The Catholic Spirit - January 27, 2022

January 27, 2022 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

‘Follow Christ’ At Jan. 25 ordination, Bishop Williams encourages faithful to share Gospel — B SECTION

Bishop Joseph Williams addresses the congregation near the close of his episcopal ordination Mass Jan. 25 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

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MCC’S LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES 5A | STUDENT BAPTISMS 7A | GERMAN ABUSE REPORT 8A BEARDED BROTHER TEACHES TEENS 9A | CATHOLIC FOR A CENTURY 14A | LITTLE SISTERS’ PANDEMIC PERSEVERANCE 16A

2A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

PAGETWO I am following with concern the rising tensions that threaten to strike a new blow at peace in Ukraine and put into question the security of the European continent, with even wider repercussions.

Pope Francis, calling for a day of prayer for peace in Ukraine Jan. 26 as concerns rise over a possible Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

NEWS notes

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MARCH FOR LIFE From left, Ben and Jen Eirikson of St. Michael in Pine Island carry a banner as they walk from the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul following the Prayer Service for Life to the State Capitol for the March for Life Jan. 22. Archbishop Bernard Hebda noted in his homily to more than 2,000 people in the Cathedral that the nation could be on the brink of a post-Roe world, as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a Mississippi ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, versus the current 24 weeks established by 1973’s Roe v. Wade and subsequent court rulings. Eirikson, grand knight of the Knights of Columbus Council 16016 (St. Padre Pio Council) in St. Michael, and his wife were joined by other families and people of all ages at the archdiocesan-sponsored prayer service in braving below-zero windchills for the march organized by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life. “We’re optimistic that almost 50 years of this unjust decision might be overturned,” said Stephen Maas, 44, of Nativity of Lord in St. Paul, about Roe v. Wade. “I think there’s a lot of anticipation.”

An anonymous bomb threat via voicemail early Jan. 18 at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield prompted an evacuation and police search, but no explosive device was found.

Richfield police and school staff evacuated the building, directing students who arrived at school to the Southwest Dome to wait for rides home. Phone and email messages urged others to remain home. School officials said a similar threat was received the same morning at Academy of the Holy Angels in New Jersey. Richfield and New Jersey police were collaboratively investigating the incidents. School resumed at 8:25 a.m. Jan. 19, a late start, officials at the high school said in a note to parents.

A group of business and social organizations announced Jan. 24 they have formed a coalition called Minnesotans Against Marijuana Legalization to strengthen opposition to legalizing the drug for recreational use. Introducing the coalition in a Zoom videoconference were John Hausladen, president and CEO of the Minnesota Trucking Association; Paul Aasen, president of the Minnesota Safety Council; Ryan Hamilton, government relations associate with Minnesota Catholic Conference; and Kim Bemis, chair of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Minnesota. The House passed a bill last year to legalize recreational use of the drug. The coalition says a companion bill in the Senate is likely to get attention this year in the legislative session that begins Jan. 31.

Due to COVID-19, the archdiocesan Office of Marriage, Family and Life canceled its annual trip to the National March for Life in Washington, D.C., but several local Catholics took their own trip to the Jan. 21 march along the National Mall to the U.S. Supreme Court building. Among them were Theology I seminarians from The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul. The march’s keynote speaker was Father Mike Schmitz of the Diocese of Duluth, a 2003 graduate of The St. Paul Seminary and Catholic Spirit columnist known for his social media catechesis and “The Bible in a Year” podcast.

Catholic schools get special recognition two weeks in a row. Jan. 23-29 is National School Choice Week, which advocates for policies that support students’ access to schools that best meet their needs, including nonpublic schools. Minnesota Catholic Conference supports school choice in the state through the Opportunity for All Kids coalition. Then, Jan. 30-Feb. 5 is National Catholic Schools Week, which celebrates Catholic schools in the United States. Organized by the National Catholic Educational Association, the theme for 2021-2024 is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.”

Schools throughout the archdiocese mark the week with special activities, assemblies and fun.

COURTESY ST. THERESE CATHOLIC SCHOOL

WINTER WONDERLAND From left, third-graders May Scherschligt, Nellie Daly, Anna Gilboe, Clarke Leinenkugel and Nell Cari of St. Therese Catholic School in Deephaven pause Jan. 14 at Hyland Hills Ski Area in Bloomington, where the school’s Ski and Snowboard Club held its first activity of the season. For students in grades three through eight, the club annually goes to Hyland Hills most Fridays from January through February. Last year, because of COVID-19 restrictions, it was one of the only extracurricular clubs held at the school. This year, more than 70 students are participating.

PRACTICING Catholic On the Jan. 21 “Practicing Catholic” show, host Patrick Conley interviews Emily Albrecht from the Equal Rights Institute and Jason Adkins, executive director and general counsel for the Minnesota Catholic Conference, who discuss ways pro-life advocates might best engage with arguments presented by pro-choice advocates. Also featured are Eileen Moore from St. Mark in St. Paul, who describes a fun way of building parish community, and Greg Hughes and Chuck Sylvester, members of Catholic Watchmen from St. Paul in Ham Lake, who describe what it means to be a man of God in the 21st century and preview a Feb. 16-18 men’s retreat with that theme. Listen each week on Fridays at 9 p.m., Saturdays at 1 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. Listen to interviews after they have aired at practicingcatholicshow.com, soundcloud.com/practicingcatholic or tinyurl.com/practicingcatholic.

The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 27 — No. 2 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief JOE RUFF, News Editor

Major works by Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli will be exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) in Minneapolis Oct. 15-Jan. 8, 2023. According to Mia’s Jan. 13 announcement, “‘Botticelli and Renaissance Florence: Masterworks from the Uffizi’ will include paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, decorative arts, and a selection of ancient Roman marble statues.” With 45 works loaned from the Uffizi in Florence, “The exhibition will be one of the most comprehensive shows on Botticelli ever staged in the United States, and will contextualize his works within the broader artistic and cultural climate of Renaissance Florence,” Mia stated. Botticelli’s works ranged from the mythological and secular to sacred subjects, including three major frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.

Reflecting on the Jan. 25 episcopal ordination of Bishop Joseph Williams, The Catholic Spirit asks, “What is your prayer for our auxiliary bishop as he begins his new ministry?” Send responses of 200 words or less to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Readers Respond” in the subject line. Your reflection may be included in a future edition of The Catholic Spirit.

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JANUARY 27, 2022

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3A

FROMTHEMODERATOROFTHECURIA ONLY JESUS | FATHER CHARLES LACHOWITZER

Catholic schools: Where children learn what to value — and why

W

hen I was in second grade, my teacher, Sister Mary Timothy, asked me one day if I could stay after school and help clean up the classroom. I was the kid who was going to be a priest. I was so good — when I was in school.

After the desks were all straightened out and the floor was swept, Sister Mary Timothy thanked me and told me I could go home. I walked to school and lived about a mile away (uphill both ways, of course). So, as I began to walk home, I saw that the doors to the church were open. Being that I was going to be a priest, I went inside.

I stretched out in a pew and fell asleep.

I woke up to the sound of voices.

One sounded like an angel and the other sounded like my mother. Sure enough, as I sat up in the pew, Sister Mary Timothy, a police officer and my mother ran over to me. Sister Mary Timothy was thanking God I was found. My mother grabbed me by the arm and, because we were in church, whispered all the ways I could be punished, including eternity with the devil. Sister Mary Timothy must have felt sorry for me because she brightly whispered, “Oh Mrs. Lachowitzer, think of Charles as being like Jesus. When Mary and Joseph thought he was lost, they found him in the Temple, too!”

My mother thanked Sister Mary

Escuelas católicas: donde los niños aprenden qué valorar y por qué

C

uando estaba en segundo grado, mi maestra, la hermana Mary Timothy, me preguntó un día si podía quedarme después de la escuela y ayudar a limpiar el salón de clases. Yo era el niño que iba a ser sacerdote. Era tan bueno, cuando estaba en la escuela.

Después de arreglar los escritorios y barrer el piso, la hermana Mary Timothy me agradeció y me dijo que podía irme a casa. Caminé a la escuela y vivía a una milla de distancia (cuesta arriba en ambos sentidos, por supuesto). Entonces, cuando comencé a caminar a casa, vi que las puertas de la iglesia estaban abiertas. Siendo que iba a ser sacerdote, entré. Me estiré en un banco y me quedé dormido.

Me desperté con el sonido de las voces. Uno sonaba como un ángel y el otro sonaba como mi madre.

Efectivamente, cuando me senté en el banco, la hermana Mary Timothy, un oficial de policía y mi madre corrieron hacia mí. La hermana Mary Timothy estaba agradeciendo a Dios que me encontraran. Mi madre me agarró del brazo y, como estábamos en la iglesia, susurró todas las formas en que podía ser castigado, incluida la eternidad con el diablo. La hermana Mary Timothy

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In a Catholic school, we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and by these truths, our children learn what to value and why.

Timothy and the police officer. Then my mother, because she did not drive, walked me home. One mile. Uphill.

Both ways. My mother waited until we were across the street from the church, so that she didn’t have to whisper, and then yelled, “Don’t get any ideas in that head of yours. Your parents aren’t Mary and Joseph and you’re not Jesus!”

My life in a Catholic school was a world of feast days, the seasons of the Church and the lives of the saints. By the time I was in seventh grade, I was a police boy and because I was still the kid who was going to be a priest, I was also president of the altar boys. The duties of training and scheduling servers were in the midst of a major change from Latin to English. Nevertheless, I was a leader in a child’s world.

The adult world of the late 1960s was in chaos. There were protests, riots and assassinations. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet made sure that our school was in a different world — a world of order, discipline and learning — all interwoven into our faith and our Catholic tradition.

To this day, the central characteristic of a Catholic school is a child’s world where there is an environment conducive to excellence in education, the formation of conscience and the development of moral character.

For me, a Catholic school is symbolized by that scene of my mother, my teacher and a police officer joyfully finding a lost child in a pew, albeit relieved from a fear I did not know. Parents, teachers and the leaders

debe haber sentido lástima por mí porque me susurró alegremente: “Oh, señora Lachowitzer, piense en Charles como si fuera Jesús. Cuando María y José pensaron que estaba perdido, ¡también lo encontraron en el Templo!”

aprendizaje, todo entrelazado con nuestra fe y nuestra tradición católica.

Hasta el día de hoy, la característica central de una escuela católica es un mundo infantil donde hay un ambiente propicio para la excelencia en la educación, la formación de la conciencia y el desarrollo del carácter moral.

Para mí, una escuela católica está simbolizada por esa escena de mi madre, mi maestra y un policía que encuentran alegremente a un niño perdido en un banco, aunque aliviados de un miedo que no conocía. Los padres, maestros y líderes de nuestras comunidades trabajan juntos para garantizar la seguridad de nuestros niños al establecer reglas que rigen el comportamiento correcto y crean la experiencia más positiva posible.

Disciplina es discipulado en una escuela que sigue a Jesús.

Es por eso que una escuela católica no solo pone valores en carteles para colgar en las paredes del aula. En una escuela católica, proclamamos el Evangelio de Jesucristo y por estas verdades, nuestros niños aprenden qué valorar y por qué. Nuestros hijos aprenden las virtudes y se les dan las habilidades para vivirlas.

Hoy en día, el mundo de los adultos sigue siendo desafiante.

Claro, hay muchas cosas buenas en nuestro mundo, pero en la naturaleza impredecible de los eventos nacionales

Mi madre agradeció a la Hermana Mary Timothy y al oficial de policía.

Entonces mi madre, como no conducía, me acompañó a casa. Una milla. Cuesta arriba. Ambos direcciones. Mi madre esperó hasta que estuvimos al otro lado de la calle de la iglesia, para no tener que susurrar, y luego gritó: “No te metas ideas en esa cabeza tuya. ¡Tus padres no son María y José y tú no eres Jesús!”

Mi vida en una escuela católica fue un mundo de fiestas, las estaciones de la Iglesia y la vida de los santos.

Cuando estaba en séptimo grado, era un niño policía y como todavía era el niño que iba a ser sacerdote, también era presidente de los monaguillos.

Las funciones de capacitación y programación de servidores se encontraban en medio de un cambio importante del latín al inglés. Sin embargo, yo era un líder en el mundo de un niño.

El mundo de los adultos de finales de la década de 1960 era un caos. Hubo protestas, motines y asesinatos. Las Hermanas de San José de Carondolet se aseguraron de que nuestra escuela estuviera en un mundo diferente, un mundo de orden, disciplina y

of our communities work together to ensure the safety of our children by establishing rules that govern right behavior and create the most positive experience possible. Discipline is discipleship in a school that follows Jesus.

This is why a Catholic school doesn’t just put values on posters to hang on classroom walls. In a Catholic school, we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and by these truths, our children learn what to value and why. Our children learn the virtues and are given the skills to live them out.

Today, the world of adults is still a challenging one. Oh sure, there is a lot of good in our world, but in the unpredictable nature of national and global events, keeping our children in a child’s world where they can discover and grow the gifts God has given them is the one sure way to prepare them for an unknown future. With God’s grace, they will even be the ones who help shape this future.

To all our school staffs, my heartfelt gratitude to God. It is a season of heroes who persevere in service.

I hear from principals and teachers that these are difficult days. If it was just a job, or even a career, some would have left already. But, as we approach National Catholic Schools Week, let us remember that working in a Catholic school is a vocation, and all of our teachers, educational leaders and volunteers have our admiration, renewed support and many prayers.

y globales, mantener a nuestros hijos en un mundo de niños donde puedan descubrir y hacer crecer los dones que Dios les ha dado es la única forma segura de prepararse ellos para un futuro desconocido. Con la gracia de Dios, incluso serán ellos quienes ayuden a dar forma a este futuro.

A todo el personal de nuestra escuela, mi más sincero agradecimiento a Dios. Es una temporada de héroes que perseveran en el servicio. Escucho de directores y maestros que estos son días difíciles. Si fuera solo un trabajo, o incluso una carrera, algunos ya se habrían ido. Pero, a medida que nos acercamos a la Semana Nacional de las Escuelas Católicas, recordemos que trabajar en una escuela católica es una vocación, y todos nuestros maestros, líderes educativos y voluntarios tienen nuestra admiración, apoyo renovado y muchas oraciones.

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

Effective January 15, 2022 Reverend Mario Castagnola, PES, assigned as parochial vicar of the Church of the Risen Savior in Burnsville. Father Castagnola is a priest of Pro Ecclesia Sancta.

4A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

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SLICEof LIFE

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On frozen pond Father Michael Daly, parochial administrator of St. Helena in south Minneapolis, moves the puck during action Jan. 21 at the 17th annual U.S. Pond Hockey Championships on Lake Nokomis in south Minneapolis. Back in the summer, he wanted to form a pond hockey team to make St. Helena more visible in the community and help raise money for a new eucharistic adoration chapel in the church.

Father Daly, who played hockey for St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, recruited seven other men to play on the team with him, all Catholics who played at the high school level or beyond. The wind chill was minus-20 when their team, the St. Helena Crusaders, started playing the game, which was their tournament opener. Action continued the next two days, ending with the championship game Jan. 23, which the St. Helena team won. “We just love to play,” Father Daly said.

“I had three Under Armours on and had the neck warmer and the hat under the helmet.

I came prepared.”

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JANUARY 27, 2022

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5A

MCC looks to stop gambling expansion, support policies benefiting families

By Joe Towalski The Central Minnesota Catholic With the start of the 2022 Minnesota legislative session Jan. 31, among the top policy priorities for the Minnesota Catholic Conference will be stopping efforts to legalize sports betting in the state, increasing supports for nonpublic school students and ensuring the budget surplus is used to benefit one of the state’s most important resources: families.

Efforts to legalize sports gambling have been gaining momentum and bipartisan support, said Jason Adkins, executive director of MCC, the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in the state.

The Church does not prohibit Catholics from participating in games of chance or charitable gaming. But sports gambling promoted by large online betting companies raises the stakes for potential abuse, and MCC will oppose efforts to legalize it in Minnesota.

“Sports betting — and sports betting accessible via smartphone — is a really dangerous door to open and could really harm Minnesota’s families,” Adkins said. “This is not simply innocent fun that people use to make their game-day watching experience more exciting.

This is something that could result in significant detriment to those who already have addictive personalities and gambling problems and to their families.

We all suffer when that happens.”

On the educational front, MCC will seek to extend counseling and mental health services aid to nonpublic school students at the primary school level, Adkins said. Currently such aid is only available to nonpublic school students in grades seven through 12.

“We’re seeing mental health challenges and mental health needs growing among young people,” he said, “and those counseling services are important supports for our students.”

MCC and its nonpublic education partners also will advocate for changes to transportation aid funding and lobby for policies that provide more flexibility when public schools move to distance

STAY CONNECTED The Catholic Advocacy Network is an initiative of the Minnesota Catholic Conference. The nonpartisan network — for which you can sign up at mncatholic.org — alerts Catholics via email and/or text to important state and federal legislative activity about which they can contact lawmakers with a single click.

MCC also sends e-newsletters with ways to learn about the Church’s social ministry as well as advocating for life, dignity and the common good.

DIANNE TOWALSKI | THE CENTRAL MINNESOTA CATHOLIC

The first-floor rotunda and interior dome of the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul. learning. Currently, when public schools opt for distance learning, private school students may lose their busing services.

MCC also will be watching how legislators address the state budget surplus — approximately $7.7 billion — to ensure that economic security for families is prioritized.

With regard to the surplus, it’s a “false binary” to approach it as a choice between only two options: spending it on new programs or providing acrossthe-board tax cuts, Adkins said.

“Let’s break that Gordian knot and have the best of both worlds by targeting tax relief to the state’s most important producers: our families,” he said. “They produce our most important and precious resource — our children, who are our future.”

The goal would be to provide economic support and security to lowand middle-income families with paidleave programs and tax relief options that give families the flexibility to use the funds in ways that will benefit them most.

“If you create a child tax credit or a child allowance, people can use that

Congratulations Bishop Joseph Williams on your ordination to the Roman Catholic episcopacy!

From the family members at Community of Christ the Redeemer

COMMUNITY OF CHRIST THE REDEEMER Catholic Lay Association of Christian Faithful

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on child care if they want. Or if moms decide to stay home with their kids, they can take those dollars and use them on something else they need to support their families,” Adkins said. “We want to transform the policy debate and get past the false binary. Our Minnesota bishops support a long-term look at ways to promote family economic stability.

So, this is a conversation you’re going to hear more about as we look to the future.”

The Minnesota Catholic Conference also will monitor other issues during the 2022 session: uLegalizing recreational marijuana: MCC will continue to oppose efforts to legalize recreational marijuana use. A bill that would have created a commercial recreational marijuana industry in the state passed last year in the House but failed to gain a hearing in the Senate.

The issue was highlighted at the virtual Catholics at the Capitol event last April, and Adkins credits proactive outreach and educational efforts for garnering increased opposition to the idea, including among some business groups.

“I think we’re in a really good spot, and

MCC’s podcast “Bridge Builder: Catholic Faith and Politics” features interviews with guests to help Catholics stay informed on timely issues and learn to live out faithful citizenship.

Episodes also feature a “bricklayer” action item that gives listeners practical tips to build the bridge between faith and politics. Listen to current and past episodes at mncatholic.org/ podcast.

— Joe Towalski

we’ve helped put on the brakes regarding this issue,” he said. uPhysician-assisted suicide: Opponents of physician-assisted suicide have been effective in helping to shape the public conversation regarding the moral and ethical concerns it raises, said Adkins, adding that he doesn’t expect the issue to gain much traction this session. “We still have to be vigilant and that’s why we’re continuing to build our coalition, which is now over 70 organizations,” he added. “We continue to do education webinars and outreach.” uPositive Alternatives Grant Program: MCC supports increased funding for this program, which supports the work of crisis pregnancy centers. The program promotes healthy pregnancy outcomes and assists pregnant and parenting women in developing and maintaining family stability and self-sufficiency. In a budget that will reach $60 billion by PLEASE TURN TO LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW ON PAGE 7A

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6A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

Pro-life advocate: how to make ‘more good arguments and fewer bad ones’

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit Pro-life advocates can respond effectively when someone who is pro-choice presents arguments such as “my body, my choice,” said Emily Albrecht of the Equal Rights Institute.

If the person describes a woman’s body as “her sovereign zone,” with which she can do whatever she wants, Albrecht suggests asking a clarifying question, such as whether the woman believes abortion should be available all nine months or if there should be a cut-off date.

“We know from studies that 75% of pro-choice people think there should be restrictions on abortion,” Albrecht said. If the woman says yes to a cut-off, Albrecht said, she points out in a relational way, “I’m a little confused … because it seems like you’re contradicting yourself.”

Believing in a woman’s complete freedom with anything inside her body doesn’t jive with wanting restrictions on abortion, she said. “If ‘my body, my choice’ is true, then abortion has to be available for all nine months of pregnancy for any reason.”

A speaker, writer and coach with the North Carolina-based Equal Rights Institute, Albrecht said the organization helps people talk with pro-choice advocates “so that when we make those arguments, we can get a pro-choice person’s walls down, so that

anything we say actually has a chance of landing.”

The former co-president of Oles for Life at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Albrecht described her work with ERI as helping people think clearly, reason honestly and argue persuasively about abortion.

“In other words, I help pro-life people make more good arguments and fewer bad ones,” she said.

When a pro-life advocate can have a dialogue, not a debate, with a prochoice advocate, “we actually stand a chance at changing people’s minds because they feel really comfortable having that kind of a conversation EMILY ALBRECHT with you,” Albrecht said.

Albrecht and Jason Adkins, executive director and general counsel at the Minnesota Catholic Conference, recently joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley for the show’s Jan. 21 episode on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. The interview can be found at practicingcatholicshow.org.

Encouraging pro-life advocates to effectively talk with pro-choice advocates about biology, difficult circumstances and “personhood” is going to become even more important because, if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in a pending decision — as many court-watchers predict — “this is really the last anniversary we have of Roe,” she said.

STILL TO COME MCC postponed its Feb. 5 “Equipped for Life Training” event with Albrecht at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul due to COVIDrelated concerns and restrictions. MCC is planning a webinar with Albrecht March 10. People can visit the MCC website, mncatholic.org, for updates on a new date for the “Equipped for Life Training” event. “Watch for that program again in the future,” the MCC’s Jason Adkins said. “It’s really important that we equip ourselves to be able to have these conversations with our friends and neighbors.”

“That means each state is going to be having a very localized battle about what abortion rights and restrictions look like,” Albrecht said. “That means the average pro-life person needs to be better equipped to actually talk about this issue because they can affect change in their local community.”

“But we also have to change hearts and minds, not just change laws,” Adkins said. “And in fact, changing hearts and minds is the precursor to changing laws.”

Preparation prevents poor performance in conversations about abortion, Adkins said. “Working with Emily and the Equal Rights Institute is a great way to equip yourself to be a part of that important conversation. And we all need to play a part. We can’t sit on the sidelines right now.”

Five local Catholics honored with archdiocese’s Champions for Life Awards

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit University of St. Thomas student Emilee Wondra is working to build a culture of life on her campus in St. Paul.

For this, she was recognized with a St. John Paul II Champions for Life Award, an initiative of the Office of Marriage, Family and Life of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Wondra and four others received their awards Jan. 22 during the annual Prayer Service for Life at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, which was followed by the March for Life at the State Capitol

sponsored by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life.

Also honored were Anne McMahon, Catherine and Donald Wagner, and Laura Elm, on behalf of her organization, Sacred Heart Guardians and Shelter.

Wondra won the young adult award.

She is a member of the University of St. Thomas’ Students for Human Life group. She has helped organize prayer gatherings at Planned Parenthood in St. Paul, raised awareness of pro-life issues on campus by bringing in speakers, and recruited students to join the organization. She is a member of St. Mark in St. Paul.

McMahon won the adult individual award. Chair of the Respect Life Committee at her parish, Immaculate Heart of Mary in Minnetonka, she helps organize pro-life activities and has led the Divine Mercy Chaplet for pro-life intentions after daily Mass for more than eight years. She also organizes gifts and donations to a local pregnancy resource center.

The Wagners won the adult couple award. Catherine has been the president of the Community Caring for Life at their parish, St. Joseph in West St. Paul, for about eight years. She organizes a group of parishioners who participate

in the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil at Planned Parenthood in St. Paul. Don leads the parish Food Drive group, which each quarter collects food, hygiene items and money for a local food shelf.

Elm won the adult group award for her continued work as founder of Sacred Heart Guardians and Shelter, which facilitates burial for embryos who die in in-vitro fertilization labs and would otherwise be disposed of as medical waste. She reaches out to IVF facilities to facilitate the burials, and tries to educate people, and prays for lives lost and people involved in IVF. She is a member of St. Peter in Mendota.

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JANUARY 27, 2022

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7A

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

Three students baptized as school in Vermillion grows during pandemic

2024, the state allocates only $3.7 million for these services, according to MCC, although the most recent round of grant applications totaled about $6.5 million.

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5A

Educational efforts Care for creation also has been an ongoing priority for MCC. In 2019, MCC released “Minnesota, Our Common Home,” which applied locally the message from Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’ on Care for Our Common Home.” This led more recently to MCC joining a new campaign called “Upstream” to help foster a culture of stewardship in the state.

“What Upstream is really about is to create a platform where Minnesotans can share their story and express their commitment to stewarding our great natural resources and trying to move it beyond a narrow concern of certain groups to a broader base movement that everyone can get behind no matter their background,” Adkins said.

“We love this state, we love its beautiful, natural resources,” he added.

“We can all express our commitment to stewardship, and then the politics will work itself out when we build some common ground for the common good.” (Learn more about Upstream at mnupstream.org.)

Towalski is the editor for The Central Minnesota Catholic Magazine of the Diocese of St. Cloud.

Second-grader Elenore Staples didn’t feel nervous as she and two of her classmates were baptized during the Jan. 5 school Mass at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Vermillion, even with at least 100 of the school’s students, family members and others present.

“I just felt like I was really happy at that time because I was smiling every time,” said Staples, 7, who was baptized

by St. John the Baptist parochial administrator Father Michael Tix, who also serves as the archdiocese’s episcopal vicar for Clergy and Parish Services. Also baptized were Maxwell King and Linden Siebenaler.

Staples wasn’t the only one smiling, said Father Tix, who said the event was an example of a Catholic school’s evangelizing power and possibly a silver lining in the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was fun to look around and see the reactions of people, especially the kids who were baptized,” he said. “Smiles-aplenty throughout the church. As Pope Francis would say, joy is a sign of the presence of God, and that clearly was visible on that baptism day.”

The baptisms took place as enrollment at the pre-K through fourth grade school has increased 45% in recent years, from 84 at the end of the 2019-2020 school year to a current enrollment of 122.

Located southeast of Rosemount, St. John the Baptist is a tri-parish school of St. John the Baptist, St. Mathias in

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COURTESY CHRISTINE THORKILDSON ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

Second-graders Linden Siebenaler, left, Elenore Staples and Maxwell King smile with Father Michael Tix at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Vermillion. Father Tix baptized the students at a Jan. 5 school Mass.

Hampton and St. Mary in New Trier.

Whether some parents who weren’t Catholic or active churchgoers sought in-person learning during the pandemic, or enrolled their children for preschool and had them stay for grade school, their children’s instruction about the faith and sacraments has impacted families, said Principal Paul Dieltz.

The school’s enrollment growth between the 2019 and 2020 school years can be attributed in part to the school’s commitment to both safety and inperson learning, Dieltz said. Expansion of its preschool has also been a factor.

Brent and Alison Staples enrolled their daughter Elenore at St. John the Baptist during the last school year, when they began working from home during the pandemic. Drawn by in-person learning,

Alison Staples said they’ve stayed because of the principal and staff.

Elenore Staples’ teacher, Maria Therres, said families asked about having their children baptized after she sent a letter to the parents of her 18 students about preparing this year for the sacraments of first reconciliation and Communion.

As her daughter learned about the sacraments and discovered that her friends were baptized, she asked her parents, who were raised Catholic, about baptism, said Alison Staples, 41. The couple have supported their daughter’s desire to be baptized, she said.

Children can bring their parents to the faith by asking questions about the sacraments, Father Tix said. “We’re just glad to take them where they are and bring them to a closer relationship with Christ through the Church,” he said.

At the Mass, Father Tix reinforced what the students had learned about baptism in school. “We had the opportunity to not only talk about it but experience it, and experience is another teacher,” Father Tix said. Explaining the universal call to holiness, Father Tix said baptism washes clean original sin and brings people into God’s family. Oil, a white garment and candles have special roles in the ceremony, he said.

Dieltz noted that another family has contacted him about baptizing their child next year.

“It’s an easy point of evangelization for families and students to kind of get a foot in the door and then see what the Catholic Church is all about,” he said.

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8A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

NATION+WORLD Florida mom: Reversal of chemical abortion saved her baby

By Katie Camario Catholic News Service Serenity and grace are two things Kayla credits for saving the life of her new baby girl.

“The Serenity Prayer is constantly teaching me to accept things I cannot change, have courage to change things that I can, and have wisdom to know the difference. Despite my shortcomings and failures, God’s grace is sufficient,” said Kayla, who used only her first name in an interview with Gulf Coast Catholic, the news outlet of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

In 2020, the mother of two discovered she was pregnant with her third child and considered having an abortion.

“I was in a very uncertain place, in a sense, and I had this big decision to make. I had all my reasons why, and I decided I didn’t want to go through with it,” Kayla said. At an abortion facility, she was administered the first pill in a series to induce a chemical abortion. The chemical procedure, commonly called the “abortion pill,” is a two-part, two-day process.

Although Kayla took the first abortion pill at a facility, she was alone when it came time to continue with the abortion and felt a great sense of regret. God was calling her to keep her child, she said.

“I just cried and held my stomach. I cried out to God to please save my baby,” said Kayla.

Through an online search, she learned about the successes of the abortion pill reversal protocol, or APR. It’s a way to counter the first abortion pill using a decades-old treatment utilized to prevent miscarriages by prescribing women progesterone.

“There’s hope. Taking that first abortion pill doesn’t mean you have to continue the abortion. It’s definitely possible and probable to save the pregnancy,” said Angela Bumpus, a women’s health nurse practitioner at LifeChoices Family Medical Clinic in Lutz, Florida.

The clinic is part of a network of pregnancy rescue providers across the country, on call 24/7. Through a

u El Salvador welcomes four new martyrs. Nelson Rutilio Lemus, a teenage boy, was assassinated in his rural hometown next to his pastor, Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, and sacristan Manuel Solórzano, March 12, 1977. The three, along with Franciscan Father Cosme Spessotto, were beatified Jan. 22 in an outdoor evening ceremony at Salvador del Mundo Plaza in San Salvador. Beatification is one of the final steps toward sainthood. Salvadoran Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez, who presided at the ceremony, placed the martyrs’ and the Catholic Church’s role into the context of the country’s civil conflict in the 1970s and 1980s, which ended with peace accords in 1992.

CNS

Kayla and baby Serenity Grace are seen in this undated photo. A sonographer at LifeChoices Family Medical Clinic in Lutz, Fla., was the first to show Kayla images of her baby in utero. helpline, women are connected to local providers. The care continues with months of doctor visits to assess the mom’s and the baby’s health.

Robyn Palmeri, a sonographer at LifeChoices Family Medical Clinic, was the first to show Kayla images of her baby. “For most women, when they come to my ultrasound room, it’s the first time they see a live image of their baby and hear the heartbeat,” said Palmeri.

“When I showed Kayla her baby, she was elated. She asked if the baby was OK and when I told her the baby was OK, she was happy and peaceful.”

Serenity Grace was born in January 2021.

“I had a happy, healthy, perfect baby girl. It works; the proof is in the pudding. God was with me every step of the way,” said Kayla.

“If God hadn’t stepped in and moved my heart to change my mind, my baby wouldn’t be here today, because I would have followed right through with my decision,” she said. “She’s a blessing to our family, we’re just so grateful to have her. And so grateful that he’s a giver of life.”

Retired pope corrects statement for abuse report

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Amending a written statement made to a panel investigating clerical sexual abuse in his former Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, retired Pope Benedict XVI said he was present at a 1980 meeting to discuss the transfer of a priest accused of misconduct.

“He did attend the meeting on Jan. 15, 1980,” said a statement issued on Pope Benedict’s behalf by his secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein.

“The statement to the contrary was therefore objectively incorrect.

He would like to emphasize that this was not done out of bad faith but was the result of an oversight in the editing of his statement,” the archbishop said Jan. 24.

Pope Benedict, 94, is still going through an almost 1,900-page report, which was released Jan. 20 and looked at cases in the archdiocese between 1945 and 2019, he said.

The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger headed the Munich Archdiocese from 1977 to 1982.

The report identified 497 victims and 235 abusers, but the lawyers who conducted the study say they’re convinced the real numbers are much higher. In the report, the lawyers said that, on four occasions,

HEADLINES

JERRY LAMPEN, REUTERS | CNS German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger celebrates a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican during the interregnum after the death of Pope John Paul II, in this April 18, 2005, file photo. then-Cardinal Ratzinger mishandled abuse allegations. Particularly regarding the case of repeat offender Peter H., a priest sent to Munich from Essen in 1980, lawyer Ulrich Wastl described Pope Benedict’s statements as “not very credible.”

The law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl conducted the investigation for the archdiocese; the retired pope had sent an 82-page statement to the investigators while they were doing the investigation.

In the statement, the former pope had said he did not take part in a decisive meeting on the case of Peter H. But, at the news conference where the legal report

was presented, Wastl read out the minutes of that meeting. In it, thenArchbishop Ratzinger is mentioned in several places as a rapporteur on other topics.

Once the retired pope has had the time to thoroughly read the Westpfahl Spilker Wastl report, Archbishop Ganswein said, “he will explain” how the editing error occurred. “He is very sorry for this mistake and asks pardon,” the archbishop said.

At the same time, Archbishop Ganswein said, the retired pope’s assertion that “in this meeting no decision was made about a pastoral assignment of the priest in question” remains “objectively correct.”

The 1980 meeting, he said, dealt only with “the request to provide him (Peter H.) with accommodation during his therapeutic treatment in Munich,” a request that was granted. Later, the priest was assigned to provide pastoral care in Bavaria and continued to sexually abuse minors.

Archbishop Ganswein assured the people of the archdiocese of Pope Benedict’s closeness, “especially in these days,” and his support of efforts “to clarify the situation.”

“He is thinking especially of the victims who have experienced sexual abuse and indifference,” he said.

u Pope confers ministries of lector, catechist on lay women and men. During Mass Jan. 23, the Church’s celebration of Sunday of the Word of God, Pope Francis used a revised rite to formally install lectors, a ministry he opened to women a year earlier, and the new rite for the ministry of catechist, which he established in May. Pope Francis installed six women — from South Korea, Pakistan, Ghana and Italy — and two Italian men in the ministry of lector, telling them they were placing themselves “in the service of the faith, which is rooted in the word of God.” Three women from Spain, Brazil and Ghana and five men from Italy, Peru, Brazil and Poland were installed as catechists. Pope Francis told them they were called “to live more intensely the apostolic spirit, following the example of those men and women who helped Paul and the other Apostles to spread the Gospel.” u Supreme Court rejects request from Texas abortion providers. The U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 20 rejected a request from Texas abortion providers to immediately send their challenge of the state’s abortion law to a federal district court, where a judge had previously blocked the law. The high court’s action — in its one-sentence order — means the state law that bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy will remain in effect. On. Jan. 17, the abortion providers’ challenge to the state’s law that had been before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was sent to the Texas Supreme Court. u Donnelly is confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

Catholic lawyer Joe Donnelly of Indiana is the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. The U.S. Senate confirmed Donnelly in a voice vote Jan. 20. An alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, Donnelly, 66, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013, representing Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District, and was a U.S. senator from 2013 to 2019. u Court upholds ruling against two ex-managers of Vatican bank. A Vatican appellate court rejected the appeal of two former top managers of the Vatican bank who were found liable for mismanagement. In a statement released Jan. 21, the Institute for the Works of Religion, the formal name of the bank, said the court upheld its 2018 ruling against Paolo Cipriani, the former bank director, and Massimo Tulli, the former deputy director, and ordered them to pay more than 40.5 million euro ($45.9 million) in damages. While no specific information was released regarding the exact instances of mismanagement committed by Cipriani and Tulli, the Institute for the Works of Religion said the court’s 2018 judgment centered on investments made “between 2010 and 2013, and which immediately proved to be harmful as they were problematic and, in several cases, also illegitimate and the subject of criminal proceedings.” In February 2017, an Italian tribunal in Rome also found Cipriani and Tulli guilty of violating norms against money laundering; both men were given four-month prison sentences. The Institute praised the court’s decision to uphold a conviction that “was the first of its kind within Vatican City State” and “served as a forerunner to other similar cases” that are ongoing. u Pope declares St. Irenaeus a doctor of the Church. In a decree released by the Vatican Jan. 21, Pope Francis ordered that the second-century theologian be given the title of “doctor of unity” and said St. Irenaeus’ life and teachings served as “a spiritual and theological bridge between Eastern and Western Christians. May the doctrine of such a great teacher increasingly encourage the journey of all the Lord’s disciples toward full communion,” the pope said.

There are now 37 doctors of the Church. St. Irenaeus was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor, now modern-day Turkey.

— Catholic News Service

JANUARY 27, 2022

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9A

FAITH+CULTURE

How Brother Dylan helps teens ‘untangle their thoughts’

By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit

teaching young people to engage with difficult questions, so they don't leave Catholic school and feel disappointed when they run into problems they weren’t prepared to answer and become disenchanted with religion.

The young bearded man in the black habit with the rosary is Brother Dylan Perry, a fixture at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis. The 33-year-old Christian Brother teaches religion and serves as academic dean. He spoke with The Catholic Spirit ahead of National Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 30-Feb. 5, and World Day for Consecrated Life, Feb. 2.

Q What keeps you young?

A I like to be silly. I try my best not to take myself too seriously.

Q What advice do you give your

students about developing balance in their lives?

Q Tell me about your beard.

A I’m a big fan of beards. I’ve had one

since I could grow it. But wearing a mask makes a weird crease in a long beard, so when the pandemic began, I trimmed it up. There’s a lot of religious significance to beards, especially in monastic and Orthodox and Jewish tradition.

Q It's also kind of hipster.

A There probably is, as well, an

attachment to the intellectual yet rugged outdoorsy kind of thing. Those are tied to my personality. Before I got into education, I worked in urban agriculture.

Q Ahh, so you must have a beard!

A What kind of philosopher-farmer would you be without a beard?

Q Like a skinny chef. I wouldn’t trust you.

A Exactly.

Q What drew you to religious life?

A I’ve always been attracted to the life

of religious brothers and sisters. It’s a humble, quiet presence. Taking the Church outside the building is really important. I studied philosophy and theology in college. It scratched an itch, or got at some of the questions I was having.

Q What held you back?

A There’s a vulnerability to having a

relationship with the divine that I wasn’t accessing yet. I was pursuing spirituality through service and social justice work, and as important as those externals were, I wasn’t attaching myself to the internals. Then I worked as associate director of LaSallian Volunteers, doing more retreat work and a lot of individual formation, and that helped me make that connection to God for myself.

Q You appreciated the egalitarian

structure of Christian Brothers, who don’t have priests.

A We frame our entire theology DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

religious orders always operate: gather information and arrive at communal decision making. It’s joy-filled and unselfish and straightforward. It’s uncluttered.

When I read about the early Church and the acts of the Apostles, it’s like: Well, this is how we’re supposed to be doing it!

Q I like that idea of uncluttered.

A There’s so much noise we subject

ourselves to. Silence is an important part of LaSallian prayer. Making the space to listen. To listen to students. To listen to my own thoughts. To listen to God. Teaching philosophy, I help my students untangle some of their thoughts that are all balled up and cluttered.

Q How do you do that?

A They probably think I keep asking

college students. The path to us being educators was not so clear, but caring for people was something my parents always modeled. My twin brother teaches geometry and calculus. Most people think that couldn’t be more different from what I teach. But they’re two sides of the same coin. It’s a way of understanding and describing the world.

They’re the purest ways of understanding truth: mathematics and philosophy and theology. We’re trying to get to the bottom of things.

Q What’s the key to teaching religion to teens?

A Teens don’t want to be told what to

Q What does play look like for you?

A I enjoy bouldering, indoor rock

climbing that’s not a wall but a lower rock. We just fall on mats. I lift weights.

And I like wandering around the city, not knowing where I’m going. All the fun and silly and play are spiritual practices.

Q What’s your go-to prayer?

A The Brothers have a Marian devotion.

We have a six-decade rosary. I try to say a rosary every day. In that way, the Hail Mary is on repeat in my head. If I’m walking around the classroom, observing the students doing work, I’ll pull out my rosary and pray it. It helps me be more present, rather than going to do some of my own work at my desk, and it’s a good witness to them.

Q Do you feel the impact?

A Yeah, especially when I attach it to an

examination of conscience or a series of intentions. If we can’t completely get rid of the noise in our lives, tuning it out with something positive is the next best thing.

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among us. The folks who are superior general today could be a middle school teacher tomorrow, and none of those things are more or less important. In diocesan structures, once you’re a bishop, you’re always a bishop.

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Q How could our country benefit from the Brothers’ leadership model?

charge is limited, that in a couple years someone else will be in charge of you soon, and they’ll remember how you treated them when you were in charge.

It speaks a lot to the synodality that we’re hearing from Pope Francis and Archbishop Hebda. That’s the way

A I suppose so. We’re first-generation

think. That doesn’t mean they’re not looking for the kinds of answers religion can provide, but they don’t want to be them the same questions over and over told what the answers are. They want again, but I’m hoping they pay attention to be led to find them. My approach is to how it feels and how their answers informed by springtideresearch.org, an change. offshoot of St. Mary’s Press in Winona.

Q How did having a twin affect you, They’re doing remarkable research on the growing up? state of religion and young people.

It’s about respecting young people A The most important thing in enough to let them engage with the spirituality is recognizing that you’re questions. It seems to me that religious not the center of the universe. It’s much educators are afraid that if we let them easier to do that when your parents’ ask questions then they’ll lose or destroy attention is split. It was never a question. their faith. And what really happens is CathSpFL-B-2022.qxp_Layout 1 1/25/22 12:30 PM Pa Q Your twin also teaches at a LaSallian that we provide a safety net to explore:

A The idea is that there is no hierarchy

A Really well. Knowing your time in

school. It must be in your DNA!

curriculum in terms of relationship.

They talk about tech fasts and self-care.

But good sleep habits are probably the hardest. That takes discipline that they’re still learning. Almost all our assignments are submitted online, so they give us time stamps. We can see if a student turned something in at 3 a.m. and ask them about that.

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10A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

FOCUSONFAITH SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER DANIEL GRIFFITH

The primacy of love in Scripture and Christian faith

I have joked more than a few times at Mass that there is one reading you will never hear at a priest’s funeral — this Sunday’s second reading from 1 Corinthians 13 — as we have heard it countless times at the weddings at which we have presided. I must say that I always express a silent sigh of relief when I see that couples have chosen a different second reading for their wedding ceremony. That said, the second reading for the fourth Sunday of ordinary time is beautiful, and it manifests the primacy of God’s love and the centrality of Christian love in the life of Christ’s disciples.

At the time that St. Paul wrote his letters to the Corinthians, Corinth was a large and bustling Mediterranean port city which saw a diversity of influences and practices — some pagan, some Christian — and everything in between. The fact that Paul had to write two letters is evidence of their struggle to remain faithful to the Christian message, among the temptations and challenges of the multivalent culture surrounding them. What was particularly concerning to Paul were the divisions among them and the lack of Christian charity by some Corinthians. Specifically, the Eucharist, which is supposed to be a source and sign of unity in the Church, had become a place of division between the wealthy and those who struggled with less.

This is the backdrop for St. Paul’s sublime description of Christian charity, which we hear proclaimed on the fourth Sunday of ordinary time. Upon prayerful reflection and reading of this passage, the Christian can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit guiding Paul to proclaim what is true and good — namely the divine love of God in all of its glory and the call to Christians to live this same self-giving love. My favorite part of the passage, which continues to challenge and inspire me as a priest and pastor, is that love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Divine love is the foundation of all the good gifts God gives us.

ASK FATHER MIKE | FATHER MICHAEL SCHMITZ

Aim to know goodness well

Editor’s note: Father Schmitz is off this month. This reprint column appeared in the Jan. 2015 edition of The Northern Cross.

Q Do you really believe that sins are the

measurement of your passes to heaven? I don’t think so. Sins are necessary to life. How would you know that good is good if you do not experience sin? It gives balance to life.

A That’s an interesting question. It reminds me of a magazine

for kids that I used to read. Do you remember “Highlights for Children”? It was usually in doctor and dentist waiting rooms and had any number of short stories and games for kids to play.

My favorite thing in “Highlights” was a little comic strip called “Goofus and Gallant.” They were two young boys, and one was the embodiment of bad manners and selfishness (Goofus), while the other was an example of good manners and noble behavior.

There would always be something like, “Goofus makes his dad clean up after supper, while Gallant says, ‘I’ll do the dishes, mom!’” The idea is that children are learning the difference between good and bad behavior through comparing and

The first gift God gives us is the gift of life — having been created in his image and likeness. In the first reading Jeremiah proclaims: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.”

The gift of life itself and its attendant dignity must be the foundation for a just and well-ordered society and can never be conditional or negotiable for Christians.

The ultimate gift that Christ gives humanity is the gift of salvation and eternal life. The Catholic Church teaches that the eternal soul is created immediately at conception, consistent with our eternal goal of beatitude. Again, God desires our salvation because God loves us.

The primacy of love abounds throughout Scripture. The Gospel for this Sunday communicates that Christ’s mission and its animating love are truly universal — it reaches all people, it goes to the ends of the earth. Because original sin manifests itself in exclusion and division, it should not be surprising that those hearing his words move quickly from amazement at his gracious words to wanting to hurl Jesus down headlong from the brow of the hill.

What import does the primacy of divine love have for Christian disciples? When elected pope, Benedict XVI said that he wanted to get back to the basics of the Catholic faith. His fist encyclical, “God is Love,” was promulgated on Christmas Day 2005. It is an extraordinary meditation on the divine love of God and its correlation to Christian faith. In a recently published book that Archbishop Bernard Hebda gave priests of the archdiocese, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, a Capuchin Franciscan friar and preacher of the papal household, says (in part quoting Henri de Lubac), “‘It has been written that the revelation of God as love overturns all that the world had conceived of the Divinity.’ Theology and exegesis is still far, I believe, from having dealt with all the consequences of this.”

Given the truth of Scripture that God is love and that love holds a position of primacy in the Christian life, the corresponding question for Christians is: How are we doing in allowing God’s grace to cultivate our hearts after the heart of Christ? Priests and Catholics spend so much time in our heads or seeking comfort amid the challenges of the modern world. If love holds primacy in Christ’s divine life, shouldn’t the heart hold primacy in our lives of faith? To follow Christ means to love like Christ.

Father Griffith is pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis and liaison for restorative justice and healing for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He also serves as the Wenger Family Fellow of Law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where he teaches courses in Catholic social teaching, jurisprudence and restorative justice.

contrasting the behavior of these two boys.

This is clearly one way that we learn things in life. There are plenty of lessons that we learn as we go through this world by way of comparison and contrast.

We say things like, “This lemonade is sour.” In comparison to what? Well, possibly in comparison to something that is not sour (like water) or something that is sweet (like orange juice). We can know things like color based on the light spectrum. This variety adds zest to life and helps us distinguish one thing from another.

But difference in taste or color is not the same thing as difference between good and evil. In fact, this goes back to ancient Christian theology. In Catholic theology, evil is not a “thing” in the same sense that good is a “thing.” In fact, it is more accurate to say that evil is either a distortion of or the lack (privation) of a good. We have evil when something good in itself is either distorted, misused or taken away.

Therefore, something like blindness isn’t a “thing”; it is the lack of a good (sight). One doesn’t need to know blindness in order to know seeing. Or take the case of someone using the truth to hurt another person. Here, one would be misusing a good thing (truth) for an evil purpose, but a person wouldn’t need to experience this in order to know the goodness of truth.

We recognize that evil is a “necessary” part of life in the same sense that we recognize that sickness is a part of life. These things don’t add anything to living. In fact, they mostly serve to take away from our experience of life. They are “necessary” in that we experience them, but sin and evil are not necessary for us to understand the good.

Consider a couple of brief examples. When it comes to beauty, a

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, Jan. 30 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Jer 1:4-5, 17-19 1 Cor 12:31–13:13 Lk 4:21-30 Monday, Jan. 31 St. John Bosco, priest 2 Sm 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13 Mk 5:1-20 Tuesday, Feb. 1 2 Sm 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30–19:3 Mk 5:21-43 Wednesday, Feb. 2 Presentation of the Lord Mal 3:1-4 Heb 2:14-18 Lk 2:22-40 Thursday, Feb. 3 1 Kgs 2:1-4, 10-12 Mk 6:7-13 Friday, Feb. 4 Sir 47:2-11 Mk 6:14-29 Saturday, Feb. 5 St. Agatha, virgin and martyr 1 Kgs 3:4-13 Mk 6:30-34 Sunday, Feb. 6 Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time Is 6:1-2a, 3-8 1 Cor 15:1-11 Lk 5:1-11 Monday, Feb. 7 1 Kgs 8:1-7, 9-13 Mk 6:53-56 Tuesday, Feb. 8 1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30 Mk 7:1-13 Wednesday, Feb. 9 1 Kgs 10:1-10 Mk 7:14-23 Thursday, Feb. 10 St. Scholastica, virgin 1 Kgs 11:4-13 Mk 7:24-30 Friday, Feb. 11 1 Kgs 11:29-32; 12:19 Mk 7:31-37 Saturday, Feb. 12 1 Kgs 12:26-32; 13:33-34 Mk 8:1-10 Sunday, Feb. 13 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Jer 17:5-8 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20 Lk 6:17, 20-26

PLEASE TURN TO ASK FATHER MIKE ON PAGE 15A

KNOW the SAINTS ST. BLAISE (d. 316) This bishop and martyr lived in the fourth century in Turkey and Armenia. For a time, Blaise lived in a cave to escape persecution. On his Feb. 3 feast, the Church recalls a miracle cure associated with him and celebrates the blessing of the throats. Blaise apparently saved the life of a boy who was choking on a fish bone. The saint said that anyone who lit a candle in his memory would be free of infection. Thus, candles are used in the traditional throat blessing. He is listed among the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saints revered as healers.

— Catholic News Service

FOCUSONFAITH

JANUARY 27, 2022

WHY DO CATHOLICS DO THAT? FATHER JOHN PAUL ERICKSON

Praying for change Q Why do Catholics pray

to God to change things?

God gave free will to everyone, including dictators, murderers and politicians. I believe free will means that God will not influence man’s decisions, so why pray to God for these changes?

A The apparent contradiction between

God’s sovereign will, which rules all things, and human freedom is one of the perennial topics of theology. Ultimately, it is a mystery, though one that is not completely obscure. Tradition speaks of God’s “active will,” in which he actively causes things (such as creation, the ensoulment of the person at conception, the Incarnation, the infusion of divine grace in the celebration of the sacraments), and his passive will, in which he allows things but most certainly does not actively cause them (sin is perhaps the easiest example). But these distinctions do not completely eliminate the fact that this side of the veil we will never really fully understand why God allows certain things and prevents others. What we do know is that God provides us the grace to endure any cross, and in uniting them to the

Lord’s while in a state of grace, we actively participate in the salvation of the world.

Now, when it comes to the importance of petitionary prayer, specifically petitionary prayer to change the behavior of another human being, we hold on to two truths: First, that petitionary prayer does make a difference and is explicitly willed by God, and second, that human beings are ultimately at liberty to receive the saving assistance of God or to reject it. Frankly, I don’t agree with the writer’s premise that these two truths are contradictory. There are many ways that we attempt to influence the decisions of others, some good and some bad, but these influences do not negate the final choice which must be made by the person. Virtuous habits, marketing, speeches, fear-based rhetoric, the positive or negative influence of family and friends — all of these affect the calculus of our choices, and yet we still must make the choice ourselves. So, too, it is with divine grace. Indeed, everyone who has been baptized has received the graces necessary to be saints, and yet sinners still we are.

Why? Because we choose to be. We most certainly should pray for one another and pray for those in our life who are far from God’s presence through human weakness and sin. He wants to heal them and bring them into his presence more than we want it, but he also wants us to participate in this economy of salvation. So — pray! Your prayers do make a difference, in God’s time and in God’s way.

Father Erickson is pastor of Transfiguration in Oakdale. Send your questions to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Why Do Catholics Do That?” in the subject line.

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 11A The following are two responses to recent “Readers Respond” questions: “What is your prayer for our country or world in 2022?” and “Has Bishop Andrew Cozzens touched your life in the past eight years he’s served as an auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis?”

God’s help. That’s my prayer for our country and world in 2022.

As a person who has seen good times and bad, Depression days and modern times, I have to say that we need God’s help more than ever.

In poor times, it seemed that people were thankful to God for every little thing, and people were more honest and more helpful — sharing the little that they had. In modern times, we seem to have lost some of our values. We have more of the material things, but often lessening faith, more division, rising crime. I pray for God’s help for all of us — beginning with the pre-born and through all ages. An example of our lessening faith is our unhesitating killing of unborn human beings.

During the Depression, we wore handed-down clothes, holes in our shoes, and had meager meals — but we had our parents’ love. God’s love is our deepest need. Strong faith is our best hope.

Lucille Carlson St. Peter, Forest Lake Bishop Andrew Cozzens is a person of great humility, grounded in the embrace of his priestly calling. My late husband, Charles, and I were part of a team of two couples who regularly met with Bishop Cozzens for a period of time, during his studies for the priesthood at The St. Paul Seminary. We discussed a broad array of topics, and regardless of the topic, his questions and comments always demonstrated a thoughtful, contemplative approach to his calling. And that embrace of the gift of humility has served him well as the auxiliary bishop here. The Diocese of Crookston is fortunate that he will be their shepherd.

Jessie Nicholson Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul “Readers Respond” is an occasional feature in The Catholic Spirit. Readers, please respond to our next question: What is your prayer for Bishop Joseph Williams as he begins his new ministry as our auxiliary bishop? in 200 words or less to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Readers Respond” in the subject line.

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12A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

COMMENTARY The beauty of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is that the method first introduces the youngest child to the love of the Good Shepherd who cares for each sheep, goes off in search of the lost, and tends his flock with care, even giving them the rules they need to stay safe and follow in his way.

FAITH AT HOME | LAURA KELLY FANUCCI

Shepherd or judge?

A tale of two sacraments When I made my first confession, I clutched an index card with sweaty palms. On one side, I’d copied the act of contrition, dutifully memorized — but what if I tripped up in the heat of the moment? On the reverse was a detailed list of my sins, anxiously scribbled lest I miss one.

Even at 10 years old, I was convinced God would judge me harshly if I forgot.

My strongest memory of the sacrament is that sweaty index card.

Fast-forward 30 years. My middle child is now 7 years old and ready for the sacrament of reconciliation.

I watch him skip down the hallway to meet with our pastor, and I wait for him to return — which he does with a giant grin.

No anxiety, no fear, no sweaty palms. He hugs me around the neck and whispers, “That was great.”

What made the difference? The Good Shepherd.

This child is the first of my kids to experience the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. This Montessoribased method of faith formation invites the youngest children (starting at ages 3-6) to fall in love with Jesus as the Good Shepherd through carefully prepared materials from Scripture and liturgy that offer them the deepest truths of our faith.

I have been using the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd with our younger children at home for the past several years — an oasis of peace and prayer during the pandemic. As I helped my son prepare for the

ECHOES OF CATHOLIC MINNESOTA REBA LUIKEN

Minnesota’s Catholic Supreme Court justice On May 2, 1927, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its verdict in the case Buck v. Bell. The court ruled in favor of John Hendren Bell, superintendent of the State Colony for Epileptics and Feeble Minded*, upholding a Virginia statute that favored involuntary sterilization of individuals who were deemed mentally unfit. Only one justice dissented. He was Pierce Butler, a Catholic and native of Minnesota.

Butler did not write out a formal dissenting opinion, so it is likely no one will ever know why exactly he voted the way he did. But it is likely his Catholic faith played a role. During the early 1900s, eugenics was a popular branch of biology that sought to improve the

CNS

Pope Francis distributed a card with this image of “The Good Shepherd,” a painting by the German Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach der Ältere, to Italian bishops during their extraordinary general assembly on “the synodal journey of the church in Italy,” in Rome Nov. 22. sacrament of reconciliation this year, I watched with amazement at how different his experience was from my own traditional preparation in Catholic school.

He understood by instinct that reconciliation was rooted in God’s love and care, so his first encounter with confession was free from anxiety or fear.

Sofia Cavalletti, co-founder of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, noted that when formal religious education does not start until age 7 or later, the child is at a developmental plane of moral formation that focuses on distinguishing right from wrong.

While the sacrament of reconciliation makes perfect sense for this traditional “age of reason,” the dominant image of God that can imprint at this age is the divine judge — exactly why many children become fixated on a stern, even scornful, image of God. The beauty of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is that the method first introduces the youngest child to the love of the Good Shepherd who cares for each sheep, goes off in search of the lost, and tends his flock with care, even giving them the rules they need to stay safe and follow in his way.

To watch a child realize that he is one of God’s sheep,

to see his eyes light up when he realizes that the Good Shepherd calls him by name, and to witness his growing trust in God who promises to provide for him always — all of this has been transformative for my parenting and my own faith.

I have come to know the Good Shepherd as an adult, delighting in my own discovery of how many names Scripture offers us for God. Whenever a new year dawns, I try to pray about what images of God might guide me through the coming months.

This year I am drawn to Jesus the Divine Physician, the Prince of Peace and the Light of the World as I pray for healing, reconciliation and hope for all of us.

No matter what the next year brings, I am seeking the Good Shepherd, too, remembering how my own children have shown me what it means to follow the Good Shepherd in love.

A parishioner of St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove, Fanucci is a writer, speaker and author of several books including “Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting.” Her work can be found at laurakellyfanucci.com.

NOTE TO READERS Liz Kelly’s column “Your Heart, His Home” is on hiatus. Look for its return later this year.

human race through better breeding, and sterilizing people with less desirable traits was one way that eugenics was put into practice. Catholics were some of the most consistent opponents to eugenic ideas. In 1930, Pope Pius XI argued in the encyclical “Casti connubii” that when no crime had taken place, the government should not be able to tamper with the integrity of the body for any reason.

Meanwhile, following the Buck v. Bell ruling, laws calling for forced sterilization spread across the country.

Beyond this particular case, Pierce Butler was a rather unremarkable Supreme Court justice, who had been selected on the basis of a superior legal career. He was born to two Irish immigrants on St. Patrick’s Day in 1866.

Butler followed in his father’s footsteps and became a local schoolteacher as a teenager before enrolling in the nearby college, Carleton, like his older siblings. Although the school was nondenominational, Butler’s final speech at the school was on “the greatness of the Roman Catholic Church and its good influence upon the world.” Following graduation, he interned with a law firm in St. Paul and was admitted to the state bar in 1888.

Although Butler was elected Ramsey County attorney at 26, he preferred private practice. He built a national and international reputation as he represented James J. Hill’s railroads, other corporations, and the U.S. government

HARRIS & EWING, PHOTOGRAPHER. UNITED STATES LIBRARY OF CONGRESS’S PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION. PUBLIC DOMAIN.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Pierce Butler, shown in an undated portrait, was a Catholic from Minnesota. in courtrooms in the United States and Canada. So, when it became clear that Justice William Rufus Day would leave the Supreme Court in 1922 due to his failing health, Butler was a candidate worth considering to fill the seat.

Butler was a well-respected lawyer, but it was ultimately his demographic characteristics that pushed his name to the top of the candidate list. He was well

known for his fierce courtroom crossexaminations and his carefully prepared legal arguments. He was also a loyal Democrat and a Catholic. Republican President Warren Harding was interested in putting a moderate Democrat on the court to widen his popularity, and he wanted to prevent any complaints about the lack of a Catholic on the court after the impending retirement of the only remaining Catholic justice. Of course, groups as varied as the Women’s Auxiliary of the Ohio State Good Government Association and the Ku Klux Klan were alarmed that a Catholic should be appointed. Additional concerns came from progressives who worried about his connections to big business. But with vocal support from U.S. bishops and others, the senate ultimately confirmed him by a wide margin Dec. 21, 1922.

Until his death in 1939, Pierce Butler remained a Supreme Court justice. Today, you will find Butler buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul and honored by the name of a road running along the railroad just south of that cemetery. *A note: while this term is no longer used, it accurately reflects the historical name of the institution.

Luiken is a Catholic and a historian with a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

She loves exploring and sharing the hidden histories that touch our lives every day.

OTECT LIFE & MA N D I G N I T Y Why loving our JANUARY 27, 2022

COMMENTARY

CATHOLIC WATCHMEN | DEACON GORDON BIRD

the dignity of the human person in all phases of life.

As sisters and brothers of Jesus, if we are to understand this twofold commandment — loving God and loving neighbor — Christ truly challenges us further to live from out this commitment. Because it puts us shops, dynamic Church leaders, and 1,000+ Catholics in lockstep on the road to the kingdom of God, along with the scribe who boldly asked our Lord the question: or a day of inspiration and advocacy at our State Capitol.

“Which commandment is the first of all?” (Mk 12:28). Jesus gives not only the greatest but the next nts 22-and-under FREE!  Learn the issues, hear dynamic Loving neighbor as gift of self commandment in line, presenting this combination speakers, and meet your legislators. radiates from the practice of the unch included with of loving God and loving our fellow human beings as firstandSee greatest inseparable. the commandment newly renovated State Capitol!As St. Bede expresses, “God cannot be loved — loving God with all our heart, apart from our neighbor.” soul, mind and strength. St. Bede, Similar to the scribe who asked Jesus to flush out a seventh-century spiritual father the greatest commandment from the complexity and gifted writer, comments how of 613 Jewish precepts, our desire to simplify things “neither of these two kinds of love is in life may not be a whole lot different. As spiritual expressed with full maturity without the other, because leaders, providers and protectors of the faith in our God cannot be loved apart from our neighbor, nor our own families, recognizing Jesus’ wisdom in linking the neighbor apart from God.” first and greatest commandment of loving God to love Our Catholic Watchmen prayer intention for of neighbor helps to guide us on that path. Loving A R C H B I S H O P B E R N A R D H E B D A B I S H O P A N D REW COZZENS GLORIA PURIVS February zeros in on this: That by loving God — first neighbor as oneself can only flow from the practice of Black Catholics United for Life Archdiocese of Saint & Minneapolis and foremost — and by the love of neighbor, wePaul may the first and greatest commandment. It may be simple no longer live for ourselves, but for Jesus, who died for to understand and agree with; yet delivering upon our sake and was raised up to bring us to new life. Jesus’ Jesus’ uncompromising manner of loving God and adamant manner of defining “neighbor” with a universal neighbor means that every ounce of strength we have is comprehensiveness that offers one’s gift of self — committed to knowing and serving God. This involves through love of God and neighbor — seeks and supports willing the good of the other and a true offering of one’s

neighbor matters

s is our moment.

Let’s go!

INSIDE THE CAPITOL | MCC

other words, on top of an already difficult job, Catholic schools are doing more with less. uRestoring nursing services. For example, the per pupil allocation for nursing services has dropped by $20 per student. As a remedy, nonpublic school advocates are requesting a one-time fiscal appropriation to restore nursing services for the current school year and prevent a funding shortage that is slated to occur due to shifting SPONSORS: enrollment during the pandemic. There is no excuse for Minnesota has a longstanding shortchanging nursing services with the persistence of policy that certain financial supports COVID-19 and the availability of related federal COVID are allocated for all K-12 students relief funds that can be used. irrespective of a family’s choice uCounseling services. A recent U.S. Surgeon General of school, including textbooks, report makes clear that mental health issues among nursing services, transportation and young people are growing exponentially. Yet under the counseling aid. Minnesota Catholic current law, only nonpublic students in grades 7-12 Conference (MCC) and an interfaith receive these services. We are asking for an extension of coalition of nonpublic school services to students in grades K-6. stakeholders (Nonpublic Education Partners) advocate uIndependence in transportation options. to ensure those nonpublic pupil supports are adequately Transportation funding has also gone down, and funded and easily accessible. nonpublic school families sometimes lose their public Since the pandemic began, nonpublic schools have transportation altogether when public schools go done heroic work to provide in-person learning as much to distance learning. In addition to advocating for as possible. As a result, many nonpublic schools are a backfilling of transportation funds, MCC will be seeing significant enrollment increases. Yet, because the advocating for a policy change to allow school districts state ties nonpublic pupil aid to public school usage, and nonpublic schools to find alternative transportation the funding for those student supports has decreased. In arrangements for nonpublic school students if the

Nonpublic schools nd register at Cath olicsAtTheCapitol.org

OSTS:

doing more with less

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13A gift of self to another.

How can we love those God has placed in our path — our neighbor — and instruct our family and those in our sphere of influence by our Christian leadership?

In pastoral care and outreach ministry, I witness the greatness of God working through the ordinary hands of others: 1) donating to and working the food shelves so our neighbors in our county and surrounding counties do not go hungry; 2) knitting and distributing prayer shawls to comfort those in need; 3) supporting and funding clothing and blanket drives for our mission; 4) tending to those who have lost a loved one or to one that is sick; 5) being the image of Christ to a lonely neighbor grieving the loss of a loved one; 6) inviting or bringing a neighbor or loved one to Mass that hasn’t been there in a while; 7) praying the rosary fervently at Planned Parenthood for the transformation of the hearts of others to be life-giving and not walk in those doors.

These are just a few examples, and what boundless joy I see it brings the givers as much as the recipients!

By living this twofold love of God and neighbor with the talents, gifts and time we are given, we are seeking and nearing the Kingdom of God — heart, soul, mind and strength — helping imitate Christ in fulfilling his mission.

Deacon Bird ministers at St. Joseph in Rosemount and All Saints in Lakeville, and assists with the archdiocese’s Catholic Watchmen movement.

school and district mutually agree.

While we will continue to advocate for our Catholic school students when the Legislature gavels back into session on Jan. 31, we also know there will be a flurry of other issues impacting life, dignity and the common good. One issue, with growing bipartisan support, is that Minnesotans deserve real health care throughout life’s journey. As a founding member of the Minnesota Alliance for Ethical Healthcare, MCC has played a leadership role in creating ongoing educational webinars designed to highlight the breadth and diversity of voices who support real care and oppose assisted suicide.

The latest installment featured Sens. John Hoffman and Jim Abeler, who discussed their bipartisan advocacy for people with disabilities. Specifically, they outlined the inherent discrimination and ableism of assisted suicide laws, and how their opposition to assisted suicide transcends party affiliation. They encouraged advocates to continue to talk to legislators and share stories about why assisted suicide is the wrong policy for Minnesota, and endangers the health care choices of everyone. You can watch this and past webinars by visiting ethicalcaremn.org/webinars.

“Inside the Capitol” is an update from Minnesota Catholic Conference staff.

LETTERS Inconsistent message One passage in the article, “Legalizing Recreational Marijuana” in the Jan. 13 edition caught my attention: “Overall arrests of African Americans in Colorado actually rose from 2012 to 2018, perhaps because marijuana lowers inhibitions, cuts into the ability to make good decisions and increases encounters with police, Jones said.” According to the CDC, about 12 million U.S. residents reported driving under the influence of marijuana, compared to self-reported incidents of people driving under the influence of alcohol: 111 million. But how is this relevant? On page 20, there’s an article about a family who brews beer in Illinois. They do this with a faithcentered approach, and yet, the facts remain. Alcohol is a more common drug used when people drive under the influence. Therefore, it’s irresponsible to publish an article shaming the idea of legalizing marijuana, while praising a family for brewing their own alcohol, a dangerous and unhealthy drug in itself.

The Catholic Spirit has strayed from the idea of spreading Jesus’ teachings of love and peace to all. You’ve done this by painting alcohol as a drug that brings people together, simultaneously claiming that marijuana “lowers inhibitions, cuts into the ability to make good decisions and increases encounters with police,” which are downsides to alcohol.

Please consider what your articles are attempting to say more carefully.

Dan LaValle Guardian Angels, Oakdale

Building back trust I was more than pleased when I read that some of Minnesota’s bishops and leaders of the Catholic Church, led by Archbishop Hebda, initiated a meeting with the 11 recognized indigenous tribes in Minnesota to talk about the six Catholic-run “Indian schools” that were in Minnesota (“Bishops meet with tribal leaders to explore Church’s role in Indian boarding school history,”

Dec. 23 edition). Rather than say there is no racism in the Church and try to hide from the likely painful historical facts, they are opening the archives and working with the local indigenous peoples to help them discover what happened and where there might be unmarked graves. I hope and pray this leads to some healing for the indigenous peoples of Minnesota and possibly some reconciliation between them and the Church. It is encouraging to see our local bishops and other Church leaders doing the right thing.

Greg Sicheneder Immaculate Heart of Mary, Minnetonka

Pence’s certification of the 2020 election vote count, but also to read about how some government officials who administer elections were not separated from political operatives who work to win them, thus permitting a conspiracy to take place behind the scenes, the result of an informal alliance between some business titans and some left-wing activists. A major part of this conspiracy was to use COVID as a pretext to maximize absentee voting. Truth-seekers are concerned about future elections and are already aware of what leftists are doing to rig future elections and create a one-party state, thus losing our democratic republic.

One-sided on Capitol attack

Roland Mayer Epiphany, Coon Rapids

Upon reading the Jan. 13 article titled, “In Jan. 6 observations, Catholics urged to defend truth and democracy,” I expected both sides of the story to be referred to while defending truth and democracy. Therefore, I not only expected to read about Vice President

Share your perspective by emailing TheCatholicSpirit@archspm.org. Please limit your letter to the editor to 150 words and include your parish and phone number.

The Commentary pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Catholic Spirit.

14A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

I

JANUARY 27, 2022

Why I Am Catholic

By Willard Capistrant DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

am a Roman Catholic and I am happy to be so. I was

was given the opportunities to attend Masses, especially on

born into a Catholic family 100 years ago. I love the Mass

Sundays. We had a Protestant chaplain, but he would see to

and the sacraments. I pray the rosary daily and used to go

it that we Catholics would be given a chance to offer prayers.

to daily Mass, but now I watch Mass on TV.

While in ports, our ship was like a church, as a Catholic

I was baptized at St. Mary of the Lake, White Bear Lake, by

chaplain would raise our elevator to form an altar and chairs

Father John Fahey. I received my first Communion at

would be spread out in the hangar section for us and sailors

St. Mary’s also. I think I was confirmed at St. Augustine in

While in ports, our ship was like a church, as a Catholic chaplain would raise our elevator to form an altar and chairs would be spread out in the hangar section for us and sailors from other ships to come to Mass.

South St. Paul.

My wife and I had eight children, four boys and four

While we were young, our mother saw to it that

Evangelist, Little Canada, under Msgr. Arthur Durand. Seven

the rosary once in a while. I was very happy to

of our children remained in the Catholic Church.

have met a young lady who was also a Catholic.

My wife, Mary, and I were married at St. Mary of the Lake.

Capistrant, who turned 100 Jan. 17, is a parishioner of St. Peter in North St. Paul. He lives with his oldest son, Gary, and

So many things happened at or by St. Mary’s.

I was born on Jan. 17, 1922, in a maternity home almost one block from there.

In April 1943, I was drafted into the service at Fort Snelling. I was given the choice of military branches, so I chose the Navy. All the time I

Find out.

Theology Day is a chance for people in our communities who are seeking a deeper understanding of their faith and its place in their everyday lives to learn from and interact with the theologians of Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary.

Emmaus Hall events are synchronous. Webinar events are live.

Participation is FREE, but registration is required. Go online to CollegevilleMN.com/Theologyday or call 320-363-3560.

Exploring the Journey of Becoming: A Look at the Relationship of Faith and Imagination

Apples and Oranges? An Interreligious Approach to Loving God and Neighbor

by Chris Conway, Ph.D.

Larry will examine connections and explore thought about Chris will discuss interreligious learning and explore the the imagination and its role in the human experience possibilities religious pluralism and comparative theology of faith on: provide on:

Thursday, February 10 - 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Webinar

girls. All of our children went to grade school at St. John the

we went to church, and she saw to it that we said

Theology Day events 2021-2022

by Larry Fraher, Ph.D.

from other ships to come to Mass.

Friday, February 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Emmaus Hall, Saint John’s University

Gary’s wife, Claryce. He still attends Sunday Mass at St. Peter.

His story is written as told to his daughter Anita Rosener.

“Why I am Catholic” is an ongoing series in The Catholic Spirit. Want to share why you are Catholic? Submit your story in 300-500 words to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Why I am Catholic” in the subject line.

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JANUARY 27, 2022

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 15A

CALENDAR WORSHIP+RETREATS An evening of prayer and healing with Father Brian Park — Jan. 27: 7 p.m. at St. Michael, 11300 Frankfort Parkway NE, St. Michael. 7 p.m. Mass. Prayers for healing and prayer ministry begin after Mass. No registration needed. Questions: Call parish office at 763-497-2745. stmcatholicchurch.org/church Pro-Life Memorial Mass — Jan. 28: 6 p.m. at St. Charles Borromeo, 2739 Stinson Blvd., Minneapolis. Join Prolife Across America for Mass. Father Brian Park is celebrant. Social hour with refreshments will follow. info@prolifeacrossamerica.org Healing Mass — Jan. 28: 7 p.m. at St. Paul, 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd. NE, Ham Lake.

Father Jim Livingston to celebrate Mass for physical, emotional and spiritual situations. churchofsaintpaul.com/healing-mass Women’s Silent Weekend Retreat — Jan. 28-30 at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. $160; non-refundable $50 deposit per person. Register online or call 763-682-1394. kingshouse.com Candlemas 2022— Feb. 2: 6:45–9 p.m. at St. Clement, 901 24th Ave., Minneapolis.

Festival of light celebrates Christ’s Presentation in the Temple and the ritual purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated by St. Thomas alumni priests. Followed by talk, “Recognizing and Serving Christ in the Modern University” by Teresa Stanton Collett, UST Law School. Organized by the Roccasecca Project. roccaseccaproject.org/events/2022/2/2/ candlemas-2022 Archdiocesan Celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life — Feb. 2: 6:30 p.m. Celebrate on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Contact Sister Carolyn Puccio at puccioc@archspm.org for Zoom link.

World Day of the Sick 2022 — Feb. 11: 5:15 p.m. at Transfiguration, 6133 15th St. N., Oakdale. All are invited to attend Mass, especially the sick, caregivers, chaplains and healthcare workers. Celebrant is Archbishop Bernard Hebda. Talk and reception with Deacon Stephen Najarian on Christian meaning of human suffering. transfigurationmn.org Married Couple’s Weekend Retreat — Feb. 11-13 at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane,

ASK FATHER MIKE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10A Prior Lake. Reflect on year passed and prepare spiritually for year ahead. Meals included. franciscanretreats.net

CALENDAR submissions

Secular Franciscan Informational Meeting — Feb. 20: 2-4 p.m. at St. Leonard of Port Maurice, 3949 Clinton Ave. S., Minneapolis.

Learn to imitate St. Francis of Assisi. tauhouse70x7@hotmail.com

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

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CONFERENCES+SPEAKERS Annulment Workshop — Feb. 5: 1–3 p.m. at St. Paul, 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd. NE, Ham Lake.

Father Tom Kadera, a canon lawyer who has worked with the Diocese of Cheyenne tribunal, will address misconceptions about difficulty, cost and process. churchofsaintpaul.com/annulment-workshop.

ACCW Legislative Day — Feb. 19: 8:15 a.m.–noon at Holy Spirit, 515 S. Albert St., St. Paul. Speakers: Lynn Varco, Minnesota Catholic Conference; State Rep. Barb Haley and Richard Larkin McLay, Human Life Alliance. tinyurl.com/mrx8v579

calendarsubmissions

SCHOOLS Waffle and Ham Breakfast — Jan. 30: 8 a.m.–noon at Our Lady of the Prairie, 200 E. Church St., Belle Plaine. Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic School hosts. Dine in or take out. Freewill donation. Funds go to sixth-grade Wolf Ridge trip. ourladyoftheprairie.com Good Shepherd School Open House — Jan. 30: After 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Masses at Good Shepherd School, 145 Jersey Ave. S., Golden Valley. Preschool to sixth grade.

RSVP to schoolinfo@gsgvschool.org. gsgvschool.org

OTHER EVENTS Well-Read Mom’s “Women at the Crossroads of Culture” — Jan. 29: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. at Trinity School at River Ridge, 601 River Ridge Parkway, Eagan. Presentations on literature and reading as integral to development of culture. $75. Pre-register at wellreadmom.com or at door. Doors open 9:15 a.m. Optional 5 p.m. Mass.

The Chesterton Gala 2022 — Jan. 29: 5 p.m. at The DoubleTree Hilton, 7800 Normandale Blvd., Bloomington. Chesterton Academy’s silent auction, games and entertainment from students; dinner

and dancing to NorthStar Big Band. chestertonacademy.org Miriam Dinner — Feb. 1: 6–8 p.m. at Archdiocesan Catholic Center, 777 Forest St., St. Paul. Archbishop Bernard Hebda invites women ages 16-35 discerning consecrated life to join him for dinner and conversation.

Vocation testimonies, stories about consecrated life and discernment tips. Online registration required. 10000vocations.org A One-Act Play: “Hildegard Presents” — Feb. 3: 7–8:30 p.m. at St. Henry, 1001 E. 7th St., Monticello. Play about St. Hildegard von Bingen. Contact Sister Carrie Link at sthenrycatholic.info.

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person could be raised (in theory) completely surrounded by beauty. Imagine if all of the music and art and entertainment they were exposed to was consistently in accord with the nature of real beauty. They would not have to be simultaneously exposed to ugliness in order to know beauty.

A person exclusively engaged with those things which reflect beauty would actually come to know beauty in a way that someone who was also exposed to ugliness could not. They would certainly be able to recognize ugliness when presented with it, but they wouldn’t need to know ugliness in order to know beauty.

This is the motivation behind the U.S. Treasury Department’s work to train people to be able to spot counterfeit bills. One might imagine that, when training people to recognize counterfeits, they would study all of the different ways a bill could be forged. But this is not how the government does it.

They have found that the single most effective way to train people to know when they are looking at a counterfeit bill is to study genuine bills. They know what “real money” looks and feels like to such a degree that they are able to instantly recognize a fake. They did not, in this sense, need to experience the bad in order to know the good. They just needed to thoroughly know the good.

Or consider parenting. A good parent would certainly vary in the kind of love they gave to their child. At times, their love might be gentle and soothing. At other times, it could be more demanding and less flexible. There would be a great variety of expressions of love that the child would come to know. But the parent would not also have to abuse and use the child in order to “give balance” to their parenting. In a similar way, sin does not “give balance” to life.

It seems shortsighted to say that we wouldn’t know that good is good if we didn’t experience the opposite. There are virtually an infinite number of goods in this world.

The more fully we are exposed to, experience, and come to know these goods, the more full life becomes. Sin merely adds pain and dullness to life, not color.

Lastly, sin isn’t necessarily the measurement of one’s “pass into heaven.” On the contrary, love is the measure.

First, the love God has for us in creating us and redeeming us. Second, in the love we have for him by choosing to obey him. We choose to love God when we choose to respond to his grace with faithfulness.

In the end, sin isn’t the test; love is.

Father Schmitz is director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

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16A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

THELASTWORD Amid pandemic challenges, the elderly inspire the Little Sisters of the Poor

By Debbie Musser For The Catholic Spirit

A

s the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year, the Little Sisters of the Poor continue their vigilance in taking care of the elderly poor who live in their Holy Family Residence in St. Paul.

“Despite the restrictions and extra precautions, we realize, with God’s grace, that this is just a period in our lives, even though it’s lasting longer than we’d like,” said Mother Theresa Robertson, the mother superior who oversees the residence.

“What gives me hope as well is our residents. There’s a great resiliency with the elderly,” she said. “They, and our staff, understand that we’re doing what we have to do to help everyone stay healthy.”

Served by a staff of 104, including eight Little Sisters of the Poor, the Holy Family Residence offers board and care (assisted living) and skilled nursing care to as many as 73 people. Independent living for 32 residents is also offered on the same grounds, at Jeanne Jugan Apartments.

Because of lower admissions due to the pandemic, the nursing facility currently houses 55 residents, ages 68 to 103. The apartments now house 20 people, with some vacancies as an ongoing renovation is completed.

“The average age of our nursing home residents is in the 90s; most are in financial need and are Medicaid eligible,” Mother Theresa said. “Our independent residents are mostly in their late 70s and have low income/low assets; we take care of the elderly in need.”

“Our mission is to make the elderly happy, offering high competence professional care, activities to make the residence feel as homey as possible, and a wide variety of services to take care of our residents’ spiritual lives, preparing them to go home to God, their maker,” she said.

The sisters come together each day for morning prayer, moments of meditation, Mass, evening and night prayer. They plan to commemorate the upcoming World Day for Consecrated Life on Feb. 2 with Mass and possibly a special rosary and adoration.

Sister Cecilia Wong is a registered nurse who heads a skilled nursing unit at Holy Family Residence. She has another important role: managing the complex COVID-19 infection control procedures at the facility.

“In the beginning, the fear was there with isolating residents, no group activities and no visitors,” Sister Cecilia said. “It was very overwhelming to do all that we had to do to keep everyone safe.”

“Now we know what COVID is; we still have to be vigilant, but the fear is less,” she said. “For example, with the current omicron variant, each staff member comes into the building with a new, clean mask, and family and other visitors take an antigen test before coming in.”

The Holy Family Residence has also worked to safely bring back activities for its residents, unit by unit. “And our

From left, Mother Theresa Robertson, mother superior, and Sister Cecilia Wong, a registered nurse, are among eight sisters who continue to provide care in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. residents can now practice their faith as part of their daily life if they choose to; that wasn’t possible during lockdowns,” said Mother Theresa.

“That’s really important, as many times we’ve had folks come back to the Church after years of being away due to a variety of circumstances,” she said.

“Now they’re able to return to their faith or more actively practice their faith.”

The Little Sisters of the Poor, an international congregation of Catholic religious women founded in 1839 by St. Jeanne Jugan, serves the elderly poor in more than 30 nations worldwide.

In the Twin Cities, their history dates back to 1883, when six sisters of the congregation came to St. Paul to care for 20 elderly residents. The current Holy Family facility, at 330 Exchange St. S., was built in 1977.

All eight Little Sisters of the Poor at the Holy Family Residence serve its residents, Mother Theresa said.

“Especially during this time of tremendous shortage of nursing personnel, we do as needed,” she said.

“Some have less active roles because of their age and health condition, but all are involved in some way, including visiting the residents, serving meals and fulfilling pastoral needs.”

During the pandemic, only one Holy Family resident has passed away from COVID-19. But, others have died in the past two years from other causes.

For Mother Theresa, one of the biggest impacts during the pandemic has been no final goodbye for residents who have died.

“It’s hard for us to lose a resident; we know them so well,” she said.

“Our mission is to accompany them until they pass away, but during the pandemic, when they have to leave to go into the hospital, we can’t be there with them.”

“In each of our Little Sisters of the Poor facilities, we typically hold visitations and funeral Masses, which are wonderful opportunities for

The Little Sisters of the Poor Holy Family Residence in St. Paul serves the elderly poor and currently has 55 residents.

PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

fellow residents and staff to say their goodbyes,” she continued. “Now with COVID, there’s none of that, and that’s been very hard.”

And, Mother Theresa noted, while she’s been through many flu epidemics in the past, COVID-19 is different.

“Like flu, we use the same technique of isolation to control spread, wear masks and wash hands, but COVID is that invisible enemy that’s lurking and not ending like the flu, as it mutates and changes to a different form,” she said.

“And with no end in sight — it’s a marathon, not a sprint — it has been so politicized with masks and mandates,” Mother Theresa said. “It makes you weary at times.”

Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, the Little Sisters of the Poor continue to focus on the value of each resident, and celebrate the wisdom of age.

“Some people think that older people are of no use, and that taking care of them is a waste of time,” Sister Cecilia said. A native of Hong Kong, she experienced the family-like atmosphere of a Little Sisters home while visiting her grandfather there; that inspired her to choose the sisterhood for her own vocation.

“Every day for me is showing appreciation to our residents and

CONSECRATED LIFE The Little Sisters of the Poor are among more than 40 men and women’s religious communities that serve the Church and community in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. On Feb. 2, the Church celebrates the 26th annual World Day for Consecrated Life, which recognizes the special gift of consecrated men and women, such as religious brothers and sisters, members of secular institutes and consecrated virgins.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis invites them to participate in an online Archdiocesan Celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life 6:30 p.m. Feb. 2. For more information, visit archspm.org/events. thanking them for what they’ve done in their young days for society,” she said.

“As time passes with COVID, the Holy Spirit inspires all of us to do the best we can for our elderly residents,” she said.

“When I feel overwhelmed, I remember that God is the master. He’s the one who will protect us.

“But what always gives me hope is our staff, our residents and their families,” she added. “We’re all on one team to keep our residents’ health the priority, and God gives us great hope in the goodness of humanity.”

JANUARY 27, 2022

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 1B

BISHOPWILLIAMS

Finding ‘the gold of God’ After receiving his crosier, miter and ring, newly ordained Bishop Joseph Williams receives applause from Archbishop Bernard Hebda, right, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the U.S., left, and other bishops during his episcopal ordination Mass Jan. 25 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

At far left is Bishop Williams’ brother, Father Peter Williams, who served as one of two priestchaplains at the Mass.

DAVE HRBACEK THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Bishop Joseph Williams’ gifts recognized as he is ordained to serve archdiocese

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

O

n Nov. 23, 2021, Pope Francis shared eight “Beatitudes for Bishops” with Italian bishops gathered in Rome.

Among them, he told them, is “Blessed is the bishop who has a heart for the misery of the world. Who is not afraid to dirty his hands with the mud of the human soul in order to find the gold of God there, who is not scandalized by the sin and fragility of others because he knows his own misery, because the look of the Risen Crucified One will be the seal of infinite forgiveness.”

When Pope Francis shared those beatitudes, he was across the world from Minnesota, but he couldn’t have felt closer to Bishop Joseph Williams. The day before, then-Father Williams had received a call from Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., informing him that Pope Francis had named him a bishop and appointed him as an auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Archbishop Pierre highlighted that beatitude Jan. 25 while speaking at Bishop Williams’ ordination at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. “Your excellency,” he said to Bishop

Williams, then just minutes from his ordination, “it is my sincere hope that you take these words to heart, and that you allow them to animate your ministry here in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.”

Speaking to Bishop Williams’ pastoral experience, Archbishop Pierre, who represents Pope Francis to the U.S. Church, said that the new bishop knows “what it means to dirty your hands among the poor … only to discover the true treasure of the life of faith, which Blessed is the they possess.” bishop who has a “You also know what it means to encounter the heart for the misery Risen Crucified one, just as Paul did on the road to of the world. Who is Damascus,” he continued, a nod to the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, which the Church celebrated not afraid to dirty his that day. “That encounter changed everything for hands with the mud him, and he was able to offer the hope that comes of the human soul in from the Risen Lord, and the Gospel to the nations.

It is my sincere hope that working closely with order to find the gold Archbishop (Bernard) Hebda, you may continue to of God there … share the joy of the Gospel with the people of this Pope Francis archdiocese.”

In this special section, The Catholic Spirit celebrates Bishop Williams, from his childhood in south Minneapolis and Stillwater, through his ordination as a priest and early ministry, which ranged from rural life and outreach to young adults and the disabled, to his current focus on neighborhood evangelization and Latino Catholics as the archdiocese’s vicar for Latino Ministry and leader of St. Stephen and Holy Rosary in south Minneapolis.

ORDINATION EVENTS 3B | VOCATION STORY 5B | BROTHERS, PRIESTS 6B | LATINO FOCUS 7B STREET EVANGELIZATION 8B | IN HIS OWN WORDS 10B-11B | YOUNG ADULTS 12B | FAMILY IMPACT 14B MOTTO & COAT OF ARMS17B | TITULAR DIOCESE 18B | PAST AUXILIARY BISHOPS 19B | QUICK TAKES 20B

2B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

BISHOP WILLIAMS

Congratulations, Bishop Joseph Williams!

From everyone at Saint John Vianney College Seminary and The Saint Paul Seminary

JANUARY 27, 2022

JANUARY 27, 2022

BISHOP WILLIAMS

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3B

At ordination, Archbishop Hebda stresses need for conversion, Holy Spirit

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

W

hile Bishop Joseph Williams is more likely to be found on a bicycle than on a horse like the Apostle Paul, Archbishop Bernard Hebda observed at Bishop Williams’ ordination Mass Jan. 25, the new bishop may relate to “Apostle to the Gentiles” — even in taking the Nov. 22 phone call announcing Pope Francis had appointed him bishop.

“In place of the light from the sky that had flashed around Saul, all that our new auxiliary experienced was a call on his cell phone from an unknown Washington, D.C., number: ‘The Holy Father has named you to be auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Do you accept?’ That would be enough to knock any man, any priest to the ground,” Archbishop Hebda said.

A priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Bishop Williams was ordained a bishop on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

Despite wind chills below zero, the Cathedral was filled with family, friends and faithful of the archdiocese, among them representatives of several religious communities. Many of them were Latino, an indication that, since his ordination to the priesthood in 2002, Bishop Williams’ ministry has included a special affection for Spanish-speaking Catholics. In his current assignments as pastor of St. Stephen and parochial administrator at Holy Rosary, both in south Minneapolis, he serves a predominantly Latino community.

The procession included Latina women and girls carrying flowers, and men, women and children wearing Latin American cultural dress, including a tunic with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Also in the procession were members of the Knights of Columbus, the Knights and Dames of the Order of Malta, the Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, and seminarians, deacons and priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Altar servers included Bishop Williams’ nephews and parishioners.

Concelebrating the Mass were 12 bishops, mostly from Minnesota and surrounding states.

They included Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States; former priests of the archdiocese Bishop Emeritus John LeVoir of New Ulm and Bishop Donald DeGrood of Sioux Falls; Maronite Chorbishop Sharbel Maroun, pastor of St. Maron in Minneapolis; Bishop Donald Kettler of St. Cloud; Bishop John Quinn of Winona-Rochester; Bishop Daniel Felton of Duluth; Bishop John Folda of Fargo; Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith of Portland, Oregon; and Auxiliary Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt of Hartford, Connecticut, a member of the Society of the Servants of the Eucharist and Mary, who ministered in the archdiocese from 2006 to 2018.

Also concelebrating and serving as co-consecrators for Bishop Williams’ episcopal ordination were two former auxiliary bishops of St. Paul and Minneapolis: Bishop Emeritus Richard Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, and Bishop

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Deacons Joe Michalak, left, and Ramon Garcia Degollado hold the Book of the Gospels over the head of Bishop Joseph Williams during his ordination Mass Jan. 25 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

Andrew Cozzens of Crookston. Bishop Cozzens served as an auxiliary bishop from 2013 until his installation in Crookston last month. (See sidebar, “Why three bishops?”)

Accompanying Bishop Williams as priest-chaplains during the Mass were his younger brother Father Peter Williams, pastor of St. Ambrose in Woodbury, and Father Daniel Griffith, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis and a seminary classmate.

Father Williams formally presented his brother to the archbishop for ordination.

The Gospel was proclaimed in Spanish

by Deacon Luis Rubi, who ministered alongside Bishop Williams when he became pastor of St. Stephen in Minneapolis in 2008.

After the Liturgy of the Word, Archbishop Pierre, who had placed that fateful November phone call to Bishop Williams informing him of his appointment from Pope Francis, gave remarks before reading the papal mandate naming Bishop Williams the titular bishop of Idassa and appointing him auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The papal nuncio then handed the mandate to Bishop Williams, who showed the document to Archbishop Hebda and then processed around the Cathedral, holding it out to the faithful, who applauded and cheered as a Latino choir sang.

In his homily, Archbishop Hebda, the Mass’ principal celebrant and the principal consecrator in the ordination rite, spoke about the archdiocese’s patron saint, stressing the importance of conversion. The 17th-century Roman painter Caravaggio captured St. Paul’s conversion — which included being struck blind on his way to Damascus — with particular beauty, he said. In the masterpiece, Paul, “practically spilling out of the canvas,” is on his back with eyes closed, hands reaching to the heavens.

“It’s not the dignified posture of an Apostle or even of a Pharisee or Roman citizen,” Archbishop Hebda said of the painting, “Conversion on the Way to Damascus,” which is in a church in Rome. “Rather, it’s much more reminiscent of a certain helpless infant

WHY THREE BISHOPS? At the ordination, three bishops in particular laid hands on Bishop Williams: Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Bishop Emeritus Richard Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, and Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston. Archbishop Hebda served as the principal consecrator, while the other two were co-consecrators.

According to the Code of Canon Law 1014, at least three bishops must participate in the ordination of a bishop. That ensures apostolic succession, or the transmission of the Apostles’ mission and authority, which continues in the Church through its bishops.

“Having three bishops ordain in unison manifests that the Church’s apostolic faith is being faithfully transmitted,” said Father Tom Margevicius, the archdiocese’s director of worship. “Bishop Williams now participates in an unbroken chain, going all the way back to the first Apostles, perpetuating Christ’s own teaching and authority.”

— Maria Wiering next to a donkey in a Nativity scene.”

“What we’re dealing with here is rebirth,” Archbishop Hebda said.

“Through this powerful encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, Saul is reborn, even taking a new name: Paul.

It’s out of this experience that knocks the self-confident Paul to the ground, rendering him vulnerable, that he would be able to convincingly share with the Corinthians: that ‘it is when I am weak, then I am strong.’”

The archbishop noted that the ordination rite includes going “to the ground,” as Bishop Williams would lie prostrate before the altar during a sung litany of the saints.

“We’re hoping that through (the saints’) spiritual accompaniment, you will be confirmed in your great desire to joyfully accept the new call that has been given you through Pope Francis,” Archbishop Hebda said, “even when you, like Paul, recognize it will, at times, be a sharing in Christ’s cross that requires you to die to yourself.”

Commending Bishop Williams’ “incredible natural gifts,” Archbishop Hebda said “even they will pale in

comparison to what the Lord desires to shower upon you today through the Holy Spirit.”

He said it was “no accident” that the Rite of Ordination began with the “Veni Creator Spiritus,” or “Come, Creator Spirit.”

“The Church is pleading for you and for herself: ‘Come, Holy Spirit,’” he said.

“It was only after the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit that they were able to proclaim the Gospel to all peoples, uniting them under the one shepherd, sanctifying them and guiding them to salvation. It was the Holy Spirit who led them to recognize that they would need to perpetuate their apostolic ministry from one generation to the next, requiring that they choose other men to share in their work, passing on to them, through the laying of hands, the gift of the Spirit, which they themselves had received from Christ.

“We celebrate that today — that through an uninterrupted succession of bishops throughout the centuries, this same gift of the Spirit is now being passed on to my brother Joseph, so that the living tradition of the Church can be preserved and the work of Jesus can continue and develop,” he said.

At the close of Mass, Bishop Williams, wearing his miter and a vestment with an embroidered icon of St. Paul, addressed those gathered in both English and Spanish. He said that it was the work of God that brought about his ordination, and that he was hoping for what Archbishop Hebda preached about — the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

“I don’t have a mission statement,” he said. “We heard the mission from Archbishop Pierre: I’m here to assist Archbishop Hebda in his pastoral care of this archdiocese.”

He continued: “All of us have one mission: to go out and proclaim the good news. What is the good news? It’s Jesus Christ.”

He thanked his family and his “brother bishops.” “I have a sense of ‘I’m entering into something’ — it’s a college, not an individual work. It existed before today. It will exist when I’m in heaven. And I want to be part of that, (a) co-worker with them, always guarding the unity of the Church.”

Upon his ordination, Bishop Williams, 47, is the youngest Latin-rite bishop in the United States, according to data at church-hierarchy.org. He ended his remarks with a reflection on a bishop’s responsibility to cultivate vocations among young people. He pointed to Pope St. John Paul II’s, who asked young people, “What will you do with your life? What are your plans? Have you ever thought about committing your existence totally to Christ? Do you think that there can be anything greater than to bring Jesus to people and people to Jesus?”

Bishop Williams ended his remarks with St. John Paul II’s words: “Follow Christ.”

“You who are single, or who are preparing for marriage, follow Christ,” he said, quoting the late pope. “You who are old or young, follow Christ.

You who are sick or aging, follow Christ.

You who feel the need of a friend, follow Christ.”

BISHOP WILLIAMS

4B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

Mother’s hope for Bishop Williams: ‘He stays close to Jesus’

By Joe Ruff and Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

MASSES OF THANKGIVING

M

oments after her son’s episcopal ordination, Mary Williams, 71, smiled with joy and relief while sharing her hopes as Bishop Joseph Williams began his new ministry.

“He stays close to Jesus, continues his devotions to the Blessed Mother and daily brings Jesus to others,” she said.

As to her feelings about the more than two-hour Mass with bishops, priests, religious, choirs and the faithful of the archdiocese filling the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, she said: “It felt like I was in heaven. Except I’m still on earth.”

Members of the Williams family filled several pews in the Cathedral.

Entire sections were marked with signs indicating parishioners of St. Stephen and Holy Rosary parishes in Minneapolis, where Bishop Williams serves a largely Latino community.

Another section was marked for St. Croix Catholic School in Stillwater, the elementary school Bishop Williams attended. About 50 students in sixththrough-eighth grades attended the Mass with teachers and their principal, Sister Maria Ivana Begovic, a Dominican Sister of St. Cecilia, who said it was humbling and a great honor to have a graduate ordained a bishop.

“I think it speaks to the legacy of St. Croix Catholic School, to the wonderful faculty and staff who have served here through the years, and religious sisters,” she said. “I also believe it’s a beautiful reflection on how the faith life of the parish is lived out in the school.”

Bishop Joseph Williams plans to celebrate four public Masses of Thanksgiving, with two in his hometown of Stillwater, and one at each of the parishes he currently leads. u Sunday, Jan. 30: 9 a.m. (English) and 11 a.m.

(Spanish) at Holy Rosary, Minneapolis uSunday, Feb. 6: 8 a.m. at St. Mary, Stillwater u Sunday, Feb. 6: 11 a.m. at St. Michael, Stillwater u Sunday, Feb. 13: 9 a.m. (Spanish), 10:30 a.m.

(English), and noon (Spanish) at St. Stephen, Minneapolis

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Bishop Joseph Williams gives a blessing to his parents, Dr. Gary and Mary Williams, after his ordination Mass, as other family members await their turn.

Pam Berry, a kindergarten teacher at St. Croix Catholic, was with the group. Forty years ago, she taught Bishop Williams when he was in second grade. “He was one of the well-behaved Williams children,” she said, noting that she taught several of his eight siblings.

Currently, nine of the bishop’s nieces and nephews attend St. Croix Catholic.

Two students, John Francis Chavarria, 13, and Lauren Amiot, 14, both eighth graders, said it was wonderful to witness Bishop Williams’ ordination.

“I’ve never been to an ordination before, even for a priest,” Chavarria said, “so I thought it was really cool that I could see a bishop become ordained.”

“I think a lot of people (at St. Michael and St. Mary) are excited, and a lot of people feel a connection to him because the Williams family is so big,” said Father Michael Izen, pastor of St. Michael and St. Mary in Stillwater, who has known the family for years. The parish held a Holy Hour to pray for the new bishop Jan. 24, Father Izen said.

Shirley Kimmes, a parishioner of St. Mary in New Trier, joined others from her parish and St. Mathias in nearby Hampton, where Bishop Williams served from 2005 to 2008. “I always thought he was going to be a bishop,” said Kimmes, 69.

“He came into our parish when it

Bishop Williams’ vespers service: ‘a successor of the Apostles’

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

A

rchbishop Bernard Hebda welcomed a nearly packed house to a vespers service the evening before Bishop Joseph Williams’ Jan. 25 episcopal ordination. The archbishop’s remarks in English and Spanish reflected the languages spoken by the evening’s guests at the largely Latino St. Stephen parish in Minneapolis, where Bishop Williams has served as pastor since 2008.

Special guests included Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Pope Francis’ representative in the United States, as well as Bishop Richard Pates, bishop emeritus of Des Moines, Iowa, who presided at vespers, and Bishop John LeVoir, the Williams family’s former pastor. During the service, Bishop LeVoir, bishop emeritus of New Ulm, blessed the papal insignia — Bishop Williams’ ring, miter and crosier — that were presented to him at Tuesday’s installation ceremony.

Archbishop Hebda also recognized all those present at the service as having had some role in forming Bishop Williams as a priest “with the heart of Jesus, the good shepherd.”

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston delivered the evening’s homily — also alternating between English and Spanish.

“What a joy it is to gather here together in this church of St. Stephen to celebrate the one who’s really been the father of this church for so many years, and has really touched many lives here in this parish and other places in the archdiocese,” Bishop Cozzens said.

A former auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis who was installed as bishop of Crookston Dec. 6, Bishop Cozzens reflected on the difference it makes that the Church is founded on the Apostles, and what it means to say the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

“Three things are clear from tonight’s brief Scripture passage,” he said, speaking of Acts 2:42-45. “They

devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles, to the communal life and to the breaking of bread,” and prayer.

“It’s possible for the Church to continue,” Bishop Cozzens said, “because we have new successors of the Apostles.”

The life of faith is lived in a community, Bishop Cozzens said, right from the beginning; it’s not even possible to live it alone.

“To fully live our lives of faith, we’ve got to enter into (the lives of) the people whom God has chosen,” he said. It’s the Apostles who called the community together from the beginning, and who are in charge of keeping the community together, he said.

Speakers at the vespers service stood at a lectern near a “hill” of flowers, mostly colorful roses, as Bishop Williams described their placement, referencing Tepeyek, the hill near Mexico City where Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego in 1531. A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe was positioned at the top of the mound of flowers.

During the service, Bishop Williams recited his profession of faith and pledged an oath of fidelity.

Viviana Sotro, 50, said she once worked for the parish and attended the vespers service “to support him with prayers, mostly, and also to join this beautiful community.”

“It’s a very happy moment,” Sotro said. “He’s been a great priest and he’ll be a great bishop. I am Latina so we know about his love for the Latino community … so it’s a very joyful moment.”

Following vespers, St. Stephen and Holy Rosary parishes hosted a three-hour dinner and program for several hundred guests, including visiting bishops, friends and Bishop Williams’ family. Parishioners performed several songs in Spanish and gave testimonies about how their lives have changed because of the parish’s evangelical outreach.

was really needed, and he brought such holiness with him,” she said.

As parishioners of St. Stephen in Minneapolis, Alberto and Reina Morales, and their son, Roger Morales, 20, said they attended the ordination to support their pastor.

“He has helped us grow in our faith,” said Roger Morales, who took the day off work. “When I saw him on Sunday, I asked him to pray for me, and as he put his hands on my head, I just felt the presence of God. It’s such a blessing to have known him.”

Others attended the ordination to support the local Church, accompany a priest being ordained a bishop, and even teach others about the faith.

“I wanted to bring my oldest son to witness this,” said Sam Hanson, 34, from Epiphany in Coon Rapids, with his 5-year-old son, John Paul. “Let him see the Holy Spirit at work.”

SACRED SYMBOLS’ MEANING When then-Father Joseph Williams’ appointment as auxiliary bishop was publicly announced Dec. 10, he concelebrated a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul with Archbishop Bernard Hebda and held a press conference afterward.

The archbishop greeted him before that Mass with a pectoral cross, a symbol of the dignity of his new office, which the archbishop himself had worn.

“He (Archbishop Hebda) calls it a ‘loaner,’ or ‘you could keep it,’” Bishop Williams told The Catholic Spirit before his Jan. 25 ordination and installation as auxiliary bishop. “I think he was being humble.”

“It’s very beautiful,” Bishop Williams said. “I think I’d like to keep it, at least while I’m serving him, as a reminder that I’m his auxiliary. My first job is to support him.”

Other symbols of the episcopacy that hold personal meaning for Bishop Williams are a zucchetto, the “skullcap” typically worn by bishops, that belonged to the late Bishop Paul Sirba, a priest of the archdiocese who as bishop served the Diocese of Duluth before he died in 2019.

Bishop Williams said his crosier, or pastoral staff, was made by one of Bishop Sirba’s nephews, Paul Sirba of St. Paul. In the crook of the crosier is a shamrock that represents the Trinity.

It also reminds him of St. Patrick, his confirmation saint. A single rose represents the Latino people, an important ministry personally and for the Church, the bishop said.

The episcopal ring Bishop Williams will wear is decorated with a fleur-de-lis that includes a cross, a rose and an image of the Virgin Mary. It’s fashioned after the logo of Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Minneapolis, and used with permission, Bishop Williams said, from that parish’s pastor, Father Daniel Griffith, who is a friend and a member of his seminary graduating class.

The pectoral cross and zuchetto in particular remind him, Bishop Williams said, that “I have brothers on earth, and in heaven, that have gone before me, that are serving with me, that we’re a college, you might say, of apostles, serving together in this.”

— Joe Ruff

JANUARY 27, 2022

BISHOP WILLIAMS

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5B

Bishop Williams’ vocation: ‘When my prayer life changed, my life changed’

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

‘CONFLUENCE OF GIFTS’

O

ne thing in particular stands out in Vicki Dibler’s memory about fellow University of Minnesota Morris students Joseph Williams and his brother, Peter, while they discussed the Bible and core Catholic teachings.

In gentle but firm ways, the Williams brothers would not settle for easy answers, she said.

“They were always questioning, but in a very calm fashion. I remember them as being a very peaceful presence,” Dibler said of meeting about once a week for 90 minutes in the home of a family physician who organized the Bible study.

At that time, 1995 and 1996, Dibler’s last name was Pogatchnik. Joseph Williams had plans to become a doctor and would graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Peter Williams would go on to business school at the university’s Twin Cities campus.

Joseph and Peter Williams later responded to calls to the priesthood and were ordained in 2002 and 2004, respectively.

Dibler, who married, has three children and is a math and science instruction specialist for elementary school students in El Paso, Texas, said she believes that as a bishop, her old friend will continue to gently ask questions that seek to understand and heal the emotional and spiritual wounds many people face.

“I am so excited for what is to come,” Dibler said. “He has not come to take the easy way. He wants the challenge of meeting the needs where they are.”

Dr. George Jay, 64, the Bible study leader in Morris along with his wife, Joan, recalls meeting the Williams brothers at daily Mass and inviting them to join the group, which he had formed along with other Bible study groups in the early 1990s.

“My wife said, ‘There’s popcorn there!’

And they said, ‘We always like free food.

We’re college kids after all,’” recalled Jay, a member of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Morris.

As the group of about a dozen college

Bishop Joseph Williams attended The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul in his final years of study for the priesthood. Father Daniel Griffith, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis and one of the future bishop’s classmates in the 2002 ordination class, said Bishop Williams has the “heart, head and humanity” to be a great bishop, and a “confluence of gifts that are oriented to generous and compassionate service.”

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Bishop Joseph Williams, left, stands outside The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul prior to his 2002 ordination to the priesthood. With him are classmates Father Jay Kythe (now a monk at St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchison, Kansas), center, and Father Daniel Griffith, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis. students listened and discussed talks by such figures as Catholic speaker and teacher Scott Hahn on the sacraments, Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist, the nature of God and his works, purgatory and the Trinity, the Williams brothers began to recognize a different calling for their lives.

At this point, Bishop Williams has said, he turned his prayer life around and sought to listen to the Lord’s voice first.

“For Peter and I, that encounter with God’s word as young adults lit a fire in us and renewed our love for the Church, in a sense,” Bishop Williams told The Catholic Spirit. “I wondered if I had been praying right, to be very honest, up to that point. My prayer for many years, ‘Lord, this is what I would love to do.

Please bless me.’ And he did bless me, in fact. But when you meet the Lord, you know that’s not the right prayer. You have to ask, as (the late Archbishop Harry Flynn) always told us, ‘Lord, what would you have me do?’

“And I would say, when my prayer life changed, my life changed. Because very soon after that, he showed me quite clearly that I wasn’t going to be a doctor

of bodies. But I was going to be a doctor of hearts.”

As part of his discernment, Bishop Williams took time before medical school to explore philosophy and theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio. After the first semester, he entered a pre-theology program of discernment, prompted by its director, the late Father David Testa of the Diocese of Albany, New York.

“He caught me in the parking lot and asked me if I would like to join the pretheology program. I knew that it meant you couldn’t date,” Bishop Williams said. “And I thought, my last semester at Steubenville, I wonder if that’s a good idea.” But he and a friend encouraged each other to apply for the program, and it “was beautiful,” said Bishop Williams, who ultimately spent two years at Franciscan University. “That fraternity, the prayer very clearly within that context. I heard the Lord say, ‘Follow me.’ I dropped the nets. I really haven’t looked back since that time. And I’ve just been so blessed.”

Jay said he saw something special in the Williams brothers. He recalls

Bright and studious, he “has a sense of humor that is quick and dry. And a graciousness as well,” Father Griffith said. “I think to have all of those gifts together in one person, and now developed through years as a pastor, walking with the people, the marginalized, poor and the immigrant,” will be a great gift to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, he said.

While humble, Bishop Williams is “bold when the Spirit is calling him” and a good friend, Father Griffith said. “He’s one of the best priest friends I have, and one of the most affirming.”

— Joe Ruff a university science professor telling him that Bishop Williams was the best student he ever had. Jay replied he knew what the professor meant.

“No,” the professor said with emphasis.

“I don’t mean one of the best. I mean the best student I’ve ever had.”

Jay said he also called Father Testa at Franciscan University, asking him to keep Bishop Williams on his radar. Several months later, Father Testa called back to report his own experience with the discerning bishop-to-be, saying, “You know the story you told me about the science professor? Every bit of it is true.”

“His gifts are just so profound,” Jay said. “A maturity ahead of his years.

Compassion. Yet, uncompromising compassion, in his love for Jesus Christ.

It just radiates.

“He stands out in a group. But you have to get to know him. It’s not boisterous. It’s just a humble excellence.”

BISHOP JOSEPH A. WILLIAMS

Congratulations from the Clergy, Religious and Lay Faithful of the

DIOCESE OF CROOKSTON "We offer heartfelt prayers for his service in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. We are grateful to God and Pope Francis that he chose such a visionary shepherd with a compassionate heart impelled by the love of Christ (2 Cor 5:14)."

Most Rev. Andrew H. Cozzens | Bishop of Crookston

6B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

BISHOP WILLIAMS

JANUARY 27, 2022

Two Williams brothers: Priests, and now one a bishop

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

“S

tay in your lane, but keep your door open.”

Father Peter Williams said that is how he expects to approach supporting his older brother, Bishop Joseph Williams.

“Stay in the lane is just, like, ‘OK, you got this.’ But then, certainly for support and anything that he’d need, to be there,” said Father Williams, 46, pastor of St. Ambrose in Woodbury.

It’s similar to the way Father Williams describes growing up in St. Michael in Stillwater with his eight siblings and two loving, faith-filled parents, and still now as adults: Always there for each other, but with a healthy respect and room to develop as individuals.

Having four boys born within four years guaranteed a certain closeness, said Father Williams, who is 20 months younger than Bishop Williams. As children, they shared the same bedroom, loved sports and played all of them. They were competitive, Father Williams said, and their father, Dr. Gary Williams, broke up the occasional argument.

A foundation to that family life was consistent attendance at daily Mass, at least until junior high, when school started too early to make morning Mass, Father Williams said. The church was only five blocks away. They could hear the church bells from their house and walk or bicycle there. They knew the priest well and enjoyed serving at and learning the Mass, he said.

“We were not angels,” he said. “We had our moments where we would, at different ages of kids, get home from Mass and get disciplined or lose some privileges because of our behavior at Mass. So, this is no unblemished kind of reality, by any means. But it was just ingrained and so much a part of what we do.”

For the two Williams brothers destined to the priesthood, attending the University of Minnesota Morris together also included daily Mass — particularly as a mutually supportive Lenten practice. Bishop Williams’ time as a junior and senior in Morris overlapped with his brothers’ arrival in 1994 as a freshman and in his sophomore year.

After Bishop Williams graduated in 1996 with a biology degree, Father Williams transferred to the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and

COURTESY THE WILLIAMS FAMILY

Bishop Joseph Williams, right, and Father Peter Williams are pictured together as kids in this undated family photo.

COURTESY THE WILLIAMS FAMILY

Father Peter Williams, left, and Bishop Joseph Williams, right, flank their parents, Dr. Gary and Mary Williams, as the Williams celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in May 2021. graduated in 1998 with a degree in finance and accounting.

At daily Mass at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Morris, the Williams brothers met Dr. George Jay and his wife, Joan, who invited them to a Bible study with college students in their home. Their faith lives matured in that group as they learned, questioned and formed their adult lives around the teachings of the Catholic Church, Father Williams said.

That propelled them to Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Steubenville, Ohio. First Bishop Williams, who spent two years (1996-1998), then Father Williams, who also spent two years. It was a period of discernment while learning theology and philosophy that served them well as they later entered The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul and then the priesthood, Father Williams said.

Steubenville’s 14 hours away from home helped him find time and space alone to wrestle with his vocation, Father Williams said. Family and friends helped to fund their studies so the brothers didn’t have to work, but instead could focus on their academics and discernment.

“It was just a great gift to me and Joseph at that time to have space to pray, space to grow and space to learn and listen,” Father Williams said.

It led to their priestly ordinations, with Bishop Williams ordained in 2002 and Father Williams in 2004. As priests, their mutual support continued, as the brothers’ assignments and ministries

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took them to different parts of the archdiocese. Bishop Williams embraced serving the Latino community and began a street ministry at St. Stephen in Minneapolis.

In addition to St. Ambrose, Father Williams has served at St. Francis of Assisi in Lake St. Croix Beach, Maternity of Mary in St. Paul and St. Vincent de Paul in Osseo. He has been a formator at St. John Vianney College Seminary and vice rector of The St. Paul Seminary, both in St. Paul; director of the archdiocese’s Vocations Office and Institute for Ongoing Clergy Formation, and minister to clergy in the Office of Parish and Clergy Services. Father Williams said he continues to be a spiritual director for priests and he enjoys leading retreats for laypeople. But the highlight of his ministry is serving as a pastor, interacting with young and old, in tragedy and joy.

Even when he and Bishop Williams did not often connect in person between holidays, they knew that Thanksgiving and Christmas, birthdays and other events would bring them together and provide time to talk with each other, their parents, siblings and extended family, Father Williams said.

He and Bishop Williams also find strength and inspiration in community outside of their family, Father Williams said. Father Williams is involved with the priestly fraternity Companions of Christ, archdiocesan priests who actively support one another. His brother’s first decade as a priest was shaped by his involvement with the worldwide

Emmanuel Community — laypeople and religious who emphasize fraternity and evangelization, Father Williams said.

“I think even some of the beautiful things that he was able to do at St. Stephen’s with door-to-door ministry and evangelization would have been inspired and even aided by the Emmanuel Community,” Father Williams said.

As a priest and a bishop in the same diocese, their relationship will have to play out over time, Father Williams said.

“I think it’ll just have to be lived,” he said. “Technically, my bishop is Archbishop (Bernard) Hebda, in terms of my promise of obedience and so forth. But of course, (Bishop Williams is) his right hand now, at this point.

And I’m grateful … I’m happy for the archbishop to have him and happy for our archdiocese to have him.”

His brother certainly brings gifts to his ministry as a bishop, Father Williams said.

“I’d say first, he’s a man of integrity … he honors his word. He’s a man of prayer,” he said. “I think the Holy Hour and the presence of the Eucharist has been ingrained since seminary and through priesthood, which is a huge gift.

I think he does have a heart for those people, who for many wouldn’t attract a second notice … Maybe Pope Francis would say ‘at the margins.’”

“I think the fire to evangelize, the fire to introduce other people to Jesus and encountering him, I don’t think that’s wavered,” Father Williams added. “I think that was the main thing that set him off in this course in the beginning.

And it’s beautiful to see that as strong as it is.”

JANUARY 27, 2022

BISHOP WILLIAMS

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7B

Bishop Williams: ‘One of the great gifts of my priesthood is the Latino people’

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

MIDNIGHT RESCUE AMID RIOTS

W

hen Bishop Joseph Williams, as a high school sophomore, debated immigration, he and a classmate argued that people crossing the border without papers break the law and should be prosecuted. As a priest in 2012, he wrote a commentary piece in The Catholic Spirit saying it was hard for him to believe he once held that opinion.

“I thank God for the privilege of serving such humble and loveable people,” he wrote. “I thank God that, through them, he has changed my attitude toward so many people of good will who are here without authorization.”

He added that many Latinos are in the U.S. legally, and he prayed for the day when those not here legally would enjoy the stability of permanent residency. “I think they are a tremendous, revitalizing force, not only for the Church but also for society and the economy,” he wrote.

The spark for Bishop Williams’ focus on Latino ministry was struck when he began his major theology studies in the fall semester of 1998 at The St. Paul Seminary, he recently told The Catholic Spirit. He saw a rose blooming outside the morning of Dec. 12 that year, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, prompting thoughts of the miracle of the roses in Mexico in 1531, when St. Juan Diego saw flowers blooming out of season as Our Lady appeared to him.

“I think that was the first sense that maybe our Lord wants something from me,” Bishop Williams said.

“Maybe I implicitly understood that the Latino people were Our Lady’s flowers today in our midst.”

The following spring, with that rose in mind, he chose Latino ministry for his final project in a class, Pastoral Ministry in American Culture. The project included interviewing several priests. “Seeing how much they loved the Latino people, how much they were loved by the Latino people, really confirmed in my heart this desire to serve them,” Bishop Williams said.

“And meeting them firsthand — their tenderness, their deep love of God and the Blessed Virgin Mary — was exactly what I was looking for in my own priesthood.”

While he was in seminary, he’d wake up early every Dec. 12 and go to Our Lady of Guadalupe church in St. Paul in time for singing “morning songs” with parishioners “because I knew that this is where I belonged and this is where God wanted me,” Bishop Williams said.

Even the day he received the call from the papal nuncio that Pope Francis appointed him as an auxiliary bishop, Bishop Williams was standing in front of a large image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He said he felt her say, “Be not afraid; try not to get worried.”

Two years after ordination to the priesthood, his Spanish-speaking skills helped Bishop Williams in his assignment at Divine Mercy in Faribault, which had a growing Latino population. While serving there, “a love was really born there with Latinos,” he said.

The estimated 90% Latino population at Holy Rosary, the south Minneapolis parish where Bishop Williams has served as parochial administrator since 2020, includes about 60% of Mexican heritage; 20% Ecuadoran; 10% from Chile, Venezuela or Costa Rica; and a few families from Puerto Rico, said 22-year parishioner Patricia Sandoval, a member of the parish’s finance council. She estimates that, of the similar majority Latino population at nearby St. Stephen, where Bishop Williams has ministered since 2008, most parishioners are from Ecuador and, after that, Mexico.

Sandoval said Bishop Williams is successful in Latino ministry for a number of reasons: being a good listener, his prayerful approach, asking for people’s input on issues, and in his general demeanor, including kindness, humility “and always smiling.” And she believes the Holy Spirit inspires his ministry.

Holy Rosary parishioner Juan Mendoza said Bishop Williams encourages people to become more involved in their parish, and he leads by example.

Both parishes have benefited from his leadership in times of difficult transitions. In June 2020, Dominican friars left Holy Rosary after founding and then serving the parish for 142 years. Bishop Williams managed the transition from the Dominicans and guided a

Bishop Joseph Williams brought a different kind of salvation to Norberta Lopez and her family: a physical rescue in the midst of protests and rioting that took place after the May 25, 2020, policeinvolved killing of George Floyd, an African American, in south Minneapolis.

The night of May 28, Lopez and her husband, Freddy Torres, both 41, and their three children were in their Minneapolis apartment four blocks from where Floyd was killed. They lived next to a store and saw rioters outside.

The family watched people use a saw to break a lock on the store’s back door.

Others carried red containers for gasoline, which the family believed would be used to set the store on fire, if not their home.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Bishop Joseph Williams gives a blessing after Mass at St. Stephen in Minneapolis Dec. 10, the day he was announced as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. year of discernment, said Ginger Graham, business administrator at Holy Rosary and St. Stephen. The parish also had serious financial challenges that required creativity to keep the doors open, she said.

As he began his ministry at St. Stephen in spring 2008, Bishop Williams also faced a difficult situation. A large group of English-speaking parishioners had left the parish shortly before he arrived, breaking unity with the Catholic Church to form their own community.

Bishop Williams reached out to them in person and through other communications, said Deacon Luis Rubi, who served at St. Stephen from September 2008 to 2016. But he faced liturgical and other challenges, “a clash of ecclesiology, a complete clash in what it means to be Catholic,” Deacon Rubi said.

“There’s no more gentle and compassionate human being that I’ve ever met,” Deacon Rubi said of Bishop Williams. “It certainly took a special leader to be at that parish at that time.”

Neighborhood evangelization revitalized St. Stephen, with Bishop Williams and parishioners knocking on doors, introducing themselves and inviting people to liturgy, asking people if they needed someone to pray for them and asking Catholics they encountered if they missed any sacraments. (See related story on page 8B.) In 2013, lay missionaries from St. Stephen approached Norberta Lopez, Freddy Torres and their three children in a Minneapolis park as part of that evangelization. The family joined the parish and received sacraments.

More than anything, the family, as Mexican immigrants, identified with Bishop Williams because “he speaks our language,” Torres said. “He has welcomed us as a family, as the immigrants we are.”

Sometimes, immigrants forget about God because they are so busy working, he said. But thanks to his pastor’s outreach and ministry, Torres said, his whole family has been saved. As a great evangelizer, the bishop has “rescued” many Latino families, he said.

In 2018, Archbishop Bernard Hebda appointed Bishop Williams the archdiocese’s vicar for Latino Ministry, where he oversees Latino ministry planning with the ministry’s director. He also participates quarterly with priests and coordinators at parishes with Latino ministry programs and represents Archbishop Bernard Hebda in related projects and events. More than 20 parishes in the archdiocese offer sacraments, catechesis and spiritual support to thousands of Spanish-speaking parishioners.

As vicar, Bishop Williams “accompanied the other priests in the ups and downs of being a pastor who serves the Latino community,” said Estela Villagrán Manancero, archdiocesan director of Latino Ministry.

“They know they can reach out to him,” she said, including for guidance on issues that might arise at a parish.

Villagrán Manancero also praised “the great job” Bishop Williams has done evangelizing and drawing people to St. Stephen, and offering sacraments toLatino

They wanted to flee but their car was boxed in by other cars — and surrounded by people. They had friends with cars, but believed their best option was to call Bishop Williams, which is what Lopez did after 11 p.m.

FREDDY TORRES

“My family, my children who were already beginning to be afraid, to worry, to cry, because there was so much noise outside, with cars braking hard and slamming doors,” Torres said in Spanish, through an interpreter. The family had a “great connection” with Bishop Williams, held him in high esteem, had talked with him in NORBERTA LOPEZ times of difficulty, and knew his kind heart.

“He knows I wouldn’t call unless it is very important,” Lopez said.

Bishop Williams didn’t hesitate to say yes, she said, recalling his words, “Don’t worry, Norberta. I’ll be there soon.”

Bishop Williams shared the story with The Catholic Spirit in June 2020, saying his drive to the apartment was “almost like out of a movie,” and Interstate 35W at Lake Street was “just complete smoke.”

“Flames are leaping up to the west … and you’re driving right through,” he recalled.

Bishop Williams was able to house the family overnight. The next day they sought refuge with a relative until they felt safe returning to their apartment, which had escaped damage.

Lopez said they felt relief when they reached the St. Stephen rectory and felt comforted by a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

“We felt like we were sheltered with that mother’s love, too,” she said.

— Barb Umberger families. “He invites (priests) to do as he did at St. Stephen, to grow the community,” she said. He has patience, strong focus on keeping Latino youth in the Church, developing and trusting ministry leaders and “accompanying people who are suffering.”

“I think it’s a plus that we will have someone (as auxiliary bishop) that has served the (Latino) community,” Villagrán Manancero said. “He knows what it takes. He can make important decisions for the community and it’s an opportunity for him to actually lift up the community” on justice issues, she said, including helping legislators understand the reality of the community, such as those who are undocumented.

During a press conference Dec. 10, the day he was announced as auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese, then-Bishop-elect Williams said he could not thank God more for when he became vicar. “One of the great gifts of my priesthood is the Latino people,” he said.

Bishop Williams will carry his love for the Latino people close to him in his ministry as bishop, including symbolically. In addition to a shamrock representing the Holy Trinity on his crozier, he will have a rose representing the Latino people, whom he sees like flowers blooming in Minnesota’s cold winters, still flourishing in the faith, he said.

“It’s beautiful to see the shamrock almost arched over the single rose in a sign of blessing, of protection,” he told The Catholic Spirit in a Jan. 7 interview. “And, God willing, with my staff, I can continue that work of the Trinity amongst the Latino people.”

BISHOP WILLIAMS

8B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

In south Minneapolis, Bishop Williams takes Gospel to the streets

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

W

hile taking a walk in Powderhorn Park in south Minneapolis with her four children, Elisa Delgado had an encounter that changed her life. It was there in 2013 that she got her first taste of street ministry at St. Stephen in Minneapolis.

At the time, she was struggling as a single mother of four children, with her oldest, Angel Dominguez, confined to a wheelchair. She came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1996 looking for a better life. Among the things she left behind: her faith.

She had been raised Catholic, but the pressures and stresses of caring for her children crowded out the kind of spiritual nourishment she now knows she needed. As a result, for more than 15 years she had not set foot in a church.

A group of four missionaries from St. Stephen changed that. She remembers the encounter vividly.

During her walk in Powderhorn, she looked up and saw them approaching her.

“I thought they were from another religion,” Delgado, 41, said through a translator. “I didn’t know what they were going to say.”

So, she grabbed her phone and quickly dialed her mother in Mexico in order to look occupied and duck the missionaries. It worked, but only once.

They circled around and came back a second time.

“They were pretty stubborn,” Delgado recalled.

And caring, she soon learned.

“They asked me if I was married, if my children had received the sacraments,” she said. “And, I told them that I wasn’t married, I had suffered domestic violence and I was by myself in this country with my four children.”

They invited her to come to St. Stephen, which she did. In 2014, her children were baptized and joined the Church at the Easter Vigil at St. Stephen, with Father (now Bishop) Joseph Williams, the pastor, celebrating the Mass and administering the sacraments. Since then, Delgado, who got married at St. Stephen in 2019, has become a fixture at the church and today is the parish sacristan, a volunteer role that involves helping Monica Mesa, the parish’s liturgy coordinator.

“Elisa is great; she’s my right hand,” Mesa said.

“She’s so responsible and she’s always available, and that shows how much she loves the Lord.”

This is exactly what Bishop Williams had in mind when he decided to launch street ministry in 2008, shortly after being named St. Stephen’s pastor. He was determined to engage people in the neighborhood and invite them to the parish.

Changing demographics in the area had brought many more Latinos to the blocks surrounding St. Stephen. Fluent in Spanish, Father Williams wanted to create encounters and conversations that would lead to more people in the pews.

Katy Jantscher, who was hired in August 2008 to work in Latino ministry at St. Stephen, was on the ground floor of that effort. As volunteers and staff met to learn how to take faith to the streets, she was excited and nervous. Their first attempt at this style of spreading the Gospel — a style foreign to many Catholics — came during Holy Week 2009.

Parishioners went out into the neighborhood on three consecutive days starting on Holy Thursday,

TS

T& S

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

In this 2013 file photo, Father Joseph Williams greets people as they head out of St. Stephen church in Minneapolis to do street evangelization. knocking on doors and talking to people on the streets, in parks and at bus stops.

“Doing door-to-door evangelization, you’re definitely putting yourself out there,” said Jantscher, 37. “You have to really ask for the graces of the Holy Spirit to be with you. The cool thing about Father Joseph is he just has so much trust in the Holy Spirit, and he’s definitely willing to just comply with what the Holy Spirit asks of him.”

As Bishop Williams continued to lead the way, more and more people, especially Latinos, not only came to the church for Mass, but became regulars.

Parish enrollment that numbered only in the dozens during his first few months soon expanded to more than 1,000. Today, there are 1,300 parishioners, Mesa said.

Jantscher, who is bilingual, worked for the parish until 2013, when she became a Spanish teacher at Benilde-St. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park. She married in 2017, and she and her husband, Tom, have two children and belong to St. John the Baptist in New Brighton.

Looking back on her street evangelization experience, she considers this way of spreading the Gospel an “essential” part of parish life, especially given recent data showing that large numbers of adults are leaving the Church.

“What Father Joseph noticed and capitalized on

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was that need for going out” into the streets, she said. “We can’t just sit in our churches and wait for people to come.”

As Bishop Williams and other volunteers walked the pavement and knocked on doors, they got some refusals, which they expected. But there were many positives, and even a few surprises, like the time 11 years ago Bishop Williams knocked on a door and ended up talking with an African American man who enjoyed the visit so much he left his house and went with the group the rest of the way.

“He even came back to the church so that he could do a faith sharing,” Bishop Williams recalled. “It was very moving, for sure.”

During a December interview with The Catholic Spirit, Bishop Williams said some of his motivation for street ministry was fueled by the words of the late Archbishop Harry Flynn, who ordained him to the priesthood in 2002. The archbishop talked of the need to get rid of what he called “the ‘come-and-getit’ Church: ‘We have what you need, the sacraments.

You know where to find us. Come and get it,’” Bishop-elect Williams recalled Archbishop Flynn (who died in 2019) saying at the time.

In its place, Bishop Williams believes that priests and parishioners alike need to fulfill the “Great CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Congratulations!

With love, we Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Consociates offer blessings, joy and continuing prayers for you, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Williams, as you accompany all the people of God in this Archdiocese.

JANUARY 27, 2022

BISHOP WILLIAMS

EVANGELIZATION CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Commission” recorded in Matthew 28, which Jesus instituted with these words: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”

For Bishop Williams, the key word in this phrase is “Go.” “We try to canvas the neighborhoods,” he said of an effort that continues today, but with some key changes. “It starts with a human encounter, this idea that ‘we’re your neighbors, we’re from St. Stephen’s, (and) we’re just trying to get to know our neighbors.’”

Joining the street ministry team in those early days was Bishop Williams’ sister, Katherine Ranniger, who graduated from college in 2008 and wanted to help her brother build a congregation at St. Stephen.

She soon learned that joining the parish meant doing street ministry. With her brother’s help, she overcame her initial reluctance to take faith out into the neighborhoods.

“I never, ever had plans or even hope for street evangelization,” said Ranniger, 36, the youngest of the Williams siblings who is married with two daughters and belongs to St. Michael in Stillwater with her husband, Michael. “But he has this ability to just call you out of yourself into deeper waters where we know the Lord is.”

In recent years, Bishop Williams made a shift in the program to what are now called Open Houses. People in the parish invite family, friends, coworkers and neighbors to come over to their homes, and small groups of up to seven volunteers offer hospitality, faith sharing and an invitation to come to church.

A year ago, Holy Rosary, where Bishop Williams serves as pastoral administrator, joined in.

Maria Montalvo and her husband, Oscar Saldivar, of Holy Rosary have helped at the Open Houses since they started. They were single at the time, then married Dec. 11 at Holy Rosary, and now serve together.

“We had an encounter with Jesus, with the Lord,” said Montalvo, 38, through a translator. “And it’s our

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

During a gathering at St. Stephen in 2013, Father Joseph Williams joins others in praise and worship as they prepare to go out for street ministry.

I never, ever had plans or even hope for street evangelization.

But he has this ability to just call you out of yourself into deeper waters where we know the Lord is.

Katherine Ranniger desire that other people have the same encounter.”

The Open Houses typically take place during the summer, and have been held via Zoom due to COVID-19. Already, people are asking about the coming summer, she said, with a list forming of those who are interested when new groups form.

Angela Rodriguez is a leader of an Open House group at St. Stephen. She has invited friends and

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9B coworkers to join. Such groups are called “cells,” which they refer to by the Greek word “oikos.”

It can start with one simple gesture, like something one of her coworkers noticed at work.

“I was on my break, and before I eat, I always pray,” said Rodriguez, 38, through a translator. “I sat down, and my coworker was next to me, and she said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m praying before I eat.’ And, she said, ‘Teach me how to pray.’”

Now, this coworker and others are coming regularly to the meetings, which are starting to transition from Zoom to in-person meetings.

As these efforts continue at St. Stephen, Bishop Williams hopes it can spread to other parishes. He plans to work on it as part of his new ministry as an auxiliary bishop, while also continuing to serve, at least for the time being, as pastor of St. Stephen and pastoral administrator at Holy Rosary.

“I would like to share the hope that parishes can become bases for evangelization,” he said. “It’s the base from which we go out, and the base to which we return to celebrate the holy Eucharist.”

Heather Triplett participated in street ministry at St. Stephen when it started, and said she wants to take some form of the practice to her current parish, St. Maximilian Kolbe in Delano. Married with five children, she met Father Williams while both were in the Emmanuel Community, a Catholic worldwide community of laypeople and religious that emphasizes fraternity and evangelization.

In 2008, both went to World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. During the gathering, Triplett said the two and other Emmanuel young adult members started talking about street evangelization, and Father Williams decided to get it going at St. Stephen.

She hopes Bishop Williams will continue to spread the missionary spirit he has built and nurtured at his two parishes. What she has seen over the last 13 years makes her optimistic about how he will do that in his new role as an auxiliary bishop.

“He has a pastor’s heart,” she said, and “wants to go after the sheep.”

Obispo ~ Joseph A. Williams Con motivo de su ordenación episcopal como Obispo auxiliar de la Arquidiócesis de Saint Paul & Minneapolis; toda la familia de la Comunidad Latina arquidiocesana, le felicita y acompaña con Oraciones.

Oficina del Ministerio Latino

BISHOP W

10B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Bishop Williams: In his own words Interview by Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit In the weeks before his installation as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Bishop Joseph Williams, 47, sat down with The Catholic Spirit at the Cathedral of St. Paul for a wide-ranging interview that included key points in his ministry as a pastor; reflections on his priestly ordination in 2002, as the Boston Globe’s reporting revealed clergy sexual abuse in the Church; celebrating his 20th jubilee as a priest this year; and his growing sense of being called as a bishop since receiving the papal nuncio’s Nov. 22 telephone call with the news. This interview is edited for length and clarity.

Q You will celebrate your 20th jubilee this year.

What does that milestone mean to you?

A Oh boy. Gratitude to God. Anybody, of course, who

makes a lifelong promise, whether it’s a married person or a priest, knows that to reach that point is a gift of God’s mercy. It’s a milestone of mercy, because you see how fragile the human condition is. How possible it is to go off the rails in so many different ways. And you realize, boy, how God has been guiding and protecting, and apart from the stumbles, the gift of perseverance in a promise is so important.

Q You were coordinator of the archdiocese’s

Outreach for Persons with Disabilities from 2003 to 2005.

A That’s correct. This is something I got from (the late

Carmelite) Father William O’Neill, longtime professor at the University of St. Thomas. He had started this ministry outside the auspices of the archdiocese. I have a brother, Mark, with special needs. And he knew that and invited me to kind of assist him in his chaplaincy.

The yearly Mass with (the late) Archbishop (Harry) Flynn was the highlight, and also a yearly retreat at Totino-Grace Retreat Center (in Fridley). So, in seminary, I would volunteer to assist him with those events.

Q As coordinator, what was your role?

A Basically, things centered on those two events, a

yearly retreat at Totino-Grace and the yearly Mass at The St. Paul Seminary with Archbishop Flynn.

Q Your brother, Mark, how old is he? And what is his disability?

A He just turned 43. Cerebral palsy with mental

retardation. He probably functions emotionally as an 8- or 9-year-old, I would say, but remarkably mature in the faith, in his spirituality, his devotion to the Eucharist and confession. And what’s amazing for me to see is how much he’s grown spiritually, even in the last five years. There’s been a real progress during the pandemic, when he couldn’t go to Mass every day. We’d bring him Communion, and he would break down in tears when he would receive it. So, it reminded us, maybe, of how we should be as we receive our Lord.

Q That’s amazing. What was it like growing up with Mark, near to each other in age?

A It was so normal for us. My parents really pushed for

him to be as mainstreamed as he could be. ... He’s got a great sense of humor. He loves to tease and to be teased.

Bishop Joseph Williams tries on his new vestments in the sacristy of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul Jan. 7.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

My dad might be the best with him on that. Mark, I guess, he taught me how to be compassionate with people who have disabilities. The compassion that comes from that, also the courage, when I see someone who’s carrying a heavy cross and will always carry that cross. To see the perseverance, the courage, the joy and the humor in spite of that, certainly encourages me with my own setbacks, my own weaknesses, to say, no, let’s keep moving on. Let’s be joyful in the embrace of the cross.

Q You were ordained in May 2002. That’s just

months after the Boston Globe exposed the clergy sex abuse crisis. What do you remember about being ordained at that time, and being a newly ordained priest as the Church grappled with this?

A It was painful for all of us. I have to say my classmate

and friend, Father Dan Griffith (now pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis whose roles include liaison for the archdiocese in restorative justice, a healing ministry instituted in the archdiocese to assist the victims of clergy sexual abuse), his sensitivity to that, helped me to be more sensitive to just how dramatic it is to be ordained in that environment, and with that kind of firestorm that was happening. And I remember he was here (Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul). This was his teaching parish, and I remember him preaching as a deacon. I think it was a Sunday. It must have been Lent, and the call, “Lazarus come out,” and this sense that the Church has to come out of the darkness, to bring things to the light, to be more transparent. I was very touched by that. I was also touched by how sensitive to the fact, how painful it was for him, to be giving his life to Christ, to the Church, at a time when so much inglorious stuff, or shade, was put upon it. But I had a deep call in my heart of “the light shines in the darkness,” as St. John says.

Q Have you ministered in any way to clergy sexual abuse victim-survivors, as a pastor?

A I would say sexual abuse in general in the Latino

community is sadly more prevalent than we’d like to acknowledge. And so, there’s a lot of cases. I have to say, there was one time I thought that someone from Latin America had told me about sexual abuse by a clergy, but

it wasn’t by a clergy person. It was by a lay volunteer of a church that had hurt this person. It was a church volunteer, but that had significantly eroded his confidence in the Church in Latin America.

Q I know Bishop Cozzens (auxiliary bishop of the

archdiocese until his Dec. 6 installation as bishop of Crookston) has been active in ministry with victimsurvivors personally as well as publicly. How do you expect as a bishop to accompany victim-survivors as the Church continues to heal?

A Bishop Cozzens was amazing. His sense of

accompaniment, one on one in particular with victims of abuse who had come to him for spiritual direction, is inspiring to me. Archbishop (Bernard) Hebda is known for that personal accompaniment as well. That is inspiring. I have to say, I’m also inspired again by my classmate, Father Daniel Griffith. … He became part of what he prophesied here at the Cathedral — “Lazarus, come out” — for the Church to come out of the cave, if you will, of the tomb, the darkness of the tomb. Father Griffith is on the forefront nationally of a restorative justice movement where, God willing, victims and even perpetrators and others affected by what happened can be together in dialogue, in prayer, in listening, in loving and, God willing, in healing.

As a bishop, (Father Griffith) has invited me to a national event already, which I’ve accepted, where I can go through the restorative justice (process) and help me to listen more, to be in touch with people who are hurting, of the Church that has been hurt, that continues to hurt, but also be an instrument in that healing.

Q What is your impression of where the local

Church is now in terms of healing and ensuring children are safe?

A Let’s start with the victims. I think they still deserve

more. And that’s why I’m excited about the work Father Giffith is doing. We’ve taken care of some institutional things, some corporate things, with this or that resolution. Again, it’s only a first step. I think it is a beginning. But it’s a great beginning. And in spite of just being a beginning, I think we’re leading the nation in some of the work we’re doing for safe environment.

WILLIAMS Q You were first made a pastor at two clustered rural parishes, St. Mary in New Trier and St. Mathias in Hampton. How did your experience of ministry in that rural area shape you?

A When I arrived there, I remember seeing an image in

the rectory with a quote from Emerson, “Adopt the pace of nature.” I felt that was somehow an invitation, and I think it certainly captures one of the principal graces I received during those three beautiful years in “God’s country.” Rural life — and farm life in particular — has a way of slowing you down. You can cultivate the fields and sow the seeds, but you cannot rush the harvest. The plant grows slowly, of its own power. Jesus used that image for the Kingdom of God, and I think it holds valuable lessons for the priest. There is much work to do, but we must step away and be patient as the Lord does his work. I was reminded of this each summer morning as I made my “rounds” — fresh brewed coffee in hand — to my flower garden and the neighboring corn fields to see the slow, but sure growth of the previous day. The pace of nature!

What created an almost immediate rapport with the people of Hampton and New Trier was the fact that my paternal grandfather was a farmer. I could see his goodness, hard work and humble faith in them. Sense of humor, too. I once told the people of New Trier they had good marriages but bad knees (referring to the great number of 50th wedding anniversaries as well as anointings for knee replacements that I celebrated in those three years). To which a woman responded, “It’s because we spend so much time (on our knees) praying for our marriages, Father.” I got a kick out of that.

Anyway, I will never forget the people of St. Mary’s and St. Mathias. That was my first pastorate, as you noted, and they taught me how to be a spiritual father — showing great patience all the while.

Q When you became pastor of St. Stephen in

Minneapolis in 2008, the parish was in a tough spot.

It was known for its robust outreach to the homeless, but it also had a reputation for liturgical abuses.

Some in the parish left shortly before you arrived to form a schismatic community. You took the parish in a different direction. Can you tell us more about the situation at that time and how you dealt with it?

A I’ve tried not to overcommunicate on that particular

situation because I entered the St. Stephen conversation at a very late stage. A public rupture with the local Church had already occurred, as you alluded to, and I discovered a significant amount of pain and anger even in those who remained. I also discovered, however, a talented and compassionate group of people who, in the language that Pope Francis has made commonplace today, were finding ways to serve those “on the peripheries.” That had been the case since the late ‘60s when Interstate 35W cut a path right through St. Stephen, decimating the parish population and drastically changing the demographic reality, almost overnight. The leadership of St. Stephen tried to meet the moment not just with outreach to the homeless but also to the Native (American) community and to people with disabilities. To this day, I believe those works of mercy came from the heart of Jesus. Unfortunately, it seems to me that some of the authentic charisms of the community became wedded to ideologies that were increasingly incompatible with Catholic faith and worship.

The archdiocese felt obliged to intervene at a certain point, especially concerning the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist. That spurred a great commotion.

When I arrived, I had hoped the example of someone like a Dorothy Day could lead us to a higher synthesis between radical compassion in the city and a received liturgy. Those two things were not mutually exclusive in her heart, as we know. But through many dialogues, home visits and café conversations I discovered that they were indeed mutually exclusive in the hearts of many of those who were still worshipping at St. Stephen. At the end of the day, it became one of those things that, as much as I can give them, it was not going to be enough. It is sad that it had gotten to that point.

Q. Is it true that there was no one at a Christmas Mass that first year?

JANUARY 27, 2022 • 11B

MILESTONES

A That was our Bethlehem Christmas, 2008, at

Christmas Eve. That usually packs the pews, of course.

At most parishes, that’s the big ticket.

Q And there was nobody.

A Well, the great line came from (Deacon) Luis Rubi. He was my deacon at that point. He was assigned, I think, in August of 2008, or September. So, he looks out five minutes to 8 p.m., our vigil Mass, and he says, “’Father, would you like me to be the assembly or the deacon?”’

Eventually, our parish administrator was playing the piano.

It really was like a Nativity scene. Just enough figures.

The shepherds, the Magi, the drummer boy. That’s all that there was for that first Christmas Mass.

Q Kind of a symbol for how low things became, how

1974

Born May 2, third of nine children

EDUCATION

1979

Begins kindergarten at St. Croix Catholic School, Stillwater

1988

Eighth grade, St. Croix Catholic School

1992

Stillwater High School, Stillwater

1996

University of Minnesota Morris, bachelor’s in biology

1998

Franciscan University of Steubenville, bachelor’s in philosophy

2002

Seminary formation The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, Master’s of Divinity

difficult?

A But the poverty was there in Bethlehem on the first

Christmas. So that might be the most moving Christmas celebration I’ve ever been a part of to this day. The sense that this was probably what it was like. There wasn’t fanfare. There wasn’t beauty. It was cold.

Q Please describe the St. Stephen community now and how it rebounded.

A We did evangelization in the neighborhood. Two

fundamental words were guiding us at that point. One was the story of St. Francis, “Francis, rebuild my church, for as you can see, it is in ruins.” And, of course, he looked around. I think he was in the San Damiano Chapel. He starts rebuilding with his bare hands until he realizes, no, this is a call to rebuild the mystical body of Christ, the universal Church, with a deep spiritual renewal.

So, we had that prophetic word. But even more fundamental were the words of Christ. He said, “the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.” And we felt that, even in those first six months. We saw that there are people in the neighborhood waiting to be invited, waiting to be replanted, maybe transplanted in the soil of America, that had come from other countries, or that were just neighbors who wanted to be a part of a rebuilding.

Q How has the situation at St. Stephen shaped your ministry?

A I guess the confidence in the paschal mystery. I think

MINISTRY

2002

Ordination to the priesthood, May 25

2002

Parochial vicar, Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul (through 2004)

2003

Cathedral Young Adults launches

2003

Coordinator of Archdiocesan Outreach to Persons with Disabilities (through 2005)

that’s maybe the biggest part of it. You have to realize you can’t just win people by your charm or charisma or energy. Or, “I think I can do it by listening to the ‘nth’ degree.” There comes a moment when you have to meet the cross together. You have to die together for something. You can’t have a rebirth that’s fabricated or that’s a human product. You really do have to trust that, OK, it actually takes more courage to go this way, to make this difficult decision. But to make it with love and with courage that we’re going right into the heart of the paschal mystery, and that paschal mystery is going to bring about deep renewal.

2004

Parochial vicar, Divine Mercy in Faribault (through 2005)

2005

Pastor of St. Mathias in Hampton and St. Mary in New Trier (through 2008)

2008

Pastor of St. Stephen in Minneapolis

Q What has been on your heart as you prepare to be

2009

Street ministry at St. Stephen begins

2018

Archdiocese’s Vicar for Latino Ministry

2020

Parochial administrator, Holy Rosary in Minneapolis

2021

Bishop-elect, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Dec. 10

2022

Ordination and installation, auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese, Jan. 25

ordained?

A First of all, the sense of calling is so palpable, from

how you receive the call from the nuncio. As Bishop Cozzens says, it’s the one call from our Lord that actually comes through the telephone. And you get a sense of that from the language that’s used. “The Holy Father has appointed you as auxiliary bishop.” It’s a completed act that has been done. And it was his choice. And so that sense of being called was palpable from the beginning. (And) being encouraged by Archbishop Hebda, but also even in my prayer.

Nobody would think that going into an urban setting, being a missionary amongst the poor, amongst the immigrant person, is the way to become a bishop. And then we get Pope Francis. That’s the big surprise, I think, is that the Lord lifted up a Pope Francis.

I think Pope Francis is looking for those who have the smell of the sheep. He’s lifting up ordinary pastors, Bishop Donald DeGrood (a priest of the archdiocese serving as bishop of Sioux Falls), who have simply been diligent shepherds of God’s people and fishers of men and women.

12B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

BISHOP WILLIAMS

JANUARY 27, 2022

Father Williams ‘tapped’ into young adults thirsting for deeper faith

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

W

hen Bishop Joseph Williams was ordained a priest in 2002, his first parish assignment was as parochial vicar at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Immediately, he poured his energy into young adult ministry. The fruits of that effort continue today, in the form of ministries he worked with such as Cathedral Young Adults.

Mike Brashier helped get CYA started around 2003 with then-Father Williams and several other young adults who were part of the original core team.

They attracted more and more young adults (18-39) over the years with ongoing activities such as Sports Night and Theology on Tap, which takes place at local bars and features speakers including priests, deacons and theology experts. Today, attendees at both events number into the hundreds.

Bishop Williams “really was influential” in the early development and growth of CYA, said Brashier, 46, whose wife, Cassandra, also participated in CYA. They met after Bishop Williams left the Cathedral for another assignment, and married in 2011 at the Cathedral. Brashier said a lifelong bond was formed during the time when Bishop Williams helped him discern his future while the priest was serving at the Cathedral.

“I really had a deep yearning at the time” to know God’s will, said Brashier, who works in property management. “And, Father Williams was key. It was really helpful for me to see somebody that was earnest about his faith, that was also a young adult at the time.”

COURTESY MIKE BRASHIER

In this file photo from 2004, then-Father Joseph Williams gathers with young adults in the courtyard of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

Today, the Brashiers are members of St. Joseph in Rosemount, but also consider themselves part of the Cathedral because of their earlier connections.

Mary Gibson was recruited by the original core team to launch CYA, and she described Father

Williams as having “an eager spirit and a joyful way about him.”

“From the beginning, Father Joseph had a real CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

CONGRATULATIONS Most Reverend

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JANUARY 27, 2022

YOUNG ADULTS

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE understanding of what was most important — faith, mission and friendship,” Gibson, who now lives in Colorado, wrote in an email to The Catholic Spirit. “Theology on Tap, the most visible and public-facing of our programs, was only one part of us. Every month, we planned and hosted multiple events that gave everyone opportunities to pray, to serve, to learn the faith, to share the faith, to gather together and play sports and grow in friendship — to form and foster real Catholic community.”

Like other young adults at that time, she didn’t know a lot about her faith and was looking to go deeper — and meet other young adults trying to do the same thing, she said. Bishop Williams had a way of drawing people in and helping them learn more about the basic principles of the Catholic faith.

Matt Willkom had that experience, especially at St. Stephen in south Minneapolis, where Bishop Williams has served since 2008. The two met when Willkom was a seminarian at St. John Vianney College Seminary and Bishop Williams was a seminarian at The St. Paul Seminary across campus at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

Willkom and his wife, Elizabeth,

BISHOP WILLIAMS He gives himself completely to where he’s at and what he does.

Mike Brashier “were drawn to him at St. Stephen’s,” he said. “He always expressed a genuine appreciation for our presence. … He made you feel special.”

On top of that, Elizabeth Willkom said, “he was fun.”

Sometimes, that sense of humor popped up at unexpected times, like during one hospital visit while the Brashiers’ 5-year-old daughter Cecilia was battling leukemia. She had taken a turn for the worse early in 2021, and Mike and Cassandra wondered if she was going to come out of the tailspin. They contacted Father Williams, who came and administered the sacrament of the sick.

In addition to holy oil, he also brought a dose of levity to what Mike Brashier called “a dark time.”

“We were in there so full of doubt, and really it just was an emotional time,” Brashier recalled. “Obviously, there were plenty of tears and emotion that we all had been shedding with each other.

And, he comes in there and we were actually joking around. We were actually laughing quite a bit. And, he knows that helps me, but it helped my wife as well.”

Cecilia eventually improved and doctors now consider her cancer free, Brashier said. He doesn’t know if the priest’s prayers and anointing cured her. What he does know is that Bishop Williams has “this wonderful gift” of ministering to people — whatever they need, wherever they’re at.

“It’s hard to explain,” Brashier said.

“He gives himself completely to where he’s at and what he does. That was so tangible to us with our daughter. It was so tangible to us — his total gift of self.”

Brashier said he thinks young adult ministry will be “a very key objective” in Bishop Williams’ ministry, hopefully tapping into this demographic for “great ideas” and “more energy.” Gibson said Bishop Williams’ ministry is based on the authentic ways in which he lives his own life.

“Father Joseph inspires actual, lived discipleship, and he does that by first and foremost being an active and wholehearted disciple himself,” she said. “His enthusiasm for Christ and for eagerly living a life with Christ and for Christ, and his freely and fully sharing that life with everyone — that is the golden thread running through his entire ministry. That is what inspired us 20 years ago as young adults, that’s what has inspired all his parishioners over the years, that’s what will inspire people in this entire archdiocese for years to come.”

Congratulations

Bishop Williams!

Congratulations, Bishop Joseph Williams All Saints Catholic Church in Lakeville extends its heartfelt congratulations upon your ordination as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

From your friends at The Catholic Services Appeal Foundation.

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13B

BISHOP WILLIAMS

14B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

Steeped in tradition Faith, family the backbone of Bishop Williams’ childhood years

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

F

rom the beginning of their marriage, Bishop Joseph Williams’ parents, Dr. Gary and Mary Williams, knew the kind of family life they wanted. And they were resolute about it being rooted in their Catholic faith.

Gary, 72, was a farm boy from Chaska whose childhood home is now part of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Mary, 71, grew up in south Minneapolis. She was 4 when her mother began taking her to daily Mass, a habit she maintained until she herself had little children.

“We both grew up in happy family life, and we saw our parents model what we wanted to have in our marriage,” Mary said. “My mother was big on traditions, and I carried on a lot of her traditions. We created a lot of our own traditions. … I think traditions are big on keeping families together.”

In the Williams family, those traditions were rooted in the Church’s liturgical year — celebrating St. Nicholas Day Dec. 6 and telling special stories on Advent evenings, home-sewn matching Christmas outfits, sacrifices and Operation Rice Bowl every Lent, sweetened cereal for breakfast on patron saints’ feast days.

Gary took the older kids to daily Mass nearly every day, and he and Mary also kept a weekly date night.

The whole family took an annual fall walk in William O’Brien State Park near Scandia.

“They were so on the same page on how they wanted to raise their children and their family. …

They were just so intentional,” said their oldest daughter, Maria O’Malley, 41, sitting with her parents and siblings Anne Droske, 40, and John, 48, in the Williams’ living room Jan. 3.

She turned to her parents. “You just didn’t miss anything,” she told them, “like going to daily Mass.

It was every day — we didn’t miss it. My dad never missed praying at night or my dad reading Bible stories to us — it was every night.”

Gary and Mary met in September 1969 at a dance at the University of Minnesota, where Gary was a

COURTESY THE WILLIAMS FAMILY

The nine Williams children boat with their parents in 1986 at Butternut Point Resort near Pequot Lakes where they annually spent a weeklong vacation. Mary Williams, their mom, was the photographer. Pictured, at top from left, are Gary (dad), Matthew and John; second row from left, Joseph, Paul and Mark; and first row, from left, Maria, Anne, Katherine and Peter. student. Mary was there with friends. Gary caught her eye, and she moved through the crowd to stand next to him. The first question he asked her was, “Are you Catholic?”

“Yes,” she answered. He said he was, too.

“Do you come from a large family?” he asked.

Yes, she did, she said: She was the third of 11. He told her he was the second youngest of eight.

His third question: “Would you like to dance?”

“The interview was short,” he told The Catholic Spirit with a laugh. They danced together the rest of that evening, and the next day he called to ask her on a date. They were engaged the following year, on Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption, and married at Visitation in Minneapolis the following May 1, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. (Because of these feasts, their daughters have a version of Mary in their names, and their sons all have Joseph in their names.)

The cherished story of the couple’s meeting has been retold over and over in the Williams family — their grandchildren included it in a skit they performed for the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary celebration last year.

Mary said that while they were dating, she and Gary

“talked about everything they could think of” about their vision and values for their lives, and that laid a foundation for a strong family culture as they began to raise children. The Williams’ first son, Matthew, was born before their first wedding anniversary, and three other boys — John, Joseph and Peter — soon followed.

(Joseph was born the day after their third wedding anniversary.) The family lived in a two-bedroom apartment in south Minneapolis as Gary attended medical school and completed his residency. In 1978, they moved to Stillwater, where Gary practiced as a family physician.

The couple had five more children — Mark, Maria, Anne, Paul and Katherine. Today, the nine siblings are ages 36 to 49, and six of them have children of their own, for a total of 30 grandchildren. Of them, 28 live within a few miles of the Williams’ home (the others are nearby in St. Paul). The oldest is 26; the youngest two were born last year.

Babies were always a pivotal part of the Williams family, even when they weren’t their own. Gary delivered about a thousand, he said, and his kids were accustomed to family plans changing last minute when the phone rang with news of a laboring mother.

“A lot of times you pack up the van, go hunting for a Christmas tree or be on your way to Valleyfair and I’d get the phone call and everybody heads back,” he recalled.

Those calls taught the Williams children flexibility, but there was little uncertainty in their family life, Maria recalled. Their parents’ love and affection made them feel safe and secure, she said.

“We knew how much our parents loved each other,” she said.

Bishop Williams was a contented baby and easygoing child, his parents recalled. As a boy, he “always cared about the person in his class that didn’t have a friend,” Mary said. “I just saw goodness in his heart.”

In high school, he was a talented student and athlete, albeit competitive. “The only time I actually ever saw him get angry would be on the tennis court,” Maria said. “He did break a few rackets.”

With Mass a part of most weekdays, the boys were altar servers, something, John said, that helped them CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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FAMILY CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE feel “plugged into” parish life as participants, not just observers.

Mary blessed their children with holy water each day — something she began when she was a young mother each time she laid one of her babies in a crib.

The family also learned about saints, regularly prayed the rosary, gave God thanks before meals — even in public — and knelt together bedside for night prayers. “It was a nice prayer that always began ‘Dear Jesus,’ so there was this affection,” Anne said.

The Williams were intentional not only about what was part of their family culture, but also about what wasn’t — and that included all-access to the television. Gary built a TV cabinet with a door that locked over the screen.

“To dispel any idea of our sanctity, as little people, we’d climb up on top, and if there was one board loose, we’d try to turn the TV so you could catch a sliver of the TV we could see,” John said, laughing.

Gary and Mary saved discussions about family issues or disagreements for their date nights, and most disagreements dissipated on their own.

“We gave (Bishop Williams) a home (where he felt) welcomed and loved, and gave him good siblings that surrounded him and passed on our faith in example and in word, and Catholic schools and getting him prepared for sacraments,” Gary said. “We do joke a lot.”

In a press conference Dec. 10, the day of his episcopal announcement, Bishop Williams described his family as “a school of charity.”

That “school” included caring well for

their brother Mark, 43, who has cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities.

“He’s brought a lot of joy to our family,” Mary said, noting that he’s also beloved around Stillwater.

When Anne heard her older brother describe their family as a “school of charity,” she said the phrase struck her because “we’re not a perfect family, so with that comes struggling, fighting for … reconciliation and restoring the love and grace when things are off.”

“It’s a school: That’s where you learn things. You learn how to forgive.

How to share. How to encourage,” she continued. “We’re always talking with our kids about, ‘Your words can give life.

What you say matters.’ … We learned that at home. We learned how to work through things and forgive, and to ask for forgiveness, too.”

As adults, the Williams children who are now parents are working to instill the same values in their own homes.

Time with Gary and Mary is treasured by their grandchildren, including eight who are adopted. Maria and her husband adopted six from Ethiopia (and have five biological children), and John and his wife have two children: a daughter adopted from India and a son from Korea.

As both Bishop Williams and their brother Father Peter Williams attended the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, then The St. Paul Seminary and were later ordained, their love of God refreshed the faith of the whole family, Anne said.

“It was exciting,” she said. “We had all of these traditions and daily Mass, so we were rooted, but there really was a springtime of faith in our family through Father Joseph and Father Peter,

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 15B

COURTESY THE WILLIAMS FAMILY

The future Bishop Joseph Williams celebrates his 16th birthday with cake. just inviting us to new things, in sharing with us the things they were pondering and learning.”

Bishop Williams “has always been so good at inviting and proposing, never imposing,” she said. She remembers taking an apologetics class he taught at St. Michael while she was in high school.

“I still have my worksheets from that because I learned with a new lens some of these things” of the faith, she said.

“I think their vocations — both Father Joseph and Father Peter — were a real gift to me, I think to our whole family. … They’ve really become like spiritual fathers to me on my own journey.”

Bishop Williams “is one of these guys who can work with little children — they love him — he’s good with the elderly. He’s good with people with special needs, people who are disadvantaged,” Mary said. “He has a heart, and I don’t see that in everybody, that ... you can work so well with such a range of people.”

On Dec. 19, Gary and Mary gathered at an Olive Garden with their children and their spouses to eat together and take time to honor Bishop Williams for his episcopal appointment. All but Father Peter, who was on a retreat, were there. They took turns speaking about what they admire in Bishop Williams and how he has impacted their lives, to “pour our love on him,” Mary said.

“It was a beautiful evening,” she said, and it’s reflective of a new tradition in the family of intentionally honoring each other in word, writing or song on birthdays.

“We each have a deep love of our Catholic Church, for our faith,” Mary said. “We try to live and pass that love for the faith on to our kids and our grandkids. I never miss an opportunity to encourage them in different things.

We both try to encourage our kids, just … trying to affirm each kid and their qualities of life I see in them, their different abilities. We’re all working toward heaven as our end goal.”

Congratulations!

Bishop Joseph A. WilliAms May you enjoy many years as auxiliary bishop serving the people in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

W

ith Prayerful Best Wishes,

Monsignor Douglas Grams, diocesan administrator and the faithful of the Diocese of New Ulm.

TheParishioners Parishioners and and Staff Staff of The of the Cathedral of Saint Paul the Cathedral of Saint Paul wish to congratulate wish to congratulate

Bishop Joseph Williams

Bishop Andrew May God bless youCozzens and the faithful of our Archdiocese!

May God bless you in your new ministry!

Congratulations, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Williams!

Felicidades, Obispo Auxiliar Joseph Williams!

We forever remain your loyal parishioners.

Siempre permaneceremos tus feligreses leales.

With gratitude from / Con gratitud desde The churches of St. Stephen’s and Holy Rosary Las iglesias de San Esteban y Santo Rosario Minneapolis, MN

16B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

BISHOP WILLIAMS

JANUARY 27, 2022

COURTESY THE WILLIAMS FAMILY

GOLDEN ANNVERSARY The entire Williams family — minus two grandchildren born since — pictured in Stillwater May 1, 2021, the day of Dr. Gary and Mary Williams’ 50th wedding anniversary. The Williams have nine adult children and 30 grandchildren.

Gary and Mary, along with several of their children’s families, belong to St. Michael in Stillwater.

Congratulations

Bishop Joseph Andrew Williams Father Ben Little and the entire community of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and School in Savage congratulate you on your Espicopal Ordination as auxiliary bishop for our archdiocese.

Congratulations, Bishop Williams!

We offer you our prayers and may God richly bless you as you help to shepherd our local church into the future.

Congratulations The School Sisters of Notre Dame congratulate Bishop Williams on his installation.

May God bless you, Bishop Williams!

We look forward to serving with you in your new role as auxiliary bishop.

Archdiocese Catholic Center

JANUARY 27, 2022

BISHOP WILLIAMS

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 17B

Motto and Coat of Arms interpretation Editor’s note: The following is an explanation of Bishop Joseph Williams’ episcopal motto and coat of arms. Each bishop has a coat of arms that displays his episcopal motto. According to “The Church Visible”

by James-Charles Noonan Jr., the green hat is a “galero,” a pilgrim’s hat. Connected to the hat via cords are 12 green tassels, or “fiocchi,” that signify Bishop Williams’ rank as bishop. All bishops’ coat of arms include a jeweled processional cross behind the shield.

Motto: ‘Misericordiam volo.’ “I desire mercy” (Mt 9:13). Jesus commands the “righteous” to learn what he desires most — and what each of us needs most — mercy. From the “Call of Matthew,” where Jesus reveals himself to be a physician who came to call the sick, that is, the sinner. Bishop Williams dreamed of being a doctor when he was a boy.

He found his dream fulfilled, not in a medical practice, but in these words of our Lord.

‘Ex Corde Scisso Ecclesia Nascitur.’

“From the broken Heart the Church is born.” This theological truth, found in an inscription at the base of the Altar of the Sacred Heart in the Cathedral of St. Paul, is the key to unlocking the entire symbolism of the coat. It reminds us that the mercy Jesus desired was not cheap: It broke his Heart to give life to ours.

The Bleeding-Heart Flower. A perennial plant that Bishop Williams’ father planted in front of his childhood home in Stillwater. Meditating closely on the heart-shaped flower is bound to bring the believer in spirit to Calvary.

The exterior petals are opened from the bottom, and falling from the “broken” heart is a basal sac that contains a drop of dew and inner petals that look from a distance like two drops of blood: “But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out” (Jn 19:33-34).

The Hearts of the Father (left) and the Spirit (right) were also opened during the Passion, but only the human Heart of the Incarnate Son could provide the blood and water that would give life to

the Church. A parishioner of St. Stephen, Pedro, has kept a bleeding-heart plant blooming in the rectory garden since hearing of its significance to “Padre José.”

The Blue ‘M.’ At the foot of the Cross is Mary who, with John the Beloved, forms the nucleus of the new believing community (Jn 19:25) which becomes “ecclesia” (Church) through the water (Baptism) and blood (Eucharist) downpoured. Bishop Williams counts Mary’s love, which his mother and grandmother blessed him with, to be the greatest mercy of his life.

Blossoming Staff. Bishop Williams is fond of a story about his patron saint originating in the Protoevangelium of James, in which St. Joseph’s worthiness to be the husband of Mary is proven when a dove came out of his staff: “Joseph! Joseph! You have been chosen by lot to take the virgin into your own keeping.” In the Middle Ages, the legend developed to have a flower blossoming from the rod, which we see in Rafael’s “The Marriage of the Virgin Mary” and also in the image of St. Joseph in our Cathedral.

Gold Background. As the most precious of metals, gold symbolizes the surpassing preciousness of faith (1 Pt 1:7), which will provide strength to support Bishop Williams’ pastoral ministry.

The Thirteen Tongues of Flame.

These are the “tongues as of fire” that fell upon Mary and the Twelve Apostles (and the other disciples) in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:3). Here too we see an expression of the truth, “ex corde scisso Ecclesia nascitur.” For the evangelist Luke, the Spirit-baptism of the Church on Pentecost can only occur after the passion-baptism of Jesus on Calvary: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” (Lk 2:49-50). Once again, we understand that

the fire of mercy given to the followers of Jesus is costly. As at Calvary, so too in the Upper Room, the mother of Jesus is at the center of the scene. Mary “filled with the Holy Spirit” is the last image we have of her in the New Testament. It was the “power” of the Spirit that made her and the Apostles merciful witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection to the “ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Bishop Williams is praying for that same power to be a worthy

successor to the Apostles. As he celebrates the Sacrament of Confirmation, he will pray too that the grace of Pentecost be extended in our own time so that all the faithful would experience “a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nos. 1302-1303).

Congratulations, Bishop Joseph Williams!

MAY GOD BLESS YOU IN YOUR EPISCOPAL MINISTRY

Congratulations Bishop Joseph Williams!

You are in our grateful thoughts and prayers.

The Little Sisters of the Poor Serving the preschool-8th grade Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to enhance excellence and increase enrollment St. Jeanne Jugan

BISHOP WILLIAMS

18B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

Bishop of where? Titular diocese 101

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

W

hen Pope Francis appointed Father Joseph Williams as bishop-elect of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, he also named him titular bishop of Idassa.

Where is that? What does that mean?

A quick internet search (gcatholic. org) traces Idassa to an area in presentday Algeria. As a “titular see,” Idassa was once the seat of a Catholic diocese, but is no longer. Titular sees are former dioceses that have been suppressed or substantially reconfigured and the location of the cathedral transferred to another location, often because they fell into the hands of non-Christian conquerors, were part of a schism, or the number of Catholics sharply declined or relocated to another part of the diocese.

Auxiliary bishops, including Bishop Williams, as well as bishops holding

Bishop Joseph Williams shows the papal mandate to the congregation during his ordination Mass Jan. 25 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

DAVE HRBACEK THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

titles and responsibilities that do not entail overseeing a specific diocese, such as papal nuncios, vicars apostolic and superiors of departments in the Roman

Curia, are given a titular see to recognize their episcopal status, said Susan Mulheron, the archdiocese’s chancellor of Canonical Affairs.

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While auxiliary bishops are sacramentally equal to a diocesan bishop, such as Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis, they serve under the diocesan bishop’s jurisdiction, Mulheron said. Being appointed to a titular see, while not conferring any actual governing duties, recognizes in a special way the responsibility that belongs to all bishops, who participate in Christ’s threefold ministry of teaching, sanctifying and governing.

The last bishop to hold the titular see of Idassa was Bishop Gianpiero Palmieri, from 2018 when he served as auxiliary bishop and then archbishop vice regent of Rome, until his appointment in October 2021 as bishop of the Diocese of Ascoli Piceno in Italy.

When Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston was auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese from 2013 until December 2021, his titular see was Bisica, an area in today’s Tunisia.

sends our prayers and warmest congratulations to

Bishop Joseph Williams

on your ordination as Auxiliary Bishop. We look forward to continuing to work with you to spread the Gospel.

Challenging Young Catholics to Love Christ and Embrace the Life of the Church

Bishop Williams

Bishop JosephA. Williams

May you be greatly blessed in your ministry, so all in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis will be

HEALTHY, HAPPY AND HOLY!

BISHOP DONALD KETTLER AND THE PEOPLE OF THE DIOCESE OF SAINT CLOUD OFFER PRAYERFUL BEST WISHES AS YOU BEGIN YOUR NEW

MINISTRY AS AUXILIARY BISHOP OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF ST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS.

Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls

BISHOP WILLIAMS

JANUARY 27, 2022

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 19B

Past auxiliary bishops

BISHOP PAUL VINCENT DUDLEY (1926-2006)

The following is a list of former auxiliary bishops of St. Paul and Minneapolis and their current appointment or their appointment at death.

The information is from catholic-hierarchy.org.

Auxiliary bishop 1976-1978 Bishop Emeritus of Sioux Falls, South Dakota

BISHOP ANDREW HARMON COZZENS (b.1968)

Auxiliary bishop 1971-1975 Bishop Emeritus of New Ulm

Auxiliary bishop 2013-2021 Bishop of Crookston

ARCHBISHOP JOHN ROBERT ROACH (1921-2003)

BISHOP RAYMOND ALPHONSE LUCKER (1927-2001)

Congratulations

Auxiliary bishop 1971-1975 Archbishop Emeritus of St. Paul and Minneapolis

BISHOP LEE ANTHONY PICHÉ (b.1958) Auxiliary bishop 2009-2015 Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of St. Paul and Minneapolis BISHOP RICHARD EDMUND PATES (b.1943) Auxiliary bishop 2000-2008 Bishop Emeritus of Des Moines, Iowa BISHOP FREDERICK FRANCIS CAMPBELL (b.1943) Auxiliary bishop 1999-2004 Bishop Emeritus of Columbus, Ohio BISHOP LAWRENCE HAROLD WELSH (1935-1999) Auxiliary bishop 1991-1999 Bishop Emeritus of Spokane, Washington BISHOP JOSEPH LEO CHARRON, C.PP.S. (b.1939) Auxiliary bishop 1990-1993 Bishop Emeritus of Des Moines, Iowa

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston delivers the homily during vespers at St. Stephen in south Minneapolis Jan. 24. Behind him is Bishop Joseph Williams.

ARCHBISHOP ROBERT JAMES CARLSON (b.1944) Auxiliary bishop 1984-1994 Archbishop Emeritus of St. Louis, Missouri JAMES RICHARD HAM, M.M. (1921-2002) Auxiliary bishop 1980-1990 Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of St. Paul and Minneapolis BISHOP WILLIAM HENRY BULLOCK (1927-2011) Auxiliary bishop 1980-1987 Bishop Emeritus of Madison, Wisconsin BISHOP JOHN FRANCIS KINNEY (1937-2019) Auxiliary bishop 1976-1982 Bishop Emeritus of St. Cloud

Congratulations Bishop J.A. Williams on your episcopal ordination!

Yours in Christ,

Bishop John M. Quinn and the faithful of the

Diocese of o Winona-Rochester

BISHOP JAMES PATRICK SHANNON (1921-2003) Auxiliary bishop 1965-1968 Resigned from the priesthood BISHOP GERALD FRANCIS O’KEEFE (1918-2000) Auxiliary bishop 1961-1966 Bishop Emeritus of Davenport, Iowa

Joseph A. Williams Auxiliary Bishop Co-Cathedral of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

BISHOP LEONARD PHILIP COWLEY (1913-1973) Auxiliary bishop 1957-1973 Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis BISHOP JAMES JOSEPH BYRNE (1908-1996) Auxiliary bishop 1947-1956 Archbishop Emeritus of Dubuque, Iowa

Mass Schedule In-person and Livestream mary.org

BISHOP JOHN JEREMIAH LAWLER (1862-1948) Auxiliary bishop 1910-1916 Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota — The Catholic Spirit

TheCatholicSpirit.com

BISHOP WILLIAMS

20B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JANUARY 27, 2022

Quick takes with Bishop Williams The Catholic Spirit The Catholic Spirit asked Bishop Joseph Williams about a few of his favorite things.

What is your favorite food? Italian pasta, probably.

Favorite restaurant? That’s a great question.

Obviously, I don’t go out that much. There’s Christos (Greek Restaurant) on Nicollet that I go to now and again. I like Christos. Let’s stick with that.

Do you have a favorite dessert? Oh, I’d say my mom’s brownies with ice cream.

Salty or sweet? Salty.

Best place ever traveled? The Holy Land is probably in a land by itself. But Ecuador after the Holy Land.

Bucket list places you want to go. I’ve traveled quite a bit. I think maybe the Ivory Coast. … French-speaking Africa would be a fun place for me to visit. And now, Idassa is in Algeria, that’s technically where my see is. So, let’s put that on the bucket list.

Favorite book? “The Brothers Karamazov.”

Favorite musician or band? Mozart’s horn concertos, I love those. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony would be up there. I’m trying to think of something more down to earth.

What is your favorite pastime? Tennis and mountain biking probably are two of my favorites. And reading.

Prayers for God’s continued blessings upon you DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Bishop Joseph Williams plays tennis in 2002, when he was a transitional deacon preparing for priesthood at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul.

Favorite sport to watch? Probably football.

American football.

“Star Wars” versus “Star Trek”? “Star Wars.”

Favorite movie? Maybe “Shawshank Redemption.”

Most Rev. Joseph Williams

on the occasion of your espiscopal ordination and appointment as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Congratulations! and Thank you for your ministry!

From the parishioners of your first parishes as pastor.

St. Mathias, Hampton & St. Mary’s, New Trier

Mac or a PC? Mac. Do you have a favorite saint or devotion? Oh, you know, the Blessed Virgin Mary, obviously, is off the charts. After that, I think Louis de Montfort, who taught me how to be devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Also, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux and John of the Cross.

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