May 16, 2019 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Colorful past St. Paul woman rediscovers her passion for painting, turns to project depicting 50 modern saints. — Pages 10-11
Venerating a saint The heart of St. John Vianney will visit Holy Family in St. Louis Park and the Cathedral of St. Paul. — Page 5
One wall at a time Catholics help build homes and meet other needs of an increasing number of homeless. — Pages 6-7
Faith in school A college graduate shares her faith journey; seniors in Catholic high schools reflect on last four years. — Pages 12-14
Natural burial Archbishop Hebda to bless Resurrection Cemetery site set aside for interments with less environmental impact. — Page 16
We’re taking a spring break! Look for our next issue June 6.
Archbishop Hebda: Pope’s legislation on abuse includes ‘groundbreaking provisions’
Santa Maria
By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
A
rchbishop Bernard Hebda praised Pope Francis’ May 9 legislation on clergy sex abuse, saying the pope’s actions “reflect the urgent need to take concrete steps and provide clear direction for reporting and investigating allegations of sexual abuse of minors and adults by all clergy, including bishops.” “This scourge of abusive acts — and the lack of clear procedures to respond effectively to them — as well as the failure of some bishops and other Church leaders to respond appropriately to reports of abuse, has profoundly harmed far too many,” Archbishop Hebda said in a May 9 statement. “Inadequate responses in the past, moreover, have also weakened the credibility of the Church as she strives to give witness to the good news of Jesus.” Pope Francis released the legislation, known in canon law as a “motu proprio,” to address clergy sexual abuse in the Church worldwide. The document, titled “Vos estis lux mundi,” or “You Are the Light of the World,” followed an international meeting of bishops in Rome in February to address clergy sexual abuse. Although the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops began to address clergy sexual abuse in the 1980s, it enacted the first binding national policies on it in 2002, following the Boston Globe’s investigation of the issue in the Archdiocese of Boston. That year, the U.S. bishops released “The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” and the corresponding “Essential Norms,” often together referred to as the Dallas Charter, which established procedures for preventing and reporting sexual abuse in U.S. Catholic dioceses. Last summer, the issue was again brought to the fore with allegations of sexual abuse of minors and seminarians by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, whom the pope has since laicized, and the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report that detailed clergy sexual abuse and cover-up that occurred over seven decades in six of that state’s dioceses. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis recently faced its own sexual abuse scandal, with about 450 people filing sexual abuse claims against clergy and other Church leaders during a threeyear lifting of the statute of limitations on such cases from 2013 to 2016. The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 PLEASE TURN TO ABUSE ON PAGE 9
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
From left, Daniel Degollado and Jesus Cuate of the St. Francis de Sales Knights of Columbus Council 16198 in St. Paul prepare to carry a statue of Mary from the State Capitol to the Cathedral of St. Paul May 5 during the annual Family Rosary Procession in St. Paul. Rosary prayers and meditations were done in both Spanish and English, with the Knights of the St. Francis de Sales council carrying the statue the entire half-mile. They brought the statue inside the Cathedral and placed it in the sanctuary, where Archbishop Bernard Hebda gave remarks after a Gospel reading. The event also included exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
POPE ISSUES NEW NORMS ON ABUSE REPORTING Pope Francis has revised and clarified norms and procedures for holding bishops and religious superiors accountable in protecting minors as well as in protecting members of religious orders and seminarians from abuse. The new juridical instrument is meant to help bishops and religious leaders around the world clearly understand their duties and Church law, underlining how they are ultimately responsible for proper governance and protecting those entrusted to their care. For this reason, the new document establishes a clearer set of universal procedures for reporting suspected abuse, carrying out initial investigations and protecting victims and whistleblowers. The new document, given “motu proprio,” on the pope’s own initiative, was titled “Vos estis lux mundi” (“You are the light of the world”), based on a verse from the Gospel of St. Matthew (5:14). “The crimes of sexual abuse offend Our Lord, cause physical, psychological and spiritual damage to the victims and harm the community of the faithful,” the pope said in the document, released by the Vatican May 9. The norms go into effect June 1. In order to stop all forms of abuse from ever happening again, not only is “a continuous and profound conversion of hearts” necessary, there must be “concrete and effective actions that involve everyone in the Church,” he wrote. Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, said the new norms ascribe a new role to heads of dioceses by making them responsible for alerting the proper Vatican authorities of all forms of suspected
abuse, including the possession, distribution or creation of pornography involving a minor. He told Vatican News May 9 that the norms respond to Pope Francis’ continued insistence for concrete and effective measures to ensure bishops and religious superiors have a very clear understanding of what their obligations are and what they should and should not do when it comes to safeguarding the vulnerable. It also requires all priests and religious to report suspected abuse or cover-ups and encourages any lay person to report abuse through a nowmandated reporting “system” or office in each diocese. How the office or “system” works will be up to each diocese, but “the idea is that anyone who has suffered abuse can have recourse to the local Church, while being assured they will be well received, protected from retaliation, and that their reports will be treated with the utmost seriousness,” Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, told Vatican News. The new norms now stipulate: u Procedures for the investigation of bishops, cardinals, patriarchs, religious superiors and all those who lead — even temporarily — a diocese or particular Church, including personal prelatures and personal ordinariates. u Leaders will be held accountable not only with suspected cases of committing abuse
PLEASE TURN TO LEGISLATION ON PAGE 9
2 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
MAY 16, 2019
PAGETWO NEWS notes
3
The school grade by which Groves Academy aims for students to be fluent readers and spellers. The Catholic Schools Center for Excellence is partnering with the St. Louis Parkbased Groves Academy to implement its literacy framework in 18 Catholic elementary schools, beginning this fall. Catholic schools participating in the pilot project include: Annunciation, Minneapolis; Guardian Angels, Chaska; Immaculate Conception, Columbia Heights; Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew, St. Paul; Most Holy Redeemer, Montgomery; Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul; Our Lady of Peace, Minneapolis; Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale; St. Dominic, Northfield; St. Jerome, Maplewood; St. John the Baptist, Jordan; St. John the Baptist, Savage; St. Joseph, Waconia; St. Michael, Prior Lake; St. Michael, St. Michael; St. Peter, North St. Paul; St. Therese, Deephaven; and St. Thomas More, St. Paul.
1939
The year the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis last held an archdiocesan synod. Archbishop Bernard Hebda announced shortly after his May 2016 installation that he intended to engage the archdiocese in a synod, and now preparations are underway for the process to begin this year. With Archbishop Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens, charismatic renewal communities are leading a Pentecost Mass and prayer service 7 p.m. June 8 at St. Peter in Mendota to call upon the Holy Spirit to direct the synod process. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
DEACONS ORDAINED Bishop Andrew Cozzens lays hands on Vinh-Thinh (Tim) Tran during the transitional deacon ordination Mass May 11 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. Deacon Tran was one of six men ordained. The others were Deacons Austin Barnes, Nathan Hastings and Paul Hedman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Brother Yamato Icochea Oshima and Brother Cesar Valencia Martinez for the Pro Ecclesia Sancta religious order.
$100,000
The amount raised at the Dorothy Day Breakfast May 3 for Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. About 300 attended the event at St. Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul, which included honoring 3M with Catholic Charities’ Dorothy Day Community Service Award. Among other things, the St. Paul-based company was credited with having more than 500 individual employee donors to Catholic Charities and leaders who have served on the agency’s board.
2
The number of students from a Catholic school who are among winners of a statewide 2019 Letters About Literature writing contest. Fifth-grade classmates Lucia Gonzalez and John Castro at Visitation School in Mendota Heights took second and tied for third, respectively, in their division of the contest. Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, as the Library of Congress-designated Minnesota Center for the Book, sponsors the contest, which included Gonzalez writing to Lois Lowry, author of “Number the Stars,” and Castro writing to R.J. Palacio, author of “Wonder.”
$21,000
The amount pledged by 20 University of Minnesota seniors to help St. Lawrence Church and Newman Center in Minneapolis. It’s the third year of a successful effort to increase the Newman Center’s alumni giving and encourage students to continue helping the Church after graduation, said Katie Gearns, development director. The first year, seniors pledged $10,000; last year, $26,000.
COURTESY VISITATION SCHOOL
CROSSING CULTURES Fourth-graders Sabrina Meisterling and Eeshal Syed get to know each other in person May 10 when their respective schools, Visitation School in Mendota Heights and Al-Amal Islamic School in Fridley, brought their fourth-graders together for two hours at Visitation. Their classes have been corresponding as pen pals for two months. “While working at both schools, I’ve noticed their differences of course — cultures, religion, etc. — but mostly how very similar the students are,” said Kelley Stoneburner, a school counselor who works at both schools and coordinated the visit. “They both share the same values: Visitation with its Catholic and Salesian values and Al-Amal with its Islamic values. They both teach respect and [to] work hard to grow curious, enthusiastic learners. And the kids are so much the same.”
in REMEMBRANCE Deacon Wierschem, 95, ministered in Medina Deacon Joseph Wierschem died May 14 at St. Therese of New Hope. He was 95. Following his ordination in 1987 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, he served at Holy Name of Jesus in Medina until his retirement in 2013. He was born in 1923 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and served in the Navy from 1943 to 1946. He attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and worked as a vice president of manufacturing for various corporations. His visitation will be 9 a.m. May 20 at Holy Name of Jesus followed by a funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Internment will be at the parish’s cemetery. Deacon Wierschem is survived by his wife, Louise, and their six children.
The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 25 — No. 10 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief
129
The record number of graduates this year from Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Minneapolis — and the second highest ever in the Cristo Rey network of 35 Catholic high schools in 22 states. The largest was 131 in Houston in 2017.
58
The number of years married for Stewart and Kathy Laird, members of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, who were honored May 10 with the 2019 Cana Award for their witness to Catholic marriage, family life and missionary discipleship. The couple was recognized by the Crystal-based Cana Family Institute at the organization’s annual banquet in St. Paul. For years, Stewart served in Catholic healthcare administration, and Kathy led the archdiocese’s Office of Marriage, Family and Life. They have six children, are longtime supporters of the pro-life movement and have been foster parents to 57 babies.
20 to 27
The ages of single women discerning a calling to consecrated life who are invited to apply to live for the 2019-2020 school year at Bethany House in northeast Minneapolis. Sponsored by the archdiocese’s Office of Vocations, Bethany House is a home where women live in community, pray together and take meals together as they spend time in discernment. Applications are being accepted at 10000vocations.org.
Materials credited to CNS copyrighted by Catholic News Service. All other materials copyrighted by The Catholic Spirit Newspaper. Subscriptions: $29.95 per year: Senior 1-year: $24.95: To subscribe: (651) 291-4444: Display Advertising: (651) 291-4444; Classified Advertising: (651) 290-1631. Published semi-monthly by the Office of Communications, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106-3857 • (651) 291-4444, FAX (651) 291-4460. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional post offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Catholic Spirit, 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106-3857. TheCatholicSpirit.com • email: tcssubscriptions@archspm.org • USPS #093-580
MAY 16, 2019
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3
FROMTHEARCHBISHOP ONLY JESUS | ARCHBISHOP BERNARD HEBDA
Cemeteries in our lives — and at the end of our lives
I
n my years of service as a priest and bishop, I have always welcomed the opportunity each Memorial Day to schedule a Mass or service of remembrance in one of our Catholic cemeteries. They are moments not only to recall the heroic selflessness of those who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of our country, but also to recall more broadly our ongoing connection with those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. It sounds a little odd in hindsight, but I always felt particularly at home in the parish cemetery where all four of my grandparents and two of my greatgrandparents were buried, along with lots of aunts and uncles. My mom would always pack a picnic lunch when we would go to St. Adalbert’s cemetery to pray and to tend the flowers. We would wander through the cemetery carrying sprinkler cans filled with water, and my dad would pronounce all of the long Polish names along the way — defying the rules of phonics that I was learning in school — and telling us a little about each of the families and praying for them, especially those whose graves were marked by a flag. When I finally learned to read, my mom would have me sit on the headstone and read to my grandparents and greatgrandparents. They never complained about my mistakes.
Cementerios en nuestras vidas y al final de nuestras vidas
E
n mis años de servicio como sacerdote y obispo, agradecí la oportunidad de cada el Día de los Caídos para programar una misa o un servicio de recuerdo en uno de nuestros cementerios católicos. Son momentos no solo para recordar el don heroico de aquellos que hicieron el sacrificio supremo al servicio de nuestro país, sino también para recordar más ampliamente nuestra conexión continua con aquellos que nos han precedido, marcados con el signo de la fe. Suena un poco extraño en retrospectiva, pero siempre me sentí especialmente como en casa en el cementerio parroquial donde fueron enterrados mis cuatro abuelos y dos bisabuelos, junto con muchas tías y tíos. Mi mamá siempre preparaba un picnic cuando podíamos ir al cementerio de St. Adalbert para rezar y cuidar las flores. Recorrimos el cementerio con latas de aspersores llenas de agua, y mi padre pronunció todos los nombres polacos largos en el camino, desafiando las reglas de fonética que estaba aprendiendo en la escuela, y contándonos un poco sobre
“
I first learned to ride a bike in that cemetery, and I would return each Memorial Day with red, white and blue crepe paper laced through the spokes, winding through the hundred or so flags that marked the graves of deceased veterans. I would later learn to drive a car in that cemetery as well. I can still hear my dad telling me to veer right at the priest plot and start my turn to the left at the Wilamowski’s. As providence would have it, St. Adalbert was one of the six cemeteries for which I was responsible in my first real parish assignment. I earned a whole new set of memories in that context, cementing my conviction that Catholic cemeteries are an important extension of the faith that we celebrate each day at the altar. My parents and I bought a plot in St. Adalbert, never anticipating that the future would take them to Florida and me to Minnesota. I’m grateful that we’re blessed with some magnificent Catholic cemeteries in this part of the Lord’s vineyard. They speak of the rich history of our Church and point to our Catholic understanding of life everlasting, all the while reflecting the changing sensibilities associated with Christian burial. One of the more recent developments involves the option of natural burial. The Catholic Cemeteries has been preparing a new section of Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights that will be particularly for natural burials. Those preferring to forgo embalming and unite
the body more directly with the earth now have the option of being buried in that section of the cemetery, one that is beginning to look once again more like an undisturbed prairie than the clearly marked and symmetrically plotted cemetery to which we have become accustomed. (See related story on page 16). It is an option that reflects our Catholic understanding of the earth as “our common home,” our respect for the human body and our belief that our final destiny is heaven. While the practice is relatively new to Catholics in the Twin Cities, it is already well established in other parts of the country. Many have seen the option as responding particularly well to the last three Holy Fathers’ reminders that we are to show reverence for God’s creation. Avoiding the use of concrete vaults, chemicals and non-biodegradable materials, natural burial minimizes the disruption to nature and allows for the type of noble simplicity that had long been part of the lives of our brothers and sisters in consecrated life, who often desired to be buried as simply as Christ was, wrapped only in the shroud, with
complete trust in the God of creation. While those choosing this option to forgo individual headstones, they are usually memorialized by name on a collective marker, which still allows for the same sort of storytelling that I loved as a youngster and now remember with such tenderness. For those desirous of a “natural burial” for themselves or their loved ones, I’m delighted that The Catholic Cemeteries will continue to pursue this option alongside the more common methods of burial. Given the great breadth that exists in our local Church, it shouldn’t be surprising that we would need the full range of options in our Catholic cemeteries as well. Even though I won’t have a patriotically decorated bike at the cemetery this Memorial Day, I am grateful that I have been invited to celebrate this year at Resurrection Cemetery. I hope that you will join me for 10 a.m. Mass May 27. I look forward to seeing you as we remember our brothers and sisters who died in the service of our country and as we draw strength even more generally from the faith of our ancestors.
cada una de las familias y rezando, para ellos, especialmente aquellos cuyas tumbas estaban marcadas por una bandera. Cuando finalmente aprendí a leer, mi madre me colocaba en la lápida y leía un poco a mis abuelos y bisabuelos. Nunca se quejaron de mis errores. Aprendí primero a andar en bicicleta en ese cementerio, y regresaría cada Día de los Caídos con papel crepé rojo, blanco y azul teje a través de los radios de llantas, andar en bicicleta a través de los cien banderas que marcaron las tumbas de los veteranos fallecidos. Más tarde aprendería a conducir un coche en ese cementerio también. Todavía puedo oír a mi padre diciéndome que gire a la derecha cerca de el complot del sacerdote y empiece mi turno a la izquierda en el Wilamowski. Providencialmente, San Adalberto fue uno de los seis cementerios de los cuales fui responsable en mi primera asignación parroquial . Obtuve un nuevo conjunto de recuerdos en ese contexto, consolidando mi convicción de que los cementerios católicos son una importante extensión de la fe que celebramos cada día en el altar. Mis padres y yo compramos una parcela en St. Adalbert, sin anticipar que el futuro los llevaría a Florida y yo a Minnesota. Estoy agradecido de que hayamos sido bendecidos con magníficos cementerios católicos en esta parte de la viña del Señor. Hablan de la rica historia de nuestra Iglesia y señalan nuestra comprensión católica de la vida eterna, al
tiempo que reflejan los cambios de sensibilidad asociados con el entierro cristiano. Uno de los desarrollos más recientes involucra la opción del entierro natural. Los cementerios católicos han estado preparando una nueva sección del cementerio de la resurrección en Mendota Heights que será para entierros naturales. Aquellos que prefieren renunciar al embalsamamiento y unir el cuerpo más directamente con la tierra ahora tienen la opción de ser enterrados en esa sección del cementerio, una que está comenzando a parecerse una vez más a una pradera sin perturbaciones que al cementerio claramente marcado y simétricamente trazado a la que nos hemos acostumbrado. (Ver historia relacionada en la página 16). Es una opción que refleja nuestra comprensión católica de la tierra como “nuestro hogar común”, nuestro respeto por el cuerpo humano y nuestra creencia de que nuestro destino final es el cielo. Si bien la práctica es relativamente nueva para los católicos en las ciudades gemelas, ya está bien establecida en otras partes del país. Muchos han visto que la opción responde particularmente bien a los últimos tres recordatorios de los Santos Padres que debemos mostrar reverencia por la creación de Dios. Evitando el uso de bóvedas de concreto, productos químicos y materiales no biodegradables, el entierro natural minimiza la perturbación de la naturaleza y permite el tipo de noble simplicidad
que había sido parte de las vidas de nuestros hermanos y hermanas en la vida consagrada, quienes a menudo deseaban ser enterrado tan simplemente como Cristo fue, envuelto solo en el sudario, con completa confianza en el Dios de la creación. Si bien aquellos que eligen esta opción para renunciar a las lápidas individuales, por lo general se conmemoran con mención por su nombre en un marcador colectivo, lo que todavía permite el mismo tipo de narración de cuentos que amaba de joven y ahora recuerdo con tanta ternura. Para aquellos que desean un “entierro natural” para ellos mismos o para sus seres queridos, estoy encantado de que los Cementerios católicos continúen buscando esta opción junto con los métodos más comunes de entierro. Dada la gran amplitud que existe en nuestra Iglesia local, no debería ser sorprendente que también necesitemos toda la gama de opciones en nuestros cementerios católicos. Aunque no tengo una bicicleta decorada patrióticamente en el cementerio este Día de los Caídos, aún espero que todos me acompañen. Estoy agradecido de que me hayan invitado a celebrar este año a las Resurrection Cemetery en Mendota Height a las diez de la mañana del 27 de mayo. Espero verlos cuando recordemos a nuestros hermanos y hermanas que murieron al servicio de nuestro país y al obtener fuerza aún más fe de nuestros antepasados.
(Catholic cemeteries) speak of the rich history of our Church and point to our Catholic understanding of life everlasting, all the while reflecting the changing sensibilities associated with Christian burial.
4 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
MAY 16, 2019
LOCAL
SLICEof LIFE
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Christ in the Capitol
Mary Ann “Tudie” Hermanutz of Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Rockville, front, prays during eucharistic adoration in a basement room at the State Capitol in St. Paul May 7. Organized by the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the daylong Advocacy and Adoration event included a short talk by MCC Executive Director Jason Adkins and opportunities to meet with legislators. Hermanutz traveled to St. Paul with 15 others from the Diocese of St. Cloud and one person from the Diocese of New Ulm. “I thought it was a historical event — tremendous to have the Blessed Sacrament in the Capitol,” she said. “That’s why I’m here, and that’s why I called some (other) people (to come).” During the 30 minutes the group spent in adoration over the noon hour, she prayed for her family and “that we would be successful in spreading our beliefs to people who make our laws. ... I have been here every year for 40 years for the March for Life in January, and we’ve prayed here. But, we’ve never had the Blessed Sacrament here. That’s historic.”
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St. John Vianney’s heart in Twin Cities May 30-31 By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit The heart of St. John Vianney — patron saint of priests and the secondary patron of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, after the Apostle Paul — will be venerated at two local parishes at the end of May. Holy Family in St. Louis Park will host the relic May 30, and the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul will host it May 31. The relic has been traveling across the United States since November in the care of the Knights of Columbus. It will have visited more than 120 parishes and shrines in 46 states before it arrives in the Twin Cities. The heart is encased in a reliquary but visible to viewers. According to the Knights of Columbus, “The tour has been dubbed ‘Heart of a Priest,’ which refers to the physical heart of John Vianney that has resisted decay for more than 150 years and to the good character that should belong to every priest.” Born in 1786, St. John Mary Vianney was the parish priest in the tiny town of Ars in eastern France, in the aftermath of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. His reputation as a confessor drew people from around the world, and at the end of his life, he spent up to 18 hours a day hearing confessions and offering spiritual counsel. He died in 1859 at age 73. He was canonized in 1925 and made patron of parish priests. In 2009, the 150th anniversary of his death, Pope Benedict XVI declared a “Year of the Priest” and expanded St. John Vianney’s patronage to all priests.
CNS
A worshipper venerates a reliquary containing St. John Vianney’s incorrupt heart at St. Anne Church in Gilbert, Ariz., May 6.
RELIC TOUR May 30 • Holy Family 5900 W. Lake St., St. Louis Park 7 p.m. Welcome of the relic and solemn vespers 7:30 p.m.–7 a.m. May 31 Public veneration with overnight prayer vigil for the sanctification of priests May 31 • Cathedral of St. Paul 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul 3 p.m. Welcome of the relic and Divine Mercy Chaplet 3:30–9 p.m. Public veneration with confessions 3:30–5 p.m. 5:15 p.m. Mass with Archbishop Hebda
Often called the “Curé d’Ars,” meaning “pastor of Ars,” he is the secondary patron of the archdiocese because of the historical connections between the local Church and France. As a seminarian, St. John Vianney
struggled with Latin, and his younger classmate, Mathias Loras, tutored him and recognized his holiness. The two became good friends. Father Loras later became the first bishop of Dubuque, Iowa, and he sent Bishop Joseph Cretin up the Mississippi River to head the new Diocese of St. Paul in 1850. In the archdiocese, the saint’s name is attached to a parish — St. John Vianney in South St. Paul — and St. John Vianney College Seminary at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. In the Cathedral, the saint is depicted in a window above a confessional. St. John Vianney’s heart will not be his only relic in the archdiocese. The Cathedral has one of his clerical collars as well as a bone fragment. And Good Shepherd in Golden Valley has a relic donated last year by Father Ralph Gorman, who had received it from the Sisters of St. Joseph in Crookston for his 1964 ordination. St. John Vianney College Seminary also has some small relics of its patron, its rector Father Michael Becker said. Father Joseph Johnson, Holy Family’s pastor, said the relic’s visit will be a “wonderful thing” for the local Church. “St. John Vianney said that the priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus ... by which he means that the sacramental life of the Church which comes through the priesthood is the way God’s love touches the lives of the faithful,” he said. “For me, to see the heart of John Vianney is to see a heart that brought the love of Christ to the world in a superlative way.” St. John Vianney’s heart is typically enshrined in Ars.
Bishops invite young adults on January trip to Rome By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s second “ad limina” visit with a pope and Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzen’s first will include some special guests — as many as 15 young adults are invited to accompany them on the trip to Rome. The guest list is open, with Catholics ages 21 to 35 encouraged to provide a letter of recommendation explaining how they have shown leadership in evangelization. Alternatively, applicants can write a one-page essay explaining how Christ has worked through others in the local Church to draw them closer to Jesus. “Pilgrimages always present golden opportunities for accompaniment,” Archbishop Hebda said. “Having lived in Rome for 18 years, I know that the Lord touches the hearts of young people as pilgrims in that city.” The bishops’ visit with Pope Francis Jan. 13 — formally called “ad limina apostolorum,” which means “to the thresholds of the apostles” Peter and Paul — is periodically required of all bishops around the world. They provide detailed reports on their dioceses to the Holy Father. During this visit, Archbishop Hebda and Bishop Cozzens will meet with Pope Francis in a group of bishops from Region VIII that includes all dioceses in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The last “ad limina” visit for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was between Archbishop John Nienstedt and now-retired Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. Archbishop Hebda also visited with Pope Benedict on an “ad limina” that year, when he was bishop of Gaylord, Michigan. Among other things in the upcoming visit, Archbishop Hebda will highlight the vibrant life of young Catholics in the archdiocese, said Vincenzo Randazzo of the archdiocese’s Office of Evangelization. “If you’re a young Catholic in the Church, you know about the Twin Cities,” Randazzo said, citing such activities as young adult communities in parishes, Catholic Beer Club and Vespers at Lourdes gatherings for eucharistic adoration, faith formation and time to visit with cocktails and hors d’ouevres. Reaching out to young people has been emphasized by St. Pope John Paul II, retired Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, who last year held a Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocational discernment, said Randazzo, who will lead the group of young adults for the “ad limina” visit. “In that age range, people are figuring out life, their professional lives. It’s fertile ground for evangelization,” he said. Archdiocesan leaders hope young adults on the trip will learn more
about the Church, fan the flames of their own faith, enjoy Rome and spend time with Archbishop Hebda and Bishop Cozzens, Randazzo said. When they return, they can share their experiences and bring more people into the Church, he said. The group will have experienced guides in Rome. Randazzo speaks Italian and has visited Rome three times, including a semester of study. In addition to his previous “ad limina” visit, Archbishop Hebda studied in Rome for four years and served there for 14 years. Bishop Cozzens has visited Rome numerous times and studied there for six years. He said he is looking forward to the visit. “I’m always excited any time I get to meet the Holy Father,” Bishop Cozzens said. “Since this is my first ‘ad limina’ visit, it will be a great opportunity to learn more about how the universal Church works.” Randazzo said Archbishop Hebda and Bishop Cozzens will want to show people on the trip what they know about Rome, and share meals and Mass with them. Details are still being worked out, but “they will spend a lot of time with our shepherds,” he said. Young adults will pay for airfare, simple accommodations and most of their daily expenses. Applications should be directed to Randazzo at 651-291-4483 or randazzov@archspm.org.
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5
St. Paul attorney sues Vatican for documentation of clergy offenders, cover-ups By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson announced May 14 that he is representing five sexual abuse survivors suing the Holy See for names of clergy sexual abuse offenders worldwide and the names of Church leaders who have been involved in abuse cover-up. The lawsuit’s defendants include Ben, Luke and Stephen Hoffman, brothers abused by then-Father Curtis Wehmeyer while he was at Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul from 2006 to 2012. He was removed from ministry in 2012, when the abuse was first reported to civil and Church authorities, and then laicized in 2015. He is serving a prison sentence in Wisconsin for his abuse of Ben Hoffman there in 2011. Also participating in the lawsuit are survivors James Keenan, who was abused in the 1980s at Risen Savior in Burnsville by then-Father Thomas Adamson, and Manuel Vega, who was abused by a religious order priest in California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The lawsuit alleges that the Holy See — meaning the pope in his role as head of the Church — was in a position to know the danger the abusing priests in the defendants’ cases posed to children but mandated policies of secrecy that discouraged Church leaders from reporting sexual abuse to civil authorities. Anderson said that the Church legislation Pope Francis released May 9 did not go far enough in requiring Church leaders to report abuse allegations to law enforcement. That document requires abuse and its cover-up to be reported to Church authorities and for those authorities to comply with civil law, stating “these norms apply without prejudice to the rights and obligations established in each place by state laws, particularly those concerning any reporting obligations to the competent civil authorities.” In the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, people with sexual abuse allegations are encouraged to contact law enforcement before contacting Church officials. Allegations made directly to the archdiocese are promptly reported to law enforcement. Anderson said that his office’s next step will be to serve the suit on the Vatican, which may be a lengthy process. He expects the Vatican to “put up sovereign immunity defenses” but that his office is “ready for battle.” Anderson & Associates previously sued the Vatican regarding clergy sexual abuse in 2002, but the suit was unsuccessful. Anderson said during a press conference that he has confidence that this suit could have a different outcome because his body of evidence demonstrates “all roads lead to Rome.” In October, he announced a suit in California against the Vatican in which Keenan was also a defendant, but Anderson has since dropped that suit.
LOCAL
6 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Belle Plaine faces devil of a lawsuit
MAY 16, 2019
Parishes help provide for needs of the homeless
By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit They’re back. Almost two years after being denied a spot for a satanic-themed veterans memorial in the city of Belle Plaine, the Satanic Temple is suing the city. It doesn’t surprise Father Brian Lynch, pastor of Our Lady of the Prairie in Belle Plaine. “Because there are spiritual forces at work,” Father Lynch said. He led local Catholics in opposing the proposed memorial in June 2017, after the Massachusetts-based organization announced Belle Plaine accepted its permit to place the memorial in a “free speech zone” at Veterans Memorial Park. After protests from Catholics and other Christians, the city closed the “free speech zone” that July, preventing the arrival of the proposed memorial, a 23-inch cube with cult images such as pentagrams and an upside-down soldier helmet on top of it. “To me it’s sort of analogous to Ouija board stuff,” Father Lynch said about the memorial. “People don’t end up wanting to necessarily do something explicitly Satanic and evil when they start messing around with this stuff. It’s a crack in the door (for the devil).” On April 25, after twice in the last two years asking to be reimbursed for money spent on the memorial, the Satanic Temple filed a $50,000 lawsuit against Belle Plaine, the mayor and city council members in U.S. District Court in St. Paul. The Satanic Temple claims the memorial commission was completed, but it wasn’t used because the city backed out of its permit and closed the “free speech zone.” In addition, the temple, which has tax exempt status as a religious organization through the IRS, claims in its lawsuit that the city’s actions violate free speech and freedom of religion. City officials in Belle Plaine declined to comment on the lawsuit. “The real core of this case is that the city is doing this for impermissible reasons, and the impermissible reasons are they don’t like the viewpoint and the content of my client’s speech,” said Larry Frost, an attorney in Bloomington who is representing the Satanic Temple. Free speech and freedom of religion issues first were raised at Belle Plaine’s Veterans Memorial Park in 2016, when Army veteran and Belle Plaine resident Joseph Gregory, now deceased, made a statue of a soldier on one knee in front of a cross, which the Belle Plaine Veterans Club put in the park. Late that year, a Freedom From Religion Foundation member living in the area complained to the city about the statue, arguing the soldier depicted on one knee in front of a cross was a religious symbol. The Wisconsin-based foundation, which opposes religious symbols on public land, asked the city council to remove the statue in January 2017, which it did. But local veterans and others argued that the statue should be returned, and the next month the city allowed the statue to return by opening a “free speech zone” in the park. At that point, the Satanic Temple got involved, the city council closed the “free speech zone” and the city removed the soldier statue. Now, neither memorial is displayed in the park.
The Catholic Spirits’ four-part, multi-faceted look at homelessness in Minnesota continues in this issue with a look at the growing number of people without a home, and ways parishes help build affordable housing, provide temporary shelter and meet other needs. The series began Feb. 7 by highlighting Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Higher Ground initiatives in St. Paul and Minneapolis. By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit Faced with a growing number of people who are homeless in Minnesota, state and local governments are amping up efforts this year to build affordable housing. Jim Colten of Corpus Christi in Roseville, meanwhile, has been doing what he can for the last 17 years — one wall at time — by joining members of his parish and others to build homes for low-income families through Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. His parish is part of a coalition of 15 faith communities, known as the Holy Hammers, that has helped build 33 homes in the metro area since 1999. It has donated more than $1.5 million to help fund those projects. “We’re God’s hands on earth,” said Colten, 69, explaining his take on living out the Catholic faith by serving others. “That’s what he chose, and that’s what we should do. This (Holy Hammers), and other social justice efforts at Corpus Christi are an important fruit of the parish.” Corpus Christi and fellow Holy Hammer members St. Odilia in Shoreview and St. Rose of Lima in Roseville are just one example of the ways parishes across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis help the poor and homeless as part of Christ’s call to feed the hungry and offer drink to the thirsty, said Dale Hennen, parish services specialist in the archdiocese’s Office of Parish and Clergy Services. Some parishes, such as St. Mark in St. Paul, provide temporary shelter in school classrooms, gymnasiums and other spaces through Project Home, a program run by Interfaith Action of Greater St. Paul, a coalition of faith communities. Other parishes, such as St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove, do similar work through Families Moving Forward, part of Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, also in St. Paul. Assumption in downtown St. Paul earmarks part of its annual budget to Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which helps the homeless and others in need. In addition, many parishioners donate to Catholic Charities on their own, and help serve hot meals at the agency’s homeless shelter near the parish, said Father Paul Treacy, pastor.
MATT HAUGEN | COURTESY TWIN CITIES HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
Kevin Cavanaugh, foreground, helps a Holy Hammers crew of volunteers build a duplex in St. Paul April 10 through Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. A member of St. Odilia in Shoreview, Cavanaugh is among volunteers who help the nonprofit organization build affordable homes every year.
Food and clothing drives; knitting ministries for blankets, hats and mittens; emergency vouchers for transportation, rent and utility bills; referrals for affordable health care, including mental health; and similar services are among many other ways parishes lend a hand to the poor and homeless, Hennen said. All that work comes on top of parishes administering the sacraments, evangelizing and providing faith formation, as well as a variety of altogether different ministries, such as helping women challenged with an unexpected pregnancy and assisting immigrants, Hennen said. “It shows an awareness of the seriousness of homelessness,” he said of parishes helping those without a home, and often taking on more than one such ministry, “both in terms of what it does to a person or a family who is homeless, and what it takes to move someone into a more secure housing situation.” Preventing homelessness and helping people already without a home takes work from everyone in a community, far beyond what parishes alone can do, Hennen said. Systemic issues can include unemployment and low wages, lack of affordable housing, and lack of mental health and other health care services, he said. Allowed to fester, those challenges can create an unjust society, he said. “For a system to be sustainable, it has to be just,” he said. “Otherwise, it will erode and feed on itself. And of course, therein lies the big challenge: What does that mean? How will that be applied?” One action area for state and local governments this year is increased funding to build affordable housing and keep low-income earners in their homes. Minneapolis, for example, has pumped $21 million into its Affordable Housing Trust Fund to support developers who want to build or maintain multi-family developments for low-income residents. The city also approved a new program called “Stable Homes, Stable Schools” to provide $3 million in emergency rental assistance to families in the school system on the brink of homelessness. The state Legislature is debating a variety of ways to build and preserve affordable housing as the legislative session winds down to a scheduled
May 20 close. Proposals from Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, include $150 million in housing bonds. Advocates of affordable housing held a rally at the State Capitol in St. Paul May 6 to draw attention to the issue. That kind of action, including initiatives in St. Paul (details at TheCatholicSpirit.com), comes after highly visible encampments of homeless people last fall in St. Paul and Minneapolis. In addition, a recent study confirmed what the camps indicated — the number of homeless in Minnesota has risen to a record high. More than 10,000 people in the state — 10,233, up 10 percent from 9,312 in 2015 — were without a home on Oct. 25, according to a survey of homeless shelters, transitional housing programs and people found on the street. Conducted every three years by the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in St. Paul, a nonprofit community organization, the study found that the number of homeless adults increased by 25 percent. And the number of people not in a formal shelter increased by 62 percent. (See story on page 7.) Kevin Cavanaugh, 69, of St. Odilia in Shoreview and one of the Holy Hammers helping Habitat for Humanity, also is doing what he can to build more affordable housing. Wielding a hammer at a home under construction in St. Paul — despite a late-spring, heavy snowfall — Cavanaugh said in April that he’s seen a lot homes in his travels. As a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1980s, he helped people in homes in Tunisia made from mud and rocks, with dirt floors. What mattered was a sense of place, dignity and protection from the elements, he said. “It’s a place to come back to every day,” he said. “A place to relax. Home is a sense of community, too. It’s having neighbors who know you, visiting, inviting them in. That is very important.” Colten said he’s met some of the families Habitat for Humanity has helped. One memory in particular stands out, although it happened as long as 10 years ago. “One of the nicest days was putting together the finishing touches on a house, and the whole family showed up,” he said. “Watching the kids running around, claiming their bedrooms — that was a good day.”
LOCAL
MAY 16, 2019
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7
Study reveals record number of homeless in Minnesota By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit The number of people without a home in Minnesota hit a record high last year: 10,233. That’s up 10 percent from 9,312 in 2015, and back up to the then-record 10,214 counted in 2012, according to the research arm of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation of St. Paul, a nonprofit community organization that has conducted the statewide study every three years since 1991. And those numbers, based on thousands of one-day, face-to-face interviews Oct. 25 with people in emergency shelters, transitional housing or found in encampments, hot-meal programs and other drop-in sites, don’t include an estimate of the uncounted homeless, which will be released this fall. In 2015, Wilder Research estimated a total of 15,000 counted and uncounted homeless in the state on any given night, and nearly 40,000 — or about 0.7 percent of the state’s 5.6 million people — experiencing homelessness at some point that year. One reason the number of counted homeless climbed last year was higher visibility of people on the streets that fall, including large encampments in St. Paul and Minneapolis and people riding the light rail that runs between the two cities, said Greg Owen, consulting scientist and a retired research manager with the foundation,
Wilder Foundation
who has helped conduct the survey since its inception in 1984, when it was confined to the metropolitan area. But that’s not the only reason, Owen said. “The study suggests other things, too — what I would call a concentration of distress and stress factors that contribute to barriers to getting stable housing for people,” he said. Reports from Wilder teasing out those details will be published in coming months. But reasons cited for homelessness in the past — and expected to continue in the current survey — include lack of affordable housing, mental health problems and other chronic health conditions, domestic violence and broken relationships, Owen said. Released in March, the one-night
Congratulations to Timothy Tran
on your ordination to the transitional diaconate. May God abundantly bless your vocation.
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count already shows that the number of homeless children and youth age 24 and younger made up 46 percent — nearly half — of Minnesota’s homeless population, both last year and in 2015; the number of homeless adults increased by 25 percent last year compared with 2015, with a particular spike among those 55 and older; and the number of people not in a formal shelter increased by 62 percent. Similar to 2015, about 66 percent of the state’s homeless lived in the Twin Cities last year; about 34 percent lived outside the metropolitan area, the study found. One difficulty that has increased over the years, Owen said, is that lower-cost housing is not the only answer. Often people who are homeless also have mental health or other challenges, and the services needed to help them stay
healthy and in their homes are not readily available, he said. “It’s not that we shouldn’t have housing, but housing alone without support is a problem,” he said. Wilder’s studies, conducted every three years because of their complexity and the logistics involved, show a general increase in homelessness since 1991, when 3,079 people were counted as homeless. Reasons include the closing of state hospitals and mental institutions in the 1970s in favor of community-based care that didn’t take into account the need to house people who were suffering from mental illness, Owen said. In the 1990s, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development stopped building affordable, Section 8 housing, in favor of the private sector stepping in, Owen said. But “we do not have a (housing) market that responds to the kind of incentives the federal government is giving us,” he said. A third reason for the rising number of homeless is private development taking out many of the old hotels and less expensive apartments in favor of higher-end, higher-cost housing, forcing residents onto the streets and pushing up the overall cost of rent and a mortgage, Owen said. “We’ve not really created a kind of large, systemic strategy for low-income housing, and there are serious barriers to people living on their own,” Owen said. “We’ve closed the door.”
8 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
MAY 16, 2019
NATION+WORLD
Colorado school shooting victim ‘lunged’ at suspects
u Lebanon mourns former Maronite Catholic patriarch, defender of freedom. Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the country’s retired Maronite Catholic patriarch known for defending his country’s sovereignty and independence, died May 12, three days shy of his 99th birthday. He is credited with organizing the 2004 Maronite Synod of Bishops, the first full Maronite synod to take place in Lebanon in 150 years, and the first in which women participated. It resulted in an 800-page document, an extensive study of the identity of the Maronite Catholic Church and its mission in the world. There are two Twin Cities Maronite-rite parishes: St. Maron in Minneapolis and Holy Family in Mendota Heights.
By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service Two teenagers are in custody as suspects in a school shooting May 10 in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and witnesses say a third — Kendrick Castillo — was killed while trying to stop them. Castillo, 18, a devout Catholic and a senior at STEM School Highlands Ranch in the Denver suburb, was killed in the classroom gunfire. His father, John Castillo, told reporters his son was a hero and he wants people to know about him. Eight students were injured. A student who witnessed the shooting told NBC’s “Today” show that Castillo “lunged” at one of the shooters to save others. Castillo, who loved robotics, attended Notre Dame Parish School in Denver for his elementary education, and he and his family went to Notre Dame parish, where Castillo was an altar server and usher. His father is a member of a Denver Knights of Columbus Council, which posted on its Facebook page photos of the father and son at a Knights event. Another student who joined Castillo in trying to stop one of the shooters May 7 was Brendan Bialy, who told reporters that Castillo was an unstoppable bowling ball. “Basically, when he gets moving, there’s no stopping him,” Bialy told several Denver media outlets May 8. He also said his friend showed no hesitation. Another friend, Cece Bedard, told The Denver Post that she and Castillo went to Knights of Columbus activities with their dads, who were members. She told the newspaper that Castillo wanted to join the Knights “because he wanted to help not only people, but his
HEADLINES
CNS
Students mourn during a vigil May 8 for victims of a shooting the day before at the STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado. Kendrick Castillo, an 18-year-old Catholic senior, was killed when he “lunged” at one of the shooters to save others. community. He was the bravest soul I’ve ever met and never even cared what others thought because he was too busy finding ways to make you smile.” On May 9, Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila described Castillo in a tweet as “a young man who followed Christ & laid down his life for others!” The archbishop said he prayed that God would provide consolation to the Castillo family. He said he would offer Mass for them while he was in Rome. Greg Caudle, principal of Notre Dame Parish School in Denver, wrote to the school community about the school shooting and the death of Castillo, a 2015 graduate. He said the faculty members and staff met with students in the school gym May 8 to address the situation with all of the students. “I gave basic
information about the incident yesterday and we prayed for all involved,” the principal said, adding that he “also emphasized that the students are safe.” STEM School Highlands Ranch, a public charter school — which focuses on science, technology, engineering and math and has more than 1,850 students — was closed through May 10. Crisis counselors were available. “The heart of all Colorado is with the victims and their families,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a May 7 statement. The shooting took place a week after a gunman killed two students and wounded four others at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and nearly three weeks after the 20th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting in Littleton, Colorado, about seven miles from STEM School Highlands Ranch.
u Six people shot and killed during Mass in Burkina Faso May 12. Armed persons entered a church on motorcycles and shot at churchgoers attempting to escape. The priest celebrating Sunday Mass was among those killed. The gunmen then set fire to the church and several other buildings nearby before raiding a local health center. Pope Francis expressed his closeness to and prayers for the victims, their families and the West African nation’s Christian community. u Georgia governor signs heartbeat bill restricting state abortions. The law, signed May 7 by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, would ban abortions in the state once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is around six weeks gestation. Current Georgia law allows abortions up to the 20th week of pregnancy. u Pope visits Balkans, addresses sensitive issues of ecumenism, migration. Pope Francis traveled to the Eastern periphery of Europe May 5-7, visiting Bulgaria and North Macedonia, both predominantly Orthodox countries with a small, but active Catholic CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
Pope allows Medjugorje pilgrimages
Pope thanks Vanier before his death
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
Parishes and dioceses are now allowed to organize official pilgrimages to Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, but it must be clear that the Catholic Church has not recognized as authentic the alleged Marian apparitions there. Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser, Pope Francis’ apostolic visitor to Medjugorje, and Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, the nuncio to BosniaHerzegovina, announced the pope’s decision to lift the ban on official pilgrimages May 12. Alessandro Gisotti, the interim director of the Vatican press office, confirmed the change, but said care must be taken to ensure the pilgrimages are not “interpreted as an authentication of well-known events, which still require examination by the Church.” Therefore, he said, Church-sponsored pilgrimages must “avoid creating confusion or ambiguity from the doctrinal point of view.” In 1981, six young people from Medjugorje claimed that Mary had appeared to them. Some of the six say Mary still appears to them and gives them messages each day, while others
say they see her only once a year now. Diocesan commissions studied the alleged apparitions from 1982 to 1984 and again from 1984 to 1986, and the then-Yugoslavian bishops’ conference studied them from 1987 to 1990. All three commissions concluded that they could not affirm that a supernatural event was occurring in the town. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI established a papal commission to study the alleged apparitions. The commission’s report has not been made public, although some of its points were revealed after Pope Francis spoke about the commission’s work. Pope Francis acknowledged that pilgrims to the Marian site deserve spiritual care and support, but he also expressed doubts about claims that the apparitions have continued for more than 35 years. The decision to allow organized pilgrimages, banned by the local bishops in 1991 and confirmed by the Vatican in 1996, recognizes the need to provide spiritual accompaniment and care to the tens of thousands of Catholics who travel to Medjugorje each year, Gisotti said. It also is a recognition of the “abundant fruits of grace” those pilgrims have experienced.
Pope Francis told reporters aboard the papal flight from north Macedonia May 7 he had been kept informed about Jean Vanier’s failing health and had phoned him a week before his death. “He listened to me, but he could barely speak. I wanted to express my gratitude for his witness,” Pope Francis said May 7, the day Vanier died JEAN VANIER in Paris. “He was a man who was able to read the Christian call in the mystery of death, of the cross, of illness, the mystery of those who are despised and discarded,” the pope said. But, also, Pope Francis said, Vanier stood up for those “who risk being condemned to death even before being born.” “Simply put, I want to thank him and thank God for having given us this man with such a great witness,” the pope said. The death of Vanier, whose ministry
helped improve the lives of developmentally disabled people in dozens of countries, drew prayers and words of condolence from Church leaders around the world. Vanier, who died of thyroid cancer at the age of 90, founded L’Arche in 1964, allowing people with developmental disabilities and those who assist them to share their lives while living in community in an atmosphere of compassion. He was the author of some 30 books, a member of the Order of Canada, winner of the Templeton Prize and member of France’s Legion of Honor, but he was perhaps best known as a kind of village elder to the world. He co-founded Faith and Light, an international organization of small groups that support and celebrate people with developmental disabilities and their families. In Paris, Archbishop Michel Aupetit said he had recently visited Vanier at a hospital. “He was bright and joyful, all abandoned in the hands of God, like a child who will return to the Father’s house,” he said in a statement. “His life was consecrated to testify of the beauty of every man in this world and, first, of the most wounded.”
NATION+WORLD
MAY 16, 2019
LEGISLATION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 themselves, but also accusations of having interfered with, covered up or failed to address abuse accusations of which they were aware. u When the accused individual is a bishop, the metropolitan will receive a mandate from the Holy See to investigate or delegate a person in charge of the preliminary investigation. A status report must be sent to the Holy See every 30 days, and the investigation completed within 90 days with some exceptions. Vatican offices are also held to specific timeframes and prompt action. u By June 2020, every diocese in the world must create an office or “public, stable and easily accessible systems” for reporting suspected abuse against a minor or vulnerable person, failure of compliance of abuse guidelines by bishops or superiors, and cases of interference or cover-ups in either a civil or canonical investigation of suspected abuse. u All priests and religious that become aware of abuse or its cover-up must alert their bishop or religious superior promptly. u A minor is anyone under the age of 18 and a vulnerable person is “any person in a state of infirmity, physical or mental deficiency, or deprivation of personal liberty which, in fact, even occasionally, limits their ability to understand or to want to otherwise resist the offense.” u The definition of child pornography is any representation of a minor, regardless of the media used, “involved in explicit sexual activities, whether real or simulated, and any representation of sexual organs of minors for primarily sexual purposes.” u Bishops and religious superiors will be accountable not just for protecting minors against abuse but also for protecting seminarians, novices and members of religious orders from violence and sexual abuse stemming from an abuse of power. The norms apply to reports of “delicts against the sixth commandment” regarding clerics or members of religious orders and “forcing someone, by violence or threat or through abuse of authority, to perform or submit to sexual acts.” u Those who report abuse cannot be subjected to pressure, retaliation and discrimination or told to keep silent. The seal of confession, however, remains inviolable and is not affected by the new norms. u Procedures for carrying out the preliminary investigation include the bishop immediately requesting from the Vatican that he or a delegate be assigned to begin the preliminary investigation. If he considers an accusation is unfounded, the papal nuncio is informed. The Vatican will have 30 days to respond to the request and the bishop sends a status report to the Vatican every 30 days. u When the investigation is complete, the bishop sends the results to the proper Vatican office, which then follows existing canon law. u The continued obligation is to respect civil laws regarding mandatory reporting. u Those who reported suspected abuse or cover-up will be told of the outcome of the investigation if they request to be informed. u A fund can be set up by bishops’ conferences, synods and Church provinces to cover the costs of investigations. — Catholic News Service
ABUSE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 bankruptcy in 2015 in response to those claims. Last summer, it announced it had reached a $210 million settlement agreement with abuse survivors. The archdiocese emerged from bankruptcy in December 2018. Separately, the archdiocese faced criminal and civil charges brought against it in 2015 by the Ramsey County attorney alleging that it had failed to protect three brothers abused by their pastor, then-Father Curtis Wehmeyer. Wehmeyer was removed from ministry in 2012 and laicized in 2015. The archdiocese and the county reached a settlement agreement in December 2015 on the civil charges, and the county dropped the criminal charges in June 2016. In recent years, widespread clergy sexual abuse has been identified around the world, including in Australia, Ireland and Chile. In the United States, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met in November and discussed — but, at the Holy See’s request, did not establish new policies on — bishop accountability regarding clergy sexual abuse in the U.S. In February, Pope Francis met with leaders of bishops’ conferences around the world to examine the issue. “I am grateful that the Holy Father has acted so decisively to enact legislation that reflects the input offered at the historic meeting of Church leaders ... this past February,” Archbishop Hebda said in the statement. “These groundbreaking provisions, to be applied throughout the world,
HEADLINES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 minority. The trip included a stop at a North Macedonian memorial to its native St. Teresa of Kolkata, aka Mother Teresa, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in India in 1950. u Virginia bishops blast a federal judge’s decision allowing non-doctors to perform first-trimester abortions in the state. The May 6 ruling by a U.S. District judge “reveals the extreme measures that are being taken
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9
respond to gaps in the laws and structures of the Church,” he continued. “I am grateful that these new norms envision the meaningful engagement of lay experts, whose professional skills are clearly needed to accomplish this difficult work. I am also pleased that the norms make it clear that bishops, cardinals and other Church leaders are to be held accountable for their actions.” The legislation, which takes effect June 1, also establishes parameters for the investigation of a bishop accused of abuse. Archbishop Hebda noted that he and Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens “have been publicly calling for a new structure that allows claims against bishops to be investigated and evaluated objectively.” “Today’s legislation does that,” he said. Tim O’Malley, the archdiocese’s director of ministerial standards and safe environment, said the legislation “sets out clear and strict requirements for reporting misconduct within the Church, and it also requires worldwide that the Church reports to civil authorities in accordance with the local laws.” While reporting to civil authorities is already part of the practice in the United States, that has not yet been true at the global level. He told The Catholic Spirit that the legislation doesn’t change the archdiocese’s policy of immediately reporting abuse to law enforcement and civil authorities, and informing people with abuse allegations that their first call should be to law enforcement. “We not only comply with the state’s statutes, we go beyond what’s required of the state’s statutes,” he said, noting by pro-abortion groups to eliminate even common-sense restrictions on abortion,” said a May 9 statement from Bishops Michael Burbidge of Arlington and Barry Knestout of Richmond. u Catholic officials pleased with new conscience protection rule. The rule, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services and enforced by that department’s Office of Civil Rights, is more than 400 pages
that the archdiocese requires all Church employees and volunteers to be mandatory reporters of abuse, a policy that extends the state’s definition of a mandatory reporter. The legislation also “codifies and clearly states that we have the authority to use and rely on lay experts to assist us in this arena,” O’Malley said, which is something the archdiocese already does with its Ministerial Review Board, which is primarily comprised of lay experts and makes recommendations to the archbishop on clergy misconduct cases. “In my mind, it gives us the green light to keep moving forward as aggressively as we can with our approach of investigating allegations of misconduct, not just with priests, but with bishops, archbishops and cardinals, and that our approach so far has resulted in greater accountability and transparency,” he said. “It encourages us to keep going on the path that we’re going.” O’Malley said he thought that the legislation included actions that Catholics would expect are already part of normal Church protocol. “It’s hard for us in the United States, or (as) people who are well intended, (to believe) that if (someone) came upon information about sexual abuse of a minor, that they would not act. Of course they would. You would expect that,” he said. However, he added, “for (Pope Francis) to state it as clearly and with the authority and with the consequences for those who fail to follow it, as a practical effect, it takes all the excuses off the table for someone to say, ‘It wasn’t clear to me what I had to do.’” long with specific guidelines requiring hospitals, clinics and universities that receive federal funding through Medicare or Medicaid to certify that they comply with laws protecting conscience rights regarding abortion, sterilization and assisted suicide. President Donald Trump announced the rule at the White House Rose Garden during a speech on May 2, the National Day of Prayer. — Catholic News Service
Learn about God’s plan for grandparents and be equipped to pass on the Faith.
Catholic Grandparent Conference Saturday, August 24, 2019 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Church of the Epiphany 1101 Hanson Blvd NW, Coon Rapids (Optional Mass begins at 8 a.m.) Cost: $25 per person before August 1, $30 thereafter. Includes morning coffee, granola bars, buffet lunch and afternoon snack. For more information and to register, visit www.CatholicGrandparenting.org. Questions? Contact Susanna Parent at parents@archspm.org or 651-291-4411.
10 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
After nine-year hiatus from art, portraitist reviving talent by painting 50 modern saints By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
LEFT TO RIGHT FROM TOP St. Bernadette Soubirous, Venerable Benedetta Bianchi Porro, St. Gemma Galgani, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. Zelie Martin, St. Therese of Lisieux and Blessed Miguel Pro.
espite a longtime love for painting and a bachelor’s degree in studio art, Bernadette Gockowski set down her brushes after college. For nine years, she didn’t make art. When she picked them back up last year, it was begrudgingly. But the 32-year-old had an experience of grace that reignited her passion, and that ultimately led to her current project: “In the Company,” a watercolor portrait series of modern saints. She’s unveiling one a day via her website and social media throughout the Easter season. “[With] modern saints ... we have photos — which is fun to see what they actually look like — but no one is doing paintings, because we have the photos,” said Gockowski, a parishioner of St. Agnes in St. Paul. “I’m inspired to take that photo and turn it around. ... I started to do it, and I actually found it very spiritual, and it was a real blessing. It made me reflect on my own life.” Gockowski grew up on a hobby farm near Staples, 30 miles west of Brainerd. Her mother was an artist, and as she watched older siblings excel in various areas, she decided to hone a single talent, art. In fifth grade, a watercolor artist’s visit to her school inspired Gockowski to request paints for Christmas and assert she wanted to be an artist when she grew up. When she declared her majors at St. Olaf College in Northfield, she chose studio art and art education. But Gockowski also experienced an art scene often dismissive and sometimes hostile to her religious beliefs, and at the end of her senior year in 2009 — when her final project depicted the Stations of the Cross — she felt dejected. She then spent two years discerning religious life with a community of sisters, and while she was encouraged to paint and did some small projects, she felt her time was better spent in prayer and study. Even after leaving the convent and working in
youth ministry at two Twin Citie painting. With the added deman motherhood, she considered sell The pursuit, she thought, was to devout Catholic mom. By early 2018, she felt frustrate pursuing art in college, and she c her husband, David, a fourth-gra St. Paul, signed her up to teach a middle-schoolers. She was initial commitment, but on a trip to he mom’s art books for inspiration. “The only thing keeping you fro “It was as if God were saying th that line, my whole understandi desire to do art came flooding ba sleep. I was so convinced that’s w Overcome with joy and peace stealing slivers of time for art wh Leo, and 1-year-old daughter, Ida eight hours a week and has a kna watercolor portraits, and her pas based on black-and-white photo an ongoing project she calls The portraits from people’s black-and As Lent approached, she consi spiritual discipline. After encoun saints online, she was inspired to concept to the communion of sa based on black-and-white photo That means the project includ namesake, St. Bernadette Soubiro Lourdes, France, who lived from saint to be photographed. For m St. Teresa of Kolkata — aka Moth Gockowski remains faithful to he white photos from which she can project “In the Company,” a line which says “the glorious compan also for the idea of being in the c “I wonder when I die, what wi of saints,” she said. “It makes me
MAY 16, 2019 • 11
PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Bernadette Gockowski works on a watercolor painting of Henriette Delille May 3 at her home in St. Paul. Delille lived in New Orleans in the 1800s and started a religious order called Sisters of the Holy Family. She was declared venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. Gockowski decided to paint a portrait of her after researching her. “She has an amazing story,” Gockowski said. “She was the first black nun — before the Civil War, when it was illegal (for an African-American woman) to be a nun.”
es parishes, she didn’t resume nds of marriage in 2014 and then ling her art supplies altogether. oo selfish and impractical for a
ed about “wasting time” considered nursing school. Then ade teacher at St. Agnes School in a summer art workshop for lly annoyed with the er parents’ home, she opened her One phrase struck her heart: om being a great artist is you.” hat to me, and in one reading of ing changed,” she said. “My ack so badly that I couldn’t even what I needed to do.” in her pursuit, she began hile caring for her 3-year-old son, a. She typically paints about ack for working fast. Her focus is ssion is creating color images ographs. She’s developed that into e Colorful Past, where she paints d-white photos. idered how she might use art as a ntering sacrilegious imagery of o apply The Colorful Past’s aints — 50 portraits of saints ographs. des no saints before her ous, the Marian visionary of m 1844 to 1879 and was the first more contemporary saints, such as her Teresa — and St. John Paul II, er muse, searching for black-andn base her portraits. She calls the e taken from the Te Deum prayer, ny of apostles praise you,” and company of the saints. ill it be like to be in the company e long to see them. ... I think
they’re very cool people.” When Gockowski resumed painting, she never intended to make religious art, she said. And while she’s pleased with the positive reception of “In the Company” on social media and from those who have bought prints, she said it has been a true sacrifice to paint the portraits. “It can get a little dull,” she admitted with a laugh, “because they’re sort of all the same — a lot of beards and black clothes and veils.” She’s painted about half the portraits she intends to. Since resuming art-making, Gockowski has reflected on the state of art in the Catholic Church, and she’s found it wanting. “I think people have just forgotten what it’s like to have artists that call themselves Catholic without fear, and are really good artists at the same time,” she said, noting that good Catholic art doesn’t necessarily have to be of religious subjects to convey the faith. “I intend not only to paint religious art; I intend to paint whatever God inspires me to paint. As long as it’s good, true and beautiful, then it’s from God.” Prints from the “In the Company” series are available at her website, bernadettegockowski.com, and at Leaflet Missal in St. Paul. Not all of its subjects are beatified or canonized; some she chose because she hopes they one day might be, such as the French actress turned Third Order Franciscan Eve Lavailliere. Gockowski also hopes “In the Company” inspires her social media followers — Catholics and non-Catholics alike — to delve more deeply into the saints and to think about them as dynamic people who lived real lives. She’s fascinated by the stories behind some of the photos, such as the one she painted of a 15-year-old St. Therese of Lisieux, who pinned up her hair to look mature enough to enter the convent; and the one of Blessed Miguel Pro, whose photo was snapped by a prison guard at 1 a.m. the night of his 1927 execution in Mexico. Gockowski has felt a stronger connection to the saints as she’s painted them, and with her brush strokes she also asks for their intercession. Bringing life through color to their black-and-white faces “makes me want to see them more and more” in heaven, she said. It also deepens her desire to be a saint herself. “It’s changed my spiritual life,” she said of her return to painting. “It’s changed my outlook on my life, because I think it’s a truer version of who I am, and I kind of forgot it. I thought God was saying, ‘It’s done.’ I had let it go so thoroughly, that I think God had to say, ‘No, you didn’t. It’s not done. Begin again.’”
PORTRAITS COURTESY BERNADETTE GOCKOWSKI
LEFT TO RIGHT FROM TOP St. Teresa of Kolkata, Servant of God Augustine Tolton, Blessed John Henry Newman, St. Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross), St. Teresa of the Andes, St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, Eve Lavailliere and Blessed Solanus Casey.
12 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
MAY 16, 2019
GRADUATION
I would tell them Jesus is real. And they should always be patient
with themselves and realize that
everything is a journey. Emily Clark
COURTESY EMILY CLARK
Emily Clark, right, with friends Tati Rodriguez, left, and Kate Hawley at a University of Oklahoma football game at Gaylord Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Sept. 16, 2016.
College graduate: Patience, prayer make a difference By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit
L
isten to your heart, pray, be patient and have faith. That advice to high school graduates comes from a 2019 graduate of the University of Oklahoma who switched majors from nursing to human relations — but only after much soul-searching, many conversations and placing her doubts into the Lord’s hands. Emily Clark, who grew up attending St. Ambrose in Woodbury, said her decision also brought her closer to Christ, and it allows her to live out her faith in a special way. She began work in February, even before her May 11 graduation, as the coordinator of youth and young adult evangelization at Holy Spirit parish in Mustang, Oklahoma, about 30 miles from the university campus in Norman, Oklahoma. But her journey was not straight and
smooth, Clark said. She knows she could have lived out her faith as a nurse. But she noticed something about herself, and she payed attention. She was spending a lot of time in Bible study and other activities at St. Thomas More University Parish and Student Center on the university campus — and less time on her nursing studies. “This is where my passions are right now,” Clark recalled thinking at the end of her sophomore year. “I don’t want to be studying anatomy. I want to be in Bible study or doing something at the church.” Making the university parish a big part of her life wasn’t a straight shot, either, Clark said. As Tim and Heather Clark’s only child, she grew up in a faith-filled home, and she attended St. Ambrose of Woodbury Catholic School. She was surrounded by other Catholics, but she didn’t think a lot about what she believed and didn’t make the faith her own. “I always participated in my faith
growing up, but I don’t think I really appreciated it until I got to OU,” she said. When she arrived on campus, she knew she wanted to make friends, but she didn’t know how that would happen. Using Facebook, she found a fellow freshman as a roommate. The only other thing she and Kate Hawley had in common was being Catholic. Hawley knew she wanted to be part of the university parish, and she encouraged Clark to join her. Together, they signed up for a Bible study led by then-junior Tati Rodriguez. “Kate opened the door and Tati walked me through it,” Clark said. “They’ve been my biggest supporters. They are two of my best friends.” Rodriguez taught her to pray, and both women kept her true to that discipline, Clark said. Rodriguez had switched to human relations as a major after first being interested in business. She liked the change and shared her story with Clark as her friend expressed
doubts about nursing. Clark also talked with her parents, Hawley and others, and she prayed. “It was a long process of prayer, of weighing the pros and cons, kind of figuring out what my fears were, and allowing Jesus to come into those fears,” she said. “It was a big part of learning to trust Jesus, for sure.” Clark found that her greatest fear was feeling like a failure — to herself and her goals. But she realized ending her path toward nursing didn’t have to change her sense of self-worth. She finally took the leap at the beginning of her junior year and hasn’t looked back. Asked if she has advice for high school students looking toward an uncertain future, Clark shared this: “I would tell them Jesus is real. And they should always be patient with themselves and realize that everything is a journey. They should ask questions, and seek out whatever is in their hearts.”
GRADUATION
MAY 16, 2019
Senior grateful for community at Visitation
Independent study on saints’ writings transforms faith
uadalupe Rodriguez came to Visitation School as a shy freshman, but now as a senior, she greets visitors while working the front desk at the entrance of the school adjacent to the Visitation Sisters’ former monastery. “Coming to a new school, I was struggling with finding myself, but it didn’t take me too long to find myself because the community was so close; I was able to experience God,” Rodriguez said. Embracing community characterizes Rodriguez’s time at Visitation, the Mendota Heights all-girls Catholic school founded by the sisters. She previously attended a public middle school in St. Paul, and she found a genuine faith experience at her high school. Rodriguez described her faith before Visitation as not going much deeper than participation in parish activities. She played guitar and sang in the choir for Spanish Masses at St. Francis de Sales in St. Paul. Her parents wanted her to attend Catholic school to grow in her faith, as well as remain active in her parish, she said. “Then once I started taking religion classes, I was able to learn more in depth what each part of Mass meant,” Rodriguez said. “I was also able to learn more about the Bible and history behind it.” Learning about different religions in religion class at Visitation also was enriching, she said. “It made me get closer to my faith, knowing that I’m Catholic and that’s the religion that I want to pursue for the rest of my life,” Rodriguez said. “It also helped me realize how every religion has something in common, and I loved learning about the different religions.” Rodriguez will continue her Catholic education at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph this fall and major in Spanish. She wants to be a university Spanish professor because of her love of Hispanic culture and language. At Visitation, she supports cultural diversity through a the Students of Color group. Respecting cultural differences is part of the Salesian charism of practicing “little virtues,” which is promoted by the school, she said. “We try to work out how to reach people with gentle hearts and kindness and learn to have patience with those with whom we have different opinions,” Rodriguez said.
hen Bethlehem Academy senior Joseph Seidel’s plans to take a probability and statistics course through Northwestern University in St. Paul fell through last year, he took an independent study on saints’ writings instead. “I was at a loss for what to do, and I had to talk to my parents about what might be the next step,” Seidel said about taking a replacement class. The course at Bethlehem Academy intensified his faith journey at the Faribault Catholic high school. It also improved his preparation for joining St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul this fall. The school offers independent study as an option for students, but students rarely choose a subject on religion, said Director of Admissions Kris Sauer. Working with theology teacher Sara Heselton, Seidel read writings by St. Augustine, St. Teresa of Kolkata, St. Francis de Sales and St. Teresa of Avila. “The biggest thing I got out of it was the importance of qualities within my relationship with God, with two in particular: charity and patience,” said Seidel, a member of Divine Mercy in Faribault. “Because you would read about the saints and see these miraculous things they experienced, and you want to go for it right away, but it’s about waiting for yourself to be ready for that. The biggest thing each of them stressed is charity.” The course deepened his desire to respond to a call to priesthood, which he has felt since the first grade. “It would be wrong not to do God’s will,” he said. “The gift that I can give to him is through charity and myself.” Seidel completed projects and reflections on each saint’s writings. The course included writing his own confessions of faith based on “The Confessions of St. Augustine” and creating a poster about St. Teresa of Avila’s “Interior Castle.” The poster depicts a winding path to mansions, which Teresa used to represent stages of spiritual growth. He also has found creative outlets in theater, choir and band, where he plays the clarinet. Seidel does service projects as a member of the school’s National Honor Society, and he serves on the student council. He sees the Dominican pillars of faith, which Bethlehem Academy emphasizes, lived out in the activities in which he participates. The four pillars are ministry, prayer, study and community. “It’s about bringing each other into union with God,” Seidel said.
G
W
TAYLOR DAMBERG
JOSEPH SEIDEL
To honor graduating high school seniors in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, The Catholic Spirit asked Catholic high schools to nominate a student to be considered for this feature. The three students selected credit their Catholic education with deepening their faith and commitment to living out its principles. Congratulations to all of our graduates! Stories by Matthew Davis, photos by Dave Hrbacek.
GUADALUPE RODRIGUEZ
PROFILES
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13
Softball captain fields growth in faith, defense of life
B
enilde-St. Margaret’s School senior softball captain Taylor Damberg found success on the diamond and something worth even more in the halls and classrooms of the high school in St. Louis Park. “Growing up in a private Catholic school the past 12 years has certainly brought me closer to Jesus, but what’s special about BSM is the way it has pushed me to see the world outside of its halls,” said Damberg, a member of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata. Damberg sees it in softball, where she recognizes that her opponents have equal dignity from God. She also prioritizes Mass during the club season outside of BSM when tournaments fall on a Sunday. On the field, she helped BSM reach two state tournaments in the past three years. Macalester College in St. Paul recruited her to play next year, but she will attend Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, and study in that school’s pre-medicine program instead. Damberg, who attended St. Bartholomew Catholic School in Wayzata through the sixth grade, chose BSM because of its Catholic values and its academic rigor. An eighth-grade religious studies class challenged her to make her faith her own, and it set the tone for her time at BSM, she said. “I’m Catholic not because my parents are Catholic, but because of my belief in God and my personal decision to follow him,” Damberg said. “It is because of my relationship with him that I am capable of anything at all. I credit everything to him.” Theology classes in high school led her to embrace the charism of service, which BSM emphasizes because the Christian Brothers, founded by St. John the Baptist de LaSalle, values service and it was one of the founding orders of the school. Damberg volunteered 60 hours her junior year at St. Therese of New Hope, a senior care center in New Hope, as part of a theology course at BSM. She also helped lead a weeklong mission trip with 10 BSM junior-high girls in Rapid City, South Dakota, where she volunteered at a child care center for families experiencing poverty. She also serves with Link Crew, which supports new students’ transition to BSM, and a Students for Human Life group at the school. Getting involved in Students for Human Life was a fruit of her faith journey, she said. She plans to continue her pro-life work in the medical field after college, she said.
GRADUATION
14 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
MAY 16, 2019
COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES Academy of Holy Angels • Richfield •B accalaureate Mass — 6:30 p.m. May 29, Academy of Holy Angels, 6600 Nicollet Ave., Richfield, with celebrant Father Mike Tix. •C ommencement — 4 p.m. June 2, Academy of Holy Angels, with speaker student Megan Meckey. • 160 graduates
Benilde-St. Margaret’s School • St. Louis Park •B accalaureate Mass — 11 a.m. May 19, Marriott City Center, 30 S. 7th St., Minneapolis, with celebrant Father Tim Wozniak. • Commencement — 7 p.m. May 31, Benilde St. Margaret’s Stadium, 2501 Highway 100, St. Louis Park, with speaker student Madeline Marusich. • 212 graduates
Bethlehem Academy • Faribault •B accalaureate Mass — 7:30 p.m. May 22, Divine Mercy Catholic Church, 139 Mercy Drive, Faribault, with celebrant Archbishop Bernard Hebda. •C ommencement — 7:30 p.m. May 24, Van Orsow Auditorium, 105 Third Ave. SW, Faribault, with speaker Dominican Sister Ann Willits. • 46 graduates
Visitation School • Mendota Heights • Parent-Senior Mass — 10:30 a.m. May 19, Visitation School, Mendota Heights, 2455 Visitation Drive, Mendota Heights, with celebrant Father Nick Hagan. • Commencement — 3 p.m. June 2, Visitation School, with speakers Visitation Sister Mary Frances Reis and student Aalishba Ahmad. • 77 graduates
•C ommencement — 6:45 p.m. May 23, Basilica of St. Mary, 88 17th St. N., Minneapolis, with speaker Julie Sullivan, University of St. Thomas president.
St. Agnes School • St. Paul
• 182 graduates
•B accalaureate Mass — 11 a.m. May 29, Church of St. Agnes, 535 Thomas Ave. W., St. Paul, with celebrant Father Mark Moriarty.
Hill-Murray School • Maplewood
•C ommencement — 7 p.m. May 31, St. Agnes School, 530 Lafond Ave., St. Paul, with speaker Donna May.
•C ommencement — 7:30 p.m. June 7, Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul, with two student speakers, to be determined.
• 76 graduates
Cretin-Derham Hall • St. Paul
• 150 graduates
St. Thomas Academy • Mendota Heights
•B accalaureate Mass — 9 a.m. May 29, Lumen Christi, 2055 Bohland Ave., St. Paul, with celebrant Father Patrick Kennedy.
Holy Family Catholic High School • Victoria
•B accalaureate Mass — 7:30 p.m. June 3, St. Thomas Academy, 949 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, with celebrant Father Mark Pavlak.
•C ommencement — 7:30 p.m. May 29, Cathedral of St. Paul with speakers, a teacher and a student, to be determined. • 241 graduates
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School • Minneapolis •B accalaureate Mass — 6:30 p.m. June 7, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, 2924 Fourth Ave. S., with celebrant Jesuit Father John Paul. •C ommencement — 2 p.m. June 8, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, with speaker, a student, to be determined.
Chesterton Academy • Edina and St. Paul
• 129 graduates
•B accalaureate Mass and Commencement — 6:30 p.m. May 31, Holy Family Catholic Church, 5900 W. Lake St., St. Louis Park, with celebrant Father Joseph Johnson, concelebrant Pro Ecclesia Sancta Father Adam Tokashiki. • 32 graduates
DeLaSalle High School • Minneapolis •B accalaureate Mass — 6:30 p.m. May 22, DeLaSalle main gymnasium, 1 DeLaSalle Drive, Minneapolis, with celebrant Father Bruno Nwachukwu.
• Baccalaureate Mass — 2 p.m. May 19, St. Victoria Catholic Church, with celebrant Father Bob White. • Commencement — 7 p.m. May 22, Holy Family Slattery Activities and Convocation Center, 8101 Kochia Lane, Victoria, with speaker school alumnus attorney Rob Fafinski. • 110 graduates
•C ommencement — 7:30 p.m. June 6, Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul, with adult and student speakers to be determined. • 136 graduates
Totino-Grace High School • Fridley
Providence Academy • Plymouth
•B accalaureate Mass — 7 p.m. May 29, St. Odilia, 3495 Victoria St. N., Shoreview, with celebrant Father Paul Baker.
•B accalaureate Mass — 4 p.m. May 31, Basilica of St. Mary, 88 N. 17 St., Minneapolis, with celebrant Bishop Andrew Cozzens.
•C ommencement — 7 p.m. May 31, Totino-Grace High School, 1350 Gardena Ave. NE, Fridley, with speakers selected by students.
• Commencement — 8 p.m. May 31, Providence Academy Performing Arts Center, 15100 Schmidt Lake Road, Plymouth.
• 184 graduates
• 89 graduates
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MAY 16, 2019
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 15
MEMORIALDAY
Retired Catholic Cemeteries director reflects on four decades in field By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
J
ohn Cherek didn’t set out to work in cemeteries. In 1981, he was working as a parish administrator at St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake when the pastor, Father Michael Kennedy, told him that he was going to be in charge of the parish cemetery. The responsibilities dovetailed with his job — there were records to be kept, maintenance to be coordinated, plots to be sold. But there was also a pastoral component — families to be consoled, challenges to be navigated, deep questions to be answered — and for that, Cherek was able to draw on his master’s degree in theology and seven years experience as a director of religious education. Within months, the cemetery work was the favorite part of Cherek’s job. And that love compelled him in 1989 to apply for director of The Catholic Cemeteries, a Twin Cities religious corporation that oversees the care of five Catholic cemeteries, provides education on funeral and burial pre-planning, and serves as a consultant to the roughly 110 Catholic parish cemeteries in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well as others elsewhere. He started the job in 1990. At the end of December, Cherek, 70, retired after 28 years as The Catholic Cemeteries’ director. Under his leadership, the organization grew from acting “as an island” to having strong relationships with parishes and a focus on the corporal work of mercy it offers in burying the dead, he said. With Cherek’s retirement, Joan Gecik became Catholic Cemeteries’ new director, bringing with her more than 40 years of parish leadership experience. Prior to her position with The Catholic Cemeteries, she was pastoral administrator at St. Thomas the Apostle in Minneapolis. Cherek compared his work at The Catholic Cemeteries to being a city manager. Each cemetery has its own infrastructure, record keeping, employees and clients, he explained, and each site requires relationshipbuilding with representatives from different entities, such as the city in which it’s located. In nearly three decades as the director, none of Cherek’s days were the same. “There’s always a project that needs to be managed,” he said. “It’s so multifaceted.” Some days in Cherek’s work with cemeteries, however, were more eventful than others. In 1987 or 1988, when he was still at St. Mary of the Lake, a frequent visitor to its cemetery called the parish office to tell Cherek that something was going on at the cemetery, and that he had better get down there. He and the maintenance man jumped in the car, and when they arrived, Cherek noted large trucks and a TV crew. He also recognized a woman. As he headed toward her, another woman came over to introduce herself. “I’m Diane Sawyer,” she said. The TV crew was from “60 Minutes.” The woman he recognized first had been in the local news. She had given
up her son for adoption, and she had learned he had died at age 3. With changes in the law, she was able to find his adoptive parents and locate his grave — there, at St. Mary of the Lake’s cemetery. In the process, a horrible truth came out: The adoptive mother had abused the boy, Dennis, causing his death in 1965. The birth mother fought for justice, and the boy’s body was exhumed in 1987 and found to show signs of trauma corroborating the accusation. The adoptive mother was arrested, tried and convicted, and then sent to prison. The situation was the most tragic Cherek encountered in working with cemeteries, he said, but it illustrated for him that a person’s story isn’t necessarily over when his or her body is put into the ground. As at St. Mary of the Lake, Cherek’s role at The Catholic Cemeteries required him to navigate sensitive and sometimes dramatic family situations, especially as norms around burial have changed. With cremation numbers on the rise, it’s become more common for family members to delay a loved one’s funeral after his or her death for a variety of reasons. That delay, however, can become indefinite, and that’s something Cherek wanted to help families avoid. Part of his work was educating Catholics about the Church’s teaching on what is necessary and what is preferred in funeral practices. The Church recommends, for example, that the deceased’s body be present for the funeral Mass, even if cremation is planned for interment. The Church requires cremated remains to be buried in the ground or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium — a space especially for cremated remains — and the Church prohibits them from being scattered or kept in a home. In reality, however, many Catholics are ignoring Church guidance, which in some circumstances has resulted in the remains being forgotten or discarded. Cherek recalled one situation in which two adult children discovered, while cleaning their mother’s home following her death, that their father’s ashes had been kept for years in the
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
John Cherek stands in Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights in October. He retired in December after 28 years as director of The Catholic Cemeteries. garage. They came to The Catholic Cemeteries for advice. Others have simply abandoned cremated remains at The Catholic Cemeteries’ offices. With secular funeral trends moving away from funerals and burials in favor of personalized rituals, “celebrations of life” and scattering cremated remains, memorializing the deceased has changed, too. In lieu of headstones, internet-based remembrances in “virtual cemeteries” are growing in popularity. “The interesting thing now is even with Catholics, it’s like we have to communicate to them the value of permanent memorialization,” Cherek said. “The Church considers the cemetery a sacred space. The other sacred space is the church. ... The tradition has always been to bury the body within the community. Based on that tradition and the belief of the sacredness of human life and dignity ... we (the Church) want your bodily remains to be buried and your name to be memorialized.” Cherek was intentional about the pastoral aspect of his role, and he emphasized that with his staff. “We’re called to act compassionately and be of service to them,” he said of the families with whom Catholic Cemeteries works. “Mercy is the predominant virtue,” especially when having to say “no” to someone’s request for a practice outside of the cemetery’s or Church’s parameters, he said.
“We have to look at ways we can be compassionate and merciful, especially given the position of the Church now, with so many people not connected to a parish or the tradition itself,” he said. Twenty-two years ago, he launched an annual “Mission Day,” when The Catholic Cemeteries’ 25 full-time staff members reflect on the nature of their work. He lists it among his proudest accomplishments. Other accomplishments include expanding four of the five cemeteries’ burial capacities through the elimination of roads and the addition of mausoleums and columbariums, as well as digitizing the organization’s records, implementing its “Heritage” newsletter, securing the organization’s financial stability, and, at Resurrection, establishing a section for natural burial. (See story on page 16). Although Cherek has worked in cemeteries for nearly four decades, nothing taught him more about grieving, he said, than burying his oldest daughter, Kristen, who had an undiagnosed heart condition and died in 1993 of sudden cardiac arrest as a sophomore at Marquette University in Milwaukee. Cherek was 45 at the time. “When a death occurs in your family, it touches you in ways you can’t imagine or predict,” said Cherek, who has three living children. “Experiencing her death gave me an insight (into) grief.” Kristen’s death inspired Cherek and his wife, Linda, to get involved with bereavement ministry at St. Mary of the Lake. Linda became a clinical social worker and therapist who specializes in helping clients work through grief, and both she and John served in leadership positions with the National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved. In retirement, Cherek is traveling and spending time with family. He also remains involved in St. Mary of the Lake’s ministry of consolation, which supports parishioners grieving loss. As for the future of The Catholic Cemeteries, “there’s possibilities for growth,” he said, “and I think Joan is the right person to do that.”
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MEMORIALDAY
16 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
MAY 16, 2019
Natural burial to begin at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit
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hyllis Strong, who worked in pollution control for the state of Minnesota, looks forward to The Catholic Cemeteries starting natural burial at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights June 1. “I had looked at a lot of different natural burial options, and so at Resurrection ... it incorporates the Catholic faith view that you bury the remains … in blessed ground,” said Strong, 71, a member of St. Louis King of France in St. Paul. As a pollution prevention coordinator with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in St. Paul, now retired, Strong consulted with various industries to reduce toxins in their work. With the funeral industry, she researched burial options to find methods that used fewer chemicals, fossil fuels and metals than prevalent current customs. Those options pose hazards such as formaldehyde from embalming fluids seeping into the ground, she said. Strong and her husband, Peter, 81, joined nearly 50 other people at St. Peter in Mendota April 30 to learn about The Catholic Cemeteries’ natural burial process and site at Resurrection. Archbishop Bernard Hebda will bless the site, titled Gate of Heaven Reserve, on Memorial Day May 27. The cemetery set aside a section for natural burial, and it will continue to offer typical burial options. “Jesus was laid to rest in a shroud without embalming and/or a burial vault,” said Joan Gecik, executive director of The Catholic Cemeteries, a Mendota Heights-based organization that oversees five Catholic cemeteries in the Twin Cities. “This has been the way Christians have honored their loved ones for
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This has been the way Christians have honored their loved ones for most of the Church’s 2,000 years. Joan Gecik
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most of the Church’s 2,000 years.” Gecik said The Catholic Cemeteries decided to do natural burial in response to Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’” on ecology and care for the environment. Natural burial uses a biodegradable container for the body, and the container goes directly into the ground without a burial vault. The body often is wrapped in a shroud and placed in a wicker or wood casket, or placed directly in the grave. At Resurrection, the body will be transported to the grave by cart, which people will pull, to reduce harm to the environment. In natural burial, family and friends of the deceased may have a private viewing of the body within 72
hours after death. State law requires that the body be embalmed or refrigerated after that point. Gecik presented some of the environmental hazards of regular burial, which included national statistics from California-based nonprofit Green Burial Council. Among the hazards, 4.3 million gallons of embalming fluid go into the ground annually as does 20 million board feet of hardwoods, 1.6 million tons of concrete, 17,000 tons of copper and bronze and 64,500 tons of steel. Because cremation involves chemicals that seep into the ground, cremation won’t be an option for natural burial at Resurrection. Gecik said natural burial could save families money because it doesn’t involve the cost of embalming fluids, a fancier casket, head stone and a grave liner or burial vault. The cost will vary depending on what families do, such as the type of shroud or casket they choose, she said. At the Gate of Heaven Reserve, prairie grass will cover the graves, and a grass walkway will lead to the grave sites. A rock monument at the entrance of each section will have the names, birth dates and death dates engraved for each of the deceased with a map of the plots. Gecik said the monument replaces individual markers to preserve the natural integrity of the prairie grass areas. She said 300 graves are planned for the reserve, and there is room for growth. She encouraged attendees to meet with a Catholic Cemeteries family service counselor to plan for natural burial. Phyllis and Peter Strong plan to be buried that way when they die. “You’re using less,” Phyllis Strong said about natural burial. “You’re one part of that choice of the population that’s saying, ‘This is one little thing that I can do to use less.’”
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MAY 16, 2019
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 17
FOCUSONFAITH
DAILY Scriptures
SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER BYRON HAGAN
Christians loving one another proves Christianity
We are familiar with the summary of the Commandments that Jesus gives when under the interrogation: “What is the greatest commandment?” (Mt 22:36). He says that “the whole law and the prophets” are summed up in the commandment to love God with our whole heart, soul and mind, and then to follow upon this love with loving our neighbors as ourselves — a tall order indeed. In fact, it’s impossible without divine grace. In another place, there’s a similar discourse, as Jesus is asked by “an expert in the law” how to attain eternal life. Jesus places the question back on the questioner, who then goes on to summarize the law in the same way Jesus did in Matthew 22: to love God and neighbor in a radical way (Lk 10:25). But then the question arises: “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus gives the parable of the Good Samaritan, where we are taught that our “neighbor” is truly anyone in need whose path we cross, especially those who do not belong to our “tribe,” meaning our family or group of close friends. In short, the one who loves God and follows the law of God’s love opens up his heart for the whole world, just as Jesus did. Up to this point, Jesus’ audience is being told things they already know — or at least that they should already know. In the Gospel for Sunday, May 19, however, Jesus gives what he calls a “new commandment.” This commandment is given strictly to those members of the new Church that Christ is founding. He says to them that they must love each other in the same way that he has loved them. They must be prepared to give their very lives for each other. This is the form of unity that Christians have with one another, that they are all Christ to each other. Furthermore, the Lord says that it will be by this love within the body of believers that they witness to the world that they belong to Christ. I recall something that Pope Francis said a few years ago, perhaps, in a speech or homily. He said “the Church is not just another NGO.” An “NGO” is a “non-governmental organization,” which means a private charity. It is true that Christians are called to serve
FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN
The Eucharist as sacrifice
The Eucharist, in addition to being a meal, is also a sacrifice. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29), and as the sacrificial lamb on the altar of the cross, he took upon himself the sins of us all (Is 53:6b). It was his supreme act of love because there is no greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (Jn 15:13), and he did this for us while we are still sinners (Rom 5:8). Jesus “loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering” (Eph 5:2). At Mass during the consecration, when the priest says the Words of Institution, he uses the words of Jesus at the Last Supper: “This is my body, which will be given up for you.” To “give up” meant that he would offer his body in sacrifice. Next, the priest says, “This is the chalice of my blood ... which will be poured out for you.” The pouring out would be a blood sacrifice, and the purpose would be for the forgiveness of sins. “We are now justified by his blood” (Rom 5:9). The celebration of the holy sacrifice of the Mass is not a reenactment of the sacrifice of the Cross, but rather “makes present the one sacrifice of Christ,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The sacrifice cannot be repeated. Scripture says that Jesus “entered once for all into the sanctuary … with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption” (Heb 9:12). The key word is “once.” The sacrifice that Jesus offered on the Cross was perfect and complete, and there is nothing that can be done to add to it. The Mass is a memorial in which Christ is made present.
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Sunday, May 19 Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 14:21-27 Rev 21:1-5a Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35
He says to them that they must love each other in the same way that he has loved them. They must be prepared to give their very lives for each other.
Monday, May 20 Acts 14:5-18 Jn 14:21-26 Tuesday, May 21 Acts 14:19-28 Jn 14: 27-31a Wednesday, May 22 Acts 15:1-6 Jn 15:1-8 Thursday, May 23 Acts 15:7-21 Jn 15:9-11 Friday, May 24 Acts 15:22-31 Jn 15:12-17
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the poor wherever they find them and to go looking for them, even, since they are not always within view, and that such mission is essential to the identity of the Church according to the parable of the Good Samaritan. However, the Church in the world — the “Church Militant” — is not defined completely by her activity as “Good Samaritan.” The Church in her innermost essence is the extension of the life of the blessed Trinity within the body of the baptized. The Church calls all to become a part of this body, and her public witness to the trinitarian love that lives in her is not given primarily by what she does for those outside the body, but rather by the love that is demonstrated within the body by the members one to another. In our time, society is divided radically into political tribes. Our sense of kinship is more likely to be felt toward those who think with us politically. But, as members of the body of the baptized, we must always remember that our love for our fellow Christians exists for one reason — that they are our fellow Christians. It is by this love alone that we will be known as disciples of Christ. Christ himself said so. Father Hagan is a parochial vicar of Holy Cross in Minneapolis.
Eucharistic Prayer I connects three significant sacrificial offerings of the Old Testament with the sacrifice of Jesus, entreating the Father: “Be pleased to look upon these offerings with a serene and kindly countenance, and to accept them, as once you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel the just; the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith; and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek,” and then refers to his son Jesus as “a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.” The blood sacrifice of Jesus is also connected to two other major Old Testament events. On the first Passover, the paschal lamb was sacrificed, its blood was smeared on the lintel and the two doorposts, and the blood saved the lives of the Hebrew people (Ex 12:21-23). On Good Friday, Jesus, the innocent and unblemished lamb, was sacrificed, his blood was smeared on the wood of the cross, and his blood is life and salvation for all. When Moses came down Mount Sinai and ratified the covenant, he ordered the sacrifice of young bulls, that the blood be collected in large bowls, and that half of the blood would be sprinkled on the altar, which represented God, and the other half sprinkled on the people. Moses explained: “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you” (Ex 24:8). The blood that Jesus offered at the Last Supper and shed on the cross has sealed the new and eternal covenant. The love of Jesus begs a response from us — love in response to love, sacrifice in response to sacrifice. St. Paul instructs us “to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Rom 12:1). When I was little, my mother taught me to make a morning offering, “O Lord, I offer to you all of my prayers, works, joys and sufferings.” I now add, “May all of my thoughts, words and deeds be pleasing to you.” The best sacrifice is to offer our lives to God, and to do so by loving and serving our neighbor, avoiding sin, offering prayers of praise and thanks, and, guided by the words of Jesus in the Gospel, living a good and virtuous life. Father Van Sloun is pastor of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata. This column is part of an ongoing series on the Eucharist. Read more of his writing at CatholicHotdish.com.
Saturday, May 25 Acts 16:1-10 Jn 15:18-21 Sunday, May 26 Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 Rev 21:10-14, 22-23 Jn 14:23-29 Monday, May 27 Acts 16:11-15 Jn 15:26–16:4a Tuesday, May 28 Acts 16:22-34 Jn 16:5-11 Wednesday, May 29 Acts 17:15, 22–18:1 Jn 16:12-15 Thursday, May 30 Acts 18:1-8 Jn 16:16-20 Friday, May 31 Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Zep 3:14-18a Lk 1:39-56 Saturday, June 1 St. Justin, martyr Acts 18:23-28 Jn 16:23b-28 Sunday, June 2 Seventh Sunday of Easter Acts 7:55-60 Rev 22:12-14, 16-17, 20 Jn 17:20-26 Monday, June 3 St. Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs Acts 19:1-8 Jn 16:29-33 Tuesday, June 4 Acts 20:17-27 Jn 17:1-11a Wednesday, June 5 St. Boniface, bishop and martyr Acts 20:28-38 Jn 17:11b-19 Thursday, June 6 Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 Jn 17:20-26 Friday, June 7 Acts 25:13b-21 Jn 21:15-19 Saturday, June 8 Acts 28:16-20, 30-31 Jn 21:20-25 Sunday, June 9 Pentecost Acts 2:1-11 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 Jn 20:19-23
18 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
COMMENTARY YOUR HEART, HIS HOME | LIZ KELLY
‘Take heart’ in this sacred need
It started with a terrible crush I had on a drummer. “Alex” was living in Alaska for the summer, spending some time with relatives when we met. He was a successful musician in New York, a small town boy who’d done well for himself in the big world, and a devout Christian. He sat in at clubs around town where I was singing, and we ended up attending the same church for a while. He was sweet and very hip, an excellent drummer, and I liked him immediately. I was young and had virtually no experience with romantic relationships, so I pined away silently for him as we hung out, just friends and fellow musicians. One night I will never forget, we were sitting in a coffee shop late in the evening on an Alaskan summer night with the sun still high in the sky when we fell into deep conversation. I was trying to express what I wanted — out of life, out of our friendship, many things — and I was fumbling awkwardly. After listening patiently to me a long while, his summary of my thought was piercing. “You want to be known,” he said simply. It was the emphasis on the last word that nearly crushed my heart. I was ashamed by my own need, and I could not deny that he was exactly right. Just then, almost in response to the embarrassment I felt in being exposed so flatly, we noticed a very unusual cloud approaching. It was black and ominous and beginning to blot out the Alaskan evening sun. We sat, speechless, watching it unfold, growling and low, ready
CATHOLIC WATCHMEN | DEACON GORDON BIRD
Grace prevails in the first domestic church Each season brings its holidays, both religious and secular. Spring rolls on, as does Eastertide through this month of May. Earlier in the month, we were crowning Mary and honoring St. Joseph the Worker. And, we just recently celebrated Mother’s Day with feasts, flowers, gifts and — most important — love. In a few weeks — postPentecost — we will come upon Father’s Day. A Catholic slant presents these religious devotions and secular celebrations as opportunities to honor the leaders of the first, and holiest, domestic church — Mary and Joseph. Learning from both their contemplative and active examples as the domestic parents of Jesus, these two models teach us how to live the Christian life through all seasons. Observing my wife crowning our Marian statue in the backyard, I’m pleasantly reminded how the grace of God perfects nature — supernatural gifts perfecting the natural. In centuries of Catholic tradition, we have dedicated the entire month to Mary. Sacred Scripture reveals that our queen mother had the experience of living with Jesus from birth through his resurrection. St. Joseph has a significant feast day that leads off the month. While we don’t know much about Jesus’ hidden years, we do know he grew up as “the carpenter’s son” (Mt 13:55). Such a teacher Joseph must have been to our Lord, given the antiquity of devotions in his honor that remain today. In the prayer of St. Joseph the Worker, who is the “model of all those who are devoted to labor,” we ask for “the grace to work conscientiously,” cooperating with help from God to fulfill its proper end. His example reminds us to strive for excellence in all
to engulf the whole world. Slowly, we realized, a volcano across the inlet had erupted, and this was an ash cloud. By the time we got to my car, we had to cover our mouths; ash was filling the air — something like tiny, bitter shards of glass. At the time, I thought that volcanic eruption was an omen, warning me off any real attempts at intimacy. I have thought better of it since then. Truly, we have been created with many needs: for intimacy, for grace, for love, even fiery passion. If the Sacred Heart teaches us nothing, it must teach us that. Some of the defining moments of my life have been in prayer with art based on the Sacred Heart. I don’t know exactly when I fell in love with this image, but oh how I have. I love it for its burning passion, for its willingness to be pierced and rejected, and for its fearlessness in longing for love, for souls. I adore it for its purity and clarifying power. How often Jesus begs us to “take heart.” And how often that happens just as he is pouring out his healing. “Take heart, your sins are forgiven,” “Take heart, your faith has healed you,” “Take heart, it is I!” (Mt. 9:2, 22 and 27). “Take heart,” he says. That is, “take my heart. Let my heart be your heart, burning, pure, full of holy, sacred need for intimacy, for souls, to be known and loved.” The theologians tells us that God has no need; he is perfect act, perfect joy. And of course they are right. But God also chooses to reveal himself in the Son, and to take on himself even human need. I “take heart” indeed, that Jesus knows my needs, not as an abstraction, but as an intimate, human ache, and enters into them, that he may know me, love me, and save me. Jesus, I offer you my heart to do with as you will. Let your loves be my loves. Let your longings be my longings. Let my heart hide always in your Sacred, Burning Heart. Kelly is the author of six books, including “Jesus Approaches” and the “Jesus Approaches Take-Home Retreat.” Visit her website at lizk.org. our work, tasks, situations and assignments — big or small. That’s doing the best we can to perform deeds and to teach others with the same reverence and work ethic as Mary and Joseph, starting with our own homes. We can memorialize the holiness of the first domestic church in our houses and the outside properties with devotional prayers and religious articles that provide us many occasions to share the beauty, goodness and truth of God’s creative work. That may include Christian art that speaks 1,000 words, or a library of good books or movies that support the breadth and depth of the Catholic faith. All bode well in providing a special time with friends and family for prayer, study, discussion and learning — and having fun at it. We have little eyes along with the big that observe what goes on and what is displayed within the boundaries of our domestic church we call home. Displaying a Bible on the coffee table, rosaries on lamp stands, a crucifix in each room, or leading novenas and prayers for friends, family and others in need help resonate the faith. So does offering up special moments like crowning and blessing a statue of our Mother in May, memorializing St. Joseph on his feast days or speaking to the merits of the saint of the day. It’s a little heaven on earth as we press onward toward our eternal home. Integrating the roles of husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, colleague and good neighbor can pose its challenges. There certainly are times I have fallen short of being proficient in each and every one of those vocations, including my responsibility as a teacher, spiritual and self-sacrificing leader within the boundaries of my domestic church. Thank goodness for the endless mercy and forgiveness of God, and for an understanding and loving spouse. Married or single, we are so fortunate to have Mary and Joseph from whom to learn, to teach, to follow and to intercede for us in prayer. After all, with God’s grace, the first and holiest domestic church raised our Savior. “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him” (Lk 2:40). Deacon Bird ministers at St. Joseph in Rosemount and assists the Catholic Watchmen movement of the archdiocese’s Office of Evangelization.
MAY 16, 2019
LETTERS Cathedral left out I was surprised to read Susan Klemond’s article “Preventing the wrinkles from time” (May 20). And more surprised to find that the article is incomplete. The author evidently didn’t take time to consult with the archives of the Cathedral of St. Paul, where she would have found Archbishop John Ireland’s vestments, among them, his mitre, chasuble, cope and stole. It would seem to me that the vestments of the first archbishop of the archdiocese should be included in any discussion of “older liturgical textiles” that are part of Church history. The author would also have learned what the Cathedral archives does to preserve John Ireland’s vestments and those of his successors, Archbishop Austin Dowling and Archbishop John Murray. We have, as a matter of fact, a very special set of vestments purchased by John Ireland at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. Hand embroidered by the Royal Embroiderers to the Royal Household, the vestments are carefully preserved. Periodically, we set the vestments on display in the Cathedral museum. Celeste Raspanti, archivist Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul
Slime time or fake fun? I have never understood why people find it amusing to cause another discomfort by such as flipping a person into a dunk tank at a festival or throwing a pie into an unsuspecting person’s face. On April 4, The Catholic Spirit had a full-page article, “Partners in Slime,” showing how St. Rose of Lima School found a way to take this type of entertainment to an even lower level. In a gym full of cheering parents and children, students were awarded for selling raffle tickets by receiving the privilege of dumping green slime onto the head of the parish priest or the school principal. One child from each grade took a turn. A preschooler had the honor of going first and was helped up a ladder to dump a bucket of gooey slop onto the head of the parish priest. The child was applauded for doing something that, if he had done this to a sibling or a friend on his own, would have been considered a very nasty thing to do. In all my teaching days, I thought it was part of a school’s responsibility to promote positive and constructive values. I see no redeeming value in dumping slop on anyone’s head. The administration here might do well to survey the students on fun and worthwhile ideas for a school rewards assembly. Children can be amazingly creative. Mary DePrey St. Odilia, Shoreview
Notre Dame more than tour stop It is too bad that the Catholic News Service article on the tragic Paris fire couldn’t have put a more realistic and spiritual spin to it in its article in the April 18 edition of The Catholic Spirit. It is no secret that France, once a national Catholic country, now is not what it once was but has almost totally lost its Catholic identity, and Mary’s church has become a national and international secular attraction rather than the center of Catholic France. It is not surprising to many that this is a wake up call by the Blessed Virgin to return to her and her Son before it is too late. The church building should be more than a secular tourist attraction to the once Catholic France, and in its destruction one hopes that it will be once again recognized as a spiritual symbol of the country that it once was. R.J. Houck Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Paul Share your perspective by emailing CatholicSpirit@archspm. Please limit your letter to the editor to 150 words and include your parish and phone number. The Commentary page does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Catholic Spirit. Letters may be edited for length or clarity. org.
MAY 16, 2019
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 19
CALENDAR Grieving with Hope — Second and fourth Tuesdays: 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at St. Ambrose, 4125 Woodbury Drive, Woodbury. LeAnn at 651-768-3009. saintambroseofwoodbury.org. Job transitions and networking group — Tuesdays: 7–8:30 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker, 7180 Hemlock Lane, Maple Grove. Bob at bob.sjtw@gmail.com. sjtw.net. Career transition group — Third Thursdays: 7:30–8:30 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus, 155 County Road 24, Wayzata. hnoj.org. CARITAS cancer support group — Wednesdays: 10:30 a.m.–noon at St. Joseph’s Hospital, second floor, maternity classroom 2500, 45 W. 10th St., St. Paul. Healing Hope grief support — Second and fourth Thursdays: 6 p.m. at St. Timothy, 707 89th Ave. NE, Blaine. Facilitated by Bob Bartlett, licensed therapist. No fees or required registration. churchofsttimothy.com.
FEATURED EVENTS Holy Hour for men to be ordained to the priesthood — May 24: 5 p.m. at The St. Paul Seminary Chapel, 2260 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Prayers for men preparing to be ordained priests May 25. archspm.org/events. Priest ordination — May 25: 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. Archdiocesan transitional deacons will be ordained priests at the Mass. The four ordinands are Deacons Joseph Connelly, Louis Floeder, Joseph Gifford and Andrew Zipp. The ordination will be broadcast by Town Square Television and streamed by The Catholic Spirit via Facebook Live. archspm.org/priestly-ordination The Catholic Cemeteries Memorial Day Masses — 10 a.m. May 27: Masses honoring veterans at four cemeteries: Calvary, 753 Front Ave., St. Paul; Gethsemane, 8151 42nd Ave. N., New Hope; Resurrection, 2101 Lexington Ave. S., Mendota Heights; St. Anthony, 2730 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis; and St. Mary, 4403 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis. Masses held rain or shine. Refreshments following. catholic-cemeteries.org.
Parish events
Dining out The Basilica Landmark Spark — May 18: 5–10 p.m. at The Machine Shop, 300 Second St. SE, Minneapolis. thebasilicalandmark.org.
Ongoing groups Calix Society — First and third Sundays: 9–10:30 a.m. at Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. A group of men, women, family and friends supporting the spiritual needs of recovering Catholic alcoholics. Kathy at 651-330-3387. calixsociety.com. Dementia support group — Second Tuesdays: 7–9 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. RSVP sarnold@benedictinecenter.org.
Treasure Hunt rummage sale — May 16-18: 2–6 p.m. May 16; 9 a.m.–6 p.m. May 17; and 9 a.m.–noon May 18 at Sacred Heart, 4087 W. Broadway, Robbinsdale.shrmn.org. Transfiguration Council of Catholic Women’s garage sale — May 17-18: 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. May 17; 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m. May 18 at Transfiguration, 6133 15th St. N., Oakdale. transfigurationmn.org. High tea and silent auction fundraiser — May 19: 12:30–3 p.m. at The St. Paul Hotel, 350 Market St., St. Paul. Sponsored by the Altar and Rosary Society of the Church of St. Peter Claver, St. Paul. spcchurch.org. Celebration of Father John Clay’s retirement — May 19: 11 a.m.–2 p.m. at St. Stanislaus, 398 Superior St., St. Paul. Polka Mass 10 a.m. followed by an outdoor picnic, weather permitting. ststans.org. Perennial plant sale — June 1: 9 a.m.–noon at St. Rita, 8694 80th St. S., Cottage Grove. Sponsored by St. Rita’s Outreach Commission. missionoutreach@saintritas.org. Father Martin Shallbetter 50-year jubilee Mass and celebration — June 1: 5–8 p.m. at St. Edward, 9401 Nesbitt Ave. S., Bloomington. stedwardschurch.org
St. George annual rummage sale — June 5- 6: 8 a.m.–7 p.m. June 5; 9 a.m.–1 p.m. June 6 at 133 N. Brown Road, Long Lake. 952-473-1247. stgeorgelonglake.org.
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.
Prayer/worship Taize prayer — Third Friday: 7–9 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. benedictinecenter.org.
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.
Retreats Women’s silent weekend retreat — May 17-19: Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. Theme “Be Patient in Affliction” presented by King’s House preaching team. kingshouse.com.
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 ONLINE: thecatholicspirit.com/calendarsubmissions MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106
Conferences/workshops Order Franciscans Secular (OFS) — Third Sunday: 1 p.m. at Catholic Charities, 1200 Second Ave. S., Minneapolis. 952-922-5523. Minnesota Catholic Home Education Conference and Curriculum Fair — May 31-June 1: 4–5 p.m. at University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Features author and blogger Haley Stewart. mnconference.org.
Singles Sunday Spirits walking group for 50-plus Catholic singles — Sundays: The group usually meets in St. Paul on Sunday afternoons. Kay at 651-426-3103 or Al at 651-439-1203. Singles group — ongoing second Saturday: 6:15 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul, 9100 93rd Ave. N., Brooklyn Park. 763-425-0412.
Schools Kindergarten classroom visits — May 17: 8–9:15 a.m. at St. Agnes School, 530 Lafond Ave., St. Paul. Parents can bring their future Class of 2032 kindergartner (or come by themselves) and join us for Morning Meeting. saintagnesschool.org. Future class of 2032 BBQ picnic — May 22: 5:30–7:15 p.m. at at St. Agnes School, 530 Lafond Ave., St. Paul. saintagnesschool.org.
Young adults Discussion in a Safe Place — June 2: 10–11 a.m. at Guardian Angels, 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. Young adults in their 20s and 30s invited for a discussion about the Holy Days of Opportunity. guardian-angels.org.
Other events Knights of Columbus bingo — Wednesdays: 6–9 p.m. at Solanus Casey Council Hall, 1910 S. Greeley St., Stillwater. Minnesota Students for Life Gala — May 16: 5:30–8 p.m. at A’Bulae, 255 Sixth St. E., St. Paul. Celebrate the success of this movement with David Bereit and Kristan Hawkins. studentsforlife.org. Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver annual plant sale — May 18: 9 a.m.–4 p.m. at the convent, 265 Century Ave. S., St. Paul. Prenatal Partners for Life benefit dinner — June 5: 5 p.m. at The St. Paul Hotel, 350 N. Market St., St. Paul. Tickets at prenatalpartnersforlife.org or Mary Kellett at 763-772-3868.
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Gethsemane Mausoleum: Prime Interior Chapel Aisle, true companion crypt, No. 35, Tier B. Transfer to be handled by cemetery. Value $22,580; Price $17,500 (651) 260-5869.
Requirements include: willingness to accept and respect the values and culture of the Sisters of St. Francis; leadership skills; strong communications/relational skills; ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality; knowledge of all facets of fiscal planning and control. For consideration, send resume and letter of interest to: Judy Rud, Director of Human Resources Assisi Heights, 1001 14th St. NW, Rochester, MN 55901 or email to judyrud@assisiheights.org. Application deadline is May 31, 2019.
Resurrection Cemetery: 2 graves; Sec-61; Blk-32; Lt-20; Graves 3&4. Value $3550.00/pair. Selling price $3250. Call Sue 612-386-6515.
ANTIQUES
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
TOP CASH PAID For Older Furniture Advertising Signs • Beer Items • Toys • Misc. (651) 227-2469
Assisi Heights, home of the Sisters of St. Francis, is currently seeking a FT Corporate Treasurer to provide overall administration of the Congregation’s financial assets to advance the mission and provide for the needs of the membership. The Corporate Treasurer, reporting to the President of the Congregation, assists with managing assets, financial planning, appropriate legal issues, and is responsible for Assisi Heights real and personal property transactions. Qualified candidate are required to have a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Master’s degree in Finance or related field preferred, plus five years of successful experience in Financial Management, preferably with a Non-Profit. (cont.)
ATTORNEYS Edward F. Gross • Wills, Trusts, Probate, Estate Planning, Real Estate. Office at 35E & Roselawn Ave., St. Paul (651) 631-0616.
CEILING TEXTURE Michaels Painting. Popcorn Removal & Knock Down Texture: TextureCeilings.com (763) 757-3187.
To advertise in the classifieds, email classifiedads@archspm.org.
GREAT CATHOLIC SPEAKERS CD of the Month Club Lighthouse Catholic Media, Scott Hahn, Jeff Cavins and more! $5/month includes shipping. Subscribe online at http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia. org/cdclub Please Enter Code: 1195
HANDYMAN WE DO 1,162 THINGS AROUND THE HOME! Catholic Owned Handyman Business: We will fix/repair and remodel almost anything around the home. Serving entire Metro. Call today. Mention this ad and receive 10% off labor. Handyman Matters (651) 784-3777, (952) 946-0088. www.HandymanMatters.com
HARDWOOD FLOORS
Sweeney’s Hardwood Floors
IT’S SPRING! Spruce up your home with new or refurbished hardwood floors: 10% off labor. Sweeney (651) 485-8187.
PAINTING For painting & all related services. View our website: PAINTINGBYJERRYWIND. COM or call (651) 699-6140. Merriam Park Painting. Professional Int./ Ext. Painting. WP Hanging. Moderate Prices, Free Estimates. Call Ed (651) 224-3660. Michaels Painting. Texture and Repair. MichaelsPaintingllc.coM. (763) 757-3187.
Ask a our 3 bout t speciaime l! PRAYERS
NOTICE: Prayers must be submitted in advance. Payment of $8 per line must be received before publication.
RELIGIOUS ITEMS Pax Enterprises Father of His Glory shirts, religious items. Call for brochure: Kaye 651-330-9744.
VACATION/FAMILY GETAWAY Knotty Pines Resort, Park Rapids, MN. 1, 2 & 3 bdrm cabins starting at $565/week. www.knottypinesresort.com (800) 392-2410. Mention this ad for a discount!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Dennis Heigl Painting Interior/Exterior Serving Mpls. & suburbs. Free Estimates. (612) 819-2438
Become a Hospice Volunteer! For more information, visit www.healthpartners.com/hospice, or call 952-883-6877.
PILGRIMAGE TRAVEL
WANTED TO BUY
Guadalupe Shrine Mexico City Oct. 7-12, 2019; $1659/person incl. airfare (MSP); Call 651-779-7712; CitaRegs@AOL.com
Estate & Downsizing: I buy Van Loads and Bicycles. Steve (651) 778-0571.
PRAYERS Thanks Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Jude & St. Joseph for prayers answered. GPT DWT
CatholicHotdish.com
20 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
MAY 16, 2019
THELASTWORD
‘The
rosary guy’
Centerville family spreads word about Mary, special rosary By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit
O
n Facebook, he is “The Rosary Guy.” At home, he is Matt Wiederkehr, 89, of St. Genevieve in Centerville. And from the 1960s into the 2000s, this former mechanical engineer was a pioneering national and international hot air balloonist who got his start at balloon races held during the St. Paul Winter Carnival in St. Paul. He conducted public relations tours and appearances for Coca-Cola Co.; set world records for distance, duration and altitude; and led safety classes and seminars. Always with a rosary in his pocket. Wiederkehr and his wife, Bobbie, and their daughters, Donna and Denise, believe his devotion to Mary and her son, Jesus, has seen him through illnesses that nearly killed him, his four years in the Navy in Japan and Korea during the Korean War, and his many adventures. Now, he wants people to know about a special kind of rosary, the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, made with beads for 52 Hail Marys and seven Our Fathers. A traditional rosary has 53 Hail Marys and six Our Fathers. And this month — May, the month of Mary — Wiederkher and his family have two statues of the Lady of Kibeho from Kibeho, Rwanda, to give away to any parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that are interested. The rosary and the statue are tied closely together, the Wiederkehrs said, by faith and by appearances that the Virgin Mary is said to have made in Kibeho from 1981 to 1989.
Seven Sorrows rosary The Seven Sorrows rosary, which marks the sorrows of Mary including the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt and Mary at the foot of the cross, dates to the Middle Ages. But it was particularly encouraged by Mary in her appearances to several young adults in Kibeho. Many people familiar with those appearances believe one of the visions warned about the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Stories about Mary’s appearances in Kibeho and their significance — approved as worthy of belief by the Vatican in 2001 — were carried to Wiederkehr about 10 years ago by his daughter Donna, who for the last 13 years has helped orphans in Rwanda, when she isn’t working in advertising in New York or traveling to other parts of the world. “One of Mary’s messages was to have people learn about the Seven Sorrows rosary,” Donna said. “When I told Dad that, it became his ‘job.’ We want to tell people about this rosary.” In late 2017, Wiederkehr and members of his family began a live Facebook recitation alternating among the traditional rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet and Seven Sorrows rosary, as close to 5:30 p.m. and as often each week as they can. It’s titled “The Rosary Guy.” About
“
It’s not saying the rosary, it’s praying the rosary, and this will change your life. Donna Wiederkehr
COURTESY THE WIEDERKEHR FAMILY
Matt Wiederkehr in 2015 with a statue of Our Lady of Kibeho at St. Genevieve in Centerville. 300 people generally key into each live recitation, and the prayerful time ultimately is “liked” and shared by thousands, Donna said. The Wiederkehr family believes devotion to the rosary, and Mary’s call in particular to the Seven Sorrows rosary, can change people’s lives. “It’s not saying the rosary, it’s praying the rosary, and this will change your life,” Donna said.
Sharing their faith Wiederkehr’s willingness to publicly express his devotion to Mary stems from the kind of single-minded focus he once applied to hot air ballooning, fishing and other interests, Donna said. He’s something of a celebrity in the world of hot air balloons, and was inducted into the U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame in 2012 by the Balloon Federation of America at the National Balloon Museum in Indianola, Iowa. His daughters, too, have set world records in hot air ballooning. To share their faith story, Wiederkehr, his wife, and Donna visited this spring with Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who is familiar with the Seven Sorrows devotion from its use in the parish in Pittsburgh where he grew up. Telling people about the rosary over the last several years has become so paramount a priority for Wiederkehr that he continued to proselytize after being hospitalized in April, and later going into rehab, for pneumonia in both lungs and other complications. Sitting in a hospital chair faced toward a window in his room at St. Joseph’s Hospital in
St. Paul that looked out on the Cathedral of St. Paul, weak from his illness and having trouble expressing himself, Wiederkehr strove April 3 to tell his story to The Catholic Spirit. He received help from his family, all of whom were there. Prayer, they believe, saved Wiederkehr when he nearly died from an illness as a teenager. And when he nearly died of sepsis after an infection 12 years ago. The family is convinced he lived in part to tell the world about the Seven Sorrows rosary. “All his organs shut down, except the heart,” Donna said of the sepsis that struck her father. “It was the heart that beat for Jesus.” As Donna travels back from her work with orphans in Rwanda, she sometimes brings statues of Our Lady of Kibeho, each about 4 feet tall. This month, and beyond, if there are no immediate takers, Wiederkher and his family want to give two of those statues away. They also are encouraging every parish to have their congregations pray the rosary before or after celebrating any Mass, or at least once a week as a community. They’ve given one statue away already, about four years ago to St. Genevieve. c, pastor, said the statue is inside the church, to the right of the sanctuary. “I was delighted to have that as a gift to the parish,” Father Esty said, describing the Wiederkehrs as longtime, faith-filled members of the parish. Parishes interested in the statue can reach the Wiederkehrs at rwanda@me.com.