Meet Focolare 6 • Pope to visit Congress 9 • St. Odilia on stage 18 February 12, 2015 Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
thecatholicspirit.com
A look at the life Religious communities promote vocations with open houses By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
Ddifferent
etermined
to do something
Bob Schwiderski, right, talks with Timothy O’Malley, archdiocesan director of ministerial standards and safe environment following a Jan. 29 healing service. Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit
The Church of St. Paul in Ham Lake held its second prayer service for victims/survivors of sexual abuse by members of the clergy Jan. 29, led by Father Tim Norris and Bob Schwiderski. Former state director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Schwiderski once had a contentious relationship with local Catholic leaders, but now thinks the archdiocese is on the right track. — Story on page 5
Standing by a table spread with books, prayer cards and tiny Blessed Teresa of Kolkata holy medals, Sister Mary Tessilina, a Missionary of Charity, playfully draped an edge of her iconic, blue-striped sari over 22-year-old Anna Romportl’s forehead. For a moment, the college senior caught a glimpse of herself as a veiled member of the order. A parishioner of St. Michael in Stillwater studying at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Romportl is discerning a vocation to religious life, she said, which is what drew her Feb. 8 to Minneapolis’ Phillips neighborhood to the converted apartment building to see how the Missionaries live, work and pray. The Missionaries were among 10 religious communities in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that participated in a nationwide Day of Open House with Religious, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, and the nation’s three religious leadership conferences. In the archdiocese, communities opened their doors to the public for three hours Sunday afternoon. The Missionaries invited their visitors to spend time in eucharistic adoration before joining them in a room with a long table, chairs and Please turn to SISTERS on page 5
ALSO inside
Intentional dating
It’s good to give
Funding good works
New book offers advice from UST’s “love doctor.”
Is almsgiving an often overlooked aspect of Lent? — Pages 12-13
2015 Catholic Services Appeal: Where does the money go? — Pages 15-17
— Page 8