June 4, 2023, ET Catholic, A section

Diocese names new schools superintendent

By Jim Wogan

Bishop Richard F. Stika has announced that Mary Ann Deschaine, Ed.S., a veteran educator with nearly three decades of experience as a teacher, principal, and most recently as superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, W. Va., has accepted the position of superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Knoxville.

Mrs. Deschaine will begin her new position in July.

“I look forward to building upon the strong history and tremendous success of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Knoxville,” Mrs. Deschaine said. “My decision was well thought out and prayerfully considered, and I am grateful for the opportunity to lead schools that are strong in faith and have displayed a commitment to their Catholic mission and identity.”

Prior to her time as superintendent of schools in WheelingCharleston, Mrs. Deschaine was superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Saginaw, Mich., from 2011-18. She served as a teacher and

principal at various schools in Michigan from 1998 until her appointment as superintendent in Saginaw.

Mrs. Deschaine earned an undergraduate degree from Central Michigan University in 1985, a master’s degree in education from Michigan State University in 2004, and an advanced degree as an education specialist from Saginaw Valley State University in 2010.

“I have spoken with the current Schools continued on page A7

Bishop Stika announces priest assignments

Good Shepherd, St. Therese, and St. Joseph among parishes getting new pastors

By Bill Brewer

Bishop Richard F. Stika has announced new assignments for several priests serving in the Diocese of Knoxville, including three who were ordained to the priesthood in early June.

Bishop Stika announced the assignments publicly on May 7 soon after the priests informed their current parishioners.

“It’s always a difficult thing to uproot people and move them to different parts of the diocese. I consult with our vicar for priests, Father Michael Cummins, our vicars general, Father David Boettner and Father Doug Owens, and our chancellor, Deacon Sean Smith. We consider the needs of the parishes and the needs of the diocese. We have four parishes that don’t have a pastor, and we will have three newly ordained priests in June. We will also ordain three new transitional deacons in June, which will help give us four new priests in 2024,” Bishop Stika said.

“All of this means we need to address the movement of clergy and how it can benefit our parishes. I also consider language needs in parishes, which is always a big

Assignments continued on page A23

Thinking about religious life?

Avow discernment program aids young women considering a vocation

By Gabrielle Nolan

Anew discernment opportu-

nity is available to young women of the diocese who are interested in learning more about a vocation to religious life.

“It’s a women’s discernment program that is put out through Vianney Vocations to help young women walk through a series of 14 small-group experiences that help them discern if the religious life is something for them,” said Beth Parsons, who is the diocesan vocations office manager and facilitator for the Avow discernment program

The program was created by Mother Clare Matthiass of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal and Vianney Vocations.

According to its website, Vian-

ney Vocations is a “team of communications experts, committed to Jesus and His Church, who help vocation offices to effectively reach young Catholics and inspire them to open their hearts to God’s call.”

The mission of Vianney Vocations is to “renew the Church by inspiring a new generation of priestly and religious vocations.”

Mother Clare Matthiass wrote a book titled Discerning Religious Life, which is the basis for all Avow group meetings.

“Each week there’s a list of questions that we focus on that helps them dive deeper for their discernment, and then we read a section of the book,” Mrs. Parsons explained. “There are 14 weeks in the program, and it kind of gets

Fr. Powell Fr. Cardona

Fr. Kress

Fr. Guerrero Fr. Kiyimba

Fr. Royal Fr. Giraldo

Fr. Moreno Fr. Massawe Fr. Wandera

Fr. Charters Fr. Nguyen Fr. Austin Fr. Blatchford Fr. Crabtree

Sisters in faith Sister Joan Miriam Nelson, RSM, center, and Sister Mary Simone Haakansson, RSM, right, are joined by Avow participants Megan Donahue, left, Allie Leavitt, and Diana Ramirez.

Mrs. Deschaine

10 easy ways to grow in faith this summer

Especially during Ordinary Time, opportunities abound to communicate with God

By Father Connor Danstrom OSV News

Summer is normally the time we take a break from things. School is over, the weather is nice, and most people take at least some time off work. Even the liturgical calendar seems to reflect this yearly sabbath, moving out of the spiritually “busy” seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter into the mundanely named “Ordinary Time.”

But don’t let the name fool you. What Christians are ordinarily about is far from mundane.

As we marked Pentecost, this time was the fulfillment of the mysteries we have celebrated all year the incarnation of Jesus, His death and resurrection, and finally His ascension into heaven and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

It is in this time of the Church,

Sr. Regina

the “last times” when we wait in joyful hope for the Lord’s coming in glory, that we receive ever more fully the gift that has been

won for us in Christ. Even the liturgical color, green, speaks of the growth we are meant to undergo during this time. We are

meant to be like trees planted beside the river, growing and bearing fruit.

So what are some ways we can concretely grow in our faith this summer?

Here are 10 simple ways that you can open yourself to the growth God desires for you.

1. Make time for silent prayer every day.

Any relationship needs time to grow. If we do not spend time with the ones we love, we may not grow apart, but we can hardly grow closer.

Only in the mutual sharing of our hearts on a regular basis do we come to know and love someone more deeply. This is especially true of God, who is constantly communicating His love to us, if only we would stop to listen and receive Him.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it this way: “God tirelessly calls each person to

Grow continued on page A13

How to sign up and qualify for Diocese of Knoxville’s safe-environment program

The Diocese of Knoxville has implemented the CMG Connect platform to administer the Safe Environment Program, which replaces the former Safe Environment Program (VIRTUS “Protecting God’s Children”).

element of the Safe Environment Program

The Handmaids of the Precious Blood in 2022 celebrated their Diamond Jubilee: 75 years since their founding in 1947; 75 years of prayer and sacrifice for priests. Did you know you can receive weekly cartoons and short reflections and news from the Handmaids of the Precious Blood? Visit their website, nunsforpriests.org, and sign up for the FIAT newsletter.

June Prayer Intentions

“We pray that the international community may commit in a concrete way to ensuring the abolition of torture and guarantee support to victims and their families.”

Pope Francis

“We pray through the intercession of Sts. Peter and Paul that our summer be filled with moments of relaxation and joy, and that the love of Jesus, displayed in the image of His Most Sacred Heart, be with us always. Amen.

–– Bishop Stika

DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE

PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING SEXUAL ABUSE

Anyone who has actual knowledge of or who has reasonable cause to suspect an incident of sexual abuse should report such information to the appropriate civil authorities rst, then to the McNabb Center victim's assistance coordinator, 865.321.9080.

CMG Connect is a web-based platform that will assist in ensuring that all employees and volunteers who are in a position of trust with children and vulnerable adults within Diocese of Knoxville schools and parishes are trained to recognize behavior patterns of potential abusers and provide pro-active measures for preventing abuse in any context.

“Safe Haven-It’s Up to You” is a three-part video that provides vignettes of real-life situations to educate the viewer about methods of grooming, desensitization, bullying, and neglect, all of which can lead to abuse.

Each part of the video is immediately followed by a brief questionnaire to further develop understanding.

Education is a key

All clergy, employees, contracted school personnel, volunteers, members of groups and organizations over the age of 18 who work, volunteer, or participate in any capacity are required to complete the diocesan Safe Environment training and a criminal-background check before they can begin employment, volunteer, or participate with ministries, groups, and organizations affiliated with the Diocese of Knoxville.

In addition, the mandatory renewal training must be completed every five years and a new background check submitted before the five-year expiration of prior training.

The Diocese of Knoxville Safe Environment compliance training and renewal training is a condition of employment and for volunteer ministry in the Diocese of Knoxville.

The CMG Connect

WATCH UPDATES DioKnoxTV

platform contains all three elements of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Safe Environment Program:

n Annual review of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Policy and Procedures Relating to Sexual Misconduct; n CMG Connect Safe Haven training program to be completed every five years; n Criminal background check to be completed every five years.

In compliance with the Diocese of Knoxville’s Safe Environment Program, all affiliates require that volunteers and employees complete the requirements prior to working and/or volunteering in a parish, school, The Paraclete, or through Catholic Charities and/or St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic

Go to https:// dioknox.org/safeenvironment on the Diocese of Knoxville website for more information ■

> CONTACT US AT 865.584.3307 OR bbrewer @ dioknox.org.

> FIND US AT dioknox.org.

NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE

PUBLISHER Bishop Richard F. Stika

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Jim Wogan jwogan@dioknox.org DIGITAL MEDIA PRODUCER Emily Booker ebooker@dioknox.org

EDITOR Bill Brewer bbrewer@dioknox.org

ASSISTANT EDITOR Dan McWilliams dan@dioknox.org

MULTIMEDIA REPORTER Gabrielle Nolan gnolan@dioknox.org

CONTACT US 865.584.3307 VISIT US ONLINE dioknox.org | etcatholic.org

© 2023 Handmaids of the Precious Blood

Growing in faith Crystal Morris, holding the Bible, enjoys an in-home Bible study session with her sister, Bernadette Johnson, and her daughters, Cierra, far left, and Candace, right.

The extraordinary in the ordinary

God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven begins in the heart as a little house of Nazareth

“There is one thing I ask of the Lord, only this do I seek: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”

— Psalm 27:4

Culture of rejecting the ordinary . Of the many saints the Church recommends as special helpers and intercessors with God, there is one who is particularly needed today—“the saint of the ordinary”— St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei (“Work of God”).

And this is because for too many, the word “ordinary” has come to mean something almost negative, mundane, or akin to mediocrity; as something confining and limiting that must be escaped from. And yet, nothing is more tailored specifically by God for our spiritual growth and sanctity as the ordinary aspects and events of our life.

As St. Josemaría Escrivá stressed, “Either we learn to find the Lord in the ordinary everyday life or else we shall never find Him.” And when we let the Divine Will reign in the ordinary aspects of our life, we become a little house of Nazareth.

Discounting the ordinary . Very little is revealed in the Gospels about the so-called “hidden life” of Jesus in Nazareth. So seemingly unremarkable were His days and years living in Nazareth before He began His public ministry, that when Jesus returned to preach the Gospel to them, He was rejected because there was nothing extraordinary about Him that they could recall—they could not fathom how the kingdom of God could be reigning in the ordinariness of this “Nazorean” of seemingly lowly origins, much less in each of their own lives (Luke 2: 51; cf. Matthew 13:54-58).

But that is how God works with us—in the ordinariness of our life. To allow, then, our heart to become a “little house of Nazareth” is to allow God to transform the ordinary aspects of our life into the extraordinary, investing it with the divine.

Extraordinary in the ordinary . These hidden years of Jesus with Mary and St. Joseph were not empty, meaningless days, as if they

were some sort of long, but necessary, interlude between His birth and His public ministry, passion, and cross.

Christ wanted to repair, requite, and reorder for every aspect of our fallen lives.

As expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church , “The hidden life at Nazareth allows everyone to enter into fellowship with Jesus by the most ordinary events of daily life” (n. 533). Though we may feel almost invisible in the sight of others, and the ordinariness of our day-to-day life meaningless, the little house of Nazareth teaches us otherwise.

It invites each of us to become like a little child so that God can form His kingdom in us, and reign in all the ordinariness of our life (cf. Matthew 18:3).

Hidden in the ordinary . What was the Holy Family’s life like in Nazareth? Though those many years are referred to as “hidden,” I like to think that the Holy Family’s life was merely hidden within the “ordinariness” of their lives.

Certainly, there were the general day-today routines we all have—getting ready for our day after awakening, praying, preparing meals, shopping for food and necessities, work, cleaning, laundering, resting, sleeping—as well as the sufferings, trials, and difficulties none of us are immune from. But there was also a special love of silence that we must also seek to preserve within our heart and lives if the mystery of grace— God’s life in us—is to grow and invest and enliven the ordinary with the divine.

Ask St. Joseph for this most necessary gift of silence and a listening heart.

God’s holy land . Jesus tells us that “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Though more popularly translated as “among you,” the more accurate translation is “within you,” as many biblical scholars tell us. And this is important, for each of us is God’s “holy land,” and He wants to make our heart a most intimate garden of communion with Him. Let it be a garden home of the Holy Family!

Becoming eucharistic . Consider this—the greatest example of the extraordinary in the

Bishop Stika’s schedule of Masses and public events

These are some of Bishop Stika’s upcoming public appointments:

n Monday, May 29, 9 a.m.: Memorial Day Mass at Calvary Cemetery in Knoxville

n Saturday, June 3, 10 a.m.: Ordinations to the transitional diaconate at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

n Monday, June 5-Thursday, June 8: Priest convocation in Knoxville.

n Saturday, June 10, 10 a.m.: Ordinations to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

n Sunday, June 11, 9 a.m.: Confirmation Mass and installation of Father Dominic Nguyen, CRM, as pastor of the Church of Divine Mercy in Knoxville

n Sunday, June 11, 2:30 p.m.: Corpus Christi procession at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

n Monday, June 12-Friday, June 16: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops spring plenary assembly in Orlando, Fla.

n Sunday, June 18, 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.: Confirmation Masses at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga

n Tuesday, June 20, 6 p.m.: Executive board meeting for the Boy Scouts

n Sunday, June 25, 9:30 a.m.: Mass at Church of the Good Shepherd in Newport ■

ordinary is the Eucharist! Under the ordinary appearances of bread and wine, following the consecration prayers of the Mass, Christ is truly present, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.

And in receiving Him in holy Communion in a state of grace and living our Mass throughout the day and week, we bring the extraordinary—Christ Jesus—into the ordinariness of our life and encounter with others. This is why we must let the Divine Will reign in our hearts as a little Nazareth.

No matter our vocation, whether in marriage, the single state, priesthood, or religious, we are all called to be an ambassador of the extraordinary—of Christ Jesus.

Holy Communion . Consider how we pray the Lord’s Prayer during Mass, with its greatest petition to the Heavenly Father, “Thy Kingdom come,” and how immediately prior to Holy Communion we pray, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” We are about to welcome Christ and the reign of His kingdom into our heart.

And what better way to welcome Him than to ask Mary, our Mother (cf. John 19:27), and St. Joseph, our spiritual father, to assist us at this moment of communion that our heart’s dwelling should truly be a little house of Nazareth, as expressed in the mystical words of the Song of Songs:

“When I found Him whom my soul loves, I held Him, and would not let Him go until I had brought Him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me” (3:4 ).

Thy Kingdom come! For 4,000 years, the Israelites prayed for the coming of the Messiah, and when He dwelt among us, He taught us the “Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13).

And for 2,000 years now the Church has been praying, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” But in the two millennium that have passed, can we really say that His will is done on earth as in Heaven?

But if Jesus taught us to pray for it—if He placed this prayer at the center of the

June is the month of ordinations in diocese

Congratulations to newly ordained priests Joseph Austin, Neil Blatchford, and Andrew Crabtree, who were ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Richard F. Stika on June 10 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The three ordinands are among the priests who will begin new assignments this summer at parishes across the Diocese of Knoxville. See The East Tennessee Catholic ’ s coverage of these new assignments on page A1.

Congratulations also go out to newly ordained transitional deacons Bo Beaty, Daniel Herman, Michael Willey, and Renzo Alvarado Suarez. Deacons Beaty, Herman, and Willey were ordained to the transitional diaconate on June 3 by Bishop Stika. See full ordination coverage in the July East Tennessee Catholic ■

Survey: only half of Americans believe in God, but many still pray

By Kevin J. Jones Catholic News Agency

Only about half of Americans now say they are certain that God exists, and though regular religious attendance has declined, many Americans say they still pray several times a day.

A snapshot of American religiosity comes from the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, which released the 2022 data from the General Social Survey (GSS) on May 15. The survey is considered one of the top sources of data on Americans’ opinions.

The survey of U.S. adult residents was conducted through inperson interviews, self-administered Internet surveys, and phone interviews. The GSS codebook, an accompanying document on the survey methods, says changes to the survey methodology during the COVID-19 pandemic could result in apparent changes in opinion, attitudes, and behav -

iors in 2021 and 2022 compared with results from previous years.

Do you believe in God?

Among the many views surveyed included the question of Americans’ confidence in the existence of God.

About 50 percent of Americans

said they “know God exists and have no doubts.” That number has not changed since 2021. This response peaked at 65 percent in 1993 and fell to 60 percent in 2008. Another 16 percent told the GSS they “believe in God but have doubts,” down slightly

from its 1988 peak of 19 percent. Another 14 percent said that they believe in “some higher power.”

About 6 percent said they believe in God “sometimes,” while about 7 percent responded “don’t know and no way to find out.”

Though given the option “don’t know,” zero percent chose this option.

About 7 percent said they do not believe in God, unchanged from 2021. Nonbelief in God hovered around 2 percent-3 percent for decades until 2014, when it began to increase.

Are you religious?

On the topic of self-identified religiosity, 14 percent told the GSS they were “very religious,” 32 percent identified as “moderately religious,” and 25 percent as “slightly religious.” The “moderately religious” showed the largest decline, down from 38 percent in 2018 and 41 percent in 2010.

There is an upward trend in respondents who identify as “not

Prayers of the faithful People at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., pray an Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for Russia and Ukraine in March 2022.

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE PHOTO/ANDREW BIRAJ, CATHOLIC STANDARD

Bishop continued on page A7

Notre Dame, Knoxville Catholic high schools hold graduations

Students who were freshmen when COVID hit ready for next step in their journeys

By Dan McWilliams

Notre Dame High School’s 147th commencement

took place May 13 before a full house at the football stadium.

Head of school Deacon Hicks

Armor presided as 99 seniors in the class of 2023 picked up their diplomas.

“It’s great to see a full crowd. I appreciate all the families being here for this,” Deacon Armor, a Notre Dame alumnus, said in his welcoming remarks.

Bishop Richard F. Stika led the opening prayer and offered remarks at the start of the ceremony. Members of the NDHS band under the direction of Marcie Smith played the National Anthem. Joining Deacon Armor and the bishop onstage were Dr. Sedonna Prater, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the diocese; Father Christopher Manning, Notre Dame chaplain; Jamie Goodhard, assistant head of school; and John Mullin, dean of students.

The bishop noted that Deacon Armor did not share his high school graduation year in his welcoming remarks but that “I graduated from high school in St. Louis in 1975. Back then, at Bishop DuBourg, we had a class song. Do you have a class song? Ours was ‘ We May Never Pass This Way Again. ’ I think it was Seals and Crofts.

“You will never pass this way again as a student of Notre Dame but rather as a graduate of Notre Dame. From this day and days to come, you will disperse and travel to many different places, institutions, schools, jobs. What has allowed you to hit this new opening of a door in your life is what has occurred in these four years, maybe three or two, depending on how long

you’ve been here, that even though you will not pass this way again, I pray that you will have memories of gratitude to staff and teachers, volunteers and benefactors, to all those who shared with you what they have been given by God. In the name of your family and friends who have gathered together with you this day, we just thank God for the good things that have occurred, despite COVID—they are many.

“As I look into the future of

As COVID emergency ends, Catholic experts share views Church offered takeaways since pandemic

Notre Dame High School, I see great promises. Because of benefactors, buildings are going to be upgraded. Benefactors have shared their gifts financially. And maybe someday we’ll do something with this athletic field. But that comes later. Know that you are always welcome to come back and stay for a while as you move on in life. Congratulations.”

Before introducing those on stage, Deacon Armor noticed the great number of family mem-

NDHS continued on page A8

By Bill Brewer

Knoxville Catholic High School marked its 91st graduation ceremony on May 12 as 164 seniors walked across the stage to receive their diplomas.

Commencement was held in the school’s football stadium, which was filled almost to capacity with family and friends of the graduates.

It was a remarkable achievement for a class that began its high school experience with the coronavirus pandemic. The thenfreshmen would go on to attend nearly half of their high-school tenure at home in Zoom classes as the world shuttered to a halt and then slowly reopened.

But the KCHS class of 2023 posted an impressive comeback, returning to classes in school after several months and making its own KCHS history in the process.

The class of 2023 boasts a 100 percent graduation rate, with 76 percent of the graduates going on to attend a four-year college and 21 percent going on to attend a two-year college or technical school.

The seniors will be attending 51 different colleges in 18 states. The top five schools of choice for the Class of 2023 are the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Pellissippi State Community College, East Tennessee State University, the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology.

The KCHS class of 2023 also will receive $18.5 million in college scholarships, the second most in school history. That compares with $16.8 million in 2022 and $15.1 million in 2021. And 153 of the 164 graduates have at least one scholarship to college, KCHS continued on page A9

By Maria Wiering OSV News

Dr. Paul Carson remembers when COVID-19 first commanded his attention: In late February 2020, the virus swept through a Washington state nursing home, ultimately killing dozens of its residents.

Dr. Carson—a doctor and infectious disease specialist—was the medical director of a North Dakota nursing home. He put precautions in place, expecting his expertise to make the nursing home the safest in his state. Instead, it was the first to be hit.

“Within a matter of a few weeks, the first wave killed about a fourth of all our residents. It was devastating,” said Dr. Carson, a Catholic who

teaches in the department of public health at North Dakota State University in Fargo.

As of late May 2023, COVID-19 has taken more than 6.9 million lives around the globe, including more than 1.1 million in the United States.

However, the numbers of COVID cases, hospitalizations, and related deaths have waned, with deaths the lowest they have been since the pandemic began, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After declaring COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020, the World Health Organization announced an end to its emergency phase on May 5, calling the virus “now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emerCOVID continued on page A18

Class of 2023 Top: Notre Dame High School graduates gather for a group photo following commencement at the school on May 13. Bottom: The Knoxville Catholic High School football stadium is fi lled to capacity as family and friends watch the commencement ceremony.

DAN MCWILLIAMS

No more emergency A health-care worker in New York administers a shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a woman at a vaccination site in 2021.

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE PHOTO/MIKE SEGAR, REUTERS

DEACON SCOTT MAENTZ

On the road with Father Ryan

Movie on priest gains international acclaim, available for showing

By Dan McWilliams

The people behind the movie “Father Ryan: A Higher Call” took the film about the heroic Chattanooga priest and candidate for sainthood on the road with showings at Knoxville Catholic High School on May 6 and St. Mary Church in Johnson City on June 2.

It is hoped that the film, which premiered at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga on April 15, will lead to more devotions to Father Patrick Ryan and possibly favors and especially miracles granted by him to further his cause for sainthood.

Two parishioners of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga created the film, the husband-and-wife team of Mark Aramian, the producer, and Veronica DiPippo, the writer, director, and narrator. The future basilica parish was where Servant of God Father Ryan (1844-1878) served until his death, which came as he was ministering to victims of the yellow-fever epidemic that swept Chattanooga in the late 1870s.

Basilica rector Father David Carter, who appears in the 48-minute film, and Jack Pettigrew, a basilica parishioner who plays Father Ryan in “A Higher Call,” appeared at the showing at KCHS.

Mr. Pettigrew said he “was really thankful to just be a part of the project.”

“I thought it was really wonderful, Mark’s mission for Father Patrick Ryan,” he continued. “I just felt really thankful to be involved and to even play a small role.”

Mr. Pettigrew did not have dialogue in the film, which

marked his first experience with acting.

“I thought the film was wonderful. I feel like I wouldn’t have done such a good job if I had some lines,” he said. “It was really smooth, filming with Mark .”

After the film showing at KCHS, Father Carter saluted Mr. Pettigrew, who was chosen for the title role because of his resemblance to Father Ryan.

“Jack was walking back from Communion one day, and the director saw him and said, ‘There’s Father Ryan.’ So when ‘A Higher Call’ was made, he answered it, and it was good,” Father Carter said.

“He did a fantastic job,” the basilica rector added of Mr. Pettigrew.

Mr. Pettigrew said the technical aspects of making the film

Thousands are visiting the body of Sister Wilhelmina

“were pretty easy for me.”

“They gave me an outfit to wear and told me when to show up and pretty much what to do all day,” he said The showings at KCHS and in

Johnson City indicate that “the word is getting out,” Father Carter said.

“Interest is growing, and the point of making this movie is being accomplished: to get the word out about the cause of Father Patrick Ryan, to tell his story in a beautiful way and so that people can be inspired by this story,” he said.

Spreading the word “makes people aware and garners interest in” Father Ryan’s cause “and inspires people to emulate his selflessness and follow Christ in the same away, but also to ask for his intercession, and if there are miracles that come from that, all the better,” Father Carter said.

“I’ll say this: you never know what you’re going to get when you want to tell a story. The product of this film has blown me away. It’s far more than I could have ever imagined. It’s done so well, so professionally, that I can only see the hand of Providence in it.”

The basilica’s Deacon Gaspar DeGaetano is vice postulator for the beatification and canonization of Father Ryan.

“It’s great that we’re getting the film out to people who want to see it. I’m hoping to get more inquiries on the parish level—if parishes would like to host a showing, I can get them set up with a connection to the film, and they can show it,” Deacon DeGaetano said.

Those at the KCHS screening picked up Father Ryan holy cards that have a third-class relic of the priest attached to them: a piece from a cloth that was touched to his remains after they were exhumed and moved to the basilica

By Megan Marley, Gina Christian

News

Thousands flocked to a rural Missouri monastery over the Memorial Day weekend to venerate the apparently incorrupt body of a Benedictine nun, with visitors saying the experience has been spiritually powerful for them.

“ It ’ s electrifying. It ’ s galvanizing the hearts of the faithful and the unfaithful as well, said Luke Nold of Easton, Mo., a volunteer helping the crowds converging at the Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus, located outside of Gower, Mo. “ I ’ ve talked to people who have come from as far as Colorado, as near as Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa. ... northern Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina. And some of the stories I ’ m hearing are just profound. A local mortician came out just in disbelief; this doesn't happen.

The remarkably intact remains

of Benedictine Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster of the Most Holy Rosary have been on display for several weeks at the Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus. On April 28, the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles had exhumed the body of their foundress to transfer it to a new shrine altar honoring St. Joseph.

Despite a lack of embalming, an in-ground burial in a wooden coffin, and water pooling in the grave, both the remains and the habit looked essentially the same as when Sister Wilhelmina died at age 95 in May 2019.

Bodily incorruptibility has long been regarded in both Catholic and Orthodox traditions as a potential though not conclusive divine sign affirming an individual lived a life of sanctity. The bodies of more than 100 canonized saints have been seemingly untouched by decay.

A May 22 statement from the Sister continued on page A18

Meet the cast Above: Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul member Jack Pettigrew, center, who portrayed Father Patrick Ryan in the new movie "Father Ryan: A Higher Call," is pictured with Deacon Gaspar DeGaetano, left, and Father David Carter at the movie's May 6 showing at Knoxville Catholic High School. Below: An image of Father Ryan is shown on a prayer card.

DEACON SCOTT MAENTZ

Father Ryan continued on page A12

Missouri pilgrims Thousands of pilgrims have lined up at the Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus in Gower, Mo., to view the remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster.

CRAIG J. CAMPBELL/EWTN NEWS

OSV

Bishop's pop quiz for neophytes serves as a GPS moment

By Bill Brewer

It’s challenging enough to be a neophyte charged with carrying on the Catholic faith in an increasingly secular world.

But for the Catholic Church in East Tennessee’s newest members, asking them to pass a Catholic history test during Mass was a real curveball.

Bishop Richard F. Stika offered up the lighthearted quiz to begin his homily during the Sending of the Neophytes Mass on May 7 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. To be fair, Bishop Stika singled out Sisters and deacons in the congregation for the tricky questions.

Many of the more than 220 women, men, and children who entered the Church during Easter Vigil Masses on April 8 in parishes around the Diocese of Knoxville were in attendance for the annual Sending of the Neophytes Mass.

Bishop Stika celebrated the Mass. He was assisted by Deacon Butch Feldhaus, who was deacon of the Word and serves at St. Jude Church in Chattanooga, and Deacon Steve Helmbrecht, who was deacon of the Eucharist and serves at St. Dominic Church in Kingsport.

“So, we’re all Catholic now. And so, if you’re Catholic, you should know these easy questions,” Bishop Stika said.

“Name all of the saints in the history of the Catholic Church. There are thousands of them. Too tough?” he asked. “Name all of the popes who have been in the Catholic Church. Peter, Francis, and everybody in between.”

Singling out the Sisters and deacons, Bishop Stika and the congregation laughed when the somewhat-rhetorical questions were met with silence.

Then giving direction to his

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principals and school presidents in the Diocese of Knoxville, and I’ve had a chance to visit East Tennessee. My husband and I are looking forward to making the Diocese of Knoxville our home,” Mrs. Deschaine said.

She succeeds Dr. Sedonna Prater, who has led Catholic schools in the diocese since 2019 and was instrumental in obtaining and maintaining diocesan-level accreditation for its schools. Dr. Prater will continue her career as vice president of academics at Knoxville Catholic High School beginning with the 2023-24 academic year.

“Catholic schools have been a big part of the history of East Tennessee for more than 100 years,” Bishop Stika said. “I want to thank Sedonna for her many years of service and leadership in the

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Church’s heart as its greatest petition—then we know it will be fulfilled. And our newest order in the diocese—the Benedictines of the Divine Will—have something beautiful to share with us about this.

Welcoming the Benedictines

On the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, 2022, I officially decreed and welcomed to our diocese the “Benedictines of Divine Will” as a Public Association of the Faithful.

As their monastery is being built, how beautiful it is to see the beginning of St. Benedict’s monastic life of prayer taking root among us, with their great love of eucharistic adoration, and devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, and to the Chaste Heart of glorious St. Joseph.

But it is their greatest desire for us to become little houses of

Go forth and spread the

homily, Bishop Stika posed one more important query to the newest members of his diocese.

“How many of you have ever used GPS in your cars?” he again asked.

The positive acknowledgment was universal among the drivers in the congregation and their navigators. Everyone had.

diocese, and I welcome Mrs. Deschaine as our newest superintendent. This is an exciting time for our schools.”

The Diocese of Knoxville offers excellence in education with 10 accredited, Catholic, private schools located in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Kingsport, Johnson City, Oak Ridge, and Farragut. The diocese is committed to providing supportive learning environments for children rooted in the love of Christ. The parochial school system provides quality education from pre-kindergarten, kindergarten-througheighth grade, and high school.

Diocesan schools meet the standards established by the National Standards and Benchmarks of Excellence for Effective Catholic Schools issued by the National Catholic Educational Association and Cognia, an international accrediting agency. ■

Nazareth, where the kingdom of the Divine Will can live and reign in us as it is in heaven. And this is what the Church has been praying for in the Lord’s Prayer, which is why they also have a strong devotion to the life and writings of the Servant of God

Luisa Piccarreta (1865-1947), whose Cause for Beatification was opened in 1994.

Lamps of faith . It was in the darkness of Western Europe following the collapse of the Roman Empire 1,500 years ago that God provided lamps of faith for the people through the Benedictine monasteries that began to spread throughout the land. And in these uncertain times of growing darkness, how blessed we are to have the Benedictines of Divine Will among us.

I encourage you to visit the Benedictines of Divine Will website at benedictinesofdivinewill. org ■

“Thank God for GPS,” the bishop said. “I remember early on in my priesthood I was going from St. Louis to Indianapolis, and I had one of those Garmins. Along the way I hit a traffic jam. The GPS supposedly could give me detours.”

As his GPS recalculated to provide a detour, Bishop Stika said

he ended up in a cornfield. He explained that the detour was a two-lane road that ran parallel to the main highway. The smaller road then became a one-lane rocky road, which led into the cornfield.

“I’m sure the farmer thought, ‘What the heck is going on with that guy?’ But they are marvelous things. If you think about it, all those GPS devices are connected to satellites orbiting our world. I heard recently that there are 17,000 satellites up there,” Bishop Stika said.

“Sometimes faith is like GPS. If you have a good GPS system, you have to trust it; otherwise you end up in a cornfield,” the bishop added. “Although I don’t want to trust the thing, in recent times the GPS technology is more reliable. You have to trust it because it gets you where you want to go.”

Bishop Stika then keyed in on his message to the East Tennessee neophytes.

Trust. Knowledge. The Eucharist.

“That’s what is in the Gospel. Jesus was giving all these instructions to the Apostles. Over three years they didn’t understand everything. How do you understand the concept of God, the Father, the Holy Spirit? But He instructed them time and time again,” the bishop said. “We have to trust. That’s what it comes down to. Trust.”

He went on to illustrate how Christ’s teachings continue to guide the faithful through Scripture and are lived out through the sacraments.

Bishop Stika said in Scripture he especially likes the dialogue verses, such as those telling about the road to Emmaus, when Jesus appeared as a traveler walking with two of His disciNeophytes continued on page A19

Gospel Above: Bishop Richard F. Stika engages new Catholics with a question-and-answer portion of his homily during the Sending of the Neophytes Mass on May 7 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Below: Bishop Stika gives a young family entering the Church rosaries that he blessed during the Mass.

BILL BREWER (2)

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bers of graduates who filled the stands.

“I want to especially welcome the parents, grandparents, and siblings of our graduates,” he said. “Family is an important part of Notre Dame. It’s a hallmark. It’s what we are.”

Mrs. Goodhard presented salutatorian Andrew Fillauer, son of Michael and Jennifer Fillauer,

who gave the address of remembrance, and valedictorian Benjamin Jungels, son of Matthew Jungels and Mary Jungels and Andrea and Jeff Dailey, who delivered the address of farewell.

Andrew will attend the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and study mechanical engineering, and Benjamin, who received a naval ROTC scholarship, will attend Princeton University and

major in aerospace engineering.

Several special awards were presented by Deacon Armor and others.

The Jim Phifer Spirit of Notre Dame Award is named for the class of 1949 member who went on to become the first lay principal in NDHS history and still holds the mark of longest-serving principal at 19 years.

“In addition to his years of

service, all who came to know him know that no one could have loved Notre Dame or her students more than he did,” Deacon Armor said. “This award is presented annually to two students who reflect his spirit and love for our school.”

The Phifer Award was given to Olivia Mildenberger and Dylan Vintrov.

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DAN MCWILLIAMS (10)

representing 93 percent of the graduating class.

KCHS president Dickie Sompayrac presided at the commencement and welcomed the family and friends of graduates.

Bishop Richard F. Stika delivered the invocation and opening remarks.

Mr. Sompayrac, Bishop Stika, Diocese of Knoxville schools superintendent Dr. Sedonna Prater,

and Father Chris Michelson congratulated the graduates as they received their diplomas.

It was a special night for popular longtime KCHS teacher and academic dean Jane Walker, who announced she was retiring following the 2022-23 academic year. Mrs. Walker received a standing ovation for her 31 years of service to KCHS.

“She is so much more than a teacher and our academic dean.

During her tenure, she has fought for our teachers, she’s advocated for our students, and empathized with our parents in ways that are truly remarkable. She balances tough love with compassion in a way that truly exemplifies our mission. Jane has been my right arm and an invaluable resource to our school, and a big reason we have enjoyed the success we have had over these years,” Mr. Sompayrac said.

It also was a special night for English teacher Nikki Mynatt, who was named Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

The Sedes Sapientiae Award, which recognizes the outstanding students in the senior class who best exemplify the faith, hope, charity, and wisdom of the Blessed Mother, was presented to Kate Pettinger and Paul Liulevicius.

Bishop Stika encouraged the

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DEACON SCOTT MAENTZ (10)

Couples renew vows at marriage celebration

Wives and husbands married within diocese say ‘I do’ all over again

By Gabrielle Nolan

Married couples within the diocese were given a special opportunity to say “I do” all over again.

A Mass of reaffirmation of marriage vows took place at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on April 30.

The event was sponsored by the diocesan Office of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment in collaboration with the Office of Hispanic Ministry.

Bishop Richard F. Stika celebrated the Mass, with deacons Hicks Armor, Al Forsythe, and Fredy Vargas assisting at the bilingual event.

The bishop thanked the couples for their witness to marriage.

“I just want to congratulate you today,” he said. “It is a beautiful sacrament in which you express love for each other.”

“You know the sacrament of marriage, of matrimony, is one of those sacraments that it is under attack in society today, with all the marriages that end in divorce,

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Father Manning presented the Bishop James D. Niedergeses Award, named for the man who was bishop of Nashville at the time the Diocese of Knoxville was created in 1988 and who served for many years as pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Chattanooga. He was elevated to bishop in 1975 from his assignment as pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Chattanooga.

“If you’re not familiar, he was an incredible human being,” Father Manning said. “His outreach as our bishop was immeasurable, felt even to today, but Notre Dame has long chosen to honor him for the work he did while assigned in Chattanooga as priest and pastor.

“In a time period when equal treatment of and by races wasn’t anywhere near an everyday way of life, he stood for justice and service and living life as our Creator intended. This city—and our school—will always miss him. Our recipient is a student who has tried to accomplish those very same things: simply serving

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seniors to fondly remember their time at KCHS but also look to a bright future that includes their faith in God.

“So, how does it feel, all you seniors here at Knoxville Catholic? How does it feel for all you parents? This is my 14th graduation here in the Diocese of Knoxville and it has been a marvelous experience for me to know so many of these young women and men, who I have known since they were in kindergarten, and to hear about all of their wonderful exploits at Knoxville Catholic,” Bishop Stika said.

“These seniors have survived a great deal. To hear of this thing called COVID. Remember how uncertain that was? When would we be back in school? Would we be sick? Who would give us comfort? Perhaps we lost a loved one,” the bishop added.

He went on to enumerate other notable achievements that helped define the class of 2023: construction and completion of the St. Gregory the Great Auditorium, memorable performances both in and outside the classroom, academic and sports victories, and spiritual growth.

“I offer my congratulations. If there is one piece of advice I would share with you, it’s remain close to Jesus,” Bishop Stika said. “As I travel around the diocese during this confirmation season, I remind people that Genesis

way over 50 percent now, and then we have all the debate about same-sex marriages, and all the things that swirl around the word marriage or wedding,” the bishop pointed out. “And yet, it is something elevated by who? By Jesus himself.”

“But Jesus, he didn’t perform

others, a smile, a hello.”

The Bishop Niedergeses Award went to Chloe Wesson.

Mr. Mullin presented the Bubber Byrne Award, named in memory of James Patrick “Bubber” Byrne of the class of 1936, a Notre Dame football player who passed away from a blood disease in the fall of his senior year.

“The award is based on the traits of sportsmanship, character, leadership, participation in varsity sports, and personal accomplishment in athletics,” Mr. Mullin said.

The Bubber Byrne Award was given to Kenny Hammond Jr., a standout athlete in three sports. Kenny was a three-year starter in football, a two-time NDHS offensive player of the year, and a Division II-East all-region football team member. He was a three-year Fighting Irish basketball player, starting at point guard the last two seasons, and a driving force behind two district championships who helped lead the team to a state runner-up finish last season. In track he has been a state qualifier in the long jump, triple jump, and 800-meter

tells us that we’re all created in the image and likeness of God. What does that mean? God provides for us, for He wants us to succeed. He doesn’t want us to fail, so He gives us opportunities and gifts, challenges, and sorrows, all to build better character in our lives. He gives us family and friendships, some friendships that will endure for a long time and some that will fade in the distance of universities and colleges.”

Bishop Stika encouraged the graduates to give thanks to God for the moment of commencement, for their senior year, and each year they attended Knoxville Catholic High School. He assured them that although life is full of uncertainty, there will be plenty of light that shines because of each of them and the gifts they have to offer the world.

Mr. Sompayrac addressed the graduates before they received their diplomas, reminding them of all they overcame and accomplished in their four years at KCHS.

“Well, class of 2023, you made it. … We shouldn’t be surprised, though. This class has endured more change in the last four years than probably any class in Knoxville Catholic’s history,” Mr. Sompayrac said. “You all rolled with the punches, and quite frankly, I think you were just happy to be together.”

“One of the awesome things

his first miracle on a mountain or in a valley or in Jerusalem or in Bethlehem,” Bishop Stika continued. “He performed his first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. At a wedding. He wanted to elevate the sense of the sacrament, to elevate it, to draw attention to it, to know that it’s even in the

relay, with a fifth-place finish in the state triple jump as a junior and a second-place finish in the event as a senior.

Deacon Armor presented the female General Excellence Award to Briley Bacher and the male General Excellence Award to D.J. Brown.

Mrs. Jungels of the Notre Dame Home & School Association presented the Heart of Notre Dame Award to Chuck Newell, selected by his fellow faculty members for outstanding contributions to school and students, and the Heart of Irish Award to faculty member Melissa Wolff in an honor selected by students.

The presentation of diplomas followed.

In his closing remarks, Deacon Armor told the seniors to “never, ever, ever forget your roots.”

“As your parents will tell you tearfully when you leave for college, this always will be your home,” he continued. “You have a place to come back to. You may not want to do it too soon, but by the fall with the football games, there’s a whole lot of people who will want to see you, so don’t

about being an educator is watching students come in as awkward, nervous, and sometimes shy freshmen and then leave as confident, caring, and inquisitive young adults who are so ready to influence a constantly changing world,” he continued.

Mr. Sompayrac said the class of 2023 is especially dear to him because it includes his son, Ben, and his niece, Gigi, who were only months old when he accepted the job to lead KCHS in 2005.

“To the class of 2023, as a faculty and administration, it is our hope and prayer that we have served you well over these last four years. The truth is, we are ready to see you go, not because you’ve been difficult, but because you are, in fact, ready,” he said.

Mr. Sompayrac noted that during the graduates’ senior year, the KCHS girls basketball team won its first state championship in school history.

Then the KCHS baseball team won its first state championship in school history.

The Lady Irish volleyball team won its second state championship in school history.

In addition, the girls tennis team, which achieved the No. 1 ranking in the country during the year, won its third consecutive state championship, with several of the players winning individual and doubles state titles.

And several KCHS track and field athletes won state titles in

Church today, it is that one sacrament that the priest or the deacon or the bishop or the pope does not celebrate. He witnesses, for the sacrament happens moment to moment to moment between the married couple. It’s a living, daily, moment-to-moment sacrament that exists. And you know that better than I.”

The bishop also spoke about the Gospel readings for Good Shepherd Sunday, which was celebrated that day.

“Pope Francis talks about how that we are all like sheep, that we should follow the Good Shepherd, that we should follow Jesus. And to the priests he says you should smell like the sheep. What does that mean? To be involved in the lives of family and people,” Bishop Stika said. “It is one of the great blessings of priesthood, to be involved in the lives of families.”

Following the homily, couples stood among their families and friends to renew their vows at the following questions from the Marriage continued on page A21

stay away.”

The head of school also thanked Bishop Stika, Dr. Prater, the HASA, parents, and faculty, with a special thank-you to Mrs. Goodhard.

Deacon Armor saluted the graduates last.

“For the time you have been here at Notre Dame, you have been taught academics, sportsmanship, spirituality, morality, and leadership,” he said. “Dr. Prater has always said the goal of the diocesan schools is to form saints, scholars, and leaders. The faculty have done their part, so now it’s your turn.”

Deacon Armor then asked the graduates to turn around, and they cheered their parents in the stands. Father Manning, who celebrated the baccalaureate Mass at Notre Dame, with Deacon Armor assisting, on May 12, led the closing prayer and blessing at the commencement.

Bishop Stika concluded the ceremony with one sentence: “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the class of 2023,” which was followed by the traditional hat toss by the graduates. ■

their events.

Mr. Sompayrac also singled out the KCHS arts programs and their students, who christened the new St. Gregory the Great Auditorium with band and choir performances as well as theater productions “Music Man,” “Clue,” and “The Wizard of Oz.” Robotics, the Irish Media Network, mock trial, Model U.N., and Scholars Bowl also were recognized as student programs of excellence.

“Sure, the awards, the scholarships, the championships, and the accolades are awesome. But perhaps the greatest strength of this class is the friendships you have forged and how you have cared for each other,” Mr. Sompayrac said. “Class of 2023, you’ve done well, and we are proud of you. Regardless of where life takes you, remember your friends and where you came from. You have grown so much over these last four years.”

The class of 2023, along with family and friends, gathered at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on May 11 for the baccalaureate Mass, which was celebrated by Father Michelson, pastor of St. Albert the Great Parish, who also serves as special consultant to the president of KCHS.

Father Joe Reed, pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut, concelebrated the baccalaureate Mass. ■

GABRIELLE NOLAN

To love and honor each other Couples from around the Diocese of Knoxville renewed their marriage vows on April 30 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

New Knights state deputy from St.

By Andy Telli Tennessee Register

For the last five years, the Knights of Columbus in Tennessee have been on a journey to help Catholic men strengthen their faith.

Bill Markiewicz’s mission as the newly elected state deputy is to continue to lead the order on that path.

“The goal is to build on what we’ve done,” said Mr. Markiewicz, a parishioner at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church in Cleveland and a member of Council 4572. “There’s a great foundation there, and we want to build on that and grow.”

Mr. Markiewicz was elected state deputy, the highest officer at the state level, during the Tennessee Knights’ state convention, held April 28-29 at the Franklin Marriott in Cool Springs, which is in West Nashville.

His election capped a process that began eight years ago when he was elected state warden and continued as he progressed through the other state offices every two years.

Mr. Markiewicz succeeds Fred Laufenberg as state deputy. Mr. Laufenberg is a parishioner at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Fairfield Glade and is a member of Monsignor Philip Thoni Council 16088.

The other state officers selected during the convention were: n Eric Pelton was elected state secretary. He is a member of Council 8576 at St. Jude Church in Chattanooga and is a parishioner there.

n David Zwissler was elected state treasurer. He is a member of Council 17578 at St. Michael Church in Memphis and is a pa-

rishioner at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Cordova.

n Alan Stanley was elected state advocate. He is a member of Council 9168 at St. Luke Church in Smyrna and is a parishioner there.

n Donald Castillo was elected

state warden. He is a member of Council 7447 at St. Catherine Church in Columbia and is a parishioner there.

A native of Venezuela, Mr. Castillo is the first Hispanic to be elected a state officer in Tennessee.

Father Gervan Menezes, the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Cookeville, will become the new state chaplain, succeeding Father Bart Okere, pastor of St. Henry Parish in Rogersville and St. James the Apostle Parish in Sneedville.

Mr. Markiewicz and the other state officers officially begin their new roles in July.

“I’ve been active with the Knights since before I joined,” Mr. Markiewicz said. “Dad was a Grand Knight and a district deputy. The council here in Cleveland, Tenn., was a social thing for families. They had a council hall here. Part of it was they did activities like dinner theaters as fundraisers. They did picnics. They actually did art shows on the council grounds. … It was something the families could easily participate in and enjoy.”

He left his hometown of Cleveland for college and later to work for the Olin Corp. When Olin transferred him back to Cleveland, he reconnected with the council there, which had sold its council hall and were meeting at the church.

“I saw that they were in the parish,” Mr. Markiewicz said.

“It was really focused on doing things for the church and the community. … I think that made a huge difference.”

The state council has been on a similar journey to become more Christo-centric.

“The goal is to create a prayerful and fraternal setting where we set the stage for the Holy Spirit to work,” Mr. Markiewicz said.

In the last year, the Knights have launched the Cor program,

ANDY TELLI/TENNESSEE REGISTER

Christo-centric Tennessee Knights of Columbus held their annual convention in Nashville in April, selected new officers, and vowed to uphold the faith.

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Mr. Markiewicz Mr. Laufenberg Mr. Pelton

Mr. Zwissler Mr. Stanley Mr. Castillo

in 2021.

The holy cards can “start a devotion” to Father Ryan, said Deacon DeGaetano, who also appears in the film.

“We want people to have devotion to Ryan and use him as an intercessor, and if they get a miracle or even if they get a favor, they need to let me know, and we can investigate it for a possible miracle,” he said.

Deacon DeGaetano said the movie is “beautiful and amazing to me.”

“It was shot on basically a zero budget. These people were volunteers who came from Hollywood and wanted to work on some interesting project. They’ve only really asked for expenses, and the diocese through [communications director] Jim Wogan has financed their expenses,” the deacon said.

“We’re talking probably, for the kind of film it is, I would say it costs maybe one-tenth of what it’s worth. I understand it took about five days [to make it]. I wasn’t actually in on the production. I was more on the back end to actually view it and check for accuracy, and I gave them a lot of historical material to work with to write the script.

Veronica DiPippo and Mark Aramian, between the two of them, just coming to Chattanooga only a year and a half ago, they did a beautiful little project for Tennessee Right to Life based on the testimony of a lady in Chattanooga, and based on that we saw what beautiful work they can do, and they talked to both myself and Father David about doing something for us for the cause, and it’s been a wonderful gift,” the deacon added.

Father Carter introduced the film showing at KCHS.

“What we find in the example of Father Ryan is a timeless witness to a greater love and a higher call that comes with following Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for us,” he said. “Providence has brought us talented storytellers from the film industry, who have been able to interpret this wonderful example in such a beautiful and captivating way. I’m grateful for Veronica DiPippo, the director of this film, and Mark Aramian, who produced it, for this documentary that you are about to see. It is so wonderful and powerful in the way that God in His providence has allowed it to be.”

After the showing, Father Carter said, “I hope that you enjoyed this beautiful documentary. If you’re like me, you cannot be unmoved by this powerful example, masterfully depicted for us in film. Providence allowed us to produce this film with few resources and lots of hopes and prayers.”

Father Carter recognized Deacon DeGaetano’s late wife, Barbara, for her efforts early in the sainthood cause of Father Ryan.

“She was a founding member of the historical commission going into the life and archives all around the country to research the life of Father Ryan, and she died in 2018. May she rest in peace,” Father Carter said.

“Father Ryan: A Higher Call” has quickly drawn recognition from the film industry.

“This film has already been nominated in the category of best documentary at the International Christian Film Festival. Also there, Veronica DiPippo, the writer and director of the film, has been nominated as best director at the International Christian Film Festival. We just got word that we were accepted and selected into another film festival, the Festival of Arts and Cinema in London, so that’s great,” Father Carter said.

Father Carter took questions from the audience at KCHS after the film. One concerned the celebration of a feast day for Father Ryan. The basilica holds a requiem Mass on the anniversary of the day of his death, Sept. 28, but a feast day is a topic for the future, the basilica rector said.

“The idea is we can’t presume his sanctity. The Church forbids us from doing it. We have to assiduously avoid signs of undue cult, is what they would say, undue veneration that’s due only to the saints who are declared as much,” Father Carter said. “We don’t want to jump the gun until the Church has made her judgment. We’re maybe a couple of years away from being able to celebrate him as venerable, but if there’s a miracle that comes along, soon enough we might have in the Diocese of Knoxville an official feast day. I imagine that we would petition for and get Sept. 28 or roundabouts.”

Father Carter told one audience member that Father Ryan’s name got “lost” over the years because “there was probably not a good chance that he would be elevated to the altar as a saint under the old way of understanding heroic virtues or blood and martyrdom. His cause didn’t really fit either one of those, because we didn’t necessarily have great testimony of the heroic life and virtues, like Mother Teresa, of Father Ryan. ”

“It was only in that last moment that he was the hero that everybody held up. Plus, he didn’t die out of hatred of the faith—somebody wasn’t killing him because he believed in Jesus. That’s the traditional blood martyrdom. It wasn’t until 2017, when Pope Francis issued that new document, which introduced the third and newest ground. I see the hand of Providence in

that. His cause was waiting until such time as the Church could accommodate him,” Father Carter said.

“Also, his name was held in reverence by the Knights of Columbus this whole time,” Father Carter continued. “Knights of Columbus Council 610, which is the Sts. Peter and Paul council, has had his name since 1914. They continue to do it. They’re still called the Father Patrick Ryan Council. A few years later, the Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree Assembly 1084 also took the name of Father Patrick Ryan, so that adds to it. The Knights of Columbus kept his name alive and well and his heroic witness as something to be emulated in the fashion of the Knights of Columbus. They did keep his name well known, at least as much as they memorialized him in their councils.”

Father Ryan’s original tomb was on Priest Mound at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chattanooga.

“I said, ‘Boy, that’s the pastor of the parish that I’m the pastor of now,’” Father Carter recalled when seeing the tomb at the cemetery.

Father Ryan invited the Dominican Sisters to establish Notre Dame de Lourdes Academy, now Notre Dame High School, in 1876 during his time at Sts. Peter and Paul

Father Carter appealed to the KCHS audience for donations to the cause of Father Ryan.

“Promoting the cause of Father Ryan is only possible because of your support,” he said. “Since we began postulating the cause, we’ve raised $43,000, and that’s allowed us to begin the inquiry and do the historical research, as well as undertake the massive project of exhuming his mortal remains and transferring them to the new tomb located at the basilica. Now the cause is coming to the homestretch of the diocesan inquiry. We have to bring the cause to Rome, to the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints there. There are various costs associated with that. We need to raise $42,000 to complete that effort and allow the Church Universal to know the example of our own Father Patrick Ryan. In addition to the $42,000 that we need to bring the cause to Rome, we also have to consider that when it goes to Rome, we’ll need to be paying the Roman postulator on a regular basis. There will be more costs associated with any miracle that’s proposed. Every miracle has to be examined by doctors and experts and things like that. These future costs are yet to be determined.”

For more information on the cause of Father Ryan, visit frpatrickryan.com . Website visitors can click on a donate button to contribute to the cause.

Donations also can be made payable to the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul and mailed to the basilica at 214 E. 8th St., Chattanooga, TN 37402. Put “for the cause of Father Patrick Ryan” in the memo field of the check. Parishes are encouraged to show the movie. To set up a screening, contact Deacon DeGaetano at deacongaspar@ me.com

“Father Ryan: A Higher Call” will be shown on EWTN on Sept. 28, the same day as the closing session of diocesan inquiry. Blu rays and/or DVDs will be produced of the film after that date, Father Carter said Mr. Aramian and Ms. DiPippo were not at the showing of the Father Ryan film at KCHS but did issue a welcome statement that was read by Father Carter after the screening:

“After moving to Chattanooga in the spring of 2021 and joining the Sts. Peter and Paul family, we met with Father Carter to discuss how we could best contribute to the Church using our expertise as filmmakers. The result is the docudrama you have just seen. We are thrilled to share this compelling story with you

“Today, millions of Americans can understand the fear, isolation, uncertainty, and loss of personal freedom that an epidemic can bring to society. Imagine how much more magnified these feelings were in a world of 19thcentury medicine. It was in that world that Father Patrick Ryan fearlessly walked in Christ’s footsteps as an example of Christian charity in action

“As storytellers, we felt this compelling story was both important and timely. As Father Carter states in the film, ‘The priesthood is under attack.’ There are so many examples of priests who have not honored their priestly vocation, that we wanted to tell a story about a priest who ‘did it the right way.’ It is our hope, for those who may be critical of the Church and the priesthood, that this film will rekindle a respect for both institutions

“Father Patrick Ryan was known to be a hero in his own time and deserves recognition in ours. It is important to remember—despite the neverending barrage of negative media against the Catholic faith—that countless, unknown heroes of the faith live and move through our world today. They may not be placed front and center in the spotlight, but they do exist

“We hope that you have found this film an inspiring testament of the importance of faith in action, and that you will consider sharing it with any friends or family members who may be questioning the validity of Christ’s Church on earth and His servants today ” ■

Two thumbs up Father David Carter gives the movie "Father Ryan: A Higher Call" an enthusiastic review during a May 6 showing of the docudrama at Knoxville Catholic High School.

DEACON SCOTT MAENTZ

Spreading the word Deacon Gaspar DeGaetano is working with Father David Carter to make sure pastors know that they can show the movie "Father Ryan: A Higher Call" in their parishes.

Father Ryan continued from page A6

DEACON SCOTT MAENTZ

Coming to a screen near you The poster for the new movie "Father Ryan: A Higher Call" promotes the docudrama, which is available to all Diocese of Knoxville parishes for viewing.

that mysterious encounter known as prayer” (No. 2567).

It also says, “According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain. The heart is the dwelling place where I am, where I live … the heart is the place ‘to which I withdraw ’” ( CCC , No. 2562-2563).

Make time every day this summer, even if it is only 10 or 15 minutes, to enter into the dwelling place of your heart with God. Relate to Him what you are experiencing each day; tell Him what moves you, what excites you, or scares you.

St. Paul says we should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), but in order to pray at all times, we have to pray at certain times. This summer, make time for daily prayer.

2. Go to Mass.

It should probably go without saying, but let’s say it anyway: Go to Mass. According to the Second Vatican Council, the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life.”

This means that everything we do as Christians flows from and leads back to this central mystery. It is the place of most intimate communion between Christ and His Church. It is where we become what we are, the Body of Christ.

As members of His Body, we cannot hope to grow in strength and vigor if we are not nourished at least weekly at the eucharistic feast. If you are already in the habit of going to Sunday Mass, try going during the week once or twice, as well.

3. Actually participate at Mass.

Nothing is more disheartening as a priest than starting the Mass with an enthusiastic “The Lord be with you!” and being met with a mumbling, half-dead “and with your spirit.”

Participation at Mass is about more than what we say or do, but what we say and do truly matters. We are corporeal beings, and what we do with our bodies means something.

The gestures, words, and songs of the Mass have significance beyond what we may be able to grasp in the moment, but their effect on us is real nevertheless.

We are not meant to passively sit and listen to other people pray and talk but to worship God with our bodies, minds, and souls. By actually singing and saying the responses at Mass, we are making a gift of ourselves to God.

If we are too passive at Mass, or we don’t even bother opening the hymnal to sing, we are telling our souls that we are here not to give our hearts and minds in worship, but to “get something out of it” or, worse yet, to “check the box.”

This summer, make an effort to participate more fully in the Mass.

4. Go to confession once a month.

One of the most poignant scenes in the Old Testament is when God is searching for Adam and Eve in the garden after the Fall, but they hide themselves among the trees (cf. Genesis 3:89). God calls out to them, as he calls to all of us in our sinfulness.

He does not want us to close ourselves off from Him in shame but to open our faults to Him so He can forgive, restore, and heal us. These places of brokenness can become places of intimacy and trust because we know ourselves to be loved unconditionally.

Just as Peter knew the Lord loved him in spite of his threefold denial (cf. John 21:15-19), so we can encounter the love of Jesus every time we receive absolution for our sins in confession.

Especially if you are in the habit of going to confession only “when you need to” or only once or twice a year during Advent

and Lent, this summer, make a habit of going once a month.

This encounter with the mercy of Jesus in the sacrament, if it is received with a sincere and contrite heart, will undoubtedly bear fruit.

5. Celebrate a saint’s feast day.

As Catholics, we have so many great saints to imitate and admire. But more importantly, we have friends in heaven who want to help us and pray for us. The liturgical calendar is full of feasts celebrating these great saints, but unless we go to daily Mass, we may never know they exist.

This summer, make an effort to celebrate a saint’s feast day with special devotion and festivity. Go to Mass on that day and pray for the saint’s help in your life of discipleship. Do something special to honor them and celebrate that they are part of the Church triumphant rejoicing in heaven.

A close friend of mine would do this every year on the feast of St. Lawrence, whose feast day is Aug. 10. St. Lawrence was a deacon and martyr who died by being burned to death on an iron grill. My friend would honor him every year, appropriately, by hosting a barbecue with his friends.

6. Read one of the four Gospels. St. Jerome famously said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Aside from the Eucharist and our daily life of prayer, there is no more certain way to grow in knowledge and love of Jesus than to read the Word of God. Jesus is Himself the Word made flesh, so every word of the Bible speaks of Him in some way. But the Gospels in a particular way allow us to encounter the person of Christ in an intense and vivid way.

I remember the first time that I read the Gospel of Luke from start to finish when I was in high school.

My father and I would read a chapter or two every Sunday together and talk about it. I had heard all of the stories before at Mass, but something about reading the events of Jesus’ life in order, and reading the words of Jesus in the context of His entire life and ministry, allowed the Lord to come alive to me in a new way.

Perhaps this summer you can read the Gospel of Matthew, which is the Gospel we will read throughout the rest of this liturgical year. Take your time and read it prayerfully. Even better, read it with a friend and talk about what strikes you, what confuses you, and what calls you to greater love.

7. Read a book with a group of friends.

There is a well-known adage, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” For some reason, when we have less to do, we tend to do less.

This is no more evident to me than with reading. Most of us have dozens of books on our reading list, but whenever we have the time to actually sit and read them, what do we do?

Often we fritter away the time on mindless entertainment or nonurgent tasks that take less

mental energy. Yet when we muster the willpower to actually sit and read a good book, one that really nourishes our mind and our soul, we have no doubt that it was time well spent.

So, how do we get ourselves to do the more nourishing thing even when it doesn’t seem immediately attractive to us?

This is where friends can help each other.

There are so many great Catholic books, both fiction and nonfiction. If you are not normally much of a reader, I recommend starting with a good Catholic novel. Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Flannery O’Connor, Georges Bernanos, J.R.R. Tolkien all have written classic works of fiction that will have you grappling with spiritual realities and will spark great conversations with a group of friends over dinner.

C.S. Lewis and Willa Cather are also two of my favorite authors who are not Catholic but whose stories have wonderfully Catholic overtones.

This summer, expand your soul with good literature enjoyed with friends.

8. Pray the rosary.

Every year, a survey is done of the men who were ordained priests throughout the United States. Some of the questions have to do with what spiritual practices and parish activities they were engaged in before joining seminary.

While many say they participated in things like youth groups, Catholic summer camps, World Youth Days, and the like, there are two things that almost every man reports having participated in regularly before seminary: eucharistic adoration and praying the rosary.

It makes logical sense, doesn’t it?

Who could lead us more safely to our true vocation than Jesus and Mary, and what better ways to foster our relationship with them than by spending time in the Lord’s eucharistic presence and by meditating on His life through the mysteries of the rosary.

The rosary is one of the most tried and true devotions of the Catholic Church.

There is a reason many religious orders wear a rosary as part of their habit and carry it wherever they go. There is a reason St. John Paul II and other great saints prayed this prayer daily

Although it is made up of vocal prayers the Hail Mary, Our Father, and Glory Be it is actually a mental prayer, meant to draw us into contemplation of the mysteries of the life of Christ.

Making a daily practice of this prayer helps keep our minds and hearts fixed on the story that truly defines us, which is the history of God’s saving love for us. Especially if you are discerning your vocation or in a time of transition in your life, the regular recitation of the rosary will help you remain in Jesus, who is our true home.

9. Make a “desert day.”

The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (or CFRs as they are commonly known) have a disci -

pline I greatly admire known as “hermitage.”

Once a month, every friar is required to spend a day in prayer and solitude. This time away from their active, apostolic life gives them a chance to reflect in prayer with the Lord on the many things they have done, seen, and suffered that month, and it lets them receive very consciously from God the life and love that gives their mission its fruitfulness.

Jesus said: “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

Especially for those of us who live in the world, and particularly if you spend most of your day in temporal concerns (business, politics, entertainment, consumer goods), it is all the more necessary to make time and space to, like Jesus, go off to deserted places to pray.

Making a “desert day” doesn’t have to be an overly radical thing. If you can do an overnight at a retreat center or monastery, that’s great.

If all you can do is spend Sunday afternoon somewhere peaceful with no phone and your spouse watching the kids, that’s great, too.

The important thing is to spend the time remaining in Jesus. “Without me you can do nothing,” He says. The frenzied activity of our lives amounts to nothing if we are not rooted in the one relationship that gives our lives eternal significance. This summer, make a desert day.

10. Make a pilgrimage.

When I was in seminary I had the great privilege of visiting the Holy Land with my classmates. It was a deeply moving experience to touch the places the Lord Jesus Himself had visited and touched.

To be in the very place He died and where He rose from the dead was sublime and surreal. But what moved me also was not just the connection I felt with the Lord, His mother, the Apostles, and the others who accompanied Him in His earthly life, but also the connection I felt with the other pilgrims who had visited these holy sites over the past 2,000 years, including great saints like St. Francis and St. Ignatius Loyola.

We don’t have to travel to the Middle East to feel this connection to the wider Church in time and space.

There are places right in your own backyard where pilgrims go to honor saints, grow in faith, and give thanks to God for the blessings they have received.

Where I live, in Chicago, we have numerous shrines within driving distance the National Shrine of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, the National Shrine of Maximilian Kolbe, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

This summer, make a trip to attend Mass at a place of pilgrimage.

A summer of grace.

A priest I trust once said to me, “There is no neutral time in the spiritual life, where I’m not getting better but I’m not getting worse. No, Jesus always wants deeper communion with you, and He is always working hard to bring it about.”

In other words, we can count on two things: God’s desire for our spiritual growth, and the gift of His grace to help us grow.

This year, let summer be a season of growth for you, and use these simple practices as a way to receive the grace that will bring it about. ■

Father Connor Danstrom is the director of the John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois.

OSV NEWS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER

Prayer life A young woman prays at the National Prayer Vigil for Life in Washington, D.C., in this file photo dated Jan. 19

We are so grateful for the many prayers, financial support, and generous love that was offered to the ministries of the Church through the work of the 2022 Bishop’s Appeal for Ministries.

Over 7,100 households throughout the diocese chose to support the annual appeal with a gift in 2022. And, our wonderful priests, deacons, parish staff, and parish volunteers shared the love of Jesus Christ as they helped to shine a light on the essential ministries, programs, and services of our local Church.

Together, we reached an amazing milestone, raising more than $3 million for the ministries of our diocese. A historical first–incredible! Through the generosity of many, we were able to continue to enliven faith formation for all ages, provide free medical care for rural areas of East Tennessee, support men studying for the priesthood, and help families and individuals break free from poverty.

Thank you! We celebrate you, the incredible ministry work you made possible through your love and sacrifice, and the great work of parishes across the diocese who seek to build up the Kingdom and provide for the works of the Church.

TOP 10 PARISHES  HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF PARTICIPATION

• Holy Spirit, Soddy-Daisy

• Our Lady of Lourdes, South Pittsburg

• St. Ann, Lancing

• St. Christopher, Jamestown

• St. Francis of Assisi, Fairfield Glade

• St. Henry, Rogersville

• St. Joseph the Worker, Madisonville

• St. Jude, Helenwood

• St. Mary, Athens

• St. Thomas the Apostle, Lenoir City

TOP 10 PARISHES  HIGHEST TOTAL GIFTS RECEIVED

• All Saints, Knoxville

• Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Knoxville

• Our Lady of Fatima, Alcoa

• St. Dominic, Kingsport

• St. John Neumann, Knoxville

• St. Jude, Chattanooga

• St. Mary, Johnson City

• St. Mary, Oak Ridge

• St. Stephen, Chattanooga

• St. Thomas the Apostle, Lenoir City

PARISHES WITH HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF PLEDGES PAID

• Holy Family, Seymour

• Holy Trinity, Jefferson City

• Our Lady of Lourdes, South Pittsburg

• St. Anthony of Padua, Mountain City

• St. Augustine, Signal Mountain

• St. Catherine Laboure, Copperhill

• St. Christopher, Jamestown

• St. Elizabeth, Elizabethton

• St. James the Apostle, Sneedville

• St. John Paul II Mission, Rutledge

• St. Jude, Helenwood

HIGHEST NUMBER OF RECURRING DONORS

• All Saints, Knoxville

• Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Knoxville

• Our Lady of Fatima, Alcoa

• Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Chattanooga

• St. Dominic, Kingsport

• St. Francis of Assisi, Fairfield Glade

• St. John Neumann, Knoxville

• St. Mary, Oak Ridge

• St. Therese of Lisieux, Cleveland

• St. Thomas the Apostle, Lenoir City

*Recurring donors maximize the impact of their gifts by providing consistent, ongoing support each month to serve the ministries and mission of the Catholic Church in East Tennessee.

GREATEST % GROWTH OVER THE LAST 5 YEARS (BA18BA22)

• Holy Family, Seymour

• Holy Spirit, Soddy-Daisy

• Holy Trinity, Jefferson City

• St. Anthony of Padua, Mountain City

• St. Christopher, Jamestown

• St. Francis of Assisi, Fairfield Glade

• St. Henry, Rogersville

• St. James the Apostle, Sneedville

• St. John Paul II Mission, Rutledge

• St. Thomas the Apostle, Lenoir City

GREATEST INCREASE IN AVERAGE CONTRIBUTION FROM BA21 TO BA22

• Good Shepherd, Newport

• Holy Trinity, Jefferson City

• Notre Dame, Greeneville

• Our Lady of Lourdes, South Pittsburg

• St. Catherine Laboure, Copperhill

• St. Christopher, Jamestown

• St. James the Apostle, Sneedville

• St. John Paul II Mission, Rutledge

• St. Teresa of Kolkata, Maynardville

• St. Therese, Clinton

GREATEST PERCENT INCREASE OVER PREVIOUS YEAR

• Christ the King, Tazewell

• Holy Trinity, Jefferson City

• Notre Dame, Greeneville

• Our Lady of Lourdes, South Pittsburg

• St. Catherine Laboure, Copperhill

• All Saints, Knoxville

• St. James the Apostle, Sneedville

• St. John Paul II Mission, Rutledge

• St. Joseph, Norris

• St. Michael the Archangel, Erwin

• St. Therese, Clinton

GREATEST # OF NEW BA22 DONORS

• Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Chattanooga

• Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Knoxville

• Holy Ghost, Knoxville

• Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Chattanooga

• St. Mary, Johnson City

• St. Patrick, Morristown

• St. Stephen, Chattanooga

• St. Therese of Lisieux, Cleveland

• St. Thomas the Apostle, Lenoir City

Scan here to learn more about the Bishop’s Appeal for Ministries

The Bread of Life

Eucharistic Revival events focus on Church teachings, increasing love of Christ

By Emily Booker

This saying is hard; who can accept it?”

(John 6:60) This was the response of many of Jesus’ disciples when He said He was the Bread of Life and that “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (John 6:54).

John 6 is often called the Bread of Life Discourse because it is there in Scripture that Jesus talks about the importance of receiving Him as the Bread of Life to gain eternal life. Even as some followers are confused and turn away, He is resolute in this message. It is here, the Church teaches, that Jesus explains the power of the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Appropriately, John 6 was the Gospel reading April 28-29, when Father Stephen Dominic Hayes, OP, visited Knoxville to lead three events aimed at increasing the faithful’s understanding of Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist.

Father Hayes, who is from the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, and is a Dominican priest with the Province of St. Joseph, has been appointed one of 56 Preachers of the National Eucharistic Revival by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In that role, he is traveling the country during the duration of the National Eucharistic Revival sharing his knowledge and love of the Eucharist.

Deacon Jim Bello, director of the Office of Christian Formation for the Diocese of Knoxville, explained why he invited Father Hayes to the diocese.

“As coordinator of the Eucharistic Revival, one of the first priorities for our team was to find ways to shed light on the realities of the great mysteries that await God’s children in the Eucharist. We immediately began to seek speakers and preachers who were known for their study of and devotion to this source and summit of our Catholic faith,” Deacon Bello said.

The National Eucharistic Revival arose after reports showed many Catholics—even faithful ones—lacked an understanding of the Church’s teachings on the Blessed Sacrament.

“I’ve been asked to preach the Eucharist for the next three years because of the condition, apparently, of the knowledge, or lack of knowledge, of this among the faithful,” Father Hayes said.

“You know the bishops did a survey a couple years ago where according to their numbers, 71 percent of the people in the pews did not and could not understand or communicate the truth of the doctrine of the Blessed Eucharist: that Jesus Christ is present body and blood, soul and divinity, in that most Blessed Sacrament, that this is what we come to honor, to adore, to worship, and through Him also the Father and the Holy Spirit on a Sunday.”

On April 28, Father Hayes led an afternoon of reflection for diocesan priests, deacons, religious, and Chancery staff. The afternoon began with Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus celebrated by Bishop Richard F. Stika and with Father Hayes concelebrating.

In his homily, Father Hayes shared how he was surprised when he learned that members of his own family didn’t know that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. He had celebrated Mass for his family on Corpus Christi and preached about the sacrament. Afterward, his brother approached him.

“My brother, Gregory, who’s about 40, comes up and says, ‘I learned something today.’ ‘What did you learn?’ I said. ‘I learned that Jesus Christ is present body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Blessed Eucharist.’ I said, ‘Gregory, you went to Catholic grammar school, you went to Catholic high school. I think [Boston College] is still a Catholic college. You went, you go to church every Sunday, you’re devout, you’re good to God’s people. How did you miss this?’ He just sort of spread his hands and said, ‘I thought it was a symbol.’”

Father Hayes noted how this idea is common, especially in this materialistic age that only believes in what can be physically seen and touched. But the power of God works both through and beyond His creation. Through the bread and wine becoming the holy Eucharist, Christ is fully present with the faithful.

“As we stand at the altar, let us ask the Lord to open our hearts that we may see Him,” Father Hayes said. “See him, the glorified One, the timeless breaking into our time to touch us, heal us, be medicine and food for us, this new manna. The old bread [manna] that came down from heaven, people ate and died, for it served only the needs of the body. This serves our whole being and opens to us an inheritance of glory. This is a meal that consumes those who receive it.”

After Mass, Father Hayes gave a talk on the parallels between the Jewish celebration of Passover and the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. He stressed the importance of rec-

ognizing the mystical power of Christ at every Mass.

“This is the work of the Eucharist. ‘Do this in memory of me.’ A commandment. Difficult as it may be for us to understand. Where angels come down and sing songs, a new temple and altar, built and gathered by souls—this is what we have in the Mass. We need the Mass. We need it so we don't fall into the darkness again, so we don’t fall into pride and choose our own sins.

“Meditate on what it is that we have in the sacrament of the altar: Jesus Christ glorified, reaching out and shaping the body of His Bride to His Father’s wishes with the Holy Spirit.”

The evening of April 28, Father Hayes led the Diocesan Youth Holy Hour at Knoxville Catholic High School. Sister Madeline Rose Kraemer, OP, who teaches at the high school, organized the event for middle school and high school youth to draw closer to Christ in the Eucharist. The evening offered eucharistic adoration, live worship music, a talk by Father Hayes, small-group discussions, and confession.

Father Hayes, quoting St. Thomas Aquinas, told the young people, “When Christ becomes our food, the memory of His Passion is celebrated. The soul is filled with grace, and the pledge of future glory is given to us.”

The priest urged his audience of students to carefully consider what was before them as he pointed to the shining monstrance holding the holy Eucharist.

“For people who have no faith, they will see just a bit of bread and a golden throne. They will not see that what that throne contains what the gold contains is far more precious than the gold, or any amount of gold or silver could be. Because that is how Jesus makes His presence among us,” Father Hayes said.

He reminded them that Jesus walked among His people, “tasting the bitterness of what it is like to be human,” and allowed Himself to be taken by sin and death at work in the world.

“Whether you love Him or hate Him, He died for you. Whether you’re not sure what you feel for Him, He died for you,” Father Hayes said, emphasizing Jesus’ undying love for His people and the love and mercy His blessed mother, Mary, also has for His people.

Father Hayes assured his young congregation that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, while they occurred many years ago, continue to play out in real time as Jesus’ teachings still are being fulfilled. Jesus is with His people every day as He “breaks into our lives, to be a companion, a friend, a God, a Savior, a healer for you and each one of us.”

Deacon Bello was inspired by the youth who gave their time to be in the presence of the Lord and by Father Hayes’ message to the students.

“It was moving to witness this group of young people, on a Friday night, not doing what kids normally do after a hard week of school, but rather gathering in this auditorium in obvious joyful anticipation of spending time with our

The Real Presence Top left: Father Stephen Dominic Hayes, OP, speaks on the Eucharist at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus as part of a series of Eucharistic Revival talks April 28-29 for the Diocese of Knoxville. Top right: Bishop Richard F. Stika celebrates Mass on April 28 at Sacred Heart Cathedral as part of the Eucharistic Revival underway in dioceses across the country. Father Hayes concelebrated the Mass along with priests from the diocese. Bottom left: Performers Matt and Becky Collins sing contemporary Catholic songs as part of the Diocesan Youth Holy Hour on April 28 at Knoxville Catholic High School. Father Hayes spoke to diocesan youth about the Eucharist and how vital it is to the Catholic faith. Bottom right: Father Hayes, assisted by Deacon Jim Bello, leads adoration in the St. Gregory the Great Auditorium at Knoxville Catholic High School.

Eucharist continued on page A19

BILL BREWER (2)

Joseph Anthony Thie

Joseph (Joe) Anthony Thie, Ph.D., peacefully passed away May 23 at Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville.

Dr. Thie, age 95, lived a successful life in his career as an internationally known nuclear physicist and in his positive example of character, humility, faith, and humanity.

Preceding Dr. Thie in death were his parents, Joseph Thie Sr. and Veronica Volk Thie; brothers Julius and John Thie; sister Mary Ann Seufert; and brothers-in-law Cliff Seufert, Gus Jonas, and Don McHolland.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 56 years, Fran Thie; sisters Therese McHolland, Martha Thie, and Cecelia Turner; brother-inlaw Dick Turner; and numerous nieces and nephews along with their families.

Dr. Thie was born in Indianapolis, attended Little Flower Elementary School and Cathedral High School. At Cathedral he was recognized as a brilliant student who attained the highest scholastic record in the school’s history.

Through the assistance from Brothers of the Holy Cross, Dr. Thie received a full scholarship to Notre Dame University at the end of his junior year at Cathedral. In 1947, when he returned as valedictorian of his high school class, he already had acquired one and a half years of college credits.

Dr. Thie, at age 19, graduated from Notre Dame magna cum laude with a degree in physics. He then earned his Ph.D. in nuclear physics at age 23. He briefl y studied at the University of Chicago. As an Atomic Energy Commission Graduate Fellow, he did postdoctoral research in theoretical physics at Cornell University under the direction of Hans Bethe, a future Nobel Prize honoree in physics.

After starting his career teaching at the University of Dayton, Dr. Thie joined Argonne National Laboratory as a research physicist. At Argonne, he was the chief design group leader for development of America’s fi rst boilingwater reactor, which became the prototype for today’s modern nuclear reactors.

Later, Dr. Thie became an independent consultant in nuclear physics and nuclear medicine.

He served on various scientifi c committees and boards, assisted in research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was an adjunct professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee, and collaborated with doctors at several research hospitals. He remained active in his profession even during retirement, including volunteering to do research along with hospital medical staff primarily in diagnostic oncology.

Dr. Thie represented the United States as a delegate to two United Nations Atoms for Peace conferences (1958 and 1964) in Geneva, Switzerland, and at the 1968 JapaneseAmerican Nuclear Conference in Tokyo. He has lectured internationally on subjects such as nuclear reactor design, safety diagnosis, and dynamic processes. He has a large body of published work, including several books and numerous papers based on original research in nuclear power and nuclear medicine, many of which were presented at professional meetings.

Dr. Thie has received several honors, including distinguished alumni awards from schools he attended and an honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Indianapolis. He was a member of the American Nuclear Society, the Society of Nuclear Medicine, and Mensa

Many of Dr. Thie’s peers considered him a pioneer in the early days of commercial nuclear reactors, especially in his research on nuclear random phenomena, often called “nuclear noise.” His fi rst book addressed this topic specifi cally, which caused fellow scientists to refer to him as the “Father of Noise.” Research and science did not consume all of Dr. Thie’s life. He also was a talented musician who was an accomplished pianist and marimba player. He was an amateur tap dancer in his younger years and later combined that talent with his knowledge of analytics and wrote two books on the mathematics of choreography.

Dr. Thie always was there when a family member needed him, and he became a model for nieces and nephews on how to lead a meaningful, faith-based, successful life.

He was active in his parish and the Diocese of Knoxville, having served on the board of trustees of the Diocesan Catholic Education Trust Fund and as a member of his parish St. Vincent de Paul Society.

A funeral Mass was held at St. John Neumann Church in Farragut on June 7. ■

Roseanne Patricia Wolf

A funeral Mass for Roseanne Patricia Wolf was held May 30 at Holy Ghost Church. Mrs. Wolf passed away May 20 surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was 86.

Mrs. Wolf was born on Oct. 31, 1936, in Philadelphia.

Not only was Mrs. Wolf a dedicated wife to David L. Wolf, who was a longtime Knoxville businessman, she also was an outstanding mother and a member of Holy Ghost Parish for almost 70 years.

She was the “perfect friend” to many.

In addition to numerous volunteer positions in the Knoxville Catholic community, she also worked for the city of Knoxville in the Special Events Department for 15 years. Mrs. Wolf’s dedication to sharing her time, talents, and treasures were deeply rooted in her strong Catholic faith.

Because of her witty personality, she was passionate about celebrating her Halloween birthday each year by surprising friends and family in full costume. Halloween will never be the same. She will be sadly missed by many, but she will finally rest in peace, free from suffering.

Mrs. Wolf is preceded in death by her parents, John and Rose Millett; David L. Wolf, her husband of 69 years; and son, David Jay Wolf.

She leaves behind her children, Tom Wolf (Konomi), Margaret Mynatt (James), John Wolf (Beth), and Anne Bugg (David); seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the Caring Hearts team who provided extraordinary in-home care to both Mr. and Mrs. Wolf for the last seven years

Following the funeral Mass, Mrs. Wolf was laid to rest at Lynnhurst Cemetery in Knoxville.

The family requests that memorial donations be made to the Holy Ghost Catholic Church Building Fund. The mailing address is 1041 N. Central St., Knoxville, TN 37917 ■

The Assurance of Peace, Quiet Reflection,

Dr. Thie

Mrs. Wolf

gency of international concern.”

Dr. Carson said the decision is appropriate. “It’s a lot more manageable now through vaccinations and medications available to us,” he said of COVID.

As the world marks this milestone, Dr. Carson and other Catholics say there are important takeaways for the Church as it considers its ministry now and prepares for future pandemics, given the realities of international travel and trade.

COVID-19—short for “Coronavirus Disease 2019”—was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and the virus was likely responsible for deaths in the United States a month later.

In March 2020, as COVID’s reach became apparent, states began to implement shutdowns in hopes of stopping, or at least slowing, its rapid spread. Schools and offices closed, and education and work went remote. “Essential workers” adapted their jobs.

In the middle of Lent, U.S. bishops began to call on their dioceses’ parishes to close churches and suspend public Masses, dispensing Catholics from their obligation to attend Sunday Mass. Pastors and parish employees pivoted to livestreamed Masses and social media to connect with congregations.

After initial stay-at-home-style recommendations were lifted, Masses moved outdoors and to parking lots, and confessions were heard through car windows. Priests volunteered to anoint the dying, and learned from medical experts how to safely don and doff protective equipment.

Liturgical experts sought creative ways to validly offer the Blessed Sacrament under the ever-evolving circumstances.

Speaking in front of an empty St. Peter’s Square on March 27, 2020, Pope Francis offered a special Urbi et Orbi (“To the City and to the World”) blessing, usually reserved for Christmas and Easter. He encouraged “embracing the Lord in order to embrace hope: that is the strength of faith, which frees us from fear and gives us hope.” The message was delivered amid a steady rain, underscoring the solemnity of what, for many Catholics, was a poignant moment that made for a lasting memory.

In May 2020, states began reopening businesses, restaurants, and public venues at dramatically reduced capacity, and dioceses followed suit, recommending Masses be offered with limited attendance, masking and socialdistancing requirements, no sing -

Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., said the condition of Sister Wilhelmina’ s remains “has understandably generated widespread interest and raised important questions.” It added, “Bishop (James V.) Johnston is working to establish a thorough process for understanding the nature of the condition of Sister Wilhelmina’ s remains.”

Bishops are discouraging pilgrimages to the Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus at this time until the Church can more fully study the phenomenon surrounding Sister Wilhelmina ’ s remains.

As word of Sister Wilhelmina ’ s remains spread, pilgrims from several states have steadily descended on the abbey, praying before and touching items to the body, which the sisters cleaned and protected with a wax coating.

The visits intensified ahead of a May 29 rosary procession, after which Sister Wilhelmina s body was encased in glass at the altar shrine. The steady stream of pilgrims, which one law enforcement official said numbered “ close to 5,000 on just Friday alone of Memorial Day weekend, flowed on either side of the body. They knelt for 60-second intervals before the body, and then passed by a table to touch Sister Wilhelmina ’ s veil.

ing, and Communion only under one form.

In the months that followed, public spaces restrictions eased— but, for churches and other religious spaces, not always without a fight.

In many cities and states, businesses and bars faced looser restrictions than houses of worship. In Nevada, for example, casinos were allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity, but churches were not.

Similar scenarios played out in California, Minnesota, and elsewhere, including Rhode Island, where Dr. Timothy Flanigan—an infectious disease doctor who teaches at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and practices at affiliated hospitals, as well as a Catholic deacon in the Diocese of Providence—works. He served as an expert for many churches making their case to civil authorities for treatment on par with other public places.

“Many authorities did not value the sacraments, prayer, and worship, so therefore they actively prevented it, even though they allowed other gatherings,” he told OSV News on May 19.

Dr. Flanigan worked in the hospital during the height of COVID and saw firsthand the suffering of the sick and the heroism of health-care workers, particularly the bedside nurses.

“I was very proud of many of my colleagues, both in medicine and in the Church, who became involved despite the fear that existed,” said Dr. Flanigan, who contributed to the guidance offered by the Thomistic Institute in Washington, D.C., for providing the sacraments during the pandemic in accord with WHO standards. “That is in the tradition of both people of Catholic faith and the institution of medical-care providers.”

Dr. Carson, who advised both

state officials and the Fargo Diocese in its COVID response, said he was pleased overall with how the institutional Church responded to the pandemic.

“I felt they truly strived to strike the balance between following the science as it evolved, ensuring the safety and solidarity with one another (a public health goal), while still ministering to the spiritual needs of the faithful,” he said.

He also appreciated the guidance the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) offered to help Catholics navigate the moral and ethical questions surrounding vaccination. Cell lines derived from aborted fetal cells were used in the research and development of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and in the production of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, prompting Catholics to question whether to take them.

The CDF (since renamed the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) issued a statement in December 2020 saying that in absence of an ethically created COVID vaccine, “it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process,” because “the moral duty to avoid such passive material cooperation (with evil) is not obligatory if there is a grave danger, such as the otherwise uncontainable spread of a serious pathological agent.”

The CDF also said that vaccination should, however, be voluntary, and that people who refuse the vaccines for reasons of conscience must also take steps to avoid transmitting the illness.

Despite the CDF statement, the morality surrounding vaccination persisted among Catholics as deeply controversial. Some Catholics sought letters from their bishops supporting their religious

exemption from vaccination.

“The (Church’s) formal statements on vaccines were thoughtful and balanced our responsibilities to care for ourselves and one another, while still respecting an individual’s conscience,” Dr. Carson said. “One thing that I think could have been better would be to provide greater clarity on what constitutes true matters of conscience for a Catholic weighing whether to take a vaccine or follow a work-required mandate.”

As Church leaders sought to provide the sacraments and continue ministry during the pandemic, the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (FDLC) in Washington served as a clearing house for diocesan and parish liturgists advising their bishops and pastors.

Rita Thiron, FDLC executive director, remembers the flurry of conversations in spring 2020, especially as Holy Week approached. The organization shared daily information from the Vatican, canon lawyers, dioceses, and Church-affiliated institutions, and as Catholics returned to Masses, it continued to help Church leaders navigate evolving best practices that considered both public health and spiritual needs.

While dioceses around the country seemed to “shut down” all at the same time, reopening happened at different paces, Ms. Thiron said. In some places, it was nearly business as usual in the summer of 2020, although U.S. dioceses did not begin lifting the dispensation from Sunday Mass obligations until 2021.

By contrast, Catholics in the Archdiocese of Chicago were not obligated to return to Mass until November 2022, although archdiocesan leaders had encouraged Catholics to return to Masses months before.

Today, parishes are likely to be back to pre-pandemic practices, including extending the sign of peace and offering both the body and blood of Christ at Communion, but it has taken three years to get there, Ms. Thiron said. For parishes not yet distributing the Eucharist under both forms, “I hope that that is restored to the fullest sign of the sacrament very, very, very soon.”

“I hope the thing we learned most is that we all hungered for the Eucharist,” Ms. Thiron said. “I know how meaningful it was to hold that (Eucharist) in my hands again after a long time, and recently to receive the Precious Blood after a very, very long time.” ■

al for her founding of the religious community. After 50 years as a member of the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore a historically African American religious community whose foundress, Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, is on the path to sainthood Sister Wilhelmina established the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles in 1995. The congregation uses the older forms of the Roman Rite promulgated prior to the start of the Second Vatican Council: they have Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal and chant the psalms according to the 1962 Monastic Office.

Many pilgrims also stopped to spend some time in eucharistic adoration at the abbey ’ s church. Outside, hay bales and folding chairs formed makeshift confessionals in the nearby fields.

Volunteers from neighboring parishes, including St. Joseph in Easton, Mo., and Seven Dolors in Hurlingen, Mo., and from Knights of Columbus councils across the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph were on hand to direct traffic, hand out water and food, and shuttle visitors in golf carts.

Maegan Meyers of Lincoln,

Neb., traveled to the abbey with her family for love of the saints and to be able to have (her) kids experience that. ”

The two-hour journey to see a possible saint in the making was “ such a gift, ” she said.

“ We were just talking about just how prevalent and how loud the culture is, and how very clear it is, the timing of this, Ms. Meyers said. “ (We have) just so much gratitude for her witness. ”

For some, Sister Wilhelmina ’ s apparently miraculous incorruptibility was a sign of divine approv -

As an African American, Roberta Crawford of Kansas City, Mo., said it was “ even more awesome to know ” that Sister Wilhelmina also was African American, and that “ her belief was strong. ”

“ This is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and it was something we needed to see, she said.

Through experiences like this, “ we still see how God is acting in our life, ” said Father Sam, a priest from the Diocese of Tulsa, Okla. God is using these kinds of events to be able to show His power, to help us to understand that God is alive, ” the priest said, so we may trust in Him and believe in Him. ” ■

Possible saint A young man touches a religious statue to the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, OSB, on May 18 at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles monastery in Gower, Mo.

Just to be safe People wear masks for protection from COVID-19 as they attend Pope Francis' celebration of Mass at the Granaries in Floriana, Malta, on April 3, 2022.

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE PHOTO/PAUL HARING

Sister continued from page A6

‘Hard truths’

NFL kicker Harrison Butker keeps it real for grads about faith, family, cancel culture

By Joe Bukuras Catholic News Agency

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker offered graduating college students a wake-up call on May 6.

“I’m about to pop off some hard truths,” the two-time Super Bowl champion said as the commencement speaker at his alma mater, Georgia Institute of Technology.

Mr. Butker, who has been outspoken about his Catholic faith, told the students that their hard work might land them a very successful career, but that would not be enough to make them happy.

“But in the end, no matter how much money you attain, none of it will matter if you are alone and devoid of purpose,” he said.

Mr. Butker said that there are “too many examples” of people who have achieved “worldly success” but remained unfulfilled. He also said that “our culture is suffering.”

“I can offer one controversial antidote that I believe will have a lasting impact for generations to come:

Lord,” Deacon Bello said. “It was almost as if the Holy Spirit was tangible in the auditorium as these young men and women lifted their hearts in praise and adoration, and as they allowed the message of ‘you are deeply loved and called to love’ to penetrate their hearts.”

On Saturday, April 29, Father Hayes led a morning of eucharistic reflection at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus for the diocese following Mass celebrated by Bishop Stika. Father Hayes concelebrated the Mass.

Father Hayes told the Saturday morning congregation that his newly appointed ministry is to hopefully help reverse the trend of Catholics who don’t believe that the Eucharist is the true presence of Jesus made possible by the consecration of the priest during the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

Recent surveys show that a large percentage of Catholics believe the Eucharist is only symbolic of Jesus Christ, which is antithetical to Scripture, Church teaching, and catechesis.

“After the moment of consecration, it’s Jesus. It is Jesus,” Father

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ples from Jerusalem to Emmaus on the day He rose from the dead. The disciples did not recognize Jesus.

Another aspect the bishop is fond of with Scripture: the teachings always are founded on the Eucharist, the foundation of all that Catholics believe. Jesus lived, died, rose, and lives every moment of every day within His people through the Eucharist.

He emphasized that the Eucharist is what identifies Catholicism.

“As you have begun your journey into the Catholic faith, you may have come from other faith traditions. You former Baptists can always out-quote us with the Bible. The Baptist church is more of a scriptural church. We’re more of a scriptural/sacramental Church. Our Mass, the rosary, our prayers, they’re always based on Scripture. … But we are that Church that also celebrates the sacraments, especially the sacrament of the Eucharist, which is the Summit. It’s the core of who we are, it’s our nourishment, it’s our belief, it’s Jesus Christ, Soul and Divinity, present in our midst even though we may never understand the concept of what it is. It is,” Bishop Stika said.

“It's like how do you understand the concept of love?” he added, also comparing it to hearing and answering God’s call to serve as a priest or religious.

Bishop Stika urged the neophytes to actively practice their new faith

Get married and start a family,” Mr. Butker said.

The NFL star acknowledged that he has been praised for his gamewinning kicks, noting that Super Bowl LVII was the most-watched football game in history, but he added that “all of this happiness is

Hayes said. “We live in a society that has been damaged by the socalled ‘enlightenment.’ For the past 200 or more years, the powers that be in politics, universities, in culture, have been trying to organize society without the Gospel. That is the purpose of the ‘enlightenment.’”

He said the world increasingly is turning away from the totally unselfish love of Jesus Christ as a model of human behavior.

But Father Hayes pointed out that Jesus’ undying love is poured out through His heart, which was pierced as he was crucified on the cross. His love continues to flow through that sacred heart, enough love to heal the world for those who believe, and believe that He is present in the Eucharist.

Following his eucharistic reflection, Father Hayes said he was grateful to bring the message of Jesus Christ to members of His Church.

“I think people are very, very hungry for the Eucharist. I think we have a problem of under-catechesis. It’s not that people don’t know what they should, it’s just that I don’t think it has sunk in, partly because of the radical materialism of our

temporary, and the truth is, none of these accomplishments mean anything compared to the happiness I have found in my marriage and in starting a family.”

His 27-yard field goal with only seconds left clinched a three-point victory for the Chiefs.

world,” Father Hayes said.

“I do think that this so-called ‘enlightenment,’ which I spoke of, has for the past 200 years been trying to organize society without the Gospel on national levels. Then you get the secularisms and the atheisms, which are so deadly once they get organized in the present age,” he added.

“But at the heart of it is a failure to address the God who loves us, the God who comes to us in the Eucharist with humanity. This is such an amazing idea that many people don’t get it,” he continued.

Father Hayes pointed out that light must precede love. “You can’t love what you don’t know, what you don’t see.”

“We need the meditation and the attention that faith and doctrine bring to open our minds to the presence of Him, who loves us so much, whose heart remains open to shower us with grace and to shape our humanity in the direction of His own, morally and even physically when we get to the glory of the world to come,” he continued.

Father Hayes believes the Catholic Church and her people need to be working to reverse the trends that

“My confidence as a husband and father, and, yes, even as a football player, is rooted in my marriage with my wife, as we leave our mark on future generations by the children we bring into the world,” Mr. Butker said.

“How much greater of a legacy can anyone leave than that?” he rhetorically questioned.

Mr. Butker said that his experience with the university’s Catholic center “laid the foundation for me to prioritize meaningful relationships and become the husband and father I am today.”

“While I’m still striving to be a better, more virtuous man, I’m confident that with God and with my wife by my side, I can do more than I ever could have imagined alone,” he said.

Mr. Butker told the students that as they move forward in life, they will face challenges and added that there is a “war on truth” in the world.

Many have lost respect for the dignity of the human person, he said.

are eroding faith.

“I suggest that we roll up our sleeves and get to work. A warrior can only influence a battle as far as his sword will reach. All of us are summoned to be part of the army of the Lord. Come to know Him yourself first, and then speak of what your eyes of faith have seen, as St. John says, what our hands have touched. The Eucharist is God come to us in a tangible and visible way precisely as food to nourish us, to be the Bread of Life,” he said.

Deacon Bello was grateful for and inspired by Father Hayes’ message at a time when the people of God and perhaps some who are not churched most need to hear it.

“Father Hayes was able to take a message of communion among the members of Christ’s Body and the love Christ shares with us in His Eucharistic Body and impart that message with the right amount of theology and heart necessary for each group,” Deacon Bello said.

To learn more about the Eucharistic Revival in the Diocese of Knoxville, visit www.dioknox.org/ revival ■

Mrs. Sikarng said. “I try to plant little seeds here and there and get people to come into the Catholic faith.”

Nick Farfaglia, who was born in the Catholic faith, is a member of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church in Cleveland. He attended the Sending of the Neophytes Mass with his fianceé and three children, who joined the Catholic Church at Easter.

He was complimentary of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults class, the catechetical program people complete to join the Church, saying it was easier than expected and not at all difficult to take part in and complete.

and avoid the temptation to let other interests replace their participation in the Mass, prayer, and Catholic activities. He encouraged them to become active in their parishes and some of the many organizations faithful to the Church.

And above all, he asked them to spend time each day in prayer to God, be in the presence of Jesus, and pray the rosary for the intercession of the Blessed Mother.

“It’s what the Church is. It’s the witness to Jesus. It’s the response to Jesus. It’s knowing that God has surprises for us in life. This is where trust is,” the bishop continued. “It’s like trusting the GPS. You might not know everything. You might even end up in a corn -

field. But most of the time you’re going to wind up in the place where you want to be. You might not even know what that place is. But God knows.”

Filipina Sikarng of St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut attended the Mass with her children, Mason, Oliver, and Milo. Mrs. Sikarng said she began the conversion process in 2020 and was confirmed, received her first Holy Communion, and completed her marriage convalidation on Nov. 26.

She said she is not nervous at all about going out into the community as a new member of the Catholic faith.

“I feel complete and very blessed. Also, I’m just very happy,”

He said his children, who are converts from a Protestant church, have learned much during the RCIA process.

He smiled, laughed, and said it was his New England-Italian Catholic upbringing that had such an influence on the members of his family-to-be.

Brenda Blevins of St. Thérèse of Lisieux accompanied the parish’s new Catholics to the Mass and said the parish has several “neat” stories of conversion to the Catholic faith, noting that a father and his daughter just joined the Church as did a family of four.

“We just had a fabulous class, and a large class,” said Ms. Blevins, who also credited Aurora Gardner with coordinating the parish’s RCIA program for the Hispanic community. ■

Speaking the truth Two-time Super Bowl champion kicker Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs delivers his speech to graduates at Georgia Tech on May 6.

COURTESY OF GEORGIA TECH/YOUTUBE

BILL BREWER

Captivated by faith Bishop Richard F. Stika shows a young family the pectoral cross he was wearing for the Sending of the Neophytes Mass.

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Kicker continued on page A24

How It Works

bishop:

n Do you here, in the presence of God and this congregation, renew and affirm the vows you made to each other when you bound yourselves together in holy matrimony?

n Will you seek to nurture and daily affirm your love and commitment to each other in the light of the love that God has revealed to us in Jesus Christ?

The couples responded “we do” to each question, and together participated in a prayer for their marriages.

Following the Mass, the couples and their families were invited to a reception in Cathedral Hall that included a dinner and professional photos with the bishop. Couples also received a commemorative certificate from the event.

Some 340 individuals attended the Mass and reception.

Meredith Oravitz and her husband, James, are parishioners at St. John Neumann in Farragut “I really enjoyed the Mass,” Mrs. Oravitz shared. “I came today because I felt it was very special to be a part of the community of all those who have shared in marriage for so many years, and even those who have just been married two years or even less. I really did en

Avow continued from page A1

deeper as small-group studies do. Like when you start out, it’s how do you feel about this? And as it gets deeper, it’s what would your parents say if you told them you were discerning religious life? What scares you the most about discerning religious life?”

“I just think this is a great opportunity for young women to meet in community together and be able to support each other together and have the opportunity to sit with Sisters. They have picked their brains on everything from how often can you visit your family to do you get to eat the kind of food you want to eat? Those are questions that people want to know. It’s been a great opportunity and I hope helpful for them as well,” Mrs. Parsons said.

The group meets twice a month, with one of those visits taking place at the Knoxville convent of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich.

“The Sisters invite the young ladies to come for their holy hour, and we have dinner with them, and then we do the small group with two Sisters. But they get to be in communication with all the Sisters who are there; it’s a great opportunity for them to see what religious life is like and just fun to hang out and talk to them,” Mrs. Parsons noted.

Sister Joan Miriam Nelson, RSM, has been with the group since it began in August 2022.

“What is special about Avow, which makes it different from other discussion groups or Bible studies, is the focus is discernment and each woman's individual discernment journey,” Sister Joan Miriam said.

Survey continued from page A3

joy it, it touched us.”

“We’ve been married for 53 years now, and it just was something I felt like we needed to be together and reunite our vows and everything again,” she continued. “He has been very special in my life, very special. I don’t know how I could’ve gone so many years without him. It’s very special to be married to him for even two or three years, he’s just a wonderful man.”

Christi Harr and her husband, Fred, are parishioners at Our

Lady of Perpetual Help and made the drive from Chattanooga to attend the celebration.

“Today is actually our 30th anniversary, so it worked out great,” Mrs. Harr said.

The Harrs have advice for young people discerning and preparing for marriage.

“It’s wonderful, but not easy, and that you should go through the classes that the Catholic Church has to prepare you for what’s coming because it’s not just about the wedding day, it’s about

“I feel there's a big need to help young people to even think about discernment of anything, discernment of their vocation. This program specifically is about discernment of religious life. We certainly aren't forcing anybody to take the program or to commit at the end of the program, but it is a good series of steps and looking inward at how their lives would be if they had chosen to become religious Sisters ”

“It is a safe place where women can honestly look at what God is inviting them to.”

Sister Joan Miriam’s own discernment journey began in high school after confirmation.

“I wanted to be a 'good' Catholic and live out my faith, which I understood to include being open to religious life. Fast forward several years. It was after I graduated from Oklahoma State University when religious life popped back up. Somewhat ironically, and humorously, I was dating at the time. God used that relationship to help me realize what I truly wanted and what He had made me for. Once it became clear that God wanted me to look into religious life, I broke up with my boyfriend and looked into religious communities,” she said

For young women who are thinking about religious life, Sister Joan Miriam’s advice is to “pray and then act.”

“Discernment needs to have an element that is concrete. If a woman thinks she has a call to religious life, the next step is reaching out to a community. It is similar if a woman

religious.” In 2022, 29 percent chose this response, down slightly from the 2021 peak of 32 percent. Before 2012, fewer than 20 percent of respondents had ever chosen this answer.

How often do you attend religious services?

Religious attendance figures appear to reflect this nonreligious trend. Among GSS respondents, 34 percent said they never attended religious services, a new high. This figure first hit 30 percent in 2018 and 20 percent in 1998 after hovering at about 15 percent for decades.

As many as 11 percent of respondents said they attended religious services less than once a year, 13 percent said they attended once a year, and 10 percent attended several times a year. Only 4 percent said they attended once a month, 5 percent attended two or three times a month, and 4 percent attended “nearly every week.”

About 13 percent attended religious services weekly, a slight increase over 2021 respondents but a decline from 18 percent in 2018. GSS respondents have never reported weekly attendance over 30 percent, though this figure peaked at 29 percent in 1972, the first year

GSS asked this question.

— Beth Parsons

believes she is called to married life she has to date a man whom she could marry,” she said. “Part of the Avow format is prayer, reflection, and then taking concrete steps.”

Allie Leavitt, a Diocese of Knoxville parishioner at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, joined the Avow group at the invitation of a friend.

“I thought it would be a great way to become more involved with the diocese. I always loved seeing the Sisters at Mass and was excited at the opportunity to get to know them better,” she shared. “Getting to know the Religious Sisters of Mercy has been such a gift! It was amazing hearing their own vocation stories as well as how they are living out their vocations in our diocese.

Ms. Leavitt said Avow has been an incredible experience, and she would recommend the program “to any woman who is discerning her vocation.”

“It provided me and other young women a space to simply share life and ask deeper questions about what God may be calling us to do. I also loved eating dinner together

About 5 percent of respondents attended religious services more than once a week. This response last peaked at 9 percent in 1993 and has never exceeded 9 percent since 1972.

How often do you pray?

Self-reported prayer was more popular than self-reported church attendance. According to the GSS, 28 percent of respondents said they pray several times a day, down slightly from a 2004 peak at 31 percent. Another 20 percent said they pray once a day, an increase from 16 percent in 2021 but down from 28 percent in 2018, where the figure had held steady for decades.

Another 13 percent said they prayed several times a week, while 6 percent prayed once a week. The numbers of those who rarely or never pray are near a historic high: 34 percent said they prayed “less than once a week or never,” a decline from the 2021 peak at 38 percent. Are you spiritual?

The GSS also inquired whether respondents identified as spiritual.

Among respondents, 26 percent identified as “very spiritual,” 32 percent identified as “somewhat spiritual,” 26 percent identified as

the rest of it,” Mrs. Harr said.

Mr. Harr noted that what’s important is “listening to what the other has to say and being concerned about their feelings, and that decisions going forward are mutual.”

Carolyn Krings, the administrative assistant for the Office of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment, discussed why events like the renewal of vows are important.

“I think the sacrament is such a gift, and that we need to really put that in the forefront for all our guests and their families to be able to remember that our marriage is uniting us with Christ, and that’s the basis of all our marriages,” Mrs. Krings said. “And we’re celebrating some 62-, some 50-year marriages; there were over eight couples that were over 50 years (of marriage). I just think that’s a beautiful legacy that not only they’re leaving their families but they’re leaving for us as Catholics, that their marriage is the foundation of our whole society.”

“The enemy is of course trying to change all that, but we’re not going to let him,” she continued. “We want to celebrate marriage with dinner and a party like this so that it’s special, that people recognize that it’s specia l.” ■

and all of the laughs and good conversations,” she said. “It is a great opportunity to learn more about all of the types of vocations and ask any questions you may have about it while also growing in friendship with the Sisters and other young women. Avow is such a special opportunity, and I am so grateful for the experience. The intentional conversations and friendships formed will stay with me for a lifetime.”

Mrs. Parsons believes Avow’s focus on religious life is special.

“I feel there’s a big need to help young people to even think about discernment of anything, discernment of their vocation,” she said. “This program specifically is about discernment of religious life. We certainly aren’t forcing anybody to take the program or to commit at the end of the program, but it is a good series of steps and looking inward at how their lives would be if they had chosen to become religious Sisters.”

“It’s been very eye-opening to me,” Mrs. Parsons continued. “I’ve led a lot of small-group studies over the years; this has been very interesting to me to hear the Sisters share their stories and share about specific things about discernment that have helped them back when they first started discerning. I thought my role was going to be more of a facilitator, but it’s honestly been a learning experience for me, too, just to be with the Sisters…. I’m just grateful for the Sisters of Mercy for being a part of it.”

A new Avow group will begin in the fall. For more information on the Avow program, contact Mrs. Parsons at bparsons@dioknox.org ■

“slightly spiritual,” and 15 percent identified as “not spiritual.”

The nonspiritual have trended slightly upward in recent years, while the “somewhat spiritual” respondent numbers have declined. Do you have confidence in organized religion?

Confidence in organized religion also has dropped significantly.

Confidence peaked in 1974, when 45 percent of GSS respondents voiced “a great deal of confidence” in organized religion. In 2022, only 15 percent did, about the same as the alltime low in 2021.

About 49 percent of respondents voiced “only some” confidence in organized religion, the first time under 50 percent since 2000. Another 33 percent of respondents voiced “hardly any confidence” in organized religion, comparable with 2021 and still above the previous peak of 30 percent in 1989. In 1975, only 11 percent of Americans responded this way.

The 2022 data for the GSS is based on 3,544 completed surveys from May 4 to Dec. 20 as well as 601 additional completed surveys for an oversample of African American, Hispanic, and Asian respondents from the NORC AmeriSpeak Panel. ■

GABRIELLE NOLAN

One for the photo album A family has their portrait taken with Bishop Richard F. Stika following the Mass of reaffirmation of marriage vows on April 30 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Pope creates Las Vegas ecclesiastical province

Holy Father names Bishop George Leo Thomas first metropolitan archbishop

By OSV News

Pope Francis has created the ecclesiastical province of Las Vegas, comprised of the Archdiocese of Las Vegas and the suffragan dioceses of Reno, Nev., and Salt Lake City.

The Holy Father also named Las Vegas Bishop George Leo Thomas to be the first metropolitan archbishop of Las Vegas. Archbishop Thomas, who turned 73 on May 19, was appointed the third bishop of Las Vegas on Feb. 28, 2018.

The establishment of the new province and the appointment of the metropolitan archbishop was publicized in Washington, D.C., on May 30 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

A metropolitan archbishop is the head of his archdiocese, and while he has no direct power of governance over the suffragan dioceses in his province, “ through canon law, he supports them in matters of faith and discipline and provides fraternal pastoral care to his brother bishops,” said a news release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“ Las Vegas has been for me one of the most beautiful encounters, beautiful treasures I could have ever experienced,” Archbishop Thomas told reporters at a news briefing in Las Vegas about the creation of the ecclesiastical province, the elevation of the five-county diocese in southern Nevada to an archdiocese and his being named an archbishop.

He was joined at the briefing by Auxiliary Bishop Gregory W. Gordon of Las Vegas; Bishop Daniel H. Mueggenborg of Reno, Nev.; Bishop Oscar A. Solis of Salt Lake City; and retired Auxiliary Bishop Richard B. Higgins of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services.

When Archbishop Thomas was named the third bishop of Las Vegas by Pope Francis in 2018, he had been the bishop of Helena, Mont., for 14 years. Before that, the Montana native was an auxiliary bishop of Seattle for four years.

He said that when he was named to Las Vegas, Archbishop Pierre informed him of the appointment and also told him the Las Vegas Diocese had “ grown too complex” to send a new bishop to be its shepherd.

By “ complex,” he meant it had “ a pronounced shortage of priests and seminarians, exponential growth of laity, and needed to build new parishes and establish new schools,” Archbishop Thomas recalled, adding that he

‘Focus

Ecclesiastical announcement Bishop George Leo Thomas of Las Vegas returns to his seat after receiving Communion at the Basilica of St. Mary Major during his "ad limina" visit in Rome in 2020. Pope Francis created the ecclesiastical province of Las Vegas on May 30, which is composed of the Archdiocese of Las Vegas and the suffragan dioceses of Reno, Nev., and Salt Lake City. The same day he named Bishop Thomas the first metropolitan

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States, informed him of the appointment and also told him the Las Vegas Diocese had “ grown too complex” to send a new bishop to be its shepherd. By “ complex,” he meant it had “ a pronounced shortage of priests and seminarians, exponential growth of laity, and needed to build new parishes and establish new schools.

told the nuncio: “ The one thing I can do is bring wise and gifted people around a common table, and we can solve anything.”

The creation of the ecclesiastical province of Las Vegas and elevation of the diocese to an archdiocese illustrate that “ the dynamism of this local Church, the vitality of the parishes and communities” has come “ to the attention of the Holy See,” Archbishop Thomas said.

on our faith’

encouraging councils to establish small faith groups. Cor is Latin for heart, and the theme Mr. Markiewicz has chosen for his term as state deputy is “Knights to Our Cor.”

“A lot of this is from the heart and working on setting the stage where we can work with each other talking heart to heart in an environment where we have prayer, faith formation, and fraternity,” he said. “To me this has been an exciting journey.”

Mr. Markiewicz planned a meeting for the new state officers and his leadership team on May 20 in Cookeville, where he laid out his vision for the order going forward. It is based on the four promises launched by Mr. Laufenberg. They are:

n We will help all men grow closer in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

n We will provide opportunities for all Catholic men to serve Christ in His Church.

n We will provide opportunities for all Catholic men to serve those most in need in their community in the name of Christ.

n We will help ensure no Catholic family experiences unnecessary financial hardship due to the loss of a primary breadwinner or an underfunded retirement plan.

“To me, this is our mission,” Mr. Markiewicz said of the promises. “This is the theme of what we’re trying to achieve. There’s a Christo-centric leadership that we’ve got to provide and really help to develop.”

The four promises are based on the things the Knights’ founder, Blessed Father Michael McGivney, was focused on as a parish priest in the 1880s, “trying to get these men focused on their family and their Church,” Mr. Markiewicz said.

During his two years as State Deputy, Mr. Laufenberg worked to build on the work of his predecessors.

“Tracy Staller (of Seymour) and Michael McCusker (of Memphis) started this thing that we’re going to be Christo-centric,” he said. “We’re going to focus on our faith, we’re going to focus on our Church, we’re going to focus even more on the needs of our priests to help our brothers grow in their faith.”

Mr. Laufenberg and his leadership team reimagined the annual kickoff meetings in the summer and the mid-year meetings in January to be faith retreats.

“We really wanted men to focus on helping Catholic men get back into where practicing their faith was really the most important thing that they could do. That they’re getting closer to God is one of the most important things that they could do. That helping other men get closer to God was one of the most important things we could do,” Mr. Laufenberg said.

That was followed by introducing the four promises.

“We’re not shying away from the fact we are a charitable organization; it’s our first principle,” he explained. “We’re not shying away from the fact we need to grow the order, we need to bring more Catholic men into the order. But instead of saying you need to conduct membership drives, what I’m saying is you need to go ask that good Catholic man to come join you on your faith journey, come help you on your faith journey to get to heaven.”

The approach is working to attract young Catholic men and their families to the order, Mr. Laufenberg said. Knights have to offer Catholic men an opportuni -

“ I feel very grateful to the Holy See and certainly to Pope Francis, whom I love very deeply, but the honor and the glory belongs to the priests and to the lay faithful,” the archbishop said. It is the people laboring out in the fields and in the communities who are really responsible for the dynamism of this archdiocese.”

“ We are having exponential growth to be sure, and people receiving excellent pastoral care, ” he said. “ The fact we have now become an archdiocese is certainly a mark of approbation and approval of the Holy Father” and “ most especially is a credit” to the laity, priests, and also the religious.

Archbishop Thomas said he planned to go to Rome on June 28 with pilgrims from the archdiocese and fellow clergy, and on June 29 he will receive the pallium from the pope.

The pallium is the woolen band that the heads of archdioceses wear around their shoulders over their Mass vestments. It symbolizes an archbishop s unity with the pope and his authority and responsibility to care for the flock the pope entrusted to him.

“ I’ m told I’ m the only American receiving it this year,” Archbishop Thompson said, adding that Archbishop Pierre will place it over his shoulders in Las Vegas on Oct. 2, which is the feast of the Guardian Angels, during a major celebration at the Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer that will formally establish Las Vegas as an archdiocese.

In his remarks at the briefing, Bishop Gordon said that the pope’ s creation of the new province and elevation of the diocese to archdiocese is “ a reflection at this moment of the tremendous growth” of the Church and Nevada itself in terms of population, hotels, and sports arenas but also in terms “ of the spiritual, as evidenced by the increase in the number of baptisms, parishes, schools, and other apostolates.

But “ this moment” also is certainly a reflection of the pope s confidence in the spiritual leadership of Archbishop Thomas, who “ is always thanking us for all the work we (do), but we know the truth, that work would not be done if it weren t for the fact the shepherd is so active and so engaged,” Bishop Gordon said. “ We thank you for all you’ve done these past five years in our new archdiocese. ... We look forward to working with you in your pastoral ministry in this archdiocese for many, many years to come.”

ty to grow in their faith, he said. “You have to offer that we’re Catholic men. It resonates.”

The leaders of the Knights’ Supreme Council overseeing the entire international order of 2 million men have noticed what’s been going on in Tennessee and are taking a similar approach.

Mr. Laufenberg noted that in Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly’s video shown at the state conventions for all the jurisdictions in the order, “he’s got our four promises entwined in there. They’re not exactly the same

words, but they have the exact same meaning. They’re not in the exact same order, but the four promises are all there.”

Mr. Laufenberg has enjoyed his time as a state officer.

“I might have known some of the brother Knights we have wandering around the state, a few of them,” Mr. Laufenberg said. “But what this has done is given me an opportunity to meet so many more of them and have this relationship where I truly care about them and they truly care about me. ” ■

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE PHOTO/PAUL HARING

archbishop of Las Vegas.

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challenge for us. I admit that assignments are difficult and that parishioners can grow attached to a particular priest. That’s a wonderful thing, but the gifts those priests bring to a parish might be needed elsewhere,” Bishop Stika added.

Father Antonio Giraldo has been appointed pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Townsend. The appointment was effective May 6.

Father Giraldo, who has served as parochial administrator of St. Francis since July 2017, began serving in the Diocese of Knoxville in 2002 after relocating from his native Colombia. He has served as an associate pastor of All Saints Parish in Knoxville, St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish in Cleveland, and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City. He celebrated his 25th year as a priest on Nov. 20, 2022.

Father Dominic Nguyen, CRM, has been named pastor of the Church of Divine Mercy in Knoxville, effective April 21.

Father Nguyen, who is a member of the order of Clerics Regular Minor, has served as parochial administrator of Divine Mercy since June 2019. He was ordained to the priesthood in June 2009.

Bishop Stika installed Father Nguyen as pastor on June 11.

Father Ray Powell, who has served as pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle since July 2018, was named pastor of St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge. He succeeds Father Brent Shelton, who has served as pastor at St. Mary since July 2015 and has taken a leave of absence.

As pastor of St. Mary, Father Powell also will lead St. Mary School, one of the diocese’s 10 schools.

Prior to serving in Lenoir City, Father Powell served as pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in LaFollette, Christ the King Parish in Tazewell, and St. Jude Parish in Helenwood. He also has served as associate pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Chattanooga.

Father Powell, who was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Stika in June 2015, is to serve in Oak Ridge for at least six years. His term begins on June 17.

Father Pontian Kiyimba, AJ, who has served as associate pastor at St. Mary-Oak Ridge since Oct. 15, 2018, has been named parochial administrator of both St. Mary Parish in Gatlinburg and Church of the Good Shepherd in Newport. His six-year term begins July 1. He has previously served as associate pastor at All Saints Parish in Knoxville.

In Newport, Father Kiyimba suc-

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Bishop Gordon said the first inquiries into the possibility of Las Vegas becoming an archdiocese and an ecclesiastical province being created for Nevada and Utah go back to the creation of the Las Vegas Diocese in 1995.

“ (There are) decades of growth, decades of censuses showing how Nevada and Utah lead the nation as among the fastest growing states,” Bishop Gordon said, noting that Nevada’s five southern counties making up the new archdiocese alone have more than 750,000 Catholics.

In 1995, St. John Paul II divided what was the Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas into the Diocese of Reno and the Diocese of Las Vegas. The Diocese of Reno was first established March 27, 1931, and then redesignated as the Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas on Oct. 13, 1976.

The statewide Diocese of Salt Lake was formed in 1891 from the Vicariate of Utah and Eastern Nevada. In 1951, the Vatican renamed it the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

Before May 30, the dioceses of Reno, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City were suffragan dioceses of the metropolitan Archdiocese of San Francisco.

ceeds Monsignor Bob Hofstetter, who died in July 2022. In Gatlinburg, Father Kiyimba succeeds Father Antony Punnackal, CMI, who is on a leave of absence.

Father Kiyimba, who is a member of the Apostles of Jesus religious order and celebrates Mass in Swahili for members of the African Catholic community in East Tennessee as well as serving in the diocesan Hispanic Jail Ministry, became a U.S. citizen in 2022. He has been in active ministry in the Diocese of Knoxville since Nov. 1, 2012. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2005 in his native Uganda.

Father Julian Cardona, who has served as associate pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle since July 2015, has been named parochial administrator of the Lenoir City parish.

Father Cardona was ordained by Bishop Stika in May 2014, and also has served as associate pastor at St. Mary Parish in Johnson City. His six-year term at St. Thomas begins on June 17.

Father Adam Royal, who has served as associate pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa since December 2019, has been named parochial vicar of St. Thomas the Apostle. His assignment begins on July 1.

Father Royal was ordained by Bishop Stika in June 2016 and has served as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Chattanooga. He also is serving as chaplain for the new Catholic Medical Association.

Father Dennis Kress is the new pastor of St. Therese Parish in Clinton and St. Joseph Parish in Norris. He begins the six-year assignment on July 1.

Father Kress has served as pastor of St. Elizabeth Parish in Elizabethton since July 1, 2003, and as parochial administrator of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Mountain City since June 2004. He was ordained by Bishop Anthony J. O’Connell in June 1999 and has served as an associate pastor at St. Dominic Parish in Kingsport.

Succeeding Father Kress in upper East Tennessee will be Father Jesús Guerrero, who has been serving as parochial vicar of St. Mary Parish in Johnson City since July 2015.

Father Guerrero’s assignment as parochial administrator of St. Elizabeth and St. Anthony of Padua begins on July 1.

Following his ordination to the priesthood by Bishop Stika in June 2015, Father Guerrero was assigned to St. Mary in Johnson City. Father Guerrero is originally from Mexico and has been in the Diocese of

Bishop Mueggenborg, who has headed the Reno Diocese since 2021, said at the briefing that he met the May 30 announcement about Las Vegas “ with great joy and profound gratitude.”

“ I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you, Archbishop Thomas, and the archdiocese. This is a significant milestone, and it marks a new chapter in the life of the Church, especially here in Nevada but in the entire Great Basin of the United States. It reflects not only the spiritual growth but also the dedication that has taken root here the last 28 years.

Bishop Solis, who has been Salt Lake City’ s bishop since 2017, called it “ a great honor and privilege to join you in this milestone in celebration of God’s blessing to this local Church here in Nevada.”

He extended his diocese’s and the state’s warmest congratulations for this wonderful moment in the history of the local church of Las Vegas.”

“ Nothing happens by accident,” Bishop Solis said. It is always the movement of the Holy Spirit that inspires priests, religious men and women, as well as the laity, to build a vibrant Church in joy and gratitude.” ■

Knoxville since 2011. In 2009, he served as a missionary in Russia.

Father Moisés Moreno has been named parochial vicar at St. Mary in Johnson City. Father Moreno has served as associate pastor of St. Mary Parish in Gatlinburg and Holy Cross Parish in Pigeon Forge since Aug. 1, 2021, and also has led the Hispanic ministry in the Sevier County parishes.

Father Moreno, who was ordained to the priesthood in November 2010 by Bishop Stika, also has served as an associate pastor at St. Jude Parish in Chattanooga and as parochial vicar and chaplain of the Hispanic community at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga. His term begins on July 1.

Father Emmanuel Massawe, AJ, who has served as parochial vicar at St. Dominic Parish in Kingsport since October 2017, has been named parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Gatlinburg and Church of the Good Shepherd in Newport and will assist Father Kiyimba.

Father Massawe, whose term begins on Aug. 7, is a member of the Apostles of Jesus religious order.

Father Tom Charters, GHM, who has served as pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Erwin since its founding in October 2011, has been named parochial vicar of the Unicoi County parish effective July 1

Father Charters will be taking a three-month sabbatical in the Diocese of Colorado Springs beginning Sept. 10, returning to St. Michael the Archangel in December.

As a priest with the Glenmary Home Missioners, Father Charters has pastored parishes in five states and has served as a Glenmary priest for 50 years.

Father Kenneth Wandera, GHM, who has assisted Father Charters as associate pastor of St. Michael the Archangel since April 2021, has been named parochial administrator of the parish. His six-year assignment begins on July 1.

Father Wandera was ordained a Glenmary Home Missioners priest in March 2021. He began his ministry in East Tennessee in 2019 as a missionary from Kenya.

Bishop Stika also has appointed three newly ordained priests Fathers Andrew Crabtree, Neil Blatchford, and Joseph Austin to their first assignments.

Bishop Stika ordained the men to the priesthood on June 10 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Father Crabtree will assist at the cathedral July 1-Aug. 6, and then he will serve as parochial vicar at

St. Dominic Parish, effective Aug. 7.

Father Blatchford has been appointed parochial vicar of St. Mary Church in Oak Ridge, effective July 1.

And Father Austin has been appointed parochial vicar of Our Lady of Fatima, effective July 1.

In addition, Bishop Stika has announced that transitional deacons Bo Beaty, Daniel Herman, Michael Willey, and Renzo Alvarado Suarez have been given summer assignments as they prepare for their final year of seminary and then ordination to the priesthood in 2024.

Deacons Beaty, Herman, and Willey were ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Stika at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 3. Bishop Stika ordained Deacon Suarez to the transitional diaconate on Jan. 22 in Mexico City.

Deacon Willey will serve at St. Patrick Church in Morristown June 4-Aug. 13. Deacon Herman will serve at St. Alphonsus Church in Crossville June 4-Aug. 13. Deacon Suarez will serve at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga, effective May 30. And Deacon Beaty will serve at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus June 4-Aug. 13.

Bishop Stika also announced that Father Mark Schuster, pastor of St. Alphonsus, has been named dean of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Cumberland Mountain Deanery, effective June 5.

Father Martin Gladysz, associate pastor of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; Father Michael Nolan, pastor of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish in Cleveland; Father Ray Powell, new pastor of St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge; and Father Schuster have been named to the diocese's College of Consultors.

Father Michael Cummins, pastor of St. Dominic Parish in Kingsport, has been reappointed to the College of Consultors. They join existing consultors Father David Boettner, rector of the cathedral, Father Doug Owens, pastor of All Saints Parish in Knoxville, Father Manuel Pérez, pastor of St. Stephen Parish in Chattanooga, and Father Shelton

Father Arthur Torres Barona, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Chattanooga also has been named director of vocations for the diocese. Father Christopher Floersh, who has served in this role, will serve as a full-time associate pastor at St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut.

Father Jhon Mario Garcia, CM, will succeed Father Torres as spiritual director of the Hispanic Marriage Retreat, Unidos Con Cristo. ■

Deacon Beaty

Deacon Willey Deacon Suarez Deacon Herman

“Gone are the days when a plurality of thought was accepted and encouraged. Instead, freedom of thought has been replaced by a culture built on cancellations for those who disagree,” he continued.

Mr. Butker encouraged the students to “take risks at the expense of being silenced.”

“There will always be critics and those that disagree with our viewpoints; however, if we shy away from confrontation, then the only voices left will be the ones with the most power,” Mr. Butker said.

He concluded: “I pray that something I’ve said has resonated with you all and that no matter what happens from here on out, remember your purpose, focus on meaningful relationships, and know that, with or without the spotlight, your life has value, and you are meant for more.”

The professional kicker is a champion on the field and in spiritual life, where he says he wants nothing less than to become a saint.

“If we want to be saints, we have to die to ourselves,” Mr. Butker told Catholic News Agency.

During his team’s stunning Feb. 12 Super Bowl victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, players were slipping all over the field, leading many to change their cleats during the competition. Mr. Butker experienced a slip himself, but of a different sort.

Mr. Butker’s scapular made a timely appearance as it slipped out of his jersey while more than 100 million fans across the globe watched him line up for a 27-yard field goal attempt with 11 seconds left on the clock in a tie game.

“I think that was our Blessed Mother asking for the spotlight to

be shown on her and reminding me that all the glory goes to God and to her,” Mr. Butker said.

That kick sailed through the goal posts, clinching the game for the Chiefs.

The scapular, which is made up of two pieces of brown wool and is worn hanging across one’s chest and back, is a sacramental from the Carmelite tradition that anyone can wear as a sign of their consecration to Mary.

It wasn’t until the 2022-23 season that Mr. Butker began wearing his scapular 24 hours a day, seven days a week, after realizing he needed to take a leap of faith and entrust himself to Mary at all times through the devotion.

Picking it up in college, Mr. Butker’s scapular has sparked conversations about his Catholic faith within the Chiefs’ locker room, with some players asking: “What is that brown necklace you’re wearing?”

Mr. Butker said he’s had “some really good conversations” in the locker room, and his scapular has given him opportunities to witness to the power of devotion to Mary and the Catholic faith.

He said it’s important for Catholics to be open about their faith in their jobs, even if it makes them appear “weird” or “different.”

“We can’t be ashamed of our faith because, if we are Catholic, we know of all the fruits that Our Lord has given to us. And if we hoard those fruits, and we don’t open up those fruits to those that are around us, especially in the workplace, where God wants us to evangelize, then I think we’re doing a disservice to Our Lord. And we’re not being charitable with our time in sharing the Gospel with those around us,” he said.

Arguably the best-known Catholic who is active in the National Football League, Mr. Butker clearly takes his faith very seriously, but many may be surprised to learn that this Super Bowl-winning season was his biggest trial of faith yet.

“I’ve been around a 90 percent field goal kicker my entire career,” Mr. Butker said, adding that this season “I was missing a lot of kicks. So, it was the first time I felt like a lot of people had a lot of negative things to say about me.”

Additionally, in the first game of the season—on the same slippery field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., where he would eventually kick the game-winning field goal in Super Bowl LVII—Mr. Butker took a fall on a kickoff and suffered a devastating ankle sprain, sidelining him for weeks.

If Mr. Butker were to have it his own way, he’d stay healthy and have every ball he kicks go through the uprights.

“But I always say God’s will is better than my own will.”

God certainly had a plan for Mr. Butker, and that plan involved the prayers of a member of the College of Cardinals watching a game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

Not knowing if his sprained ankle would be healed in time to play, Mr. Butker invited Cardinal Raymond Burke, archbishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, who is a friend and role model of his, to a home game against the Buffalo Bills.

Crediting God’s providence, Mr. Butker returned to the field that same week. He then broke both a personal and a Chiefs’ record by kicking a 62-yard field goal, something he attributes in part to Cardi-

nal Burke's prayers.

Cardinal Burke congratulated Mr. Butker after the game, with Mr. Butker explaining why he wanted the cardinal there that night.

“The holiness of this man and the amount of virtue that he has, and the amount of insight into the spiritual life is unbelievable. And I want to take advantage of as many opportunities as I get to be around him, because I want people around me that are going to push me to be a saint, to be better,” he said.

Mr. Butker said he is being “intentional” with who he spends time with.

“And at the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves, is this person pushing us to be a saint and to be closer to God?” If the answer is “no,” Mr. Butker said, then the friendship doesn’t have to be cut off, but it’s important to find other friends who will “push us to grow.”

“Iron sharpens iron,” he added.

Mr. Butker’s field-goal percentage in the 2022-23 season fell to 75 percent, much lower than what he consistently hits each season as one of the best kickers in the league. In fact, he said that last season presented him with “the most suffering” and “the most adversity” that he’s had to face.

He said he’s thankful for it because it pushed him to rely on God and grow in humility.

“When you are suffering, how do you get through it? You can only get through it by relying on that foundation, which is Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament,” he said.

“So, it’s funny, this was the most suffering, the most adversity I’ve faced, but I am also the most thankful. And I’m just excited for what God has in store for my life,” he added. ■

COURTESY OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF EAST TENNESSEE (7)

Putting the Fun in Fundraiser Supporters of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee from all walks of life gathered together April 29 at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville to take part in Catholic Charities' annual Race for Kids 5K and Family Walk. A host of sponsors assisted Catholic Charities with the event, which generates resources for the Diocese of Knoxville social services agency's children's and family programming.

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