Sister Mary Patricia
DETROIT – Sister Mary Patricia, Cecilia Pyszynski, of Detroit, Michigan, completed her life’s journey of 93 years on April 17, 2020 in Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Convent, Livonia, Michigan. Sister was in religious life for 75 years.
The former Cecilia Pyszynski, was the first of seven children of John and Veronica (Balcerak). At the age of 10 she was afflicted with polio and was unable to walk for a year.Through therapy she gradually regained the use of her limb.

She entered the Seminary of the Felician Sisters in Detroit in 1940, and after graduation, June 11, 1944, was admitted to the postulancy on June 29, 1944. During the investiture ceremonies the following year, Cecilia received the name, Sister Mary Patricia. Final profession of vows was in 1952.
Sister Mary Patricia earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Madonna (College) University and a Master of Arts in religious education from Aquinas College. On a journey that spanned 60 years in the ministry of education, 31 years were in teaching and 29 years as Director in religious education.
Sister taught primary grades in nine different schools within the Archdiocese of Detroit. In other dioceses Sister taught at: St. Joseph Jackson; St. Mary Alpena; St. Stanislaus Ludington; St. Cecilia Clare; Holy Spirit and St. Jude Grand Rapids; St. Hyacinth Bay City; and St. Stanislaus Dorr.
Sister Patricia was permanently transferred to St. Joseph Convent in 2007 where she continued to be active in pastoral ministry until 2011. Her health steadily declined, and she was placed in hospice care. Her life peacefully ebbed away and on April 17, 2020, Sister Mary Patricia slipped into the Lord’s embrace and journeyed to eternity.
Internment was in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Southfield, Michigan on April 22, 2020.

Sister Mary Alice Ann
BAY CITY, Mich. – Sister Mary Alice Ann, Alice Gradowski, of Bay City, Michigan, entered eternal life April 25, 2020 while in St. Mary Mercy Hospital, Livonia, Michigan. Sister was 73 years old and was in religious life for 55 years.
Born on May 5, 1946 Alice was the fifth of five children born to Stanley and Alphonsa (Andrzejewski): Virgil, Ernest and Robert; and one sister – Maxine Kolat. Alice was baptized and confirmed at St. Hedwig Church in Bay City, Michigan where she also attended the parish grade school.
Following graduation 1960, she attended Felician Academy in Detroit, Michigan. In June 1964, Alice was accepted as a postulant to the Felician Congregation, and the following year, at the Investiture Ceremony, she received the name of Sister Mary Fernanda, later changed to Sister Mary Alice Ann. Final vows were professed in 1973.
Sister Alice Ann earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Madonna University in Livonia and a Master of Arts from Eastern Michigan University in preparation for a ministry of education that spanned thirty-six years. For the first 13 years, Sister mainly taught primary grades at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Wyandotte; St. Valentine, Kawkawlin; and St. Christine, Detroit. For the next 23 years Sister was assigned as principal at St. Dunstan, Garden City; St. Joseph, Jackson; St. Hyacinth, Bay City; and St. Thecla, Clinton Township.
As principal, Sister was involved in many extracurricular activities: Eucharistic minister, parish council, teaching in the R.C.I.A. program, conducting Share-the Word discussion groups and participating in week-end renewals. Attendance at basketball and soccer games, school dances and parish raffles were also an important part of her life as principal.
Sister Alice Ann served as local minister of several of the convents for a total of 14 of years. When the Presentation Central Convent held elections in the year 2000, Sister Alice Ann was elected to the Livonia Provincial Administration as Third Councilor and director of education until 2006.
Following a short residence St. Francis Home in Saginaw and a final assignment at St. Stanislaus Convent, Bay City, Michigan, Sister retired to Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Convent, Livonia. Assigned to dining room assistant and the ministry of prayer, sister performed her duties joyfully for 12 years. One of the first sisters in chapel in the early hours of morning, sister could be seen scurrying down the corridors in her wheelchair to visit the Blessed Sacrament and join in community prayer.
In early April her health began to decline, and Sister was taken to St. Mary Mercy Hospital. On April 25, 2020, during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sister Alice Ann left this earth for her final journey to the God whom she served with joy for 55 years in religious life.
Interment was in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery on April 29.

By Carol Warfield
JACKSON – Kevin, a 16-year-old, was displaying a nonchalant attitude, short attention span, depression and feelings of hopelessness. When his mother saw a social media post stating “My end is near” she knew his feelings had turned to possible suicidal tendencies and called Catholic Charities Hope Haven for help. Kevin met with a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with mixed anxiety disorder.
Catholic Charities Hope Haven program provides home-based counseling and service coordination to families with children ages 3 to 18 in crisis in the Hinds, Madison and Rankin county areas. Support is provided in both school and community environments. Services are available to families whose children have a mental health diagnosis or would be eligible for care upon evaluation by a psychiatrist or psychologist. Counseling services are designed to assist the family in resolving a crisis and keeping the youth at home. Services are typically provided for a three to six-month period.
Hope Haven utilizes wraparound Mississippi Youth Programs Around the Clock (MYPAC), a family driven process that utilizes the strengths of a child and family, as well as, their support system to create an individualized plan to meet their needs and reach desired outcomes. Wraparound revolutionizes the way in which Catholic Charities works with families, communities and service providers.

For Kevin, the Catholic Charities Hope Haven wraparound facilitator met with his family to explore his feelings and worked with them to develop better communication methods. Kevin learned new coping skills to deal with his emotions and the facilitator helped Kevin expand his activities at church and school by creating a community of support.
In addition, Hope Haven offers a crisis line which is available 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. Crisis services include telephone and mobile response, as well as outreach services. Mobile crisis services involve on-site intervention of a crisis and telephone services involve phone support and/or referral information to community resources.
It is Hope Haven’s belief that families and youth deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, at no time more so than when they are facing a crisis. When a youth has a serious emotional disturbance, the youth and each family member face many challenges and they deserve compassion and support as they face them. Catholic Charities recognizes the importance of family and community and works diligently to help families resolve crises without disrupting the family unit. Home and neighborhood-based interventions and collaborating with families’ informal and formal support systems are key program components.
With help from Hope Haven, Kevin’s social skills improved, along with positive self-esteem and self-worth. He learned to openly communicate his feelings and now seems to be very happy and upbeat. Today he is in a better place emotionally and mentally. Kevin has improved his grades and has a healthy social life. He has a bright future ahead!
Hope Haven staff is always guided by what is in the best interest of the youth and families. Services are specifically tailored to youth and family’s needs, to create hope and opportunity in those situations which have traditionally been viewed as difficult. For more information on Hope Haven call: 601-376-0500 or visit www.catholiccharitiesjackson.org.

(Carol Warfield is the program director of Hope Haven at Catholic Charities Jackson)

By Berta Mexidor
VARDAMAN/TUPELO – Each January, the Vardaman Catholic Charities office conducts activities for National Migration Week in coordination with pastoral leaders of deanery V in the diocese. This year’s theme was “Promoting a Church and World for All” and included a keynote speaker known for her humanitarian service to immigrants along the Texas border – Sister Norma Pimentel.

As the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande in Brownsville, Texas, Sister Pimentel helped start the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas as a response to the surge of Central Americans seeking asylum in the United States. She was named as Catholic of the Year in 2015 by Our Sunday Visitor, has been seen on 20/20 and received the Laetare Medal from Notre Dame University, the highest and oldest award given to U.S. Catholics.
During the National Migration Week, Sister Pimentel delivered lectures in Vardaman and Tupelo and impressed many with her quiet strength.
Retired professor, Robert Stewart, chairman of the board of advisors of Catholic Charities in Vardaman was impressed by the extent and magnitude of Sister Pimentel’s work.
“I was impressed with her concern both for those weary and frightened people seeking asylum in the United States, as well as, the various government officials including agents of ICE and the Border Patrol. She understands that all involved pay an emotional toll. No less impressive is her concern for the dignity of all concerned,” said Stewart.
Danna Johnson, coordinator of Catholic Charities Vardaman and the Hispanic ministry at St. Christopher Pontotoc, who helped organize events that included a Mass celebrated with Bishop Joseph Kopacz, said that part of the reason for the events are an “effort to call all Catholics and people of goodwill to have a better understanding and appreciation of this important issue that affects us all.”

By Berta Mexidor and Joanna Puddister King
JACKSON – “God does not abandon you” was the message of Cardinal Alvaro Ramazzini Imeri during his visit to the Diocese of Jackson between Dec. 19-21, 2019. This message was received by hundreds, mostly immigrants, who attended his talks in the communities of Carthage, Canton and Forest that were affected following the immigration raids in August 2019 that resulted in more than 700 detentions, many of whom are of Guatemalan decent.
Raised to the rank of cardinal in October by Pope Francis, Cardinal Ramazzini is from Huehuetenango, Guatemala and is known for his aid and human rights advocacy for the poor of Central America. During his tour of love and hope, Cardinal Ramazzini talked to many about of the economic situation in Guatemala, which causes many to leave to seek a better life and encouraged those affected in faith, while many face the legal process of deportation from the United States.
“Being a Cardinal opens more windows of communication with more people … to serve better in the last stage of my life and especially the service to the most marginalized people in the world,” said Cardinal Ramazzini.
At a news conference at the Chancery office in Jackson with Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Joe Boland, vice president of mission for Catholic Extension and Father Roberto Mena, ST of St. Michael Forest on Dec. 20, Cardinal Ramazzini explained his position with regard to the U.S. government and thanked those around the country for their show of solidarity and all of the humanitarian assistance received from Catholics and non-Catholics alike to those affected by the raids.

At the conference, Cardinal Ramazzini said he advocates for a “migration policy with a human face,” to solve the economic conditions that force many to leave their home country and to stop the custom where immigrants are treated as criminals, without having a criminal record.
Cardinal Ramazzini stated that immigration laws in the U.S. are from many previous administrations and he evaluated with the same weight the governments of Barack Obama and Donald Trump when applying immigration laws with “legality and little justice.” Additionally, he denounced the inhumane treatment of immigrants when they have been handcuffed in their workplaces in front of colleagues and families.
At the same time, Cardinal Ramazzini strongly criticized the Guatemalan government for their poor economic model that leaves natives on the verge of despair. During his advocacy work over the years, he has expressed to Guatemalans the danger of putting themselves and their children in the hands of “polleros” or “coyotes,” otherwise known as smugglers.
Following the news conference, Cardinal Ramanizzi met with parishioners at St. Anne Carthage, Sacred Heart Canton and St. Michael Forest. At each of the gatherings he thanked the priests tending to their flocks – Father Odel Medina, ST, Father Michael O’Brien and Father Roberto Mena, ST. The priests also thanked him for his visit and explained their work ahead with parishioners and their families affected by the raids, which includes much financial support since many are unable to work, in addition to consoling parishioners through the trauma experienced due to the raids.
During his conversation with the communities, some affected families shared what they suffered in the moment of detention, the shame and uncertainty and the moment of facing federal court; yet also their hope for the future. Also many communicated to Cardinal Ramanizzi their gratitude for the work of the priests, religious, volunteers and Catholic Charities, who have made this time a little less difficult and, for which, they have not lacked food, aid and financial payments to keep a house and utility services on for their families.
Cardinal Ramazzini mentioned that the many people who have helped the affected families, is the proof that God does not leave people alone. “In the moments of trial, the solidarity and help of others, tested greater that God does not abandon us,” he said on his visit.
During his talks with each of the parishes as a whole, Cardinal Ramanizzi compared the situation of immigrants arrested in the raids with Job, who lost everything until he was left ill and alone.
“This book of Job, can help us all when we go through difficult times. And Job asks God why he is suffering. And the answer from God was and is ‘I have not abandoned you, I just wanted to see if you were faithful.’ … When everything is going well, we forget God. It shouldn’t be that way, but we are human beings.”
“We must be sure that God does not abandon us, but it is very easy to say that when everything is fine, but after being in jail, or seeing a family member being caught and passing difficult moments, people always ask themselves in a situation like that. ‘God, if you are love, why do you allow things like this to happen?’ The temptation of despair, of the lack of trust in God, is very great, … I ask the Lord to not let you fall into that temptation because, despite the difficult time, God does not abandon us,” Cardinal Ramazzini emphasized.
In addition to the talks, Cardinal Ramazzini took part with parishioners asking for Posada (Inn) at St. Anne Carthage and St. Michael Forest, a tradition before Christmas that represents the Holy Family in search of shelter, when they looked for an inn until they found a place in a stable. It was there that the son of God was born, “to teach us that surrender to others makes us happy,” said Cardinal Ramazzini.
He added that being Christian is being consistent with the faith and helping each other “… if [you] believe that God is love, there is the way forward.”
Continued support for impacted families
While on his visit to Mississippi, Cardinal Ramazzini received continued commitment of members of Catholic Charities Jackson, Mississippi Center for Justice, the Jesuit Social Research Institute, Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA) and other community groups, who have mobilized volunteers to distribute aid, assist families with transportation to visit their detained relatives and translation services for the courts.
Chicago-based non-profit Catholic Extension, which sponsored Cardinal Ramazzini’s pastoral visit, announced their new mental health initiative through Extension’s Holy Family Fund to provide counseling and other services for families affect by the raids at the press conference held at the Chancery office on Dec. 20.
The initiative is a partnership between Southeast Pastoral Institute (SEPI) of Miami and Catholic Extension’s Holy Family Fund, a relief program that assists families in the United States who are financially dependent on a parent that has been detained or deported for immigration reasons. Through the fund, Catholic Extension has been instrumental in ensuring the flow of aid to support delivery of basic resources to the churches serving the humanitarian and spiritual needs of the families in Mississippi affected by the crisis caused by the ICE raids.
“Raids like the one we saw in Mississippi cause massive chaos for these families,” said Joe Boland, vice president of mission for Catholic Extension. “We need to continue to ensure that they are getting the resources and services they need to address the long-term suffering caused by a system where parents are forcibly removed from their children, and that is what we are aiming to do.”
The mental health initiative is set up to ease the lingering trauma and anxiety created for children separated from a parent due to detention or deportation. This endeavor will include counseling, pastoral care, mental health aid and other services to address the psychological consequences suffered by families who have been separated.
During the news conference, Boland described receiving a letter from an 8-year-old boy from Morton after the raids. The boy’s mother had been detained for two months before being released. The child wrote, “Thank you for remembering us, for not abandoning us. … Going forward don’t forget about us because it’s the children who suffer the most.”
Donations to the Holy Family Fund to help launch and sustain this new mental health program can be made at catholicextension.org/family.