By Maureen Smith
GREENWOOD – As the Diocese of Jackson rolls out the new Pastoral Priorities, Mississippi Catholic will feature goals, projects and success stories from different groups. The first comes from a youth minister in the Delta. The youth groups from the Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Francis of Assisi are focusing their year on the priority of ‘embrace diversity.’
“We have about 30 kids in our LifeTeen program between the two parishes,” said Derrick Faucheux, youth minister for both parishes. “And they are all from different cultures.” Half, he said, are Hispanic. The rest are African-American or white. The group has been meeting and getting to know one another, but Faucheux was ready to take them a step farther.
When the group started meeting, Faucheux said the kids did not all sit together, but would cluster in groups. “We were not sure how we were going to break that mold,” he said. One night, the students and a group of adult leaders played an icebreaker game and everything changed. “I don’t even remember what the game was, but THAT night, there was an electricity in the room. The kids started actually talking to each other,” he explained. This one breakthrough was the first step in a months-long process to unite the members of the group.
“These kids go to five or six different schools, public and private, they come from different cultural, racial and socio-economic backgrounds. If not for this youth group, they probably would never have known each other at all.”
Once the students got a little more comfortable together, Faucheux started working on ways to explore their diverse backgrounds as a group. They started with a retreat-style gathering at the Locus Benedictus retreat center on the edge of town. The gathering, Saturday, May 6, offered a glimpse into the Hispanic devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Redemptorist community in Greenwood helped with Guadalupe Youth Day, providing insight and the location. The students participated in soccer, a picnic and other outdoor activities, but also spent time exploring how Hispanic cultures honor Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“The Catholic Church is universal. Even though Our Lady of Guadalupe is mostly a Hispanic devotion, she belongs to everyone,” Faucheux said. He wanted the teens to see how they can worship or participate in devotions specific to their culture, but also appreciate the devotions of other cultures.
He plans to expand these lessons throughout the year, examining African-American Catholic culture and leaders, Southern Catholicism, anything that will show the students how they can be diverse, but also unified. “I want the kids to see that the Church is universal,” he said.
Some members of the youth group went to Abbey Youth Fest together. The trip allowed the teens to spend a long time together getting to know one another better within a Catholic context.
Faucheux attended a national gathering of youth ministers where he asked others about their challenges with diversity.
“Very few of those leaders have a group as diverse as this one,” he said. The Mississippi Delta is unique in its blend of cultures. Far from being discouraged, Faucheux finds the challenge to be the perfect way to showcase how the Catholic church can embrace everyone. “Something was telling me to put all these kids together because it is such a witness to the Catholic Church that we can be together, we are universal.”

By Catherine Cook
JACKSON – The four Catholic high schools within the Diocese of Jackson graduated 174 young men and women this year. In the center section of this edition of Mississippi Catholic you’ll see a snapshot of the graduating classes as well as features of the top students. The history of these schools dates back to the mid-1800s, so, the graduates of 2017 join a long list of persons formed in faith and educated for the world in the Catholic schools of Mississippi. Our graduates collectively earned $13.2 million in scholarships based on their academic and athletic performances, as well as their leadership and community service.
This year as we fully become engaged in the Pastoral Priorities of the Diocese of Jackson, we note that our graduating class exemplifies the principles of the priorities in their notable accomplishments. We embrace the diversity of our schools as students learn from each other’s differences.  
Our 2017 graduating class is a diverse group – racially, economically, and yes, religiously. Seventy-two percent are Caucasian and the remaining 28 percent are African-American and other ethnic backgrounds.
Forty-nine percent of our students are from other faith traditions. Our students are diverse, too, in their talents and interests. Our students have collectively completed more than 23,000 service hours. They have enthusiastically served their communities in various ways including: working as camp counselors at special needs camps, working in animal shelters, fundraising for Stew Pot and in many other capacities.
As superintendent I am proud of the teachers, administrators and volunteers who work hard to form the students who will go on inspire discipleship as they become our leaders, educators and the future of the Church. Thank you to all parents, alumni and patrons who support the ministry of Catholic education in our schools. Congratulations to the class of 2017!
(Catherine Cook is the diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Schools.)