By Joe Lee MADISON – Born Free-New Beginnings, a Catholic Charities of Jackson program and one of only two facilities in the state of Mississippi that treat pregnant females suffering from addiction, as well as their children born with addiction, has gotten a crucial makeover from the Knights of Columbus at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Madison. A freshening up that took almost eight months to complete after a walk-through of the grounds last October. “Some women are pregnant and overcoming addiction to alcohol and drugs so that their child may be ‘Born Free’ of addictions,” said Msgr. Elvin Sunds, who discussed needed repairs and upgrades with KC 9543. “Others are overcoming addiction while also caring for young children there. They’re creating a ‘New Beginning’ as loving, addiction-free mothers and families.”
Slowed by winter weather delays and a busy spring calendar for KC 9543, Grand Knight Lance Lee and a team of volunteers squeezed in trips in March and May to pressure wash the exterior surfaces of the two-story structure (which was built years ago into the side of a steep, craggy hill), clear away dead tree limbs and overgrown shrubs, and replace torn screen material in an enclosed toddler play area. The second visit was to rebuild a wooden fence around the outdoor play area for toddlers, an expanse bordered by dense woods on one side and a treacherous hill on the other. “It’s important for the residents who stay 28 days or longer to feel a sense of comfort as they see the facility for the first time, and as they spend time here,” Sunds added. “I am very grateful to the Knights of Columbus at St. Francis for seeing the project through.” “It’s a very worthy pro-life project,” Lee said. “We had great volunteer help, including wonderful assistance from Born Free Facilities Manager Jimmie Roush, and did a good job for them. I was proud to be part of it. The new fence looks great and will go a long way toward keeping the little ones safe who are out there.” To learn more about how you or your organization can support Born Free-New Beginnings, visit catholiccharitiesjackson.org.
By Joe Lee JACKSON – Originally from Joliet, Illinois, and the parish priest at St. Isaac Jogues Church in nearby Hinsdale, Father Burke Masters almost seems like a native Mississippian despite living most of his life near Chicago.
Even casual sports fans remember his starring role on the 1990 Mississippi State baseball team that made the College World Series, and many people across the state have met him through his keynote appearances at Journey of Hope luncheons in 2019 and 2025.
“Since college, Mississippi has always been like a second home,” said Masters, who was ordained as a priest in 2002 and authored A Grand Slam for God, published in 2023 by Word on Fire Press. “I grew up in Illinois but spent five years in Starkville. Coming back to see friends I’ve known since I arrived there in 1985 is like a home week for me.”
Masters will be honored at the 21st annual Bishop’s Ball on Thursday, June 18 at the Westin in Downtown Jackson. Also honored will be Jacksonian Tommy Turk, whose “Friends for a Cause” nonprofit supports Squat & Gobble each Thanksgiving, a beloved event that helps fund the Catholic Charities domestic violence program. “The Bishop’s Ball gives us a chance to honor the support of the bishop each year, as well as others who have contributed significantly to Catholic Charities,” said executive director Christina Bach. “As one of our major fundraisers, it provides the necessary funds to support Born Free/New Beginnings, a substance use recovery program for pregnant or parenting women in order to keep families together and help babies enter the world free of drugs.”
Other programs support victims of sexual assault, and counseling services are available for families with children experiencing behavioral issues. Catholic Charities of Jackson’s efforts reach 65 of Mississippi’s 82 counties.
“Our honorees have been very committed to Catholic Charities for a long time,” Bishop Joseph Kopacz said. “Tommy Turk has directed a generous amount of the proceeds from community fundraisers to Catholic Charities, raising money and awareness in the process.
“Father Burke has traveled to our diocese on separate occasions to evangelize and to raise money out of love for the work of Catholic Charities and the people of Mississippi. It is a blessing to honor these men of God.”
Masters will also receive a Knights of Columbus award from Cameron Ellis and Luke McClure from the regional KC insurance office that serves Alabama and Mississippi.
“Catholic Charities does so much for the poor,” Masters said. “In Matthew 25, Jesus teaches that ‘whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.’ That’s the call for all of us to share the good news God has given to us, and Catholic Charities is on the front lines all over the world and certainly in Jackson.”
“It is often said that Catholic social teaching is the best kept secret in our Church,” Kopacz said. “This is certainly true for many in our diocese regarding Catholic Charities, whose programs serve those in need throughout our state. Come out and enjoy the evening and support the mission to be a visible sign of Christ’s love.”
(Visit https://event.gives/bb26 to purchase tickets to the Bishop’s Ball or to sponsor the event.)
MADISON – Arnold Landry, Ken Pribyla and Dennis Riecke of KC 9543 at St. Francis of Assisi in Madison install a Respect Life banner after putting crosses into the ground behind the St. Francis parking lot. The banner and crosses will be up all month. (Photo by Joe Lee)
By Joe Lee MADISON – Terry Cassreino, checking correspondence before a recent broadcast journalism class at Madison St. Joseph Catholic School, is perturbed as he addresses his students.
“I don’t like surprises on production day,” he says crisply, bringing the chatter to a quick halt. “We work on deadlines. You can’t wait until the last minute to turn in your stories. When you do that, you slow everyone down.”
Cassreino’s direct manner is not unlike what his students will encounter from newsroom bosses should they go into journalism after college. Not all of them will. But the skill sets and real-world experiences his charges are acquiring will prepare them for success, regardless of their professional pursuits.
MADISON – St. Joseph Catholic School communications director Terry Cassreino works with students Luke Jones, Jason Buckley and Kaitlyn Evans during a broadcast journalism class as they film an edition of Bruin News Now in the Fine Arts Building lobby. The award-winning program has earned state and national recognition under Cassreino’s guidance. (Photos courtesy of Joe Lee)
Before joining St. Joe as communications director in 2012, the New Orleans native and Ole Miss graduate spent nearly two decades in print journalism. With the decline of the newspaper industry, he believes the future of journalism is in multimedia – a hybrid of video, photography and the written word.
The bar at St. Joe is now very high. In 2024, the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association (MSPA) recognized Bruin Sports Radio for having the state’s best high school livestream programming, and the Junior Varsity Bruin News Now was named the state’s best middle school newscast.
Such accolades are nothing new. St. Joe routinely wins MSPA awards, and Cassreino was named the National High School Broadcast Adviser of the Year in 2023 by the Journalism Education Association at the University of Kansas, marking the first time a Mississippi educator received the prestigious award.
“I’ve learned how to be poised on camera from him, and how to interact with others when reporting,” said St. Joe senior Thierry Freeman, who co-anchors Bruin News Now (BNN) with junior Noah Sanders. “We’ve interviewed a lot of notable people. It makes you focused and concise.”
Though BNN sports anchor Addyson Russell will consider nursing school, she says she has grown to love journalism and is confident what she has learned from Cassreino will put her ahead of her peers when she starts college.
Eighth grader Grace Barbour, a reporter on last year’s award-winning JV team, praises her older classmates for making her feel like part of the team. Among them is video editor Jason Buckley, a junior who took a big risk in seventh grade by overselling his capabilities.
“I told Mr. Cassreino I already knew how to edit, and I had no idea,” Buckley said. “He put me right into leadership and responsibility roles. I kind of figured it out, and he taught me along the way. Now I’m editing and producing the newscasts.”
In January 2025, Cassreino took 10 of his students to the Mississippi Capitol to cover the annual State of the State address and participate in an exclusive interview session with Gov. Tate Reeves.
“One team worked on a story about the speech, listening to it and interviewing lawmakers about the governor’s legislative agenda,” Cassreino said. “The other filmed our weekly newscast inside the Capitol and then covered the governor’s exclusive Q&A with BNN and Tupelo High School’s WTHS-TV.
“When it was all over and I saw how excited my students were, I don’t think I have ever felt as much pride in my students as I felt deep in my heart. Watching them work together, cooperate with students from Tupelo to film a co-production newscast, and interview the governor in a mock press conference setting was nothing short of amazing.”
Noah Sanders, a junior, left, and Thierry Freeman, a senior, film an edition of Bruin News Now, St. Joseph Catholic School’s award-winning broadcast journalism program, in the lobby of the Fine Arts Building.
Jack Hall, a 2016 St. Joe graduate and now a practicing attorney in Jackson, won the inaugural MPSA Orley Hood Award in 2014 for being named the outstanding sports journalist in the state.
“It was a watershed moment for me in high school,” Hall said. “Terry taught me to focus on the human aspect of sportswriting, which has helped me in several fields.”
BNN was new in spring 2016 when Cassreino asked Jason Price, then a St. Joe junior, to audition.
“I didn’t like to write, but he told me he believed I’d be great at it,” said Price, who would go on to major in broadcast journalism at Ole Miss and was the NewsWatch Ole Miss sports director for three years. “I started as a sports anchor that spring. He always encouraged enthusiasm, but I grew the most from his advice on my writing.”
“What Terry does for young people is so critical,” said MSPA executive director R.J. Morgan. “He gives them the tools they need to interrogate the world, to discern and understand it.”
“My students work hard,” Cassreino said. “They will learn to be strong, effective leaders. And they will know that successful journalists and successful adults adhere to Catholic and Christian-based morals and ethical behavior.
“I am so thankful for the support I receive from the diocese, the school, and the parents. It is so rewarding for me to know I have made a difference. I try my hardest to give my students experiences the high school student doesn’t normally get.”
Por Joe Lee MADISON – Ed Donohoe no tuvo que viajar tan lejos como los familiares del padre Frank Cosgrove, que vinieron desde Irlanda para ver al querido sacerdote celebrar la misa y conmemorar el 60.º aniversario de su ordenación, un evento que tuvo lugar el 2 de junio en la iglesia de San Francisco de Asís, en Madison. Pero 1200 millas era un largo viaje para Donohoe, y no era un viaje barato. ¿Por qué era tan importante para él unirse a la celebración al otro lado del país?
“Porque el padre Frank era como de la familia”, dijo Donohoe, un residente de Colorado que acababa de presentarse para el servicio en la Estación Aérea Naval Meridian en 2008 cuando se conocieron. El padre Frank, entonces párroco de la iglesia de San Patricio, conducía media hora hasta la capilla de la base para celebrar la misa. No tardaron mucho en hacerse amigos.
MADISON – De izquierda a derecha, el diácono John McGregor, Keith Comish, el padre Frank Cosgrove, Cathy Comish y el diácono Denzil Lobo escuchan las lecturas de la misa durante la celebración del 60.º aniversario de la ordenación sacerdotal del padre Cosgrove en la iglesia de San Francisco, en Madison, el lunes 2 de junio de 2025. (Fotos de Tereza Ma)
El padre Frank Cosgrove se prepara para cortar un pastel especial en celebración de su 60.º aniversario de ordenación, acompañado por el padre Albeen Vatti, párroco de St. Francis of Assisi en Madison, y Frances Patterson.
Los miembros de la familia Cosgrove, entre ellos el hermano del padre Frank, Eamonn, su hermana Ruth y sus sobrinos nietos, que visitaban Estados Unidos por primera vez, volaron más de 4000 millas para participar en la misa y disfrutar de la recepción. Más de 50 sacerdotes de todas las diócesis católicas de Jackson y Biloxi acudieron para apoyarlo, y católicos de todo Misisipi (y un número sorprendente de no católicos) abarrotaron el santuario de San Francisco.
Escucharon una homilía basada en sus nuevas memorias, “Sir, Do You Know Where You Are Going?” (Señor, ¿sabe adónde va?), en la que se refirió a menudo a la unidad.
“La celebración significa mucho para mí”, dijo Ralph Eubanks, quien conoce al padre Frank desde que era estudiante en Ole Miss hace dos generaciones, cuando el padre Frank era párroco de la iglesia St. John. “Era un hombre dedicado a la verdad, denunciaba el pecado del racismo y creía en unir a las personas”.
“Casó a mis padres (Ed y Cindy Hannan) hace 48 años”, dijo Anabeth Hannan Duncan, feligresa de St. Francis. “Me bautizó hace 31 años y me casó hace tres años. Pasamos la Nochebuena con él todos los años. Cuando pienso en Dios, veo al padre Frank, imaginándolo unos centímetros más alto”.
“El padre Frank y yo nos conocemos desde 1969, cuando era vicario en St. Peter”, dijo Charlene Bearden. “Me ayudó a conseguir una audiencia con el papa San Juan Pablo II en 1987, cuando estuvo en Nueva Orleans. Lo hizo a través de la National Black Catholic Leadership. Ha influido en la vida de muchas personas de muchas maneras”.
“Lo conozco desde que era adolescente, cuando era nuestro párroco en Ole Miss”, dijo Mary Johnson Coyle. “He sido su amiga durante toda mi vida adulta. Estando con él, uno quería ser mejor católico. Es un hombre encantador y maravilloso que une a todo el mundo”.
“Mi marido John y yo fuimos miembros fundadores de St. Francis”, dijo Mary Kraft. “El padre Frank ha sido maravilloso con nuestra familia. Nuestra hija y otra niña pequeña comenzaron en la CYO en St. Francis bajo su tutela. Nos pidió que fuéramos ministros eucarísticos, pero le dije que nos gustaría ser monaguillos, y fuimos los primeros monaguillos adultos”.
En la recepción celebrada en el centro familiar St. Francis, el padre Frank dedicó tiempo a todos los que querían un abrazo, una selfie o un minuto o dos para darle las gracias. La celebración se prolongó hasta bien entrada la noche. El padre Frank, que ahora tiene más de ochenta años y está afectado por el Parkinson, seguía en pie con una gran sonrisa en el rostro.
Las memorias tuvieron un gran éxito, vendiéndose casi 200 ejemplares en el evento. Están disponibles por 20 dólares hasta agotar existencias en las oficinas parroquiales de San Patricio en Meridian, San Juan en Oxford, San Pablo en Brandon y San Francisco de Asís en Madison.
By Joe Lee MADISON – The blast furnace heat made quite an impression on Msgr. Michael Flannery, known as Padre to parishioners all over Mississippi and the impoverished Saltillo region of Mexico, when he landed in Jackson for the first time in September 1964.
The racial discord also made a significant impression. Flannery arrived shortly after the horrific murders of civil rights leaders Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Cheney in Neshoba County.
“My first assignment was St. Mary’s in west Jackson,” said Flannery, who celebrates the 60th anniversary of his priest ordination on June 14. “The school was integrated the morning after I arrived. A Black family had a little girl entering kindergarten, and there was a big demonstration. We feared Klan violence and left the lights on overnight for two weeks, but nothing came of it.
MADISON – Msgr. Michael Flannery “Padre” and Father Albeen Vatti joining in the fun playing spoons on frottoirs (washboards) and dancing during a spirited cajun tune on Oct 3, 2021 at St. Francis parish’s annual Cajun Fest fundraiser. Msgr. Flannery is celebrating his 60th anniversary as a priest on June 14, 2024. (Photo by Joanna King)
“A professor at seminary prepared us to face difficulty in the U.S. but said it wouldn’t be fair to tell us what to do. He said, ‘I’ve given you moral principles. You apply them to the situation you find yourself in.’ That made an impression on me.”
Assigned to Our Lady of Victories in Pascagoula in 1967, Flannery organized the first Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) group to deliver items to Saltillo, but the game-changer was the involvement of Father Patrick Quinn. Saltillo Mission, Flannery’s book about the long-running service project that sent more than 20,000 Mississippi youth to Mexico, was published in 2017.
“Father Quinn had a tremendous love for the poor,” Flannery said. “One year he was seriously injured in a car accident on a slick mountain road, and Bishop Brunini wanted his medical treatment done in Mississippi. Quinn initially refused, saying he would receive care unavailable to the poor. He eventually agreed to it, but only if he could return to Saltillo once healthy.”
Valerie Balser Winn, accompanied her CYO from St. Alphonsus in McComb to Saltillo in 1973.
“Father Flannery always seemed full of energy and laughter as he drove a crowded jeep among the prairie dogs and cacti for what seemed like hours,” Winn said. “He supervised the deliveries of medicine, dental care and balloons for the children.
“Not knowing Spanish myself and watching him tell those gathered for Mass in the tiny brick and mud huts about Father Quinn’s accident … I can still see the shock and sadness in their faces. Then I saw them comforted with Father Flannery’s message of hope.”
Flannery’s mastery of Spanish led to his assignment to Rosedale, one of several Delta towns where he worked primarily with migrants. While in Cleveland he was asked by Bishop Brunini to learn canon law. Finishing at St. Paul’s in Ottawa, Canada, in 1985, Flannery was brought into the tribunal after returning to Mississippi, serving as judicial vicar.
“I see the tribunal as a healing ministry,” he said. “Divorce is a very painful thing, as part of you dies in that process. My experiences in Saltillo, with a lot of people suffering there, got me interested in the tribunal.”
MADISON – Msgr. Michael Flannery, affectionately known as “Padre,” is celebrating his 60th year of priesthood on June 14, 2024. Pictured is Msgr. Flannery celebrating Mass at his 50th anniversary celebration in 2014. (Photo from archives)
The vicar general at the time was Father Francis Cosgrove, a fellow Irishman and a good friend of Flannery’s. Cosgrove would be assigned to St. Francis of Assisi in Madison in 1994, and Flannery was named vicar general. When Cosgrove was sent to Meridian in 2005 to pastor at St. Patrick, Flannery was moved to St. Francis. “Father Cosgrove built the church, which was dedicated in 2000,” Flannery said. “I was glad to get back to parish ministry, my first love. The initial plan was for St. Francis to have a church, a family life center and a school. The first two had been taken care of by the time I got there.”
When a diocesan survey showed great support for another Catholic school in the Jackson area, Flannery went right to work. St. Anthony opened in Madison in 2009, and enrollment has tripled in 15 years. “Father Mike’s generosity to St. Anthony is a matter of record,” said St. Francis parishioner Ed Marsalis. “I love him dearly. He is a best friend, a true theologian. He continues the mission he was given that graduation day in Ireland and performs weekly masses in our parish and throughout the diocese.”
Msgr. Elvin Sunds compares his friend of half a century to the Good Shepherd in giving his all for his sheep. Father Albeen Vatti, St. Francis pastor since 2015, delights parishioners by routinely bantering with Flannery but has a deep respect for him.
“He’s always willing to help and lives a very simple lifestyle,” Vatti said. “Following him was challenging because of his years of experience, but he has been a great blessing to me.”
Now in his early eighties, Flannery shows no signs of slowing down. He visits St. Anthony often during the school year to entertain young Eagles, and he’ll fill in at parishes all over central Mississippi during the scalding summer months. He wouldn’t be anywhere else.
“I’ve been happy as a priest,” he said. “It has been a good life, a joyful life, and I would do it again.”
Por Joe Lee MADISON – El calor de alto horno en Jackson impresionó mucho a Monseñor Michael Flannery, conocido como Padre Miguelito por los feligreses de todo Mississippi y la empobrecida región de Saltillo en México, cuando aterrizó aquí por primera vez en septiembre de 1964.
La discordia racial también causó una impresión significativa. Flannery llegó poco después de los horribles asesinatos de los líderes de derechos civiles Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner y James Cheney en el condado de Neshoba. “Mi primera asignación fue St. Mary’s en el oeste de Jackson”, dijo Flannery, quien celebra el 60 aniversario de su ordenación sacerdotal el 14 de junio. “La escuela se integró la mañana después de mi llegada.
JACKSON – El Padre Miguelito en sus sesenta años de ordenado ha servido a cuatro obispos, acompañó al Padre Quinn en Saltillo México por tres años, creó un programa para la atención a los pobres, que envió más de 20 mil jóvenes a México, fue Vicario judicial, fundó la escuela St. Anthony, dirigió el Tribunal Diocesano, vuelve a la Misión de Saltillo cada año, ha escrito siete libros y todavía da Misa. (En Misa de Acción de Gracias por su 50 Aniversario. Foto de archivo, junio 2015)
Una familia negra tenía una niña que ingresaba al jardín de infantes y hubo una gran manifestación. Temíamos la violencia del Klan y dejamos las luces encendidas durante la noche durante dos semanas, pero no pasó nada. “Un profesor del seminario nos preparó para enfrentar dificultades en los Estados Unidos, pero dijo que no sería justo decirnos qué hacer. Él dijo: ‘Les he dado principios morales.’ Los aplicas a la situación en la que te encuentras. Eso me impresionó.”
Asignado a Nuestra Señora de las Victorias en Pascagoula en 1967, Flannery organizó el primer grupo de la Organización Juvenil Católica (CYO) para entregar artículos a Saltillo, pero lo que cambió las reglas del juego fue la participación del Padre Patricio Quinn. El libro Misión Saltillo, de Monseñor Flannery, publicado en el 2017, es sobre el proyecto de servicio de larga duración que envió a más de 20.000 jóvenes de Mississippi a México.
“El Padre Quinn tenía un amor tremendo por los pobres,” dijo Flannery. “Un año resultó gravemente herido en un accidente automovilístico en una carretera resbaladiza de montaña, y el obispo Brunini quería que su tratamiento médico se realizara en Mississippi. Quinn inicialmente se negó, diciendo que recibiría atención que no estaba disponible para los pobres. Finalmente aceptó, pero sólo si podía regresar a Saltillo una vez sano”.
Valerie Balser Winn, sobrina del difunto Eddie Balser, acompañó a su CYO desde St. Alphonsus en McComb hasta Saltillo en 1973.
“Padre Flannery siempre parecía lleno de energía y risas mientras conducía un jeep lleno de gente entre los perritos de la pradera y los cactus durante lo que parecieron horas,” dijo Winn. “Él supervisó las entregas de medicamentos, atención odontológica y globos para los niños.
“Sin saber español y viéndolo decirle a los reunidos para Misa, en las pequeñas chozas de ladrillo y barro, sobre el accidente del padre Quinn. . . Todavía puedo ver la conmoción y la tristeza en sus rostros. Luego los vi consolados con el mensaje de esperanza de Flannery.”
El dominio del español de Flannery lo llevó a ser asignado a Rosedale, una de varias ciudades del Delta donde trabajó principalmente con inmigrantes. Mientras estaba en Cleveland, el obispo Brunini le pidió que aprendiera derecho canónico. Terminando en St. Paul’s en Ottawa, Canadá, en 1985, Flannery ingresó al tribunal después de regresar a Mississippi, sirviendo como Vicario Judicial.
“Veo el tribunal como un ministerio de sanación,” dijo. “El divorcio es algo muy doloroso, ya que una parte de ti muere en ese proceso. Mis experiencias en Saltillo, con mucha gente sufriendo allí, hicieron que me interesara en el tribunal.”
MADISON – Monseñor Flannery recibe el abrazo de una estudiante de St. Anthony. Monseñor Flannery celebrará su 60.º aniversario como sacerdote el 14 de junio de 2024. (Foto de archivo)
El Vicario General en ese momento era el Padre Francis Cosgrove, un compatriota irlandés y buen amigo de Flannery. Cosgrove sería asignado a San Francisco de Asís en Madison en 1994, y Flannery fue nombrado Vicario General. Cuando Cosgrove fue enviado a Meridian en 2005 para pastorear en St. Patrick, Flannery fue trasladado a St. Francis.
“El Padre Cosgrove construyó la iglesia, que se inauguró en el año 2000,” dijo Flannery. “Me alegré de volver al ministerio parroquial, mi primer amor. El plan inicial era que San Francisco tuviera una iglesia, un centro de vida familiar y una escuela. Cuando llegué allí ya se habían ocupado de los dos primeros”.
Cuando una encuesta diocesana mostró un gran apoyo a otra escuela católica en el área de Jackson, Flannery se puso manos a la obra. En Madison, en 2009, se abrió St. Anthony y la inscripción se ha triplicado en 15 años.
“La generosidad del padre Mike hacia St. Anthony es un hecho histórico”, dijo Ed Marsalis, feligrés de San Francisco. “Lo amo muchísimo. Es un mejor amigo, un verdadero teólogo. Continúa la misión que se le asignó el día de su graduación en Irlanda y celebra Misas semanales en nuestra parroquia y en toda la diócesis”.
Monseñor Elvin Sunds compara a su amigo de medio siglo con el Buen Pastor, al darlo todo por sus ovejas. El Padre Albeen Vatti, párroco de St. Francis Madison desde 2015, deleita a los feligreses bromeando habitualmente con Flannery, pero le tiene un profundo respeto. “Él siempre está dispuesto a ayudar y lleva un estilo de vida muy sencillo”, dijo Vatti. “Seguirlo fue un desafío debido a sus años de experiencia, pero ha sido una gran bendición para mí”.
Flannery, que ahora tiene poco más de ochenta años, no muestra signos de desaceleración. Visita St. Anthony con frecuencia durante el año escolar para entretener a los jóvenes Eagles, y trabajará en parroquias de todo el centro de Mississippi durante los calurosos meses de verano. No estaría en ningún otro lugar.
“He sido feliz como sacerdote”, dijo. “Ha sido una buena vida, una vida feliz y lo volvería a hacer”.
JACKSON – Monseñor Flannery comparte su amor al ministerio parroquial con la fotografía y la escritura. Los viajes a la Misión de Satillo han sido documentados históricamente por él. En 2017 publicó el libro “La Misión de Saltillo” (“Saltillo Mission”), su tributo a los esfuerzos humanitarios de su amigo y mentor, el difunto Padre Patrick Quinn. En 2019 escribe “Las Aguílas de San Antonio” (“St. Anthony’s Eagles”), sobre la escuela de la que es fundador. Durante la pandemia se dedicó a escribir y ya en el 2021, Monseñor Flannery era autor de cuatro libros más: “El Cáliz de Limerick”, “Una vista del Santo Grial”, “La Esmeralda” y “En busca de mi Gemelo”. En fotos (izq.) Monseñor Michael Flannery “Padre Miguelito” y el padre Albeen Vatti se unieron a la diversión de tocar con cucharas en frottoirs (tabla de lavar) y bailar una animada melodía cajún, el 3 de octubre de 2021 en el Cajun Fest, la recaudación anual de fondos de la parroquia de St. Francis. (der.) Foto de composición con las carátulas de sus siete libros. (Fotos de archivo)
By Joe Lee JACKSON – Imagine being very successful in your profession. You and your spouse have a wonderful family, are blessed with many friends and are active church members.
But something crucial is missing from your lives.
“I had always done well in commercial real estate and banking,” said Saul Keeton, a native of the Jackson area who became Catholic in 2001. “But (my wife) Jan and I had a growing dissatisfaction with what the world had to offer us … we sensed the Lord wanting something radical from us.”
Jan Keeton, a cradle Catholic originally from Stafford, Texas, considered the idea of foreign missions for the first time in 2018. But with young children at home (the Keeton kids range from age 20 down to seven), planning such a trip was complicated.
MEXICO – Saul Keeton assists in mixing concrete for a foundation on a mission trip to Mexico in early 2019. He was accompanied by his four oldest children. The Keeton family said “yes to the Lord’s invitation” for mission work. (Photo courtesy of Saul Keeton)
“A Methodist college friend was very involved in supporting a school in Haiti, and she invited me to go with her several times,” Jan said. “Eventually it dawned on me that the only way I’d get to go on a mission trip was if (our entire family) went together.”
Through a simple Google search, Jan learned of Family Missions Company (FMC) and was delighted to learn that in addition to being a Catholic organization, FMC was based in Abbeville, Louisiana, only 250 miles from Jackson.
“All the FMC missionaries and staff live in Gospel poverty, meaning they have all they need to live and nothing more,” Saul said. “Most of my questions (amounted to), ‘What would it be like for our kids to go from living in American suburbia to living in the desert, the jungle or a barrio?’”
Their first mission trip was to General Cepeda, Mexico, in 2018. Saul recalls reading aloud to Jan his journal entries from that week.
“We cried about it together in a jumble of emotions: anticipation, anxiety, relief, excitement, unworthiness,” he said. “I think we experienced all simultaneously. We intensified our spiritual direction with Father Anthony Quyet after the trip and, praise be to God, he confirmed our missionary call.” They applied with FMC to be full-time foreign missionaries and were accepted. With the new formation year beginning that fall, the couple faced the choice of entering formation within a few weeks or waiting until fall 2019. They chose the latter, wanting the extra year to get their affairs in order and build a team of missionary supporters.
They also wanted time to pray about their son Nicholas’s 2018 diagnosis of autism.
“We knew the Lord was in control,” Saul said, “but trusting in Jesus is pretty easy until a serious trial comes along. And it was hard to see the path ahead more than one step at a time.”
Saul made another mission trip to Mexico in early 2019 with the couple’s four oldest kids, and Jan made one to Costa Rica that year, but they felt the Lord wanted them to put down roots in Jackson and dove headfirst into autism therapy.
Then, in summer 2022, they again heard the Lord’s call to go back into mission work and relocated from Jackson to Abbeville.
“I gratefully accepted the position of Director of Mission Advancement for FMC,” Saul said. “I oversee all fundraising efforts, donor relations, our marketing team, our two retreat centers, and foreign mission trips. For the last year, my family has lived in missionary housing in community with many of the other families that are part of the FMC administrative staff.
“Many people mistakenly believe that the Gospel has been taken to the whole world … that couldn’t be further from the truth. While there are hundreds of organizations that have sprung up in the last 60 years to serve the church in the U.S., I know of no other that is so focused on taking the Gospel to places where it hasn’t been heard yet.”
While the Keetons’ family service with FMC looks different than Saul and Jan envisioned, they look for opportunities to preach the Gospel around their mission post whenever possible.
“I spoke (recently) to 40 high school kids at one of our retreat centers on serving and loving the poor,” Saul said. “When the poor need a water well, we’ll dig one. Or we’ll mix and pour concrete to replace a dirt floor. We’ll also listen and offer a shoulder to cry on – and cry with them – when emotional support is needed.”
“We do find plenty of opportunities to practice the Corporal Works of Mercy within our own family,” Jan said. “This has had a profound experience on our own hearts.
“It’s easy to forget sometimes how hard it is for many people to say yes to the Lord’s invitation. Through much prayer, we’ve said it twice now, and we’re surrounded by people who’ve also given up everything to follow Him. But that shouldn’t dull us to the shock people feel when their consciences are shaken awake for the first time.”
One of the only lay-run Catholic foreign missionary organizations in the U.S., Family Mission Company have more than 200 missionaries serving in nine countries around the world. They work with the blessing of Bishop Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana. To support FMC, or to reach Saul or Jan Keeton and learn more about international mission work, visit familymissionscompany.com.
By Joe Lee MADISON – On the evening of Aug. 7, the family life center at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Madison resembled a fine restaurant, with white tablecloths and soft candlelight creating the perfect backdrop for a huge crowd to congratulate Msgr. Elvin Sunds on the golden anniversary of his ordination as a priest.
It was a fitting tribute to the kind, soft-spoken man who grew up in Iowa and has spent more than fifty years of his life bringing Mississippians of different backgrounds together. The throng waiting to enjoy the mouth-watering dinner was no surprise after the standing room only gathering at Mass, which made Sunds feel, in his words, deeply affirmed.
“When I first saw the church packed for the Mass, I was genuinely overwhelmed,” he said. “I had no idea so many people over the years from so many parishes – and from Catholic Charities – wanted to express their gratitude.”
MADISON – Msgr. Elvin Sunds (second from right) celebrated his golden jubilee on Monday, Aug. 7 at St. Francis of Assisi parish in Madison. (Photo by Tereza Ma)
Sunds felt the call toward the priesthood while a senior in high school, but he wanted something more exciting than the Diocese of Des Moines, especially after being told by his vocation director that he was expected to teach high school for the first ten years after ordination.
“During my junior year at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Conception, Missouri, my spiritual director suggested I spend a summer working for a friend of his in New York City named Father John Powis. This was 1967, and Father Powis was working in the rough Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, a largely Puerto Rican and African American neighborhood.
“I was impressed at what Father Powis was doing and found an apartment in a condemned building for the summer. I worked mornings at a commercial laundry to support myself and spent afternoons organizing recreational programs for the neighborhood kids.”
Sunds had seminarian classmates from Mississippi who urged him to visit the state, which he did for the first time that fall.
“Cardinal Bernard Law was the vocation director then for what was the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson,” Sunds said. “He arranged for me to spend several months with Father Nathaniel Machesky, who was pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in Greenwood.
“This was predominantly an African American parish. They were offering education for the kids in the grade school there, a wonderful alternative to what wasn’t a good education in the Greenwood public schools. I realized the Natchez-Jackson Diocese was where I needed to be.”
Since his ordination by Bishop Joseph Brunini at Our Lady of the Gulf in Bay St. Louis on Aug. 5, 1973, Sunds has pastored in Biloxi, Jackson, Meridian, Greenville and Corinth. Revered for his work with Catholic Charities (where he served as executive director from 1978-1994), he was honored by the Mississippi NAACP in 1982 with the organization’s Outstanding Service Award.
Msgr. Elvin Sunds pictured at his priestly ordination on Aug. 5, 1973 in Bay St. Louis. (Photo from archives)
“We established programs while I was there to serve people that had not been served in Mississippi,” Sunds said. “I really encouraged the employees to think toward trying to change the system and make a bigger impact than just the person we were serving. My first hire was Linda Raff as associate director. We made a great team.”
“Msgr. Sunds brought a sense of social justice for all of God’s children, especially those poor and vulnerable,” said Raff, who succeeded Sunds as executive director in 1994 and served in that role 14 years before returning for a final year as director in 2014. “I appreciated that he administered the agency in a very fair-minded way, and it will always be one of my greatest privileges to have worked for him.”
“We’re only 2.5 percent Catholic in the Jackson diocese,” Sunds said. “But we have a tremendous impact, and we have an even bigger impact when we work together ecumenically. The Mississippi Religious Leadership Conference was Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Jewish – lots of denominations – that worked together in the civil rights era.
“When we work together as people of faith, we can make a tremendous impact in Mississippi, such as the changing of the state flag. The football community, the academic community and the business community were behind it, but it was also the Catholic bishop, Methodist bishop, Episcopal bishop and others that agreed we needed to change it.”
“Msgr. Sunds and I have been friends for almost 30 years,” said retired pastor Raymon Leake. “He invited me to speak in his church (St. Patrick in Meridian at the time), and I invited him to speak in mine (First Baptist of Meridian).
“We’ve worked together on projects as significant as establishing a children’s home, and as seemingly insignificant as sharing with a community that Christians of different backgrounds can work together for the benefit of those who need us.”
“Msgr. Sunds was my predecessor at St. Patrick and did the hard work in setting up a relationship between (predominantly white) St. Patrick and (predominantly black) St. Joseph,” said retired priest Father Frank Cosgrove. “What he did should serve as a model for other places.”
“The attendance at 8:30 Sunday Mass at St. Joseph is now about fifty percent white – they come for the music and hospitality, both of which are wonderful – and Msgr. Sunds deserves great credit for that. A St. Patrick parishioner told me that Msgr. Sunds brought the Meridian Catholic community into the twenty-first century.”
In residence at St. Francis in Madison since officially retiring in 2019, Sunds has taken time off to travel the country, most notably an 8,000-mile excursion that took him to eight national parks and three national monuments. He and Leake, both avid outdoorsmen, have hiked together through the Tetons, the Sierras, the Rockies, and from France into Switzerland through the Alps. He even pastored for a month in 2021 in Nome, Alaska. [Click here to ready the story on his trip to Nome]
Sunds has the admiration of St. Francis pastor Father Albeenreddy Vatti, who praised his brother priest’s work ethic, organizational skills and the simple lifestyle he leads. He has also earned the trust and respect of the parish’s youth.
“When you’re a young priest, you’re kind of a mentor to young people because you’re not far removed from them in age,” Sunds said. “When you get to be middle age, you’re more like a parent, and the relationship changes a bit. Then you get to a stage where you’re more like a grandparent. Maybe they relate to you in a way they wouldn’t relate to their parents.
“You reach out by being accepting and non-critical. And listening.”
By Joe Lee JACKSON – The reality of being presented with a medal awarded by Pope Francis is difficult for Christine Love to get her mind around.
Recently retired after more than five decades of serving as housekeeper, caretaker, and trusted friend to Jackson Diocese Bishops Gerow, Brunini, Houck, Latino and Kopacz, the soft-spoken member of Cathedral of St. Peter’s the Apostle Church was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice cross for her fifty-plus years of dedicated service to the Office of the Bishop.
“It makes me feel good. It makes me feel happy. It makes me feel like I’m going to heaven,” Love said of the medal, which was announced at the Vatican in February and presented to her by Bishop Joseph Kopacz at the Cathedral in late June. (Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, as translated, means “for the church and pope.” See accompanying story.)
A graduate of Jim Hill High School in Jackson, Love earned an undergraduate degree from Campbell College (now Jackson State University) six decades ago. When her husband, A.G., a building contractor, was temporarily ill early in their marriage, Love enrolled in nursing school at Hinds Community College.
“I was just about finished. Pharmacology was my last class,” Love recalled. “I was told, ‘You’re just like a nurse. Come on.’ I started with the Professional Nurses Registry and worked for them a year or so before going on out my own. That’s what led to my work with the diocese and the bishops.”
A major turning point in her life was an opportunity to serve as a private duty nurse for Bishop Gerow, to whom she grew close. Gerow retired in 1967 and was succeeded by Bishop Joseph Brunini, but Love continued to sit with him as his health worsened over the years.
“At the end, Bishop Gerow’s home was at St. Dominic Hospital. He passed away in my arms,” she said. “After he passed, I began working with Sister Claudia Murphy, taking care of the senior citizens of the diocese. When Bishop Houck came along, I started working for him at his home.”
There were lots of lighthearted moments over the years. Love recalls Bishop William Houck always being able to tell a good joke and remembers his Frank Sinatra records; she said Bishop Joseph Latino enjoyed discussing the news and television shows. Using the words “perfectionist” and “tidy” to describe all five men, Love said she built a rapport with each and earned a level of trust that brought her into their inner circles.
“I’ve known Christine more than 35 years,” said Diocesan Chancellor Mary Woodward. “I got to know her better when I started coordinating the dinners Bishop Houck would host at his townhouse. Christine would be getting the house in tip-top shape for guests while I would be chopping lemons and carrots.
“She is one of the kindest people I know. Traits of hers that I think endeared her to each bishop were her dedication to their well-being, availability at the drop of a hat, her knowledge of the household and of each bishop’s personality. She would know exactly how Bishop Houck would want something, compared to how Bishop Latino would like it. Each one she served was unique, and she was very good at adapting to each one’s modus operandi.”
While Love and A.G. raised five kids (all of whom graduated from St. Joseph Catholic School and went on to college), she juggled being a band mom, soccer mom and sports mom while being flexible when it came to her responsibilities for each bishop.
“With my arrival in the Diocese of Jackson, Christine extended her dedicated service to me at my home with weekly house cleaning,” Bishop Kopacz said. “I note ‘extended her service’ because at the time of my arrival she was also attending to Bishop Houck and Bishop Latino.
“She worked with others to prepare my house to receive guests for special events, and she always made sure my Labrador Retriever had some extra loving and treats. She’s rightly enjoying a well-deserved retirement surrounded by her children, grandchildren and friends. I and the Bishops who preceded me – Bishops Gerow, Brunini, Houck and Latino – are eternally grateful for her dedicated care, her strong faith in the Lord Jesus, and her love for the church.”
JACKSON – The pro ecclesia et pontifice insignia cross was awarded to Christine Love on Saturday, June 25 at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle. (Photo by Mary Woodward)
“I tried to bring honesty and work ethic to whatever I did,” Love said. “Bishop Houck always encouraged me. He said, ‘You can do it. You can make it. I want to see those kids graduate from St. Joe.’ He encouraged me to open my own business and was very proud when I created Love Janitorial Services 18 years ago.”
“Christine is a very circumspect person,” Woodward said. “She and I could discuss important matters about the household, but it would never go beyond us. She understood the life of a bishop and had an immense amount of respect for the office and the man in it. Maintaining a bishop’s house is an awesome responsibility, and Christine was an extremely valued and trusted person by each bishop. I knew if I called her to come check on something she would be on her way before we even hung up the phone.”
Love says she’ll always get a bit emotional when talking about Bishops Gerow, Houck, Brunini, Latino and Kopacz and the impact all have had on her life.
“I can’t say I’ll miss the work,” she said, “but I’ll always miss my bishops.”
Pro ecclesia et pontifice decree
From the decree issued by Pope Francis on February 21 at the Vatican: “Francis, supreme pontiff, has deigned and elected to bestow the august insignia cross “pro ecclesia et pontifice” upon Lady Christine Love, for her excellent works and outstanding diligence, thus making it possible for her to adorn herself with this medal, having earned it through great service to the church and in particular the office of the bishop.”
While rare for a sitting pope to award a medal to anyone from the Catholic Diocese of Jackson, it has happened several times.
“At the request of Bishop Joseph Latino, Pope Benedict XVI awarded Sister Dorothea Sondgeroth, OP, the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross in 2012,” said Diocesan Chancellor Mary Woodward. “He also, at the same time, bestowed the Benemerenti Medal on Judy Cannon, former administrative assistant to Bishops Brunini, Houck and Latino, and Bill Dunning, former diocesan finance officer.
“The medals are requested by the local bishop and an extensive application is completed and reviewed by the papal office at the Vatican. Several individuals were awarded the Pro Ecclesia in the 1950s and 60s.”
