The Catholic Spirit - July 15, 2021

July 15, 2021 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

thecatholicspirit.com

Creature of habit?

‘Sister Celeste’ reveals secrets of St. Paul ­ — Page 7

70 YEARS OF MINISTRY 5 | CITY CONNECTS 6 | VATICAN FINANCIAL SCANDAL 9 | POST-WAR PARISHES 10-11 RELIGIOUS JUBILEES 12-13 | FRONTIER MISSIONARY 15 | SEARCH FOR LOST CHAPEL 20

2 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JULY 15, 2021

PAGETWO It is crucially important that we send a strong, clear message that the Hyde Amendment has far-reaching public support and should not be repealed.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark in a letter to the faithful of the Newark Archdiocese encouraging people to go to notaxpayerabortion.com and join him in signing the petition to send “an urgent message” to Congress to keep the Hyde Amendment, which bars taxpayer-funded elective abortions and was first passed in 1976. “The powerful pro-abortion lobby and members of Congress are calling for the elimination of this amendment and the implementation of a policy that would designate billions of taxpayer dollars for elective abortions,” the cardinal said.

COURTESY ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE

PARADE AND PRAISE Heather Triplett of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Delano hands out water bottles to bystanders during the city’s Fourth of July parade. Triplett was one of several parishioners handing out the bottles and sharing the message attached to each: “Jesus Thirsts for You.” Pastoral assistant Catherine Taylor said the parish wants to share Christ’s love and kindness with others, create goodwill, and invite people to visit the church and pray. The parish’s pro-life ministry also had a float in the parade. Before the parade started, youth and evangelization coordinator Jeromy Darling played the guitar on the parish’s St. Joseph campus, which is along the parade route.

NEWS notes Missed the Boat Theatre will again take to the stage this fall with “Moonshine Abbey: A Musical.” Shows are scheduled for Nov. 12-21 in St. Paul at St. Agnes School’s Helene Houle Auditorium. This is the second show the Catholic theater company has produced. The first show, “Catholic Young Adults: The Musical,” was performed in fall 2019 to sold-out audiences. “Moonshine Abbey” was co-written by Father Kyle Kowalczyk, pastor of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Delano, and first performed at St. Paul Seminary in 2016. For more information, visit missedtheboattheatre.com.

St. Thomas Employee Federal Credit Union, which serves employees of St. Paulbased University of St. Thomas and St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, merged July 1 with the larger Catholic United Financial Credit Union of St. Paul. The merger combines two faith-based organizations and follows a consolidation trend in the credit union industry, officials said.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the martyrdom in Guatemala of Blessed Stanley Rother, a Christian Brother who has family ties in Minnesota. Beatified in 2017, Blessed Stanley was killed in 1981 while ministering in Guatemala. His feast day is July 28, the day he was fatally shot in the head by masked men.

COURTESY PRO ECCLESIA SANCTA

SUMMER STRETCHING Pro Ecclesia Sancta Sister Emy Ychikawa participates with students in the Summer Stretch program at St. John the Baptist in Savage. Students wearing blue shirts in the photo are entering sixth, seventh or eighth grade this fall and are parishioners. Those in gray shirts are the program’s high school and college leaders. Summer Stretch participants gather on Wednesdays for faith, service, fun and food. This year’s theme is “Making a difference wherever you are! Faith in action is love, and love in action is service.”

Catholic school students, alumni, administrators, teachers, staff and parents, please respond to our next question: How has your relationship to a Catholic school deepened your faith? in 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.

PRACTICING Catholic On the July 9 “Practicing Catholic” show, host Patrick Conley interviews Father Paul Hedman, who discusses how parishes can better connect with millennials. Also featured are Michael Griffin from St. Olaf, who describes how parishioners are teaming up with a nonprofit housing developer to create affordable housing in the heart of Minneapolis, and Joshua LaFond and Eric Menzhuber, who describe creating a large icon of St. Joseph used at a recent Catholic Father’s Day celebration. 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

United in Faith, Hope and Love

Vol. 26 — No. 13 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief JOE RUFF, News Editor

EarthKind, a North Carolina-based, plant-based pest control company, chose Caroline Little, middle school science teacher at Visitation School in Mendota Heights, as its “Harmony Hero” for the month of June. She was recognized for her role in educating students about monarch butterflies and the natural world around them. As part of the honor, Little will receive training from an entomologist and tools for eco-education. EarthKind has selected a Harmony Hero monthly since February as part of its Year of the Monarch campaign.

Four people participated in the first training run July 6 to prepare for a 5K run that will be held during the JACS Jam festival Aug. 14-15 at Sts. Joachim and Anne parish in Shakopee. The practice runs will take place every Tuesday before the festival, with time for socializing afterward. The runs offer a way to practice and train with others, and ease intimidation for those who have never run a 5K, said Cathy Wideman, director of catechesis and evangelization. Socializing afterward also helps build community, she said.

CORRECTION In the June 24 edition, the assignment history of jubilarian Father Jerome Keiser was incomplete. He also ministered at St. John Vianney College Seminary 1974-1982, and from 1982-1987 he was assigned to the archdiocesan mission in Venezuela.

ON THE COVER Actor Michelle Berg, portraying Sister Celeste, points to buildings in downtown St. Paul while giving a historical tour July 8. B.J., middle, and Randy Schwartzhoff of Hayward, Wisconsin, took the tour with three other couples as part of a 50th high school reunion celebration. Randy and the three other husbands were classmates at Plainview High School in southeast Minnesota near Rochester.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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JULY 15, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3

FROMTHEMODERATOROFTHECURIA ONLY JESUS | FATHER CHARLES LACHOWITZER

Aging with grace

A

s I slide down the downward slope to 70 years old, I find myself feeling more gratitude to God than ever before. As I read the fascinating stories about the jubilarians in the last edition of The Catholic Spirit, I found myself reflecting on my own 31 years of blessed priestly life.

I remember Father Thomas Pingatore, God rest his soul. He asked for a new assignment as a pastor when he was over 80 years old. But please, don’t tell the archbishop. I admire Father George Welzbacher, who is celebrating 70 years as a priest and served as a pastor well into his 80s. But please, don’t tell the archbishop. I’ll never be able to retire.

I heard somewhere the adage, “My brain thinks I’m a 25-year-old. My friends tell me that I have the humor of a 12-year-old. But my body is amazed that I’m still alive.”

The aging process can be quite challenging. But it is the physical aging that makes me feel old. Spiritually, I still feel quite youthful. God created us as mortal beings with an immortal soul. Our human nature

grows old while our spiritual nature gets younger and younger.

I don’t get any credit for being totally dependent as an infant or staring in excitement and wonder as I prepared for my First Holy Communion. But to have a dependency on God and a renewed sense of awe as an older adult, well, that can take practice and the perseverance of faith through some of the more difficult chapters of life.

My dad once returned from a funeral and commented, “The only bad part of getting old is that I think I know more people in heaven than on earth.”

Spiritually, we know that this world is passing away.

But I’m reminded by grief that so far, it is one person at a time.

Recently, the priests of the archdiocese gathered at St. Mary’s University in Winona for our bi-annual assembly. At lunch with some of my brother priests and classmates, we told funny stories about previous assemblies and remembered some real characters that had since passed away. Then it dawned on us that we are now counted among the older priests.

Although it can sometimes feel that my skeleton is collapsing into my ankles with all its aches and pains,

I wouldn’t trade this chapter in my life for any other.

Grace builds on human nature and as I get older, God is pouring out a lot of grace to keep me going.

With the excellent choice to hire Bill Lentsch as chief operating officer for the archdiocese, I have been given one more opportunity to serve a parish as a pastor. Even though the spring in my step has become a slight limp and the dimples in my cheeks have become furrows in my jowls, I look forward to my time with the good people of the Church of St. Gerard Majella in Brooklyn Park, as we encounter Jesus Christ in the sacramental life of the Church.

Meanwhile, I’m actually relieved that I will still serve as vicar general. The Archdiocesan Catholic Center is an amazing place and I’m not ready to leave. But please, don’t tell the archbishop that I actually find joy in serving as his vicar general. I’ll never be able to retire.

As the Archdiocesan Catholic Center transitions to the many gifts Mr. Lentsch will bring to operations, I am transitioning to parish life. It pleases me greatly to have the best of both worlds.

I am grateful to God for this wonderful life and I pray that I continue to age with grace.

Envejecer con gracia

alma inmortal. Nuestra naturaleza humana envejece mientras que nuestra naturaleza espiritual se vuelve más y más joven.

No tengo ningún crédito por ser totalmente dependiente cuando era un bebé o por mirar con emoción y asombro mientras me preparaba para mi Primera Comunión. Pero tener una dependencia de Dios y un renovado sentido de asombro como un adulto mayor, bueno, eso puede requerir práctica y perseverancia de fe a través de algunos de los capítulos más difíciles de la vida.

Mi padre una vez regresó de un funeral y comentó: “La única parte mala de envejecer es que creo que conozco a más personas en el cielo que en la tierra”. Espiritualmente sabemos que este mundo está pasando. Pero el dolor me recuerda que, hasta ahora, es una persona a la vez.

Recientemente, los sacerdotes de la arquidiócesis se reunieron en la Universidad St. Mary en Winona para nuestra asamblea bianual. En el almuerzo con algunos de mis hermanos sacerdotes y compañeros de clase, contamos historias divertidas sobre asambleas anteriores y recordamos algunos personajes reales que habían fallecido desde entonces. Entonces nos dimos cuenta de que ahora se nos cuenta entre los sacerdotes mayores.

Aunque a veces puedo sentir que mi esqueleto se colapsa en mis tobillos con todos sus dolores y molestias,

no cambiaría este capítulo de mi vida por ningún otro. La gracia se basa en la naturaleza humana y, a medida que envejezco, Dios está derramando mucha gracia para que siga adelante.

Con la excelente elección de contratar a Bill Lentsch como director de operaciones de la arquidiócesis, se me ha dado una oportunidad más de servir en una parroquia como pastor. Aunque la primavera en mi paso se ha convertido en una leve cojera y los hoyuelos de mis mejillas se han convertido en surcos en mi papada, espero con ansias mi tiempo con la buena gente de la Iglesia de San Gerardo Majella en Brooklyn Park.

Mientras tanto, estoy realmente aliviado de seguir sirviendo como vicario general. El Centro Católico Arquidiocesano es un lugar asombroso y no estoy listo para irme. Pero, por favor, no le diga al arzobispo que realmente me alegra servir como su vicario general. Nunca podré retirarme.

A medida que el Centro Católico Arquidiocesano hace la transición a los muchos dones que el Sr. Lentsch traerá a las operaciones, estoy haciendo la transición a la vida parroquial. Me complace enormemente tener lo mejor de ambos mundos.

Estoy agradecido con Dios por esta vida maravillosa y oro para seguir envejeciendo con gracia.

M

ientras me deslizo por la pendiente descendente hasta los setenta años, me encuentro sintiendo más gratitud hacia Dios que nunca. Mientras leía las fascinantes historias sobre los jubilares en la última edición del Espíritu católico, me encontré reflexionando sobre mis propios treinta y un años de vida sacerdotal bendita.

Recuerdo al padre Thomas Pingatore, que Dios descanse su alma. Pidió una nueva asignación como pastor cuando tenía más de ochenta años. Pero, por favor, no se lo digas al arzobispo. Admiro al padre George Welzbacher, quien está celebrando 70 años como sacerdote y sirvió como pastor hasta bien entrados los ochenta. Pero, por favor, no se lo digas al arzobispo. Nunca podré retirarme.

Escuché en alguna parte el dicho: “Mi cerebro cree que tengo 25 años. Mis amigos me dicen que tengo el humor de un niño de 12 años. Pero mi cuerpo está asombrado de que todavía esté vivo “.

El proceso de envejecimiento puede resultar bastante complicado. Pero es el envejecimiento físico lo que me hace sentir viejo. Espiritualmente, todavía me siento bastante joven. Dios nos creó como seres mortales con

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

Reverend Jude McPeak, OP, assigned as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Albert the Great in Minneapolis. Father McPeak is a member of the Dominican Friars Central Province.

Effective July 1, 2021

Reverend Timothy Norris, assigned as chaplain to Hennepin County Medical Center. This is in addition to his assignments as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Stephen and the Church of the Holy Rosary in Minneapolis.

Reverend Bryan Kujawa, assigned as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Richard, the Church of the Assumption, and the Church of Saint Peter, all in Richfield. Father Kujawa is a priest of the Diocese of Crookston.

Reverend James Liekhus, assigned as pastor of the Church of Saint Peter in Richfield. This is in addition to his current assignments as pastor of the Church of the Assumption and the Church of Saint Richard, both in Richfield.

Reverend Kevin Magner, assigned as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Ignatius in Annandale, and of the Church of Saint Timothy in Maple Lake. This is a transfer from his current assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in New Brighton.

Reverend James McConville, assigned as sacramental minister of the Church of Saint Agnes in Saint Paul. This is in addition to his assignment as Adjutant Judicial Vicar for the Metropolitan Tribunal.

Effective August 1, 2021 Reverend Msgr. Aloysius Callaghan, assigned as formation director for the seminarians from the Saint John Vianney Seminary who are living in Rome at the Pontifical Irish College. Msgr.

Callaghan previously served as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Timothy in Maple Lake and the Church of Saint Ignatius in Annandale.

Reverend Michael Joncas, assigned as temporary parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Thomas in Minneapolis while Father Michael Reding is on sabbatical. This is in addition to his current assignment at the University of Saint Thomas.

Effective August 3, 2021 Reverend William Murtaugh, assigned as temporary canonical administrator of Carondelet Catholic School in Minneapolis while Father Michael Reding is on sabbatical. This is in addition to Father Murtaugh’s current assignment as pastor of the Church of Christ the King in Minneapolis.

Retirement Effective July 1, 2021 Reverend Robert Grabner, granted the status of a retired priest.

Father Grabner has served the Archdiocese as a priest since his ordination in 2000, and since 2009 as parochial vicar of the Church of the Holy Trinity in South Saint Paul.

Reverend Michael Ince, granted the status of a retired priest.

Father Ince has served the Archdiocese as a priest since his ordination in 1964, and since 1991 as pastor of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Waterville and as parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Andrew in Elysian.

Reverend Richard Villano, granted the status of a retired priest and pastor emeritus of the Church of Saint Helena. Father Villano has served the Archdiocese as a priest since his ordination in 1978, and since 1981 as pastor of the Church of Saint Helena in Minneapolis.

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4 • The Catholic Spirit 4 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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SLICEof LIFE

SLICEof LIFE Cooking up a welcome From left, Brian Olson, Mark 9, 2017 Juenemann and Yao Akakpo ofMarch the Knights of Columbus St. John Paul II Council 5647 at St. Rita in Cottage Grove make hot dogs on the grill July 10 as part of a welcome back event for St. Rita parishioners as COVID-19 restrictions ease and people return toSt.Mass. andSister Avis JosephKnights of Carondelet talks with Rose Carter, other volunteersAllmaras, servedcenter, hot dogs, left, and Irene Eiden at Peace House in brats and root beer southfollowing Minneapolis the Feb. 27. Sister Avis 5 p.m. Mass thatgoes day, then helped to the center weekly and visits frequent the guests like Carter. serve Belgian waffles next day Eiden, of St. William in Fridley, is a lay consociate after both Sunday Masses. wasPeace House is of the Carondelet“It Sisters. a day shelter for the poor and homeless. nice to have everybody back (for “It’s a real privilegegrand to know these people Mass),” said William Yunker, and hear their stories,” Sister Avis said. “I knight of the council at survive St. Rita.

“We could not on the streets like they do. There are so many had a huge amount of people on gifted people Said Carter of Sister Saturday. … Thehere.” parking lot was full,Avis: “She’s an angel. She hides her wings under that and there were sweatshirt. a lot of people who She truly is an angel.”

Hrbacek/The came in and ateDave (after Mass). Catholic There Spirit were well over 200. … Everybody was happy. It was a great turnout, it Celebrating sisters was a great time.

And,Catholic FatherSisters (Mark) National Week is March 8-14.very, An official Joppa (the pastor) was verycomponent of Women’s History Month and happy.” headquartered at St. Catherine University

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5

Former Anglican priest was prepared to give up ministry — but Church had other plans

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit Father Stephen Hilgendorf was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter June 29 in Houston after studying, working and ministering in the Twin Cities the past six years. His next assignment will be in Omaha, Nebraska.

It’s been a long journey from his role as a priest in the Anglican tradition. It included a desire to be in full communion with the Catholic Church that was so strong he was willing to give up ministry altogether.

“I had to come to grips with the thought, ‘I may never be a priest again,’” Father Hilgendorf, 33, told The Catholic Spirit after his ordination. “After becoming Catholic, I found it very difficult going to Mass. I was not sure who I was anymore.”

When he left the Anglican tradition and was received into the Catholic Church in August 2017, along with his wife, Hannah, 30, he also left his role of two years as rector of St. Dunstan Anglican Church in St. Louis Park.

He didn’t have a job. Hannah was taking care of their children, who are now ages 6, 4 and 2. A fourth child is due this month.

Father Hilgendorf immediately applied to become a Catholic priest in the North American, Houston-based Ordinariate, which is a structure similar to a diocese created by the Vatican in 2012 for former Anglican communities and clergy seeking to become Catholic.

Fully Catholic, the Ordinariate also retains elements of Anglican heritage in its celebration of the Mass and its ministries. Former Anglican priests can apply to become Catholic priests, but the process takes time and

JOE RUFF | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Father Stephen Hilgendorf outside of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul July 4 after celebrating Mass. special permission from the pope.

Years of study and service led Father Hilgendorf to the Catholic Church, said the priest, who grew up near Cleveland. He and his wife believe in Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist, a doctrine that can shift among Anglican congregations, he said. In addition, even as he ministered at St. Dunstan, he found himself turning to Catholic theology and morality found in the early Church fathers, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the magisterium.

“I came to realize I was more Catholic than I knew, particularly on moral questions,” he said. “Those were the touchstones as I navigated the tricky waters of morality and theology.”

While Father Hilgendorf waited to hear the status of

his application to the Ordinariate as a priest, St. Dunstan’s members provided a generous stipend to assist the family in their transition, and members of their Catholic parish, Holy Family in St. Louis Park, knew of their plight. “Sometimes a parishioner would ask, ‘How are you doing?’ and place an envelope holding cash or a check in my hand,” Father Hilgendorf said. “One elderly gentleman said, ‘Here, for you and the kids at Christmas.’” It was about $100 in cash.

After several months without work, Father Hilgendorf learned through members of the Knights of Columbus about the possibility of painting for a small company led by a Catholic and his father. Without any experience as a painter, he was hired in October, with his boss recognizing he could learn on the job and needed to take care of his wife and children.”It was very stressful,” Father Hilgendorf said. “At the same time, I had been pondering becoming Catholic two or three years before doing it. When it was time, God provided the peace. He said, ‘Don’t worry about it, I will provide.’”

In August 2018, Father Hilgendorf was hired full-time as director of faith formation at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. He was accepted into priestly formation at the Ordinariate in 2019, and he studied at The St. Paul Seminary. Father John Ubel, Cathedral rector, and others at the Cathedral provided the flexibility he needed to study, both in St. Paul and Houston.

After his ordination, Father Hilgendorf returned to the Cathedral July 4 to celebrate Mass. His assignments in Omaha will be part-time as parochial administrator of the Ordinariate’s St. Barnabas parish and part-time in the Archdiocese of Omaha’s Christ the King parish.

Father Welzbacher’s 70 years as a priest marked by love of people, teaching

After seven decades, Father Brandes says, ‘I’ve always loved being a priest’

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

Father George Welzbacher thanks his mother for instilling a deep devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux in her only son. He has made a saying of “the Little Flower” a lifelong motto for how to live out faith, which, for him, now includes 70 years of priesthood.

“She’s a great saint — the saint of little things,” he said, recalling “her insistence on just doing the little things as well as you can to give glory to God.” “That,” he said, “ties in very well with the passage in St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians: ‘Whatever you do, work at it from the heart, as for the Lord and not for man, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.’”

Father Welzbacher, 93, who spent decades in teaching and parish ministry, summarizes it this way: “doing the ordinary duties each day, with all your heart, for God.” He has given people these words of wisdom to live by many times, “especially in the confessional.” And, he has put them into practice himself throughout seven decades of ministry, starting after his ordination to the priesthood in 1951. His first parish assignment was at St. Peter in North St. Paul, where his parents, George Sr. and Eileen, were married.

After four years, he was assigned to St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, where he ministered for 11 years. During that time, he became an instructor at St. Thomas Academy, then after a few years began teaching at the College of St. Thomas (now University of St. Thomas), where he served until 1995.

At that time, both schools were located on the same grounds. He also did

As a child growing up in north Minneapolis, Father John Brandes often had this thought about his future vocation: “I want to save souls.”

Today, as he marks 70 years as a priest, he would say the concept works both ways. One of the joys of his decades of ministry — which took him as far as Guatemala and eventually brought him back to within a mile of the neighborhood where he grew up — has been meeting people in the parishes where he has served, getting to know them and letting them get to know him.

“That’s what I like best — sharing in the life of good people,” said Father Brandes, 95. “That’s the vocation (of a priest). … I’ve always loved being a priest.”

The seed for his vocation blossomed while attending elementary school at St. Bridget in north Minneapolis. A young priest at the parish started a vocations club, which Father Brandes joined when he was in fifth grade. That led to his next step, attending high school at Nazareth Hall, located in Roseville on the shore of Lake Johanna.

He continued a straightforward path to ordination, which took place in 1951. He has served at five parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and was founding pastor of St. Rita in Cottage Grove, where he ministered from 1966 to 1972. His other assignments were to the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul (1951-1966), St. Mark in St. Paul (1972-1986), St. William in Fridley (1987-1993) and St. Boniface in northeast Minneapolis (2004-2012).

He took a break from parish ministry in the archdiocese from 1993 to 2004

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

graduate work during that time, starting in 1966. First, he studied medieval history, then ancient Greek and Roman history, but stopped just short of completing his doctoral dissertation.

Even without a doctorate, the knowledge he gained served him well in the classroom, where he taught hundreds of students over the years, including many priests, and even a few bishops, including Bishop Paul Sirba, who died in 2019, and Bishop Donald DeGrood, who was ordained for the Diocese of Sioux Falls in South Dakota in February 2020. Later in his ministry, he served at St. Agnes and St. John parishes, both in St. Paul.

“It was a wonderful opportunity … to have a hand in forming a lot of the future priests of the Upper Midwest,” Father Welzbacher said. “I was very grateful for that.”

Since retiring in 2013, Father Welzbacher has been assisting at Holy Family in St. Louis Park, where Father Joseph Johnson serves as pastor. On June 2, Father Johnson threw a 70th jubilee party for Father Welzbacher, who estimates that about 60 priests came, some of them his former students.

For Father Welzbacher, who believes that “everything is of value” in priestly ministry, all he has done in 70 years points him to one word: “Gratitude.”

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

to minister at San Lucas Toliman in Guatemala, a mission parish of the Diocese of New Ulm. He had considered serving in Venezuela at Jesucristo Resucitado, a mission of the archdiocese, but felt the rural location and cooler climate in San Lucas Toliman would be a better fit. He described the people he served at the mission as “very spiritual” and added that “the scenery is gorgeous.”

Of his 12 ordination classmates, one is still living — Father George Welzbacher, who lives at the Leo C. Byrne Residence for retired priests in St. Paul, next door to The St. Paul Seminary. The two see each other at class reunions, and Father Brandes holds his classmate in high regard.

“I admire him very much, and I think it’s mutual,” Father Brandes said. “I just think he’s a wonderful old priest, even though he’s so young — he’s almost two years younger.”

Father Brandes continued in ministry long after reaching retirement age. His final assignment began six years ago when he became chaplain at Catholic Eldercare in northeast Minneapolis.

He retired at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

“I just want to emphasize I’ve always felt blessed to be a priest, and I’ve always been happy to be a priest,” he said.

6 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

LOCAL

JULY 15, 2021

Meet urban schools’ family-supporting City Connects program

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit C.J. McGowan greeted 61 students getting off two buses at Ascension School in Minneapolis July 9 as they returned from a week at Catholic Youth Camp near McGregor, about two and a half hours north of the Twin Cities.

Parents were there, too, laughing, hugging and some tearfully smiling as they reunited with their children.

McGowan shared smiles, hugs and fist bumps.

It was all part of a day’s work for McGowan as the City Connects coordinator at Ascension. She helped organize the trip for those children, particularly from the school, but also from Ascension parish and its neighborhood.

As an employee of Ascension working with the national, Boston College-based City Connects organization, McGowan helps meet the academic, social and material needs of all students and their families. City Connects coordinators are now serving nine Twin Cities-area Catholic elementary schools, with a 10th to be added this fall.

Eight of the 10 schools, including Ascension, are part of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Drexel Mission Schools Initiative, which rose out of the archdiocese’s Roadmap for Excellence in Catholic Education. It is designed to help schools where at least half the students are children of color, and half the student body is eligible for free or reduced lunches.

The aim of City Connects and Drexel Mission Schools is the same: Strengthen each student’s classroom experience, meet any special needs and narrow an opportunity and achievement gap in education to break the cycle of poverty.

“The higher student poverty (is), the higher diversity, the wider the achievement gap,” said Laurie Acker, City Connects program manager in the Twin Cities, who helps schools hire coordinators and serves as a mentor and coach to coordinators.

“About 70 percent of the achievement gap is outside factors hampering students’ success,” such as hunger, housing instability and mental health needs, she said. “We provide continuous student support, tailored to their needs in housing, food, mental health assistance, academics.”

Schools designated Drexel Mission Schools are St. John Paul II, Ascension and Risen Christ, all in Minneapolis; Blessed Trinity in Richfield; Community of Saints Regional in West St. Paul; Immaculate Conception in Columbia Heights; St. Alphonsus in Brooklyn Center; St. Jerome in Maplewood; and St. Peter Claver in St. Paul.

City Connects Catholic schools are Ascension; Blessed Trinity; Community of Saints; St. Jerome; St. John Paul II; St. Peter Claver; Risen Christ; St. Pascal Regional Catholic School, St. Paul; St. Helena School, Minneapolis; and, beginning this fall, Immaculate Conception.

Contribute to City Connects and Drexel Mission Schools at ccf-mn.org/drexel.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

C.J. McGowan, right, of City Connects, greets Saisha Torrence, who recently graduated from the eighth grade at Ascension School, and others July 9 upon their return from a week at Catholic Youth Camp near McGregor.

Shana Moses, 48, was among parents waiting for the buses and appreciative of McGowan’s work. Her youngest son, Lami, will be an eighth-grader at Ascension after joining the school in the fall of 2020, with the pandemic a prominent concern. He started online, but has high-functioning autism, and by last spring, it was best if he went inperson with less screen time and more people time, his mother said. McGowan set up a meeting with principal Matias Benito and all of Lami’s teachers, to allow Moses to explain her son’s challenges and get everyone on the same page. Increased understanding among all concerned has made school a joy for her son, displayed in part by his desire to go to Catholic Youth Camp, Moses said.

“It allowed me to gather them, so everyone could hear about his brilliance, rather than his defects,” she said. “To have those conversations, I think made for fertile ground. It’s like wilting flowers, they come back. And he loves the school.”

City Connects coordinators — funded in the Twin Cities by the local GHR Foundation since the foundation discovered and introduced the program in 2015 to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis — are assigned to specific schools and meet each student individually. The coordinators also meet with each student’s teacher and school administrators to learn and meet students’ needs through appropriate

school and community resources, such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters; Minnesota Reading Corps; Urban Ventures; Ready Set Smile for dental care; Feed My Starving Children; Minnesota Children’s Museum and the Minnesota Orchestra.

McGowan, a licensed school counselor, said she knows every student by name and greets them as they enter school each morning. She follows their progress year by year, providing stability and continuity. Because she makes the connections for students and families with various community resources, teachers and principals have more time to teach and meet their administrative responsibilities.

“We do a full class review. We talk through each student’s academics, social, emotional, behavioral health and family needs,” McGowan said. “We share what we know and notice.”

Now, the need to support City Connects is broadening and two funds are being established and promoted by the St. Paul-based Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota.

In addition, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is taking on more administrative and fundraising tasks to give City Connects long-term viability in urban Catholic schools. As support grows, GHR Foundation — which acts largely as risk capital for promising innovative programs — will adjust the financial support it has provided over the past six years. Since 2015, the

of the archdiocese’s ministry to Native Americans, in prayer “for the healing of these wounds and for the strength that is needed to confront whatever will emerge from future investigations.”

laws such as the 2003 informed consent statute. The number of abortions in the state peaked in 1980, at 19,028, the health department reported.

foundation has invested $4.1 million in City Connects.

Already, an anonymous donor has given $250,000 to the Drexel Mission Schools Social Services Fund, which at this point largely consists of City Connects, said Meg Payne Nelson, CCF’s vice president of impact. Another anonymous donor is offering a matching grant of up to $250,000 for a second fund, the Drexel Mission Schools Fund, which will be used for academic initiatives, leadership support, enhanced cultural competency training and a commitment from the schools to have a professional, financial audit conducted annually, Nelson said.

“We really hope that the community will come together and support this,” Nelson said. If anyone is wondering how to help those in need, minority communities are truly struggling, she said. “Education is a way out of poverty.”

Jason Slattery, archdiocesan director of Catholic education, said City Connects and Drexel Mission Schools provide those who want to lend a helping hand with specific and reliable ways to make a difference in the lives of students most impacted by poverty, racial disparities and the social unrest that erupted in neighborhoods across Minneapolis and St. Paul after the death of George Floyd in May 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit families in those communities hard spiritually, physically and economically, he said.

“The pandemic and some of the difficulties we’ve seen in the last 16 months has created a crisis situation for students and their families,” he said.

“They really need that extra support.”

in BRIEF Archbishop Hebda moved by graves found in Canada Archbishop Bernard Hebda said he is “terribly saddened by the reports emerging from Canada” of the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at the sites of former residential children’s schools run by Catholic religious communities. Offering condolences to families and communities involved, the archbishop also apologized in a July 1 statement “for any misdeeds of those acting on behalf of the Church that betrayed our commitment to the sacredness of life and to the respect for the human person.” Archbishop Hebda said he joins the Catholic community at Gichitwaa Kateri in Minneapolis, home

Abortions in Minnesota drop to lowest since 1974 The number of abortions performed in Minnesota dropped 8% last year to 9,108 compared to 2019, the lowest level since 1974, the Minnesota Department of Health reported July 1. Scott Fischbach, executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, credited the decrease to pregnant women meeting challenges without turning to abortion, the work of pregnancy care centers and state pro-life

MCC executive director stepping down After 10 years of leading the Minnesota Catholic Conference, Jason Adkins announced July 1 he is stepping down as executive director and general counsel to start a new law firm, including pro bono work for families and faith communities.

The state’s bishops will begin a search to fill Adkins’ position, which includes advising them on legislative matters and public affairs. Adkins plans to assist MCC in an ongoing advisory role.

Archbishop Hebda prays for Floyd family, community Shortly after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for killing George Floyd last year, Archbishop Bernard Hebda prayed that the decision might “bring a measure of peace and healing” to Floyd’s family, his friends and the community. At the same time, the archbishop said in a June 25 statement, he prayed Chauvin’s sentencing will prompt everyone “to go deeper in our conversations about race, justice, violence and peace.”

— The Catholic Spirit

JULY 15, 2021

LOCAL

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7

Sister act: As historical nun, actor shares stories of St. Paul’s saints and sinners

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit Michelle Berg turns heads as she walks downtown St. Paul streets. But it’s not her, per se, that passersby see — it’s Mother Celestine Howard, a Victorianera Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

Berg acts the part of “Sister Celeste” in a full veil and habit, a rosary at her waist and a cross pinned just below her whimple. Thick-soled black Oxfords do double duty — they help her look the part of a nun while aiding the miles she logs as a walking tour guide in Minnesota’s Capitol city.

A longtime actor and former guide for Wabasha Street Caves’ tours, Berg recently began collaborating with the Hotel Celeste to offer two 75-minute tours, “St. Peter, St. Paul” and “True Confessions Gangster Tour.” Both offerings of her “Celestial Tours” are stuffed with stories of iconic sites and colorful characters that shaped the city, from mobsters and performers to architects and archbishops.

Notable sites include St. Louis, King of France; the site of the notorious Green Lantern saloon; and the historic Hamm building, built on the site of a former Cathedral of St. Paul — before Archbishop John Ireland commissioned a grander structure on St. Anthony (now Cathedral) Hill.

Berg, 59, is serious about history, and she has done her research on all of it, including her muse. Mother Celestine was born Ellen Howard, a cousin to one-day Archbishop John Ireland and best friends with his sister, also Ellen.

Ellen Howard was orphaned by the potato famine, and she and her siblings immigrated with the Ireland family to the United States together from County Kilkenny, Ireland, arriving by steamboat in St. Paul in 1852.

The two Ellens joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet at age 16.

Ellen Ireland became Sister — and later, “Mother” — Seraphine, and would lead her religious community through an aggressive period of growth and institution founding. Ellen Howard became Sister Celestine, and also later, “Mother,” as superior of St. Agatha’s Convent, which developed into a wellrespected music and art conservatory.

It’s the former St. Agatha Conservatory of Music and Arts building on Exchange Street that now houses Celeste St. Paul Hotel + Bar, which opened in November 2019.

In a previous job, Berg had given tours as Mother Seraphine, and Sister Celeste was a similar role. She was preparing to launch her tours when the hotel opened, but the pandemic curtailed her plans until April of this year. When she meets her tour members in the hotel bar — the convent’s former parlor — she — as “Sister Celeste” — jokes in an Irish brogue that it’s “a work-from-home situation.” Her tour is freckled with well-timed one-liners, but never at the expense of the Catholic Church or the religious sisters who served it.

“Wow, they were movers and shakers,” Berg said of the city’s earliest religious sisters. “They were such a civilizing effect on this society, and they don’t have streets named after them because part of their missional statement was, ‘We’re the hands and

PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

feet of Christ; we’re not the face or the body. It doesn’t matter if nobody sees us. The Lord sees us.’”

Still in costume, she spoke with The Catholic Spirit following a recent “St. Peter, St. Paul” tour. She said that, for her, the tours are more than just a gig. They’re a way to challenge herself as an actor, share her deep love of her hometown and spread charity. While she’s in costume and leading a tour, some people — especially the area’s homeless — take her for a real nun, she said, and so she tells them she’ll pray for them. As a Christian, that’s her earnest promise.

Berg was raised Catholic in St. Paul’s Merriam Park neighborhood, and she attended Immaculate Heart of Mary parish and school (which merged with St. Luke in 2007 to become St. Thomas More). She was taught by sisters and even thought briefly about becoming one, she said. She laughs while recounting a story of her freshman year at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, meeting one of her mother’s former instructors, a Benedictine sister.

“I think I probably had a serious New Wave haircut — back in the day when everyone was still wearing the disco locks, and the disco pants, and this edgy haircut, and I said to her, ‘You know, I’ve thought about becoming a nun,’ and she looked at me and said, ‘Oh, no. No, no, no. No.’” Berg ended up transferring to the University of Minnesota, but she still keeps in touch with the sister, she said.

“I think part of my (Sister Celeste) character is based on her,” as well as Berg’s Irish aunts and grandmother, she said.

Berg’s family has influenced her roles before, especially in the monologue show “Blue Collar Diaries,” which she wrote about growing up in workingclass St. Paul.

Actors have the privilege of walking in other people’s shoes, she said, and she feels changed by her experience playing Mother Celestine, especially as she considers the role she and other sisters had in helping people in need, and what it meant to dedicate their work and education to serving others.

She hopes her tours shed light on how challenging those lives were — “to help them see what it would be like to leave St. Joe’s Academy at the crack

of dawn with a dinner pail and to be walking downtown teaching all day” in wintertime, in the era before streetcars.

And they were there in the muddle of fledgling St. Paul and, later, still ministering amid the corruption that plagued its gangster era.

“They were really intelligent, accomplished women who were changing their communities a tablespoon at a time. And I respect that,” she said.

Berg said she hopes her tour-goers are both entertained and educated as they make their way through

LEFT Actor Michelle Berg as Sister Celeste stands in front of the iconic Mickey’s Diner restaurant in downtown St. Paul July 8 as she talks about the history of the city to those taking one of her tours, from left: Maribeth and Jim (behind) Bedtke, Randy Rheingans, Jack and Kris Harlan, Pam Rheingans, and Randy and B.J. Schwartzhoff.

ABOVE Berg during the July 8 tour. downtown St. Paul.

“I try to be equally engaging and compelling,” she said. “It’s not as easy, but I try to write my tours in such a way that people find the history truly fascinating.”

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LOCAL

8 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JULY 15, 2021

Toothpick church: Retiree finds beauty in the quarter inch

By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit Jerry Hackett, an 81-year-old retired accountant and father of six, is generating a lot of press with his toothpick sculptures. After creating a series of intricate windmills and bridges done to scale, the cradle Catholic turned his attention to Minnesota churches, starting with his own: St. Mark (now a campus of Sts. Joachim and Anne) in Shakopee.

His remarkable creation of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague — a six-month process using 12,800 toothpicks — will be auctioned off in August at the church’s festival.

project, the church at Union Hill, and there was quite a bit of clipping. I cut the tips off 2,400 toothpicks in two days.

Q Are you ever tempted to cut corners?

A No. I guess I enjoy the challenge. There are a lot of

places where I’ll end up using a toothpick to make some little corner that’s an eighth of an inch long. That’s more fun. And you learn tricks as you go. I cut more pieces to length now, kind of like pre-fabbing them.

Q Is it hard to stop thinking about your current

Q You grew up on a farm, the second of 13 kids.

project?

Tell me about that.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

A With that many kids, you ate what was put on the

Q Are all your toothpick sculptures done to scale?

A Yeah. One inch equals four feet. That way every

table. You didn’t complain. You learn a lot on a farm.

You might not be an expert, but you can do a lot of things. You have to.

Q You learn by tinkering. Is that a lost skill?

A I think so. Nowadays, kids have to have everything

planned for them. Right away, they’re bored. We were never bored.

Q You were in your mid-70s when you made your

first toothpick sculpture, the Eiffel Tower. How did you get the idea?

A I was looking for something to do to keep busy, and I remembered that one of my kids had done a toothpick project back in the ‘80s.

Q And that just popped in your mind?

A Yeah!

Q Would you encourage other 70-somethings to take up a hobby?

A Well, yeah, instead of just sitting around waiting to

croak. I know a guy down the street in his mid-70s who makes cribbage boards in the shape of Minnesota. He sells them at the farmer’s market.

A That’s my problem at night. I’ll wake up thinking

about how to do this part of the church, and I can’t go back to sleep.

quarter inch is a foot. It’s easy to figure stuff then.

Q When you are finished, you have an intimate

Q Tell me about your process.

A I start with rough drawings, and I put my

A It feels good. It makes you more observant. On the

knowledge of a church — the kind few people have.

measurements on that. Then I make the drawings I’m going to use for the actual parts, and I put wax paper on it, so I can still see my drawing, and I glue the toothpicks together and then peel off the wax paper when it dries. Then I give it a good coat of glue to make sure everything holds together good.

Q It sounds so tedious!

A That’s the only way you can do it. You can’t fast-track it. You pick up one toothpick at a time with a tweezer and dip the end of it in glue and stick to the one before.

Q Is that a metaphor for life?

A Yup. You can only do it one day at a time.

Q You work in your porch, listening to polka and

New Prague church, there are three add-ons, or lean-tos, and two are exactly alike and the third one is a little different. The people who live there probably never really noticed.

Q Does that carry over to other things?

A Yeah. We’ve got a row of evergreens behind us, and

I’ll be studying them: This one looks the best, that one is a little darker.

Q Do you do that with people, too?

A Not really. To me, people are people.

Q What is it about working with your hands that’s so satisfying?

A For one, I’m lucky: My fingers are still nimble. I don’t

country music on KCHK Radio.

A It’s peaceful. I’m getting toothpicks ready for my next

have arthritis. When I finish a church and I’m looking at it, there’s a sense of pride.

In the Name of Love

Join us in honoring our Jubilarians 75 YEARS Noel Ewald Berenice Hartke Judith Marie Jung Mary Alene Kuhn Mary Niva Langreck Sharon Rempe Luella Zollar 70 YEARS Ruth Cowie M. Charles Ann Crowder LaVerne Kleinheider Lorraine Landry Mary Louise McKenna Lisette Menke Theresa Palbicki Marjorie J. Rosenau Martha Ann Schaefer Margaret Ann Schulte Mary Owen Stevermer Rochelle Trembley Mary Damian Tucker Dorothy Venhaus Patricia Wamse Rose Miriam Wegman Jean Ann Weyer

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JULY 15, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9

NATION+WORLD Vatican indicts cardinal, former officials involved in London deal

By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service In an unprecedented move, Vatican prosecutors have indicted 10 individuals and entities, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, former prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, on charges ranging from embezzlement to money laundering and abuse of office.

The indictment included charges against “ecclesiastical and lay personnel of the Secretariat of State and senior figures of the former Financial Information Authority, as well as external figures active in the world of international finance,” the Vatican said July 3. Their trial at the Vatican was set to begin July 27.

The indictments, especially of former Vatican officials, also may prove to be a litmus test for Pope Francis’ efforts to reform the Vatican’s finances, which have been marred by scandals over decades.

This also is the first time in modern history that a cardinal is among those facing a Vatican criminal trial.

In a statement released by his lawyers shortly after the announcement, Cardinal Becciu declared his “absolute innocence,” saying he was “the victim of a plot hatched against me” and that the accusations exposed him to “an unparalleled media pillory to which I did not defend myself, suffering in silence.” However, in November, he filed a lawsuit against the Italian magazine L’Espresso, claiming their reporting resulted in him losing his chance at becoming pope.

In April, Pope Francis updated the laws governing the Vatican’s civil judicial system, stating that cardinals and bishops accused of a crime could be tried in a Vatican court, which, as it turned out, paved the way for the indictment against Cardinal Becciu. The new law requires the pope’s approval before a cardinal can be indicted, approval Pope Francis gave for charging Cardinal Becciu.

The charges stem from a Vatican investigation into how the Secretariat of State used $200 million to finance a property development project in London’s posh Chelsea district and incurred millions of dollars in debt.

The investigation, which spanned across several countries, “brought to light a vast network of relationships with financial market operators that have generated substantial losses for the Vatican finances, also drawing from resources destined for the personal charitable works of the Holy Father,” the indictment stated. Cardinal Becciu was forced to offer his resignation to the pope in September, after he was accused of embezzling an estimated 100,000 euros ($116,361) of Vatican funds and redirecting them to Spes, a Caritas organization run by his brother, Tonino Becciu, in his home Diocese of Ozieri, Sardinia.

Speaking with journalists the day after his resignation, Cardinal Becciu said the pope made no mention of the London property deal during their meeting and insisted there was nothing wrong with the purchase, despite the Vatican’s ongoing investigation.

Nevertheless, questions remained as to whether funds from the Peter’s Pence collection were used to finance the deal. Peter’s Pence is a papal fund used for charity, but also to support the running of the Roman Curia and

Vatican embassies around the world.

Cardinal Becciu consistently denied Peter’s Pence funds were used to purchase the London property; the money, he said, came from a fund within the Secretariat of State. However, when asked by a journalist if the money in the Secretariat of State fund came from Peter’s Pence, Cardinal Becciu said, “Yes.” Among the former Vatican officials included in the indictment are René Brülhart and Tommaso di Ruzza, respectively former president and former director of the Vatican’s financial watchdog agency, now known as the Supervisory and Financial Information Authority.

Brülhart was accused of abuse of office, while di Ruzza was accused of embezzlement, abuse of office and violation of the secret of the office.

Also included in the indictment were: Msgr. Mauro Carlino, the former secretary of then-Archbishop Becciu when he served in the No. 3 position in the Vatican Secretariat of State, who is accused of extortion and abuse of office; and Fabrizio Tirabassi, a former official at the Secretariat of State accused of corruption, extortion, embezzlement, fraud and abuse of office.

Enrico Crasso, a long-time investment manager who worked with the Vatican, faces the most charges, including embezzlement, extortion, corruption, money laundering, abuse of office, forgery and falsifying documents. Two companies owned by Crasso were included in the indictment.

Several other players involved in the majority stake purchase of the London property were also indicted, including Gianluigi Torzi, an Italian broker who served as the middleman in the development deal, and London-based Italian financier Raffaele Mincione, the owner of the London property who is accused of embezzlement, fraud, abuse of office, misappropriation of funds and money laundering.

Torzi faces several charges, including the extortion of $17 million from the Vatican as payment for the majority stake and his role in brokering the deal. Nicola Squillace, a Milan-based lawyer who helped broker the London property deal, was also indicted on charges of fraud, embezzlement and money laundering.

Cecilia Marogna, an Italian political analyst who allegedly was hired as a consultant by Cardinal Becciu, was also indicted on charges of embezzling money through a humanitarian organization she ran in Slovenia. The organization was also included in the indictment. In an October interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Marogna claimed she was secretly hired by Cardinal Becciu, unbeknownst to the Vatican and the Secretariat of State, as a diplomatic back channel, and that the money sent to her organization was used for humanitarian missions, including the paying of ransoms for kidnapped missionaries.

According to several documents anonymously sent to the Italian news program, La Iene, the Vatican Secretariat of State sent an estimated 500,000 euros (US$587,900) over a five-year period to Marogna.

Although the funds allegedly sent by Cardinal Becciu were labeled as “voluntary contribution for humanitarian mission,” La Iene reported that the money was instead used for luxury purchases.

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HEADLINES u Pope to remain in hospital ‘a few more days.’ After July 4 surgery for diverticular stenosis, Pope Francis, 84, is recovering at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the Vatican press office said July 12. Matteo Bruni, Vatican spokesman, said the pope “will remain hospitalized for a few more days in order to optimize his medical and rehabilitation therapy.” u La Crosse, Wisconsin, bishop removes pastor. Bishop William Callahan of La Crosse July 9 removed a pastor who has been stirring controversy since last fall when from the pulpit he said Catholic Democrats must repent because of the party’s support for legal abortion or “face the fires of hell.” More recently, Father James Altman criticized the U.S. bishops for their response to COVID-19 restrictions on houses of worship. A diocesan statement said Bishop Callahan “and his diocesan representatives have spent over a year, prayerfully and fraternally, working toward a resolution related to ongoing public and ecclesial concerns” about Father Altman’s ministry. “In accordance with the norms of canon law,” the statement said, Bishop Callahan issued “a decree for the removal” of Father Altman as pastor of St. James the Less in La Crosse. u Surfside pastor: Family killed in condo collapse truly lived ‘bond of love.’ Father Juan Sosa, pastor of the Catholic church that is close to a condominium building that collapsed June 24 in Surfside, Florida, held up a photo of 11-year-old Lucia Guara’s first Communion in 2019. He placed it on the casket holding her and her sister, Emma, 4, during the funeral Mass July 6 for the girls and their parents. “I would like to place it (the photo) on her casket as a symbol of her union with Christ,” said the pastor of St. Joseph. Marcus “Marc” Guara, 52, his wife, Anaely “Ana” Rodriguez, 42, and the couple’s two daughters perished in the building’s collapse. As of July 13, the death toll had risen to 94. u Pope, bishops call for calm, dialogue after Haitian president killed. Condemning the “heinous assassination” of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, Pope Francis urged the people of Haiti to shun violence and commit to dialogue and solidarity as the path to a better future. In a telegram sent to the Vatican nunciature in Haiti after the July 7 killing of Moïse and the wounding of his wife, Martine Moïse, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said the pope offered his condolences to all Haitians and was praying for the former first lady’s recovery. u Iconic Dorothy dress found at Catholic University. It turns out there really is no place like home for a prized piece of movie memorabilia that came to The Catholic University of America’s drama department about 50 years ago. Missing for decades, the Washington, D.C.-based university’s long-rumored possession of the blue gingham dress worn by Judy Garland as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” was confirmed as true, without much Hollywood fanfare, when it was discovered this summer in a white trash bag stashed high in a theater department office.

— Catholic News Service

10 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Post-war paris

RECORD YEAR The following 11 parishes were founded in 1946, just after World War II. That year saw more parishes established in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis than any other year since 1865. They are celebrating their 75th anniversaries this year.

Holy Childhood, 1435 Midway Parkway, St. Paul. Fun fact: Its founding pastor, Father John Buchanan, ministered at the parish for 40 years. According to “Gather Us In,” a history of parishes in the archdiocese published by The Catholic Spirit in 2000, under the priest’s leadership “Holy Childhood stood at the forefront of liturgical innovation and renewal” because it was an early adopter of Mass in both English and Latin and its use of hymns. It also has stained glass windows by Max Ingrand of Paris and artwork by local Catholic artist Peter Lupori. Anniversary events are in early planning stages. holychildhoodparish.org St. Pascal Baylon, 1757 Conway St., St. Paul. Fun fact: The parish church originally faced White Bear Avenue, but need for a larger parking lot resulted in the reorientation of the main entrance.

The parish plans to mark the anniversary with several events, including a picnic at Walton Park in Oakdale Sept. 26. stpascals.org Immaculate Heart of Mary, 13505 Excelsior Blvd., Minnetonka.

Fun fact: The parish was first known as Immaculate Heart of Mary in Glen Lake. The parish marked its anniversary with the addition of a new Immaculate Heart of Mary statue, which Archbishop Bernard Hebda blessed following Mass June 12. ihm-cc.org Our Lady of Grace, 5071 Eden Ave., Edina. After it outgrew its first worship space — which it remodeled in the 1970s after Vatican II — the parish built its current church in 1986. Two years later, it dedicated its Austin pipe organ, which its website describes as “one of the finest instruments of its kind in the world.” In 2012, Most Holy Trinity in St. Louis Park merged with Our Lady of Grace. olgparish.org Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1725 Kennard St., Maplewood. Fun fact: According to “Gather Us In,” the church’s fan-shape design reflected the liturgical renewal of Vatican II, which began just 12 years after Presentation’s founding. The parish is planning a celebration Nov. 13-14, near its feast day. It will also mark its anniversary at its fall festival Sept. 11-12. presentationofmary.org St. Frances Cabrini, 1500 Franklin Ave., Minneapolis. Fun fact: The parish was founded in September 1946, two months after St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s July 7 canonization. An American born in Italy, she was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized. The parish’s 1948 church was designed by notable architect Robert Cerny. Anniversary events are in early planning stages. cabrinimn.org Visitation, formerly at 4500 Lyndale Ave., Minneapolis. Visitation merged with Annunciation in Minneapolis in 2012. Icons of Mary and St. Elizabeth, St. Joseph and Christ’s Sacred Heart from Visitation’s church are displayed in Annunciation’s school. Its former tabernacle, currently being repaired and polished, will be included in a future project in the parish church. annunciationmsp.org St. Joan of Arc, 4537 3rd Ave. S., Minneapolis. Fun fact: St. Joan of Arc’s first Mass was celebrated in the Hale School’s gymnasium, with the parish history noting “the difficulties of putting up an altar on a basketball floor.” Despite those initial challenges, the parish has held weekend Masses in its own gymnasium since 1968. Anniversary events are in early planning stages. saintjoanofarc.org St. John Vianney, 789 17th Ave., South St. Paul. After the current church was built in 1955, its first church, which was constructed of Army barracks, served as a residence for the Sisters of St. Casimir, who were at that time running the parish’s school. sjvssp.org St. Margaret Mary, 2301 Zenith Ave., Golden Valley. Fun fact: The parish’s hand-carved Stations of the Cross are from Oberammergau, Germany, a Bavarian village renowned for its once-a-decade Passion Play Theatre and artisan wood carving. smm-gv.org St. Therese, 18323 Minnetonka Blvd., Deephaven. Fun fact: Among cherished items that enhance its liturgical space are a Reuter Pipe Organ with flamed copper pipes and a fresco by Minnesota artist Mark Balma. st-therese.org

1946 saw establishment of 11 pari in a single year since the archdiocese’s

A

s 1946 dawned, the world was still reeling from the Second World War, which had ended with Japan’s surrender the previous September. The year would see the first meeting of the United Nations, the opening of the Space Age and the Christmas debut of Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

That year in then-Archdiocese of St. Paul, Archbishop John Murray would establish 11 new parishes — tied for the greatest number in a single year in the archdiocese’s nearly 175-year history. (In 1865, the archdiocese also established 11 parishes, two in what is now the Diocese of New Ulm.) The reason for the parish boom was twofold, archdiocesan historians suggest: The Catholic population was growing, and Archbishop Murray had promised priests who served as World War II chaplains their own parish when they returned.

Those 11 parishes mark their 75th anniversary this year. They are Holy Childhood and St. Pascal Baylon in St. Paul; Immaculate Heart of Mary in Minnetonka; Our Lady of Grace in Edina; Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood; St. Frances Cabrini, Visitation (merged with Annunciation in 2012) and St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis; St. John Vianney in South St. Paul; St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley and St. Therese in Deephaven.

They were established during a decade of institutional growth. From 1940-1949, 29 new parishes were founded in the archdiocese, the most in a decade since 1900-1910, and a number unsurpassed since. Among the 11 in 1946, eight had pastors who had served as wartime chaplains.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, Archbishop Murray invited assistant priests to volunteer with the armed forces and, as incentive, told them they would become pastors of their own parishes at the end of their service. According to the late Father Marvin O’Connell — a historian, longtime professor at the University of Notre Dame and priest of the archdiocese who died in 2016 — the first priest to enlist with this promise was Father John Buchanan, an assistant at Incarnation in Minneapolis who went on to serve with Gen. George Patton’s Third Army, which pushed across Normandy.

“Pilgrims to the Northland,” Father O’Connell’s history of the archdiocese from 1840 to 1962 (published by the University of Notre Dame Press in 2009), notes Father Buchanan was awarded the Silver Star for heroism on Aug. 26, 1944, after he dressed soldiers’ wounds while under direct enemy fire. He was discharged in September 1946, and six months later, he was named founding pastor of Holy Childhood.

Like the other parishes founded that year, Holy Childhood in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood had no church building, so its founding pastor sought civic and secular spaces for worship. After its official incorporation in April 1946, Holy Childhood’s first Masses were celebrated in buildings at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, and Father Buchanan officed over the Midtown Theater,

By Maria Wiering • The Catholic Spirit

QUON hut se Excel The fi Imma now h one o Sever and r

according to “Gather Us In” by Scott Wright (published by The Catholic Spirit in 2000). But the parish did not delay in building its own facilities, and by the fall of 1947, it had completed a basement church and two floors of its school building, allowing the school to open. However, 10 years passed before the parish finished the upper portion of the church as it stands today.

In Minnetonka, Immaculate Heart of Mary’s first Masses were in a Quonset hut; in Edina, Our Lady of Grace parishioners worshipped in the Edina Theater. Presentation, St. Frances

Cabrini, St. Joan o members all gath and St. Margaret M Glenwood Hills H In South St. Pau founding pastor, Whittet, offered M nearby Kaposia Pa construction of it 1947 with materi With help from fu skating rink, the p combined church

WHY MILESTONES MATTE

When Father John Mitchell was assigned to St. Pascal Baylon in St. Paul in 20 guy” was excited to learn the parish was just a few years away from marking milestones like that are opportunities for parishes to reflect on who they are, w the growth they’ve experienced.

“When you’re a pastor or a priest coming to serve, you kind of stand on the sho he said. “You benefit from their hard work, and you carry it on the best you can is to be grateful for the sacrifices of previous generations of Catholics, he said

He also sees an anniversary as a time to look ahead. “It’s good to celebrate, to sacrifices of the people from the past, but also to tell people, ‘Hey, let’s celebra we’re doing now today is important to shape the future,’ and to give the people part of something.” He said that’s especially true this year, as parishes — and COVID-19 pandemic.

JULY 15, 2021 • 11

sh boom

ishes, the most ’s founding decades

ANNIVERSARIES ABOUND In addition to the parishes marking their 75th anniversary this year, The Catholic Spirit congratulates the parishes that celebrated last year or are celebrating this year significant anniversaries on the quarter century. These parish anniversary celebrations are noted below. If information about a parish anniversary event was obtained by press time, it is listed. Not all parishes are holding anniversary celebrations, and for some, plans are yet to be determined.

2020 50 years (1970 founding) Risen Savior, Burnsville. Risen Savior began with 350 households from Burnsville, Lakeville and Apple Valley. Initially, a house served as the center of parish life, with a priest residence, office space and a garage-turned-chapel. The parish’s anniversary celebration includes 5 p.m. Sept. 4 Charter Member Mass, and 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Masses Sept. 12 with Archbishop Bernard Hebda. risensavior.org St. Gerard Majella, Brooklyn Park. It was founded by Redemptorist Father Robert Oelerich. His religious order ministered at the parish for its first 20 years. In 1990, Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular assumed leadership of the parish. Then, from 2017-2019, the parish returned to the Redemptorists.

It is now in the pastoral care of archdiocesan priests. st-gerard.org

75 years (1945 founding)

NSET CHURCH Immaculate Heart of Mary in Minnetonka’s first church — a Quonset eating about 250 people — was constructed in 1946 near Woodhill Road and lsior Boulevard at a cost of $4,200. This served as the parish’s church for six years. first Mass in the new building was celebrated Dec. 8, 1946, the feast of the aculate Conception. The cross, previously mounted on the top of the Quonset hut, hangs in the parish’s school above the entrance of its south interior door. IHM was of 11 parishes founded in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1946. ral others also used Quonset huts as temporary worship spaces as they made plans raised funds to build permanent churches. COURTESY IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

of Arc and Visitation’s hered at nearby public schools, Mary parishioners met at the Hospital. ul, St. John Vianney’s WWII chaplain Father Harold Mass at the lodge building in ark and oversaw the ts first church, finished in ial from two Army barracks. undraising via a nearby roller parish went on to build a h and school — its present the

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018, the self-described “numbers g 75 years. He said major what they’ve accomplished and

oulders of the people before you,” n.” To acknowledge an anniversary d.

o acknowledge the work and ate that we’re still here, and what e a sense of belonging, that they’re world — emerge from the — Maria Wiering

structure — that was completed in 1955.

Similarly, St. Pascal Baylon constructed a temporary church from surplus Army barracks before breaking ground on its combined church and school facility in 1949. But its first Mass was celebrated in the gymnasium at the Ramsey County Correctional Facility for Boys, also known as “Totem Town,” in St. Paul’s Highwood neighborhood.

For many of these parishes, the church building wasn’t the first priority, but rather the school. Most opened a school before constructing permanent churches, and worship shifted there from the public spaces.

Like others across the archdiocese, the schools were staffed by religious sisters, among them the Schools Sisters of Notre Dame, Sisters of St. Joseph of Crookston, Sisters of Mercy and the Sisters of St. Francis of Rochester. Of the parishes founded in 1946, only St. Frances Cabrini did not establish a parish school.

These parishes’ post-war founding was commemorated overtly in the naming of St. Joan of Arc, the “Maid of Orléans,” who was compelled by visions of St. Michael the Archangel, St. Margaret and St. Catherine of Alexandria to fight for Charles VII of France against England in the Hundred Years War. Founding pastor Father Mark Farrell — a returning WWII chaplain — chose her patronage as “a tribute of one soldier to another,” Father O’Connell observed.

Good Shepherd, Golden Valley. Like many of the parishes that would be founded in the following year, Good Shepherd had a former World War II Army chaplain as a pastor. According to its website, its first Masses were celebrated at the Boulevard Café on Wayzata Boulevard on a portable altar its priest had used on the Italian battlefields. goodshepherdgv.org Our Lady of Victory, Minneapolis. The parish’s earliest Masses were celebrated in a movie theatre before a temporary church was constructed of Quonset huts.

Its current church was completed in 1953.

612-529-7788 St. Leo the Great (now Lumen Christi), St. Paul. Like parishioners of Our Lady of Victory in north Minneapolis, members of St. Leo in St. Paul’s Highland Park first met at a movie theater, with daily Mass, confessions and baptisms taking place at a nearby empty storefront until a building holding the church and school was completed in 1946. Another church was built 20 years later and designed by Ade Bethune,

an American Catholic liturgical artist. St. Leo later clustered with and then merged with neighboring parishes St. Therese and St. Gregory the Great to form Lumen Christi in 2006 at the former St. Leo campus. lumenchristicc.org

125 years (1895 founding) St. Michael, Farmington. After 19 years as a mission church, St. Michael became its own parish in 1895.

A small brick church served its community from 1913 until 2000, with the completion of a much larger church about one mile southwest to meet the needs of the area’s suburban expansion. An anniversary event at the parish will take place Sept. 26, near the feast of St. Michael. stmichael-farmington.org

150 years (1870 founding) Sacred Heart, Rush City. Railroad expansion to the Rush City area created the need for a parish to serve the area’s Catholics. The first church was constructed under the leadership of a priest in Stillwater, who made the 100-mile round trip by horseback or stagecoach. Archbishop Hebda celebrated an anniversary Mass Oct. 25, 2020, at the parish. sacredheartrcmn.org St. Joseph the Worker, Maple Grove. Founded simply as St. Joseph to serve German Catholics in Minneapolis, where it was located for its first 106 years, the parish boundaries moved westward in 1976 to Maple Grove after the State of Minnesota purchased its property to build Interstate 94. When the new church was completed the following year, it took the name St. Joseph the Worker. sjtw.net St. Lawrence (now Divine Mercy), Faribault. Founded to serve German Catholics in Faribault, St. Lawrence shared a pastor as early as 1886 with nearby Sacred Heart, the French parish. The parishes formally merged in 1996, and in 2002, they joined with Faribault’s third Catholic parish, Immaculate Conception (the historically Irish parish) to form a single parish, Divine Mercy. divinemercy.cc

2021 100 years (1921 founding) St. Joseph (now St. Gabriel the Archangel), Hopkins.

St. Joseph was born from a merger of two other, older parishes: St. Margaret’s of Minnetonka (founded in 1879) and St. Mary of Hopkins (founded in 1895). In 2013, it merged with nearby St. John to become St. Gabriel the Archangel, a bilingual parish that continues to use both previous parishes’ campuses.

Perpetual adoration is held at the former St. Joseph campus. stgabrielhopkins.org

125 years (1896 founding) St. Augustine, South St. Paul. St. Augustine was the first Catholic parish established in South St. Paul. Its first church, a wood-frame building, was destroyed by fire in 1923 on Holy Saturday. Easter liturgies that year were quickly moved to the Ideal Theater. The parish’s second church, built of brick, was completed the following year in time for Christmas. Today, St. Augustine shares a pastor and ministries with nearby Holy Trinity. holytrinitysspmn.org

St. Luke, Clearwater. Sixteen years before St. Luke’s founding, a priest bought a schoolhouse to be remodeled as a mission church for nine families.

According to “Gather Us In,” they paid the priest $10 to visit their community monthly. The current church building dates to 1904. It was restored after being badly damaged in a fire in 1942. churchofstlukes.com

150 years (1871 founding) St. Agatha, Coates. In St. Agatha’s earliest years, priests from St. Patrick in Inver Grove Heights would travel about 20 miles south monthly to minister to its church, located then in Vermillion township. It built a new church in 1899, but it was struck by lightning in 1913 and destroyed by fire. Its current church was rebuilt that same year. Among the religious vocations to come from the parish are the priest-brothers Father Lawrence Ryan and Father John Ryan. Father Lawrence Ryan served as rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul in the early 20th century and oversaw its interior decoration, and Father John Ryan was a prominent national authority on social justice and labor issues.

12 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JULY 15, 2021

FAITH+CULTURE: RELIGIOUS JUBILEES

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

COURTESY ST. LOUIS, KING OF FRANCE

Duty drove jubilarian to convent at age 17, but vocation led to a variety of fulfilling roles

Marist Father Sajdak: A desire to share God’s love led to priesthood and Minnesota

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

S

ister Carolyn Puccio, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, has learned much in her 60 years of religious life. One lesson she has applied time and again is that if you see a need, respond.

She remembers coming home from school around age 7 and telling her mother something that happened that seemed unfair. Her mother looked at her and said, “Well, what are you going to do about it?”

“That was bred into us,” Sister Carolyn said.

One of five children, Sister Carolyn’s family lived in north Minneapolis, where she attended St. Bridget church and grade school, and then-St. Anthony of Padua High School in northeast Minneapolis. During high school, likely her junior or senior year, the congregation prayed for vocations at every Sunday Mass, as all parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis were asked to do.

She recalled the priest saying, “Lord, the harvest is great and the laborers are few.” And parishioners responded, “Choose from our homes those who are needed for your work.”

“I thought, ‘I’m not praying that,’” Sister Carolyn said. “There’ll be no choosing from our home for something like this now.” But she also thought, “They’re not going to give up until they get the priests and nuns that they need.”

So, she thought, she may as well give in.

For reasons including her older sister being married, and her older brother “needing to marry” to carry on the family name, Sister Carolyn decided she must be the “one.” She entered the convent after high school, at age 17, out of a sense of duty.

“The good news is, it turns out to be good in the end,” she said.

She had already been accepted into the nursing program at then-College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, which was run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

So, she presumed she could serve as a nurse after she became a religious sister.

She was surprised when a member of the order told her, “Well, dear, we believe God wants you to be a teacher.”

“This was another of those times

where I think, ‘I know what’s best for me,’” Sister Carolyn said. “But it ends up being better … because I don’t think I’d have been a good nurse.”

Her first assignment for the order was teaching second-graders in Marshall in southwestern Minnesota. She had serious reservations about living more than three hours from the Twin Cities.

“I thought I was going to die,” she said. “First of all, I didn’t want to be a teacher. Second of all, I didn’t want to go into the country. But here we go again.” Sister Carolyn ended up working in the area for 39 years, including in Redwood Falls, Montevideo, Olivia, Lake Benton, Tyler, Vesta, Taunton, Milroy and Hutchinson.

“I fell in love with the country,” she said. “I thought I would hate it, but it turned out to be the best thing.”

When she taught second grade, she had 59 students in her classroom in 1965. “I thought it was normal,” she said. “And somebody asked me, ‘Well how many teacher’s aides did you have?’

I said they hadn’t invented teacher’s aides yet.”

In addition to teaching, Sister Carolyn, 78, took on other responsibilities, including coordinating religious education. She became a licensed psychologist in 1990 and has provided counseling services and worked with an employee assistance program.

She became a member of the CSJ province’s leadership team in 2004 and served for five years. In 2010, she was asked to work in development to help raise funds for Carondelet Village in St. Paul, a retirement community and a shared ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph and Presbyterian Homes. It was another job she thought she didn’t want, but was proved wrong.

Sister Carolyn has served part-time since 2013 as delegate for consecrated life at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center, and she continues a private practice in counseling. Connecting with people has been the “thread” running through her history of accepting roles she didn’t think she’d like but ultimately enjoyed, she said.

“Although my story is unique to me, I think you would find other women religious celebrating jubilees who have a similar path and responded to needs as they arose.”

I

n an act of foreshadowing nearly 80 years ago, Society of Mary Father John Sajdak said his mother prayed for the Blessed Mother’s intercession as she hoped to conceive her first child. He was born three years after his parents married.

When he was 18, he overheard his mother’s phone conversation with his grandmother, when she said, “Mary gave him to me for 18 years, and now she’s taking him back.”

Father Sajdak, 78, pastor of St. Louis, King of France in St. Paul, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his priesthood this year. His religious order is devoted to the Blessed Mother.

He grew up in Yonkers, New York, and attended a Catholic college-preparatory school in nearby New Rochelle. He decided his senior year that he wanted to become a priest. At a retreat that year, Father Sajdak said he was bowled over by the fact that “God really loves us.”

“And so, I decided that I really wanted to spend the rest of my life trying to let people know how much God loves us,” he said.

The vocations director for the Society of Mary, also known as Marists, gave a talk at his high school that year. The religious order was new to him.

“He was a very distinguished man,” Father Sajdak recalled. “He was tall and straight, and came in with his cassock and a huge crucifix. And he had this beautiful blue cape. So, I thought, ‘Hmmm, I wouldn’t mind wearing that cape,’ so I put down that I was interested.”

Now 50 years past his ordination, Father Sajdak said he has never seen a blue cape since, but he has always valued the Marist charism and spirit.

“We do Mary’s work in the Church, like Mary does” — kind of quiet, not in the forefront, more leading from behind, maternal in the way a mother encourages her children and gets to know them well, he said.

“We figure out where people are at and then gently lead them from that point,” he said. Men in the religious order go about doing the Lord’s work, which is also Mary’s work, Father Sajdak said, “and we have a really good

community life.”

Men in the order are Mary in the world today, he said. “She gives us her name and we give her our service.”

Father Sajdak taught for most of his career, starting in 1977 with a 10-year stint at then-Notre Dame High School in Harper Woods, Michigan. He taught religious studies from 1987 to 1997 at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan, when he returned to Notre Dame High School as its principal.

He went back to Madonna in 2005 and served for eight years as chair of the university’s Religious Studies Department.

“When I got back there as chair, it was basically developing online courses for the Religious Studies Department,” he said. At the high school, he taught “basically anything but math or science,” including Latin, English, computer programming and religion.

He left academia in 2013 to minister at a Marist parish in Brooklyn, New York, before receiving a call about five years ago to serve as “a fill-in” at St. Louis, King of France for a year. After a month, the provincial asked if he would consider a full contract. “So, I signed up for six years,” he said, and is open to serving longer as pastor.

“When I got here, I just really, really liked the whole place,” Father Sajdak said. “I like the set-up, I like the ministry that we do here,” largely confessions and celebrating Eucharist, “the heart of priesthood.”

With few young families at the parish, there is no religious education program offered. “We don’t have any committees because there just aren’t that many people that are signed up as parishioners that warrant that kind of huge organization,” he said. But members are very good at volunteering for what is needed, he noted.

With his love of serving the Church and as an educator, Father Sajdak said his greatest joy is being a Marist. “It suits me,” he said. “I really like the whole charism. And any place I’ve been, I love teaching. It’s kind of my basic passion.”

“As I look over the 50 years, I just had one really good time,” Father Sajdak said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

FAITH+CULTURE

JULY 15, 2021

Congratulations, jubilarians!

The Catholic Spirit is honored to highlight the members of women’s and men’s religious communities who are celebrating milestone jubilees this year and who are serving or who have served in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The following information was provided by the religious communities.

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS OF THE MIDWEST Burr Ridge, Illinois

60 years Brother Robert Walsh

CONGREGATION OF ST. JOSEPH Cleveland

60 years Sister Mary Ellen Proulx (formerly Sister Monica Noel)

DOMINICAN FRIARS, PROVINCE OF ST. ALBERT THE GREAT Chicago

60 years Father Thomas Poulsen 50 years Father Herb Hayek 10 years Father Vincent Davill Father Cassian Sama Father James Peter Trares

DOMINICAN SISTERS OF ST. CECILIA Nashville, Tennessee

25 years Sister Mary Seton Cebrowski Sister Mary Veronica Keller Sister Maria Frassati Kieckhefer Sister Mary Emily Knapp Sister Martha Ann Titus

SISTERS OF THE ORDER OF ST. BENEDICT, ST. PAUL’S MONASTERY Maplewood

70 YEARS Sister Benita Gerold Sister Agnes Trombley

SISTERS OF THE ORDER OF ST. BENEDICT, ST. SCHOLASTICA MONASTERY Duluth

60 years Sister Claudia Cherro Sister Theresa Spinler

SCHOOL SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME St. Louis

75 years Sister Noel Ewald Sister Berenice Hartke Sister Judith Marie Jung Sister Mary Alene Kuhn Sister Mary Niva Langreck Sister Sharon Rempe Sister Luella Zollar 70 Years Sister Ruth Cowie Sister M. Charles Ann Crowder Sister LaVerne Kleinheider Sister Lorraine Landry Sister Mary Louise McKenna Sister Lisette Menke Sister Theresa Palbicki Sister Marjorie J. Rosenau Sister Martha Ann Schaefer Sister Margaret Ann Schulte Sister Mary Owen Steverner Sister Rochelle Trembley Sister Mary Damian Tucker Sister Dorothy Venhaus Sister Patricia Wamse Sister Rose Miriam Wegman Sister Jean Ann Weyer +Sister M. Johnalyn Witkowski (deceased in 2021)

60 years Sister Anita O’Keefe Sister Marlene Schwinghammer Sister Moira Wild

60 years Sister Marilyn J. Ancer Sister Loretta Bauer Sister Luanne Boland Sister Marlene Buese Sister Gloria Cain Sister Leah Marie Couvillion Sister Rose Ann Ficker Sister Josephe Marie Flynn Sister Joan Gmeinder Sister Doris Jean Grewe Sister Christine Hata Chieko Sister Mary Bernard Iwai Sister Linda Jansen Sister M. Regina Kabayama Sister M. Cecilia Kawamura Sister Mary Ann Kuttner Sister Mary Leona Matsushima Sister Rosanne Mock Sister Suzanne Moynihan Sister Janice Munier Sister Rosemarie Nassif Sister Mary Anne Oshiyama Sister Margaret Lynn Pietsch Sister Helen Plum Sister Mary Beth Reissen Sister Mary Genevieve Sato Sister Carol Schnitzler Sister Suzanne Rene Sobczynski Sister Mary Francis Tagita Sister Beatrice Tanaka Noriko Sister Denay Ulrich Sister Bernadette Welter

50 years Sister Shirley Nohner Sister Jeanne Marie Vanderlinde

50 years Sister Judy Bourg Sister Barbara Brunsmann Sister Jean Dietrich

FRANCISCAN SISTERS OF LITTLE FALLS Little Falls

60 years Sister Betty Ann Berger Sister M. Jeremy Hein Sister Mary Cassilda Obowa Sister LaVonne Schackmann

FRANCISCAN SISTERS OF PERPETUAL ADORATION La Crosse, Wisconsin 60 years Sister Marlou Ricke

SISTERS OF THE ORDER OF ST. BENEDICT, ST. BENEDICT’S MONASTERY St. Joseph

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13

Sister Katherine DuVal Sister Patricia Murphy Sister Betty Myers Sister Carol Ann Prenger Sister Mary Ellen Theriot Sister Charlene Zeisset

75 years Sister Agatha Grossman Sister Jane Hurley Sister Ann William Leach Sister Rita McDonald 65 years Sister Jan Dalsin Sister Agnes Foley Sister Mary Clare Korb Sister Judith Madigan Sister Ann O’Neill Sister Marie Herbert Seiter

SERVANTS OF MARY (SERVITE SISTERS) Ladysmith, Wisconsin

75 years Sister Loretta Lonsdorf

SINSINAWA DOMINICANS Sinsinawa, Wisconsin

70 years Sister Barbara Sheehy Sister Richelle Schmitz 60 years Sister Laura Goedken Sister LouAnne Willette

SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS Rochester

60 years Sister Nancy Kinsley Sister Briana McCarthy Sister Dolore Rockers Sister Kay Rundquist

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF CARONDELET St. Paul Province, St. Paul 80 years Sister Grace Saumur

60 years Sister Shirley Deutsch Sister Meg Gillespie Sister Mary Kraft Sister Susan Oeffling Sister Carolyn Puccio Sister Catherine Mary Rosengren Sister Kathleen Ryan

SOCIETY OF MARY (MARISTS) USA Province Washington, D.C.

50 years Father John Sajdak

SYLVANIA SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS Sylvania, Ohio

60 years Sister Julitta Campbell Sister Ellen Cmie 50 years Sister Karen Daniewicz Sister Ritamary Pyzick Sister Barbara Stallman

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14 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JULY 15, 2021

FOCUSONFAITH SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER JOSEPH GIFFORD

Receive to give

“He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.’ People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. ... When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things” (Mk 6:31, 34).

Jesus recognizes the deepest needs of the human condition, which in this passage elicited out of him two tremendous actions.

He looked at his disciples and recognized their need for rest, leisure and rejuvenation after having spent themselves ministering to the people of God. Thus, he calls them to come with him to a deserted place and rest. However, for most of us, I am sure that a place akin to a desert is not necessarily a place that we might find rejuvenating.

But Christ knows us better than we know ourselves. Instead of saying, “Please come and enjoy a feast with me, with lavish food and entertainment,” he says, “come to a deserted place and rest.” The only meaningful thing to do in a deserted place is to pray.

Christ calls his disciples to do this because he knows that the only way that we are truly rejuvenated is when we drink from the fountain of life, when we spend time with God, the source of our joy. Thus, when Christ calls his disciples to rest in a deserted place, he is calling them to rest in the presence of their life and joy, to rest in the heavenly Father. Only once we have found rest here can we receive life and be filled to fulfill our vocations. We are

FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN

Superabundant grace for the married couple Jesus attended a wedding feast at Cana at the beginning of his public ministry (Jn 2:111). Jesus wanted that couple, as well as every married couple, to have a wonderful life together and to be faithful in their love for each other.

The bride and groom had looked forward to their wedding day with eager anticipation, and after exchanging their vows they were jubilant.

Their family and friends were together. The festivities were in high gear. There was food and drink, singing and dancing, and smiles on every face. A wedding banquet is the greatest of all feasts.

Jesus knew that their marriage would be tested down the road.

Every marriage is tested. The vows say, “for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health.” Marriages are tested when one, the other, or both are sick; when faced with economic struggles; or when something else goes wrong. Furthermore, their union will be tested because of their inclination to sin, which leads to “discord, a spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy, and conflicts that can escalate into hatred and separation” (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1606). Jesus wants to provide divine assistance to every couple to help them deal with their tests successfully.

There was a signal of the tests looming in the future when the wine ran short. Everything had gone perfectly so far. Then a crisis!

Would this misfortune wreck the celebration? Will the misfortunes that are sure to spring up over the coming years wreck the marriage? Could Jesus help? Mary was sure of it. She immediately turned to her son and said, “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3), expecting that he would come up with a solution.

There were six stone water jars near the entrance. They were quite large. Each one held 20 to 30 gallons (Jn 2:6), 25 on average.

This very human reaction is our clue that Christ understands and sympathizes with our deepest human needs, and that he does not desire for us to stay in need. Instead, he desires to fulfill our needs on the deepest level.

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, July 18 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Jer 23:1-6 Eph 2:13-18 Mk 6:30-34

called to live God’s life in the world, but this is only possible when we have first received it in a place of rest.

But Christ does not stop in the resting and receiving. He knows that is our ultimate end, that resting in and receiving God is what will fulfill us for eternity. But he also recognizes that we are not there yet, that while on this earth, we still need to give of ourselves. We see Christ moved with pity for the vast crowd.

This very human reaction is our clue that Christ understands and sympathizes with our deepest human needs, and that he does not desire for us to stay in need. Instead, he desires to fulfill our needs on the deepest level.

Thus, he takes the energy that he received while resting with his disciples in the Father and utilizes it to give of himself to the longing crowd. He saw their thirst for guidance, and he gave them the same guidance that he received from the Father. He saw their desire to be loved, and he gave them the love that he received from the Father. He saw their longing for truth, and he gave them the truth of who he is and what he came to do for them.

Rest in God. Receive his love and give that love to others.

Monday, July 19 Ex 14:5-18 Mt 12:38-42

Father Gifford is parochial administrator of St. Peter Claver in St. Paul.

Saturday, July 24 Ex 24:3-8 Mt 13:24-30

Could Jesus help? Mary was sure of it.

She immediately turned to her son and said, ‘They have no wine’ (Jn 2:3), expecting that he would come up with a solution.

Jesus asked the servers to fill them with water, which they did.

It was a lot of hauling. A gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds, 25 gallons weighs 208 pounds. The six stone jars contained 150 gallons total.

With the water in place, Jesus asked a server to “draw some out and take it to the headwaiter” (Jn 2:8). The water had become wine, all 150 gallons. That is a huge amount of wine. It would amount to cases and cases of wine by today’s standards.

There are two details that are often overlooked. The average number of guests at a village wedding celebration ranged from 100 to 150, and the guests had been drinking freely all day (see Jn 2:10b). Some of the guests may have been a little tipsy, even though drunkenness was considered a disgrace in Jewish culture.

Then Jesus provided an additional one to one-and-a-half gallons of pure choice wine for every single person at the feast. Was Jesus encouraging excessive alcohol use? Did he not care if the party turned raucous? What was the Son of God who embodies virtue doing?

Jesus provided the guests with more wine than they could ever use. It was a superabundant supply that would never run out. The wine represents his grace. On the day the couple was married, Jesus showered them with his divine grace, spiritual blessings and assistance, and it would flow from him to them every day for the rest of their married lives. His grace is superabundant. It never runs out. It is available at all times, particularly when a couple is tested, so they can be faithful in their love for each other for the rest of their married lives.

Father Van Sloun is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He most recently ministered at St. Bartholomew in Wayzata. This is part of a new, ongoing series on the sacrament of marriage. The series, as well as others on the Eucharist and confirmation, can be found at TheCatholicSpirit.com.

KNOW the SAINTS STS. JOACHIM AND ANNE Not mentioned in the Bible, Joachim and Anne are first named as the parents of Mary in the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James, which may date from the second century. In this story, they are old and childless, like the Old Testament Hannah, mother of Samuel, when angels deliver the news that Anne will conceive a child. Anne was an especially popular saint in medieval England, and her feast was celebrated in the West by 1350; Joachim’s feast was authorized or suppressed by various popes, but was joined with Anne’s in 1969. They are the patrons of married couples; Anne is also the patron of childless women, expectant mothers and miners. This year, Pope Francis is drawing attention to their July 26 feast by establishing a World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on the fourth Sunday of July, close to Jesus’ grandparents’ liturgical memorial.

— Catholic News Service

Tuesday, July 20 Ex 14:21–15:1 Mt 12:46-50 Wednesday, July 21 Ex 16:1-5,9-15 Mt 13:1-9 Thursday, July 22 St. Mary Magdalene Sgs 3:1-4b or 2 Cor 5:14-17 Jn 20:1-2, 11-18 Friday, July 23 Ex 20:1-17 Mt 13:18-23

Sunday, July 25 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Kgs 4:42-44 Eph 4:1-6 Jn 6:1-15 Monday, July 26 Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ex 32:15-24, 30-34 Mt 13:31-35 Tuesday, July 27 Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28 Mt 13:36-43 Wednesday, July 28 Ex 34:29-35 Mt 13:44-46 Thursday, July 29 Sts. Martha, Mary and Lazarus Ex 40:16-21, 34-38 Jn 11:19-27 Friday, July 30 Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37 Mt 13:54-58 Saturday, July 31 St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest Lv 25:1, 8-17 Mt 14:1-12 Sunday, Aug. 1 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Ex 16:2-4, 12-15 Eph 4:17, 20-24 Jn 6:24-35

FOCUSONFAITH

JULY 15, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 15

ECHOES OF CATHOLIC MINNESOTA | REBA LUIKEN

Missionary priest in Minnesota Territory

On April 8, 1843, Father Augustin Ravoux finished his daily office and looked out at the Mississippi River. He later recalled, “I had under my eyes two beautiful rivers, a clear sky, a good fire, and nothing to disturb my mind. It is then that the voice of nature is easily heard and understood.”

God and nature were intertwined in his life as a missionary on the frontier, but their relationship was not always quite so positive. Just a few days later, as Father Ravoux continued his journey south along the river to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, his canoe was trapped in a jam of floating cakes of ice. He prayed to Jesus and Mary, who delivered him from the dangerous situation.

Father Ravoux chose this adventure as a missionary priest while he was a seminarian in France. In 1838, Bishop Mathias Loras of Dubuque, Iowa, visited the seminary in Puy to recruit men for his diocese; 23-year-old Ravoux and three of his classmates agreed and traveled to the United States to become Jesuits. After his arrival, he was ordained a priest and stationed at Prairie du Chien, where he began his work ministering to French settlers and the indigenous Dakota people in their native languages.

Father Ravoux was one of very few priests in the Dubuque diocese (which spanned current-day Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and part of Wisconsin), and his work was wide ranging in both geography and type. In 1842, he established a permanent mission to the Dakota in Chaska near the Faribault family’s trading post, where he learned the Dakota language. He printed a prayer book in Dakota, likely becoming Minnesota Territory’s first printer. Two years later, he was reassigned to Mendota and St. Paul, where he stayed until a bishop was assigned in 1851. He preached each Sunday in French and then added English to his repertoire a few years later when new settlers arrived. Meanwhile, in 1849, he founded the first church in what would become Minneapolis. It shared its name, St. Anthony of Padua, with the waterfall nearby.

Father Ravoux was also involved in one of the most infamous events in Minnesota history. Following the Dakota War of 1862, President Lincoln sentenced 38 Dakota men to be hanged on the day after Christmas. This was to be the largest mass execution in U.S. history. These men were offered the choice of a spiritual advisor in advance of their deaths, and 33 of them chose to be baptized by Father

WHY DO CATHOLICS DO THAT? FATHER JOHN PAUL ERICKSON

Religious images, keeping the Sabbath Q Why do Catholics place religious images in their homes?

A Religious images in homes remind us

of several important spiritual truths: We are surrounded by the saints, who are interceding for us and encouraging us.

What is more, we are called to imitate them in our service of God and neighbor, and in particular our service of the poor. The images can also provide us comfort, as they remind us of the goodness of God made manifest through the lives of those we love and admire. It’s also important to remember that blessed images have great spiritual power, and when used appropriately, are effective in warding off the demonic. This last point should not lead to superstition. For a blessed cross or image of Mary to “work” in this regard, it is not enough to just look at it. We must conform our lives to it. A good confession, sacrificial alms, lives of service and mercy — these will always be the primary means of safeguarding oneself against the Enemy.

The Catholic Spirit asked our readers “What pilgrimage experience made a difference in your life and why?” The following is a selection of their responses.

COURTESY ARCHDIOCESAN ARCHIVES

Father Augustin Ravoux, one of Minnesota’s first pioneer priests, in an undated photo.

Ravoux, who spent the days before their baptism instructing them in the principles of the Catholic faith. He stayed with them in their final hours, hoping to console them and guide their souls toward heaven. In the days afterward, he quickly wrote and submitted a summary of his efforts to supporters in Europe, hoping to encourage their ongoing financial support for his work.

Father Ravoux continued his missionary work until 1891, when failing health confined him to St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul. He spent the last 15 years of his life there and died in 1906. But his legacy continues to take many forms in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. As is fitting for an influential pioneer, there is a short street named for him just west of the State Capitol in St. Paul. A few blocks south, the Cathedral of St. Paul features a fresco of Father Ravoux, whose body rests in St. Paul’s Calvary Cemetery among his brother priests.

Luiken is a Catholic and historian with a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. She loves exploring and sharing the hidden histories that touch our lives every day.

Q Why does the Church offer Masses on Saturday evening, if it’s not yet Sunday?

A The Church celebrates solemnities according to the

laws of the Jewish Sabbath, which begins at nightfall of the previous day. Because nightfall changes with the seasons, the Church in the U.S. has generally considered 4 p.m. to be the start of “nightfall,” though of course in the summertime this is a little less compelling than on, say, Jan. 5. As I understand it, when Saturday Vigil Masses were first being introduced here in the States, which was a relatively recent phenomenon as far as the Church goes, it was primarily to accommodate those who had to work on Sundays as health care professionals, or shopkeepers who needed to work to put food on the table of their families.

Saturday Vigil Masses are now among the most popular weekend Masses in many parishes. But one thing to remember is that attendance at Mass is not the only way to honor the Sabbath, necessary as it may be. Even if we have attended Mass on Saturday evening, we should still try to make Sunday a holy day, different than other days.

We can do this through volunteer service, a good meal with family or friends, or some quiet time reading. And perhaps, if it is an especially holy Sunday, celebrating a Vikings win.

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.

When my friend Cindy and I went on a Holy Land pilgrimage in 2013, she was particularly taken with the oil that a woman was using to anoint the Stone of Unction at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We searched all over for the oil that was used, as it had a distinctive, beautiful aroma. On our second-to-thelast day of our pilgrimage, we found the oil we were looking for in a gift shop — nard. Nard was one of the oils used to prepare a body for burial in the Bible.

Cindy kept it at her house, and when I would visit, we would open the bottle and anoint rosaries and rosary pouches and just enjoy the aroma. When my dear Cindy died from COVID on Dec. 2, 2020, I made sure to get the bottle of nard from her home and anoint her body before burial. She would have loved having her body go into the earth anointed with the treasured nard oil we found on our Holy Land pilgrimage.

Sue Christensen Sts. Joachim and Anne, Shakopee Archbishop Hebda was one of the leaders of this pilgrimage (to Italy in September 2018). He won my respect as a true shepherd of God. He always seemed to keep an eye on the group, but he was especially impressive when we were departing the tour bus at the airport to return home and he stood outside the bus greeting everyone. The tour guides could not come with us into the airport, so he took it upon himself to protect his flock of travelers. He made sure everyone found the right direction to the plane they needed. We had tickets for St. Peter’s Square to hear and see Pope Francis. The song “I Will Follow You” played and the people sang along from their hearts.

That moment confirmed in me that I always want to follow Jesus. We visited Assisi, Italy, and we were reminded that St. Francis was asked by God to rebuild his Church, so he started rebuilding a broken-down church before he caught on that God was speaking about God’s people as the Church that needed rebuilding. I had suspected this was why Pope Francis chose the name he did. Pope Francis sees our current broken Church and truly wants to rebuild it for God. Our Church has been broken for years, and now our families are often broken. A year dedicated to St. Joseph will help rebuild God’s Church.

Esther Lenartz St. John Neumann, Eagan “Readers Respond” is a new feature in The Catholic Spirit. Catholic school students, alumni, administrators, teachers, staff and parents, please respond to our next question: How has your relationship to a Catholic school deepened your faith? in 200 words or less to CatholicSpirit@ archspm.org with “Readers Respond” in the subject line.

16 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JULY 15, 2021

COMMENTARY TWENTY SOMETHING | CHRISTINA CAPECCHI

The place that shapes us

Every house, in its own way, is a living thing. It changes as we change.

It expands with joy and contracts under duress.

This strikes me as a Catholic concept. We embrace sacramental living and elevate each home as a “domestic church,” the first place a soul is formed. But it’s a human idea, really.

It’s something we sense, deep down, even if we can’t articulate it — or sound silly when we try.

We enter a home and breathe in its history. We know it is more than brick and stone, greater than the sum of its parts. Over time we come to believe the house is participating in our lives, tucking our memories within its walls, sighing with satisfaction, creaking with sorrow.

We wonder, if we listen well enough, if we could hear its beating heart.

And eventually we dare to imagine that a house can love you back, offering beauty and security, light and darkness — and ultimately, helping you become who you were meant to be.

That’s what happened to Mary Lyn Ray, 75, who

SIMPLE HOLINESS | KATE SOUCHERAY

Maintaining holiness in a secular world Without question, I am a borrower.

I listen to radio broadcasts, read articles and editorials, and consume information from books. Twenty-five years ago, I came across a booklet in which one sentence has captivated me for a quarter century. The sentence read: “Rather than saying the Church has a mission, it would be appropriate to say

became a writer when she moved into an old farmhouse in South Danbury, New Hampshire. It felt like the house in her favorite childhood book, Tasha Tudor’s “Snow Before Christmas.” Mary Lyn was certain that somewhere, a house like the one in the book waited for her.

Decades passed, and Mary Lyn went about her business. One day, to celebrate her mother’s birthday, she promised her family a picnic at “some wonderful surprise place” without having one in mind.

As Mary Lyn prepared their food, a friend of a friend visited and mentioned a pretty spot: a boarded up white farmhouse facing a mountain halfa-mile down a back road in South Danbury.

When Mary Lyn found it, there was a flash of recognition. “It looked just like the Tasha Tudor picture I had been carrying with me,” she told me.

The house had been sitting empty for 40 years, ensnared in estate issues. So Mary Lyn waited, just as the house had waited for her. In 1984, five years later, she finally bought it, working with her father to make it livable while honoring what the builder had understood nearly a century and a half ago.

Never having married, Mary Lyn would live there alone. As she settled in, she found a drawer built into the wall. Underneath, written in pencil, were two initials: M.L.

Her initials.

“It gave me shivers,” she said. “It seemed the house had known my name before I came. I felt as if maybe I had been expected.”

Her education began.

“The farm taught me how to be open to story,” she said. “It gave me the space, and as I began to listen and look and be present, it taught me to see how story happens and where my story may wait.”

What poured out, in the ensuing decades, were nearly 50 acclaimed children’s books, including “Pumpkins,” “Go to Sleep, Little Farm” and “Christmas Farm.”

Her new release, “The House of Grass and Sky,” tells the story of an old white farmhouse much like hers waiting for a family. The book is an homage to Mary Lyn’s beloved home, enriched by E.B. Goodale’s watercolor collages, so vivid you can feel the grass.

When a new family finally buys The House of Grass and Sky, they respect its history: “They listen to what it’s listened to for many years. They take time to notice and to wonder.”

It is a beautiful book for all ages, well timed for a wild housing market, as Americans pack up and return to their hometowns in droves, as parents reconsider what kind of childhood they want for their kids — and empty houses rejoice.

that Jesus’ mission has a Church, for the mission of the Church is to carry on the mission of Jesus” (“Teaching Ecclesiology,” 1993).

How often do we confuse this simple, yet pivotal-toour-faith statement?

In borrowing from great people who have spent time contemplating deep, compelling thoughts and mysteries, I have found life presents me with many options and choices, not all equal. At the center of all this reading and pondering, it is clear that every one of these authors, scholars and philosophers is encouraging me to choose the holy life and to maintain the holiness required of us as Christians in an increasingly secular world.

I heard a speaker on Relevant Radio this spring describe holiness as being different from the culture. To be holy, the speaker explained, is to be different in ways that set us apart from the culture, which has been true

of Christians from the beginning.

This is no small challenge to people who consume copious amounts of social media at a constant pace, so much so that we may wonder if we do our own thinking or if our newsfeeds do our thinking for us.

Jesus did not call us to be complacent and follow the crowd. That is not what he did, and as his disciples, we are called to imitate his actions, not the commands and demands of an ever-insistent culture.

This is much like a bee that has been smoked, or a frog that has fallen into tepid water. The smoke interferes with the bee’s sense of smell and it cannot detect danger. A frog will go to sleep in tepid water, when it would have jumped out of a boiling pot.

Paul Pedersen, a sociologist and psychological researcher of the past century, contends that culture

Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

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“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies it produces much fruit.” John 14:26

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COMMENTARY

JULY 15, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 17

ALREADY/NOT YET | JONATHAN LIEDL

The problem with ‘Sunday obligation’ Fresh off celebrating Independence Day, I’m reminded of an essential truth about Americans: We don’t like being told what to do.

It’s an element of the American ethos that runs through our history and national mythology, from the “Don’t Tread on Me” banners of Revolutionary War origins to the celebrated “rugged individualism” of the Western frontier.

As part of the American experiment, U.S. Catholics certainly aren’t immune to having a fierce “independent streak” of our own. Which is why I bristle a bit when I hear talk about our bishops lifting the pandemicinduced dispensation from the Lord’s Day Mass framed solely in terms of restoring our “Sunday obligation.”

Not because I don’t believe we have such an obligation, but because I know how this kind of language might be heard by many in the contemporary U.S. of A.: as a restriction of personal freedom and an imposition from authorities bent on control.

And if the call for Catholics to participate in the Sunday Mass were only that — a mandated “obligation” — then I think this take would be right. If going to church on Sunday were simply a box that we had to check, or an arbitrary law by which we had to abide, it would seem like a stifling imposition. That’s certainly how I experienced going to church during my adolescent years.

LETTERS Bishops and Church teaching On one hand it is amusing to see all our federal “Catholic” politicians, plus “a political ‘science’ professor at Notre Dame University” in high dudgeon to exercise “their” religious rights (“McCollum among Catholic Democrats who say prochoice stance shouldn’t bar them from Eucharist,” June 21, TheCatholicSpirit. com). The USCCB simply confirmed two millennia of Catholic tradition and teaching about the serious and intrinsic moral nature of abortion and the scandal it generates when political leaders, like divorced kings and queens of old, openly support it. On the other hand, the fact that 25% of Catholic bishops voted against such a statement speaks to the startling degree to which political preferences are vying with moral truth in current American Catholic Church leadership circles.

Jim Beers St. Joseph, Rosemount

Communion and social justice In response to the article “Bishops vote to draft teaching document on the Eucharist,” (TheCatholicSpirit.com, June 18) I offer the following: Dear American Catholic bishops, As you draft a “teaching document” on the Eucharist, in addition to the abortion issue, let’s be sure to deny the Eucharist to those who favor capital punishment (directly opposed to Church teachings), those who do not espouse Catholic social justice teaching, and oh yeah, those who have abused children or have covered up that abuse.

Suddenly, there will be no one available to receive or distribute Communion. “Do this in memory of me,” said Jesus. This doesn’t sound like the memory of Jesus he had in mind. Jesus freely shared the

If we’re honest, we can admit that we’re not always good at determining what truly fulfills us — but Jesus is. iSTOCK PHOTO | WIDEONET

Fortunately, as I’ve learned over the years, there’s much more to going to Mass than simply an obligation to do so. In fact, the obligatory aspect of it doesn’t actually make sense if we don’t hear the rest of the story.

To make this point, I want to first talk about how the Church speaks about human freedom, another fitting post-Fourth of July topic. In the context of modern democracies, the Church has certainly been a fierce defender of things like human rights and free societies.

But the Church’s way of speaking about human freedom is radically different than, say, an ardent libertarian’s. Instead of speaking about freedom as a sort of unencumbered status of individual autonomy, the freedom from outside coercion and imposition, the Church always speaks of human freedom as the freedom “for” something — namely, to live a life consistent with our God-given nature and dignity.

This understanding of human freedom has certainly been informed by sources like natural law philosophy and the Mosaic law, but it is most firmly grounded in the person of Jesus Christ, who reveals humanity to itself. For Jesus, freedom is to do “the will of the one who sent me” (Jn 6:38): to be in relationship with God, to receive fully from him and to pour that love out into

first Eucharist with those he knew would betray and deny him. He fed the 5,000 on the mount and didn’t ask what their beliefs were. I think the Church needs to welcome everyone to the table.

Mike Hansel Guardian Angels, Oakdale

Assuming the best (Re: “Christians exempt?,” Letters, June 24) Over the past 15 months we’ve been inundated with information, misinformation, government mandates, ever-changing rules, and losses of Godgiven rights and freedoms. Many aspects of the now in-the-past pandemic have caused division among families, friends and church communities. At this point, the data has shown that masks did not prevent the spread and that the experimental vaccines have come with many warnings and a multitude of side effects — some deadly. As Christians, we should understand that there are a host of reasons one may not “mask up” or have been vaccinated. We should respect that one another has relied on our own discernment and faith to determine what is best for our own well-being, and that of our own family. Rather than assuming that those that don’t “mask up” or get vaccinated are doing so with malicious intent, we should be showing one another grace, and remembering that our faith — and our fate — is in God, not in government.

Jennifer Witt St. Patrick of Cedar Lake, Jordan 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.

Read more letters from our readers at TheCatholicSpirit.com.

the world. Not because this is imposed on Jesus as some sort of outside obligation, but because, as the Son, it’s the essence of who he is.

As adopted sons and daughters of God, we’re invited

by Jesus into the same experience of freedom. “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly,” he says (Jn 10:10). Yet this abundant life is not opposed to the law or any sense of obligation, which Jesus has come “not to abolish but to fulfill” (Mt 5:17). Instead, the law and abundant life are meant to go together. In other words, we are obliged to do nothing more and nothing less than those things that truly fulfill us as human persons. If we’re honest, we can admit that we’re not always good at determining what truly fulfills us — but Jesus is. This is why each of us should “do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5) — not out of fear of punishment, but from the conviction that Jesus is offering us fulfillment and flourishing!

One thing that Christ clearly tells us to do? To take part in the Eucharist: “Do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19). Jesus did not eradicate the Jewish sabbath, but fulfilled it by recentering it upon himself, the Lamb of God and the only one capable of bridging the gap between God and man. Estranged from God by sin, we desperately need to experience this reconciliation.

Faithful to Christ’s command, the Church calls us to gather every Lord’s Day, to participate in Christ’s sacrifice and to be brought into deeper union with God. So yes, we have an obligation to come to Mass on Sunday. But not as an outside imposition, a dictate that’s foreign to our nature and contravenes our freedom. Rather, the Church gives us this obligation precisely because we need the Mass to live more free and fully human lives. For it is “truly right and just, our duty and our salvation” to offer God thanksgiving at the eucharistic table.

Liedl writes from the Twin Cities.

Congratulations

CSJ Sister & Consociate Jubilarians

Add these Sisters’ and Consociates’ anniversaries and it’s an incredible 1,675 years of dedication to love of God and neighbor without distinction!

Sister Anniversaries65

80th ANNIVERSARY Grace Saumur

75th ANNIVERSARY Agatha Grossman Jane Hurley Ann William Leach Rita McDonald

th

ANNIVERSARY

45th ANNIVERSARY

Agnes Foley Mary Clare Korb Judith Madigan Marie Herbert Seiter

Christine Ludwig

40th ANNIVERSARY Mary Connelly

60th ANNIVERSARY

70th ANNIVERSARY Frances Mary Benz Kathleen Holmberg Mary O’Brien Jean Rooney Florence Steichen

Shirley Deutsch Meg Gillespie Mary Kraft Susan Oeffling Carolyn Puccio Catherine Mary Rosengren Kathleen Ryan

20th ANNIVERSARY Lillian Waldera

Consociate Anniversaries

20th ANNIVERSARY

Linda Andreozzi Terry Casey Diane Gardner Barbara Larson Virginia Claessens McDonald Linda Marie Villegas

10th ANNIVERSARY

Annie Bisanz Hannahan Louise Hiniker Margaret McRaith Renee Sonke

from the

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet & Consociates

Join our movement - www.csjstpaul.org

MOVIE REVIEWS •

TheCatholicSpirit.com

18 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

C “

JULY 15, 2021

Why I am Catholic

By Elizabeth Shaw DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

hances are pretty good that if I hadn’t gone to an evangelical Bible college, I never would have become

them! In sadness, I stopped asking questions because I truly believed that Jesus gave us a Church with no authority.

a Catholic. One class especially, systematic theology,

Fast forward a few decades when I discovered Relevant

brought to my mind so many questions that went

Radio. All of those buried questions came bubbling back to

unanswered. We would explore and analyze and argue

the surface, and I started to read again. This time I was open

over many Scriptures, and the professor reached a point

to believing that Jesus did give us an authoritative Church,

where he would say, essentially, that it was time to agree to

and as I learned, I grew in faith and hope and joy.

disagree.

I was received into the Church on my 48th birthday,

I found this capitulation quite unsatisfying. If my brand

14 years ago. I am filled with gratitude that God used an

of theology couldn’t answer questions with authority, who

evangelical Bible school to bring me to the joys of the

could? Surely Jesus didn’t want a church that flounders! So, I

sacramental life. Thanks be to God!

If my brand of theology couldn’t answer questions with authority, who could?

started to research.

Shaw, 62, is retired and loves to garden, picnic and explore

As Marcus Grodi has often said, “To be

lakes and parks. She and her husband, James, have been

deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.”

married for 28 years. James entered into full communion

That’s exactly what happened to me. I had an

with the Catholic Church four years after Elizabeth. They are

insatiable appetite as I read books and letters

members of Our Lady of Grace in Edina and, she shares, “We

left by the earliest Church fathers. All of these

love being Catholic together!”

authors brought me to the doors of the Catholic Church.

However, as a kid brought up in the Assemblies of God,

that couldn’t be right. After all, Catholics aren’t Christians!

“Why I am Catholic” is a new 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.

They worship Mary! They believe that their works will save

Catholic Eldercare, with many friends from NE Minneapolis, extend warm

congratulations to Fr. John Brandes on the 70th anniversary of his Ordination!

JULY 15, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 19

CALENDAR SPEAKERS+CONVERSATION The Forgiveness Project, “The F Word: Stories of Forgiveness” — July 14: 7 p.m. at St. Joseph, 36th Ave N., New Hope. Exhibit: July 8-Aug. 8. Stories that reflect resilience of human spirit and alternatives to violence, crime and injustice. stjosephparish.com/forgive Millennial Saints with Meg Hunter-Kilmer — July 16: 6:15 p.m. at St. Paul, 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd.

NE, Ham Lake. Meg Hunter-Kilmer, author of “Saints Around the World,” speaks on millennial saints. Ages 18-35, with a Holy Hour, adoration, confession, hors d’oeuvres, social time and presentation. churchofsaintpaul.com/meg-hunter-kilmer Catholic United Financial Leadership Conference — Aug 7-8 at The University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Ave., Anderson Student Center, St. Paul. Faith, finances and fellowship. Open to all Catholics, includes keynote speakers, meals, Masses, social events and daily activities. Free. catholicunited.org/triennial-conference

PARISH EVENTS St. Mary of Czestochowa’s 38th annual parish festival — July 17: 2–11 p.m. at 1867 95th St. SE, Delano. Meal catered by Divine Swine. Country store with poppyseed kuchen, raffles, silent auction, bean bag tournament and the band Hitchville live from 7–11 p.m. stmaryfestival.org “‘There’s no place like home!’ The Transformational Power of Homeownership” — July 26: 6:45–8 p.m. at Risen Savior, 1501 E. County Road 42, Burnsville.

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity will share experiences working for affordable housing in the Twin Cities and invite reflections in the light of faith. risensavior.org/event/habitat-2021

SOUCHERAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16 is like time: Human beings will never live outside of either of these. So, what will it be for us, the followers of Jesus?

Will we work to understand his mission and do all we can to fulfill it in our own lives, with the gifts we have been given?

Or will we capitulate to the cultural demands and surrender our greatest asset: our spiritual and moral freedom to live according to our conscience?

What can you do this summer to

PRAYER+RETREATS

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Exultemus — July 17 and Aug. 14: 7–8 p.m. at St. John the Baptist, 680 Mill Street, Excelsior.

Adoration, praise and worship, brief reflection at 7 p.m.

Confessions available. Weather permitting, events on back lawn. sreid@stjohns-excelsior.org

Archbishop Bernard Hebda has asked all parishes in the archdiocese to host Synod Small Groups this fall for Catholics to learn, pray and share ideas on three focus areas ahead of the 2022 Archdiocesan Synod. Focus areas are: Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization, forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call, and forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young. Small groups will meet for six 2-hour sessions between mid-September and mid-November. Watch for communications from your parish about how to participate in a small group there, and the specific dates and times they’ll meet. Learn more about the Archdiocesan Synod process at archspm.org/synod.

Widows’ Day of Reflection — Aug 7: 8 a.m.–noon at Our Lady of Grace, 5071 Eden Ave., Edina. 8 a.m. registration and rosary followed by Mass and presentation by Msgr. Stuart Swetland, president of Donnelly College in Kansas City. $25, includes lunch. olgparish.org

OTHER EVENTS Celebrate the life of Deacon Thomas Paul Langlois, Sr. — July 17: 1–4 p.m. at Richard Walton Park, 1584 Hadley Ave. N., Oakdale. Gather with favorite memories and stories to remember an amazing man, dad, grandfather, papa, uncle, deacon and friend. paulmbb@ outlook.com or 651- 788-5955

Archbishop Brady High School Class of 1971 50th Reunion — Sept. 23: 5:30–11 p.m. at Mendakota Country Club, 2075 Mendakota Dr., Mendota Heights.

An evening of fun, food and entertainment to celebrate the 50 years since high school graduation. Contact Jane (Richtman) Martin at janemartin920@gmail.com. Paid RSVPs required by Sept 2.

Grandparents Apostolate Feast Day Celebration — July 26: 8:45–10:30 a.m. at Nativity of Our Lord, 1938 Stanford Ave., St. Paul. Grandparents Apostolate celebrates the feast of its patrons, Sts. Joachim and Anne, its 10th anniversary and World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly as promulgated by Pope Francis. All grandparents are invited for prayer and fellowship and a presentation by Father Joe Bambenek of the Archdiocesan Synod team. nativitystpaul.org/events/ grandparents-feast-day-celebration-with-fr-bambanek

Leading with Faith Awards Mass and Celebration — Aug. 11: 1 p.m. at Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. Archbishop Bernard Hebda will preside at Mass and present the 2021 awards as The Catholic Spirit celebrates executives, owners and other leaders of secular businesses who lead with their Catholic faith.

Ice cream social to follow. Free. Registration required at archspm.org/leadingfaithmass. Questions, contact Annie Smaron at smarona@archspm.org.

challenge our culture and live according to your Catholic Christian values? Will you learn more about Jesus’ mission and do seemingly small things each day to align your life with his ideals? Will you help your family articulate one small change in your life and faithfully see it through, in spite of pressure to abandon it in favor of the dominant cultural values that encourage us to take our eyes off of Jesus?

Spend time this summer and talk about how you will live out your faith

CALENDAR submissions 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.

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief no­tices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and organizations. If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your submission. Included in our listings are local events submitted by public sources that could be of interest to the larger Catholic community.

ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication: uTime and date of event uFull street address of event uDescription of event uContact information in case of questions CathSpMM-July-Sept-2021.qxp_Layout ONLINE: TheCatholicSpirit.com/calendarsubmissions1 6/30/21 10:5

as a family, and then do all you can to create action strategies to help each family member become a living example of your stated family mission. Become a family that maintains holiness in an increasingly secular culture.

Soucheray is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a member of Guardian Angels in Oakdale. She holds degrees from The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul and St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

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20 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JULY 15, 2021

THELASTWORD Discovering the undiscovered: One man’s quest to unearth Minnesota’s first Catholic chapel George Pett stands at Sand Point on Lake Pepin in Frontenac State Park, where Fort Beauharnois, established in September 1727 and considered to be the last French fort in operation along the Mississippi River, might once have stood. The fort contained Minnesota’s first Catholic chapel, the Mission of St. Michael the Archangel. But the exact location of the former fort and chapel is unknown.

By Maura Keller For The Catholic Spirit

O

n the side of U.S. Highway 61 near Frontenac State Park sits a limestone historical marker surrounded by prairie grasses on the edge of an old oak forest. The marker is a tribute to Fort Beauharnois, established in September 1727 and considered to be the last French fort in operation along the Mississippi River.

As the historical marker indicates, “a party of French soldiers and traders under the leadership of Rene Boucher Sieur de la Perriere built a fortified post on Lake Pepin from which they traded for two years with the Dakota (Sioux) Indians. They were there to secure an alliance with the Dakota in order to gain access to the fur and possible mineral wealth of the area and to eventually press westward in search of the ‘great western sea.’”

Thought to have been constructed along Lake Pepin, the original fort is believed to have included a stockade and a series of log buildings — including Minnesota’s first Catholic chapel, the Mission of St. Michael the Archangel, erected by Jesuit missionaries Fathers Michel Guignas and Nicholas de Gonner, who were accompanying the expedition. Historians believe the fort and mission were abandoned in 1756. Although a series of archaeological investigations have been conducted over the years, the location of the fort and the Catholic chapel has never been rediscovered.

The unknown location of the state’s first Catholic chapel piqued the interest of George Pett, a parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Minnetonka. For the past five years, Pett, 72, has ventured to the Frontenac area to explore, and hopefully discover artifacts and other indicators of the fort and chapel’s location.

“One day my family and I were driving down Highway 61 toward Lake City and saw an historical marker. We pulled off, went up to the monument and read the plaque,” Pett said. “A few years later, we were driving down the same highway and I stopped again at the marker and I thought, ‘Why hasn’t this been found?

This should be found!’”

As a convert to Catholicism 10 years ago, Pett, who retired two years ago after 50 years in the financial services industry, began his quest to identify the location of the fort and chapel. He said his faith has compelled him to do what he can to uncover the mystery surrounding the state’s first Catholic entity, visiting the area a handful of times each year.

Considering himself to be an “avocational archaeologist,” Pett has spent half a decade researching and exploring the area. Using a metal detector and

PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

other tools, he has found a handful of china shards, nails and Native American arrowheads. He has used maps of the area and a variety of resources at the Minnesota Historical Society, as well as online searches and conversations with a number of archaeologists in trying to pinpoint the site.

As Pett explained, the fort is believed to have been built on a hillside overlooking the Mississippi River near Sand Point in Frontenac State Park along Lake Pepin, 12 miles south of Red Wing. Historians believe the fort was flooded out in the spring of 1728 and rebuilt twice on higher ground before being abandoned during the French and Indian War. “Myself and some historians believe the fort may be located on the campus of the former Catholic girl’s school and convent, Villa Maria Academy in Frontenac, which has been closed and sold to a St. Paul developer, who is renovating the school and convent into a luxury hotel,” Pett said.

“In 1976 the Minnesota Historical Society did a large survey of the area but did not find anything related to the fort,” he said. “They found a lot of prehistoric items as well as Native American artifacts, but nothing of French origin. However, one caveat of the original survey was that they only searched a handful of properties, none of which included the Villa Maria 140acre property.”

The archaeological survey indicates that the historical society conducted an extensive study, and many historians believe the fort might be on the former Villa

INSET Pett holds his metal detector in front of the former Villa Maria Academy on Lake Pepin near Frontenac State Park, where he is searching for evidence of Fort Beauharnois.

Maria property, which until recently was owned by the Ursuline Sisters. Pett called the State of Minnesota to inquire about exploring Frontenac State Park using a metal detector to search for the traditional hand-forged iron items that would typically be used in a fort of that era. Pett was told that he could search, but he couldn’t dig if he got any “hits.”

So, he turned his attention to the Villa Maria property, which was purchased by developer John Rupp, who happens to be Pett’s former high school classmate and friend. “So I called John up and explained what I was interested in doing, and he said, ‘Sure, you can explore the land and metal detect all you want,’” Pett said.

The Villa Maria campus had two parts — an upper portion that featured the convent and the site of the original 1890 school, the Academy of Our Lady of the Lake (later renamed Villa Maria Academy), which burned down in 1969. The lower portion of the property included woods, a ravine and hillside.

Metal detector in hand, Pett has been exploring the property. The most interesting things Pett has found were located near the property’s Our Lady of Lourdes grotto — an arrowhead, some fool’s gold and a scraping tool traditionally used by Native Americans. He’s also found some nails, broken china shards and other items on other areas of the property. These items could be from farming activity or a French trading post that was in the area.

As to whether he will keep searching, Pett said that he is drawn to uncovering the unknown and finding the location of Minnesota’s first Catholic chapel. “It’s truly amazing that more interest hasn’t been shown in discovering this chapel and fort,” he said. “I’m just going to see what happens as I continue to explore.”

Congratulations Fr. Phillip Rask

We extend our most sincere thanks and gratitude for your 14 years of dedication to our Parish. May God bless you with health and happiness as you enter into retirement!

Catholic Community of St. Odilia

Welcome

Fr. Erich Rutten

We also extend a warm welcome and give thanks and praise to God for our new Pastor!

May we experience God’s presence as we journey together in faith.

Welcome back! backtomassmn.org