The Catholic Spirit - November 7, 2024

Bishop Kevin Kenney

Ordained Oct. 28

Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul — Pages 2A-20A

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Newly ordained Bishop Kenney urges all to follow Christ’s heart

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

Newly ordained and addressing 3,000 people in the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Bishop Kevin Kenney said he was grateful for the love and support he has received from so many over the years, and he urged all to return to “the heart of loving Jesus in our lives.”

His Oct. 28 ordination fell just four days after Pope Francis released an encyclical on devotion to the Sacred of Heart of Jesus, “Dilexis Nos,” a fact noted by Archbishop Bernard Hebda in his homily, by Bishop Kenney in his remarks, and the evening before the ordination during a vespers service at St. Olaf in Minneapolis, where Bishop Kenney is pastor.

Bishop Kenney’s coat of arms includes an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and people who know him well remark on the loving heart he demonstrates in his ministry.

“What Archbishop Hebda said about Pope Francis’ (encyclical), the heart, the heart, the heart,” Bishop Kenney said. “Too often today, the heart is blinded by so many different things; we’re led astray by so many different things. But to return to the heart, the heart of loving Jesus in our lives.”

Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, and some 17 bishops from Minnesota and around the country were present, as were members of Bishop Kenney’s family, hundreds of priests, seminarians, men and women in consecrated life, as well as people from parishes where Bishop Kenney has served. Among the bishops were Auxiliary Bishop Michael Izen and Bishop Joseph Williams, who was an auxiliary bishop in St. Paul and Minneapolis until his appointment in May as coadjutor bishop of Camden, New Jersey.

Students from Annunciation Catholic School and DeLaSalle High School, which Bishop Kenney attended while growing up in Minneapolis, came to the ordination, as did people with whom the bishop graduated at then-College of St. Thomas in St. Paul and studied with at the Catholic Theological Union

in Chicago.

Rachel Wobschall, 66, a member of St. Olaf, came to the ordination with about a dozen St. Thomas graduates who were part of a college Spanish club with Bishop Kenney. The group has long stayed in touch, and Wobschall was among those who attended the bishop’s ordination to the priesthood in 1994. “He’s a great friend,” Wobschall said.

The Mass was celebrated in English and Spanish. Many people came from the Latino communities of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul and Divine Mercy in Faribault, where Bishop Kenney also served.

At the conclusion of the ordination, Guillermo Castillo went to the podium with a guitar and in Spanish performed “Alma Misionero.” The song highlights the vibrant trust in God that missionaries have as they seek to fearlessly proclaim Jesus as Lord.

In his homily, Archbishop Hebda thanked Bishop Kenney for accepting Pope Francis’ call to serve as auxiliary bishop. “I’m inspired by your openness to the work of the Holy Spirit, which is the legacy of your beloved parents (the late Bill and Dorothy Kenney), who placed the power of the Holy Spirit at the center of their lives and of your family,” the archbishop said.

Archbishop Hebda also noted with gratitude the presence of Bishop Kenney’s six siblings and their families, many of his aunts and even his godmother. “Only God knows for sure how many members there are in this family,” the archbishop joked.

At the vespers service the night before the ordination, the archbishop said, Bishop Kenney mentioned that he would never have imagined being called to this service.

“I for one, however, and I suspect I’m not the only one, can see that the Lord had long been preparing young Kevin Kenney, then Deacon Kenney, and then Father Kenney, to one day be Bishop Kenney,” the archbishop said. “The Lord has blessed him with extraordinary priestly gifts and a compassionate heart, just what we need from our shepherd.”

The archbishop said he has witnessed a blossoming of gifts in the lives of Bishop Williams and Bishop Izen after their episcopal ordinations, and he is excited to see “what the Lord is going to do in your

Bishop Kevin Kenney shows the papal mandate to his aunt, Cathy Borer, during his ordination Mass Oct. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

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Archbishop Bernard Hebda lays hands on Bishop Kevin Kenney during his ordination Mass Oct. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. At left is Bishop Peter Christensen, a co-consecrator who is the bishop of the Diocese of Boise, Idaho, and served as a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis before his episcopal ordination in 2007.

life, bishop-elect, for the good of this local Church, with the graces bestowed upon you today.”

Archbishop Hebda also encouraged Bishop Kenney to continue to pray. “Pope Francis has, on more than one occasion, reminded bishops that their first task along that path has to be prayer,” the archbishop said. “A bishop who does not pray, the Holy Father has said, does not fulfill his duty, does not carry out his vocation.”

Before the ordination Mass began, Bishop Kenney, known for his love of dancing, took time to do just that on the steps of the Cathedral with a mariachi band and members of the Latino community. Closing his remarks at the end of the Mass, Bishop Kenney said the music was to encourage joy, and he urged people to “go forth filled with joy.”

“To get us joyful as we continue to dance through life, as we continue to welcome Jesus into our hearts,” Bishop Kenney said. “God bless all of you and thank you for being here,” he said. “Amen. Amen.”

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

At ordination, faithful celebrate Bishop Kenney ‘who loves everybody’

By Rebecca Omastiak

The Catholic Spirit

Family, friends, fellow bishops, priests and religious, and the faithful traveled from in and out of state to attend Bishop Kevin Kenney’s ordination on a blustery, sunny Oct. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

The day held special meaning for Mary Kathryn Peterson. A cousin of Bishop Kenney, Peterson is a soprano with the St. Olaf choir and sang at the episcopal ordination.

“It was very moving,” she said of the ordination. “It was a wonderful experience to see a family member of mine ascend to this position. ... I know that he will excel in it as he has done at St. Olaf, and it’s just a great joy to get to watch him do this.”

“It’s a packed house, so that’s pretty exciting,” observed Michael Bauer, as people filled the Cathedral’s pews. Bauer, who is in his second year of formation at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul and is a member of St. Joseph in West St. Paul, said it was his first time attending an episcopal ordination — “I’m excited about that.”

It was also Anne McGraw’s first time attending an episcopal ordination. “It’s exciting to see; there’s a feeling of happiness in celebrating and carrying on the traditions of our faith,” said McGraw, a member of Our Lady of Grace in Edina.

McGraw — who recently moved back to the Twin Cities area from Chicago — attended Bishop Kenney’s ordination with a friend she originally met in school. “There’s something to be said about Catholic schools, that sense of community that you had, and then all these years later have a friend call and say, ‘Hey, do you want to go to the bishop’s ordination?’”

Members of St. Olaf in Minneapolis and Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul, and students of Annunciation Catholic School and DeLaSalle High School, both in Minneapolis, among others, stepped off buses and into the gathering crowd at the Cathedral. Meanwhile, a mariachi band performed on the Cathedral’s front steps, inviting singing and dancing from those present, including Bishop Kenney.

Martha Flores, who came to know Bishop Kenney about 13 years ago, expressed her happiness seeing Bishop Kenney take on a new role.

“I’m blessed to know (Bishop) Kevin” said Flores, a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Reflecting on his impact at Our Lady of Guadalupe, Flores mentioned his kindness and that “when the people need something, he is ready to help.”

A few pews away from Flores were members of St. Olaf’s African International Choir.

“We love him, and God loves him; and he’s doing the will of God,” said Kumbah Cole about Bishop Kenney and his ordination. “We’re happy for him.”

Congratulations Bishop Kenney, may God bless you in your ministry.

“He’s just the best,” said Theresa Alada, of St. Olaf, echoing appreciation for Bishop Kenney. “Whatever position he has is well deserved. He deserves it. He’s so nice, (a) wonderful man.”

“He is a good man, a good pastor who loves everybody,” agreed Immaculate Morgan, of St. Olaf. “He is there for us, and that’s why we are here.”

“He makes us feel at home,” Alada said.

“He makes sure we don’t forget where we come from,” said Eugenia Anah, of St. Olaf, mentioning Bishop Kenney’s celebration of the African Mass at St. Olaf. “We are overwhelmed, because he deserves the position (as bishop).”

Anah said she is looking forward to Bishop Kenney confirming her son, who has special needs. Anah said people like Bishop Kenney and Father John Forliti, who celebrated her son’s first Communion at St. Olaf, “are next to God, and I’m very grateful.”

In terms of Bishop Kenney’s new role, Cole said she hoped he could “continue to do the good work he has been doing.”

During the reception following the ordination, Kevin Elder reflected on his friendship with Bishop Kenney. “We used to be part of a group that, to battle the Monday ‘scaries,’ we’d get together on Sunday nights and play games and drink wine,” said Elder, a member of Our Lady of Grace.

Seeing his friend’s episcopal ordination “was just so incredible ... and yet, so appropriate, so fitting. He’s always been the same guy, all the time,” Elder said. Meanwhile, Debbra Korkowski, of St. Olaf, said she enjoyed watching those gathered for the ordination cheer when Bishop Kenney presented his mandate from Pope Francis: “It’s nice to see that smile on his face.” Elder said he prays Bishop Kenney “continues to grow in wisdom and strength in the Lord. And that he just knows how perfect this (role) is for him, because it really is.”

Meanwhile, Bauer said he hopes Bishop Kenney “is able to live out the life of an apostle, and I think it’s really cool that he’s getting ordained on the feast day of the Apostles (Sts. Simon and Jude). I pray that the Lord’s blessing will be upon him, that he’ll be able to spread his apostolic blessing to many people.”

It was a joyful message Bishop Kenney sought to impart on those gathered in the Cathedral and watching via television or livestream at home: “Let us be renewed, let us go forth, filled with joy,” the bishop said toward the end of his remarks. Like the mariachi band that played prior to the ordination, Bishop Kenney encouraged the faithful to be joyful “as we continue to dance through life, as we continue to welcome Jesus into our hearts.”

Congratulations

Twice-blessed and ever-grateful to you, who served at Saint Olaf at the start of your priestly service and now, as our current Pastor.

We offer prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving to the new Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Bishop Kevin Thomas Kenney!

Bishop Kevin Kenney poses for a selfie with Maribel Vasquez of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul before his ordination Mass Oct. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

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Bishop Kevin Kenney greets Martha Flores and her daughter, Itzayana, of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul during a reception outside the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul after his Oct. 28 ordination.

JORDANA TORGESON FOR THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Family, friends and supporters pray during vespers for Bishop Kenney

By Josh McGovern The Catholic Spirit

The night before Bishop Kevin Kenney’s Oct. 28 episcopal ordination, the parish where he is pastor, St. Olaf in Minneapolis, hosted solemn vespers. Auxiliary Bishop Michael Izen presided and Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Cardinal Christophe Pierre –– the apostolic nuncio to the United States — and other members of the clergy attended, along with his family, friends and other supporters.

The music was performed by the choir of St. Olaf, with Marie Rooney and Philip Eschweiler as cantors. Father Eddie De León, who now leads the Claretian Missionaries in the United States and Canada, gave the homily in Spanish and English.

Father De León said what people hope for shapes what they live for.

“It is our leadership and the people of God that together are responsible for the building up of God’s reign as baptized women and men,” Father De León said. “God reminds us time and time again that we are not alone. We will be given the grace necessary for all that God has given us. … Our bishop-elect, like Paul and so many others, are called at a time when their gifts are most needed. It is a promise fulfilled by God that change is possible beginning with the human heart and beginning tonight with your heart, and our heart.”

Following Father De León’s homily, Bishop Kenney stood at the altar and gave an oath of fidelity. He promised to carry out the apostolic duties entrusted to bishops, namely to “teach, sanctify and rule the people of God in hierarchical communion with the head and members of the college of bishops.”

“I will watch over the unity of the universal Church,” Bishop Kenney recited, “and thus will make every effort to ensure that the deposit of faith handed down from the Apostles is preserved pure and entire, and that the truths to be held and put into practice will be passed on and clearly explained to all as they are proposed by the Church’s magisterium.”

Bishop Kenney’s promises extended to diligence in preventing possible abuses “especially with regard to administering the word and the celebration of the sacraments.” Additionally, Bishop Kenney promised to show paternal affection to those who “err in faith” and guide them to the fullness of Catholic truth. He said he would conduct himself consciously and reverently to become an example to the flock

Congratulations

Bishop

and “confirm the faithful in pursuit of Christian perfection.”

Toward the end of vespers, Bishop Kenney joked, “I feel like I can breathe” before thanking the many people in attendance. He thought it was providential that Pope Francis released his new encyclical on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “Dilexit Nos,” on Oct. 24, the feast of St. Anthony Mary Claret, founder of the Claretians, where the bishop spent time in ministry before becoming a priest. Bishop Kenney suggested that the world has lost the beating of the heart.

“But we know that (it is) beating when we see in our brothers and sisters the hurt, the pain, the sorrow, the loneliness, the joy, the blessings,” Bishop Kenney said. “Family has always been important. My grandparents were very, very good examples of faith. … Let me tell you, when my dad found the Holy Spirit, our whole lives changed.”

In a story about his birth in the hospital, Bishop Kenney said his mother’s former typing teacher, a religious sister, was working that day. When the teacher found out her former student had a son, she ran into the nursery, picked up Bishop Kenney and brought him to his mother.

She said, “Dorothy, your son has love written all over his face.”

“But she was kicked out of the nursery to the front desk and could never go back up to that floor again,” Bishop Kenney said to laughter in the pews. “But sometimes we have to take risks to find love in others. We take that risk knowing that we could be excluded, we could be ostracized, but to love is to love. … That is why so many of you are here. Because we know the love of the Eucharist. We know the love of Jesus Christ. We know the love of the Church.”

Annunciation Alumnus

Kevin Kenney

Bishop Kenney, a niece, and an expert in heraldry draw up his coat of arms

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

Bishop Kevin Kenney’s coat of arms and episcopal motto reflect his heritage, his native place and his personal devotions. It also reflects his love of family — he called on a niece who is an artist to render his thoughts into impactful images.

Emilie Kovacs, 42, is the daughter of Bishop Kenney’s oldest sibling, Pat, and the bishop’s goddaughter. She runs an art studio from her home in Brookings, South Dakota, where she and her husband, Peter, attend St. Thomas More.

“I felt incredibly honored because my uncle asked me,” Kovacs said. In addition to being her godfather, the bishop presided over her wedding three years ago, she said.

“And as I learned about heraldry, I realized how big this project was, and what an honor it was. And how this will (outlast) me and my uncle. ... It’s amazing.”

The training in heraldry came from Father Guy Selvester, pastor of St. Mary, Star of the Sea in South Amboy, New Jersey, who has studied and worked in the field of heraldic research and design for over 30 years. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Communications assisted with final production.

But key elements of the design came from Bishop Kenney, with his niece rendering his thoughts and prayers first into pen and pencil drawings and ultimately transferring her work into Photoshop to produce the images on the coat of arms’ shield. The images

include a red rose as a symbol of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Sacred Heart of Jesus crossed with thorns and purple grapes with wheat symbolizing the Eucharist and, in Bishop Kenney’s words, “the fruit of the land and the work of our hands that lead to Jesus on the cross and the Spirit strengthening him.”

and Minneapolis depicts similar — but horizontal — waves representing the lakes and rivers of Minnesota.

“The Falls symbolize for Bishop Kenney the abundance of God’s grace and blessing poured out upon us, the waters of life, baptism, and the forgiveness that flows into all of our lives from the Heart of Jesus,” the explanation states.

A gold rendering of the Tower of St. Kevin in Glendalough, Ireland, symbolizes Bishop Kenney’s Irish heritage and provides “a reminder of an apostolic outreach as the faith of many Irish immigrants brought the (G)ospel message to many parts of the world,” the explanation states. The tower, also known as the Round Tower and located in the ruins of a monastery founded in the sixth century by St. Kevin of Glendalough, is a symbol of solitude, prayer and reflection, “as Jesus often went off by himself to pray.”

A Greek cross done in a Celtic style also represents Bishop Kenney’s Irish heritage. It is depicted as a cross of peace in gold and charged at its center with a silver dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit and of peace.

As described in the “Blazon and Explanation of the Coat of Arms of the Most Reverend Kevin Thomas Kenney, DD,” “The main part of the shield shows blue and silver (white) wavy vertical lines in a stylized version of water as an allusion to Minnehaha Falls” in Minneapolis. The coat of arms of the Archdiocese of St. Paul

On a scroll beneath the shield is the bishop’s episcopal motto, “The Love of Christ Impels Us,” taken from 2 Corinthians 5:14. Bishop Kenney told The Catholic Spirit that the same verse inspired the motto of St. Anthony Mary Claret and his Claretian Missionaries. Bishop Kenney spent several years with the Claretians before entering the diocesan priesthood.

The shield is accompanied by external ornaments that indicate a bishop. These include a gold episcopal cross placed vertically behind and extending above and below the shield; and the ecclesiastical hat above the shield, called a gelaro, with six pendant tassels on each side.

EMILIE KOVACS

Congratulations! on the occasion of the Episcopal Ordination of MOST REVEREND KEVIN T. KENNEY

You have our prayers and best wishes as you begin your service as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

MOST REVEREND DENNIS J. SULLIVAN, BISHOP OF CAMDEN

MOST REVEREND JOSEPH A WILLIAMS, COADJUTOR BISHOP OF CAMDEN and the priests, deacons, seminarians, religious and laity of the Diocese of Camden

The Catholic Spirit - Auxiliary Bishop Kenney_Layout 1 9/27/2024 3:28 PM Page 1

JORDANA TORGESON | FOR THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT STANDING OVATION: After receiving his crosier, miter and ring, Bishop Kevin Kenney listens to applause from bishops, priests, deacons and the congregation during his episcopal ordination Oct. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

Divine Mercy Catholic Church & School, Bethlehem Academy, and the entire Faribault Catholic Community!

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GETTING READY Bishop Kevin Kenney, center, gets help with vestments from Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, left, and Bishop Joseph Williams of Camden, New Jersey, before Bishop Kenney’s episcopal ordination Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Both Bishop Cozzens and Bishop Williams once served as auxiliary bishops in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Bishop Kenney’s titular see is site of niece’s monastery in Albania

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Kenney of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has a surprising family connection to his titular see, Cunavia in Albania.

Titular sees are suppressed or substantially reconfigured dioceses, with the location of the cathedral transferred to another location. They are given to auxiliary bishops, papal nuncios and others whose position does not place them into direct oversight of a diocese.

It happens that one of Bishop Kenney’s nieces –– Sheila, now Sister Muire Chroi Iosa of the Institute Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, helped found a contemplative monastery in that region of Albania with her religious institute in 2019.

“It’s one of those things that God works on in a wonderful way,” Bishop Kenney said of the coincidence.

Sister Chroi Iosa was one of three or four members of the monastery’s founding team, which also ministers to women with health challenges, provides housing and faith formation for women who are university students and assists Catholic youth who come from the Albanian mountains, said her father, Pat Kenney.

Her reaction to her uncle being awarded a titular see that includes her Monastery of St. Joseph in the Albanian mountains?

“‘Oh, he’s (Bishop Kenney) got to come visit now,’” said Pat Kenney, quoting his daughter.

Also in Minnesota, there is a convent of Sister Chroi Iosa’s fellow sisters in Mankato and a house of aspirancy in St. James. A second branch of the same tree, the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word, is the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) priests and religious brothers. IVE priests have a high school seminary in Mankato.

Mother Sophia of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará in Mankato said she and other sisters were invited to the ordination on behalf of Sister Chroi Iosa.

“Anytime that you have the ordination of a bishop, to have that fullness of Christ’s priesthood in a new person,” Mother Sophia said, “it’s always a huge grace to be able to participate in that. ... It was a double blessing to be able to come. We’re very grateful and we’ve been praying really hard for Bishop Kenney.”

Mother Sophia’s group also included IVE priests and students from the high school, all of whom received a blessing from Bishop Kenney. Sister Chroi Iosa and members of her community watched the ordination online from Albania.

Servant of the Lord and Virgin of Matará Sister Muire Chroi Iosa with Bishop Kevin Kenney during a visit in August to the Twin Cities.

COURTESY PAT KENNEY

Kevin Thomas Kenney Obispo

Con motivo de la ordenación episcopal del Reverendísimo Kevin Thomas Kenney como Obispo Auxiliar de la Arquidiócesis de St. Paul y

Ministerio Latino, conjuntamente con los profesionales de las parroquias con comunidad latina y todo el pueblo de Dios, se regocija y agradece la decisión de Papa Francisco en nombrar a tan querido sacerdote con “olor a oveja”, que acompaña a su pueblo con su gran corazón latino. Le ofrecemos nuestras más sinceras felicitaciones y prometemos acompañarlo en su ministerio con nuestras oraciones

On the occasion of the episcopal ordination of the Most Reverend Kevin Thomas Kenney as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis, the

Obispo

Joseph A. Williams

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

with the professionals of the parishes with Latino communities and all the people of God, rejoices and is grateful for Pope Francis' decision to appoint such a beloved priest with “smell of sheep” who walks with his great Latino heart besides his people We offer him our most sincere congratulations and promise to accompany him in his ministry with our prayers

Bishop Kenney’s ministry ‘touched the hearts and the lives’ of many

By Rebecca Omastiak The Catholic Spirit

Reflecting on Bishop Kevin Kenney and his ministry over 30 years as a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, many referred to a defining characteristic: his heart.

He speaks “from the heart,” said Jeff Schultz, parishioner of Divine Mercy in Faribault. He has “a missionary heart,” said Mary Kennedy, parish administrator at St. Olaf in Minneapolis; meanwhile, seminarian Sam Mishler recognized the bishop’s “pastoral heart.” “His heart is very easy to touch,” observed Estela Villagrán Manancero, director of the archdiocesan Office of Latino Ministry.

Bishop Kenney has developed this wholehearted nature through pastoral and ministry roles in the archdiocese and will bring it into his new role since being ordained Oct. 28 as an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese.

Most recently, Bishop Kenney has served as pastor of St. Olaf, parochial administrator of Sts. Cyril and Methodius (a parish that originally served Slovak Catholics but that now serves as a hub for the Ecuadorian community) and chaplain at DeLaSalle High School, all in Minneapolis. Additionally, he has taught as an adjunct professor for the Latino Lay Ministry Certificate Program at the University of St. Thomas (UST), which has campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis.

‘Missionary heart in the heart of the city’: St. Olaf

St. Olaf has played an important role in Bishop Kenney’s life: Serving as the parish’s parochial vicar from 1994 to 1998 was his first assignment after thenArchbishop John Roach ordained him an archdiocesan priest on May 28, 1994. Then, in 2019, Archbishop Bernard Hebda assigned Bishop Kenney as pastor of the Minneapolis parish.

As pastor, Bishop Kenney said he appreciates the parish’s diversity and that “people of many different cultures come to celebrate worship together.”

“We are here in the heart of the city, and we serve a lot of the people visiting Minneapolis as well as ... people from all over the metro area,” said Kennedy, who grew to know the bishop well when he was assigned as pastor of St. Olaf. The two had also attended then-College of St. Thomas in St. Paul (now UST) together and “we shared many friends in common,” Kennedy said.

Bishop Kenney’s guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic and during the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, stood out in a

particular way to Kennedy.

“It was a really difficult time and a couple things showed his remarkable leadership that really cemented him in our hearts here in this parish,” Kennedy said. “The first thing is we didn’t close St. Olaf — not one day. It stayed open the entire pandemic.” As a result, the church became “the only place people could go for prayer, for solitude, for sanctuary, anything.”

Then, following Floyd’s death, “there was a lot of violence and unrest downtown,” Kennedy said. As surrounding buildings were vandalized, St. Olaf staff made the decision to place sheetrock over the church’s stained-glass windows; a decision that was “heartbreaking,” Kennedy said.

“Yet we kept the church open, even if we had the stained glass covered up,” Kennedy said. The church wasn’t damaged and “as soon as we could, we took those boards off,” Kennedy said.

As former police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial approached, St. Olaf staff again faced whether to board up the church’s windows in the event of new vandalism.

“City leaders all said, ‘board up, board up’ and (Bishop Kenney) said no, he said ‘I’m not going to do that,’” Kennedy said. She said the bishop expressed the idea that “we need to be here; we can be a symbol that there is love and there is peace and there’s hope in this world.”

“And we (St. Olaf) came out unscathed and that was the power of prayer and positive thinking (and) that leadership of Bishop Kenney was amazing,” Kennedy said.

In addition to providing a daily Scripture reflection that is posted to the parish’s website, Kennedy said Bishop Kenney makes a point to engage with the broader local community.

“He takes a walk in downtown (Minneapolis) every night; he’s got several loops that he takes, and he knows the people of the street, he knows the shopkeepers, he knows who’s around, and he’s a familiar face ... . (P)eople know and respect and love him for his outreach,” Kennedy said.

This outreach includes St. Olaf’s Samaritan Ministry PLEASE TURN TO BISHOP KENNEY’S MINISTRY

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In this file photo from 2006, Father (now Bishop) Kevin Kenney works the serving line with Debbie Luna, left, during the annual Enchilada Feast at Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul. He served as pastor there from 2004 to 2015.

BISHOP KENNEY’S

MINISTRY

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— which Kennedy said is offered daily and helps connect those in need with food, clothing, personal care and household items, and referrals to other service providers. Bishop Kenney also “has fully supported” the parish’s plans to renovate and expand the former Exodus building on site into new supportive housing, in partnership with the nonprofit Aeon, Kennedy said. She added that work is set to begin in spring 2025, after the pandemic delayed its progress.

That Bishop Kenney helps drive these forms of outreach to those in the downtown community is part of his being “a missionary priest,” Kennedy said.

“He puts his faith to work every day and he’s such a great example of using that missionary heart in the heart of the city,” Kennedy said.

‘Speaking from the heart’: Divine Mercy

Bishop Kenney’s return to St. Olaf and city life marked a departure from his prior appointment, starting in 2015, as pastor of Divine Mercy in Faribault and St. Michael in Kenyon.

“It was beautiful, it was wonderful. The people down there are great,” the bishop said. “But I’m a city person and the challenging piece was living out in a cornfield.”

“He’s a city boy at heart; I mean, he’s self-proclaimed,” said Schultz, a Divine Mercy trustee. “When he moved to Faribault, you know, our church is out in the country. That was stepping out of his comfort zone significantly. But if he wouldn’t have said it, you wouldn’t know it.”

“He did a good job with that,” said Schultz’s wife, Kathryn.

Despite being more comfortable in an urban setting, Bishop Kenney settled in with the local community. He often had dinner at Jeff and Kathryn’s house — the

couple lives on a farm and Jeff is a farm business management instructor, while Kathryn is a hairdresser and works at Faribault Senior Living. Their children — Madeline, Hank and Cal — raise beef cattle and showed animals at the Minnesota State Fair.

“(Bishop Kenney) knew we went to the state fair because our kids always participated showing animals, so he would reach out on those days and try to make a point of coming,” Jeff said. “One of the last years, our youngest was showing, (he) had an animal that he was struggling with all summer getting trained to show well.”

While Jeff was helping Cal with the animal in the staging area, Kathryn was sitting next to Bishop Kenney, explaining the troubles Cal had been having with the animal.

Kathryn said she asked the bishop, “Can you give a quick blessing out there? He said, ‘Sure!’”

“I don’t know if he blessed Cal, or if he cursed the other people, but Cal did very well after that,” Jeff said, laughing.

Jeff said a particularly meaningful moment with Bishop Kenney occurred when he asked the bishop to visit Kathryn, who was mourning her mother’s death.

“He (Bishop Kenney) came out for supper and asked her, what is she worried about? ‘Your mother is in heaven; she is in paradise and at peace. You should rejoice in that,’” Jeff said of the bishop’s counsel.

Jeff said it is Bishop Kenney’s “appreciation and understanding of everybody’s different backgrounds” that aids his pastoral approach. When the bishop shared his experiences — including with underserved and marginalized communities — in his homilies, Jeff said “you could tell he was speaking from the heart.”

“He’s very compassionate, like you can always hear it in the tone of his voice,” Kathryn said. Both described the bishop as “empathetic.”

PLEASE TURN TO

EARLY MINISTRY

Having earned degrees in business administration and Spanish from then-College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Bishop Kevin Kenney was drawn to volunteer work that might allow him to use his background in Spanish. He moved to Chicago and became a lay volunteer with the Claretian Missionaries, a religious community of priests and brothers founded by St. Anthony Mary Claret. He became the director of the Claretian Lay Volunteers, led the program for two years, then entered formation to become a Claretian and attended the Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago to complete his studies for priestly ordination.

“I’ve learned to walk with people in every dimension of life,” Bishop Kenney said of that time in his life, during his episcopal ordination Oct. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

It was during his time with the Claretian Lay Volunteers that he met Father Eddie De León, who now leads the Claretian Missionaries in the United States and Canada. Father De León has been a friend to Bishop Kenney for the past 40 years. The two were Claretian volunteers; Father De León was 24 years old, and Bishop Kenney was 22.

“We would just have a blast,” Father De León said at a reception for Bishop Kenney outside the Cathedral. “When I turned 25, (Bishop) Kevin made me a birthday card and I always remember that because he glued a quarter to it. He said, ‘You’re now a quarter of a century old.’”

Bishop Kenney joked during his ordination that someone told him after his decision to move to the South Side of Chicago that he’d return in a box. Father De León said this wasn’t far from the truth.

“It was dangerous,” Father De León said.

During his five years of formation with the Claretian Missionaries, Bishop Kenney discerned a call to the diocesan priesthood and became a seminarian for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

“I kept feeling a call back to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, to be a diocesan priest,” Bishop Kenney said. “And I struggled with that decision but finally came to it, leaving the Claretians behind but carrying them in my heart.”

While in formation at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Bishop Kenney completed his Master of Divinity degree, with a world mission concentration, from CTU. He also volunteered with Catholic Charities and with the Marian Center of St. Paul, spending time at the latter with those who had Alzheimer’s disease, leading up to his ordination as an archdiocesan priest in 1994.

Even after moving back to Minnesota, Bishop Kenney has remained friends with Father De León, who also participated in vespers the evening before the episcopal ordination. The two priests often visit each other. During Father De León’s sabbatical, he came to Minneapolis to visit Bishop Kenney right around Bishop Kenney’s mom’s 90th birthday.

“We took (Dorothy) flowers when we went over,” Father De León said. “She appreciated the flowers, but what she really appreciated was two priests visiting her. ‘My oh my, two priests came to visit me.’ That was a big thing for her. ... Now to see Kevin as bishop, it’s just, my goodness gracious, this is incredible. God is at work.”

The teachings Bishop Kenney gained in his early days of ministry stayed with him, the bishop said. Pointing out that his coat of arms includes “the love of Christ impels us,” a message the Claretians followed, Bishop Kenney said it comes down to “the heart, the heart, the heart.”

“Too often today that heart is blinded by so many different things, we’re led astray by so many different things,” he said. Bishop Kenney urged the faithful after his ordination “to return to the heart, the heart of loving Jesus in our lives.”

— Rebecca Omastiak and Josh McGovern

BISHOP KENNEY’S MINISTRY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11A

Bishop Kenney said part of his ministry at Divine Mercy was to build up and support the Latino community at the parish.

“(T)hey (the parish) really didn’t have a strong foundation for Latino ministry. So, we were able to build that up, to make the community feel that they were wanted and supported,” the bishop said.

“He really embraced the Hispanic culture and worked very diligently to merge those communities together” within the parish, Jeff said.

This approach continued from the bishop’s ministry with Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul and as archdiocesan vicar for Latino Ministry.

The ‘corazón Latino’: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Latino ministry

In 2004, Bishop Kenney was appointed as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, where he served a growing Latino community in the area until 2015.

Bishop Kenney described his years at Our Lady of Guadalupe as “full.”

“From bridging a community of second- and third-generation Mexican Americans with the recent immigrants; to offering a safe place for rival gangs to meet and work out their differences; to learning cultural dances; to eating tacos, tamales, tortillas and tres leches cake; we grew to love another and value the backgrounds from which we came.”

He said that as he and parishioners “celebrated, danced, worshipped and prayed,” they sought the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who “provided the graces we needed as we prayed her novena every Tuesday evening, and culturally incorporated faith, life and inspiration in our daily lives.”

Describing Our Lady of Guadalupe as “a core institution,” Bishop Kenney recalled it as being “truly a neighborhood parish and national parish, where people gathered and traveled to pray, feel safe, and be welcomed with loving arms.”

Meanwhile, Bishop Kenney served as archdiocesan vicar for Latino Ministry from 2010 to 2018, and in 2013 helped reopen the archdiocesan Office of Latino Ministry. The bishop said that in this role, he aimed to “continue the growth of Hispanic ministry in the archdiocese.”

“Part of that was to gather representatives from parishes as well as the overall community to come in and share with us what their needs were and what needs they wanted the Church to be able to provide for; to listen to that and to see how, as a Church, we could meet those needs,” he said. “We wanted to celebrate and involve the Latino community more widely within the archdiocese.”

Manancero, the current director of the Office of Latino Ministry, began working with Bishop Kenney during an archdiocesan strategic planning process that launched in 2010, as the bishop was appointed to his role as vicar for Latino Ministry.

She described Bishop Kenney as “a sincere, open person”

who is “very inclusive.”

“He’s all the time thinking of being the bridge between the cultures,” Manancero said. She said the bishop “likes to work in ‘conjunto,’ collaboratively. He respects the women’s role in the leadership of the Church.”

For example, collaborating with the Guadalupanas. “They are, like, the fifth generation of Latinos” at Our Lady of Guadalupe, Manancero said, and are involved in various parish activities.

Debbie Luna, a parishioner of Our Lady of Guadalupe, is a Guadalupana. From festivals to fundraisers, self-described “mega-volunteer” Luna actively participates in the life of the parish.

“He’s our bishop,” Luna said, referring to how the parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe view Bishop Kenney. “He touched the hearts and the lives of so many people.”

From baptisms to weddings, birthday parties to funerals, Luna said that over the years, Bishop Kenney has marked the milestones of many Our Lady of Guadalupe parishioners. Luna said one year, she joined others on a pilgrimage to Mexico that Bishop Kenney helped lead. “He loves to travel, and he loves to do pilgrimages,” she said.

Luna said she has a special appreciation for Bishop Kenney’s end-of-life ministry.

“When you’re with somebody till they’re dying, days are (spent) taking care of them or praying the rosary with them,” said Luna, a retired nurse. “And that’s what (then-) Father (Kenney) would do; he would be at a lot of people’s bedsides to be with them during their hardest time and that’s very important.”

As members of the Latino community welcomed Bishop Kenney into their lives, the bishop welcomed them into his life, too.

“Our whole parish embraced his family,” Luna said. Manancero noted that for the funeral Mass of Bishop Kenney’s father in 2016, “the Cathedral (of St. Paul in St. Paul) was full of Latino families because they all knew his father. He invited us into his family.”

Bishop Kenney’s ability to bring people together stems from his willingness to listen, Manancero said. “He makes you feel like you are the only person in the room, and you have all his attention and love. He’s such a people-loving person … . He has the corazón Latino.”

A ‘pastoral heart’ and Our Lady of Peace

Prior to serving as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe and his work as vicar for Latino ministry, Bishop Kenney served one six-year term as pastor of Our Lady of Peace in south Minneapolis, starting in 1998.

Bishop Kenney was familiar with Our Lady of Peace’s surrounding area, as it was near where he grew up in Minneapolis. Some Our Lady of Peace parishioners remembered this, and the bishop recalled trying to be taken seriously as a pastor while being known as “little Kevin Kenney.”

Our Lady of Peace rose out of a merger between St. Kevin and Resurrection. When he arrived as pastor, “they (parishioners) were still grieving the merger, trying to build a community, but grieving the loss of both versions of Resurrection and St. Kevin,” the bishop said.

He recalled moving through new challenges as a pastor, compared with his previous experience as a parochial vicar: “The issues of parents, teachers, school, and then how to bring a community together, how to keep them strong,” the bishop said. “You get to learn how to deal with the staff, to respect where they’ve been and yet try to bring them forward, as well continue to grow.”

Luann Mishler said she and her husband, Keith, met in a young adult group at St. Olaf and first came to know Bishop Kenney when he was appointed parochial vicar at that parish. Luann said after she and Keith married, they moved to south Minneapolis “and just happened to find our house in the neighborhood of Our Lady of Peace, where (Bishop) Kevin was serving.” Bishop Kenney baptized Luann and Keith’s two children at Our Lady of Peace, including their son, Sam Mishler. Sam — who grew up attending Our Lady of Peace with his family and now also attends St. Lawrence Newman Center at the University of Minnesota — said that as he grew, he began noticing the bishop’s “presence, his demeanor (and) his leadership.”

“I saw that pretty quickly, even as a young kid, just the impact of a father, a spiritual father, who really cared for his flock,” said Sam, who is in his second year of formation at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul. Sam said the example of archdiocesan priests, like Bishop Kenney, “has been incredible and I think a key to why I’m here in the seminary because I desire to give that gift of spiritual fatherhood to others as well.”

Sam said he has been inspired by Bishop Kenney’s ministry, having also attended Mass celebrated by the bishop at Our Lady of Guadalupe and having heard the bishop share stories of his travel to different countries.

“To be invited to see how the faith can, and does, look different for different people even in our own city, I think it’s stimulated certainly an interest in my cultural recognition and cultural empathy,” Sam said. “(T)he experiences with (then-)Father Kevin and seeing his pastoral heart, particularly for cultures that were different from my own, was powerful.”

Future ministry

“(H)is love and devotion,” his being “so in tune with what the people need,” and his “cultural awareness” will serve Bishop Kenney well in his new role, those who spoke with The Catholic Spirit suggested.

Even though the new role will bring with it new responsibilities, there is confidence Bishop Kenney will handle them with faith.

“There’s lots of things on his plate, but he seemed very, very excited about what this new position was going to bring to him,” Jeff Schultz said. “He responded like Mary, like, ‘OK, Lord, whatever your will is.’”

Whether it’s sharing his love of dancing or sharing Christ’s love through his ministry, “I know he’ll do an excellent job,” Luna said.

“I think the pope picked very well and he’s going to perform admirably,” Kennedy said. “He’s got the gifts that this archdiocese needs.”

Friends describe Bishop Kenney’s humility and ‘gold heart’

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

Father Jorge Cenala remembers the day he met Father (now Bishop) Kevin Kenney in October 2005. A native of Mexico, Father Cenala was studying at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul for the Diocese of Grand Island, Nebraska, at the time. He was assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe (OLG) in St. Paul as his teaching parish. Father Kenney was the pastor.

“The first evening I showed up, I was looking for him all around the building and I couldn’t find Father Kevin Kenney,” Father Cenala, 50, recalled. “And I opened the restroom door, the bathroom door, and I found Father Kenney cleaning.”

Father Kenney smiled warmly, welcomed him to the parish, then made it clear what should happen next.

Father Cenala recalled the pastor saying to him, “If you’re going to be a seminarian with me, you have to work and you have to learn from me.”

Shortly after hearing those words, Father Cenala did, indeed, get to work. He started scrubbing a toilet. That encounter forged a friendship and became the inspiration for how he now lives his priesthood. After his formation at the seminary, he was ordained in 2009 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Nebraska and has been serving as its rector for the last four years.

“Right away (the first night at OLG), I knew that he was an amazing, amazing, amazing man,” Father Cenala said of Bishop Kenney. “That evening, he and I, we just clicked and became such good friends.”

The Nebraska priest called Bishop Kenney “a great preacher,” “a great mentor” and “a great administrator.” He said the bishop is always “serving with the heart of Jesus” and has “a gold heart for the Hispanic community.”

One of his favorite examples of the bishop’s love for Latinos involves a tragic accident suffered by a parishioner at Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2006. A young man named Benjamin received a severe electric shock and, as a result, lost both arms and both legs. Father Cenala would go with then-Father Kenney to visit Benjamin every Wednesday, one of three weekly visits he said then-Father Kenney would make to a local hospital where Benjamin recovered from his injuries. Then-Father Kenney later helped Benjamin return to his native Mexico to be with his family in a small mountain village in the State of Michoacan, about two hours from where Father Cenala grew up.

Then-Father Kenney went down to visit Benjamin several times over the years, and with the help of parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe, brought a scooter for him that he still uses today, Father Cenala said.

Bishop Kenney plans to go down again in December to join Father Cenala in his hometown of Sahuyo for a Mass to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Father Cenala’s ordination. Father Cenala said he expects Benjamin, his family and others from their village to come to Sahuyo for the Mass.

“People back in Mexico really, really, really love this man; they just love Kevin Kenney over there,” Father Cenala said. “My family, my friends and especially Benjamin and Benjamin’s family, they just love this man.”

Such service behind the scenes and out of the spotlight is what Bishop Kenney’s friends say characterize a man they see as humble and with no ambition to be a bishop prior to being named by Pope Francis July 25 to be an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Sister Kathleen Hayes, 82, a Sinsinawa Dominican, met Bishop Kenney while he was pastor of Divine Mercy in Faribault (2015-2019), where she serves in pastoral care during her second assignment at the parish. She once remarked to him that she thought he would make a good bishop, “but being a bishop was never in his line of vision,” she said. Despite his humility and reluctance to consider such a role, she saw attributes that made his qualifications seem clear to her.

“I have to say, he is a man of compassion and justice, integrity and prayer,” she said, “and always sprinkled with joy and humor.”

She is particularly inspired by his homilies, which she

said demonstrate his understanding of Scripture.

“I took my spiritual direction from his homily,” she said. “It’s obvious that he’s looked at and prayed the Scripture of the day long before he stands at the altar to celebrate Mass.”

Father John Forliti, 88, a retired priest of the archdiocese, got an early look at then-Father Kenney right after the bishop’s ordination to the priesthood in 1994. At the time, Father Forliti was the pastor of St. Olaf in downtown Minneapolis, and the newly ordained priest was assigned there as an associate.

“The next four years, we worked together and lived together in the rectory there and had a great time,” Father Forliti recalled. “He’s easy to like because he’s just such a neat guy.”

Father Forliti, who Bishop Kenney selected as one of three chaplains for his episcopal ordination Mass Oct. 28, said being a priest at St. Olaf was a “demanding assignment” because of the number of people who took their faith seriously and created long lines at the confessional. But, then-Father Kenney was up to the task, and especially clicked with the young adults at the parish, Father Forliti noted, adding that then-Father Kenney was himself a young adult at that time.

“There’s no question that Jesus is at the center of his life,” Father Forliti said. “He preaches often about the person of Jesus and getting to know Christ personally through prayer and through meditation.”

While at St. Olaf, Father Forliti taught the young priest — as he worked to teach all his associates — something he called “hallway ministry” or “vestibule ministry.”

“That means you’re out there early before Mass, 10 to 15 minutes before Mass, and you’re in the vestibule greeting people as they come in, and then you stay there greeting people as they go out (after Mass),” Father Forliti said. “You can accomplish a lot just in a few minutes.”

Sometimes, Father Forliti said, people are reluctant to make an appointment with a priest outside of Mass to address a problem or concern, but they are willing to talk for a few minutes right before or after Mass when they see the priest. He said Bishop Kenney is a natural for this kind of ministry. “I think that being a servant is at the heart of what fires up (Bishop) Kenney every day,” he said.

This care for others also extends to his priestly support group, which has provided support and encouragement for priests like Father Rick Banker, who has been in the same group with Bishop Kenney since right after the

bishop was ordained to the priesthood. The group now has six members after the death of Father Michael Byron in 2022.

Father Banker, 63, who took a medical retirement a year ago due to a heart condition, noted Bishop Kenney’s “genuineness, his warmth, his love for the Lord and for the Church and, especially, which I appreciate, his connection, care for and love of the Latino community.”

In a recent conversation with some other priests who know Bishop Kenney, Father Banker said they acknowledged the fact that the bishop “never aspired” to be a bishop.

“And that’s just the kind of person we want to be asked to be a bishop,” Father Banker said. “I mean, just a humble guy, not in any way seeking to move up the ranks. Those who know Kevin know he is just such a genuine guy.”

Father Banker called Bishop Kenney a good example of what Pope Francis desires for his priests: that they be like a “shepherd among the sheep.”

“Our archdiocese is just really blessed,” Father Banker said, “to be getting someone like Kevin to be our next auxiliary bishop.”

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Father John Forliti, left, one of Bishop Kevin Kenney’s three priest-chaplains, serves as the presenter during the ordination.

COURTESY BRENT ZABEL | BETHLEHEM ACADEMY

In this 2018 photo, then-Father Kevin Kenney stands with Sister Kathleen Hayes during the homecoming parade at Bethlehem Academy in Faribault. At the time, Bishop Kenney was serving as the pastor of Divine Mercy in Faribault.

The Council of Catholic Women are filled with joy in congratulating and offering prayers for Bishop Kevin Kenney!

Congratulations

Bishop John T Folda, the clergy, religious, and laity of the Diocese of Fargo offer congratulations and prayers on your ordination as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN.

Congrat

Bishop Chad W Zielinski and the faithful of the Diocese of New Ulm of yo new minis y. of the Holy Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Kenney

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

RECEIVING THE GOSPEL Bishop Kevin Kenney kneels under the Book of the Gospels during the Handing on of the Book of the Gospels at his episcopal ordination Mass Oct. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Holding the book are Deacons Ramon Garcia, left, and Kevin Conneely.

Intricately carved crosier fashioned by Vietnam War veteran

By Joe Ruff

The Catholic Spirit

The intricately carved crosier, or hooked staff, carried by Bishop Kevin Kenney as a symbol of his episcopal office was fashioned by a Vietnam War veteran the bishop met while he ministered at Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul. Bishop Kenney was pastor there from 2004 to 2015.

“He suffered greatly from the time in Vietnam,” Bishop Kenney said. “He’s a great woodcarver. He’s a painter as well.”

Excited about the assignment, Carlo Mencha carved the crosier in a unique way that “I love; I think it’ll be very impressive,” Bishop Kenney said. Mencha fashioned several interchangeable versions of the staff’s hook. Each incorporates a cross and Celtic design. A symbol of the Trinity was part of the crosier that Bishop Kenney held during his ordination Mass Oct. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

It means a great deal to have Mencha carve the crosier, Bishop Kenney said, and he is grateful that “he’s willing to do that.”

Mencha said he attends a nondenominational Christian church in St. Paul. Bishop Kenney helped him years ago with a spiritual crisis and they have kept in touch, Mencha said.

“I told him (Bishop Kenney) our lives are a gift from God and what we do with them is our gift to God,” Mencha said. “This is my gift to God by way of Bishop Kenney.”

Mencha also attended the ordination. “I loved it,” he said. “It made me cry.”

Bishop Kevin Kenney holds his crosier after receiving it from Archbishop Bernard Hebda, left, during his ordination Mass Oct. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

‘I hope I

can dance’

Bishop Kenney reflects on his journey to episcopal ministry

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

As Bishop Kevin Kenney prepared for his Oct. 28 ordination and installation as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, he took time Oct. 3 to talk with The Catholic Spirit about his family, ministries, prayers and his love of dancing. The conversation is edited for length and clarity.

Q Bishop-elect Kenney, thank you for joining us. As you prepare for your ordination, what would you like the faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to know about you?

A Where do you begin? Just that I’m a native son of Minneapolis. I’ve been a priest for 30 years. I have worked in a variety of different ministries during those 30 years, even before I was a priest. I hope to bring that into my ministry as auxiliary bishop. I hope to continue simply to bring Jesus Christ to people and walk with them, and hopefully be a good listener to people along the way.

Q You were vicar for Latino ministry in the archdiocese for eight years, 2010 to 2018. It included reopening an archdiocesan Office of Latino Ministry in 2013. What was the archdiocese seeing at that time that made it a critical part of what needed to be done?

A Continued growth of Hispanic ministry in the archdiocese. The influence on the Church of immigrants and those who had been here for generations (needed to be recognized), and we needed to organize and know how the archdiocese could serve Latinos in a better way. Part of that was to gather representatives from parishes as well as the overall community to come in and share with us what their needs were and what needs they wanted the Church to be able to provide for; to listen to that and to see how, as a Church, we could meet those needs, and to celebrate and involve the Latino community more widely within the archdiocese.

Q Now as you approach your episcopal ministry, what are among your goals?

A (I aim) to support Archbishop (Bernard) Hebda in the work he is wonderfully doing, to be able to support him in that. I assume I’m going to become a director of Latino ministry again, or have that as part of my job, working with the Latino community, to continue to involve them in the archdiocese, and the awareness not only of the Latinos, but of the multicultural archdiocese that we have become.

Q Any other particular duties you might anticipate?

A Not that I know of yet, but I’m sure there will be.

Q You shared a beautiful story at the news conference (July 25 announcement of his appointment as auxiliary bishop) about how you came to be called to the priesthood. You presented yourself to the Lord, stating, “OK, God, I’ll do anything you want me to do” while making it clear you did not want to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week or be a priest. But something must have entered your mind about the priesthood prior to that. Is there a way you might describe how you feel you were called to priestly ministry?

A Growing up, I mean, it was always in the back of my mind. Growing up in a very Catholic, religious family, having uncles who are priests, religious brothers, and aunts who are nuns. I mean, we were always surrounded by that. And being an altar boy growing up as well. We would play Mass at home ... that was part of our generation. I don’t know if a new generation or younger generation still play Masses at home, but we always used to. I was always the priest, you know, at home when we played Mass. We’d find a dead bird in the yard, and we’d do a little funeral procession and bury the bird. I was always the presider then as well. So, it was always in the back of my mind. ... But the whole sense of it was, “I want to do it, but I don’t fit into the image of what that is, and of being, you know, pious or holy or back-offish.” I always wanted to be with people, enjoying life and being who I was.

And so, that was one of the bargains I made with God at the time. “OK, I’ll be a priest, but allow me to be me and not to be changed.” And whether that was selfish or what, I think it’s been a great gift, and it’s allowed me to continue to live my priesthood in that way.

Q You were on a week-long canonical retreat, just recently, starting Sept. 21. As you prepare for your episcopacy, what can you share with us about that experience?

A I did a private retreat out in Park City, Utah. Some friends of mine have a house there and they invited me to use it. I spent five days up there, reflecting. I was given some reading materials from the archbishop, and I had some other materials that I wanted to read and reflect on. ... It was powerful in the sense of being able to spend that time with the Lord in the mountains of Utah. I went for a wonderful walk every day in the hills. And that was beautiful, to see God in nature and the beauty of that. ... It was somewhat disturbing as well; reality was kind of setting in. This is a whole new way of life, a whole new way of looking at things. It’s a little bit disturbing, in a good way.”

Q What was it like growing up in Minneapolis with six siblings and your parents?

A Well, we were very orderly, in a good way. Back then, the neighborhood had five other families with seven children and a couple with five children and a couple with three children. So you didn’t have to go far to find a ballgame. We all had our chores. We had to make our bed when we got up in the morning. We always had to eat as a family at dinner. And if you didn’t like anything, you went hungry in the evening. You had to eat what was put on the table.

From the day we walked, we always joked, we had to work. My dad had a real estate office. My job was to empty all the wastebaskets, to go in and clean the office. The others had different jobs as well. We were taught you had to work hard, stay busy and stay out of trouble.

Q Any hobbies or interests for yourself or family members?

A My dad bought a boat when we were in our early teens or pre-teens, so we’d go on a ski weekend. Crystal Lake, mainly. Our vacation every year was going to Big Island on Lake Minnetonka with a bunch of families, good friends of my parents when they grew up and their families. We all had individual cabins, but we’d eat a common meal.

My dad would flood the backyard skating rink in the wintertime. Skating was a big thing, playing hockey.

Q What is on your heart as you prepare to be ordained? What most moves you?

A What moves me most is the

excitement of the people. Part of my hesitancy –– discerning –– after getting the telephone call (from Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, telling Bishop Kenney that Pope Francis had appointed him as auxiliary bishop) and then saying yes and waiting for it to be announced was “how are people going to react to this?” Because, you know, in the world today, people just are not happy with the world’s situation: politics, the Church, things that are happening. Part of my doubts were (about) people saying, you know, “Why would you want to be a part of the hierarchy of the Church?” ... But then my own saying, “Yes, I feel called to this and it’s a blessing.” The reactions of people (actually) are like, “We’re very excited that they called you. You will be representing the Church; you’ll be working with the Church and (be) a voice in the Church.”

So that’s what’s on my heart –– that people are excited. And that there’s excitement again for the Church. Just to awaken the possibilities that the Holy Spirit –– where we will be able to walk in a way that makes people feel valuable and respected and listened to.

I’m sure the Lord will open a few doors and continue to move me where I need to be. And that excites me in a whole new way. Because honestly, before all of this came about, and I was thinking of retirement, I kept thinking, did I do all that I was supposed to do in my 30 years as a priest? Did I spend too much time doing a lot of reading or, you know, watching TV? Is there something more I could have done that I didn’t? Well, I guess there is. And now it’s like, OK, Lord, now you want me to be busy.

Q&A CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE

COURTESY ST. OLAF

Judy Murphy, a member of St. Olaf in Minneapolis, dances with now-Bishop Kevin Kenney at the parish’s annual fundraiser Of Ministry and Music on Oct. 25, 2023.

Q&A CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Q What can the faithful do to support you?

A Archbishop Hebda was wonderful with his listening sessions and what he has done. How do we continue to listen to the people? What people can do is support us and support their Church and their parish communities. And pray for me, because I feel those prayers.

One of the things I hear a lot is being called to be a bishop is a lonely life, because people put you farther away from them. That is not what Pope Francis wants of the bishops or the people. Don’t be afraid to talk to me or ask how I’m doing or just treat me for who I am.

One of my hobbies that I love to do is dancing. Growing up, in the living room when my mom and dad weren’t home, we’d move the coffee table, put the radio on and dance around. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing, throughout high school. Going out to the ballrooms. In the (Twin) Cities they used to have ballroom dancing and just dancing-dancing. ... A lot of the parishes I worked in, especially Our Lady of Guadalupe (in St. Paul) I’d always learn a new cultural dance every year and participate in the festivals with that. And wedding receptions and parties. I love to get up and dance, and my mother loved to dance as well. She and I, at different parish festivals, we danced, and everyone thought that was great. So as a bishop, I hope I can dance.

1959 –– Born Dec. 29 in Minneapolis, fifth child of eight to William and Dorothy Kenney

Attended kindergarten at Kenny School and elementary school at Annunciation School, Minneapolis

1978 –– Graduated, DeLaSalle High School, Minneapolis 1983 –– Graduated, then-College of St. Thomas in St. Paul (now University of St. Thomas).

Moved to Chicago as a lay volunteer with Claretian Missionaries, then director of the Claretian Lay Volunteers

1987–1988 –– Attended Catholic University in Washington, D.C., for philosophy prerequisites for major seminary

1988–1992 –– Attended Catholic Theological Union in Chicago; Master of Divinity with a world mission concentration

1992–1994 –– Attended St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul: Jerusalem Study, continuing professional education, practicum for liturgical worship

1994 –– Ordained May 28 by Archbishop John Roach

1994–1998 –– Parochial vicar, St. Olaf, Minneapolis; chaplain, Totino Grace High School, Fridley

1998–2004 –– Pastor, Our Lady of Peace, Minneapolis

2004–2015 –– Pastor, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul 2010–2018 –– Vicar of Latino Ministry, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

2015–2019 –– Pastor, Divine Mercy, Faribault

2015–2019 –– Pastor, St. Michael, Kenyon

2019–Present –– Pastor, St. Olaf; parochial administrator, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, both in Minneapolis; adjunct professor, University of St. Thomas

2024 –– Ordained and installed Oct. 28 as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT Bishop Kevin Kenney walks to the back of the Cathedral at the end of his ordination Mass Oct. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

Bishop Kenney hails from strong Irish Catholic family

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

Maureen Kenney, the youngest of six living siblings of Bishop Kevin Kenney, remembers that while growing up there “was always a crowd, and I was the youngest” and the family station wagon was always full.

“We were who we were,” Maureen said in the days before her brother’s Oct. 28 episcopal ordination at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

“Our family is very Irish Catholic,” she said. “Mom and Dad were very faith-filled. Church was very important. It was not only a religious upbringing, but we had to be kind to people. To show up as Christians, to be Christ-like, that was just the way it was.”

Maureen remembers that her brother, Kevin, was an altar boy and had a paper route. Family life was orderly, structured, healthy and happy. There was a sense of community in the neighborhood, and the Kenney backyard skating rink was a big draw.

“Come on over, let’s put on our skates,” Maureen recalls family members suggesting. “The neighbor kids just played all day and then you heard a mom call out, ‘time for dinner!’”

There was kick the can, capture the flag, kids who were Catholic, kids who weren’t.

“It didn’t matter,” said Maureen, who attends St. Stanislaus in St. Paul. “What mattered is that we were nice to each other and behaved.”

Tragedy

Tragedy struck the Kenney family in 1962, before Maureen was born. William (Bill) and Dorothy Kenney’s daughter, Sheila, died in her crib at 28 days old.

The family has not forgotten, and to this day celebrates and marks Sheila’s birthday, wondering as each year goes by what she might have been like at different ages.

“I (was born) a year later,” Maureen recalls. “I have a lot of curiosity about Sheila.”

Bishop Kenney talked about his sister’s death at the July 25 news conference announcing his appointment as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

“... (W)hen I was 3 years old, my little sister Sheila died ... And I remember coming down the steps that morning and my mother picking me up and showing me a picture of Jesus on the wall and saying, ‘Jesus took your little sister home last night.’ And I felt this immense love and kind of a little bit of jealousy. ‘Why did you take her? You know, that’s all you want, all of us.’ But from that day on,” the bishop said, “that intense love Jesus has for everyone, and for him to take my little sister home, was truly a blessing, even as hard as it was for the family then.”

The oldest Kenney sibling, Pat, 69, said the death of their sister and other events that impact any large family ––the loss of grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors, friends –– helped

shape and mature his brother, Bishop Kenney.

“I consider this the depth of family experience, which is shared by all in our human journey,” said Pat, who attends Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville and St. John the Baptist

Scouts and Boy Scouts. Bill was a realtor who made certain all his children helped around the office cleaning up, taking out the trash and other chores. He spent the last 17 years of his life working as an evening security guard at Visitation School in Mendota Heights. The family moved to different areas of the Twin Cities as the children grew up and their parents downsized.

“Kevin and I did janitorial work at my dad’s office and when we started, it took both of us to lift a wastebasket and empty it,” recalled Bill Kenney, 67, who with his wife, Janice, attends Sacred Heart in Enumclaw, Washington. “Pat had a paper route, then I took over and Kevin took over for me. Our parents kept us busy.”

Their mother introduced their father to People of Praise. He grew to be active in leadership, and at one point coordinated the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Office for the archdiocese, Bishop Kenney told The Catholic Spirit.

As kids, they often heard early morning praying and singing in the house and sometimes mischievously set their alarm clocks to ring three minutes apart, “so it would kind of interfere with what they were doing,” Bishop Kenney said, smiling.

Their parents’ positive impact on the Catholic community was evidenced by the hundreds of people who attended their father’s funeral in 2016 at the Cathedral of St. Paul. And a very singular thing happened. It was described in a People of Praise blog post in 2017:

LEFT: Bishop Kevin Kenney with his mother, Dorothy, in Duluth by a bay of Lake Superior in July 2022. Dorothy was born in Duluth and lived there until high school. She loved the lake.

in Savage. “Kevin was a part of this, formed with a heart for family and others, a heart for life. His formation through these experiences all the way to his entry into priesthood brought him great responsibility in our family as a counsel, faithful engager, and presider of all our holy sacraments across close family, extended family, neighbors and friends.”

Mary Kay Spranger, 68, who lives with her husband, John, in Woodbury, said Sheila was buried in their grandfather Kenney’s grave at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights, but without a grave marker. In later years, she helped her mother pick out a gravestone, which is now at her sister’s gravesite and reads, “Sheila Marie Kenney ‘Safe in the arms of Jesus.’”

Family and community

The Kenney siblings were shaped by their parents, who among other endeavors were members of People of Praise, an ecumenical movement of charismatic prayer and close community. Dorothy oversaw the household and school activities, and both volunteered at church and with groups such as Girl

“As the (G)ospel was read, a man wearing a bandanna and carrying a backpack came in the side door and walked across the front of the cathedral. On a day with a high temperature of 10 degrees Fahrenheit and a wind chill well below zero, he wore sandals with white socks, and white pants. While the crowd stood in their pews, he walked right up to the casket at the front of the church, bent down and kissed it. Then he walked down the center aisle and out the door.”

Bishop Kenney was presiding at his father’s funeral –– a father who wanted three words to be said at his funeral: “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” The bishop remembers the incident well.

“Well, it (was) either Jesus or an angel or somebody Dad helped along the way,” Bishop Kenney recalled. “It didn’t startle many of us because, I mean, that’s how we were brought up. He just came in to pay his respects to Dad. I just thought it was beautiful.”

Mary Kay said her parents were involved with People of Praise after she had grown up and left the house. But she knew about, and she remains grateful for, the love and support people in the group gave her parents, and the family. “These special men and women supported our family when Dad and Mom went to heaven. We are so grateful for them.”

Dorothy died six years after her husband, while living at Little Sisters of the Poor Holy Family Residence in St. Paul. The family got to know the religious sisters well as they visited their mother. Bishop Kenney began to celebrate Mass there every Saturday and said he hopes to continue doing that as bishop, as his schedule allows.

COURTESY MAUREEN KENNEY

ABOVE: Dorothy and Bill Kenney in 1964 with their children Pat, 9; Mary Kay, 8; Bill, 7; Rosie, 6; (Bishop) Kevin, 5, holding the family dog, Sammy; Theresa, 3 and Maureen, 1.

COURTESY ROSIE RYDBERG

FAMILY

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

“They want me to, and I do, too,” he said.

Sister Joseph Marie of the Little Sisters of the Poor in St. Paul attended Bishop Kenney’s ordination with several fellow sisters and noted with gratitude his time at Holy Family Residence.

“After he celebrates Mass, he always congregates with the residents,” she said. “He always thinks of the Little Sisters, even after being named bishop-elect.”

First word of the appointment

As Bishop Kenney’s siblings prepared to attend his ordination, they recalled their reaction when they first heard the news.

“We learned the same day as the news conference,” Maureen said. “The start of the day was like, ‘what?’” But after digesting the news, “it seemed like lovely recognition of his ministry and his faith, and his 30 years as a priest,” she said.

Imagining his future as a bishop, Maureen, who at 61 is just three years younger than the bishop, said, “I hope, and I believe he’s not going to be much different than he’s been in his ministry so far. He will have new responsibilities, but I fully expect him to connect with people. He will bring his authenticity, humanity, joy and humility.”

Bill said, “Kevin will be a great bishop. He truly is a gentle and loving person with great faith (who) people can listen and relate to.”

Mary Kay, who attends St. Olaf in Minneapolis and Assumption and Our

Lady of Guadalupe, both in St. Paul, said her brother’s appointment was great news to wake up to.

“I was overjoyed and thought of my parents and how they are rejoicing in heaven, dancing an Irish jig,” she said.

“Kevin is an excellent representative of Jesus to people. ... It is a blessing for him to receive and accept this role in the Catholic Church. I will continue to pray for him along with all the clergy of the

Catholic faith.”

Rosie Rydberg, and her husband, Mike, live in St. Cloud and attend St. John Cantius. She learned of her brother’s appointment as auxiliary bishop while on vacation in northern Minnesota.

“My phone went off at 5:30 a.m. and I actually heard it. (Holy Spirit!),” she wrote in an email. “I looked at my phone, half asleep, and then was very awake. It was a text from Kevin.”

Rosie, 66, said she hopes that as a bishop, her brother can “touch many hearts with the love of Jesus and help fellow Catholics to come to truly believe in the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.”

She and Maureen said their parents couldn’t be with them physically, but they are proud.

“They are both in heaven and just beaming,” Maureen said.

Congratulations Bishop David D. Kagan and the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Bismarck Diocese offer sincere congratulations to Bishop Kevin T. Kenney and a promise of prayers on his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

COURTESY MAUREEN KENNEY

The Kenney children line up to spell LOVE circa 1966 and one letter is placed backward. From left, Mary Kay; Pat (with the family dog, Sammy); Rosie, Bill, Theresa, Kevin and Maureen.

Ice cream, travel and long walks are among Bishop Kenney’s favorite things

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

Before his ordination, Bishop Kevin Kenney took a moment to share some of his favorite things, including two countries on his bucket list for travel and the way he appreciates a good Sunday afternoon nap.

Q Bishop Kenney, please share with us your favorite meal.

A Steak and potatoes.

Q Your favorite restaurant.

A People ask me that all the time. (Long pause).

Q You don’t have to name one!

A Well, yeah, I really don’t have one.

Q Do you have a favorite dessert?

A I hate to answer that question because then I’ll get a lot of whatever I name ... sour cream raisin pie. I worked at Bakers Square, and they used to make one. But they don’t make it anymore. I’ll just say ice cream. I love ice cream. All flavors.

Q Best place ever traveled.

THANK YOU!

What can I say but ‘THANK YOU!’

Jesus has called me to ‘follow him’ in an additional way and I know it will provide challenges and blessings. I will continue to walk with you and look forward to many new experiences ahead.

God bless us all and thank you for all the support, enrichment, and faithfulness you give to the Archdiocese and to God. Amen, Amen!”

Bishop Kevin Kenney closing an open letter of gratitude for all who have touched his life and who helped with his episcopal ordination and surrounding prayers and activities. The complete letter can be found at archspm.org/bishopkenneythankyou.

A I’ve done a lot of traveling. I love to travel. I haven’t done much since COVID. South Africa is one of the most intriguing places, the beauty, the beauty of South Africa. I went down with a group from the archdiocese to see the

Q Any places you want to go?

A Australia and New Zealand are on my bucket list.

Q What’s your favorite pastime?

A Taking walks. I try to walk every day, down to the Stone Arch Bridge when it was open. It’s closed now (for repairs). St. Anthony, Hennepin Avenue bridge. I go (for) about an hour.

Q Favorite sport to watch?

A Soccer. And golf on Sunday afternoon. I love watching golf because it lulls me into a nap.

Q Star Wars or Star Trek?

A Neither. I’m one of the few in the universe who has never seen a Star Wars movie, any of them. And Star Trek? I never watched it.

Q Favorite movie.

AIDS situation there, which was horrible to see. But yet the beauty of South Africa, and we went down to the very tip, Cape Agulhas, where the Atlantic and Indian oceans come together. It’s one point on Earth that’s just incredible.

A “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom” with Maureen Stapleton.

Q Favorite saint?

A St. Joseph and St. Juan Diego.

November 7, 2024 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Ignatian Volunteer Corps hosts Jesuit forum on racial reconciliation

By Maura Keller

During the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Catholic Church were among the largest slave holders in the United States.

On Oct. 24, the Ignatian Volunteer Corps hosted a forum at St. Thomas More in St. Paul to discuss the Jesuits’ sale of 272 enslaved men, women and children at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and the efforts being made toward racial reconciliation between the Church and the descendants of those who were enslaved.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda moderated the session. He was joined by Monique Maddox, president of the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation, and Jesuit Father Tim Kesicki, past president of the

Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States and current board chair of the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Trust. They discussed the funds they raise to improve the lives of descendants and how they are working toward reconciliation and justice.

In 1838, the Catholic Church was one of the largest slave holders in the United States. Georgetown University, which was beginning the Jesuit goal of establishing a network of Jesuit universities throughout the country, was struggling under debt to save the school from financial ruin. Its leaders decided to sell 272 of the men, women and children they held as slaves. This information surfaced in 2016 when a New York Times story asked the question of what Georgetown owes the descendants of these enslaved people.

“Many in the Church have gained some

awareness of the history of this event since it came into view about eight years ago. It has rightfully shaken people on both sides of the story, and most importantly, it has inspired many of them to work to come around to the same side,” said Steve Hawkins, director of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps Twin Cities.

The New York Times article explored how Maddox, a direct descendant of slaves sold in Georgetown, learned about members of the Church — the Church that had been her bedrock of faith — beating, enslaving and selling her ancestors. Maddox is a member of Our Lady of Grace in Edina and serves on the board of directors for the St. Paul-based Catholic Community Foundation.

After learning of Georgetown University’s ties to slavery and her direct connection to several of PLEASE TURN TO IGNATIAN VOLUNTEER CORPS ON PAGE 5B

For The Catholic Spirit

From left, Simone Maddox and her father, Roderick Maddox, react during a discussion Oct. 24 at St. Thomas More in St. Paul addressing the sale of slaves by Jesuits at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Maddox and her mother, Monique Maddox, are descendants of those slaves. Monique Maddox, one of two featured speakers at the event, is president of the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation. The Maddox family belongs to Our Lady of Grace in Edina.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

BLUE MASS Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, in a suitcoat and tie, and officers fill the pews at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis Oct. 30 for a Blue Mass honoring those who have died in the line of duty as well as those who currently serve as first responders, including police officers, firefighters and EMS responders. Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Auxiliary Bishops Michael Izen and Kevin Kenney were among those celebrating the Mass. Lunch was provided by the Gary Sinise Foundation.

ALL SOULS Pope Francis pauses to pray on the feast of All Souls Nov. 2 after leaving white roses at the “Garden of the Angels” section of Rome’s Laurentino cemetery set aside for miscarried infants. The pope prayed at the graves of several children before concelebrating Mass with several hundred mourners. Rather than giving a homily during the Mass, the pope led the congregation in a long moment of silent reflection. Pope Francis’ prayer intention for November is for parents who have lost a child. In his video message asking people to join him in the prayer, he began by saying, “What can we say to parents who have lost a child? How can we console them? There are no words.” At the end of the Mass, the pope prayed that by visiting the graves of their beloved deceased, people would renew their faith in Jesus, who died, was buried and rose again to save humanity.

CORRECTIONS

Jim Bovin took the photo “Recognizing Catholic school leaders” on Page 2 of the Oct. 24 print edition. His last name was misspelled.

Guiding Star Wakota, a pregnancy resource center in West St. Paul, is on track to have 9,000 client visits by the end of 2024. That statistic was incorrect in the story, “Pregnancy resource centers struggle with funding cut” in the Oct. 24 print edition.

Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the Nov. 1

“Practicing Catholic” radio show included a discussion with Father Allan Paul Eilen on how to make confession a more meaningful experience, and an interview with Jeremy Rohr from the nonprofit Freedom to Love on how to tackle the issue of pornography with young people. The program also included the conclusion of an interview with Cynthia Palm about her conversion story from Southern Baptist to Catholic. Listen to interviews after they have aired at archspm org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.

Some of the main challenges to safeguarding minors in the context of the Church in Africa are pinned down to cultural norms and practices.

Father Lowrent Kamwaza, safeguarding coordinator for the Missionaries of Africa, speaking with OSV News as the Vatican released its first annual report on safeguarding minors Oct. 29. Officials in Africa highlighted some of the cultural practices hampering child protection in the continent, such as rejection and cultural stigmatization against victims-survivors of sexual abuse. The nearly 100-page “Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding,” written by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, is the first in an annual series. It offers a review of safeguarding measures in several countries and their dioceses, as well as by Catholic organizations and religious orders. The report indicates the lack of data on the scope of abuse as one of the repeating gaps in country structures. Also noted is the lack of understanding among Catholics of how important the issue is in general. Many countries, however, try hard, given the cultural challenges, to safeguard children, the report noted.

NEWS notes

The number of veterans experiencing homelessness in Hennepin County has steadily declined, leading county officials to report in October “that we effectively ended homelessness among veterans in Minnesota’s largest county.” County partners — including Catholic Charities Twin Cities — have helped “veterans overcome homelessness at a higher rate than veterans are coming into the homelessness system,” county officials stated in a news release. According to Catholic Charities Twin Cities, the nonprofit served nearly 500 veterans through its Hennepin Countybased homelessness- and housing-focused services last year.

The 2024 Cathedral Christmas Festival, an outdoor European-style Christmas market, will be held at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul for three days in December. The market is hosted by Cathedral Heritage Foundation and Steven C Anderson. It will feature local vendors, food trucks, gluhwein, beer, hot cocoa and three concerts inside the Cathedral. The market will be from 5-9 p.m. Dec. 12 and Dec. 13, and noon-7 p.m. on Dec. 14. Tickets are available for $12 on Eventbrite and the Cathedral Heritage Foundation website. People interested in being a sponsor or a vendor for the market can sign up on the website, too. For questions, contact event planner Carolyn Will at carolyn@cwcommunications info or 612-414-9661.

The liturgical celebration of the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception will be held Dec. 9 this year because Dec. 8 falls on the second Sunday of Advent. People who live or are present in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on Dec. 9 are dispensed from the obligation to participate in Mass — though they are strongly encouraged to attend, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said in a recent announcement. The dispensation comes as the Holy See clarified that — in contrast to the prevalent understanding in the United States and even as published in the Ordo that gives information about each day’s liturgy — the usual obligation to attend Mass on the solemnity applies even when the celebration is transferred to Dec. 9. Archbishop Hebda said he learned that many parishes had already published their Mass schedules and arranged staffing with the understanding that Dec. 9 would not include an obligation to attend Mass. To accommodate that reality, the dispensation was issued, the archbishop said. “All who enjoy the benefit of this dispensation are exhorted to commemorate the Immaculate Conception in another fitting manner, such as by reciting the Liturgy of the Hours or reflecting on the readings for the day, or engaging in prayer either individually, with others, or as a family,” the archbishop said. “As we each honor this special day dedicated to Our Blessed Mother, the Patroness of the United States of America, let us reflect on her unique role in salvation history and ask her intercession for this nation,” the archbishop wrote.

Father David Blume — vocations director for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis until July, when he and two other priests of the archdiocese and of the priestly fraternity the Companions of Christ took temporary assignments in the Diocese of Crookston — has been appointed vicar general in Crookston. Bishop Andrew Cozzens, a founder of the Companions, requested the three temporary assignments as the Crookston diocese has been shorthanded for priests. Also ministering in the Crookston diocese are Fathers Josh Salonek and Thomas Niehaus of the archdiocese and the Companions. In a Nov. 1 letter to clergy, Bishop Cozzens said he consulted priests of the diocese and others about which priest could best serve as vicar general, a part-time position in Crookston with the role of assisting in the governance of the diocese. After consulting the Priests Personnel Board, Bishop Cozzens asked Father Blume to be vicar general, and Father Blume accepted, with the appointment effective Jan. 1, 2025. Father Blume also will continue his three-year, temporary assignments in Crookston — pastor of St. Philip in Bemidji and St. Charles in Pennington, and superintendent of St. Philip Catholic School, Bishop Cozzens said.

Editor’s note: For coverage from a Catholic perspective of the Nov. 5 general election, visit The Catholic Spirit website at thecatholicspirit com and watch for updates in the Nov. 21 print edition.

COURTESY BASILICA OF ST. MARY | KEN FOURNELLE

CNS | VATICAN MEDIA

FROMTHEARCHBISHOP

ONLY

JESUS | ARCHBISHOP BERNARD HEBDA

Vocations run deep and wide in the archdiocese

As providence would have it, I’m writing these reflections for The Catholic Spirit’s vocations issue from Christ the King Retreat House in Buffalo, where I’m gathered for a weekend retreat with Father Mark Pavlak (the archdiocesan vocations director), a number of our college seminarians and 10 young men considering whether the Lord might be calling them to enter our St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul.

It’s always one of my favorite weekends of the year, but it is particularly welcome this year. Amid the tensions associated with the close of a bitter electoral campaign, it’s been a blessing to be on a Christ-centered retreat with faithful young people who represent such hope not only for our Church but also for our country.

The annual Archbishop’s Discernment Retreat is a venerable tradition in this archdiocese. My predecessors seem to have set the bar high — many of our priests still share the inspirational nuggets that they had heard from Archbishop Harry Flynn when he led this retreat, insights that helped them to embrace their calling. “If I had a hundred lives,” he would say, “I would live them all as a priest.” I’m still hoping that someone will publish a collection of his writings on vocations and priestly ministry, stretching back to his time as rector of Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and capturing the brilliance of the many retreats for priests, seminarians and future seminarians that he led well into his retirement.

Archbishop Flynn followed in a long line of local

shepherds with a passion for promoting vocations. It was Archbishop Ireland’s concern for promoting and cultivating vocations that led to the founding of the forward-thinking educational institution that eventually developed into The St. Paul Seminary, the University of St. Thomas and St. Thomas Academy. It was the dream to carry that vision forward that led to the founding by Archbishop Dowling of the Nazareth Hall preparatory seminary in Arden Hills, an institution that helped hundreds of young men discern their call, beginning with those of high school age.

Archbishop Murray was known to have a heart for vocations as well. Our senior archdiocesan priest, Father George Welzbacher, tells the story about how his life changed when he met up with Archbishop Murray on a streetcar one day, as the archbishop convinced young George to attend Nazareth Hall. I’m thinking that I need to take public transportation more often!

It was Archbishop Brady, however, who made a key contribution to the development of a culture of vocations in the archdiocese when he promulgated an archdiocesan prayer asking God to bless this local Church “with many priests, brothers and sisters who will love (God) with their whole strength and glad spend their entire lives to serve (the) Church and to make (God) known and loved.” More than 60 years later, that’s a prayer that many of our parishes use. We pray it every time the sacrament of confirmation is celebrated at the Cathedral. There’s a line in the prayer that chokes me up every time we pray it: “Choose from our homes those needed for thy work.” I’m so grateful that we have families still praying that prayer in 2024 and

encouraging their sons and daughters to consider how the Lord might be calling them to his work.

Since the Second Vatican Council and its emphasis on the universal call to holiness, we’ve broadened and enriched the notion of vocation to include callings beyond the priesthood and religious life. The Church emphasizes that all of us, in virtue of our baptisms, receive a sacred call. While it’s still appropriate to speak about priestly vocations and religious vocations, it’s also important to see marriage as a vocation, to recognize the permanent diaconate as a vocation, and to recognize the contribution that single persons can make in the Church as well, even outside of formally consecrated life.

The Holy Spirit continues to deepen our understanding and experience of vocation. We have seen a flourishing in our archdiocese in recent years of women called to consecrated virginity and a number who are called to live their holiness in the world as members of secular institutes. We have also seen the way in which our local Church has been enriched by those who have found a home in the ecclesial movements that are increasingly prevalent in the universal Church, with Pro Ecclesia Sancta, the Emmanuel community, and the Neocatechumenal Way as just a few examples. I know many of our strong Catholics speak as well about their vocation to Opus Dei, or to the People of Praise, or to the Community of Christ the Redeemer.

We are truly blessed by all of these vocations in our archdiocese. Please join me in praying that our young people might always be able to hear the Lord’s call and respond in confidence.

Las vocaciones son profundas y amplias en la arquidiócesis

Como quiso la Providencia, estoy escribiendo estas reflexiones para la edición de vocaciones de The Catholic Spirit desde la Casa de Retiros Cristo Rey en Buffalo, donde estoy reunido para un retiro de fin de semana con el Padre Mark Pavlak (director de vocaciones de la arquidiócesis), varios de nuestros seminaristas universitarios y 10 jóvenes que están considerando si el Señor podría estar llamándolos a ingresar a nuestro Seminario Universitario San Juan Vianney en St. Paul.

Siempre es uno de mis fines de semana favoritos del año, pero este año es especialmente bienvenido. En medio de las tensiones asociadas con el cierre de una amarga campaña electoral, ha sido una bendición estar en un retiro centrado en Cristo con jóvenes fieles que representan tanta esperanza no solo para nuestra Iglesia sino también para nuestro país. El retiro anual de discernimiento del arzobispo es una venerable tradición en esta archidiócesis. Mis predecesores parecen haber puesto el listón muy alto: muchos de nuestros sacerdotes todavía comparten las ideas inspiradoras que habían escuchado del arzobispo Harry Flynn cuando dirigió este retiro, ideas que los ayudaron a abrazar su llamado. “Si tuviera cien vidas”, decía, “las viviría todas como sacerdote”. Todavía tengo la esperanza de que alguien publique una colección de sus escritos sobre las vocaciones y el ministerio sacerdotal, que se remontan a su época como rector del Seminario Mount St. Mary en Emmitsburg, Maryland, y que capturan la brillantez de los muchos retiros para sacerdotes, seminaristas y futuros seminaristas que dirigió hasta bien entrada su jubilación. El arzobispo Flynn siguió una larga lista de pastores locales apasionados

por promover las vocaciones. Fue la preocupación del arzobispo Ireland por promover y cultivar las vocaciones lo que llevó a la fundación de la institución educativa vanguardista que con el tiempo se convirtió en el Seminario St. Paul, la Universidad de St. Thomas y la Academia St. Thomas. Fue el sueño de llevar adelante esa visión lo que llevó al arzobispo Dowling a fundar el seminario preparatorio Nazareth Hall en Arden Hills, una institución que ayudó a cientos de jóvenes a discernir su llamado, comenzando por aquellos en edad de escuela secundaria. El arzobispo Murray también era conocido por su gran interés por las vocaciones. Nuestro sacerdote arquidiocesano de mayor antigüedad, el padre George Welzbacher, cuenta la historia de cómo su vida cambió cuando un día se encontró con el arzobispo Murray en un tranvía, mientras el arzobispo convencía al joven George de asistir a Nazareth Hall. ¡Estoy pensando que necesito utilizar el transporte público con más frecuencia!

Sin embargo, fue el arzobispo Brady quien hizo una contribución clave al desarrollo de una cultura de vocaciones en la archidiócesis cuando promulgó una oración arquidiocesana pidiendo a Dios que bendiga a esta Iglesia local “con muchos sacerdotes, hermanos y hermanas que amarán (a Dios) con todas sus fuerzas y con gusto dedicarán toda su vida a servir (a la) Iglesia y a hacer que (Dios) sea conocido y amado”. Más de 60 años después, esa es una oración que muchas de nuestras parroquias usan. La rezamos cada vez que se celebra el sacramento de la confirmación en la Catedral. Hay una línea en la oración que me hace un nudo en la garganta cada vez que la rezamos:

“Elige de nuestros hogares a los necesarios para tu obra”. Estoy muy agradecido de que tengamos familias que todavía rezan esa oración en 2024 y alientan a sus hijos e hijas a considerar cómo el Señor podría

OFFICIAL

estar llamándolos a su obra.

Desde el Concilio Vaticano II y su énfasis sen el llamado universal a la santidad, VOCACIONES CONTINÚAN EN PAGINA 14B

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

Effective October 21, 2024

Reverend Tim Tran, assigned as temporary parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Stephen in Anoka, while the current Pastor, Reverend Jon Bennet Tran, is on sabbatical. Father Tran has been serving as parochial vicar of the same parish.

Reverend Minh Vu, assigned as temporary parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Columba in Saint Paul, while the current Pastor, Reverend Hoan Nguyen, is on sabbatical. This is in addition to his current assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint Adalbert in Saint Paul.

Effective November 1, 2024

Reverend Brian Lynch, assigned as pastor of the Church of Saint Agatha in Coates. This is in addition to his assignment as chaplain to Regions Hospital in Saint Paul. Father Lynch replaces Father Richard Mahoney, a retired priest of the Archdiocese who has served the parish as parochial administrator since 2003.

Effective November 24, 2024

Deacon Jim DeShane, granted the status of a retired deacon. Deacon Deshane has served the Archdiocese since his ordination in 2003, most recently at the Church of Christ the King in Minneapolis.

Effective December 1, 2024

Reverend Sean Magnuson, assigned as parochial vicar of the Church of Our Lady of Grace in Edina. Father Magnuson is returning to the Archdiocese after serving as a military chaplain since 2009.

Effective December 31, 2024

Deacon Richard Moore, granted the status of retired deacon. Deacon Moore has served the Archdiocese since his ordination in 2002, most recently at the Church of Saint Pascal Baylon in Saint Paul.

Joy of the Lord

Donor advised funds are the fastest-growing giving vehicle in the U.S.

“The popularity of Donor Advised Funds stems from their flexibility and tax advantages, which allow donors to contribute assets and deduct the gift right away while designating charitable recipients much later.”

- Wall Street Journal

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

From left, Jennifer Larimore, Amy Perez and her husband, Carl Perez, of San Angelo, Texas, react during the opening session of Holy Spirit

Renewal, Oct. 25 at NET Ministries in West St. Paul. After a time of praise and worship to begin the conference, Father

St. Paul and Minneapolis, led a procession around the room with the Eucharist.

Documentary profiles a possible future saint

By Kurt Jensen OSV News

In 2012, when Michelle Duppong, who was about to become director of adult formation for the Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota, asked Jacqueline Matta Balzer if she could be her roommate, Balzer had no idea she was dealing with a possible future saint. Still, “You could just sense there was a holiness about her,” Balzer recalled.

Likewise, Jessica Navin, spiritual formation coordinator for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), did not have a sainthoodcause documentary in mind when she began work as executive producer on what would become “Radiating Joy: The Michelle Duppong Story.” Instead, the production was originally intended to be a training film for FOCUS missionaries.

That changed on Nov. 1, 2022, when Bismarck Bishop David Kagan celebrated the opening Mass of Duppong’s cause for canonization. If that effort succeeds, Duppong would become only the 12th person to be declared a saint based on ministry carried out primarily on U.S. territory.

Produced by Anderson Art, “Radiating Joy” will have a one-day theatrical showing across the country on Nov. 12 as a Fathom Events presentation. A five-year post-mortem waiting time is normally required before a sainthood

IGNATIAN VOLUNTEER CORPS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B

the slaves held by the Jesuits, in 2017 Maddox was invited to Georgetown to receive an apology made to living descendants.

“This came after our family had petitioned to Rome, to the Jesuit superior, to send some visitors to the United States to allow us to create a foundation, to allow us to begin a path of reconciliation with our Church,” Maddox said. “We love our Church. Our faith had been carried on with us. After that, the descendant families began to meet to organize and figure out what is a proper response to this history. We began forming the Descendants Association and different groups on how to reunite our families. We also came together through racial healing dialogues for two years with the Jesuits –– two years of very messy, very hard conversations about this history. And out of that, we came up with the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation.”

Specifically, on Sept. 20, 2019, the Descendants Association, along with the president of the Jesuits Conference in the U.S. and the U.S. Provincials of the Society of Jesus, signed a joint memorandum to establish a $1 billion irrevocable trust and the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation.

The foundation’s goal is to invest in the education of current and future generations of descendants, to provide for the safety and well-being of older adult descendants and to offer racial healing programs for this deep wound. In 2023, Georgetown University and the Jesuits continued their funding efforts by gifting $27 million to the foundation.

“We want to do something bigger than ourselves,” Maddox said. “We want

LOCAL SHOWTIMES

“Radiating Joy” will have a one-day theatrical showing across the country on Nov. 12, including at theaters within the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. For local showtimes and ticket information, visit: fathomevents com/events/radiating-joy-themichelle-duppong-story Click “Get Tickets” to find your local theater and its showtimes. For more information about the film, as well as future screening dates and locations, visit focus org/michelleduppong

cause can be considered. Duppong, who died from ovarian cancer on Christmas Day 2015 at age 31, is now honored as a Servant of God. The other steps on the way to canonization are for a person to be declared venerable and, subsequently, blessed by the pope.

Beatification requires proof of at least one miracle obtained posthumously through the candidate’s intercession. Proof of a second such miracle is needed for canonization.

Duppong is remembered for her intense spirituality and what the documentary calls “a kind of luminescence.” This quality, as possessed in its fullness by Jesus, is described in the Letter to the Hebrews as “the refulgence of his (God’s) glory.”

It’s all a bit overwhelming for Balzer, who has yet to see the documentary and isn’t sure she will, since she knows it

would unleash a flood of emotions about her friend.

Before working in Bismarck, Duppong had been a FOCUS missionary on four campuses for six years following her 2006 graduation from North Dakota State University.

Meeting Duppong — who hailed from the Flickertail State’s tiny farm community of Haymarsh — for the first time “was kind of disarming,” Balzer told OSV News. “When she joined the young adult group, we didn’t know what had hit us.”

Balzer found her “a normal person” with an exceptional depth of piety. Duppong, for instance, would never miss the early-morning Mass at the nearby Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

Influenced by the Missionaries of Charity, Duppong also was responsible for launching the diocese’s first Thirst

to create a foundation that is going to be around forever, and we want to have those pillars around that foundation be centered on uplifting a community that has been harmed through systemic racism,” Maddox said. They created a scholarship program, offering postsecondary support for students who are descendants, who could attend whatever institution they want. They also expanded the mission to include caring for older adults and the infirm.

“We also said we want to do something bigger than just the descendant community. We want to uplift a nation of people who have been harmed,” Maddox said. “And so, we dedicated 50 percent of our dollars to go to truth, racial healing and transformation programs, so that a whole tide of people can benefit from any dollars that go into this foundation. We’re not about lining our pockets. We’re about helping the greater mankind of all people. We’re about love –– love for our

Eucharistic Conference in 2013. “She had everything all kind of put down on paper already” when she proposed it, Bishop Kagan says in the film.

“She was discerning every day. Her whole life was kind of centered on praise,” Balzer added. Summing up Duppong’s personal impact, Balzer observes that she “definitely changed my life.”

In the documentary, Father Nathan Cromly of the Community of St. John, another of Duppong’s friends, calls her “a daughter of the prairie who understood the greatness of the human person.” Mark Bartek, Duppong’s supervisor at FOCUS, describes her as “a calming, focused, joyful presence.”

In 2014, when Duppong went to the hospital for what she thought were ovarian cysts, doctors instead found Stage 4 cancer, which resulted in major surgery followed by chemotherapy. Odds of her survival much beyond a year were slim.

Balzer said Duppong never focused on the intense physical pain. “When I asked her how much pain she was in, she said, ‘I can’t talk about that,’ and she kind of moved on to something else.”

Bartek says she “offered her cancer in exchange for the conversion of students. Not being able to have children was the cross she carried.”

fellow humans and love for our Church. And what better way to do that than to help everyone.”

“We know that the United States is a litigious society, and harms are often dealt with (through) settlements, or we arrange some compensatory amount to bring it to conclusion, but there is no settling with this history,” Father Kesicki said. “The foundation is part money, but it’s an equal part partnership that we’re together for life and beyond that. This is in perpetuity. This is a moral response, not a legal response. It’s a moral response that we hope would drive other organizations because until we, and every Christian organization and government, owns its truth and develops partnerships like this, I think every effort at antiracism is a Band-Aid on a deeper wound that needs to heal.”

Archbishop Hebda added that while this issue is very specific for the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation and the descendants of the

Georgetown slaves, the issue is much broader, even within the Church.

“In so many ways, the whole Church is looking at you and at this process as a way of helping us go into some of these difficult discussions, and especially as we try to teach our young people,” Archbishop Hebda said. “There are some really painful parts of our own Church history here, and how important is the idea of truth telling, but always with that hope of reconciliation.”

Today, the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation is a full-time ministry for Father Kesicki and Maddox. Prior to founding the organization, Maddox was a successful corporate executive and two years away from retirement. But Maddox sees her role in the foundation as life-giving, legacybuilding work.

“I wanted to reconcile with our Church. Week after week, I went to adoration and prayed about this. How could I look at my priest again? How could I stay in this Church? How am I going to feel such anger and shame and live the rest of my life that way? I couldn’t do that,” she said. “Week after week, you could find me in the adoration chapel, on my knees, praying for those priests who enslaved our families, praying for my ancestors and how they kept the faith, praying for understanding, wisdom, guidance, courage, consolation. This was the only way for me. That’s what God told me at that moment, and that is why I do this work.”

Lynette Graham attended the panel with 10 others from her parish, St. Peter Claver in St. Paul. As a descendant of slaves, Graham found it powerful to “have a priest and a descendant of slaves be able to come together and create forgiveness and reconciliation and see the joy that can come from that.”

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

From left, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Monique Maddox and Father Tim Kesicki talk after a session Oct. 24 at St. Thomas More in St. Paul addressing the sale of slaves by Jesuits at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Little Sisters of the Poor plan to leave St. Paul home, ending 140 years of ministry in archdiocese

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

Little Sisters of the Poor’s Mother Julie Marie Horseman said Oct. 13 the congregation plans to withdraw from its Holy Family Residence in St. Paul after a buyer is found, but it is seeking a Catholic entity that will provide the same care for residents and employment for staff.

The sisters have pledged to stay during what might be two years of transition to a new owner, she said during an informational meeting at the home located outside downtown St. Paul.

When the residence for low-income adults changes hands, seven sisters assigned to the facility will serve at one of the congregation’s other 159 homes worldwide, ending the Little Sisters’ more than 140-year ministry in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The decision to withdraw from their St. Paul home followed the congregation’s 2022 General Chapter gathering in France and a strategic plan to strengthen their ministry and the quality of their religious and community life, Mother Julie said in a news release. Of the 1,641 Little Sisters in the congregation, about 215 are in the United States, Mother Julie said. Several homes worldwide will close in the next several years, the congregation said.

Through prayer and study, the Little Sisters recognized the need to withdraw from some of their homes while dedicating resources to necessary upgrades and reconstruction projects in others, she said. The Little Sisters will also withdraw from one of the nine homes in the Chicago province, and they will announce that withdrawal in the next several months, Mother Julie told The Catholic Spirit.

Many of the staff, residents and family members, lay associates and volunteers who heard the announcement at the home were saddened by the Little Sisters’ planned withdrawal.

“For the residents, our desire is to make the transition with the minimal amount of disturbance possible, because we want them to be secure in knowing

Paul, hugs Krissy Klink, right, a medical assistant and certified nursing assistant, Oct. 23 at the facility after a meeting in which the Little Sisters announced their plans to search for a buyer and leave the residence.

that we're going to seek the best match possible for a purchaser,” said Mother Julie –– provincial superior of the Little Sisters’ Chicago province based in Palatine, Illinois.

The St. Paul home offers a continuum of care for 34 residents in its nursing home and 26 residents in apartments, according to the Holy Family Residence website. Residents who ask to transfer to another Little Sisters home will be accommodated as much as possible, but only those requesting it will be moved, Mother Julie said during the meeting. Holy Family Residence also will continue to accept new residents during the transition, she said.

Regarding the announcement,

Congratulations

Bishop Kevin Kenney on your ordination to the Roman Catholic episcopacy!

From the family members at Community of Christ the Redeemer

COMMUNITY OF CHRIST THE REDEEMER Catholic Lay Association of Christian Faithful

HISTORY IN ARCHDIOCESE

The Little Sisters of the Poor established their first home in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis after six sisters arrived in St. Paul in 1883 at the request of then-Bishop Thomas Grace and Coadjutor Bishop John Ireland.

The sisters lacked funds but wanted to help older adults in need as their founder, St. Jeanne Jugan, had done when she founded the ministry 44 years earlier in SaintServan, France. St. Jugan began by offering her own bed to a blind, paralyzed widow.

The sisters opened their first Minnesota home in an old school building in St. Paul’s West Seventh neighborhood, which they purchased from the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. Soon they were caring for 20 mostly poor, immigrant residents. The sisters supported the home primarily by begging for food and clothing contributions, sometimes traveling long distances by horse and wagon.

As the need for their care grew, the sisters had a larger St. Paul home built in 1889 and established a second home in Northeast Minneapolis. The two homes were consolidated with the construction of the current home in 1977, located at 330 Exchange Street South in St. Paul.

consistent staffing in the Twin Cities, Mother Julie said at the meeting. The aging of the sisters, together with an overall decline in religious vocations in the Church, are also factors, she said.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda also expressed sadness and sought prayers for the sisters, residents and staff during the transition. The archbishop said he hopes that another Catholic organization will continue the sisters’ work in the archdiocese.

The Little Sisters of the Poor “have been an important part of this local Church for more than 140 years and their Christ-like witness and example will be greatly missed,” the archbishop said in a statement. “I have always loved my visits to the Holy Family Residence and am grateful that we have been blessed by their presence. Their sacrifices and tireless commitment to service, as well as their trust in Divine Providence, have been inspiring to me personally and to our broader community.”

The Little Sisters hope to find a Catholic buyer for the residence and several entities are discussing the possibility, said Greg Zielinski, executive director of Zielinski Companies, of Fenton, Missouri, during the Oct. 23 meeting. Zielinski Companies helps religious communities, ministries and other nonprofits with business needs and is facilitating the sale.

The purchase process alone will take at least six months and it’s unlikely that an agreement with a new buyer will be reached within that timeframe, Zielinski told The Catholic Spirit.

He assured those attending the meeting that the withdrawal will take place at the appropriate time. “We’re not going to turn the lights out tonight and tomorrow you turn the lights back on and it’s all different. … It is absolutely mission related.”

One reason the sisters have chosen to withdraw from the St. Paul home is the difficulty they have had in maintaining

Wherever they continue to serve, the Little Sisters will rely on community support of food and other resources to care for the elderly poor as they have in the archdiocese, Mother Julie said.

“We rely on the support of the local community in every place that we are because our mission is to the poor. They don't have the resources and government funding doesn't provide the resources to afford the quality of care that we would wish to give our residents,” she said.

Staff and contract employees at the Holy Family Residence expressed their feelings about the announcement.

“I’m really hurt and upset,” said Krissy Klink, who has worked at the home for almost 20 years. “It’s like losing family. The sisters are like family to me. It’s not just a job, it’s everything. It’s going to be hard through the transition. I’m not planning on leaving, but I’m still scared about what (may happen). With the new people, will I still have a job?”

Another employee shared at the meeting that she feels something will be lost at the home when the sisters leave. “We can work anywhere,” she said. “We can stay, we can go. … Because every time I come here you have church, you have friends. Something is important.”

The decision represents a loss of family to the Little Sisters, Mother Julie said during the meeting.

“We want to build a family in our homes, but that means we feel the separation of family. We have to move. … I just want to say thank you once again and we’re here with you and we appreciate your support.”

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Mary Jane Lehnertz, left, a nurse at the Little Sisters of the Poor Holy Family Residence in St.

HEADLINES

uAcross the U.S., Catholics seek out prayer before and after voting at the polls. On Election Day, Catholic faithful across the nation turned to prayer before and after heading to the polls Nov. 5, with many parishes and dioceses offering Holy Hours. St. Joseph’s on Capitol Hill in Washington hosted an entire day of Eucharistic adoration and prayer for the United States. “Our first loyalty is to God. Everything is to God,” St. Joseph’s pastor Father William Gurnee III told OSV News. “We are Catholic. We don’t go to the grocery store without Jesus Christ. Why would we ever think about going to a voting booth without him?” In Pennsylvania, Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh called on parishes to offer Eucharistic adoration opportunities Nov. 5, and Philadelphia’s Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul hosted a Nov. 3 Holy Hour, with Archbishop Nelson Pérez releasing a video recording of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Prayer Before an Election.” In Arizona, the Phoenix Diocese participated in a Nov. 4 joint prayer vigil held by seven Christian denominations at Sun City Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for “election peace” and loving one’s neighbor, according to a media brief sent to OSV News by Phoenix’s diocesan communications director, Brett Meister. Prayers for the nation’s leaders and people will continue well past Election Day, said Father Gurnee. “Daily prayer is not just one time, for one day,” he said. uCatholic nun among 10 killed in an Indonesian volcano eruption. At least 10 people, including a Catholic nun, have been killed in a volcanic eruption on Indonesia’s predominantly Catholic Flores Island. Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in the Wulanggitang subdistrict in East Flores Regency spewed ash and lava Nov. 3, peppering the surrounding areas with fireballs. Sister Nikolin Padjo of the Servants of the Holy Spirit congregation died when her convent in Boru collapsed during the eruption. Her colleague, Sister Sinta Eren, said Sister Nikolin, head of the monastery in Boru, was found dead. “It’s so sad; she was happy last night,” Sister Sinta said, referring to the recreational activities Sister Nikolin participated in with her colleagues before the fatal incident. San Dominggo Hokeng Middle Seminary in the Wulanggitang district was among the damaged buildings. Several seminarians were injured. Some church institutions, including the Society of Divine Word’s Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Commission, are mobilizing funds to help the victims. Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent volcanic eruptions due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area of intense volcanic and seismic activity. Government authorities have evacuated several villages and hiked the alert level in a four-tiered system to the highest. In December 2023, an eruption at one of the country’s most active volcanoes, Mount Marapi in West Sumatra, killed at least 24 climbers, most of them university students. uVatican opens information point for pilgrims visiting St. Peter’s. Approximately 40,000 visitors enter St. Peter’s Basilica each day, and now they can gain deeper insights into what they are seeing inside the world’s largest church. In the leadup to the Holy Year 2025, the Vatican inaugurated the “Official Area” for St. Peter’s Basilica. Located at the start of the long avenue leading to the basilica, the center aims to enhance pilgrims’ experiences and serve as an information point. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest

of the basilica, blessed the information point during its inauguration Oct. 31, stating that enhancing the visitor experience for the basilica “fosters spaces of freedom in each person’s heart to return to a deep awareness of oneself, but also of the other.” Inside, visitors will find informative books, guides, memorabilia from the basilica, and they can buy tickets to visit the dome — the only part of the basilica that requires a paid ticket. Above all they can encounter a multilingual staff that can answer their questions. Any profits from the sale of goods from the info point will be used for nonprofit projects in partnership with the Be Human Foundation. The info point will also offer augmented reality experiences to show visitors aspects of the basilica in greater detail, such as the recent restoration of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s 10-story bronze canopy that stands over the basilica’s main altar. For those with mobility concerns, the center provides support to

organize accessible visits to the basilica, including tactile resources for the visually impaired.

uKing and bishops decry “devastation” and send condolences after dozens die in Spain’s floods. The archbishop of Valencia expressed “grave concern” and said Mass for those affected after at least 72 people died, and many more went missing amid torrential rains that caused massive flooding in southeastern Spain. The flooding turned roads into rivers of floating cars and cut off highways and access points, with water reaching the first floor of buildings. Archbishop Enrique Benavent said Oct. 30 he “hopes that the victims and missing persons will be found safe and sound as soon as possible,” according to Spanish Catholic news outlet Alfa y Omega. The archbishop celebrated Mass for all those affected on the morning of Oct. 30 in a local basilica. In a letter sent

to Archbishop Benavent and Msgr. Julián Ros, apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Albacete, West from Valencia, Spanish bishops said that they share “their pain at the difficult times that they are experiencing in their dioceses.” The horrendous flooding that left piles of cars stuck in between buildings in historical narrow streets of Valencia and trapped dozens of residents was caused by storm Dana — described as an “unprecedented phenomenon” by Spain’s defense minister, Margarita Robles. King Felipe VI spoke of his “devastation and concern” over the flash flooding. Speaking of “enormous destruction” Oct. 30, he said accessing some areas was still difficult. Spain declared three days of mourning after the flash floods devastated parts of the country.

— CNS and OSV News

9 men and women with ties to archdiocese profess final

The Catholic Spirit

At least three men and six women who were born or are serving in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis took final vows in their religious communities this year. As the Catholic Church celebrates vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life during National Vocation Awareness Week Nov. 3-9, The Catholic Spirit is highlighting those commitments in these pages.

Susan Klemond spoke with Nicole Bettini, a consecrated virgin and the delegate for consecrated life in the archdiocese, as Klemond detailed the stories of two people who recently were ordained or took final vows: Oblate of the Virgin Mary Father Jonathon Hank, a native of Corcoran, and Pro Ecclesia Sancta Sister Laura Holupchinski of St. Paul.

Another religious priest, a brother and five more religious sisters also appear in these pages, with summaries edited from material provided. Archbishop Bernard Hebda addresses vocations in his “Only Jesus” column on page 3B. In a commentary on page 11B, Father Mark Pavlak, vocations director for the archdiocese, urges those who feel called to a religious vocation to take a leap of faith and actively explore the possibility. On page 12B in his column “Faith Fundamentals,” Father Michael Van Sloun, in a series on the sacrament of holy orders, makes the point that God alone calls men to priestly vocations. And in a Q&A on page 10B, Christina Capecchi talks with John Flanagan, executive director of The Labouré Society in Eagan, a nonprofit that helps Catholics eliminate college debt to pursue priesthood and religious life.

Jesus’ call for selfless giving leads Corcoran native to religious community

By Susan Klemond

When Oblate of the Virgin Mary Father Jonathon Hank, 31, was in college, he heard the Lord ask him for his entire self.

In response, the Corcoran native was ordained a priest in July. But he’d already made a complete gift of himself — including his future priesthood –– when he professed vows to his religious community a year earlier.

“The call to religious life is much more about relationship than about doing,” said Father Hank, who made a final profession of vows in the Oblate community in May 2023. “I think I wanted something exclusive in a way with the Lord. I couldn’t give my exclusive love to anybody else.”

Now ministering as a parochial vicar in a Denver parish, Father Hank said he is happy to serve as a priest while growing in relationship with the Lord and his fellow Oblates, an international congregation of mostly priests. He said members of his family provided models for the priesthood and his appreciation for community life began in a college household.

Father Hank grew up the oldest of three children in Corcoran, where he attended St. Thomas the Apostle with his family. His faith grew as he attended the parish’s youth group in high school.

He saw priestly life modeled by two greatuncles who were diocesan priests –– Fathers Francis Pouliot (now deceased) and Eugene Pouliot (retired) –– but said he didn’t think a lot about it.

Father Hank sought Catholic friends and fellowship as a freshman at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and connected with members of the college ministry, St. Paul’s Outreach (SPO). During his freshman year, his new friends invited him to a weekend retreat where a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit made him want to grow deeper in his Catholic faith.

Wondering if he was called to priesthood, Father Hank asked a priest about applying for seminary. He was advised to finish college first. While completing his physics and mathematics degree, he became more involved in SPO and spent more time in prayer.

As a college junior, Father Hank moved into an SPO men’s household near campus. The common life, prayer, meals and recreation appealed to him and would later draw him to religious life.

He continued seeking God’s guidance for his vocation and was preparing to ask a woman to start dating when he heard the Lord during a prayer meeting.

“I was looking at a crucifix in praise and worship with SPO,” Father Hank said. “It was almost as if everything else became quiet and I could just hear (the Lord) speaking. … Just this moment of hearing Jesus say, ‘I want you all for myself.’”

The message confirmed to an extent what he’d been thinking, he said. “I wasn’t thinking clearly, but there was still something there that the Lord was already communicating to me.”

After a few months of prayer, Father Hank explored the idea of seminary in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, where he knew there were opportunities for priestly community life.

He was encouraged to seek more human maturity, which was painful, but later seemed to be Divine Providence, Father Hank said, because it prompted him to look more closely at religious life. A campus minister who was a religious brother suggested he look at the Oblates of the Virgin Mary.

After research, conversations with the Oblates’ vocations director and visiting the community’s provincial offices in Boston, Father Hank said he had a view of the congregation’s faithfulness to Church teaching, Ignatian spirituality, emphasis on spiritual direction and love for the Eucharist, as well as their “small, down-to-earth community.”

Living in a community of priests who serve in many ways, including giving spiritual direction, hearing confessions and celebrating Mass appealed to Father Hank. But he first felt drawn to a deeper relationship with the Lord.

About 55 Oblates serve in the United States and about 100 more worldwide. “That’s smaller than my extended family,” Father Hank said. “I can actually get to know everyone here. It feels more like a family than an institution.”

The Oblates were founded in 1816 by Venerable Pio Bruno Lanteri, an Italian priest. Oblates staff the St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine, which is the Eucharistic Shrine for the Archdiocese of Boston. It is also where the congregation’s Our Lady of Grace Seminary and U.S. provincial offices are located, according to the congregation’s U.S. website.

The congregation also is present in Italy, Austria, France, England, Nigeria, the Philippines, Canada, Brazil and Argentina.

Father Hank became a postulant and began priestly formation in 2016 in Boston. Oblate seminarians take classes with Boston diocesan seminarians, but the Oblates have additional years of novitiate and pastoral formation, he said.

The summer after his first year, Father Hank lived with Father (now Bishop) Joseph Williams, who at that time was pastor of St. Stephen in Minneapolis and helped with the parish’s young adult ministries.

By the time Father Hank made final vows with the Oblates in May 2023, he said he felt peace and freedom. He views the vows and his religious life as a way of more fully living out his identity as a baptized son of God.

In September 2023, Father Hank was ordained a transitional deacon and this past July he was ordained a priest in Hawaiian Gardens, California. Bishop Williams, now co-adjutor bishop of Camden, New Jersey, presided at the priestly ordination Mass.

Father Hank now serves as a parochial vicar at Holy Ghost parish, staffed by the Oblates in Denver. He served the same parish during his pastoral year in seminary.

To young people wondering about consecrated life, Father Hank advised them to pray. “You know, you can’t discern your vocation if you’re not praying; and second, just don’t be afraid,” he said. “It’s a lot less scary when you actually get into it.”

Religious sister

By

As an undergraduate at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona the mid-2000s, Pro Ecclesia Sancta (PES) Sister Laura Holupchinski was by how devoutly her friends lived their Catholic faith. When several of them pursued priesthood and consecrated wondered about her own vocation.

“At first I thought, well, (God’s) not to call all of us,” said Sister Laura, 38, grew up attending St. Mark in St. Paul her parents and four siblings and graduating from Cretin-Derham Hall high school, in St. Paul.

Sister Laura discerned her own vocation through a journey that included completing a social science education degree in and returning to St. Mark in 2009 to a year. At the parish, she got to know Father Humberto Palomino, the pastor, two PES brothers. She also spent time prayer, silence and at daily Mass, and seed for her vocation –– possibly planted college –– was cultivated, she said.

Sister Laura said she was struck by PES members live out the institute’s of living and promoting the universal holiness through the Sacred Heart Founded in 1992 in Peru, PES is a Catholic institute and ecclesial family of consecrated life that includes priests, religious brothers and sisters, and an affiliated lay movement.

Sister Laura was also interested in St. Paul-based NET Ministries, and in 2010 traveled the United States for years with NET teams giving youth

Pro Ecclesia Sancta Sister Laura Holupchinski,

Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

For The Catholic Spirit

COURTESY FATHER JONATHON HANK

Father Jonathon Hank

vows in religious communities

sister finds joy in living charism of holiness

Mary’s Winona in Sancta was intrigued their them consecrated life, she vocation. not going 38, who Paul with graduating school, also vocation completing in college to work for know PES pastor, and time in and the planted in by seeing institute’s charism universal call to of Jesus. Catholic consecrated brothers movement. in West beginning for two retreats.

“I just really saw that that was an opportunity to grow my relationship with God, to have a constant prayer life, to learn how to share his love with other people,” Sister Laura said, adding that the spiritual growth she experienced in the ministry convinced her to serve a second year.

In 2012, she returned to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and taught Spanish at St. Pascal Regional Catholic School in St. Paul and St. Rose of Lima Catholic School in Roseville. In the summer of 2012, PES sisters arrived to serve at St. Mark. Sister Laura got to know them and their life, and she entered formation with PES in Peru and other locations.

She returned to Minnesota to make her perpetual vows with PES in June, alongside Sister Leann Luecke of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Together, they are the first PES sisters born in the United States to profess perpetual vows in the institute. Sister Laura and Sister Leann are two of 17 sisters and 20 priests and brothers serving in the U.S.

Sister Laura said that during her first few months of living with the sisters after entering the institute in 2014, the way they lived their charism of holiness through prayer, Mass and community life brought her to a new depth of closeness to God and sharing his love.

“When you live a life that we live that has more silence, that has more prayer, everything is built around loving God and loving neighbor. It’s easier to hear God,” she said.

Sister Laura spent several years in formation at the institute’s motherhouse in Lima, Peru, before she made temporary vows there in 2018. She returned to the U.S. and

served in Minnesota and at a parish in the Diocese of Sacramento, California.

In June, Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis presided at a Mass at Our Lady of Grace in Edina, where Sister Laura and Sister Leann professed their perpetual vows. Sister Laura said she felt joy and gratitude, and she recognized the permanency of her vows, and what “a great gift it is to share that with those around me.”

Nicole Bettini, the archdiocese’s delegate for consecrated life, attended the profession Mass. She said Sister Laura’s yes to Christ’s call shows her perseverance through many years of discernment and formation.

“What I know of religious life is that it’s a journey of growing into the vocation,” said Bettini, a consecrated virgin. “(You don’t just) arrive at it, you grow into it.”

This year, Sister Laura and another PES sister have been serving children in need in the Detroit area. They also help with young adult formation at St. Isaac Jogues parish in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, where PES priests and brothers are serving.

Wherever the Lord and the institute ask her to serve, Sister Laura said, she seeks to deepen her vows and to live her vocation with faithfulness and love.

Young women discerning their vocation can learn by focusing on Jesus and who he is, Sister Laura said.

“He’s really worth everything,” she said. “There are some things that any vocation requires us to give up, but if we live our vocation with faithfulness, dependent on his grace, we really do receive much more than we give him.”

CHRISTIAN BROTHER MATTHEW KOTEK

Final, perpetual vows: July 27 at National Shrine of St. Thérèse, Darien, Illinois

First profession: July 2018

Entrance into the community: Postulancy, July 2015; novitiate, July 2017

Current assignment: Vocations, Midwest Province, Minneapolis

Hometown and home parish: La Crosse, Wisconsin; St. Joseph

JESUIT FATHER MINH LE

Priestly ordination: June 8, Church of the Gesu, Milwaukee

Final, perpetual vows: Aug. 8, 2015, St. Thomas More, St. Paul

Entrance into the community: Aug. 24, 2013

Current assignment: Ministry and studies in California

Hometown and home parish: St. Paul, St. Adalbert

MISSIONARY SISTER OF ST. PETER CLAVER M. MAGDALENA NGUYEN

Final, perpetual vows: Sept. 8, Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Maplewood

Vows preceding final vows: Poverty, chastity, obedience

Entrance into the community: Feb. 16, 2014

Current assignment: Vietnamese administration at Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver, St. Paul

Hometown and home parish: Phuoc An, Ninh Thuan province, Vietnam; Our Lady Help of Christians

DOMINICAN SISTER OF MARY MOTHER OF THE EUCHARIST MARIA FRANCISCO

Final, perpetual vows: July 25, Ann Arbor, Michigan

First vows: July 26, 2019

Entrance into the community: Aug. 28, 2016

Current assignment: Teaching and evangelization

Hometown and home parish: Bloomington, Nativity of Mary

HANDMAID OF THE HEART OF JESUS SISTER TERESA ROSE

Final, perpetual vows: June 8, Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, New Ulm

Temporary vows: First vows, 2019; renewal of vows, 2022

Entrance into the community: Aug. 21, 2016

Current assignment: Nativity of Our Lord parish and school, St. Paul; vocations promoter and local superior for convent, also in St. Paul

Hometown and home parish: Gaithersburg, Maryland; St. John Neumann

PRO ECCLESIA SANCTA SISTER LEANN LUECKE

Final, perpetual vows: June 29, Our Lady of Grace, Edina

Temporary vows: June 8, 2018, Lima, Peru

Entrance into the community: June 6, 2014

Current assignment: Office of Communication for Evangelization of Pro Ecclesia Sancta (PES) and Catholic Advance Movement (lay movement of PES), both in Twin Cities

Hometown and home parish: Cedar Falls, Iowa; St. Patrick

SISTER OF LIFE MARTHA MARIA GUADALUPE

Final, perpetual vows: Aug. 6, St. Patrick Cathedral, New York

Temporary vows: First profession, Aug. 4, 2019; renewal of vows, June 24, 2022

Entrance into the community: Sept. 10, 2016

Current assignment: New York Visitation Mission, assisting pregnant women

Hometown and home parish: Mendota Heights; St. Joseph, West St. Paul

COURTESY PRO ECCLESIA SANCTA

Holupchinski, left, with fellow Sister Leann Luecke.

Paying off debt to free up vocations

By Christina Capecchi

For The Catholic Spirit

John and Heidi Flanagan are parents to seven children ages 6 to 19 and are members of St. Joseph in West St. Paul. Heidi homeschools the children. Their eldest is a freshman at St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, where he is discerning priesthood. John, meanwhile, serves as executive director of The Labouré Society in Eagan, a unique nonprofit that helps Catholics eliminate college debt to pursue priesthood and religious life. It’s helped more than 400 Catholics do that since its 2001 founding.

“God’s generosity blows my socks off,” said John, 52. “He always provides.”

Q Canon law doesn’t allow Catholics to enter religious life or priesthood if they have debt, which means college debt is currently deterring thousands from pursuing their vocations, according to your estimates. Somehow, this fact seems to be unknown.

A We’re working hard to change that. In the past decade or two, the amount of money needed to go to college has grown exponentially. It’s changed so quickly that those who are faithful Catholics out of college –– unless they have a child in college –– probably aren’t going to appreciate the difference.

Some dioceses have kind of kicked the can down the road unknowingly, where they have individuals with debt and they say, “Just come, we’ll figure it out.” I totally get the urgency. The average priest’s age in America is 63 right now. But the reality remains that if you’ve got $40,000 of debt when you go in and then you defer it, it becomes $50,000 or $60,000 by the time they’re ordained.

Q At first Labouré relied on letter writing to solicit donations for “aspirants,” the term you use for those aspiring to enter religious life or priesthood. Then the founder, Cy Laurent, hired you to expand its fundraising scope. How did it evolve?

A We sent our first class of eight people to a Protestant program, and they barely raised $80,000 in 11 months. Then we brought it in-house, made it overtly Catholic, cut the time in half and added a volunteer component with accountability partners. The second class of eight raised over $240,000 in six months.

Henri Nouwen’s book “The Spirituality of Fundraising” is at the core of our teaching methodology. It’s the beatitudes: Knock and the door shall be opened, ask and we receive.

I’m the architect of the program, God’s the author. I went to my favorite place for discernment, which is the adoration chapel at St. Joe’s, and little by little the pieces would fall into place. I’d get it to friends who are Harvard MBAs and canon lawyers, then it’s back to the adoration chapel, pray some more, and God always provided an answer. Ultimately now we’re (years into) a process that is both canon law and IRS-compliant and, by God’s grace, effective. We award out over $1 million a year now.

Q The process of meeting with people to discuss their call, offer to pray for them and ask for financial support turns out to be great formation for religious life.

A They are better discerned. When there’s the burden of reaching out to a stranger, they’re asking, “God, are you really calling me to be a priest, sister or brother?” When they share their vocation story for the 300th time, it’s, “God, did you really do that in my life or am I just making this up?” We have an 80 percent retention rate, which is as high as or better than any seminary I’ve ever heard of. Eight out of 10 who go through our program and complete it go on to final vows or ordination or are still in the process. That number is often around 50 percent.

There’s a deeper level of understanding of self and also self in relationship to others. Name a priest who isn’t going to have to fundraise at some time. We’ve all had those stewardship Sundays where some priests, God love them, really struggle. But then there are others who can actually speak in a way that motivates you: What do we want to do as a community? What are we called to do? They lead with a vision. They lead with a relationship. And they lead in gratitude for acknowledging what God has already done. As (Blessed) Solanus Casey used to say: “Thank God for what he’s going to do ahead of time.”

Q What do the aspirants report back to you?

A So many lives are touched when they go out and share their story. They have family members who come back to the faith. They have people converting simply because they’re having a conversation with them about their faith journey. We work with them to help find their voice. Your vocation story, your own personal witness, is the preeminent evangelistic tool. Nobody can say: God didn’t do that in your life.

Q It works.

A Meeting face to face is good philanthropic practice, but more so, it’s what God is calling us to do. We’re called to share with each other. I recently went on a date night with my wife, and a husband,

We’re people-people. That whole, “God sent them out by twos” is not because one isn’t effective. It’s because we need each other.

Q Can you make a general donation to Labouré if you don’t know an aspirant?

A Please! You can donate to the organization at large or name an aspirant. You can scroll on our site and see the pictures and names of each aspirant and choose one. You can say, “Hey, I love Benedictines! I love diocesan candidates!” We serve border to border, coast to coast. We’re growing and we need help.

Q Now you’ve got a son discerning priesthood. You’re more aware than most St. John Vianney parents of the impact of those mounting college expenses.

A Very much so. When I heard the price tag of St. Thomas, it made me nervous. The dad in me says: “Well, what if you’re not called to priesthood. A philosophy degree isn’t going to do a lot in the job market.” But if God is calling you to be a priest, we know what to do about that debt. That gave me some reassurance. Owen worked diligently to apply for scholarships, and the seminary helped. We’re really blessed by them.

Q You met your wife when you were both working for St. Paul’s Outreach. You’ve been married nearly 22 years

because what you receive back is tenfold whatever you give.

Q How are you intentional about making memories with your kids?

A I love camping. When my children hit 10, 16 and 18 they have special dates with Dad. When they turn 10, they get an overnight trip to canoe the St. Croix, the two of us. At 16, it’s a joint venture of planning. We go into the Boundary Waters. It’s a coming-of-age trip. You have what it takes.

We’ve had inclement weather every time. There’s a storm brewing, we’re on a canoe on a lake, and it starts getting white caps, and my son says, “My arms are tired!” “Son, feel this water! Feel how cold it is! I don’t want to die of hypothermia!” Stroke, stroke. We call it the Boundary Waters because it pushes your boundaries. You are made of stronger stuff than you realize. I give them a special medallion with the family motto and the date of our trip. “You’re a man of God now.” I’m planning something else for my girls when they are old enough.

At 18, you plan the trip, and I’m along for the ride.

Q What do you know for sure?

A I’m called to be Catholic. I’m called to love the Lord. And practically speaking, what am I sure of? I’m called to be Heidi’s husband and the father of the children

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

“The Eighth Arrow: Odysseus in the Underworld” by J. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B. Ignatius Press. (San Francisco, California, 2018). 347 pp., $21.95.

The month of November is a natural time to turn one’s thoughts to death. The seasons are changing; leaves are flaming in brilliant color before dropping to the ground; summer fruits and vegetables become scarce on grocery shelves; the air itself grows colder and foretells the coming of winter. It’s no surprise, then, that during this month the Church invites us to pray for the dead and ponder what’s popularly known as The Four Last Things: death, judgment and either eternal union with God in heaven or eternal separation from him in hell.

Hell features in Benedictine Father J. Augustine Wetta’s novel, “The Eighth Arrow: Odysseus in the Underworld.” With the story picking up where Dante’s “Inferno” left him, the famed thief of mythic Greece in a bolt of inspiration calls upon his patroness, Athena, whom he refers to as the “Parthenos” (“Virgin”). A virgin certainly does appear and offers Odysseus and his fellowsufferer Diomedes a chance at liberation: If the pair can

descend through the nine layers of hell and learn how the underworld is the “geography of their own souls,” they may just be able to escape their prison.

To aid them in this daunting task, the Parthenos gives Odysseus and Diomedes their weapons and armor, including Odysseus’s famous bow, an ostensibly ordinary sack of unleavened bread and a quiver of seven arrows. (The careful reader will note the difference between that total and the title of the novel). She also gives them some parting advice: “Prefer your wit to your sword, trust in your armor over your arms, and let mercy triumph over justice.”

Mercy? In hell? Well, you’d be surprised.

It’s said that good writers borrow and great writers steal; in “The Eighth Arrow,” Wetta has crafted a moving and highly entertaining redemption arc for one of literature’s most beloved thieves (a clever trickster and a liar, Odysseus also tried to steal the sheep of Polyphemus), creatively appropriating from both Homer and Virgil. Naturally the idea of a jailbreak from hell requires the type of theological suspension of belief familiar to readers of C.S. Lewis’s “The Great Divorce,” which also receives a nod early in the story. In a subtle reassurance to the reader, the Parthenos calls Odysseus’s no-way-out-butthrough escape from the underworld his “purgation and witness.”

Witness he does, amassing a surprising number of

clarity of vision, then I will say yes.

“At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12).

Even a cursory look at Scripture would show that clarity is not meant for us on this side of heaven. Rather, God chooses to interact with us through faith, without which it is impossible to please him (cf. Heb. 11:6). And so, when dealing with matters of God, and for the purpose of our present topic, when dealing with one’s vocation from God, it can only be grasped through faith.

Yet when it comes to setting off on one’s vocation, the coveted “brass ring” that so many people want from God is clarity, or a certain kind of indisputable knowledge: clear visions of the man laying prostrate on the cathedral floor; a woman receiving the habit as she makes her first vows. And if God just gives me that

If only. Can God work this way? Sure, he is free to do so. But ask yourself: Does he normally work this way? When God called Abraham to leave his homeland behind and set out for Canaan, I don’t think clarity was part of that experience. The same for when he is commanded to offer his son, Isaac, as a holocaust to God. There is a reason why we call Abraham our “father in faith,” and it’s not clarity (cf. Gal. 3:7). Abraham did not have clarity before he set off for Canaan or Moriah, but he stepped out in faith regardless, and then he was rewarded for that faith. So rather than looking for clarity first and then saying yes, I think the Lord is inviting us first to say yes and take that courageous step in faith, and then we will have greater understanding.

Paul says that “at present we see indistinctly.” The Greek word he uses is ainigma, meaning riddle or obscure (from which we get our English word enigma). This isn’t to say that God’s will is a mystery to be solved. No, people can discern with a sort of sense-knowledge that they are called to the religious life. But because we are dealing with a supernatural vocation from God, by necessity it is going to require an act of faith on our end to follow him.

God is pleased when we step out in faith in pursuit of

friends and allies during his descent through the nine rings toward Lake Cocytus, the lowest layer and dwelling place of Satan, transitioning along the way from remorseless liar to honest hero over the course of the harrowing journey. Insomuch as the underworld is a “geography” of Odysseus’s soul, it becomes a geography of the reader’s as well; stripped of their temporal allure, sin and its consequences become synonymous in Hades, revealing its tedium and banality. Hell, it turns out, is boring: with the exception of the City of Limbo, there is little comfort or novelty to be found anywhere. The real life of the story, therefore, comes not so much from the misery of the Inferno, but from the souls that inhabit it. Even as shades, it’s clear that they’re the realest thing around, and it is the personal stories of those whom Odysseus and Diomedes meet along the way that make for a richly compelling novel.

Of course, as in all good stories, it is life that triumphs in the end — even, so it seems, in the land of eternal death. If you’re searching in this chilly and darkening time of year for a book to remind you that death will lose its sting and the gates of hell will not prevail, “The Eighth Arrow” certainly meets the mark

Reichert is publications administrative coordinator at The Catholic Spirit. She can be reached at reichertm@archspm org

the state in life he has prepared for us. When men and women courageously come forward to give themselves to formation to the religious life, but in so doing come to know that it is not God’s will for them, I am confident that he will generously reward them for their years of prayer and devotion because they acted in faith.

So, discern, yes, but make a decision! The late Father Bob Bedard of the Companions of the Cross once said: “Since discernment has become fashionable, no one has made a decision since.” Ever since I heard that, it’s been buried in my mind and become a favorite of mine to pass on to the seminarians. The point is that yes, we must discern God’s will and where he is calling us, but eventually that discernment must reach a decision point in faith, like Abraham. For you men and women who think that the Lord might be calling you to a closer discipleship in religious life, I must be frank with you: Don’t wait any longer and take that first step in faith. And the Lord who sees that you are trying to follow him in faith will generously reward you.

Father Pavlak is director of vocations for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He can be reached at stpaulpriest@10000vocations org

FOCUSONFAITH

God can do much with generous offerings, no matter their size

How much did the widow really give with her two small coins? In today’s money, she gave about $2. However, that’s not important. Of true importance was that she gave everything. Contrast this with those who gave much. Some of them were likely motivated to do right by God, but theirs was often a calculated giving, seeing it as a way to build influence and to maintain or improve their social standing.

Jesus called out this hypocrisy to remind us that we often fail to see our earthly possessions primarily as a means to love God and neighbor. Such mistaken thinking can be seen in all aspects of the Church. We see it in the reluctance of some clergy to preach the hard truths. It can be easy for us clergy to think “I can’t sacrifice possible financial gain for my parish by saying something that’s unpopular.” It can also be seen in the faithful, lay and clergy alike, when they determine that they can’t abide by a Church teaching that requires a full giving of themselves, whether that be financially or otherwise. Such concerns are not unfounded. Both finances and reputation are important for mission. Being satisfied with our career, family life and leisure activities is helpful as well.

However, when faith, moral conduct and the complete giving of self are sold out in favor of financial, reputational or other concerns, we not only lose our reason for being in the Church, but we also ironically lose the things we sought to protect. We might keep them in possession, but they lose their value of helping us get to heaven because we have placed them above the God who reigns in heaven.

FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN

The call to priesthood comes from God

The call to a vocation to the priesthood comes from God. God makes the first move. God extends the invitation.

Scripture makes this clear: “No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God” (Heb 5:4), as in the days of Moses when God called Aaron and his sons to be his priests (Ex 28:1). If a man approaches his bishop or the vocation director and announces, “I have decided to be a priest,” it must be gently explained to him that God does not work that way, and that “his decision” requires further reflection and review.

The call from God to be a priest comes in a variety of ways, and oftentimes in more than one way. In the Bible, God calls with dreams, visions, voices, whispering sounds and messengers, and the methods God employed in biblical times are still in use. God may call through a mystical moment when a person has an overwhelming experience of God’s presence, or a dawning awareness that God is calling, or a personal discovery that a person possesses the talents and abilities needed to serve as a priest. God may call through an inspiration to imitate a good and holy priest, or by an invitation to consider the priesthood from someone who recognizes the spiritual gifts and temperament required for the priesthood in a person, or by a thought that comes to mind and does not disappear but returns over and over again, or while caught up in the mystery of the presence of Jesus during Mass or Benediction, or through the words of Scripture, or in silence while listening during personal prayer. God calls in countless other ways, too.

What we must keep in mind is that Jesus doesn’t need our money. He created all the resources in the universe. What Jesus really wants is our commitment.

Yes, it can be scary, even a bit reckless, to live the Gospel at times, just as it was reckless to give as the widow gave. What good reason was there for her to give not just out of her need, but everything, to contribute a negligible amount to the temple? It can be easy for us to think likewise, that “there’s not much for the Church to gain by my sacrifice.” What we must keep in mind is that Jesus doesn’t need our money. He created all the resources in the universe. What Jesus really wants is our commitment. One of the necessary ways that we show this is by giving our money. This is not to say that we must give enough money to make ourselves destitute, but enough to affect the way we might otherwise be inclined to live.

We only need look at the example of another widow, the one who meets Elijah, to see what God does with small but generous offerings. In this example, too, it might seem that her offering made little difference to God, and would only hurt her livelihood, as she herself said, “when we have eaten (her offering of bread), we shall die.” In the long run, we all die, so why not do something for God, who has given us everything? Both these widows did precisely that; in giving their meager offering wholeheartedly, in full faith, and with no calculation, they gave something inestimably more than their resources. For they left us an example that shall forever inspire us, the pilgrim Church, to abandon ourselves to God. They demonstrated that generous offerings will be joined to the one, perfect and eternal offering of Christ, allowing us to eagerly await a salvation that comes not from money, or reputation, but from faithful, loving action toward God and his Church.

Father Baker is parochial vicar of St. Agnes in St. Paul.

When God calls, it is natural to resist or hesitate. Moses was worried that the people would not believe him (Ex 4:1) and he objected, “I have never been eloquent” and “I am slow of speech” (Ex 4:10). Isaiah felt unworthy because of his sinful past, stating “I am a man of unclean lips” (Is 6:5a) and his associations with other sinful people, “living among a people of unclean lips” (Is 6:5b). Jeremiah objected due to his age: “I am too young” (Jer 1:6). When God asked Jonah to go east to Nineveh, Jonah went west to Tarshish (Jon 1:2-3). When Jesus called Peter, he protested, “I am a sinful man” (Lk 5:8). God is like “The Hound of Heaven” and pursues those he calls down the highways and byways of life. Lack of skill or unworthiness are not excuses. God provides the gifts that are needed. Furthermore, if it was necessary for a person to be perfect to be a priest, there would be no priests. God takes a person who is unworthy and makes him worthy to feed his lambs and tend his sheep (see Jn 21:15-17).

Once a person experiences the call to the priesthood, it is wise to seek guidance and confirmation of the call. Continued personal prayer is essential. The Holy Spirit provides insight, wisdom and direction. It is beneficial to explore one’s call with other individuals: his parish priest, another priest, a deacon, a religious sister, a spiritual director, a counselor, a parent or family member, a person of faith, or a trustworthy friend, classmate or coworker.

When it becomes clear that God is calling, sacred Scripture provides excellent examples for how to respond. When Samuel heard the voice of God while he was sleeping, he replied, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Sm 3:10). When Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord, he replied, “Here I am … send me” (Is 6:8).

When Mary received her call from the Archangel Gabriel, she said, “May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). When Jesus called Peter and Andrew, James and John, they did not say anything but dropped what they were doing and followed him (Mk 1:16-20). When God calls, God expects to be obeyed.

Father Van Sloun is the director of clergy personnel for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. This column is part of a series on the sacrament of holy orders.

DAILY Scriptures

Sunday, Nov. 10

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 17:10-16

Heb 9:24-28

Mk 12:38-44

Monday, Nov. 11

St. Martin of Tours, bishop Ti 1:1-9 Lk 17:1-6

Tuesday, Nov. 12 St. Josaphat, bishop and martyr Ti 2:1-8, 11-14 Lk 17:7-10

Wednesday, Nov. 13 St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, virgin Ti 3:1-7 Lk 17:11-19

Thursday, Nov. 14 Phmn 7-20 Lk 17:20-25

Friday, Nov. 15 2 Jn 4-9 Lk 17:26-37

Saturday, Nov. 16 3 Jn 5-8 Lk 18:1-8

Sunday, Nov. 17

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Dn 12:1-3

Heb 10:11-14, 18 Mk 13:24-32

Monday, Nov. 18 Rv 1:1-4; 2:1-5 Lk 18:35-43

Tuesday, Nov. 19 Rv 3:1-6, 14-22 Lk 19:1-10

Wednesday, Nov. 20 Rv 4:1-11 Lk 19:11-28

Thursday, Nov. 21

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Rv 5:1-10 Lk 19:41-44

Friday, Nov. 22

St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr Rv 10:8-11 Lk 19:45-48

Saturday, Nov. 23 Rv 11:4-12 Lk 20:27-40

Sunday, Nov. 24

Solemnity of our Lord Jesus, king of the universe Dn 7:13-14 Rv 1:5-8 Jn 18:33b-37

ST. FRANCES CABRINI (1850-1917) In 1946, Mother Cabrini became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized; she is the universal patron of immigrants. She was born in Italy, the youngest of 13 children, and became a schoolteacher. Denied admission to two religious orders because of frail health, she was given charge of an orphanage in Codogno. In 1880 she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart with seven of her former orphans. The order spread rapidly from northern Italy to Rome, and then in 1889 to New York City, where Mother Cabrini became famous for her work among Italian immigrants. Before dying of malaria in Chicago, she had opened schools, orphanages and hospitals around the United States, South America and Europe. Her feast day is Nov. 13.

COMMENTARY

TWENTY SOMETHING

| CHRISTINA CAPECCHI

‘This Old House’: Catholic edition

There was a time when Katherine Louise DeGroot didn’t consider quiet suburbs or small towns. She was a city girl, thank you very much, and it suited her work as a nanny and a photographer.

DeGroot was always on the go, hustling to book the next gig, racing to beat the clock. It was exciting.

It took a beautiful house to lure DeGroot from Minneapolis to Stillwater, an old town on the St. Croix River. Perched on a hill beside a maple tree, the house beckoned to her: an 1872 Gothic Revival Victorian with a towering roof, pointed arches, decorative gables and a hydrangea-lined front porch.

DeGroot swooned over the windows. “Some of them have that antique glass in them so that, when the light filters in, it feels exceptional,” she said.

The price was a stretch for DeGroot and her husband, Seth, who at the time were parents of a 10-month-old. They were aware of other interested parties. But they put in an offer, which was accepted, and financially they made it work.

It was time to leave the city behind.

Slowly the little family made the big house their own. They repainted it, replacing the dark green walls with soft blues, greens and pinks. They lined the nursery with creamy floral wallpaper that felt like the endpapers of an old children’s book. They filled the house with thrifted finds and hand-me-downs: a pine chest, an antique pie safe-turned-armoire, a vintage cradle. And they grew their family there. Katherine

ECHOES OF CATHOLIC MINNESOTA

REBA LUIKEN

Founders of Golden Valley parish first worshipped in a nightclub

Shortly after midnight on April 21, 1946, Iver Stanger ushered the last patrons out the door of his nightclub in Golden Valley. It was more than an hour before its ordinary 2 a.m. closing time. His staff needed extra time to transform the Boulevard Café into a suitable place to hold Easter Mass at 8 a.m. They polished the floor, hung curtains over the bar and moved the band equipment to make way for the altar and Easter flowers.

Father Thomas McNamara arrived that morning carrying his folding altar and Mass kit. A World War II chaplain for the U.S. Army Air Forces in Italy, he had recently been discharged and even more recently assigned as the first pastor of Good Shepherd in Golden Valley. Easter

gave birth to three children in the house, bringing their count to six.

As Katherine cared for the house, the house cared for her. Homemaking reshaped her heart –– slowing her pace, softening her edges, guiding her parenting and, ultimately, leading her back to the Catholic Church.

A reversion was underway. The faith of her childhood looked different now. More beautiful, more true.

of 1946 would be the parish’s first Mass. Father McNamara’s first job as pastor had been to locate a place to celebrate Mass, and all attempts to secure a school or other auditorium in the area had failed. Fortunately, Stanger had donated his space and some of his musicians for use every Sunday. Almost 300 people of all ages attended Mass that morning at the Boulevard Café, passing under a sign reading “Gluek’s Beer On Tap,” rather than a cross. Still, their pastor confidently reminded them, “We held Mass in some pretty terrible places in the army, you know. This is nothing by comparison.” The resulting nightclub Masses made national news.

By 1947, Father McNamara had secured a pair of army barracks from Alaska and installed them on land he had purchased on the southwest corner of the intersection of Wayzata Boulevard and Highway 100 (the area called West End today). Amid the rapidly growing suburban Minneapolis and a shortage of building materials, Father McNamara was far from the only priest to get creative with his parish facilities. Our Lady of Victory in Minneapolis and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Glen Lake also made their home in relocated army barracks. Visitation and St. Joan of Arc parishes in Minneapolis were worshipping in the gyms of local public schools. St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley worshipped in a hospital and Our Lady of Grace in Edina was holding Mass in the local theater. It would be a whole decade before Good Shepherd parish would find a permanent home. Many of the pastors of these new parishes were also recently returned army chaplains.

“It was clear that the house was special, yes, and it was going to be part of our faith journey,” said Katherine, who is now 37. “That’s what it’s all about.”

The parish on their street, St. Michael –– nearly visible from their home –– has become central to their family. Living liturgically and seasonally has become the heartbeat of daily life.

“Time moves slower here,” she said. “It’s been really special to embrace our life here. I’ve felt so creative. The absence of the hustle didn’t remove my creativity. The slowness and the quiet have invigorated it.”

Her senses have been reawakened. “When it rains,” she said, “the house feels like a jewel box. It has this special feeling –– and it has to do with the windows.”

A history minor in college, Katherine has delighted in researching their house, which is referred to as “the Castle House” for its builder, John Castle, a state senator. He is something of a patron saint to Katherine, who framed his picture in their dining room.

“I feel like there’s a blessing from him over our family,” she said. They even used his nickname, James, for their second-born’s middle name.

“Taking care of an old house feels like a calling and a responsibility,” Katherine said. “We’ve had to do expensive repairs. Our hot water went out in the winter once. But we want to be wise stewards and add to the house and honor its dignity, just like we would to anything given to us from God, like our children or our Earth or a beautiful gift from someone.”

Generosity is part of stewardship –– which for Katherine means practicing hospitality. Every Sunday she and Seth cook a big dinner for family members and friends from church. And she shares the house with strangers on Instagram (@katherinelouisedegroot), which she considers a ministry.

Creating this life with her family is deeply fulfilling, Katherine said. “It’s the greatest joy of my life.”

Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

Work finally began on the parish’s church and school in the spring of 1956 about two miles northwest of the intersection of Highway 100 and Wayzata Boulevard, the site of the first, temporary church. Their new pastor, Father Francis Hayes, planned a brick and mahogany church to seat 700 and an elementary school with eight classrooms to be ready by Thanksgiving. In the meantime, a fall festival was key to funding the project, and without a kitchen to make the meal, they turned to the Boulevard Café for temporary facilities once again.

Unfortunately, facilities were not the

only challenge for a growing suburban parish. The building was finished long before the fall of 1957, but the school couldn’t open because no sisters were available to staff it. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet arrived in the fall of 1959, and this challenge, too, was overcome. Both church and school remain vibrant today at 145 Jersey Avenue in Golden Valley.

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

COURTESY KATHERINE LOUISE DEGROOT

The DeGroot house in Stillwater.

Praying with gratitude for our spouses

A lovely deacon suggested I pray the daily Ignatian Examen, which I have been doing for about six months. The overwhelming change in my life is the sense of gratitude I have every day. Most days, I feel like I am floating with joy. I wondered what would happen if I adapted this prayer for my marriage.

Here is how I modified this centuries-old prayer. First, I begin by asking myself if I was a loving spouse. I ask if I saw moments when my spouse was struggling, and if I was able to help. Second, I ask myself if I did anything to meet my own needs today because I cannot give what I do not have. If I have neglected taking care of my own needs, I will have less energy and love to offer him.

Third, I ask myself if I disparaged my husband in any way today. Did I think any critical thoughts, that were allowed to go unchecked? If so, did I recognize those thoughts and quickly correct them? We know that all words and actions begin in our thoughts, and this is certainly true in marriage.

Next, I ask myself if I have prayed for my husband’s welfare and well-being. Have I asked God to bless him in areas where he struggles, gratefully thanking

ALREADY/NOT YET |

JONATHAN LIEDL

God for coming to his aid? Finally, I examine if I have been less than a loving spouse. This is a critical question because we may feel justified in our response, and yet, it is never appropriate in our marriage to hold a grudge or be critical of our spouse. I ask if I have been less than loving toward him, and if I have, I pray and ask the Holy Spirit to renew my spirit and restore my love for him.

In doing this nightly prayer, I take time to walk back through my day and examine moments when I may have been less than loving and I ask for forgiveness and a renewed spirit to love my husband as God wants me to love him.

You see, loving our spouses the way God wants us to love him or her is the central aspect of our vocational promise to them. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains “since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man” (CCC, 1604). Likewise, “Gaudium et Spes” of the Second Vatican Council states, “Married love is an eminently human love because it is an affection between the two persons rooted in the will and it embraces the good of the whole person” (49).

Without an appreciation for the uniqueness of our spouses, whom we chose at some previous point to spend our life with, it is easy to fall into a dark place

in marriage, which affects our daily interactions with our spouses, as well as our sense of peace. Choosing to be in a Catholic Christian marriage requires us to be loving and present, and prepared to forgive our spouses for any infraction, as we hope they will also forgive us.

Psalm 51:12 states, “A clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit.” This may be an appropriate prayer to God if you have unloving feelings toward your spouse, because the love we have for them begins with the quality of our loving thoughts and a loving heart.

As a wife, I often think of Mary’s love for Joseph as a model for my love for my husband. She loved him and appreciated him as she provided a loving, supportive atmosphere for her family to grow in holiness. She would have embodied my modified examen prayer perfectly.

If it seems that praying my adapted Ignatian Examen for your spouse would be appropriate for you, I can guarantee it is simple to incorporate into the end of the day, even if you’re tired. I can also guarantee that when you do, you will look for opportunities throughout the day that will help you respond affirmatively to each part of the prayer.

Soucheray is a licensed marriage and family therapist emeritus and a member of St. Ambrose in Woodbury.

What a severed arm can tell us about evangelization

In Rome, there is a church with an arm in it.

Not just any arm, but the right forearm and hand of St. Francis Xavier, the great Jesuit missionary. With it, St. Francis Xavier baptized hundreds of thousands of people during his mission work in Asia, devoting 11 years of his life to the cause before dying abroad at age 46.

Thousands come to visit this relic every year at a side altar of the Church of the Gesù, and it is a well-known Roman “attraction.”

And yet, the logic that animated St. Francis Xavier and his baptizing arm, the mindset that compelled him to renounce an academic career in Paris and spend his life in a faraway land, is foreign to many today, including to many of us practicing Catholics.

This was a takeaway from a recent talk in Rome by one of St. Francis Xavier’s contemporary Jesuit confreres, Father Anthony Lusvardi, who teaches at the Jesuits’ Gregorian University in Rome (and is an Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis native).

Presenting on his new book, “Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation,” Father Lusvardi underscored the reality that for St. Francis Xavier and his contemporaries, missionary evangelization wasn’t optional; it was a Gospel demand, an absolute imperative given that, to put it bluntly, souls were on the line.

For these great Christian missionaries (think also of St. Junípero Serra, St. Isaac Jogues and the like), sacramental baptism was understood as necessary for salvation. And thus, preaching the Gospel and inviting people to receive the sacrament was about as important a mission as they could devote themselves to.

But according to Father Lusvardi, this conviction, which had animated the Church from the Apostolic Era through the Age of Discovery, began to wane in the 19th century, until today, when it “is treated with unease if not ignored altogether.”

This complacency has led to concepts like “baptism of desire” and “invincible ignorance,” which were developed by theologians of previous centuries to

address the so-called “hard cases,” to be treated as sort of salvific panacea. Everyone desires God, the logic goes, and if they don’t, they can’t be blamed for it, and thus, the imperative to baptize is muted.

Ironically, Father Lusvardi’s own confrere, the 20th century German Jesuit Karl Rahner, played a big role in cementing this controversial (and, Father Lusvardi would say, I think, inaccurate) understanding of how salvation works, by promoting the idea of the “anonymous Christian.” On this account, anyone who attempts to lead a spiritual and moral life has already accepted God’s salvific grace; Christianity just exists to make that implicit faith explicit. But reception of baptism and participation in the life of the Church should not be seen as necessary.

The result of decades of this kind of thinking has led, in many cases, to toothless missions and a Church that often doesn’t really know what to do with itself. If the world doesn’t need Christ and the soul-saving mercy he uniquely offers, it’s hard for the Church to not simply turn inward on itself, or to focus exclusively on more earth-bound things, like social causes and material charity.

Father Lusvardi sees his new book as a small step toward reanimating the Church’s sense of mission, spurred on by a deeper conviction in the necessity of baptism for salvation. We all could spend time contemplating how we might be called to participate in this missionary task, whatever our vocation.

Perhaps the words of St. Francis Xavier, written in his journal while in India in 1542, and now prayerfully recalled by the Church every year on his Dec. 3 feast day, can help stir up our missionary desires:

“Many, many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians. Again and again, I have thought of going round the universities of Europe, especially Paris, and everywhere crying out like a madman, riveting the attention of those with more learning than charity: ‘What a tragedy: how many souls are being shut out of heaven and falling into hell, thanks to you!’

“…This thought would certainly stir most of them to meditate on spiritual realities, to listen actively to what

God is saying to them. They would forget their own desires, their human affairs, and give themselves over entirely to God’s will and his choice. They would cry out with all their heart: ‘Lord, I am here! What do you want me to do? Send me anywhere you like — even to India.’”

Or even to St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Liedl lives in South Bend, Indiana, and is senior editor for the National Catholic Register.

VOCACIONES CONTINUACIÓN DE PAGINA 3B

hemos ampliado y enriquecido la noción de vocación para incluir llamamientos más allá del sacerdocio y la vida religiosa. La Iglesia enfatiza que todos nosotros, en virtud de nuestro bautismo, recibimos un llamado sagrado. Si bien sigue siendo apropiado hablar de vocaciones sacerdotales y religiosas, también es importante ver el matrimonio como una vocación, reconocer el diaconado permanente como una vocación y reconocer la contribución que las personas solteras también pueden hacer en la Iglesia, incluso fuera de la vida consagrada formalmente. El Espíritu Santo continúa profundizando nuestra comprensión y experiencia de la vocación. En los últimos años hemos visto en nuestra archidiócesis un florecimiento de mujeres llamadas a la virginidad consagrada y de un número de ellas llamadas a vivir su santidad en el mundo como miembros de institutos seculares. También hemos visto cómo nuestra Iglesia local se ha enriquecido con quienes han encontrado un hogar en los movimientos eclesiales que son cada vez más frecuentes en la Iglesia universal, con Pro Ecclesia Sancta, la comunidad Emmanuel y el Camino Neocatecumenal como sólo algunos ejemplos. Sé que muchos de nuestros católicos fieles hablan también de su vocación al Opus Dei, o al Pueblo de Alabanza, o a la Comunidad de Cristo Redentor.

Estamos verdaderamente bendecidos por todas estas vocaciones en nuestra archidiócesis. Por favor, únanse a mí en oración para que nuestros jóvenes siempre puedan escuchar el llamado del Señor y responder con confianza.

CALENDAR

PARISH EVENTS

Pre-Holiday Bazaar and Bake Sale — Nov. 2-3: noon6:30 p.m. Nov. 2, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Nov. 3, at St. Odilia, 3495 N. Victoria St., Shoreview. The bazaar features a variety of sweet treats, kitchen items and gadgets, autumn and Christmas items, hand-crafted goods, glassware and more.

Annual Craft and Bake Sale — Nov. 9: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at St. Timothy, 707 89th Ave. NE, Blaine. The Church of St. Timothy’s Council of Catholic Women will host dozens of craft vendors and have a variety of baked goods in the Bake Shop. Cinnamon rolls and lunch are available for purchase. tinyurl Com/yC8xmryk

Turkey Bingo — Nov. 9: 5-8 p.m. at St. Helena Catholic School, 3200 E. 44th St., Minneapolis. Join us for Turkey Bingo, pull tabs, food, beer and a silent auction. Bingo starts at 5:30 p.m. All proceeds support St. Helena Catholic School. Bring a copy of this calendar for a free game. Fall Craft Fair — Nov. 9: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at St. Rita, 8694 80th St. S., Cottage Grove. Refreshments, handmade crafts, baked goods, homemade jams, etc. will be available for sale. All proceeds support Mission Outreach and St. Rita’s Building Fund. This is not a vendor sale. SaintritaS org Christmas Bazaar — Nov. 9-10: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Nov. 9, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Nov. 10, at St. Alphonsus, 7025 Halifax Ave. N., Brooklyn Center. Handmade gifts and crafts, including religious gifts. Homemade jellies, jams, candy, cookies and baked goods. Multicultural foods to eat. Visit our Christmas attic and used book area. See Santa and Mrs. Claus at selected times StalSCCw org Christmas Boutique — Nov. 9-10: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 9 and 9 a.m.-noon Nov. 10 at St. Joseph of the Lakes, 171 Elm St., Lino Lakes. Shop for unique gifts, crafts and decorations from 50-plus local vendors. Handcrafted candies, bake sale items, beef jerky and fresh caramel and cinnamon rolls will be available. Hot lunch on Saturday starting at 11 a.m.

Fall Market — Nov. 9-10: 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m. at St. Therese, 18323 Minnetonka Blvd., Deephaven. Stock up for the holidays with baked goods and gifts. Mark your calendars for a fun shopping experience. Includes bake sale, marketplace, silent auction, raffle, money bowl, books, puzzles, DVDs, bottle bonanza raffle and Winter Wear Shoppe. St-thereSe org/eventS

Preparing Your Home for Advent and Christmas — Nov. 9: 9-10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. Join this free and practical workshop to learn tips for keeping your family in sync with the Church’s liturgical year. Coffee, donuts and childcare will be provided. Register at formS offiCe Com/r/kfwpQybtZx Turkey Bingo — Nov. 17: noon-3 p.m., at St. Thomas the Apostle, 20000 County Road 10, Corcoran. It’s bingo time. Stop by for a chance to win a Thanksgiving turkey and more. All profits go to the Men’s Club, which provides youth and other funding for the parish. $2 for five games. tinyurl Com/5n92fZ6j

Holiday Sale to Support Quilters for a Cause — Nov. 23: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at 280 E. Roselawn Ave., St. Paul. Items for sale include kitchen items, table runners, pillowcases, baby items and more. The proceeds and the sale of blankets made by Quilters for a Cause will be donated to charities in the Maplewood area.

WORSHIP+RETREATS

Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina Retreat — Nov. 15-16: 4 p.m. Nov. 15, 3 p.m. Nov. 16, at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2625 Benet Road, Maplewood. This retreat blends a rhythm of centering prayer, lectio divina and prayer with the monastic community. There will be time for mutual reflection and practice. tinyurl Com/ykjCaup7

A Saturday Day Away for Men and Women — Nov. 16: 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. Take some “me” time away from your all-too-busy life. We offer a brief respite on holy ground, a peaceful spot to walk humbly with God. Meditations and liturgies are optional; includes lunch. Register online. kingShouSe Com/eventS

Special Mass for People with Memory Loss — Nov. 21: 1:30-3 p.m. at St. Odilia, 3495 Victoria St. N., Shoreview. All are welcome, especially anyone experiencing memory loss and their caregivers. Hospitality after Mass with community resource information available. For information call 651-484-6681. Stodilia org

SCHOOLS

Benilde-St. Margaret’s Open Houses — Nov. 12, Jan. 9, Feb. 11, Apr. 10: 9-11 a.m. Nov. 12, 6-8 p.m. Jan. 9, 9-11 a.m. Feb. 11, 9-11 a.m. Apr. 10. At Benilde-St. Margaret’s, 2501 Highway 100, St. Louis Park. Open House events include a tour of classrooms and learning settings; meetings with faculty, staff and current students; and an opportunity to ask questions of the admissions team. tinyurl Com/y6e7v7r2

Benilde-St. Margaret’s Fall Musical: “Little Women” — Nov. 14-17: 7 p.m. Nov. 14, Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, 2 p.m.; Nov. 17, at Benilde-St. Margaret’s, 2501 Highway 100, St. Louis Park. The senior high drama department will put on “Little Women.” Tickets and more information: bSmSChool booktix net/

OTHER EVENTS

Seven Sisters Apostolate 11th Annual Day of Reflection and Renewal — Nov. 9: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. at St. Michael, 11300 Frankfort Parkway NE, St. Michael. Learn about Seven Sisters, join in fellowship, listen to talks, attend Mass and enjoy a delicious meal. This year the guest speaker is Father John Riccardo.

SevenSiSterSapoStolate org

St. Joseph Business Guild Quarterly Dinner: Holiness is Good for Business — Nov. 12: 5-8:45 p.m. at Holy Cross, 1621 University Ave. NE, Minneapolis. For the guild’s Q4 dinner — the public is invited — attendees will meet Catholic businesspeople, pray together, share about good

1-402-871-6446 soster5@aol.com

Calvary Cemetery: Eight grave sites in historic Section 21, Block 3, Lot 1. Price $2,000 each or $14,000 for all. Call or text 541-520-9749 or email dougher@efn.org.

Resurrection: 3 flat stone lots; Value: $2250/ea. Price $1700/ea.; $4500 for all. 612-669-6548

Resurrection: Single Lot Sec 60. Market: $2250, Price: $1900. dnorsten@gmail.com

work being done, and be inspired by a fervorino from Father Patrick Evans. tinyurl Com/y95n4fhp Gold Mass 2024 — Nov. 14: 5:30-7:30 p.m. at St. Mark, 2001 Dayton Ave., St. Paul. This is the seventh annual Gold Mass for Scientists and Engineers. Mass is at 5:30 p.m. followed by a meal at the parish.

CatholiCSCientiStS org/gold-maSSeS/

Airs of the Jacobean Era — Nov. 16: 7:30 p.m. at Holy Cross, 1621 University Ave., Minneapolis. This sacred concert features historical instruments, such as lutes and viols, that would have been known to the original audiences of early 17th-century England.

ourholyCroSS org/SaCred-muSiC Makers Market — Nov. 16: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at St. Mark’s Preschool, 1983 Dayton Ave., St. Paul. Enter by Door G. Support small Catholic businesses before the bustle of December. The St. Joseph Business Guild is sponsoring a “Makers Market” for Catholic artisans, craftsmen, and others.

SjbuSineSSguild Com

ONGOING GROUPS

Natural Family Planning (NFP) — Classes teach couples Church approved methods for achieving or postponing pregnancy while embracing the beauty of God’s gift of sexuality. For a complete list of classes offered throughout the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, visit arChSpm org/family or call 651-291-4489.

Quilters for a Cause — First Fridays: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at St. Jerome, 380 Roselawn Ave. E., Maplewood. Join other women to make quilts to donate to local charities. Quilting experience is not necessary but basic machine skills are helpful. For more information, call the parish office: 651-771-1209. faCebook Com/profile php?id=100087945155707

Restorative Support for Victims-Survivors — Monthly: 6:30-8 p.m. via Zoom. Open to all victims-survivors. Victim-survivor support group for those abused by clergy as adults — first Mondays. Support group for relatives or friends of victims of clergy sexual abuse — second Mondays. Victim-survivor support group — third Mondays. Survivor Peace Circle — third Tuesdays. Support group for men who have been sexually abused by clergy/religious — fourth Wednesdays. Support group for present and former employees of faith-based institutions who have experienced abuse in any of its many forms — second Thursdays. Visit arChSpm org/healing or contact Paula Kaempffer, outreach coordinator for restorative justice and abuse prevention, at kaempfferp@arChSpm org or 651-291-4429.

Secular Franciscan Meeting of St. Leonard of Port Maurice Fraternity — Third Sundays: 2:15-3:45 p.m. at St. Olaf, 215 S. Eighth St., Minneapolis. General membership meeting of Secular Franciscans who belong to the Fraternity of St. Leonard of Port Maurice. Any who are interested in living the Gospel life in the manner of St. Francis and St. Clare are welcome.

DUPLEX UNIT FOR RENT

Available in Cathedral area: tinyurl.com/Albans55104

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Part-time Law Office Typist in West St. Paul, Minnesota: Produce legal documents including Wills, Trusts, Briefs, Pleadings, and Reports. Administrative support to attorneys and paralegals. In addition, a paralegal or legal assistant is also needed with similar duties but expanded to include research and composition of documents and other related duties. QuickBooks experience preferred. Contact John Trojack 651-451-9696 or complete “Contact” on our website: TrojackLaw.com.

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 issue date.

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

ITEMS MUST INCLUDE:

uTime and date of event

uFull street address of event

uDescription of event

uContact information in case of questions

uThe Catholic Spirit prints calendar details as submitted.

TheCatholiCSpirit Com/CalendarSubmiSSionS

CONTINUED FROM

Her sister Renae recalled that when Michelle came home two weeks before her death, she insisted, “I want to go to Mass today. I want to see Jesus.”

Navin told OSV News she was not well acquainted with Duppong before her illness, although she organized a prayer vigil for her. But Navin learned quickly as she conducted her interviews. “She went through a remarkable deepening of her faith as she went through cancer,” and endured the ordeal “with extreme dignity and concern for other people.”

Navin said she was told that “being with Michelle was like walking into a chapel.” And there are now stories of Duppong’s intercession on behalf of those who have prayed a novena in the hope of obtaining it. “Women suffering from infertility have become parents.” Navin said.

Their number includes Balzer, who had struggled to become pregnant. But after a prayer to her friend, she and husband Justin welcomed twin boys, with a daughter born just a year ago. “It’s all I ever wanted,” Balzer observes.

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HARDWOOD

When people ask me “Why are you Catholic?” my typical response is that it’s very similar to falling in love — there is an initial attraction, and with time, prayer and discernment, a conscious commitment can be made.

I was raised Lutheran and had never imagined that I would someday convert to Roman Catholicism; however, my time at a nondenominational college during my undergraduate years led to several invitations from the Lord to enter into a fuller understanding of who he is and to begin exploring the richness and beauty of the Catholic tradition.

I had experienced significant cognitive dissonance during the first semester of college; most concerning for me were the differences my theology courses were presenting and what I had been taught growing up in the Lutheran tradition. This struggle and confusion to find the truth led me on a quest to settle my own anxious heart and mind.

During my sophomore year, I took a sociology course as a requirement for my social studies education major. An assignment that I will forever be grateful for was the task to visit a worship service of a different faith tradition and then to write a report about the experience. My friend, Ryan, and I decided to visit a Catholic Mass.

I was completely captivated. Having grown up in a liturgical,

Why I am Catholic

Mike Rasmussen

Lutheran background, many aspects of the Catholic Mass were similar to what I had known. Yet there was something about the Mass that was on a whole new spiritual level. I had attended several Protestant and nondenominational churches during my freshman year of college; however, after every worship service, regardless of which church I had attended, something felt empty or seemed to be missing. I recall leaving the Mass not feeling as if something was missing. I knew that I had found my spiritual home.

My experience with the Mass, which was my initial attraction to the Catholic faith, led me to say yes to many subtle invitations from the Lord that eventually led me through RCIA (now OCIA) to full communion with the Church. I’ll forever be grateful for the wisdom and hospitality of Father Paul Feela, who guided me through the process and was truly a spiritual father for me.

Live, Jesus, in our hearts forever!

Rasmussen, 34, is a member of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata. He enjoys running, hiking, road trips and checking out the live music scene in the Twin Cities.

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

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT