The Diocese of Jackson is proud of the outstanding educators and support staff in our schools. Several of our Diocesan Catholic Schools still have job openings during the 2023-2024 academic year. Visit https://jacksondiocese.org/employment for an opening near you.
The Catholic schools and learning centers of the diocese are required to comply with all applicable federal and state anti-discrimination laws. They hire employees and admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, sex, age, religion or disability to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to all individuals at the school/center.
The educational institutions of our diocese do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, sex, age, religion, or disabilities in the administration of their educational policies, admission policies, personnel policies, scholarship and loan programs, or athletic and other school/center administered programs.
(OSV News) – In Marietta, Georgia, helping moms in need goes beyond diaper distribution or rental assistance. It’s rocking a baby in the middle of the night to help a tired mother sleep, a phone call to check in and listen, a warm relationship of support.
“It would be easy for these ministries to drop some diapers off, and not to say that’s not important,” said Keri Ninness, who leads the Walking with Moms in Need ministry at St. Joseph Parish in Marietta. “But when we’re talking about long-term impact – and we’re talking long term – being the hands and feet of Jesus, that means relationship.”
This is the illustration included in the materials for the U.S. bishops’ Respect Life Month 2023. The U.S. Catholic Church celebrates Respect Life Month every October. (OSV News photo/courtesy USCCB)
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops launched Walking with Moms In Need, a parish-based ministry that networks resources and accompanies pregnant and parenting mothers, in March 2020. While initial efforts were stymied by the COVID-19 pandemic, many have recommitted to helping pregnant and parenting mothers, especially as abortion lawmaking returned to states last year following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
On Sept. 18, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called Catholics to “radical solidarity” with vulnerable pregnant women in a letter titled “Living Radical Solidarity” issued ahead of the 50th anniversary of the inaugural Respect Life Month this October.
“While ending legalized abortion remains our preeminent priority, the most immediate way to save babies and mothers from abortion is to thoroughly surround mothers in need with life-giving support and personal accompaniment. This is radical solidarity,” Bishop Burbidge wrote.
The phrase, the letter notes, echoes St. John Paul II, who first defined “radical solidarity” as becoming “courageously ‘pro woman,’ promoting a choice that is truly in favor of women” by not leaving a woman in need alone. Drawing on Pope Francis, Bishop Burbidge said radical solidarity requires a “new mindset … moving beyond the status quo and out of our comfort zones.”
For Ninness, “Solidarity means to be one with each other. It means to be in communion with one another,” she said. She pointed to a quote in Bishop Burbidge’s letter from Pope Francis saying solidarity is not found in “a few sporadic acts of generosity.”
That’s why relationships and prayer are key to St. Joseph’s Walking with Moms in Need program, she said. That approach is familiar to Father Peter Ascik, who coordinates the Walking with Moms in Need initiative for parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, as the first director of its nearly two-year-old office of family life.
As a parochial vicar in 2020, he helped one of the diocese’s largest parishes, St. Matthew in Charlotte, start a Walking with Women in Need program. Along with another Walking with Moms program at St. Pius X in Greensboro, North Carolina, “the programs at both of those parishes have flourished and are bearing really good fruit,” he said.
While the state generally bans abortions after 12 weeks, it has become a destination for women seeking abortions from neighboring states, including Georgia, with more restrictive laws, said Father Ascik, who is also pastor of St. Mary, Help of Christians Church in Shelby, North Carolina.
He praises the program for building networks of social services and providers of material resources, and the parishes for noticing gaps and working to fill them. St. Matthew parishioners identified paperwork-related barriers for mothers to get free diapers, so it organized a day each month where mothers could pick up diapers and other baby supplies, no questions asked.
In another situation, a mother’s car broke down, and she started to receive Uber gift cards “out of nowhere.” The woman was surprised to realize the wide network of people who wanted to help her, he said, and because of Walking With Moms in Need, the communication for a call for help was in place. Part of that network are three long-standing maternity homes, as well as transitional housing for women and children experiencing homelessness in the Diocese of Charlotte.
“Radical solidarity is going to mean radical availability,” Father Ascik said. “Radical availability is being willing to answer a text message, maybe at 9 p.m. at night or on a weekend, with a need that mom’s having right now.”
“That’s the culture that Walking with Moms helps us build,” he continued, “because, whereas, maybe before we would say, ‘Yeah, I want to help pregnant moms,’ … the next step is stepping up and saying, ‘I’m here. I’m the person that you can call on, the person that will go and talk to you, the person that will help you run down a place where you can get food on a weekend,’” when food banks are closed.
A holistic approach to supporting expecting and parenting mothers in difficult circumstances is the crux of the Women and Children First initiative at the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana.
In November 2021, just before oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization were heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and real potential loomed for the overturn of Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the de Nicola Center launched an initiative to unite scholars on the interdisciplinary questions that surround building a culture of life.
“Let’s just try to think creatively and comprehensively about what people facing difficult pregnancies, difficult decisions, what they’re going to need to flourish, what’s going to be needed to protect those babies, those moms, and to create a world in which they can be cared for and loved and supported,” said O. Carter Snead, the center’s director and a professor of law and political science, of the initiative. That meant focused academic programming and events, as well as engaging researchers interested in public policy, health care, race, addiction management, mental health care, employment law, housing and other facets that play into vulnerable parents’ circumstances and decisions, Snead said.
Among the de Nicola Center’s current partnerships is the university’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities and the National Maternity Housing Coalition, which are conducting an empirical study of maternity homes’ role in improving outcomes for mothers and babies.
Snead, a consultant to the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said that kind of research refutes the popular “slander” that accuses pro-life advocates of caring only for unborn babies, not their mothers or children post-birth.
“It’s the case, and it’s always been the case, that pro-lifers have stepped up to try to care for moms and families in need,” he said. “This is … the radical solidarity, radical hospitality: caring for others in need by virtue and in proportion to their need, not because we have something to gain by it or some kind of pre-existing obligations do it, but … everybody has a claim on us, especially the weakest and most vulnerable.”
How Walking with Moms in Need will grow remains to be seen, but its leaders know the work is valuable. In the past year, St. Joseph in Marietta has helped about 18 women, Ninness said.
“These ministries have the opportunity to preach the Gospel in a way that does not even require quoting Scripture,” she said. “It’s ‘I’m going to allow myself to be the hands and feet of Jesus for you, so that you might not know who Jesus is, but you will see what he does, through what this ministry does.”
MADISON – Golf carts were “at the ready” for golfers to take-off for the Catholic Foundation’s 41st annual Bishop’s Cup fundraiser on Thursday, Sept. 14 at the Lake Caroline Golf Club in Madison. (Photo by Joanna Puddister King)
COLUMBUS – Annunciation, Fall Festival, Sunday, Oct. 29 from 4-6:30 p.m. on College Street in Downtown Columbus. We are joining with First Methodist Church and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for a huge event. No pets, please. Enjoy trunk or treat, cake walk, games, crafts, door prizes, face painting, costume contest, hall of saints and food. Details: church office (662) 328-2927.
CLEVELAND – Our Lady of Victories, Halloween Carnival, Sunday, Oct. 29 following 5 p.m. Mass. Candy donations needed. Details: Natalie at (228) 861-7253.
FLOWOOD – St. Paul, Trunk or Treat, Saturday, Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m. Sign up your trunk today! Help us bring the best and safest Halloween event to all. Details: church office (601) 992-9547.
GREENVILLE – St. Joseph School, Trunk or Treat, Tuesday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. in the St. Joseph Lourdes parking lot. Trunks are needed! Details: Olivia at (601) 906-3902.
GREENWOOD – Immaculate Heart of Mary, CYO Spaghetti Supper and Halloween Festival, Monday, Oct. 23. Spaghetti supper $15 – starts at 4:30 p.m. Dine in, carry out or drive-thru. Carnival on the green at 5:30 p.m. Bingo begins at 6 p.m. Cakes needed for cake walk. Details: church office (662) 453-3980.
HERNANDO – Holy Spirit, Trunk or Treat, Sunday, Oct. 29 in the parking lot from 3-5 p.m. Sign your trunk up today! Adult prizes for most creative trunk display. Event for ages up to fifth grade. Enjoy games, face painting and treats! Costume awards for children. Details: Kim at (662) 719-4116.
HOLLY SPRINGS – St. Joseph, Harvest Festival, Sunday, Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. Youth led Mass and fun! Join us for an afternoon of fun, games, music, dancing, food and fellowship as we celebrate being Catholic. Details: church office (662) 252-3138.
JACKSON – St. Richard School, Cardinal Fest, Sunday, Oct. 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Purchase a $20 wristband for all the fun! Includes food, games, entertainment and one cake walk ticket. Details: school office (601) 366-1157.
MADISON – St. Francis of Assisi, Knights of Columbus Trunk or Treat event, Oct. 25 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the parking lot in front of St. Thomas. Join us for food, fun and fellowship! Prizes awarded for best decorated trunk, best costumes for kids and adults and best decorated pumpkin. Details: church office (601) 856-5556.
St. Joseph School, Trunk or Treat on Tuesday, Oct. 24 from 5-6:30 p.m. in the campus parking lot. Details: school office (601) 898-4800.
MERIDIAN – St. Patrick, Fall Festival, Friday, Oct. 27 from 6-8 p.m. at the Family Life Center. Games, costume contest, cake walk and more. Food and drink available for purchase. Volunteers needed, contact Kasey at (601) 692-6360. Details: church office (601) 693-1321.
NATCHEZ – St. Mary Basilica, Trunk or Treat, Monday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. in the parking lot at the corner of S. Union and State Streets. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
NEW ALBANY – St. Francis of Assisi, Trunk or Treat from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31. Best dressed Saint wins a special gift. Details: church office (662) 534-4654.
OLIVE BRANCH – Queen of Peace, Halloween Bash, Sunday, Oct. 29 beginning at 5 p.m. Enjoy games, food, trunk or treat and more. All are welcome! Details: church office (662) 895-5007.
PHILADELPHIA – Holy Rosary, Halloween Party, Sunday, Oct. 29 from 5-7:30 p.m. in the parish hall. Costume, mummy wrap and pumpkin carving contests. Also enjoy food, music and treat bags! Details: church office (601) 656-2880.
SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, Halloween Bash, Tuesday, Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m. for youth through fifth grade. Cost: One large bag of candy. Concessions available. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.
TUPELO – St. James, Fall Fest, Wednesday, Oct. 25 from 5-8 p.m. Enjoy trunk or treat, games, activities and food. Be sure to wear your saint costume. Details: church office (662) 842-4881.
St. James, High School Fall Lock-in, from Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. until Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. in the St. James gym. Cost: $40. Enjoy pizza, bon fire, pumpkin painting, movies, fellowship and more. Details: youth director (662) 871-6277.
VICKSBURG – Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary, Trunk or Treat, Sunday, Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall (310 Fisher Ferry Road). Details: call (601) 636-8372.
ADULT HALLOWEEN GATHERING SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, Cocktails & Cadavers, Saturday, Oct. 28 in the social hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and party from 7-10 p.m. Join us for an adult Halloween fright night of dancing, food, fellowship and music by DJ Fernando. Tickets are $25 per person. BYOB. Costume and door prizes. Details: Loretta at (901) 634-8157 for tickets or more information.
PARISH, FAMILY & SCHOOL EVENTS BROOKHAVEN – St. Francis, Life Chain for Respect Life Month, Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 a.m. Participants will be located on Brookway Boulevard sidewalks east of Hwy 51 and will be provided appropriate Respect Life posters to exhibit. Details: church office (601) 833-1799.
FLOWOOD – Homegrown Harvest Fest, sponsored by office of vocations, Saturday, Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Paul parish. Proceeds support our seven diocesan seminarians. Evening includes dinner, silent auction and fellowship. Details: Tickets can be purchased at bit.ly/HGHarvest2023.
GREENVILLE St. Joseph School, Homecoming Tailgating, Friday, Oct. 20. Fee is $50. Tent setup at 5 p.m. Details: cmandolini@stjoeirish.org or John at (601) 415-1551.
HERNANDO – Holy Spirit, Veterans Mass, Sunday, Nov. 12 after 9:30 a.m. Mass. Information needed by Oct. 29 – rank, branch, veteran of war and photo in uniform. Details: church office (662) 429-7851.
JACKSON – Cathedral of St. Peter, Knights of Columbus “Coats for the Community” drive. Donate new or gently used coats before Mass on Oct. 28-29 and Nov. 4-5. Details: church office (601) 969-3125.
Catholic Charities, Purple Dress Run, Thursday, Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. at The District at Eastover. Grab your best purple dress and join us for a 5K run/walk to benefit Charities Shelter for Battered Families. Register at raceroster.com/78874. Details: Rachel Travis at (601) 326-3703.
St. Richard, Special Kids Golf tournament at Deerfield Country Club in Canton on Thursday, Oct. 19. Details: church office (601) 366-2335, saintrichard.com or Kristin at thedohertyteam@gmail.com.
St. Richard School, Cardinal Booster Club Dinner, Thursday, Nov. 9 with Coach Mike Bianco of Ole Miss. Cost $250 per ticket (admits two). Enjoy Mass at 5:15, then cocktail social, silent auction and “meet and greet” with Coach Bianco, catered dinner at 6:45 p.m. with address by Coach. Deadline for ticket purchase is Friday, Oct. 20. Details: Coach Nelson rnelson@saintrichardschool.org.
Theology of Tap, Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at Martin’s Downtown. Guest speaker is Father Nick Adam. For adults, 21+. Details: email amelia.rizor@jacksondiocese.org.
MADISON – St. Joseph School, Bingo Games, Sunday, Oct. 22 in the cafeteria. Early bird games at 1:30 p.m.; regular games at 2 p.m. Must be age 25 to play but all ages welcome to attend. Details: school office (601) 898-4800.
MAGNOLIA – St. James, Garage Sale, Saturday Dec. 2, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (125 E Bay Street) Details: call (985) 665-0868.
MERIDIAN – St. Patrick, Candy Cane 5k Dash and Fun Run, Saturday, Dec. 2. Details: register at https://bit.ly/CandyCane2023.
OLIVE BRANCH – Queen of Peace, Men’s Club Fellowship Card Night, Friday, Oct. 20 from 6-10 p.m. All parishioners and guests welcome. For $10 each, participant will receive dinner, a non-alcoholic beverage and 100 poker chips. Beverages available for donation. Sign up today! Details: Tracy at (901) 828-4848.
PEARL – St. Jude, Day-trip Pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama, Saturday, Oct. 28. Tour the Shrine, Mass, Adoration and more. Cost est. $75. Details: email kmcgregor@stjudepearl.org or call (601) 939-3181.
Smokin’ fundraiser for Young Apostles group, holiday meat sale after each Mass through Nov. 5. Details: Lauren at roberts0677@bellsouth.net.
SHAW – St. Francis of Assisi, Spaghetti dinner, Tuesday, Oct. 17 from 5-7 p.m. Tickets $15. Drive-thru only from parish hall. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Details: church office (662) 754-5561.
SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, Pumpkin Patch through Oct. 30. Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 12-7 p.m. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.
Christ the King, Gala Dinner with World Youth Day Community, Saturday, Oct. 21 from 5:30-8 p.m. in the religious ed building. Delicious food, keynote speeches by youth leaders, live performances, inspiring stories of personal triumph, door prize religious articles from Fatima and Lisbon and more! Cost: family ticket $50 (3 adults and 2 or more kids); Adult ticket for one $20. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.
TUPELO – St. James, Rummage Sale, Saturday, Nov. 4 from 7:30-11 a.m. in Shelton hall. Details: Bobbie at (662) 372-1087.
VICKSBURG – Knights of Columbus 898, Holiday smoked meat sale. Butts, turkey and loins $50; Half Chicken 2 for $8; Turkey breast $35; and Half ham $40. Order by Nov. 15 at https://kc898.square.site. Pick up Sunday, Nov. 19 from 12-4 p.m. at KC Hall, 310 Fisher Ferry Road. Details: Paul at (601) 529-1710. Knights of Columbus 898, Food drive for Storehouse Community food pantry on Sat. Nov. 4 at the Corner Market.
WINONA – Sacred Heart, Communi-tea Festivi-tea event, Saturday, Nov. 11 from 12-3 p.m. in the fellowship hall. Cost: adults $15 and children (under 12) $12. Tickets available at Crossroads Jewelers or call Marlene at (662) 307-0831. Details: Barbara at (256) 506-5007.
SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT CHOCTAW – The Choctaw Bible Translation program is having a week long program of Choctaw Bible Stories the week of Oct. 16-20 at 5 p.m. in the Pearl River CERF building. Choctaw singing, with bible stories in English and Choctaw! Mark your calendar and plan to enjoy this special program. Details: https://choctawbible.com.
GREENWOOD – Locus Benedictus, Healing Retreat with Maria Vadia on Saturday, Oct. 28 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is no fee to attend. A love offering will be taken. Details: to register email contactlocusbenedictus@gmail.com or call (662) 299-1232.
COLUMBUS – Kids enjoy time to read on their class activity mat at Annunciation School. (Photos by Logan Gentry)
VICKSBURG – “Johnny Appleseed” visited Vicksburg Catholic School PreK-3, Montessori Preschool and Kindergarten students. Special thanks to VCS alumnus Peter Pikul (Class of 1967) for being acting as Johnny Appleseed for youth this year. (Photo by Lindsey Bradley)
Around the diocese
COLUMBUS – (Right) First grader, Locklyn Barker plants her pinwheel at Annunciation School’s annual Pinwheels for Peace event on International Day of Peace. (Photo by Logan Gentry)
PEARL – St. Jude youth group help out the parish’s Feed my Sheep ministry on Sep. 24. Youth made over 50 fleece blankets that will be given away to the homeless at Poindexter Park later this Fall. (Photo by Tereza Ma)VICKSBURG – Preschool students, Clarke Beasley and Lawson Skipper, became scientific investigators as they explored pumpkins inside and out using all five of their senses. (Photo by Lindsey Bradley)SOUTHAVEN – On Oct. 4, Sacred Heart School Principal, Bridget Martin lead a special blessing for music teacher, Angie Davis’ newest member of the family, Catalina Lopez, with Bella Davis. (Photo by Sister Margaret Sue Broker)
CLINTON – Knights of Columbus Assembly 554 is once again participating in the Wreaths Across America program.
This patriotic program has grown from humble beginnings during the Christmas season of 1992, when wreaths were placed on veteran graves in an older section of Arlington Nation Cemetery, into a national event.
In 2022 on Wreaths Across America day 2.7 million wreaths were placed on veteran graves with the help of over 2 million volunteers at 3702 cemeteries nationwide.
CLINTON – A member of the Knights of Columbus from Holy Savior parish places a wreath on the grave of a veteran for the 2022 Wreaths Across America event. (Photo courtesy of Knights of Columbus Bishop R.O. Gerow Assembly 554)
Assembly 554 sponsors two locations, the Clinton Cemetery Association and Cedar Grove cemetery. Both cemeteries are located on East College Street in Clinton. The assembly has identified upwards of 300 veteran gravesites and is looking for individuals, small businesses or corporations to sponsor wreath purchases.
Wreaths can be purchased online at kofc554.org, by downloading a sales form and mailing to listed address, or from members of Assembly 554.
Wreaths can also be purchased for a specific veteran at either of our sponsored locations, or for veterans buried at other locations. (Wreaths purchased for veterans at other locations may be picked up at 3 p.m. in the parking lot of Holy Savior Catholic Church on the corner of Lindale Street and Old Vicksburg Road Clinton.)
The wreaths are made with Maine balsam with a red, hand tied, weatherproof velveteen bow approximately 22” in diameter. The cost per wreath is $17.
This year Wreaths Across America day is Saturday, Dec. 16. In Clinton, the program will begin with a ceremony honoring veterans at 12 p.m. at the War Memorial in the Clinton Cemetery, 500 East College Street followed by wreath placement on veteran graves at both the Clinton Cemetery and Cedar Grove Cemetery.
Anyone wishing to participate in the laying of wreaths is welcome. There is no parking in the cemeteries, but Pleasant Green Mission Baptist Church, located across the street from the cemeteries, allows volunteers to park in their lot.
For more information about this event or for assistance purchasing wreaths please contact Bill O’Connor at (601) 906-8890.
The deadline for all wreath purchasing for Wreath Across America Day 2023 is Saturday, Nov. 25.
By Rebecca Harris JACKSON – Kick off the charitable season on #GivingTuesday, Nov. 28, with #iGiveCatholic – a crowdfunding event that brings the Catholic community together to give thanks and give back. The Diocese of Jackson is once again joining dioceses and Catholic foundations across the country for the ninth annual #iGiveCatholic campaign. The #iGiveCatholic Giving Day is held annually on #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and generosity.
The Diocese of Jackson will be participating in #iGiveCatholic – a crowdfunding event that brings the Catholic community together to give thanks and give back – on #GivingTuesday on Nov. 28. (File photo)
Last fall, 42 partnering dioceses raised over $18.5 million for 2,400+ participating parishes, schools and ministries. The Diocese of Jackson had 50 participating organizations and ministries that collected over $207,000 in donations. The amount that is collected increases each year as more and more people become familiar with the #iGiveCatholic campaign. Since its inaugural year in 2015, the #iGiveCatholic Giving Day has yielded continued growth in the number of participating dioceses and their participating non-profits as well as total donations, both online and offline, and average gift amount.
“This is an incredible opportunity for Catholic communities nationwide to unite to promote generosity and celebrate our Catholic heritage,” said Cory Howat, president of #iGiveCatholic. “Every donation makes an impact and has a positive effect on the life of the church as a whole. We are thrilled the Diocese of Jackson is partnering with #iGiveCatholic to raise funds for all of the participating parishes, schools and ministries in their community and around the country.”
When an diocese or foundation participates in #iGiveCatholic, their webpage hosts individual profile pages for each Catholic parish, school, and non-profit ministry (organizations) within that arch/diocese wanting to participate on #GivingTuesday. Each profile page features personalization capabilities, including video, photos, custom copy and a donate button to tell that organization’s story, their impact on the community and the church, and what the organization will do with the funds raised. The organization page includes a thermometer and scrolling ticker-tape updating total donations on the Giving Day in real time, affording parishioners, alumni, parents and supporters the opportunity to track how their favorite parish, school or ministry is doing during #iGiveCatholic.
Individuals can also get involved, ensuring the success of their favorite parish, school or ministry by hosting and personalizing individual fundraising pages on behalf of their favorite organization, and/or by providing a gift that can match other donations during the event.
For more information about supporting organizations and ministries withing the Diocese of Jackson on Tuesday, Nov. 28 during the #iGiveCatholic Giving Day, please contact Rebecca Harris at (601) 960-8477.
NATION BRICK, N.J. (OSV News) – An air of both excitement and reverence permeated the parish community of St. Dominic in Brick, Oct. 1, when some 1,200 worshippers gathered throughout the church complex to witness the dedication by Bishop David M. O’Connell of Trenton of a new Diocesan Shrine to Blessed Carlo Acutis and to pray with his mother, Antonia Salzano Acutis, who was visiting from Italy. Blessed Carlo was 15 when he died from leukemia Oct. 12, 2006. He had a deep devotion to the Eucharist and became known for developing a website catalog of Eucharistic miracles. He was declared venerable in 2018 and beatified in 2020. He became the first millennial to be beatified by the church. In his homily, Bishop O’Connell used the day’s Gospel to emphasize how all are called to do the right thing for the right reason. “It’s not simply a matter of our words or what we say but rather, what we do that makes a difference in life.” After the final blessing, Antonia Acutis, Bishop O’Connell and the clergy processed out of the church to the shrine for the dedication ceremony. Following the dedication, Antonia Acutis returned to the church to address the congregation. “God wants us to be awakened toward the Eucharist,” she said. Using her son’s well-known quote, “The Eucharist is the highway to heaven.”
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Over 3,000 pilgrims from across the United States filled the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington Sept. 30, drawn by a shared love of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the rosary. The first annual Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage included a day of preaching, confessions and music, culminating in a chanted rosary procession and the celebration of Mass. Nine months ago, when the Dominican friars of the Province of St. Joseph first issued an invitation to “unite … to confidently seek the intercession of Our Lady,” American Catholics responded in force. Lay pilgrims were joined by more than 80 Dominican friars and over 50 religious sisters from communities across the U.S. “I was completely overwhelmed by the joy and enthusiasm demonstrated by pilgrims,” said Dominican Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, who helped plan the pilgrimage and served as master of ceremonies for the day. “One of the best parts of the day was the demand for confessors. Many, many people sought access to the sacraments. … Pilgrims were evidently moved by the experience.”
VATICAN VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Christian life is a battle each person must fight against the temptation to be self-sufficient and against a paganism disguised as sacredness, Pope Francis said in an introduction to a small book distributed to participants at the synod on synodality. Such “spiritual worldliness,” he wrote, “though it be camouflaged with the appearance of the sacred, it ends up being idolatrous because it does not recognize the presence of God as Lord and liberator of our lives and of the history of the world. It leaves us prey to our capricious desires.” The booklet contains two republished essays by the pope that are “united by the concern, which I feel to be a loud call from God to the entire church, to remain vigilant and to fight with the strength of prayer against every concession to spiritual worldliness,” he wrote in the introduction. Titled, “Holy, Not Worldly: God’s Grace Saves Us From Interior Corruption,” the booklet was released by the Dicastery for Communication and the Vatican publishing house Oct. 6 and was offered to the more than 350 participants attending the afternoon session of the Synod of Bishops on synodality. “I offer these texts to the reader as an opportunity to reflect on his life and on the life of the church, with the conviction that God asks us to be open to His newness, he asks us to be unquiet and never satisfied, searching and never stuck in comfortable opacity, not defended within the walls of false certainties, but walking on the road of holiness,” the pope wrote in the introduction.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As Catholic young people around the world prepare for the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis has asked them to focus on hope. Before the Jubilee of Young People, which will be part of the Holy Year celebration, and the next international celebration of World Youth Day in 2027 in Seoul, South Korea, dioceses around the world are to celebrate World Youth Day on a local level on the feast of Christ the King. The Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life announced Sept. 26 that Pope Francis had chosen as the theme for the upcoming Nov. 26 celebration “Rejoicing in hope,” from Romans 12:12. And for World Youth Day Nov. 24, 2024, he chose: “Those who hope in the Lord will run and not be weary,” drawing from the Lord’s promise in Isaiah 40:31.
An aerial view shows restoration work under way July 18, 2023, at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was badly damaged in a devastating fire in 2019. (OSV News photo/Pascal Rossignol, Reuters)
WORLD PARIS (OSV News) – By the end of the year, the Notre Dame Cathedral silhouette will be restored: Its entire 315-foot-high spire will once again crown the transept crossing, hidden beneath a 330-foot-high scaffolding. The biggest reconstruction in France’s modern history is “a sign of hope for everyone,” the rector-archpriest of Notre Dame Cathedral, Father Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, told OSV News. A Sept. 13 statement by the public institution Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris (Rebuilding of Notre Dame) mentions “spectacular results” and that progress is on schedule for the cathedral’s reopening Dec. 8, 2024, as initially announced. The spire collapsed dramatically during the fire that devastated France and the world on April 15, 2019, destroying part of the nave vaults and the transept crossing. Once rebuilt, the transept crossing vaults will be reassembled, like the other vaults already rebuilt or consolidated. The spire will be gradually unveiled over the first half of 2024, when it is covered with its roof to protect the wooden framework. In 2018, before the fire, there were close to 12 million visitors a year to Notre Dame. An estimated 14 million to 15 million a year are expected once the cathedral reopens. About 340,000 donors from 150 countries raised almost $900 million in donations. Among them are thousands of Americans, especially through the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris foundation.
MEXICO CITY (OSV News) – A Nicaraguan priest has been reported kidnapped from his parish residence as the country’s increasingly totalitarian regime continues cracking down on the Catholic Church and silencing all dissenting voices. Father Álvaro Toledo was taken by police at 10:30 p.m. local time on Oct. 5, according to a Facebook post from Radio Stereo Fe, which belongs to the Diocese of Estelí. Father Toledo was identified on social media as pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Ocotal. His abduction marked the latest in a wave of kidnappings carried out against priests in the Estelí Diocese, located in the country’s northwest, where imprisoned bishop Rolando Álvarez is apostolic administrator. Three other priests in the diocese have been reported abducted from their parishes in less than a week. Father Ivan Centeno, pastor of Immaculate Conception of Mary Parish in Jalapa, and Father Julio Norori, pastor at St. John the Evangelist Parish in San Juan del Río Coco, were abducted Oct. 1 by plain-clothed individuals. Nicaragua media later reported Father Cristóbal Gadea, pastor of the Our Lady of Mercy in the Diocese of Jinotega, was also abducted on the night of Oct. 1. The priest was lured from his parish residence and arrested, according to 100% Noticias.
KOSCIUSKO – A special Mass was celebrated by Bishop Joseph Kopacz, and concelebrated by Father Marco Sanchez, ST, to celebrate the patronal feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus on Sunday, Oct. 1. Over two days of celebration, parishioners were able to enjoy a permanent exhibit press articles and photos donated by the Joseph family following the passing of patriarch Louis Joseph. All the documents and notes came into the hands of Marilyn Scott, a parishioner of St. Therese since 1969. She, along with Vicky Bell Pope, and others, undertook the task of chronologically compiling the history of the church with the documents received.
KOSCIUSKO – Bishop Joseph Kopacz views pictures painted by Vicky Bell Pope, as a part of a permanent installation at St. Therese chronicling the history of the parish. (Photo courtesy of Father Marco Sanchez, ST)
Additionally, Bell Pope painted reproductions of “The Cabin,” which gave birth to the church, and of the story of Father Julian M. Guillou, riding a horse on his journey from Yazoo to Kosciusko. Scott says that this was a “glorious” celebration and noting that “…we have been very blessed to receive these historic documents and also by the presence of Trinitarian priests who have taken charge of the parish.”
The Joseph family are considered the founder of the parish since Mr. and Mrs. Joseph began writing letters to Bishop R.O. Gerow and the town of Kosciusko to help build a church for the growing Catholic community.
“In June 1940, Bishop Gerow dedicated the church to St. Therese of the Child Jesus. The energetic young pastor, the Joseph family, other young members, and a new chapel meant there was Catholic activity like Kosciusko had never seen,” said Scott, reading a prepared statement during the Mass.
The departed Louis Joseph wrote in his original letter to Bishop Gerow: “I know in my heart and soul that our parents were guided to Central Mississippi by our good Lord, to not only raise a wonderful family but to help bring the church to our little town.”
(Marilyn Scott, and Father Marco Sanchez, ST contributed to this story)
