By Maureen Smith
MADISON – St. Anthony School will have a new principal for the 2015/2016 school year, Jim Bell. Bell, a native of Cambridge, Mass., has spent his whole career in Catholic education, working at schools in Rochester, NY, and Huntsville, Ala. The students, faculty, parents and staff at St. Anthony School welcomed Bell the week of March 16, when he visited his new school.
“I was impressed with the academic record and the arts program at St. Anthony,” said Bell. He said he and his wife, who is from New Orleans, had been looking to move closer to the Crescent City when he saw the job opening at St. Anthony. “When I came to visit I just fell in love with the school and the people there,” he added.
A search committee spent months deciding what kind of leader the school might need and looking for the right fit for the community. Mike Kelly, who has two daughters at St. Anthony was on that committee. He said he wanted someone who could maintain both the academic excellence and Catholic identity of St. Anthony.
“Academic excellence is important, but so is the Catholic identity. You have to have both and I feel you can have both,” he explained. He said the committee liked Bell’s track record and felt like he was a good fit for the whole school community. “I wanted to find someone who could really move the school forward and that’s who we found,” said Kelly.
Bell and his family will move to the Madison area this summer and he will start work in July.

MADISON — One hundred-twenty students and more than 30 youth ministers, pastors and catechists gathered Saturday, Feb. 28, at Madison St. Joe High School for Cross Connections, I’m Catholic and I mean it. The convention, sponsored by the Office of Youth Ministry,

Brian Topping pours flour on Dalton Haynes of Tupelo St. James as part of an exercise in making informed choices.

had break-out sessions for teens and adults including a talk on vocations led by Father Matthew Simmons, Vocations Director and seminarians Aaron Williams and Mark Shoffner. The teens heard from a former contestant on “America’s Top Model,” a youth leader from Iowa and a rap artist from the West Coast.
The gathering was designed to give the teens from across the diocese encouragement in their faith and give the youth leaders some resources and help them get to know one another better so they could share ideas and help one another.

Youth leaders from Jackson St. Therese enjoy the dinner prepared by Jimmy Stringer. (Photos by Maureen Smith and Kathie Curtis).

The morning session featured Leah Durrow, former reality television contestant who says her time on America’s Top Model led to a conversion experience.
In the afternoon, Brian Topping spoke about how he had just arrived in Jackson when he got into a conversation with a clerk at the rental car company about Catholicism in Mississippi. He used the story as a way to point out that opportunities to be a proud Catholic abound.
In the evening Joe Melendrez, who had to drive from Dallas to get to the convention when his flight was cancelled, let the students in a spirited musical presentation which included stations of the cross. Melendrez is best known for his ‘rosary rap,’ which he wrote for teens.

Kathy Elliot from West Point Immaculate Conception shows her Catholic pride on her shirt.

Youth office coordinator Kathie Curtis expressed her gratitude for all the speakers, volunteers, attendees and Catholic Extension, who made the conference possible.

A youth leader leads an ice-breaker called ‘screech/turbo.’

By Fran Lavelle
CANTON – Tall and impressive among cabins, a dining hall, a chapel and the rec room stands a bell tower at Camp Bratton Green at the Grey Center in Canton. The large cast iron bell has undoubtedly summoned hundreds if not thousands of young people over the years to come in for meals, prayer and rest. The bell tolled in a similar way for the students from colleges and universities around the State who gathered the first weekend of Lent for a retreat at the Camp.
Like the ringing of the bell, Lent calls us to stop what we are doing and redirect our activity. Like the ringing of the bell, Lent also calls us to invite others to come join us. This year’s theme of the retreat was Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium,” the Joy of the Gospel.
At first glance, it might seem contradictory to talk about the joy of Gospel during Lent, after all Lent is a season of almsgiving, fasting and prayer. However, during the first session the students contemplated the following quote from Pope Francis, “There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter.  I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty.  Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved.”  That’s it, friends, joy adapts and changes, but it always endures. This definition of joy gave us the foundation to feel and understand joy even in the most arid days of our own spiritual journey, the most difficult of personal times and the most austere of liturgical seasons.
Mary Louise Jones, a member of our diocesan faith formation faculty, talked to us about the common good and peace in society. She focused on reconciliation and self-emptying as the means to achieve peace. She invited the students to enter into dialogue with one another about how they can, as St. Francis would say, be made a channel of God’s peace. In our small groups students talked about what it means to let go of our need to be right. They were challenged to think about the inherent dignity of the “other” regardless of who the “other” is.
This discussion prepared us beautifully for our next talk on the inclusion of the poor in society, presented by Father Gregory Plata, OFM. As a Franciscan it is part of Father Plata’s charism to be an advocate for the poor.  His passion for the poor among us and outside of our geo-political borders inspired the students to be more thoughtful about their choices and how those choices become their voice.
He touched on topics that affect the poor through the inequitable distribution of wealth and resources. There was a discussion after Father’s talk on what they can to do to help create a more just world. They came up with things they can do in their own community to challenge the status quo. Advocacy, as we discovered, comes in many forms. Some ideas included helping out at soup kitchens and food pantries, joining efforts like Habitat for Humanity, and things as simple as knowing where consumer items are being made and if a just wage is being paid to those workers.
Bishop Joseph Kopacz gave the third presentation on social dialogue as it contributes to peace. What are conversations in the public arena that open dialogue towards peace? The pope in his apostolic exhortation lists a few:  faith and reason v. science, ecumenical discussions with other Christians, as well as dialogue with other non-Christian faith traditions. We looked at how we can use these opportunities to promote peace. The Bishop also asked the students if they saw social media as a tool to contribute to peace. This perhaps was one of the most engaging discussions because they have grown up with social media. They see the benefits of social media in terms of creating a positive conversation, but they also are well aware of the pitfalls. Awareness is the first step to change. Maybe by being more aware of bullying and other negative aspects of social media we can begin to use it to create a more just and peaceful society.
After everyone had left on Sunday morning to return to their schools and homes, I walked around the camp.  I took in the sounds of nature and felt the slight drizzle of rain and the chilly breeze on my face. I had a moment to reflect with gratitude on the young people who came to the retreat. Looking about before I got in the car to leave, I looked at the impressive bell tower. Metaphorically, we rang a bell loud and clear and young people came together to mark the beginning of Lent.
They shared faith, had an authentic experience with Jesus, met new and lasting friends, and were challenged to claim the joy of the gospel in all seasons of life. I am left in anticipation of the next time we ring the bell and gather.
(Fran Lavelle is co-director of the Department of Evangelization and Faith Formation)