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JACKSON – This year, Bishop Joseph Kopacz and the Office of Youth Ministry awarded seven young people the Bishop Chanche youth service award. Six were presented their award at DCYC at the Vicksburg Convention Center on Sunday, Feb. 20. Award recipient, Owen Wolf was a part of the Bishop Chanche award presentation with adult recipients, as his parents Michael and Stacy Wolf were also awarded for their service to the church.
The brief descriptions on these pages come from the Bishop Chanche nomination forms and offer a glimpse into the young men and women who serve the church today.
When Bishop John Joseph Chanche arrived in the newly formed Diocese of Natchez in May of 1841, there were no Catholic Churches, only a couple of missionary priests, and his flock was far flung. He rose to the challenge and laid the foundation for the Diocese of Jackson. The diocese honors his legacy and thanks those who continue to build on his foundation with the Bishop Chanche medal for service.
OWEN Wolf – St. Jude, Pearl
Owen is dedicated and faithful to the parish and to his convictions. During the pandemic Owen showed great leadership and dedication of service to the parish by helping to transition a trailer into an altar so we could have drive in Mass. He served as usher and traffic director at every Saturday evening drive in service from May thru November of 2020 and still serves today whenever he is needed. The qualities that best describe Owen are humble, trustworthy, honest, a gentle leader and steadfast in his faith. – Father Lincoln Dall
Anna Harvey – St. Alphonsus, McComb
Anna is a great witness at our youth Mass, always willing to lector. She uses her gifts to glorify God and never to glorify herself. She often wins games and displays great humility. She has discussions with at least one non-Catholic friend about the Catholic faith and desires to share the best she can.
Anna has been incredibly generous with her time in serving our parish. She has participated in service days, managed games for Easter and Halloween, led music for VBS, played piano for two Masses each month, and lectored often. She has modeled great kindness toward the youth at our parish events, helping the little ones to feel comfortable through her activities. Anna is patient, she listens attentively and strives for excellence in all that she undertakes. – Father Suresh Thirumalareddy
Claire Plaisance – St. James, Magnolia
Claire is consistent, dedicated and charitable. These virtues are demonstrated by her in a unique way, and I think her family has instilled these in her very well.
Claire works very hard, not only for her family, but for the parish. She arrived to a service day and was the only teen with a few chaperones who worked to clean an elderly parishioner’s yard. She is generous with her time, and I know would be willing to serve if called upon. Claire has a spirit of courage; I feel she would be willing to stand up for what’s right in the face of adversity. – Father Suresh Thirumalareddy
Avery Greyson Calvert – St. Joseph , Gluckstadt
Avery moved to Mississippi the summer before his junior year during the pandemic. He joined our very tiny virtual youth group at the time and quickly grew into the role of a youth leader. He is committed, outgoing, and shares his faith and talents readily with not only our parish, but his school and his community.
Avery volunteered to be a cantor as soon as Masses began again at our parish in 2020. He is a talented vocalist and we had very few cantors at that time. He is among the favorites these days. He cantors for his school Masses at St. Joseph in Madison as well. He joined our youth leadership team at the parish, which meets every Wednesday for training and Sundays for Youth Ministry. Avery has given talks to our Confirmation classes, helped lead retreats and is a member of the Jr. Core Team for LifeTeen. – Pam Minninger, LEM
Austin Dungan – St. Patrick, Meridian
Austin has such a peaceful demeanor. His kindness is genuine and earnest. He has a heart for the faith. His love for his parish family is evident in his very presence and he is such a delight to see on Sunday mornings when he is ushering – no words needed because he greets with a smile every time.
It is evident that Austin does not do what he does for praise or recognition. Everything he does, he does it quietly and almost as if in prayer. He is respectful with a confident “Yes, Sir” or “Yes, Ma’am” and a pleasant “Good Morning” when answering or speaking to any parishioner. He is mindful to not overlook anyone that walks into the church, he is so gracious with a smile. Austin is a natural leader, and his calm and gentle demeanor is infectious. His respect for the Blessed Sacrament and when he approaches the altar does not go unnoticed either. – Father Augustine Palimattam
Frank Joseph Serio – St. Joseph, Greenville
Frank is witty and kindhearted. His dynamic ability to be available for the school and parish, always, whether serving in the Mass, volunteering to help an elderly person or encouraging one of his peers, he is open to the needs of others and available to serve how the Holy Spirit leads. He is altar server every week, Eucharistic minister, leads Middle School small group, encourages his younger peers, friend to the elderly – he even led a service project for his senior class to decorate a widowed parishioner’s home for Christmas.
He serves at St. Vincent de Paul whether it be helping on a Saturday with maintenance or over the summer/spring/holiday breaks to carry items to the vehicle for clients. He also organized the can food drive at his high school that collected and delivered over 3,000 cans for St. Vincent. And what’s so special is that this kid doesn’t realize all that he is: charismatic, thoughtful, faithful, honorable, compassionate for others, spirit filled and joyful. – Monsignor Elvin Sunds
Olivia Ann Hanby – St. James, Tupelo
Olivia’s heart to serve, is never ending. No matter, what she just did, she is going to be there again, for the next thing. This is not just at church; it applies to all areas of her life.
Olivia currently serves as a faith formation teacher on Sunday mornings, as a member of the youth choir and often as a lector at Mass. Recently, she served others through working Habitat for Humanity and she has served with Catholic Heart Work Camp for three years. She has served at school for Fellowship of Christian Athletes for three years. Additionally, Olivia has served as a leader for Vacation Bible School for all of her high school career. Currently, she serves as a Math tutor and as a LifeTeen Leader as a Senior. – Father Tim Murphy
COLUMBUS – Annunciation
HOLLY SPRINGS – Holy Family
MERIDIAN – St. Patrick
MADISON – St. Joseph
GREENWOOD – St. Joseph
JACKSON – St. Richard
CLARKSDALE – St. Elizabeth
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) welcomed Mississippians in the nation’s capital to participate in the 2022 March for Life, greeting students and issuing an optimistic statement for the annual pro-life advocacy campaign.
On Thursday, Jan. 20, Hyde-Smith met with March for Life students from Cathedral School and St. Mary’s Basilica in Natchez. Under an “Equality Begins in the Womb” theme, Friday’s march comes on the heels of U.S. Supreme Court consideration of Mississippi’s abortion law, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
“With hope and prayer, thousands have marched each year for decades at the annual March for Life. Today, we march with greater hope and prayer for the Supreme Court to show grace to the unborn in the Dobbs case,” Hyde-Smith said.
CANTON – Three young adults from Holy Child Jesus parish in Canton traveled to Miami to attend the “Journeying Together” youth leadership gathering that SEPI (Southeast Pastoral Institute) hosted Jan. 3-7. The program was centered on Pope Francis’ call to journey with the church towards synodality. Below are reflections of the young adults who attended the conference.
Victoria Alexander
I had the honor to be invited along with two parishioners from Holy Child Jesus Catholic Church of Canton to attend the SEPI journey in Miami. I learned so much from this journey through the five days that we were attending. We had various activities and experiences that we went through. We were given three spiritual words to reflect on the whole time we were there: community, beauty and mercy. We all experienced demonstrations of these words and the meanings behind them through the people we encountered or events we went to, and inspirational speakers that spoke to us about their journey on how they got where they are.
One of my favorite parts of the experience was the morning sunrise prayer we had on the beach early that morning and listening to Father read the word and Gospel was so beautiful during that moment. I had never experienced the Holy Spirit like I did that moment.
I am so thankful that I learned more about how beautiful and diverse our Catholic community and church are and what an impact young people can make in the world as young parishioners or missionaries in the church. We were so very blessed to attend this institute and I will never forget this as it has changed the way I view society and the church culture around the world.
DeAsia Evans
My experience of going to Miami for the Youth Leadership gathering was very inspiring. I had the honor of going to the gathering with the help of SEPI and Catholic Extension. Youth leaders from different states all gathered to share their experiences and what they are doing to better their parish when it comes to the youth. While we were at the gathering, there were three words to remember during our time there. They were beauty, mercy and community.
Throughout my trip, I was able to experience all of those things. I saw beauty when we had sunrise prayer on the beach. We read the Gospel and said prayers as we watched the sun rise. There were even two seminarians there who shared their experience of being in seminary school and talking about how they were born in the Catholic faith. Mercy was shown through adoration when we spent a precious moment with the blessed sacrament and worshiped with The EPIC band. Lastly, community was shown when we came together and made hygiene bags, lunch and provided Christmas presents to those in need and for those who did not have a place to stay. Overall, it was such memorable experience that I will never forget, and it is something that I will do again.
Vincent Alexander
I am blessed and honored to have been chosen to attend the SEPI trip; I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I learned about the diversity in the Catholic community, as well as how things get more interesting within SEPI and other organizations.
One of the days I learned about how to connect with others, even those you might not expect to have a story. I learned about meeting and having a relationship with God, not just having a relationship, but also telling others to believe in him and trust in him. Making sure you have a relationship with him helps you to get where you need to go in life and to always have a relationship with him. Prioritize him.
I’ve also realized that God can change my church and help people in a variety of ways. I’d like to thank SEPI and everyone who helped make this possible for me, my church, and so many others. It was a true blessing and life-changing event.
By Ernest Bowker The Vicksburg Post
VICKSBURG – Rivalries in sports are a strange and complex thing.
No matter what side you’re on, they’re often touted on the surface as Good vs. Evil, the Cool Kids vs. the Jerks, Us vs. Them, and so on. There are teams that you love to hate for a variety of reasons, but there can also be a lot of mutual respect for the skills and talents of each.
Sometimes, it boils down to a family feud. We might want to punch you on game day, but we’ll hug it out and go eat somewhere afterward. You can pick on each other, but when the tough times hit you’ve got each other’s back.
The latter description certainly applies to St. Aloysius and Cathedral. The two Catholic schools along the Mississippi River have endured a nearly century-old rivalry that once led a coach from one side to famously – and, I assume, only half-jokingly – describe the other bunch as “the scum of the earth.”
Because both schools are governed by the Diocese of Jackson, however, they are kin. That same century of sports hatred has bred plenty of friendships and a bond that runs much deeper than the final score.
That bond was on display Tuesday, when Cathedral’s basketball teams journeyed up Highway 61 from Natchez to play St. Al. Between the girls’ and boys’ games, members of all four varsity teams gathered at halfcourt to pray and share their grief.
On Jan. 11, St. Al alums Caroline Simrall Hood and Chandler Roesch were involved in a car wreck. Simrall was killed and Roesch seriously injured. Both graduated from St. Al in 2018.
Three days later, Cathedral student Jordan Herrington was killed in another car wreck in Louisiana. Herrington, a 15-year-old sophomore, was a member of the football team.
During the prayer service Father Rusty Vincent said a few words, and some of the players exchanged hugs. Everyone in the gym surely passed along a few prayers of their own for the families and friends of Simrall, Roesch and Herrington.
The service was brief, and the sound of bouncing basketballs and warmup music soon replaced the grieving silence. The gravity of the moment should be lasting however.
When it comes right down to it, sports are a fun diversion for us all. No matter the result when the final buzzer sounds, life and time march on and bigger things await.
I doubt Simrall and Herrington knew each other, separated as they were by time, distance and a hundred other facts of life. But for one moment Tuesday they brought a gym full of people together to remind us all that in even the biggest rivalries we can take a moment here and there to share our humanity, our passion and our grief.
(Ernest Bowker is the sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com. Re-printed with permission.)
