Category Archives: Diocesan News

Encuentro process aims to identify, train 20,000 Hispanics to be leaders

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By Norma Montenegro Flynn
WASHINGTON (CNS) – The National Fifth Encuentro of Hispanic Latino Ministry has inspired Alicia Carrillo to “smell like sheep,” echoing Pope Francis urging pastoral workers to get out and be among the people.
She is one of the 20,000 new Hispanic Catholic ministry leaders that the encuentro process aims to identify and train.

Eva Gonzalez, Hispanic ministry director from the Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky., speaks Feb. 23 with Susana Becerrie of Jackson, Miss., at the Southeast Regional Encuentro. Held for the church’s episcopal regions V and XIV, the gathering took place Feb. 22-24 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church’s parish complex. On hand were 340 leaders from among some 30 dioceses in the Southeastern U.S. (CNS photo/Tom Tracy)

Carrillo, a Mexican middle-aged woman and a single mother, answered the call to be a missionary disciple when her parish priest picked her to lead a group visiting parishioners no longer attending Mass in their neighborhood in Ligonier, Indiana. The town has a high Hispanic immigrant population, predominantly Mexican.
“This experience has taught me to go on, to continue reaching out to people and as Pope Francis said, to smell like sheep, to be among those rejected by others,” Carrillo said in Spanish. “Like the image of the merciful Jesus carrying a lamb on his shoulders, we must see the needs of others, their suffering, their weariness.”
An introvert who deflects any attention, Carrillo never imagined she would address a crowd of nearly 200 ministry leaders from Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin at their Region VII encuentro held in June at the University of Notre Dame. She was a delegate representing the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana.
Identifying and forming new leaders like Alicia, particularly among youth and young adults, has been a priority from the start according to members of ENAVE, the V Encuentro’s National Team of Accompaniment, represented by 42 national and regional Catholic organizations that serve Hispanics.
“These are the leaders we hope to find through the encuentro; who may not necessarily feel they are prepared, but they have received the call and they have recognized this is a call for them from God, and they would have to acquire the skills and the abilities they need to serve better,” said Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Alberto Rojas, chairman of the Region VII encuentro.
Engaging and preparing leaders to be the voices of their parish communities who can bring up their needs to church and government authorities is essential, Bishop Rojas added in an interview with Catholic News Service.
Although Hispanics represent about 40 percent of U.S. Catholics overall and 54 percent of millennial Catholics, those numbers are not reflected in leadership roles.
“We are very aware that Hispanics/Latinos are underrepresented in every category and level of pastoral leaders in the church, with the possible exception of parish volunteers,” said Ken Johnson-Mondragon, national coordinator of research for the National Fifth Encuentro, or V Encuentro, and an ENAVE member.
“Given the demographic shifts taking place in the Catholic Church in the U.S., this represents a significant problem, and the V Encuentro seeks to both engage new leaders directly and inspire young Catholics to visualize a life in ministry, whether consecrated or lay,” he added.
The total number of new leaders participating in the encuentro process is not yet available, however, about 47,000 people have participated in diocesan encuentros, as reported by 144 dioceses across the country.
An initial survey conducted last summer, also shows that that up to 26,000 people from about 2,400 parishes were trained in 142 participating dioceses. However, the survey does not specify the number of new leaders, according to the V Encuentro’s research team.
Through mission, consultation and community building, what has been a multiyear encuentro process seeks to establish ways in which the Catholic Church can respond to the Hispanic presence in parishes around the country. The recommendations that emerge at the national level will provide a basis for a pastoral plan for Hispanic ministry in the U.S.
About 3,000 new and seasoned leaders, like Carrillo, will be selected to participate in the national gathering, slated for September, in Grapevine, Texas.
Seeing how much people appreciated a word of encouragement amid their suffering, motivated Carrillo to continue serving and inviting others to return to the church. “I told myself, it’s time to stop watching TV at home while there are others who are alone and suffering so much.”
She also encourages others to pray for those who suffer even if they do not welcome their outreach, and to pray rather than criticize.

Fathers, brothers of Sacred Heart celebrate Feast Day

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By Maureen Smith
SOUTHAVEN – The brothers and sisters of the Sacred Heart celebrated their feast day on Friday, June 9 with a Mass and reception at Christ the King Parish. The order provides priests who act as pastors and administrators to six parishes in north Mississippi. They also sponsor Sacred Heart Southern Missions, which runs two schools, Southaven Sacred Heart and Holly Springs Holy Family as well as offering social service programs throughout the area.

SOUTHAVEN – Priests of the Sacred Heart, including (l-r) Father Thi Pham, Father Jack Wall, Father Anthony Kluckman and Father Greg Schill, celebrated a Mass for the feast of the Sacred Heart. At right, Father Thi greets parishioners after the Mass. (Photos by Laura Grisham)

Mississippi Knights of Columbus dedicate summer weekends to Carmelites

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By Brett Kenyon
JACKSON – On Saturday, June 9, several dozen men of varying ages, backgrounds, skill levels, and from multiple Mississippi parishes gathered in South Jackson. Armed with chain saws, hammers and paint brushes the local representatives of the Knights of Columbus began tackling a mammoth project — restoring the South Jackson Carmelite Monastery to help the cloistered nuns in their mission.
The inspiration for the project began at Easter, when Father Lincoln Dall of Pearl St. Jude led a retreat for the sisters. “While I was out here, they told me there was a lot of help that they needed,” Father Lincoln explained. “They showed me a gazebo and a prayer hermitage that had been damaged maybe 10-12 years ago, and had just been abandoned. They told me how much they would like to have those up and running again.”

JACKSON – Members of several different Knights of Columbus Councils repair the gazebo on the property of the Carmelite monastery as part of a restoration project. (photos by Brett Kenyon)

That was the moment the Knights of Columbus entered the picture. As an organization originally founded to help widows and children, the project was a perfect fit for the Mississippi Knights, and the men quickly began putting together a plan under the organization of Knight Victor (Vic) Gray-Lewis of Jackson Saint Richard’s council.
“We’re just a group of Catholic men who love our Catholic faith,” Gray-Lewis said. “We’re just worker bees. We’re worker bees and that’s what we’re here doing today.”
The first weekend of work tackled two primary goals — restoring the grounds by removing years of overgrowth from the monastery walls and paths, and restoring the sisters’ gazebo to a safer, sturdier state. The purpose of the work goes well beyond aesthetics, however, as well-maintained grounds are a vital part of the sisters’ mission.
“The Carmelites are a cloistered order of nuns,” explains Father Lincoln, “their primary charism is to pray; to pray for the area and be a presence of God in a special way to the city of Jackson. They run a gift shop to earn a living and to cover expenses, but their primary purpose is to be contemplative and to pray.”
The thick trees and brush covering the monastery walls and encroaching on the sisters’ walking path has been all but removed. The shingles and broken screens have been removed from the gazebo and fresh paint and tar paper have been applied. There’s still plenty of work left to do. The Knights have returned twice now since the initial June 9 project, and they plan to keep coming back.
“The hope is, we’d like to take this project and make it a monthly effort,” Gray-Lewis explained. “If each council could take a month to work on maintenance, something minor just to help out the sisters here. We could do a monthly rotation or maybe even a bi-monthly rotation.”
To volunteer, email Father Lincoln Dall at lincoln95@hotmail.com or Victor Gray-Lewis at victorg@vicksburg.org.
(Brett Kenyon is a member of Jacskon St Richard Parish and serves as the Creative Services Director for 16 WAPT in Jackson.).

Clinton woman becomes Benedictine Sister St. Marie

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By Sister Elisabeth Meadows, OSB
“To seek God together” These words were the immediate response of Sister Michelle St. Marie when asked what drew her to the community of Benedictine Sisters at Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman, Alabama. She saw within the balanced life of prayer and work in monastic community a way in which her desire for God could be expressed and nurtured. Her exploration of this life and initial formation in it over the past seven years culminated on July 7, with her perpetual monastic profession. With this profession, Sister Michelle made a permanent commitment to monastic life within the community of Benedictine Sisters at Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman.
Father John O’Donnell, O.S.B. presided at Mass. Sister Tonette Sperando, O.S.B., Prioress of the community, led the rite and received Sister Michelle’s vows. Joining the community for the celebration were Sister Michelle Renee’s sisters Paulette Haynes and Annie Scarborough along with their families, Oblates of the monastery, and friends.

CULLMAN, Ala. – Sister Michelle Renee reads the promises of her monastic profession as Sister Tonette Sperando (left), Prioress; Sister Mary McGehee, Scholastic Director; the monastic community; and the assembly listen. (Photo courtesy Sister Elsabeth Meadows)

Sister’s journey to Sacred Heart began in Warren, Ohio, where she was born to Jeremy and Joan St. Marie. Baptized at St. Pius X Catholic Church, Sister Michelle attended local Catholic and public schools. During her teenage years, Sister Michelle’s family relocated to Clinton, Mississippi, where she completed high school.
A desire to help others led Sister Michelle to study occupational therapy at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. After graduating, she began a career as a pediatric occupational therapist, working for nearly 20 years with seriously ill and injured children at Blair Batson Children’s Hospital at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. During her years in Mississippi, Sister Michelle was an active parishioner at Holy Savior Parish.
Sister Michelle’s connection with the Benedictine Sisters traces back to her high school years when she attended a vocation retreat at the monastery. Her continuing remembrance of this retreat and a deepening sense of God’s call led her back to Sacred Heart, at first for retreats and eventually for vocation discernment. In November 2011, Sister Michelle entered Sacred Heart Monastery as a postulant. The following year she was formally received into the community as a novice, receiving the religious name of Sister Michelle Renee St. Marie.
Sister Michelle Renee’s first two years in the monastery as a postulant and novice were spent immersed in community life, the common work of the monastery, and study of scripture, liturgy, monastic history and Benedictine spirituality. After completing her novitiate, Sister began ministry in the Cullman area as an Occupational Therapist, making home and school visits to children in need of rehabilitation or therapy services. After two years, Sister transitioned to ministry in Birmingham, working at United Ability in the Hand-in-Hand Early Learning Program and living in community with other Benedictine Sisters in Birmingham. Currently, Sister Michelle Renee remains in this ministry, working with children from two to five years of age and also mentoring occupational therapy students.
(Sr. Elisabeth Meadows, OSB, is the director of the Benedictine Retreat Center in Cullman, Ala.)

Vatican issues new document on vocation of consecrated virgins

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By Juno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Vatican has released a document that establishes norms and principles for women who dedicate their lives as consecrated virgins and their place in the life of the church.
Presenting the new document at the Vatican press office July 4, Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said it is the “first document of the Holy See that delves into the character and discipline of this way of life.”
“The instruction on the ‘Ordo virginum’ (‘Order of Virgins’) intends to respond to the requests that numerous bishops and consecrated virgins in these years have presented to the congregation for consecrated life regarding the vocation and witness of the order of virgins, its presence in the universal church and, particularly, its formation and vocational discernment,” Cardinal Braz de Aviz said.
Consecrated by her local bishop, a member of the order of virgins makes a promise of perpetual virginity, prayer and service to the church while living independently in society.

Laurie Malashanko, consecrated to the Catholic Church's order of virgins, receives a wedding veil from Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron in Detroit's Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament June 24. (CNS photo/Joel Breidenbach) See CONSECRATED-VIRGINS June 27, 2017.

Karen Ervin, Theresa Jordan and Laurie Malashanko pause in prayer before the altar at Detroit's Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in 2017. They were consecrated into the Catholic Church's order of virgins. (CNS photo/Joel Breidenbach) See VATICAN-CONSECRATED-VIRGINS July 5, 2018.

The publishing of the document, “Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago” (“The Image of the Church as Bride”) comes two years ahead of the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of the renewed “Ritual for the Consecration of Virgins,” an ancient rite in the church that fell into disuse in the years before the Second Vatican Council.
Divided into three parts, the document’s first section highlights the biblical origins and characteristics of the order of virgins, in which women “with spousal love are dedicated to the Lord Jesus in virginity.”
“Since this form of consecrated life was reintroduced in the church, there has been a real revival of the ‘Ordo virginum,’ whose vitality is evident in the rich variety of personal charisms placed at the service of the church’s development and of the renewal of society in the spirit of the Gospel,” the document stated.
Archbishop Jose Rodriguez Carballo, secretary of the congregation, told journalists that through prayer penance and works of mercy, women in the order of virgins “take the Gospel as the fundamental rule of life.”
“The unique element of the ‘Ordo virginum,’ which distinguishes itself from the Institutes of Consecrated Life, is that the charism of virginity is harmonized with the charism of each consecrated woman, making room for a great variety of responses to vocations, in a creative freedom that demands a sense of responsibility and the exercise of a serious spiritual discernment,” Archbishop Rodriguez said.
The document’s second section, he added, deals with the pastoral duties of bishops in fostering and nurturing the vocation of consecrated virgins as well as their role within the diocese.
While rooted in their diocese, consecrated virgins are not confined to it and instead “are opened to the horizons of the universal mission of the church” in other dioceses, bishops’ conferences and the universal church,” Archbishop Carballo said.
Finally, the third section of “Ecclesia Sponsae Imago” details the discernment and formation of women who choose the life of consecrated virgins.
Bishops, the archbishop said, must ensure that their dioceses have the available resources to help women discern their calling that “deepens the understanding of the ecclesial value of this consecration.”
“Reproposing this way of life in the church may seem as an anachronism, but it is an act of trust in the action of the spirit, who is leading many women to accept and interpret this vocation in the light of the path fulfilled by the church over the centuries and according to the needs of the current historical context. It is a true path of sanctification that is fascinating and demanding,” Archbishop Carballo said.

Camp Friendship builds Catholic spirit

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AMORY – Ryan Stoer, right, a seminarian for the Diocese of Jackson, chats with a camper at Camp Friendship, a summer camp for Catholic youth in Mississippi started by the Glenmary Missioners many years ago. For the last couple of years, dioscean seminarians have spent part of their summer helping at the camp. The parishioners from Aberdeen St. Francis go Wednesday while camp is in session and prepare a traditional fried chicken dinner for the campers, counselors and staff. The counselors are from all over the nation including Chicago, New York, D. C., even Rhode Island. (Photos by Rhonda Bowden)

Inspiring ordination journey started in Mexico

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By Melisa Munoz
JACKSON – Deacon Adolfo Suarez Pasillas was ordained in his hometown of Aguascallientes, Mexico on Wednesday, April 11. Bishop Joseph Kopcaz traveled to Mexico for the liturgy, including a visit to Saltillo in his travels.
Deacon Suarez Pasillas was born and raised in Pabellón de Arteaga in Aguascalientes, Mexico. His call to the priesthood came early in his life. “The first time the priesthood came to my mind was when I was around 6 years old. I was walking with my cousin’s wife, Concha, and I told her I wanted to become a priest because all priests go to heaven,” he recalled. “I was scared because the day before in our catechism class, our catechist taught us about heaven and hell. The way she depicted hell was so shocking that I decided to become a priest to escape from it.”

Deacon Adolfo Suarez Pasillas

Deacon Suarez Pasillas moved to Jesus Maria, another city in the state of Aguascalientes, when he was 11 years old. “The second time I heard God’s call to the priesthood was when I was about 16 years old. I was heartbroken about a family situation. I was living with my aunts and grandmother who introduced me to the life or prayer. At the beginning, I thought they were crazy asking me to go give thanks in front of, what was for me, nothing.” With time, Deacon Suarez Pasillas began meeting people who steered him closer to God and strengthened his faith, including his pastor, Father Tirso Sanchez Cruz, whose uncle, St. Atilano Cruz Alvarado, martyr of the Cristero War, was canonized by St. John Paul II.
“Father Tirso inspired me because, although he was an old priest, he was a tireless disciple of the Lord – a joyful man, full of energy. I wondered where all his energy came from. He was old, poor, he had no wife or children and he did not party like many other people did. However, he was the most joyful and energetic man I had ever met. And I wanted to become like him. His zeal and love for the Church was my inspiration.”
Time passed though, and Suarez Pasillas had to work to pay rent, bills and food to contribute to his household. “I began to hang out with friends and I started to forget about God, and I was not happy. I felt an emptiness even though I was surrounded by friends and family.”
Searching for a quiet place for meditation and self-reflection, Suarez Pasillas moved to Iowa to live with extended family. “I really did not have a reason to come here for a job, the work I had before was good, and I made enough for living. For around three years, I spent hours and hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament asking the Lord for answers and strength. He listened to my prayers and took the depression I had been suffering for years away from me. It was really a miracle. One night I went to bed crying with a heavy depression and the next day I was happy, as if I was the happiest man in the world. I was so happy that I wanted to go out and cry aloud that I was happy.”
This time of joy lasted about six months. “I told the Lord, ‘Now I am ready to follow you. I want to share with the world what you have done for me.’” But it was not yet his time. Deacon Suarez Pasillas was involved in an auto accident while driving a friend’s truck. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but he still was responsible for paying for the damage to both vehicles. He had to wait until he finished paying before he could think about going to the seminary. “That time was useful because I came down from heaven and set my feet again on earth.”
When Deacon Suarez Pasillas was ready to enter seminary, he had planned to return to Mexico, but his sister suggested that he attend seminary in the United States. For one one year, he studied for the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, where he was living, but the diocese decided not to pursue foreign vocations. “The rector of the seminary allowed me to continue my studies until I found another diocese. And during that time, Father Lenin Vargas visited the seminary and invited me to join the Diocese of Jackson.”
Father Vargas presented the needs of the diocese, especially in those areas in the state with the growing Hispanic population. “I decided to come here mainly because I knew the necessity of having Spanish-speaking priests. In Iowa, I had trouble finding a priest who could understand my situation and who could guide me. There are many young people who are in danger because they cannot find spiritual help. Then they get lost in so many things. My primary reason I want to work here as a priest is to help those who live far from their home countries and who know only to turn to the priest when they are in need.”
For his diaconate year, Deacon Suarez Pasillas has been assigned to Jackson St. Therese Parish. He is looking forward to spending time in the diocese and getting to know the people since he has spent most of his formation in New Orleans. “I am looking forward to learning more about how parishes work, especially in Mississippi where Catholics are the minority.” But most importantly, Deacon Suarez Pasillas stressed that he is looking forward to meeting and working with the people of the parish. “It is always a blessing from God to be among His people, as their love and attention comfort me. I am looking forward to placing the grace of my diaconate ordination at the service of the people at St. Therese.”

Delta Deacon ordained at home

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By Ruthie Robison
GREENVILLE – The Mississippi Delta is a special place to Mark Shoffner. “I am very Delta and very proud of this place,” said the Greenville native.
On Friday, June 8, Shoffner was ordained into the transitional diaconate on his way to the priesthood in the Delta town he loves and in his home parish, St. Joseph.
The newly ordained deacon has a great appreciation for St. Joseph and its parishioners and has even given tours of the church to visitors traveling by riverboats along the Mississippi who make a stop in Greenville. His was the third ordination to be held at the church.
“I grew up in a beautiful Gothic Revival church,” he said. “It’s a beautiful place of worship.”
Shoffner’s love of the Delta and his hometown became very evident to Bishop Joseph Kopacz the first time they met.
“He just launched right into the Delta,” said Kopacz during the homily. “This was my first time in Mississippi, and he said, ‘Well, let me tell you about the Delta.’ And he hasn’t stopped since.”

Deacon Mark Shoffner

Growing up in Greenville, Shoffner attended St. Joseph Catholic School.
He became active in the church by the time he was in the third grade, when he was asked to be an altar server. This was an honor for Shoffner because usually students did not become altar servers until the fourth grade.
“I started doing that, and I just enjoyed being up there,” Shoffner said.
Shoffner remembers being told as a child, “You’re going to be a great priest, Mark.” But for a kid in the ’90s, his future was broad with unlimited possibilities.
“I could be anything I wanted to be,” Shoffner said. “I wanted to be a steamboat captain, a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer.”
When Shoffner was in the ninth grade, his family moved from Greenville to Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. There, he became involved in youth ministry, and Shoffner’s call to the priesthood was becoming clearer.
“He’s always been a real reverent young man and just caring about the church,” said Shoffner’s mother, Eva. “We moved to Florida for a little while, and he got right into the church.”
Eva said it was during his teenage years that she “figured there was somewhere in his future when he was going to become very active in the parish, but I didn’t know exactly what.”
After graduating high school and a year of college, Shoffner’s family moved back to Greenville. At that time, he said he knew he wanted a career that allowed him to help people. He thought about teaching but decided on nursing. Shoffner attended Mississippi Delta Community College, where he received a degree in nursing. He began working in the cardiovascular intensive care unit at Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville.
“With nursing, I thought I could really help,” he said. “That went on for about a year before I began to have these moments in the hospital.”
Soon, Shoffner went from having feelings about his vocation to actively talking about them with Father Kent Bowlds, pastor of Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church in Cleveland and a former vocations director.
“You can’t discern a vocation by yourself,” Shoffner said. “You have to have a community.”
During this time, Shoffner was at work one day helping an elderly man in the hospital when he had a thought — one that would eventually lead him to enter seminary.
“I just remember thinking about Mother Teresa and Father Richard Ho Lung (who founded the religious order known as the Missionaries of the Poor in Kingston, Jamaica) and how they did the same thing I am doing now but they did not get paid. What’s their motivation? The motivation was love,” he said. “I started thinking about the Missionaries of the Poor in Kingston, and how they lived happy lives that were fulfilling, and that called out to me.”
Shoffner’s mother said she wasn’t caught by surprise when her son told her he felt called to be a priest.
“I am just overjoyed and full of happiness,” said Eva Shoffner after her son was ordained to the diaconate. “It was just beautiful, and I am so happy it came to be, and he can start professing the Lord’s faith and helping others.”
Shoffner’s ordination was held on the Feast of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“It’s a beautiful feast, because it’s a feast of the beating heart of Jesus — that heart that does not stop beating out of love for us,” said Kopacz.
During the homily, the Bishop read an excerpt from the official proclamation by Pope Leo XIII when he declared the consecration to the Sacred Heart in 1899.
Shoffner was vested by fellow seminarian and classmate Deacon Adolfo Suarez, who was recently ordained in his hometown in Mexico. The two men will be ordained as priests together next year.
At the end of the service, Shoffner, standing near a large stained glass window of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, said, “I was a cardiovascular ICU nurse. I was a heart nurse. So there’s another connection. I was trying to heal broken hearts physically broken, and now, through the Lord’s mercy, I am able to heal spiritually broken hearts.”
Deacon Shoffner, a product of one St. Joseph community, will spend his transitional year at another — St. Joseph Catholic Church in Gluckstadt.
(Ruthie Robison is a reporter for the Greenwood Commonwealth and a member of Greenwood Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish.)

Diocese welcomes two priests, two deacons

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – The Diocese of Jackson ordained four men this spring, two as transitional deacons and two as priests.
People were standing in every available nook and cranny of the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle on the Feast of the Visitation, Thursday, May 31, to witness the ordination of Nick Adam and Aaron Williams to the priesthood.
The men come from very different backgrounds, but both answered yes to the call to serve their church. Father Adam’s family moved around. He is the youngest of eight and had already started a career in broadcasting when he first even considered the priesthood. Father Williams has one brother, has lived in Jackson his whole life and started serving at the altar at age five in hopes to get where he is today.
Family, however, played a huge role in the lives of both men. At the end of his first Mass, Father Williams invited his nieces, Ava and Hadley to place a bouquet of flowers at the feet of the statue of Mary. He then presented his mother with the cloth he had used the night before to clean the oil of Chrism off his hands, explaining to the congregation a tradition that calls for Julia Williams to keep the cloth so she can be buried with it wrapped around her own hands — a symbol of thanksgiving for the gift of her son to the church. In fact, Father Williams had a scripture verse embroidered onto it before his ordination so he could present it as a personal gift.
Nicki Michaud taught Father Williams when he was a boy at the cathedral. “It’s just amazing. He was such an awesome little boy and he questioned everything. He was a bit rowdy from time to time, but he would come and visit me even when I wasn’t his teacher anymore.” She spoke of his great love for music and the organ.
In addition to his theology studies, Father Williams is pursuing a degree in liturgy. “I think a lot of people are searching for the sacred and I think you can draw people into that sacred moment visually and through hearing and participating in the liturgy – (Father) Aaron has a great gift for that,” said diocesan Chancellor and friend Mary Woodward
Father Adam’s seven siblings and nine of their twelve children filled several pews in the cathedral for ordination and then at St. Richard for Father Adam’s first Mass. Infants, toddlers and big kids beamed as they watched their uncle profess his solemn vows.
Some of the students and families from St. Richard School, where Father Adam served his diaconate year and where he will serve as parochial vicar, attended the ordination as well.
Cy Steven, who will move up from St. Richard to Madison St. Joseph School this fall, attended the ordination with his family. He and his sister Ava Kathryn were altar servers for Father Adam’s first Mass.
“Father Nick is always laughing and smiling and I love to talk to him. He asked me to altar serve at his first Mass. I was excited that he was about to become a priest and I had a birthday on May 30th so I asked my mom if she would take me to the ordination for my birthday. It was really long but it was really worth it”
(Editor’s note: See personality profiles of the new priests on pages 10-11.)

Tea for Carmelite Sisters

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GLUCKSTADT – The Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary of St. Joseph Parish hosted its second annual Charity Tea on Saturday, May 19, to raise money for the Carmelite Community in Jackson.
The tea fell on the same day as the royal wedding this year, and the ladies did not disappoint, arriving adorned in lace, pearls, hats and fascinators.
All in attendance were treated to a menu of savory tea sandwiches, a fresh array of baked items and delectable sweets all homemade by auxiliary members. Three of the Carmelite Sisters attended. Sister Jane Agony, OCD, addressed the group, explaining that the community is always praying for the people of the diocese. The parish is looking forward to making this an annual event.
(Submitted by Carolyn Howard)