Author Archives: Mississippi Catholic

Catholic Schools share MAIS awards and athletic accomplishments

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Art Fair – Overall winners
Painting Only Art Room – 2nd place – 5th grade: Carys Dishman (St. Elizabeth Clarksdale)
Mixed Media Art Room – 1st place – 2nd grade: Beckham Shed (St. Elizabeth Clarksdale)
Mixed Media Art Room – 2nd place – 6th grade: Conner Lunceford (St. Elizabeth Clarksdale)
Drawing Art Room – 2nd place – 2nd grade: Maddison Lenard (St. Elizabeth Clarksdale)
Drawing Art Room – 1st place – 5th grade: Gabby Jones (St. Elizabeth Clarksdale)
Drawing Art Room – 1st place – 6th grade: Ulric Henning (St. Elizabeth Clarksdale)
Printmaking Classroom – 2nd place – 1st grade: Garrett Naegele (St. Anthony Madison)
Printmaking Jr. High and High School – 2nd place: Madolyn McGaugh (St. Joseph Greenville)
Photography Jr. High and High School – 2nd place: Kent Tonos (St. Joseph Greenville)

Reading Fair – Overall Winners
Individual Fiction Character Portrayal – 2nd place – 5th grade: Anna Cooper (Cathedral Natchez)
Individual Non-Fiction Character Portrayal – 3rd place – 5th grade: Haley Burnsed (Cathedral Natchez)
Fiction Individual – 2nd place – 4th grade: Mary Hannah Amborn (Vicksburg Catholic)
Non-Fiction Individual – 1st place – 5th grade: Madeline Jex (Cathedral Natchez)

District Fair Winners
Fiction Board Winners: Anna Cooper – 1st place; and Rivers Atkins – 2nd place (Cathedral Natchez)
Fiction – Best Portrayal of Character: Anna Cooper – 2nd place; and Rivers Atkins – 3rd place
Non-Fiction Board Winners: Maddy Jex – 1st place; and Haley Burnsed – 2nd place (Cathedral Natchez)
Best Portrayal of Character Award: Maddy Jex – 1st place; and Haley Burnsed – 2nd place
2nd place overall in fiction – 4th grade: Mary Hannah Amborn (Vicksburg Catholic)
2nd place overall in fiction – 5th grade: Cash Ferrell (Vicksburg Catholic)

Spelling Bee – Overall Participants
Sophia Keith – Annunciation Columbus
Samantha Struber – Annunciation Columbus
Michael Lickteig – Sacred Heart Southaven
Caryn Jackson – St. Joseph Greenville
Estephan Choufani – St. Joseph Madison
Addison Bednar – Vicksburg Catholic School

Spelling Bee- District
1st place in 7th grade, District II – East: Samantha Struber (Annunciation Columbus)
1st place in 5th grade, District II – East: Sophia Keith (Annunciation Columbus)

Regional Science Fair
3rd Grade: (All St. Patrick Meridian)
1st place Physics – Avery Hook
1st place Organic Chemistry – David Donkor
4th place Organic Chemistry – Cayden Gray
2nd place Inorganic Chemistry – Ashton Brown
1st place Botany – London Wilson
2nd place Microbiology – Wiljann Sopa
2nd place Engineering – Dominic Meachum
1st place Animal Science – Aubre Laws

4th Grade: (All St. Patrick Meridian)
4th place Inorganic Chemistry – LaDarius Ranson
4th place Microbiology – Kyler Hill

5th Grade: (All St. Patrick Meridian)
1st place Physics – John Quedado
3rd place Physics – Katelyn Meachum
6th place Organic Chemistry – Brandon Franklin
1st Inorganic Chemistry – Aiden Walker
1st Animal Science – Micah Laurent

6th Grade: (All St. Patrick Meridian)
1st place Behavioral Science – Aiden Palmer
1st place Animal Science – Ayden Everington
2nd place Inorganic Chemistry – Madison Powell
2nd place Animal Science – Bryce Rush
2nd place Mathematics – John Martinez
2nd place Physics – Ayden Rush
2nd place Botany – Juan Pablo Garcia

Quiz Bowl
Cathedral Middle School Team A – 2nd place out of 24 teams.

Scholarship
4-Way Rotary Scholarship – Jacob Venuti (St. Joseph Greenville)

Stellar Academic Students
Julianna Jojoa-Portilla – St. Joseph Greenville
Lockard Williams – St. Joseph Madison
Parker Baroni – Cathedral Natchez
Stephen Clement – Vicksburg Catholic

Choral Ensemble Festival
Vicksburg Catholic SSA and SATB received Superior rankings

National Academic Quiz-bowl Tournament (NAQT)
Cathedral Middle School’s two teams- placed 3rd and 5th overall. One team qualified for Nationals in May.

Robotics
Vicksburg Catholic Team 456 won the Engineering Inspiration Award from NASA at the Bayou Regional Competition. Attended World Championship Competition in Houston, Texas.
Annunciation School’s Robotics Club placed 1st at Regionals.

Bughouse Chess Championship
Two teams placed 1st and one team placed 2nd from Annunciation Columbus (two person teams playing blitz style- 5-minute games)

MSCA Chess Championship:
5th place – Lydia Frauendienst and Nathanial Rush (Annunciation Columbus)

MAIS Stem Competition (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
Best Overall – Bryan Sescu (Annunciation Columbus)

Teacher Recognition
Lauren Young – Annunciation Columbus: named Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce Elementary Teacher of the Year
April Moore – Annunciation Columbus: selected to present at NCEA
April Moore – Annunciation Columbus: selected Elementary VFW Teacher of the Year
Dr. Robika Mylroie – St. Anthony Counselor- awarded the Livesay Award from her alma mater Millsaps College.

Athletics

Archery – Championship
Class 4A: 3rd place – St. Joseph Greenville
Class 6A: 5th place – St. Joseph Madison

Soccer
Boys Soccer: All Star White Team – Greg Fore (St. Joseph Madison)
Boys Soccer: All Star Blue Team – Fritz Barbour and Braylon Poindexter (St. Joseph Madison)
Girls Soccer: Futures White Team – Elaina Price (St. Joseph Madison)
Girls Soccer: Futures Red Team – Sydney Leib (St. Joseph Madison)
Girls Soccer: White All Star Team – Stella McCarthy (St. Joseph Madison)
Girls Soccer: Blue All Star Team – Campbell Miller (St. Joseph Madison)
Braylon Poindexter signed to play at Gulf Coast Community College (St. Joseph Madison)
Fritz Barbour signed to play at Northwest Community College (St. Joseph Madison)

Basketball
Girls 4A-5A-6A Basketball: All Star Blue Team – Maia Turner (St. Joseph Madison)
Boys 4A-5A-6A Basketball: All Star Blue Team – Brandon Cooley (St. Joseph Madison)
Boys 4A-5A-6A Basketball: All Star Blue Team Assistant Coach – Jonathan Albright (Cathedral Natchez)
Girls Basketball Futures Red Team – Gabby Gray (St. Joseph Madison)
Boys Basketball Futures White Team – Brandon Burkes (St. Joseph Madison)
Boys Basketball Futures Red Team – Chris Gordon (St. Joseph Madison)

Holy Family School (Holly Springs) – NMAC Girls Champions, Lady Panther Teyuana Reaves named Conference Play of the Year
Maia Turner signed to play at Tougaloo College (St. Joseph Madison)

Football
All-MAIS 3A Team: Tyler Mongomery, Eli Williamson, Victor Baker, Mikael Jones and Chris Mayfield (St. Joseph Greenville)
3A Coach of the Year: John Baker (St. Joseph Greenville)
1A-2A-3A: All Star White Team – Chris Mayfield and Tyler Mongomery (St. Joseph Greenville)
4A-5A-6A: All Star White Team – Lonnie Smith (St. Joseph Madison)
4A-5A-6A: All Star Blue Team – Cam’Ron Tanner (Cathedral Natchez) and Demariet Davis (St. Joseph Madison)

Futures Gray Team – Victor Baker (St. Joseph Greenville) and KeyShaun Coleman (St. Joseph Madison)
Futures Red Team – ZyCameron Williams and Ryan Rainer (St. Joseph Madison)

MAIS 3A Football Champions – St. Joseph Greenville

Lonnie Smith signed to play football at Copiah- Lincoln Community College (St. Joseph Madison)

Varsity Swim Meet
1st place Boys 100 yard backstroke – 9th grade: Christopher Brown (St. Joseph Madison)

Spirit Competition
School Dance Kick Varsity Small – 1st place: Vicksburg Catholic
School Cheer Non-Tumbling Varsity Small – 2nd place: St. Joseph Madison
School Dance Kick Varsity Medium – 3rd place: Cathedral Natchez
School Cheer Non-Tumbling Varsity Medium – 3rd place: Vicksburg Catholic
School Dance Pom Varsity Small – 1st place: Vicksburg Catholic

Volleyball
Futures White Team – Calese White (St. Joseph Madison)
All Stars White Team – Alyssa Leonard (St. Joeseph Madison)
All Stars Blue Team – Assistant Coach Sydney McEachem (St. Joseph Madison)

Baseball
5A District 4 Play of the Year – Tristan Fondren (Cathedral Natchez)
Josh Ingram (Cathedral Natchez) signed to play at Millsaps College and is recipient of Presidential Scholarship.
Jackson Navarro (Cathedral Natchez) signed to play at Meridian Community College.

Softball
Liza Gregg committed to play for Millsaps College.

Tennis
5A MAIS Boys Singles South State Champion – Alex Monagan

Dance:
Maddie-Claire Spence (St. Joseph Madison) – Dixie Darling at University of Southern Mississippi

Schools were asked to submit awardees for this listing by the Office of Catholic Education.

Youth

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Around our schools

COLUMBUS – (Left) Annunciation students Levi Struber, T.J., Chris, and Henry Hince and Reed Sancho celebrate “Purple Up” day for Military children. Annunciation School was recently named a Military Star School by the Department of Education.

(Right) Avynn Clapper works hard on her gardening skills at Annunciation School. (Photos by Jacque Hince)

JACKSON – First and second grade students in Ms. Moses’ class at Sister Thea Bowman School, eagerly await to enter the church for Mass. The students were very proud of their artwork depicting “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (Photo by Deacon Denzil Lobo)

Love makes individuals and the world better, pope says

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By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Meeting with thousands of Italian grandparents and their children and grandchildren, Pope Francis insisted repeatedly, “Love makes us better.”

“Love makes us better; it makes us richer, and it makes us wiser, at any age,” he said April 27 to the young and old who filled the Vatican audience hall. “Love makes us better.”

Pope Francis arrives for a meeting with thousands of Italian grandparents with their children and grandchildren April 27, 2024, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Joining people associated with the Età Grande Foundation, which lobbies for the rights of the elderly to stay in their homes with family, community and government support, Pope Francis spoke about his grandmother Rosa, who first taught him to pray, and he mimicked grandparents everywhere by handing out chocolates to the children.

The pope told the families, “You make each other better by loving each other. And I say this to you as a ‘grandfather’ with the desire to share the ever-youthful faith that unites all generations” and which “I received from my grandmother, from whom I first learned about Jesus who loves us, who never leaves us alone, and who urges us too to be close to each other and never to exclude anyone.”

And in a world that so often focuses on the individual and his or her accomplishments and possessions, love actually is what makes people richer, he said.

Sometimes, he said, people speak of the “world of youth” or the “world of the elderly,” but “there is just one world! And it is made up of many realities that are different precisely to help and complement each other.”

People of different generations, different nationalities and different talents “if harmonized, can reveal, like the faces of a big diamond, the wondrous splendor of humanity and creation,” the pope said. “This, too, is what your being together teaches us: not to let diversity create rifts between us! No, let there not be rifts – don’t pulverize the diamond of love, the most beautiful treasure God has given us: love.”

Too often, the pope said, people are told to be self-reliant and that the strong do not need anyone.
But that is a sad way to live, he said, especially as one gets older.

“The elderly must not be left alone, they must live within the family, in the community, with the affection of everyone,” he said. “And if they cannot live with their families, we must go to visit them and stay close to them.”

May is packed with joy, meaning and mystical wonder

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Bishop Robert Reed is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston. His column, “More than Words,” appears monthly at OSV News. (OSV News photo/courtesy Catholic TV)

More Than Words
By Bishop Robert Reed

As a child, May was always an exciting month for me – partly because the school year was almost over, but also because of the special Marian devotions and activities that took place.

We students created May altars in our classrooms (and were encouraged to set them up in our homes, too), practices that warmed and nurtured our spirits with the added bonus of breaking up our studies.

But the May Crowning was Marian primetime for us – a once-a-year event of stand-alone specialness recalled with every whiff of a lilac in these lighter days of spring. When the big day arrived, we all wore our best clothes – the second-graders donning their First Communion outfits, once again – and processed down the main avenue and into the church, carrying floral and spiritual bouquets and singing, “T’is the Month of Our Mother,” and other odes to Mary. We presented our flowers and petitions before a beautiful statue of the Mother of God, and the air was permeated with the rich floral scents of the season.

The celebration reached its apex when a girl, chosen from the eighth grade, reached up and placed the crown of flowers on Mary’s head, as we sang out, “O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,” from “Bring Flowers of the Fairest.”

Whenever I hear of a parish planning a May Crowning, I recall those happy festivities and start humming the familiar Marian hymns of my childhood.

A lot has changed in our Catholic schools since the 1960s, but the basics remain the same: May is still Mary’s month, and in our schools and parishes, statues that represent the “holy queen enthroned above” are crowned with blossoms while the faithful, young and old, sing hymns and implore our Blessed Mother’s attention and intercession.

As a priest and particularly as a bishop, I am always pleased to see a parish creating opportunities to honor the Theotokos, the God-bearer. She is our strongest and most caring advocate in heaven, and we are right to honor her as the Mother of the King, particularly in May. After all, without “yes” to Gabriel – her fiat to God’s redeeming plan – where would we be?

At times our Protestant friends will challenge us on our devotion to Mary, suggesting that our affection for our mother tempts idolatry. In this, we should never feel anxious. Our reverence for Mary is akin to the sort of devotion we should have for our own mothers – who are also celebrated in May, and whom God instructs us to honor in the Ten Commandments.

Besides, Mary is always pointing us to Jesus: “Do whatever he tells you,” she instructs all of us through Scripture. (John 2:5) Worship is reserved for the Creator and for his Son, and for the Holy Spirit. But, like any child, Jesus is pleased to see his Mother given the honor and respect she is due – he relishes our acts of esteem for his Mother, whom he assumed into heaven, body and soul.

In Mary’s month we will also be coming to the conclusion of the Easter season, honoring the Ascension of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, on May 19, with Pentecost Sunday (the coming of the Holy Spirit), the week after. And by month’s end, we are pondering the profound mystery of the Triune God, on May 26, Trinity Sunday. Time moves quickly. We will slip into June still full of joy as we celebrate the great gift of the Eucharist on the feast of Corpus Christi.

So, enjoy May! We have before us some glorious weeks of triumph, wonder and good cheer. Jesus lives and resplendently reigns, having taken our humanity beyond death and into glory. As the prophecy was made so long ago: “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.” (Dan 7:14)

All praise and glory to our Risen King, Son of God and the Son of Mary; He is Lord, now and forever!

(Bishop Robert P. Reed is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, pastor of St. Patrick and Sacred Heart parishes in Watertown, Massachusetts, and president of the CatholicTV Network. He is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Communications.)

The Catholic who created food banks

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LIGHT ONE CANDLE
By Tony Rossi
Food banks are a blessing to hungry people. But did you know they were started by a Catholic man, John van Hengel, inspired by his faith and the hardships he endured? The Christopher Award-winning children’s book “Food for Hope,” written by Jeff Gottesfeld, tells that story.

During van Hengel’s early life, there were no indications he would ever go hungry. He grew up in Wisconsin, attended college and grad school, moved to California, married a model, had two children, and thrived as a salesman for a sportswear company. Then, it all fell apart. Van Hengel lost his job and got divorced. He returned to Wisconsin and found work in a rock quarry. But while breaking up a fight, he endured a spinal injury, which required surgery. Still, he was in pain and needed rehabilitation, so on his doctor’s advice, he moved to Arizona, where the warmer weather might help his recovery.

That’s how van Hengel, now destitute, wound up in Phoenix in 1967 at a St. Vincent de Paul-run soup kitchen at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. In “Food for Hope,” Gottesfeld writes, “John liked people. He talked with everyone in the dining room – disabled veterans, the homeless, and kids whose parents had to choose between rent and food. Their stories opened his heart. He found work at the kitchen, shelter in a cheap room above a garage, and faith in prayer with Father Ronald at St. Mary’s Church.”

The menu at the soup kitchen was minimal (soup, rice, beans, powdered milk), so van Hengel asked a local citrus orchard if he could collect the grapefruits that had fallen off their trees and would otherwise be thrown away. They agreed, and fresh fruit made its way onto the menu. Then came the incident that changed everything. A woman took van Hengel to a supermarket dumpster and showed him all the edible food that had been discarded. She said, “I just wish I could put this stuff in a bank.”

Van Hengel loved the idea, so he went back to St. Mary’s and told Father Ronald, a Franciscan priest, that they should start a bank to store food. Father Ronald agreed and told van Hengel, “Do it.” Van Hengel protested that he already worked at the soup kitchen and didn’t have time. Father Ronald responded, “You heard the call, John. Decide if you want to listen.” He listened. And above his desk, van Hengel wrote a Biblical quote, but gave it his own twist: “The poor we shall always have with us, but why the hungry?”

Gottesfeld said, “St. Mary’s Church gave him an abandoned bakery on Skid Row in Phoenix, and he started there …They did 125,000 pounds of food their first year…This past year, the St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix did 125 million.” Motivated by his faith, van Hengel kept growing the food bank idea and eventually turned it into the nonprofit America’s Second Harvest, which helped create food banks around the country. He also chose to live in relative poverty because he looked back on his life and realized that money had not made him happy.

Gottesfeld hopes that children and families read “Food for Hope,” and find that it motivates them to make a difference. He concluded, “Don’t take food for granted. It is not automatic for big segments of our society … [Also], volunteer … What’s great about food, it’s completely nonpartisan … All it has to do is with feeding people … Know that you’re working alongside other Americans doing the same thing … What matters is your energy and your goodness.”

(Tony Rossi is the Communications Director for The Christophers, a Catholic media company. The mission of The Christophers is to encourage people of all ages, and from all walks of life, to use their God-given talents to make a positive difference in the world. Learn more at www.christophers.org.)

Former St. Joseph teacher to be ordained as Jesuit priest in June

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By Therese Meyerhoff
ST. LOUIS – J. Michael Mohr, SJ, will be ordained a priest on Saturday, June 8, 2024, in St. Louis. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Mohr graduated from Catholic High School in 2006 and entered the Society of Jesus in 2013. He will be ordained alongside a fellow member of the USA Central and Southern (UCS) Province of the Society of Jesus, Daniel J. Everson, SJ.

The Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson, Archbishop Emeritus of St. Louis, will preside at the sacred liturgy at St. Francis Xavier College Church.

Mohr and Everson are among the 19 Jesuits to be ordained in the United States, Canada and Haiti this year. All have undergone extensive and holistic training intentionally designed to equip them to serve as pastors, educators, ministers and leaders in the Catholic Church of today – and tomorrow.

Mohr was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A graduate of Catholic High School, he first began thinking about religious life thanks to the witness of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, to whom he remains grateful.

During high school and college, he spent his summers working with youth in the Navajo Nation. After graduating from Millsaps College, Mohr taught high school English at St. Joseph Catholic School in Madison, Mississippi. During those three years, the idea of serving the church as a priest and teacher became more and more attractive. He entered the Society of Jesus at the Jesuit Novitiate of St. Stanislaus Kostka in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, in August 2013, alongside Dan Everson.

Mohr studied philosophy at Saint Louis University and completed his regency at St. Louis University High School. While there, he taught English and theology, assisted with the band, and helped with pastoral ministry and retreats.

Much of Mohr’s formation was shaped by numerous international experiences of service and study, including Spanish studies in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico; service with Indigenous communities in Guyana; pastoral work in Belize; teaching English in Vietnam to brother Jesuits; working with Jesuit Refugee Service in Uganda; and studying theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. During his three years in Rome, Michael participated in Living Stones, a young adult group focused on spiritual formation and giving faith-based art and architectural visits through different churches.

After ordination, Father Mohr will pursue a Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry.

(The Jesuits are a Roman Catholic order of priests and brothers founded nearly 500 years ago by St. Ignatius of Loyola. With more than 15,000 priests, scholastics and brothers worldwide, they are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church. Jesuits are widely known for their colleges, universities and high schools, but Jesuits also minister in retreat houses, parishes, hospitals and refugee camps. The USA Central and Southern (UCS) Province serves in 12 states, Puerto Rico and Belize and has approximately 350 men who serve as pastors, administrators, educators, spiritual and retreat directors and in other roles. Jesuits have served in this area of the United States and the Caribbean as early as the 16th century and continually since the restoration of the Society in 1815.)

New photos reveal many sides of Padre Pio

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By Justin McLellan
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A foundation that promotes devotion to St. Pio of Pietrelcina, more widely known as Padre Pio, is making 10 never-before-seen photographs of the saint available to the devout for free.
The images provide personal insight into the life, attitude and spirituality of 20th-century saint, said the photographer. Some photos show Padre Pio solemnly celebrating Mass while in others he is smiling while surrounded by his confreres.

Elia Stelluto, Padre Pio’s personal photographer, stood proudly – camera in hand – before posters of the 10 new images for the presentation of the photos in the Vatican movie theater April 29.

“It’s enough to look at one image of his face” to understand Padre Pio, he told Catholic News Service. “With that you can understand so much; each photo has its own story, one must at them look one by one and that way you see so much more in his expressions.”

A newly released images of St. Padre Pio are seen in these undated photos. The Vatican hosted a presentation of 10 new photos of the Capuchin saint April 29, 2024. (CNS photos/Courtesy Saint Pio Foundation).

Stelluto photographed the saint for decades at the convent where he lived in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
During the photo presentation, Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, said the new photos highlight Padre Pio’s identity as someone who was close to those around him and was filled with joy. He said that although it was not customary to smile in photos at the time, candid photos taken by Stelluto show the saint beaming broadly as he was huddled in a group.

Luciano Lamonarca, founder and CEO of the Saint Pio Foundation which promotes devotion to the Italian saint and organized the publication of the photos, said many people would come to Stelluto requesting his photos for articles and books.

“I never saw any kind of availability for the people” to see the photos directly, he said. That’s why he thought, “Padre Pio is the saint of the people, we must do something for the people.”

Lamonarca, an Italian who lives in the United States, said since many people with a devotion to Padre Pio are unable to visit the areas where the saint lived and ministered, he asked himself, “how does one bring Padre Pio to them, the true Padre Pio, the most authentic form of Padre Pio?”

That’s what spurred him to partner with Stelluto to make the photos available to the public, excluding their use for commercial purposes, by being free to download via the St. Pio Foundation website.
Lamonarca said he hoped that by “looking at the image of a greatly suffering father who could also laugh,” people would think to themselves, “if he could laugh, we can laugh too.”

Stelluto described the images he had taken of Padre Pio as “mysterious,” since they always came out clearly despite dark lighting conditions.

He recalled the challenge of taking photos in a dark convent, coupled with Padre Pio’s distaste for the flash of a camera, especially during Mass, and exclusive use of dim candles to light the altar.

“It’s not that I was talented in doing this, I still don’t understand the thing,” Stelluto said during the photo presentation. “The truth is that he was the source of light.”

(Editor’s note: The 10 new photos of St. Padre Pio are located at https://therealsaintpio.org/the-photographs)

Faithful respond to Midwest tornadoes, help storm victims‘carry their cross’

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By Gina Christian
(OSV News) – Parishioners in several Midwestern states are coming together to bring help and healing after tornadoes ravaged the area April 26-28, killing at least four.

The storms – which along with tornadoes dumped heavy rain and hail on Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas – claimed four lives in Oklahoma, including that of an infant, and caused widespread destruction.

“We have experienced a pretty devastating time here in the Elkhorn area,” said Father Tom Fangman, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Elkhorn, Nebraska, in an April 28 video message posted to the parish’s Facebook page.

A drone view shows emergency personnel working at the site of damaged buildings in the aftermath of a tornado in Omaha, Neb., April 26, 2024, in this image obtained from a social media video. A tornado plowed through suburban Omaha demolishing homes and businesses as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slamming an Iowa town. (OSV News photo/Alex freed via Reuters) MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES.

A previous post by the parish that same day said there were “over 30 families who have come to us for help and the applications just keep rolling in.”

On April 26, the Omaha suburb was devastated by what the National Weather Service assessed to be at least one EF3 tornado, with winds ranging from 136 to 165 miles per hour. Drone footage from local television station KETV showed homes leveled to the ground, with roofs sheared and structural walls badly damaged in others. Train cars were derailed about an hour away near Lincoln, Nebraska.

One Elkhorn family’s escape is being called “miraculous.”

KETV in Omaha reported that a bedridden father, unable to shelter before the twister’s impact, was shielded by his wife and son, who lay on top of him as their roof was torn away. The man sustained non-life-threatening injuries. While the home has been reduced to rubble, two crucifixes and an image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary remained intact, still affixed to the remaining walls. A GoFundMe page for the family, whose last name has been listed as Sturgeon, has been set up by one of the son’s co-workers.

St. Francis Xavier Church in hard-hit Sulphur, Oklahoma – where at least one person died and 30 were injured – withstood the storm, but a number of parishioners lost their homes, a staff member at St. Joseph Catholic Parish in Ada, of which St. Francis Xavier is a mission church, told OSV News.

The disaster is a call to serve – and to witness to the love of Christ, said St. Patrick Parish in its Facebook message.

The parish, which has set up a relief fund, is working in concert with other local groups to organize humanitarian relief, and convened an April 29 volunteer meeting in its school cafeteria.

“We need you. … We ask you to prayerfully consider how God is calling you to help and if you can be part of this,” said the parish in its post. “Lives have been turned upside down and people have nothing. Let’s be in this mess with them and help them carry their cross. And let’s show our community that life isn’t going on for everyone else but them. We are the Body of Christ.”

Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @GinaJesseReina.

Two Mississippi authors pen football book on coaching at St. Mary’s Catholic School

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By Staff Reports
JACKSON – X.M. Frascogna Jr., co-author of five previous books about football in the state of Mississippi, has teamed up with Jackson-based publisher and novelist Joe Lee to pen The Saints of St. Mary’s, the true story of Frascogna’s remarkable four-year run voluntarily coaching elementary school football at St. Mary’s Catholic School more than five decades ago.

The authors will kick off their book tour at Lemuria Books of Jackson on Thursday, June 6 from 4:30-7 p.m. Published by the Mississippi Sports Council, The Saints of St. Mary’s will be released in hardback and available for $24.95 plus tax.

“I was in law school at the time I coached at St. Mary’s, and my wife Judy was a fifth-grade teacher there,” Frascogna said. “I was very caught up in teaching the players the basics on the football field and us winning as many games as possible. What I was too young to realize was the importance of the life lessons involved: always giving your best effort, relying on your teammates, and carrying yourself in an honorable and respectful way.”

Lee, author of nine suspense novels, spent more than a year interviewing former St. Mary’s players, assistant coaches and opposing players.

“So many of those men, now in their mid-sixties, have crystal clear memories of those days and told me they wouldn’t trade them for anything,” Lee said. “These are guys who have excelled over the years in the fields of academia, medicine, business, the practice of law and philanthropy. All talked of takeaways from being mentored by the man they called ‘Coach’ that proved just as valuable in adulthood as they were on the practice field.”

“The Saints of St. Mary’s isn’t just a football book, or a book about coaching football,” Frascogna added. “The subtitle, ‘A true story of old school values and parenting lessons learned through youth sports,’ is crucial because the lessons are timeless. Parents, teachers, and coaches of all sports for both boys and girls will find it relevant.”

Frascogna and Lee will sign copies of the book at Lemuria on Thursday, June 6 at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. Lemuria Books is located at 4465 I-55 N on the second floor of Banner Hall.
For more information, visit lemuriabooks.com.

In memoriam: Rev. Thomas Lind, SCJ

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By Staff Reports
HALES CORNERS, Wis. – Originally from Minneapolis, Rev. Thomas Lind, SCJ, died on April 11, just days before his 92nd birthday. He was a member of the Sacred Heart Community in Pinellas Park, Florida. Nearly ten years earlier he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

Father Tom completed his seminary studies at Sacred Heart Monastery (now Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology). He professed his first vows with the Priests of the Sacred Heart (Dehonians) in 1951 and was ordained in 1958.

His first full-time assignment was back where he started: assisting at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Ste. Marie, Ilinois, from 1960-64. From there, he went to St. Joseph’s Indian School, where he served for 17 years. He would later return to South Dakota for a short-term assignment on the Cheyenne River Reservation from 1999-2000.

For nine years (1980-89) he was pastor of St. James Church in Corinth, Mississippi. After two years at Christ the Redeemer parish in Houston, he moved to northwest Mississippi, where he assisted with pastoral ministry from 2000-2016. Since 2016, he had been a member of the SCJ retirement community in Pinellas Park.

“He was a very sweet man,” are the words that so many used to describe Father Tom upon learning of his death.

“I enjoyed his company and his homilies,” wrote another.

“He was a holy priest, a friend… and a pretty good golfer!” said another.

In his homily, Father Vien Nguyen, SCJ, provincial superior of the US Province of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, reflected on a phrase displayed prominently in Father Tom’s room: “Do what is right, seek what is good, walk humbly before the Lord,” from the prophet Micah.

“Doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God are not separate from each other; rather, they are interconnected,” said Father Vien.” They form the essence of God’s heart. Tom, I believe that having the words of the prophet Micah on your wall was not for decoration. Instead, they served as a reminder of what you wanted to achieve in your religious life as a Dehonian.

“May we too follow the footsteps of Father Leo John Dehon and have the courage to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. We hope that we too one day will be invited to the glorious banquet held on Mount Zion, never to be separated from God’s love, and be blessed for living the Beatitudes.”

The Mass of Christian Burial for Father Tom was held on Thursday, April 18, at Good Shepherd Chapel at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake in Hales Corners, Wisconsin.