from Filipino Luis Cardinal Tagle during the pope’s inauguration Mass in St. Peter’s Square May 18.
CNS PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA
Pope Leo XIV blesses a baby as he departs following a visit to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome May 20.
Three priests to be ordained welcome ‘gift’ of the priesthood, find peace in life of service
BY ELIZABETH MORALES Texas Catholic Herald
HOUSTON — It has been a 7- to 8-year journey respectively within the seminary for Deacons Carlos Velero Mendoza, Hubert Hai Đào and John Clark, who will be ordained priests for the Archdiocese by Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 7, at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston.
Deacon Velero, 30, thought holy matrimony was the vocation for himself. Still, during college, he explored the idea of discerning the priesthood when he switched majors and schools, going from a math major at the University of Houston to a theology student at the University of St. Thomas.
“I recognized if I say that I trust the Lord — if I say that I love Him — then I trust what His plan for my life is,” Deacon Velero said.
He eventually entered the seminary to seriously discern the possibility of becoming a priest. It was during his second semester that he found unity of his will with God’s will, realizing that when he responded to the call to the priesthood with full trust in the Lord, he was the happiest.
Deacon Đào, 34, grew up in Vietnam as an active member of the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement. He experienced a call to the priesthood at age 13 and revisited this potential calling in his late 20s.
Immigrating with his family to the U.S. at 19 years old created a shift in culture and responsibility for him, and he pursued a career as a dental assistant. Not finding satisfaction in his profession, he brought his concerns to God during Adoration at his home parish one evening.
A PRAYER FOR PRIESTS
Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the gift of our priests. Through them, we experience your presence in the Sacraments. Help our priests to be strong in their vocation.
Set their souls on fire with love for your people. Grant them the wisdom, understanding and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom. Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel. Allow them to experience joy in their ministry. Help them to become instruments of your divine grace. We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest. Amen.
“I was struck a lot in my heart. For some reason, I cried a lot, too. It was a good cry because I realized it was a time that God wanted me to come back to my original dream as a child to become a priest,” Deacon Đào said about Adoration that night.
Soon, he applied for the seminary, and it was a joyful occasion the day he was accepted by the Archdiocese.
Deacon Clark, 28, had thought about the priesthood as a youth but did not feel worthy that God could use him for His kingdom. Studying rhetoric and writing as a senior at the University of Texas,
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WANT TO GO?
PRIESTLY ORDINATION MASS
10 A.M. ON JUNE 7
Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart 1111 St. Joseph Pkwy., Houston
Celebrant: Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez Stream: www.archgh.org/live
my life were my grandmothers,” Deacon Velero said about the impact of his family, especially on the maternal side, with a great-uncle and a great-great-uncle who were Franciscan priests.
“She was always devoted to the Church, to prayer, and to serving others. She would always talk about the faith to myself and my siblings,” Deacon Velero said of his maternal grandmother. Although he didn’t personally know the priests in his family, the reality of that family lineage created a love of the faith within his family and himself.
Deacon Clark attended Mass for the holy day of obligation on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and upon analyzing the visiting priest’s less than inspiring homily, he had an epiphany.
“When we got to the consecration, it really hit me very strongly that this priest was here for me, even in my judgment, even in my weakness. He probably knew that he wasn’t the best preacher in the world. He probably, in fact, knew all of his weaknesses very well, and yet he was still here for me to bring the Lord to me and everyone else around me,” Deacon Clark said.
He then understood the Lord could work with his weaknesses and faults and still call him into service and mission. That moment gave Deacon Clark the clarity and confidence he needed. After Mass, he shared with his friends that he was going to apply for the seminary, to which they celebrated with his choice of a fried chicken dinner.
It has been a process of learning to balance their studies, prayer life, diaconate responsibilities and personal lives throughout their years of formation, and the deacons credit the seminary staff, fellow seminarians, family, friends and the body of Christ for supporting them along the way.
“Some of the key spiritual figures of
Deacon Clark recalled the blessing from his father, who passed away from ALS, and the gradual change in perspective from his mother, who is now his biggest supporter, as individuals who made the most profound impact on his path to the priesthood. He also mentioned Matt Regitz, former youth minister at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, who taught him about the importance of growing in love of God and love of holiness first, and then everything else would follow.
“Throughout my childhood, my mom probably placed a lot of the spiritual life in me; that’s how I became a man of prayer,” Deacon Đào said. “Growing up, we had to go to Mass daily in Vietnam with them, no matter what.”
Forming the habit of prayer through daily Mass attendance, and Deacon Đào’s involvement with the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement, fostered his deep love for the Eucharist.
The deacons expressed excitement about their upcoming priestly ordinations, explaining that the seminary has allowed them to become the best versions of themselves.
“The priesthood is not a job. It’s a gift of being, being with the people,” Deacon Đào said. “Being with any gift that God actually gave you, and now is the time for you to use it for the other people around you.”
The June 7 Priest Ordination Mass will be livestreamed on social media and online at www.archgh.org/live. †
RECEIVING A JUBILEE INDULGENCE
The conditions necessary for a Jubilee indulgence include:
1. Being in a state of grace and disposed to receive the indulgence
2. Having confessed one’s sins sacramentally
3. Receiving Holy Communion
4. Offer prayers for the Holy Father and his intentions
5. If able, make a pilgrimage to a designated Jubilee pilgrim site, such as Houston’s Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart or St. Mary Cathedral Basilica in Galveston
Learn more about the Jubilee online at
DEACON JOHN CLARK
DEACON HUBERT HAI ĐÀO
DEACON CARLOS VELERO MENDOZA
THE MISSION OF DSF
The mission of the Diocesan Services Fund (DSF) is to provide essential support for the 64 ministries that serve those in need throughout the Archdiocese of GalvestonHouston that no one parish can deliver on their own.
DSF supports the formation of our clergy; serves the poor, feeds the hungry, and supports those in need; provides a strong Catholic education to more than 17,500 students; and forms the next generation of Catholics through youth and adult faith formation.
Through DSF, we can serve one another and fully live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our thoughts and actions every day.
HOW DSF Funds ARE ALLOCATED
Promoting, Preparing and Supporting Clergy
Nurturing and Strengthening Families
Special Grants
Teaching, Evangelizing and Worship
Rebates to Parishes
Ministering to the Poor, the Sick, and the Incarcerated
“The Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston form disciples educated in both faith and intellect. We are committed to the educational mission of the Church, as we prepare students for Heaven, college and career. The support we receive from the Diocesan Services Fund enables our 56 Catholic schools to fulfill that mission, as evident in our graduates who possess characteristics that empower them to live faithfully as disciples of Christ who transform the world! Thank you for your generous support!”
- Mazie S. McCoy, Ed.D. Secretariat Director and Superintendent of Catholic Schools
DIOCESAN SERVICES FUND 2024 IMPACT REPORT 5
DSF 2024 HIGHLIGHTS
+ 20,384 seafarers from 78 countries were served by the Galveston Seafarers Center + 358,834 food pantry visits by families in need to Catholic Charities food service centers + More than 150 correctional ministry volunteers served in correctional facilities around the Archdiocese + 53 seminarians from the Archdiocese were supported + 15 retired priests were cared for at the Archbishop Fiorenza Priest Retirement Home
PARISHES THAT ACHIEVED THEIR DSF 2024 GOAL
All Saints - Houston
Blessed Sacrament - Houston
Christ Our Light - Navasota
Christ the Good Shepherd - Spring
Christ the Incarnate Word - Houston
Christ the King - Houston
Christ the Redeemer - Houston
Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart - Houston
Corpus Christi - Houston
Epiphany of the Lord - Katy
Guardian Angel - Wallis
Holy Family - Galveston
Holy Family - McNair/Baytown
Holy Family - Missouri City
Holy Ghost - Houston
Holy Name - Houston
Holy Rosary - Houston
Immaculate Conception - Houston
Immaculate Conception - Sealy
Immaculate Conception Mission - Bellville
Mary Queen - Friendswood
Our Lady of Fatima - Galena Park
Our Lady of Grace - South Houston
Our Lady of Guadalupe - Baytown
Our Lady of Guadalupe - Houston
Our Lady of Guadalupe - Rosenberg
Our Lady of Lavang - Houston
Our Lady of Lourdes - Hitchcock
Our Lady of Perpetual Help - Sweeny
Our Lady of Sorrows - Houston
Our Lady of St. John - Houston
Queen of Peace - Houston
Queen of Peace - La Marque
Regina Caeli - Houston
Resurrection - Houston
Sacred Heart - Conroe
Sacred Heart - Pattison
Sacred Heart of Jesus - Manvel
St. Albert of Trapani - Houston
St. Alphonsus - Houston
St. Andrew Kim - Houston
St. Angela Merici - Missouri City
St. Anne - Houston
St. Anne de Beaupre - Houston
St. Anthony de Padua - Danbury
St. Anthony of Padua - The Woodlands
St. Augustine - Houston
St. Bartholomew the Apostle - Katy
St. Bernadette Soubirous - Houston
St. Cecilia - Houston
St. Charles Borromeo - Houston
St. Clare of Assisi - Houston
St. Cyril of Alexandria - Houston
St. Dominic - Houston
St. Edith Stein - Katy
St. Edward - Spring
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton - Houston
St. Faustina - Fulshear
St. Francis de Sales - Houston
St. Francis of Assisi - Houston
St. Gregory the Great - Houston
St. Helen - Pearland
St. Hyacinth - Deer Park
St. Ignatius of Loyola - Spring
St. James the Apostle - Spring
St. Jerome - Clute
St. John Fisher - Richmond
St. John Neumann - Houston
St. John of the Cross - New Caney
St. John the Apostle Mission - West Columbia/Sweeny
St. John the Baptist - Alvin
St. John the Evangelist - Baytown
St. John Vianney - Houston
St. Joseph - Baytown
St. Joseph - Houston
St. Joseph - New Waverly
St. Joseph on the Brazos - Brazoria
St. Juan Diego - Pasadena
St. Jude Thaddeus - Highlands
St. Justin Martyr - Houston
St. Laurence - Sugar Land
St. Leo the Great - Houston
St. Luke the Evangelist - Houston
St. Mark the Evangelist - Houston
St. Martha - Kingwood
St. Mary - Frydek/Sealy
St. Mary - League City
St. Mary - Plantersville
St. Mary of the Purification - Houston
St. Mary Star of the Sea - Freeport
St. Matthew the Evangelist - Houston
St. Matthias the Apostle - Magnolia
St. Maximilian Kolbe - Houston
St. Michael the Archangel - Houston
St. Michael the Archangel - Lake Jackson
St. Michael the Archangel - Needville
St. Monica - Houston
St. Paul the Apostle - Houston
St. Peter Claver - Houston
St. Philip Neri - Houston
St. Philip of Jesus - Houston
St. Philip the Apostle - Huffman
St. Rose of Lima - Houston
St. Stephen - Houston
St. Stephen the Martyr Mission - Pt Blank
St. Theresa - Houston
St. Theresa - Sugar Land
St. Thomas Aquinas - Sugar Land
St. Thomas More - Houston
St. Thomas the Apostle - Huntsville
St. Vincent de Paul - Houston
St. Wenceslaus Mission - Rosenberg
Sts. Cyril and Methodius - Damon
Sts. Peter and Paul - Bellville
Sts. Simon and Jude - The Woodlands
Vietnamese Martyrs - Houston
Pro-Life Ministry supports families in crisis with compassion, care
BY KERRY MCGUIRE Herald Correspondent
HOUSTON — In times of crisis — whether caused by an unplanned pregnancy, family hardship or a healthrelated challenge — families require more than just material help. They need a compassionate community rooted in faith, one that stands by them every step of the way. The Office of Pro-Life Activities of the Archdiocese offers steadfast support, guiding individuals and families through difficult decisions and ensuring they are never alone in their struggles.
The ministry’s dedicated staff and volunteers provide essential services such as pregnancy assistance, healing after abortion, family support and volunteer training. At its core, the ministry meets families where they are, offering a listening ear and a network of resources. It also plays a broader role in supporting families facing pregnancy, adoption and infertility challenges, serving as a safety net for those in need.
Julie Dumalet, director of the Office of Pro-Life Activities, said creating a safe space for individuals to share their struggles is essential. Her team is committed to being present for families and making them feel heard and supported, no matter the situation.
“When we are assisting people in a vulnerable spot, they often tell us, ‘I feel so alone. Nobody understands. I don’t feel like I have anybody to turn to,’” Dumalet said. “Our first step is to listen to them, hear their story and connect them with people and resources that can help. Our message is, ‘You’re not the only one, and you’re not alone. We’re here for you.’”
Kerry Chu, director of Social Ministry and Outreach at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church, leads the parish’s Pro-Life Ministry with support from the Office of Pro-Life Activities. Its focus is on assisting families with unplanned pregnancies, miscarriage, grief and caregiving. It also supports grieving families and offers programs like the senior care drive and the Gathering Place, a respite service for caregivers of individuals with early-onset dementia. These initiatives reflect the parish’s commitment to supporting life at all stages, from conception to natural death.
Since 2017, Chu has led the Respect Life Ministry. Over the years, she has been involved in various activities, including prayer and organizing events to support life issues.
“This ministry has allowed me to put my faith into action and help others grow deeper in their faith,” Chu said.
Chu has witnessed the impact of the Office of Pro-Life Activities in connecting families at the parish and its Catholic school with the right resources during a crisis. She recalls a family at the school who, after the heartbreaking loss of a baby shortly after birth, received support from the ministry.
“I was able to connect that family directly with Julie at the Office of Pro-Life, who walked them through the stages of grief and provided resources, such as the Jerome’s Hope ministry and counselors offered by the office,” Chu said. “These are ways the ministry has personally
The Diocesan Services Fund operates in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston each year to help the Church carry out the ministries of teaching and sanctifying. DSF brings the needed financial resources to carry out 64 ministries.
DSF IN ACTION
touched our parish and school.”
Antonio Franco, a member of the Archdiocese’s 2027 Permanent Diaconate Formation cohort, has witnessed the profound impact of the ministry through his work with the Office of Pro-Life Activities. Supporting initiatives like the Gabriel Project, a parish-based apostolate offering spiritual, emotional and material assistance to women facing challenging pregnancies, Franco believes the ministry provides critical resources and hope to those in need.
“Some women face the difficult decision of whether they should carry their pregnancy to term, especially when they don’t have enough to provide for themselves,” Franco said.
“Many of them are single and have considered terminating the pregnancy. The Gabriel Project brings hope, encouraging them to carry their pregnancy to full term.”
Franco said the ministry provides an invaluable lifeline to many women and families, offering practical resources like diapers and baby supplies and emotional and spiritual support during one of the most difficult times in their lives.
“This also provides a good opportunity for us to talk with more people, to evangelize and encourage them to baptize their children and bring them into the Sacraments,” Franco said. “They just need someone to listen to them, and that’s how we’re making a difference. It’s not what we say; it’s listening to their concerns and being there for them. We inform them that the Catholic Church is there to help them each step of the way.”
The Office of Pro-Life Activities could not achieve its wide-reaching impact without the support of the Diocesan Services Fund (DSF). As one of the 60plus ministries supported by the annual DSF appeal, this crucial funding helps sustain the many programs and services offered to vulnerable families, ensuring that they receive the help they need when they need it most.
Dumalet said the overturn of Roe v. Wade has enabled the ministry to focus on building a culture of life.
“Our first step is to listen to them, hear their story and connect them with people and resources that can help. Our message is, ‘You’re not the only one, and you’re not alone. We’re here for you.’”
JULIE DUMALET Director, Office of Pro-Life Activities
New initiatives, such as the St. Joseph Foster Care Ministry, provide support for vulnerable individuals, particularly children in foster care and the families who care for them. The ministry has also introduced a new infertility program and a service for families at the medical center who have received a prenatal diagnosis, helping parents advocate for their children, especially those diagnosed with life-limiting conditions.
“All of these initiatives are made possible through DSF funding,” Dumalet said. “We offer retreats for post-abortion
This video series brings to life the ministry featured in these stories. Hear from leaders and people personally impacted by God’s grace through these DSF ministries.
SCAN TO WATCH OR VISIT ARCHGH.ORG/ DSFINACTION
healing, provide support for women in crisis pregnancies and train volunteers to better serve families. The DSF is essential to these efforts.”
Franco said there is much more work to be done and that the faithful can make a difference by supporting the annual DSF appeal.
“The DSF is crucial in helping us sustain the mission of the Office of ProLife Activities, ensuring that we can continue to support families in need and protect life at all stages,” Franco said. “It’s about being there for people, listening to them and collaborating to make our efforts more successful.”
To learn more about the Office of Pro-Life Activities, visit www.archgh. org/prolife. To donate to the DSF, go to www.archgh.org/dsf. The DSF funds critical services and education for these ministries, with 100% of each dollar donated directly supporting them. †
CNS PHOTO/NANCY WIECHEC
A mother is seen holding her baby’s hand. The Office of Pro-Life Activities works to offer steadfast support to guide individuals and families in the Archdiocese through difficult decisions and ensure they are never alone in their struggles.
DIOCESAN SERVICES FUND
Archdiocese prioritizes students’ mental health
Support available for students and families
BY ANNETTE BAIRD Herald Correspondent
HOUSTON — By the time Maria Cepeda’s son reached third grade at Corpus Christi Catholic School, his fears and anxiety had become so alarming that his parents realized they needed professional help for their son.
Cepeda said her son was becoming more rather than less dependent on them. She described how if she wasn’t waiting to pick him up after school, he would cry and become increasingly anxious.
“They were very difficult times,” Cepeda said.
Thanks to the counselors, workshops and classes available to them through the school, Cepeda said they were able to get the help and support they needed.
“It was (important) for our son to be able to have someone who listened to him and who taught him little by little to trust himself and to be able to overcome
A pamphlet with mental health resources is seen during a 2023 social ministry gathering. Mental illness in America has been declared an official social health care emergency – an issue seen magnified in schools in the Archdiocese.
his fears and anxiety and manage his emotions,” Cepeda said.
According to Benita Gonzales, who oversees the mental health and welfare of Archdiocesan school students and programming for school nurses and counselors as the director of student support services in the Catholic Schools Office, an increasing number of school children nationwide are experiencing depression, sadness, hopelessness and anxiety, and Archdiocesan students reflect that trend.
THE JUBILEE PRAYER
Father in heaven, may the faith You have given us in Your Son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of Your Kingdom.
May Your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of evil vanquished, Your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To You our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise forever. Amen.
EMBRACING THE JUBILEE YEAR
• Pilgrim Sites in Galveston-Houston
• Learn how to receive a special Jubilee year indulgence
• Latest news, updates and more
Learn more about the Jubilee Year online at ARCHGH.ORG/JUBILEE2025
Gonzales attributed this trend to a number of reasons — social media, technology, increased awareness — though it remains a complex problem.
“We are starting to see that our children need a lot of strategies to cope with trends, such as social media,” Gonzales said. “These are hard feelings, and children are not sure what to do with them.”
In addition to developing its own robust mental health programming and combining Catholic teachings with evidenced-based research, Gonzales said the Archdiocese is bringing in more outside agencies to meet the growing need for help from students and their families.
The Comprehensive Developmental Guidance program provides an ageappropriate blueprint for schools. The early grades’ focus is on building a foundation on which to develop relationships with Jesus, peers and family. For grades second to fifth, the focus is on self-regulation, physical growth, friends and sharing. Middle school is about critical thinking skills, making responsible decisions, building relationships and understanding the preachings of Jesus. High school is about personal decision-making, figuring out a worldview, identity and developing healthy relationships.
Gonzales said they recently introduced a framework to prevent bullying that encompasses everything from school leadership and the school environment to professional learning and the response to bullying.
The Archdiocese has a partnership with Gratia Plena to provide an immediate response to students who threaten self-harm and harm to others.
The Archdiocese covers the cost of evaluations and assists when there is a need for continuous support.
“The numbers can be alarming,” Gonzales said.
Catholic Charities has, for more than a decade, supported the Archdiocese’s CROSS Academies by providing free on-site counseling and mental health services. They include presentations for students on subjects such as bullying and self-esteem, individual counseling for students, and presentations and workshops for teachers and families. Their counselors also provide support and learning strategies for children with neuro-divergent challenges such as ADHD and autism.
So far this year, 87 students received counseling services, up from 59 students last year.
“A lot of times, it’s the students learning about their feelings and how to manage their feelings in healthy ways,” said Stefani Mercado, lead clinician for Catholic Charities.
Christus St. Mary’s Clinic also works
CATHOLIC COUNSELING IN GALVESTON-HOUSTON
In Galveston-Houston, there are several groups that offer Catholicbased mental health counseling.
CATHOLIC CHARITIES
713-874-6590 catholiccharities.org/counseling
GRATIA PLENA COUNSELING 832-532-0129 gratiaplenacounseling.org
REJOICE COUNSELING APOSTOLATE 844-295-3167 rejoicecounseling.com
For more information and resources, visit www.archgh.org/mhresources
IN BRIEF
While May is the designated National Mental Health Awareness Month, the Archdiocese takes mental health in its schools seriously throughout the year. However, there is a spike in the number of students seeking help during what Benita Gonzales said is a time of transition. Students are moving up a grade or graduating; they’re leaving one school for another; seniors may be depressed because they didn’t make it into the college they wanted, or they’re anxious about leaving home.
“Transition puts on pressures, which leads to anxiety, hopelessness and depression,” Gonzales said. “Some kids don’t have the tools or support to weather setbacks.”
This is why the Archdiocese not only develops its own programming to deal with the mental health of its students and provide support for families but also has built partnerships with other agencies and brought in new organizations to broaden its reach.
with the CROSS Academies by providing medical care for mental health.
The recent partnership with Smart Families to encourage parents to pledge they will wait until their children are in eighth grade before giving them a smartphone is catching fire. The nonprofit, founded by Brian and Jennifer Kuzma, works with families and schools to provide the tools to change the culture in their communities.
“The pledge creates a unified community at your school with common expectations for both children and parents,” Brian Kuzma said.
Since starting three years ago at St. Vincent de Paul, where Kuzma’s children go, Smart Families has worked with 46 schools this year, some in other cities, and will double that number next year.
Cepeda is thankful the Archdiocese is providing counselors who collaborate with the schools. Her son, now an eighth grader, is self-confident and thriving.
“Their hard work and their concern for our children makes a great difference in their lives, also in our family and consequently in society,” Cepeda said. †
OSV NEWS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER
IN MEMORIA
Pray for the following priests whose anniversaries of death are during the month of June.
June 1911 Rev. Anthony Maury
June 1, 1949 Rev. James P. McCarthy
June 1, 1974 Rev. William Creamer, O’Carm
June 1, 1981 Rev. Francis Dynan, SSJ
June 2, 1999 Rev. Norbert Reuss, CSB
June 2, 2005 Rev. Kevin C. Thissen, OP
June 2, 2014 Rev. Rivers Patout
June 4, 1920 Rev. Joseph Ignatius Klein
June 4, 1950 Rev. Lawrence B. Kramer
June 6, 1957 Rev. Hugh Kearns
June 7, 1947 Rev. J.T. Moriarty
June 7, 1982 Rev. James L. Moore
June 8, 1972 Msgr. Thomas J. Prendergast
June 9, 1952 Rev. Francis A. Walsh, CSB
June 9, 1988 Rev. James J. White, CSSp
June 10, 2020 Rev. John Zabelskas
June 10, 1959 Rev. Ralph J. Diefenbach
June 10, 2021 Rev. Peter Ferguson
June 11, 1964 Rev. Dunstan McGuigan, OCarm
June 11, 1979 Rev. Bernard J. O’Neill
June 12, 1985 Rev. Richard Gieselman, CM
June 12, 2011 Rev. Gabriel Camilo Morales, m.j.
June 13, 1938 Rev. John J. Lyons, SSJ
June 14, 1964 Rev. Francis Plavcan, MS
June 14, 1982 Rev. Mark M. Barron, OP
June 14, 1993 Rev. James E. Daley, CSB
June 15, 1938 Rev. David M. Ortiz
June 16, 1989 Rev. Robert Hall, CSB
June 16, 2009 Rev. Victor B. Brezik, CSB
June 16, 2016 Rev. Patrick Braden, CSB
June 17, 1936 Rev. Martin F. Collins
June 17, 1881 Rev. Joseph Anstaett
June 18, 1999 Rev. Larry Leonard, CM
June 18, 2023 Rev. Louis Zee
June 20, 1977 Rev. Louis Hahn, SJ
June 20, 1991 Rev. Paul F. Kent, OCSO
June 21, 1892 Rev. Claude Jacquet
June 21, 2021 Rev. Ryan Stawaisz
June 22, 2003 Rev. Charles Banet, CPPS
June 23, 1939 Rev. George Apel
June 23, 1990 Rev. Joseph Kennelly, OMI
June 24, 1986 Rev. Joseph K. Schneider
June 24, 2008 Rev. Alfred E. Greenwald
June 24, 2012 Rev. John “Jack” R. Whitley, CSB
June 25, 1873 Rev. John B. Bellaclos
June 26, 1961 Msgr. Frank J. Dubias
June 26, 1965 Rev. Joseph Schmultz, SSJ
June 27, 1999 Rev. Michael J. Fritzen, SVD
June 27, 2008 Rev. John J. Walsh, CSSP
June 27, 2016 Rev. Kenneth E. Mikulik
June 29, 2004 Rev. Ladislav Danek
June 30, 1952 Rev. Manuel F. Munive, OMI
Annual Catholic Communication Campaign empowers today’s Church to proclaim the Gospel’s message of hope in Texas and beyond
HOUSTON — On the weekend of May 31 to June 1, Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese will take the annual collection for the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Communication Campaign in their parishes. The collection helps the Church spread the Gospel message using modern media tools to inform, inspire, and enlighten.
“While the timeless message of the Gospel remains unchanged, the ways we share it must keep pace with a rapidly evolving media landscape,” said Bishop William D. Byrne of Springfield in Massachusetts, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Communications.
Last year, more than $3.7 million supported national and international communications, while an equivalent amount underwrote local Catholic efforts ranging from podcasts to print magazines to websites. In the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, where half of the funds collected that weekend will remain, the support allows the Archdiocesan Office of Communications to produce multimedia projects that bring the Gospel message to the faithful in Houston and beyond, according to Archdiocesan officials.
The largest portion of the national share of the collection supports the Rome bureau of Catholic News Service, which continues its legacy of covering the pope and current events at the Vatican with a selection of stories posted daily at usccb.org/newsroom and
contributes content for the Texas Catholic Herald (TCH) and The Digest, the TCH’s email newsletter. Recent featured coverage included the death of Pope Francis, the May 8 conclave that Daniel Cardinal DiNardo participated in, and the election of Pope Leo XIV at the beginning of his papacy.
Grants from the campaign support numerous media efforts across the U.S. and around the world, but Archbishop Hartmayer emphasized the communications work of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops helps share the Gospel message through the bishops.
“The Church is called to testify to the power and love of Jesus, and the Catholic Communication Campaign provides resources for bringing that timeless truth to people in new and traditional ways,” Bishop Byrne said. For more about the Catholic Communication Campaign, visit www.usccb.org/committees/ catholic-communication-campaign. †
Correctional Ministries
Archdiocesan Office
713-741-8732
archgh.org/correctionalministries
OBITUARIES
Victorio Balisnomo
THE PHILIPPINES — Victorio Balisnomo, the father of Father Ian Balisnomo, parochial vicar of Epiphany of the Lord Church in Katy, died on April 29 in the Philippines.
His funeral took place on May 17. †
Sister Cecile Roeger, O.P.
HOUSTON — Sister Cecile Roeger, O.P., died April 24. She was 83 years old. She entered the Dominican Sisters in 1990. She served as the administrator for the Dominican Sisters’ retirement home, St. Dominic Villa. In 2005, she was appointed the community’s promoter of Justice, Peace, and Care of Creation. In this role, she collaborated with countless individuals and organizations to address issues such as human trafficking, systemic racism, environmental justice, the abolition of the death penalty and immigration reform on local and national levels. Her congregational service also included her ministry as the internal communications director and a member of several committees, including the Laudato Si Action Platform and Mission Giving committees.
A funeral Mass was held at St. Dominic Villa Chapel on April 30. Interment is in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery. †
Popular summer young adult speaker series starts June 30
HOUSTON — Café Catholica, the annual young adult summer gathering presented by the Archdiocesan Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry, is set for Mondays from June 30 to July 21 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, located at 6800 Buffalo Speedway near the Texas Medical Center in Houston. The theme for the summer series is “Hope in the Lord,” drawn from Isaiah 40:31.
Open to young adults aged 18 to 39, Café Catholica offers opportunities to gather with nearly a thousand fellow young Catholics for Mass, dinner and talks. The event will be held June 30 and July 7, 14 and 21. It begins at 5:15 p.m. with Confession, followed by Mass at 6:15 p.m., dinner at 7:15 p.m. and the keynote speaker at 8:15 p.m.
Keynote speakers include Catholic speakers Jackie Francois-Angel and Paul J. Kim, Katie Villareal, a school counselor at Holy Family Catholic School in Austin, and Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez, who began leading the Archdiocese in March.
No registration is needed to attend. Donations are accepted. For more information and to see the schedule and speaker information, visit archgh.org/cafecatholica or call 713-741-8778. †
EDUCATION
Sacred art contest spotlights young Catholic school artists
BY SARAH CORTEZ Special to the Herald
HOUSTON — Nine middle-school artists were recently chosen as the winners of the Archdiocesan Catholic School Sacred Art Contest in Houston. These sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students created artwork distinguished by vision and skill among a field of almost 140 entries from 18 participating schools.
Superintendent Mazie McCoy, Ed.D., and Larry W. Massey Jr., president of the Scanlan Foundation and sponsor, presented the awards to the first, second and third prize winners during an art show on April 5 in the Pope Benedict XVI Hall of Cathedral High School.
Many of the entries portrayed favorite saints, such as St. Maria Goretti, St. Joan of Arc, Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Other artists chose more abstract or devotional themes for their artwork, such as “Within Sin” or “Infinite Love.”
“I decided to draw St. Joan of Arc because her story always stood out to me,” said Elisianna MacMurray, the eighth-grade first-place winner from Assumption Catholic School. “I painted
her with a lot of bright colors because her martyrdom was a moment of happiness and clarity for her. She didn’t abandon God because she believed God would never abandon her.”
The first-place winner in seventh grade, Sebastian Gambrill from St. Theresa Catholic School in Houston, titled his painting “Tranquility in the Darkness of Sin.”It shows Jesus as the Man of Sorrows on a canvas of expressive brush strokes in somber colors. Sadness radiates from His face and eyes with a pure white role, reminding the viewer that Jesus is the true Light in the darkness. Gambrill chose to place Jesus centrally on the canvas as an implicit statement of His centrality as the source of grace. In his artist’s statement, Sebastian shared that his “connection to the painting is that I found Jesus during a very dark and hard time for me, and He really helped me through it.”
Sixth-grade winner Cora Pond from St. Theresa Catholic School in Sugar Land said, “I have enjoyed making art since I was very little. I started art on my own, but then I worked with a teacher because I liked it so much. Acrylic paint was my first medium, but now my favorite medium is watercolor.”
Pond’s watercolor image shows the Blessed Virgin Mary in a rose garden with luminous colors of light pink and blue emphasized by pen and ink.
One of the great blessings of the contest is a newfound confirmation for each young artist, winner and finalist alike, in the vocation as a sacred artist.
“Winning this contest makes me think differently about my art,” said Cora Pond. “I told my mom that I wanted to start art lessons again because I now want to improve.”
Each of the nine winners was awarded a tuition voucher and a container of art supplies. Each winner’s image, along with an artist’s statement, was exhibited along with the finalists’ images to crowds of admirers. This year’s strong participation by students at Catholic schools is a good indication of a future of blessings to come through the fostering of an environment to encourage the creation of more sacred images coupled with an exhibit that supports young artists. †
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ARCHDIOCESAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL SACRED ART CONTEST Eighth grade, first place winner is Elisianna McMurray, titled “St. Joan of Arc.” Seventh grade, first place winner is Sebastian Gambrill, titled “Tranquility in the Darkness of Sin.” Sixth grade, first place winner is Cora Pond, titled “Mother Mary.”
YOUTH
Set Afire: Post-Confirmation teens sharing their gifts
Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Church, the day the Holy Spirit came down in wind and flame, and the apostles were transformed from hesitant followers into bold missionaries. With tongues of fire, they spoke in many languages, proclaiming the Gospel to people from every nation. That pivotal moment is our constant reminder that the Holy Spirit still breathes life and purpose into the Church today, equipping every baptized person with spiritual gifts meant to be shared.
For post-Confirmation teens, this is not just a moment of remembrance — it’s a call to action. Confirmation is not a graduation from faith but the ignition of a lifelong mission. After receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit, teens are invited to discern how God is calling them to use those gifts in their daily lives, in their parishes, and in the world.
Discernment begins with listening — listening to the Holy Spirit, to the community and to one’s own heart. Many teens begin discovering their gifts by asking key questions:
• What brings me joy when I serve others?
• When do I feel most alive and connected to God?
• Where have others affirmed my strengths?
Some turn to prayer and reflection. Others notice a pattern in the activities or ministries that excite them — whether it’s singing in the choir, organizing youth events, comforting peers, or helping younger students understand their faith. Sometimes, spiritual gifts are revealed through a trial-and-error process: stepping into a new ministry, seeing what fits, and trusting God through the journey.
The Church is blessed when young people respond to the Holy Spirit in their daily prayer life and put faith into action to thrive in ministry. For one of my recent Confirmation teens, Lydia’s gift emerged in an unexpected place — her ASL (American Sign Language) class. What started as a curious elective soon became a deep passion. By the time she reached ASL 3 and Confirmation preparation at our parish, she realized this wasn’t just about language — it was about relationship. When she heard that
by JOEY HARVEY
a neighboring parish needed interpreters for the ASL/Spanish Mass, she stepped forward. Although she was nervous, the support from the parish community helped her overcome her fears.
Standing before the congregation, signing prayers and readings, Lydia began to understand the power of spiritual gifts: her hands were a bridge between communities. The gratitude and affirmation of parishioners confirmed what the Holy Spirit had been whispering — this was her call. Through ASL, Lydia is now helping others fully participate in the Mass and experience the presence of Christ. She received the Gifts of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation and used them to increase the faith in others.
PENTECOST SUNDAY JUNE 8, 2025
prompting. When teens discern and share their gifts, they not only grow in holiness — they help build a Church that is alive, welcoming and on fire with love.
The challenge for every confirmed teen is to keep listening to the Spirit, to
“The miracle of Pentecost didn’t end with the apostles. It continues every time a young person says ‘yes’ to the Spirit’s prompting. ”
stay open to growth, and to use their gifts not for themselves but for the good of others. Because when they do, the Church doesn’t just remember Pentecost — it lives it. †
Joey Harvey is the director of youth ministry at Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church.
COLUMNISTS
Striving for greatness
I was picking berries one day, and since I could barely reach the tall Mulberry tree, I had to hold down a branch with one hand and grab the berries with the other. At a certain point, a big, beautiful and ripe berry fell on the ground, and I almost let go of the branch to bend down and pick it up but decided to hold on to the branch since it was full of other berries.
It might sound like a silly comparison, but I immediately reflected on our spiritual life. At times, we can get attached to things that are beautiful, holy, attractive, fun and pleasurable. They might not necessarily lead us to sin, but they might take us farther from whatever God has in store for us.
In over 20 years of conversations with young people who are open to doing God’s will in their lives, I’ve seen so many who grabbed that “attractive piece of fruit” of the moment for fear of losing it instead of holding on to the branch
by JOELMA REGIS
(God) that had many more other fruits for them. It was sad to see how many people made choices for fear of being unhappy or because they were afraid of having a harder life but then ended up unfulfilled and unhappy.
My spiritual mother, Chiara Lubich, the foundress of the Work of Mary/Focolare Movement, often quoted St. Catherine of Siena: “Don’t be satisfied with little things because He, God, wants great things.” She would emphasize the importance of striving for greatness in one’s life and faith rather than settling for mediocrity. She used to encourage us young adults, saying: “You have only one life; it’s worthwhile spending it well. Don’t be satisfied with little joys; seek the great
“While it is true that your future is not completely in your control, the choices you make now can greatly impact it. ”
ones, seek the fullness of joy,” which is the joy that only God can give. I have to say that joy was one of the characteristics that helped me to take the next step on my discernment journey. I guess my “little joys” at that point were parties and affection from my many friends and boyfriends, and it was not so simple to let go of those little joys. But after experiencing the fullness of joy that Jesus put in my heart, I never
regretted leaving those things behind and moving forward toward what He had planned for me.
For one of my friends, that “attractive piece of fruit” was for her consecrated life — she wanted to consecrate herself to God because it was a perfect state of life, but she later understood that God wanted her fulfillment in marriage life instead.
While it is true that your future is not completely in your control, the choices you make now can greatly impact it. Not just those choices between good and evil, but above all those choices between good things, those fruits of life. Choose what will lead you to holiness and fulfillment in this life; choose what God wants for you. You’ll leave behind a streak of light of witness for others to follow. †
Joelma Regis is an associate director with the Office of Vocations.
Mind health, mental wellness in the wisdom years
Have you ever considered what it means to have a healthy mind or how to keep your mind healthy? May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it is a good time to consider what you are feeding your mind and how you are taking care of it.
We now know that our brain continues to form neural connections all life long, so what you think, feel and do are literally forming pathways in your brain. The more you do and the more active you are, the more active your brain is.
Our mind describes all the conscious and unconscious processes associated with the brain — our concentration, judgment, memory, thoughts, feelings,
by KRISTINE KERLIN
behaviors, attention, intellect and attitude. A healthy mind is able to think clearly, concentrate in a focused way, feel and express feelings in an appropriate way, recall events and information from your short-term and long-term memory and control behaviors and thoughts to focus on desired outcomes.
Just as other organs in our body can get sick, our brain can also become sick with illnesses ranging from depression and anxiety to dementia. If you, or
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“Let us follow the example of St. Francis of Assisi and take care of our common home.”
– Pope Francis
someone you know, is dealing with depression, anxiety or dementia, please consult a health professional. Many treatments are available to provide relief and restore health. To learn more about brain diseases and prevention, visit www.aarp.org/brainhealth.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts or is in danger of harming themselves, please call the national suicide prevention line 988 from anywhere in the country.
Here are a few self-care practices to help keep your brain healthy and well:
• Thoughts: What we focus on magnifies. Practice focusing your mind where you want it to go. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things” (Phil 4:8).
Be aware of your own self-talk and what you are telling yourself. If it’s not something you would say to someone you love, then give yourself that same courtesy. Practice talking to yourself as the precious child of God you are. Keep learning and engaging in mentally stimulating activities like reading and doing puzzles. Lifelong learning strengthens your brain’s reserves and helps offset age-related changes.
• Feelings: Identifying and expressing feelings appropriately is an important part of health. “But the fruit of the spirit
“Just as other organs in our body can get sick, our brain can also become sick with illnesses ranging from depression and anxiety to dementia. ”
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law” (Gal 5:22-23). “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rom 12:15).
• Behaviors: The basic healthy lifestyle practices of eating well, getting enough sleep and keeping your body moving are a good place to start with brain health behaviors. Staying socially connected to others is important and helps to prevent depression and anxiety. Get your hearing checked. Did you know that hearing loss is linked to dementia? When you strain to hear, your brain has to work harder, and that can cause cognitive overload. †
Kristine
Kerlin is the director of the Office of Aging.
Pope Francis’ final message to young people: Pilgrims of hope
It was only last month that we watched Pope Francis on Easter Sunday morning give his blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and then come down to the square to greet the large crowds gathered for the Easter Mass. Riding in the open-top popemobile and greeting the faithful on that Sunday morning, we did not realize that this would be the very last time we would see him.
Despite his significant health struggles of the previous month, Pope Francis wanted to be near his flock. The next day, on Easter Monday, we learned that it turned out that this appearance in St. Peter’s Square was his final farewell to the world.
At Pope Francis’ funeral Mass, Giovanni Cardinal Re shared this message during the homily: “Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life. He followed in the footsteps of his Lord, the Good Shepherd, who loved His sheep to the point of giving His life for them. And he did so with strength and serenity, close to his flock, the Church of God, mindful of the words
by MARY IMPELMAN
of Jesus quoted by the Apostle Paul: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).”
For the last 12 years, Pope Francis has tried his best to follow in Jesus’ footsteps by bringing the Church to the whole world.
As Cardinal Re proclaimed during the homily, “He was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone. … The guiding thread of his mission was also the conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open.”Throughout Pope Francis’ life, this embracing message of welcome was especially directed towards young people. As a campus minister at the Rice University Catholic Student Center, I was always encouraged by Pope Francis’ outreach to young adults.
This May 11, the Church celebrated the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, and Pope Francis had released a special message months in advance for this occasion. These words are
“In his words and in his actions, Pope Francis modeled for us how to share the joy of the Gospel. ”
especially poignant as we reflect on them after his death:
“Nowadays, many young people feel dismayed as they look to the future. Often, they experience insecurity about their prospects of employment and a profound identity crisis, a crisis of meaning and values, which the confused messages of the digital world only aggravate. The unjust treatment of the poor and vulnerable, the indifference of a complacent and self-centered society, and the brutality of war all threaten the hopes for a fulfilling life that young people cherish in their hearts. Yet the Lord, who knows the human heart, does not abandon us in our uncertainty. He wants us to know that we are loved, called and sent as pilgrims of hope.”
In this message written to young people, Pope Francis encouraged them to consider how God is calling them to live out their lives in love and service as
Unity Explosion Conference returns
witnesses to Christ’s love. He shared these words: “Dear young friends, hope in God does not disappoint because, at every step of the way, he accompanies those who entrust their lives to Him. Our world needs young people who are pilgrims of hope, who courageously devote their lives to Christ and rejoice in being His disciples and missionaries.”
In his words and in his actions, Pope Francis modeled for us how to share the joy of the Gospel. Thank you, Pope Francis, for having been such a pilgrim of hope in a world that so desperately needs one! The Church will miss you dearly.
Pope Francis, please pray for us! †
Mary Impelman is a campus minister at the Rice University Catholic Student Center.
For the first time in over seven years, we are proud to announce the return of the Unity Explosion Conference to Houston and the Texas area. The vision of the conference was to recognize, embrace and share the gifts that Catholics of African descent bring to the universal Church. The Archdiocese will serve as the host for the 2025 Catholic Conference with the theme “Awake to Evangelize through Faith, Hope and Love.”The conference will be held June 18 to 20 at the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake Hotel, located at 3000 E NASA Pkwy., in southeast Houston.
The Unity Explosion Conference began in Dallas in 1989 by the United Black Commission and was developed to be a Roman Catholic liturgical conference. During a Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops (TCCB) meeting in the early part of the 21st century, the bishops of Texas unanimously agreed to continue and support the Unity Explosion Conference in Texas. The conference is now composed of the dioceses located in the Region X states of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
According to the Unity Explosion Conference chairperson, Evelyn Wagner Wright, the then-Diocese of GalvestonHouston hosted its first Unity Explosion Houston Conference in 1990. A team of 12 volunteers in Houston began planning a conference the same year and continued with the name Unity Explosion. The Unity Explosion Houston Conference became a program under the Office for Black Catholic Ministries. Through the efforts of Charolette Davis, the Unity Explosion Conference became a tri-city conference and included Dallas, Houston and New Orleans. The conference was hosted once in Birmingham, Alabama.
Historically, the Houston conference has generally occurred and planned to
by FATHER REGINALD SAMUELS
occur every three years.
The last conference was held in 2018 in San Antonio. However, due to the pandemic, the conference was postponed for 2020 and now preparations have been made for the conference for June.
The conference chose as its mission to provide a conference experience that addresses the expressed evangelization, liturgical, ministerial, catechetical and leadership needs of its participants, with a direct emphasis placed on the African–American Catholic experience.
The 2025 Conference Pastor (Leader) will be Father Anthony Bozeman, SSJ. Father Bozeman currently serves as the Academic Dean at St. Joseph Seminary and assistant vocations director in Washington, D.C.
The director of music for the conference is Clark Knighten. Currently, Knighten is completing his 11th year as a choir and piano class instructor at The Academy of Our Lady High School in Marrero, Louisiana. Under his leadership and direction, the Academy of Our Lady Choirs has become wellknown throughout the New Orleans area.
In 2022, the Academy of Lady ECHO Choir was honored with an invitation to sing at the closing mass of the National Association of Catholic Educators Conference, which was held in New Orleans. This year, the ECHO received a Superior Rating in the LMEA District VI Small Ensemble competition. The choir sang at the 2025 Governor’s Luncheon in April and was invited to perform at the Gospel tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
The conference will have program tracks for adults, young adults and youth, and its conference content is planned for Catholics who desire to be on fire in ministry, worship and evangelization. The conference will culminate in a Juneteenth celebration in Galveston, which will be a Mass to commemorate the 160 anniversary of the Proclamation of the Emancipation of
enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865.
For more information, visit unityexplosion-regionx.com. †
Father Reginald Samuels is the vicar of Catholics of African Descent and pastor of St. Laurence Catholic Church in Sugar Land.
June 18 - Friday, June 20
‘Perpetual pilgrims’ start out across U.S., walking ‘with love and truth’ to
share the Gospel
Eucharistic Pilgrimage reaches north, west Texas in early June
DALLAS (OSV News) — Eight young adult Catholics, including a Texas native, set forth from St. John the Evangelist Church on May 18 in Indianapolis on a 36day National Eucharistic Pilgrimage that will cross 10 states — Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma,Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. It will go through 20 dioceses and four Eastern Catholic eparchies before concluding on June 22 in Los Angeles.
“That’s the mission of the Church, to walk with love, walk with truth and to share the good news of the Gospel,” said Charlie McCullough, 23, a native of Austin and the team leader of the eight “perpetual pilgrims” taking part in the pilgrimage. “We’ll get to carry out that mission of the Church here in the U.S.”
A TEXAS PENTECOST
This year’s National Eucharistic Pilgrimage — on its St. Katharine Drexel Route from Indianapolis to Los Angeles — builds on the four routes of the pilgrimage last year that started on the feast of Corpus Christi in Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western points of the U.S. and converged on Indianapolis at the start of the National Eucharistic Congress.
MOVIE RATINGS By OSV News
A-I – SUITABLE FOR ALL
• The King of Kings (PG)
A-II
– SUITABLE FOR OLDER CHILDREN
• A Minecraft Movie (PG)
• Lilo and Stitch (PG)
• Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (PG-13)
• The Last Supper (PG-13)
• The Legend of Ochi (PG)
A-III – ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS
• Drop (PG-13)
• The Woman in the Yard (PG-13)
L – LIMITED MATURE AUDIENCE
• Mickey 17 (R)
O – MORALLY OFFENSIVE
• Another Simple Favor (R)
• Death of a Unicorn (R)
• Sinners (R)
▶ For full movie reviews, visit www. osvnews.com/category/reviews
OSV NEWS PHOTO
Father Jude Ezuma, pastor of Holy Family Parish of Galveston and Bolivar, carries the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s stop in Galveston in 2024. The 2025 pilgrimage, which started in Indianapolis, will reach north and west Texas in early June, in total crossing 10 states, 20 dioceses and four Eastern Catholic eparchies before concluding June 22, the feast of Corpus Christi, in Los Angeles.
McCullough will get to make a Texas homecoming in early June when the Drexel route will reach Texas on June 3.
For Galveston-Houston Catholics wanting to join the pilgrimage in north and west Texas, the group will make a number of stops in the Dioceses of Dallas, Fort Worth, San Angelo and El Paso. Dallas will host the pilgrimage from June 3 to 5, then it will move to Fort Worth from June 5 to 7, San Angelo welcomes the group from June 7 to 10, and finally, El Paso is at the end of the Texas road, hosting the pilgrims from June 10 to 11. Abilene and San Angelo will host the pilgrimage for Pentecost Mass celebrations.
Levy described the pilgrimage as “a unique opportunity” to carry out Pope Leo XIV’s call “to love all the people that we’ll be encountering along the pilgrimage and be a light of Christ to them.”
CHARLIE MCCULLOUGH
The pilgrimage will conclude on the same feast of Corpus Christi in Los Angeles, which also marks the conclusion of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival.
Perpetual pilgrims Cheyenne Johnson and Rachel Levy grew in their faith as college students, respectively, at Butler University in Indianapolis and at Indiana University in Bloomington.
For the past two years, each has begun to give to others the gift they received, with Johnson serving as the Catholic campus minister at Butler and Levy ministering as the archdiocese’s young adult ministry coordinator.
Now, they’re going forth from the Indianapolis Archdiocese to share their love for Christ in the Eucharist with people across the country.
“I’m blown away by what God’s doing in the archdiocese,” Johnson said. “The grace from the congress last year has been so tangible. Hopefully, it will continue to spill out and help to build up the Church in the United States.”
“Being able to work for the archdiocese and pouring out what I’ve received in college in Bloomington has been a gift,” Levy added. “I’m excited to be able to continue to pour it out to people across the country.”
At the same time, she also noted that the pilgrimage will give her and her fellow perpetual pilgrims a chance to witness to those they’ll meet along the way how “to love God alone … in all the times that we’ll have in adoration and prayer.”
“There are so many ways that we’re able to witness to people across the country,” she said, “by loving them very intentionally, but also by showing them how to love God very intentionally in the Blessed Sacrament.”
PLANTING SEEDS
Perpetual pilgrim Leslie ReyesHernandez grew up in a Chicago suburb not far from Pope Leo’s boyhood home. So, she was excited to begin the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage on the same day as his Mass of inauguration at the Vatican.
“This is big, not only for the Catholic Church but for our country as well,” she said.
Reyes-Hernandez, 26, also knows from experience the impact that the National Eucharistic Congress had on people across the country last year.
She attended the event last summer, which drew more than 50,000 people to Indianapolis. The changes that have happened in her life since then have amazed her.
“The seed was planted in my heart here,” she said.
NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC PILGRIMAGE IN TEXAS
June 3 Sherman
June 4 Corsicana, Irving, Dallas June 5 Dallas, June 6 Fort Worth, Arlington June 7 Granbury, Abilene
June 8 San Angelo, Fort Stockton June 10 Fort Stockton, El Paso June 11 El Paso, Las Cruces (NM)
For the full schedule and to register, visit www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org.
“I shed a couple of tears of gratitude for all the good work that I had seen the Lord do and all the good work that he had done in my life.”
CHARLIE MCCULLOUGH
National Eucharistic Pilgrim and Team Leader
“I would have been in total disbelief if someone would have told me that,” ReyesHernandez said in wonder.
Back then, she wanted to speak with the pilgrims and hear their stories. Now, she’s hoping to have stories to share of how people she will meet along the pilgrimage route will be drawn close to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all that God will do in my heart, as well with everyone that we encounter,” said Reyes-Hernandez, a high school teacher in Phoenix. “Maybe someone hasn’t encountered the Eucharist before. We’ll just be planting that seed.”
McCullough was one of those pilgrims that Reyes-Hernandez saw at the congress last July in Indianapolis. He took part in the pilgrimage’s St. Juan Diego Route, which started in Brownsville.
Last July, she couldn’t have imagined that just 10 months later, she would be setting off on a nationwide Eucharistic pilgrimage like the perpetual pilgrims she saw process into Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
He laughed as he said coming to Indianapolis without 50,000 people gathered there was a change for him. At the same time, returning to the city brought back so many memories. “I shed a couple of tears of gratitude for all the good work that I had seen the Lord do and all the good work that he had done in my life,” McCullough said.
To view the full detailed schedule of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and where and when it will stop, visit www. eucharisticpilgrimage.org. †
NATION Memorial Day strikes a chord for organist at Arlington National Cemetery
ARLINGTON,Va. (OSV News) — She’s played the organ for U.S. presidents, Supreme Court justices and military veterans being interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
She’s performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, accompanying Roberta Flack. She’s played on the largest pipe organ in the world, won national competitions and performed solo organ recitals in renowned churches. And she’s brought music to life for the next generation of students at Marymount University in Arlington.
But for Kimberly A. Hess, it’s all about doing what she loves.
With Memorial Day around the corner, Hess reflected on the service she and the federal government provide to families of veterans at Arlington National Cemetery. As assistant organist at the cemetery, she has performed at 1,000 funerals in the past five years. And with her contract renewed for another five years, she expects to continue comforting the grieving.
“It’s a very valuable service. Music can deepen our spiritual connections during worship services and allows us to work through emotions such as grief during funerals,” Hess said.
Though she doesn’t usually know the people for whom she plays, she admitted she cries.
She helps out at several Arlington diocesan churches and in the Washington archdiocesan pastoral center as needed. She has played at a funeral for a baby with a heart condition who lived only a few days and a 101-year-old veteran “who lived a happy, long life.”
“The stories are really interesting, especially the Greatest Generation,” she said. “The eulogies from the families are amazing, as well as hearing how these people lived through the Roaring ‘20s and the Depression and served in the military during World War II.”
A recent funeral was for a man who died in the Vietnam War but his remains had not been found until recently. His son and daughter were there, but she realized how sad it was that they never knew their father.
“I cry all the time. And sometimes, you laugh with the families,” she said. “There are heart-wrenching stories and uplifting stories.”
Hess said the funeral for U.S. Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, who was killed in a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 21, 2021, was difficult. “It was one of the saddest funerals I have ever played,” she said. “Sometimes it’s very difficult to do it, emotionally.”
When playing military funerals, Hess said she much prefers the Old Post Chapel at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington. Most funerals are held there unless they draw a larger crowd, or the cemetery is double-booked. Then, the modern-looking Memorial Chapel, near the cemetery’s front gate, is used.
Hess gushes at the traditional Old Post Chapel with its steeple, beautiful windows, center aisle and “excellent acoustics” for the pipe organ.
She knows her way around many an organ. She’s got a 1980 Visser-Rowland organ — two manual, full pedal board tracker action with one rank (set of pipes) with a soft flute or gedeckt — in her living room. “It’s so cute,” she said. And it’s next to her Steinway baby grand piano.
When prepping for a recital, she practices four hours a day. When she is filling in at diocesan churches for
PASTORAL SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS OF CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE
In a continuing effort to provide pastoral care to victims of sexual abuse by clergy or Church personnel, Archbishop Joe Vásquez would like to remind the faithful of the Archdiocese of the availability of the Victims Assistance Coordinator. Anyone who has been the victim of sexual abuse by clergy or Church personnel is encouraged to call Diane Vines at 713-654-5799. Please keep in daily prayers the healing of victims of abuse and all who suffer in any way.
Kimberly Hess, an organist at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, poses for a photo in October 2024 in Sacred Heart of Mary Chapel at Marymount University in Arlington.
funerals or weddings, she can “sight-read a whole Mass and not miss a note.”
One of her favorite organs is at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington. “It has (a) nice mellow sound to it, and the room is amazing, the acoustics.” But she most enjoys practicing at the Old Post Chapel.
She’s played at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City — “It’s amazing” — and at the Cadet Chapel at West Point, “the world’s largest all-pipe organ in a church,” and the world’s largest organ (by pipe number) a Midmer-Losh with more than 32,000 metal and wood pipes at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Hess prefers the organ to the piano — no doubt with her master’s in sacred music with a concentration in organ and a bachelor’s and doctorate in organ performance.
But her second love, after the organ itself, is academics. “I’m really passionate about the campus ministry side of academia,” she said. Her fulltime gig is as a liturgical music and spiritual life events coordinator at Marymount.
She’s been teaching at the college since 2009, but she took a full-time position there last year. She worked to get academic credit for students in the school Chamber Singers and the Pep Band, she started a “Great Composers” class, and her efforts resulted in a music minor being added to the curriculum.
The Altoona, Pennsylvania, native has an extensive resume. She’s worked at Georgetown University in Washington, West Point, Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts, and she earned her master’s from Notre Dame.
“It’s such an honor to be an organist at Arlington,” she said. “Every time I get there, I get very nostalgic to hear the bands and see the horse-drawn caissons. It’s an honor to help the military’s mission of honoring veterans through music. It never gets old.” †
OSV NEWS PHOTO
MUNDO CATÓLICO
Los trascendentales como medio de evangelización, catequesis
Los tres trascendentales de la belleza, el bien y la verdad se relacionan con la misión de evangelización y catequesis. Según el Obispo Robert Barron, la mayoría de las personas pueden ser un poco resistentes o defensivas cuando están siendo evangelizadas o tal vez incluso catequizadas. Recomienda no empezar por la verdad, sino por lo bello, luego pasar a lo bueno y, por último, a la verdad, para evitar engañar a los demás.
En su libro, “Para Encender un Fuego en la Tierra,” habla sobre su educación y nos lleva de vuelta a los recuerdos de su infancia de lo que describe como un hermoso encuentro. Precisamente durante su adolescencia es cuando se vio cautivado por los argumentos de Tomás de Aquino sobre la existencia de Dios, lo que le abrió un camino espiritual: “Creo que fue un movimiento de gracia... así es, eso es correcto, nadie hasta ese momento en mi experiencia realmente había pensado seriamente en Dios, solo ibas a misa” (Cap. 3).
El Obispo Barron continúa elaborando su primera experiencia con la belleza a través de la exposición de la claridad y la comprensión de Tomás de Aquino de que podía ir directamente a la fuente y pedir saber más de Dios. El primer trascendental que encontramos es la belleza y podemos describirla como el enfoque recomendado para empezar, a la hora de evangelizar y catequizar.
Peter Kreeft proporciona una maravillosa comprensión de la unicidad de cada una de las propiedades universales de toda la realidad o trascendental, mediante modos que incluyen los atributos de Dios de su naturaleza para con nosotros, en la “Filosofía de la Verdad, la Bondad y la
Belleza de Lewis,”“Dios reveló estos tres atributos de su naturaleza a toda la humanidad: la verdad especialmente a través de los filósofos, el bien especialmente a través de los profetas y moralistas, y la belleza a través de los poetas, artistas, músicos y creadores de mitos” (Kreeft, 24).
por MELISSA ÁLVAREZ
Lo que nos lleva al segundo trascendental de la bondad y que Kreeft describe con tanto detalle como el siguiente componente después de lo bello. Después de lo que hemos experimentado con la belleza, ahora tenemos la oportunidad de responder al bien y él dio fe de C.S. Lewis como un gran ejemplo desde Agustín. Aunque lo trascendental de la bondad proviene de la belleza, tenemos la bondad que está interconectada y depende de la verdad y Kreeft ve la santidad en los santos como otro ejemplo de bondad, “La bondad significa el último Cristo mismo, la visión más hermosa que los ojos humanos hayan contemplado jamás” (Kreeft, 34). Una vez que se ha presentado lo bello, entonces alcanzamos el bien supremo mismo, la palabra de Dios que es Jesucristo y una vez que tenemos una participación activa, pasamos a la comprensión de la verdad. En el trascendental final alcanzamos la verdad y obtenemos un hermoso encuentro del Papa Francisco en Evangelii Gaudium, “Toda expresión de la verdadera belleza puede ser reconocida como un camino que conduce al encuentro con el Señor Jesús... una renovada estima por la
belleza como medio para tocar el corazón humano y hacer resplandecer en él la verdad y la bondad de Cristo resucitado” (EG, 167). Nos sentimos atraídos, primero, por la belleza de Dios y nos damos cuenta de que queremos conocer a Jesús y, finalmente, entramos en una relación con él a través de estos trascendentales. Este enfoque no solo nos da una excelente manera de invitar a otros al evangelizar, sino que también aborda la catequesis de manera agradable y fácil en lugar de machacar sobre lo que se debe y no se debe hacer y aprovechar la oportunidad de desafiar a la oposición. Más bien, adoptamos un enfoque sensible para llegar al corazón humano de una manera majestuosa que estos tres maestros han definido para nosotros y, en última instancia, entendemos la verdad como Cristo Jesús, él es la verdad, el camino de regreso a Dios.
Como resultado, consideramos comenzar con los trascendentales en el orden de la belleza, abrir el bien y encontrar la verdad para finalmente llegar a Dios. A medida que viajamos a través de este proceso, aprendemos a adoptar un enfoque sensible de invitación en lugar de imponer a una cultura relativista algo más o frontal. Para evangelizar y catequizar eficazmente a la mayoría, esta fórmula accesible que se centra en la belleza y el bien de Jesús para llegar a la verdadera, la comprensión de la Verdad, llegando luego al corazón humano de una manera creativa y atractiva. †
Melissa Álvarez es directora asociada de Ministerio con Personas con Discapacidades en la Oficina de Evangelización y Catequesis.
El lema y el escudo del Papa León rinden homenaje a San Agustín
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) — La devoción del Papa León XIV a San Agustín, su vida y ministerio como miembro de la orden agustiniana y su interés por la unidad de la Iglesia se reflejan en su lema episcopal y en su escudo de armas.
Cuando apareció en el balcón de la Basílica de San Pedro poco después de su elección el 8 de mayo, se presentó como “un hijo de San Agustín”.
Y explicó que los cardenales que le eligieron “que me han elegido para ser sucesor de Pedro y caminar junto a ustedes, como Iglesia unida, buscando siempre la paz, la justicia, tratando siempre de trabajar como hombres y mujeres fieles a Jesucristo, sin miedo, para proclamar el Evangelio, para ser misioneros”.
Su lema episcopal es “In Illo uno unum”, o literalmente “En el Uno, somos uno”.
Vatican News explicó que la frase está tomada de la “Exposición sobre el Salmo 127” de San Agustín, donde explica que “aunque los cristianos seamos muchos, en el único Cristo somos uno”.
Como cardenal, dijo a Vatican News en 2023: “Como se desprende de mi lema episcopal, la unidad y la comunión forman parte del carisma de la Orden de San Agustín y también de mi forma de actuar y pensar”.
“Creo que es fundamental promover la comunión en la Iglesia, y sabemos bien que comunión, participación y misión son las tres palabras clave del Sínodo” de los Obispos sobre la sinodalidad, dijo. “Por lo tanto, como agustino, para mí promover la unidad y la comunión es fundamental”.
Su escudo, rematado ahora por una mitra en lugar del gorro galero rojo del escudo de los cardenales, está dividido diagonalmente en dos. La mitad superior presenta un fondo azul con un lirio blanco o flor de lis, símbolo de la Virgen María, pero también de su herencia francesa.
La mitad inferior del escudo tiene un fondo claro y muestra una imagen común a las órdenes religiosas que llevan el nombre de San Agustín y se inspiran en él: un libro cerrado con un corazón atravesado por una flecha.
Según Vatican News, “La imagen recuerda la experiencia de la conversión de san Agustín que él mismo explicó con las palabras: ‘Vulnerasti cor meum verbo tuo’ — ‘Has traspasado mi corazón con tu Palabra’”. †
AROUND THE ARCHDIOCESE
For the latest updates about listings in the Around the Archdiocese, contact event organizers and visit www.archgh.org/ata.
MAY 30
GAME NIGHT, 7 to 10 p.m., St. Francis of Assisi (5102 Dabney St., Houston). 10 Bingo games. Tickets: $20 presale; $25 at the door. stfrancisofhouston.org.
WORSHIP NIGHT, 6:30 to 8 p.m., St. Rose of Lima (3600 Brinkman St., Houston). Event includes Adoration, praise and worship. parishinfo@ stroselima.org
JUNE 4
ADORATION HOUR, 7 to 8 p.m., Sacred Heart (507 S 4th St., Richmond). Holy Hour on the first Wednesday of the month praying for vocations. Confession and Anointing of the Sick available.
JUNE 13-14
AGAPE CONGRESS, 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Prince of Peace, St. Andrew Discipleship Center (19222 Tomball Pkwy., Houston). On Friday, AGAPE Congress is a free event for high school students in the St. Pedro Calungsod Youth Center, which includes dinner, a talk by Evan Lemoine and Q&A. On Saturday, the $10 adult event features guest speakers on love, identity and sexuality in today’s culture. Topics include Theology of the Body, intimacy in marriage, parenting and living with integrity. English and Spanish sessions with childcare available. 281-627-0340; agapecongress.com; agape@pophouston.org.
JUNE 21
GAME NIGHT, 6 to 10:30 p.m., Prince of Peace (19222 Tomball Pkwy., Houston). Hosted by the Knights of Columbus #8482 and Catholic Daughters of the Americas, event includes games, finger foods, prizes and fellowship. Cost: $40 per person in advance, $45 at the door. 713899-9275.
STUDY GROUP, 9 a.m. to noon, St. Theresa in Memorial Park Library (6622 Haskell St., Houston). The Secular branch of Discalced Carmelites for lay men and women 18+ years old, who are called to the charism of Carmelite Spirituality, host a study group every third Saturday of the month. sttheresa.cc/carmelites; 832-758-0186; therese.lisieux111@gmail.com.
DANCE, 6:30 to 11 p.m., Holy Family (1510 5th St., Missouri City). Event also includes food and raffles. Cost: $15 presale; $20 at door. 713-8944215.
JUNE 28
EUCHARISTIC PROCESSION, following 8 a.m. Mass, Sacred Heart (109 N Frazier, Conroe). Procession through downtown Conroe as part of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus will start outside of the church at 9:15 a.m. Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament will be held inside the church after the procession. the99sh@gmail.com.
EUCHARISTIC CONFERENCE, 8:30 a.m. St. Paul the Apostle (18223 Point Lookout Dr., Nassau Bay). A day of reflection on the meaning of the
SWEET MEMORY
St. Christopher School’s 1975 class celebrates 50th reunion
HOUSTON — The 1975 eighth-grade graduating class from St. Christopher School recently celebrated its 50th class reunion in Pearland. Twenty-five of the 40 classmates, along with many spouses, met for prayer, dinner, a presentation, ’70s music and trivia.
“Many of our classmates at St. Christopher’s met in kindergarten and have remained close friends over the years,” said Class President John McAuliffe, who emceed the event with organizer Paul Olson. “Catholic schools create lifelong friendships, and we are an example of that. Our 1975 class has celebrated reunions every 10 years, and we plan on more.” A collection benefited the current St. Christopher Catholic Church, which was presentend to Father Tu Lee, St. Christopher pastor, at Sunday Mass the following day. †
Eucharist. The day includes a bilingual Mass, speakers (English and Spanish) and Eucharistic Adoration. Cost: $25 per person, includes lunch. 281-333-3891.
For additional listings, visit WWW.ARCHGH.ORG/ATA
In Rosenberg, Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrates a decade in new church
Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Rosenberg celebrated the 10th anniversary of their new church building on May 3 with a special Mass celebrated by Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez. The parish was established in 1936 by the Basilian Fathers, and the original building was built in 1940. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo dedicated the new church in April 2015, and Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza led the groundbreaking ceremony in 2014. The new construction featured a 13,000-square-foot Spanish mission-style church building, which seats 600 people, a depiction of Our Lady of Guadalupe surrounded by golden rays and, at center behind the altar, the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle. The parish is led by Father Lee Flores, pastor, and, as of 2024, is home to nearly 2,000 families.
IWA gala, auction celebrates Catholic values
HOUSTON — On April 26, Incarnate Word Academy (IWA) hosted its 2025 Gala and Auction: Ole Madrid, which raised over $1 million to support IWA students. This year, the school honored the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word with the Agatha Sheehan Award.
In presenting the award to the congregational leader Sister Celeste Trahan, CCVI, IWA’s
President Lauren Beck, C.V.I., said, “The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word have continually expanded their boundaries of service by dedicating their time, incredible talents and financial resources to serve wherever the need arises — in education, healthcare, social advocacy and spiritual growth.
She said the sisters are leaders, advocates, administrators, doctors, nurses, teachers and providers of spiritual guidance.
“They work with individuals of all ages, from the young to the elderly, bringing life, hope, and joy into the lives of others in both small and significant ways,” Beck said. †
We invite you to celebrate and honor Mary, Mother of God and all mothers, including your own, by making a special gift to the Month of Mary campaign.
Your gift of $25 will provide a week of food, diapers, formula or baby food to a struggling mom.
PHOTO COURTESY OF INCARNATE WORD ACADEMY
A group of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word are seen at the 2025 Incarnate Word Academy gala event on April 26. The congregation received the 2025 Agatha Sheehan Award.
PHOTO COURTESY OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ROSENBERG