Por Berta Mexidor RIPLEY – La celebración de San Mateo, apóstol y evangelista se celebra cada año el 21 de septiembre. El pasado 24 de septiembre, la comunidad de Ripley realizo un Misa especial seguida de un festival para celebrar a su santo Patrón. Los parroquianos de St. Mathew se reunieron después de Misa en las inmediaciones de la iglesia.
Todos, jóvenes niños y ancianos tuvieron la oportunidad de disfrutar de juegos, comidas y bebidas típicas. Al frente de la organización y éxito de todas las actividades estuvo la Hermana Carol Ann Prenger, SSND, ministra laica eclesial y todos los lideres laicos de las comunidades anglo y latina. Los niños en general tuvieron competencias de futbol y juegos de todo tipo, incluidos los equipos inflables, que tanto gustan. La iglesia de St. Mathew tiene como ministro sacramental al Padre Jesuraj Xavier y ofrece Misas en español cada domingo a la una y treinta de la tarde.
(Los líderes hispanos Maria Ruedas y Eduardo Padilla contribuyeron con esta historia)
El 24 de septiembre, la comunidad de Ripley tuvo un festival para celebrar a su santo Patrón. (Arriba y arriba izq.) Los parroquianos de St. Mathew y en especial los niños disfrutaron de juegos, comidas y bebidas multitradicionales. Fotos de Eduardo Padilla)
Earlier this month on Oct. 2, the documentary film “Going Home Like a Shooting Star: Thea Bowman’s Journey to Sainthood” was released for public edification and inspiration both in the church and beyond to all Christians and people of goodwill who long for something better for all of God’s children. It is a dynamic nearly hour-long presentation of the life of Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA – the times in which she lived, her impact during her lifetime, and now more than ever her witness in the present and deep into the future.
Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz
It’s a time of great joy for the Diocese of Jackson as we celebrate the life of this religious woman whose story is a remarkable journey of faith. Sister Thea is officially a Servant of God, the first stage for those who are blessed to be on the path to canonization in the Catholic Church. This is a steep climb that follows the narrow road that the church has established for those set apart as faithful disciples who were extraordinary in their walk with the Lord during their time on this earth.
Pope Francis calls such a steady abundance of grace in the life of a person or a community “overflow moments” when the presence of God’s providence is palpable, and the path ahead opens up with new and unexpected ways. The opening prayer at Mass this past weekend expresses this desire for all of our lives. “Lord God, open our hearts to your grace. Let it go before us and be with us that we may always be intent on doing your will.”
Sister Thea had many “overflow moments” in her life of 50 years and certainly would include her entrance into the Catholic Church at age nine, her decision to enter into formation as a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration in her mid-teens, and her perseverance in her battle with tuberculosis early in formation that did not weaken her resolve in pursuit of her religious vocation. She “had made her vows to the Lord” early in life and her “yes” empowered her to celebrate and endure all that crossed her path until God called her home like a shooting star. The documentary celebrates an abundance of God’s grace across her lifespan.
Her voice will resound for generations to come in many and varied ways. She was a scholar and educator who demanded excellence from her students, young and older. She was a charismatic woman of praise who led congregations to sing out their joy to the Lord. She had a deep love for the truth and her prophetic voice has been heard and will gather more strength over time. She loved the church and its universality and she challenged us to be genuinely one, holy, catholic and apostolic.
She wholeheartedly loved her people and culture, but not over and against the universality and diversity of the Catholic Church in our country and in the world. She upheld the dignity of all of God’s children because we are all part of the family of God. She would have sung out full throated and unsparingly last Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm, “the Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.”
In the months ahead we will develop a study guide for “Going Home Like a Shooting Star” that will shed more light on Sister Thea’s blessed life. The Holy Spirit surely will open our hearts and minds through prayer, conversation and reflection to follow the Lord more faithfully on the path to holiness, our universal call. On her gravestone is her motto: “I tried.”
May Sister Thea, Servant of God inspire us to try in the uniqueness of our lives and times to live by God’s abundant grace.
JACKSON – Servant of God, Sister Thea Bowman is the subject of a new documentary “Going Home Like a Shooting Star: Thea Bowman’s Journey to Sainthood.” Pictured, Sister Thea Bowman emphasizes participation to music conference attendees, including the choir of Holy Child Jesus Elementary School, at Murrah High School in November of 1986. (Photo form archives)
I met Kai Lee I during my final year of seminary studies in New Orleans. One of the priests on faculty, Father Joe Krafft, told me that he had met this man at a parish in the area who was looking for an RCIA program that fit his circumstances. Kai had been married to a Catholic for about 30 years and had raised his son Austin in the faith. He was so active in his parish that most parishioners at Christ the King on the Westbank assumed he was already Catholic, but he hadn’t even been baptized! As Father Krafft listened to Kai’s story and realized he wasn’t baptized, he didn’t assume that Kai had already discerned whether or not to join the church, he asked him!
Father Nick Adam
Kai began to attend RCIA sessions at the seminary with myself and one of the other seminarians. He was an incredible student who left no stone unturned. He ended up reading through the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church (and he poured through much of it while he was taking instruction from us), and I always had to make sure I stayed up on my own studies so I’d be able to help answer the questions he would come up with during the week. Kai remembers how we would often go over our class time by 30 minutes to an hour just talking about the faith. Kai was baptized and received first communion and confirmation in May 2018. It was a joy filled day, and it was a great joy to see Kai, his wife Vicky, and their son Austin earlier this month as they paid a visit to Jackson.
The lesson I learned from Kai is one that I use in vocation ministry today: don’t assume, just ask. You may see a young man who is active in his faith and in the church and assume that he has already been encouraged to think about priesthood, or that he’s already discerned and decided against going to the seminary — but don’t assume, just ask! It is so helpful to all of us when we are encouraged by someone to share our gifts. We need that encouragement as human beings, and so never be shy to ask someone if they have considered priesthood and to tell them that they should.
There is one more step that is important to remember. If you can, make sure you help that person make the next step in their journey. Father Krafft helped Kai get connected to an RCIA program that fit his specific circumstance. You can help a young man that you encourage about the priesthood by putting him in touch with me! Remember that anyone who is interested in priesthood or religious life can call my office to get more information — my direct line here at the office is (601) 969-4020, or send me an email at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.
Don’t assume, just ask. And then help a young man make the next step in his discernment by encouraging him to talk to me!
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – With “rivers of blood and tears” still flowing in Ukraine and with the increasing threat of the use of nuclear weapons, Pope Francis begged Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Stop this spiral of violence and death.”
With the situation being “so serious, devastating and threatening,” the pope did not offer his customary commentary on the day’s Gospel reading before reciting the Angelus prayer Oct. 2. Instead, he focused on the war and the “terrible and inconceivable wound” it is inflicting on humanity.
While constantly calling for peace and offering prayers for the victims since the war began in late February, the pope drew attention in his talk to “the serious situation that has arisen in recent days with further actions contrary to the principles of international law,” a clear reference to Putin’s announcement Sept. 30 that Russia was annexing four occupied territories in Ukraine.
The decision, the pope told people in St. Peter’s Square, “increases the risk of nuclear escalation to the point of fears of uncontrollable and catastrophic consequences worldwide.”
“My appeal is addressed first of all to the president of the Russian Federation, begging him to stop this spiral of violence and death, also for the sake of his people,” the pope said.
But “saddened by the immense suffering of the Ukrainian people as a result of the aggression suffered,” Pope Francis also appealed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “to be open” to any “serious peace proposals.”
Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 2, 2022. The pope begged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine and condemned Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions. He also called upon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be open to serious peace proposals. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
The pope also asked world leaders “to do everything in their power to put an end to the ongoing war, without allowing themselves to be drawn into dangerous escalations, and to promote and support initiatives for dialogue.”
While remembering Ukraine’s “thousands of victims,” including children, the destruction and the displacement of millions of people, Pope Francis also spoke of specifics.
“Some actions can never be justified. Never!” the pope said.
“It’s distressing that the world is learning the geography of Ukraine through names like Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Izium, Zaporizhzhia and other towns that have become places of suffering and indescribable fear,” the pope said, referring to cities previously occupied by Russian troops and where mass graves were found once the areas were liberated.
“And what about the fact that humanity is once again faced with the atomic threat?” the pope asked. “It is absurd.”
“How much blood still must flow before we understand that war is never a solution, only destruction?” the pope asked thousands of people gathered in the square for the midday prayer.
“In the name of God and in the name of the sense of humanity that dwells in every heart,” he said, “I renew my call for an immediate ceasefire.”
Pope Francis prayed for a negotiated settlement of the conflict, one that is “not imposed by force, but agreed, just and stable.”
A just solution, he said, must be “based on respect for the sacred value of human life, as well as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country, and the rights of minorities and legitimate concerns.”
There comes a time in life when it’s time to stop writing your resume and begin to write your obituary. I’m not sure who first coined that line, but there’s wisdom in it.
What’s the difference between a resume and an obituary? Well, the former details your achievements, the latter expresses how you want to be remembered and what kind of oxygen and blessing you want to leave behind. But, how exactly do you write an obituary so that it’s not, in effect, just another version of your resume? Here’s a suggestion.
Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
There’s a custom in Judaism where as an adult you make out a spiritual will each year. Originally, this will was more in line with the type of will we typically make, where the focus is on burial instructions, on who gets what when we die, and on how to legally and practically tie up the unfinished details of our lives. Through time, however, this evolved so that today this will is focused more on a review of your life, the highlighting of what’s been most precious in your life, the honest expression of regrets and apologies, and the blessing, by name, of those persons to whom you want to say a special goodbye. The will is reviewed and renewed each year so that it is always current, and it’s read aloud at your funeral as the final words you want to leave behind for your loved ones.
This can be a very helpful exercise for each of us to do, except that such a will is not done in a lawyer’s office, but in prayer, perhaps with a spiritual director, a counsellor, or a confessor helping us. Very practically, what might go into a spiritual will of this sort?
If you are looking for help in doing this, I recommend the work and the writings of Richard Groves, the co-founder of the Sacred Art of Living Center. He has been working in the field of end-of-life spirituality for more than thirty years and offers some very helpful guidance vis-à-vis creating a spiritual will and renewing it regularly. It focus on three questions.
First: What, in life, did God want me to do? Did I do it? All of us have some sense of having a vocation, of having a purpose for being in this world, of having been given some task to fulfill in life. Perhaps we might only be dimly aware of this, but, at some level of soul, all of us sense a certain duty and purpose. The first task in a spiritual will is to try to come to grips with that. What did God want me to do in this life? How well or poorly have I been doing it?
Second: To whom do I need to say, “I’m sorry?” What are my regrets? Just as others have hurt us, we have hurt others. Unless we die very young, all of us have made mistakes, hurt others and done things we regret. A spiritual will is meant to address this with searing honesty and deep contrition. We are never more big-hearted, noble, prayerful, and deserving of respect than when we are down on our knees sincerely recognizing our weaknesses, apologizing, asking where we need to make amends.
Third: Who, very specifically, by name, do I want to bless before I die and gift with some special oxygen? We are most like God (infusing divine energy into life) when we are admiring others, affirming them, and offering them whatever we can from our own lives as a help to them in theirs. Our task is to do this for everyone, but we cannot do this for everyone, individually, by name. In a spiritual will, we are given the chance to name those people we most want to bless. When the prophet Elijah was dying, his servant, Elisha, begged him to leave him “a double portion” of his spirit. When we die, we’re meant to leave our spirit behind as sustenance for everyone; but there are some people, whom we want to name, to whom we want to leave a double portion. In this will, we name those people.
In a wonderfully challenging book, The Four Things That Matter Most, Ira Byock, a medical doctor who works with the dying, submits that there are four things we need to say to our loved ones before we die: “Please forgive me,” “I forgive you,” “Thank you,” and “I love you.” He’s right; but, given the contingencies, tensions, wounds, heartaches, and ups and downs within our relationships, even with those we love dearly, it isn’t always easy (or sometimes even existentially possible) to say those words clearly, without any equivocation. A spiritual will gives us the chance to say them from a place that we can create which is beyond the tensions that generally cloud our relationships and prevent us from speaking clearly, so that at our funeral, after the eulogy, we will have no unfinished business with those we have left behind.
(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)
A ticket admitting two to the Homegrown Harvest Festival is $100. The event includes a silent auction and a sit-down meal served by the Knights of Columbus 9543 at St. Francis of Assisi in Madison. To purchase tickets, to view sponsorship levels for this year’s event, or to make a donation to seminarian education, visit: https://bit.ly/HGHarvest2022.
By Joe Lee MADISON – Once he was named vocation director for the Diocese of Jackson, Father Nick Adam went right to work on developing a grand plan to get seminarians acquainted with parishioners from all over the diocese.
That dream became the Jackson Seminarian Homegrown Harvest Festival, now in its third year and set for Saturday, Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Madison. The event includes a sit-down meal, a silent auction and a seminarian presentation.
“I knew we needed to raise money to support the education of future priests,” said Father Adam. “But I wanted there to be an event where we came together to ‘see’ what was happening with our vocation program.
“Homegrown Harvest began with a vision of an event to celebrate our faith and the future priests of our church, and this year we are going to ‘see’ that we have nine seminarians. That’s four more than we had just this past May.”
Seminarian education is hardly inexpensive. Bishop Joseph Kopacz estimates that education plus room and board for each year of college seminary and theology is in the $40,000 range per student. Then there’s travel, summer assignments and summer formation programs for the seminarian, bringing to cost per student much closer to $50,000 annually.
“The Homegrown Harvest is becoming the featured event to celebrate the gift of priesthood, to encourage vocations, and to personally invite candidates for seminary discernment and formation,” Bishop Kopacz said. “It is also an opportunity to build up the community of parents, family members, friends and supporters of priestly vocations.”
It might make sense to guess that most seminarians are in their early twenties, though this season’s group of nine ranges from early twenties to early fifties. For older seminarians, the discernment process is different because of their station in life, as well as the role parents play in the life of a fifty-something seminarian compared to that of a teen who may hear the call and look to his parents for guidance and encouragement.
The third annual Jackson Seminarian Homegrown Harvest event will take place on Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Madison.
“I always tell young men that my job is to discern with them,” Father Adam said. “Seminary is not the end; it is a resource for young men to discover whether the Lord is calling them to priesthood. If a young man has the desire and the maturity to enter into the seminary and use the resources there for a couple of years to discover whether priesthood is for him, then he should go.”
Father Adam and the diocese have started a new initiative called POPS (Parents of Priests/Seminarians/Sisters) which works alongside the Homegrown Harvest Festival.
“Just like we are using the festival to build community and prayerful support for our seminarians,” Father Adam said of POPS, “we want to make sure we are directing resources toward parents who have made a great gift to the church by supporting their sons and daughters who are pursuing a religious vocation.”
Bishop Kopacz, though, is quick to point out that Father Adam and other vocation directors are not recruiters.
“At times (the vocation director) is directing a young person to consider the beauty of marriage, religious life, or single way of life for a time — or for a lifetime — in service to the Lord,” he said. “Ultimately it is a matter of recognizing one’s gifts and talents for one’s own good, the good of others and the glory of God. This is the gift of our Baptism that, properly nurtured, is the foundation for all vocations.” Father Andrew Bowden, associate pastor at St. Richard in Jackson since June, said he began thinking of the priesthood at a young age.
“For most of the time I was in middle school and high school I was about 90 percent sure that it was what God was calling me to,” he said. “But I would not say that this is the norm. I locked in mentally, becoming sure that this was what God was calling me to, during my first year in the seminary.
“People today tend to try to distract themselves from what God asks of them. Ultimately this only causes greater dissatisfaction. It is never too early nor too late to start asking God what He wants you to do and to encourage the people around you to do the same. God is the source of our joy, so the greatest joy will be experienced in doing what He asks us to do.”
As Bishop Kopacz points out, presentations, prayer services and conversations are ways of planting seeds that God can bring to fruition in the years ahead. In addition to donating generously, plan to have a nice meal at the Homegrown Harvest Festival and get to know the current crop of seminarians. You may never know what impact you could have on their journey.
Sister Dorothy (Dorothy Lorraine) Olinger died on Sept. 18, 2022 at Ascension
St. Vincent Hospital in Evansville, Ind. Sister was born on July 3, 1933 in Chicago and was one of twelve children of Madona (Coonrad) and Peter Olinger. Sr. Dorothy graduated from St. Gregory High School in Chicago and entered the Daughters of Charity in St. Louis, Mo., in 1952.
Olinger Sister Dorothy, Daughters of Charity
After initial formation, Sr. Dorothy served as a teacher at St. Theresa School in New Orleans (1953-1956), St. Thomas Home in Birmingham, Ala. (1956-1963), St. Vincent School in Donaldsonville, La. (where she also served as principal, 1963-1969), St. Francis de Sales School in Lake Zurich, Ill. (1969-1973), Cathedral School in Natchez, Miss. (1973-1985), St. Joseph School in East St. Louis, Ill. (1985-1987), St. James Major School in Prichard, Ala. (1995-2001), and Our Lady of the Valley Center in Gloverville, S.C. (2014-2016). Sister received a BA in English from Marillac College in St. Louis, Mo. (1963) and an MA in Elementary Math Education from the University of Detroit in Michigan (1978). Sister also served as a Housemother at St. Elizabeth Home in New Orleans, La. (1956), Computer Consultant at St. Mary’s Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisc. (1987-1993), Registrar at St. Louise de Marillac High School in Northfield, Ill. (1993-1994), Docent at the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Md. (2001-2003), Tutor-Aide at St. Therese School in Jackson, Miss. (2003-2008) and Receptionist at Catholic Charities in Nashville, Tenn. (2008-2014) until she came to Seton Residence in Evansville in 2016 to serve in the Ministry of Prayer.
A Wake Service was held on Monday, September 26, 2022 in the Seton Residence Chapel followed by the Mass of Christian Burial; internment at St. Joseph Cemetery. Sister was preceded in death by her sisters Patricia LoCoco, Mary Catherine Drollinger, Margaret Sellars, Elizabeth Keller and Elaine Tipton and her brothers William, Thomas, John and Joseph Olinger and she is survived by her brother Michael Olinger and her sister Donna Talley, nieces and nephews, her Sisters in Community and many friends.
Donations may be made to the Daughters of Charity, 4330 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63108.
Cierro con la siguiente reflexión que fue un faro para San Juan Pablo II en su largo y fructífero ministerio apostólico. Fue el discípulo misionero sin paralelo.
“En las guerras culturales del pasado reciente, la iglesia ha defendido los valores fundamentales de nuestra civilización. Debemos estar orgullosos de esos pastores e intelectuales que lideraron esas luchas. Sin embargo, debemos preguntarnos. ¿Es posible defender los valores cristianos y naturales en la arena pública si su raíz, la fe en la presencia viva de Jesucristo, se ha secado? Si la raíz está podrida, el árbol caerá; ante todo debemos buscar fortalecer la raíz. Debemos convertirnos en discípulos misioneros: antes de predicar la ley debemos entrar en el corazón de la gente. Solo entonces podremos hablar con autoridad, y solo entonces nuestro pueblo sentirá que la ley no es una imposición externa, sino la respuesta al anhelo más profundo de su corazón.”
(Tomado del libro de Rocco Buttiglione, Descubriendo al Papa Francisco El Esplendor de la Verdad, El Evangelio de la Vida, ¡La Alegría del Evangelio!)
En estas fotos de archivo (izquierda) El Santo papa Juan Pablo II saluda al líder soviético Mijaíl Gorbachov en el Vaticano el 18 de noviembre de 1990. Gorbachov, de 91 años, falleció en Moscú el 30 de agosto de 2022 (CNS photo/Luciano Mellace, Reuters) (centro) Una mujer indígena mexicana sostiene incienso, mientras el Papa San Juan Pablo II observa, durante la beatificación de los mártires indígenas Jacinto de los Ángeles y Juan Bautista en la Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en la Ciudad de México el 1 de agosto de 2002. Un sacerdote canadiense, que ayudaba a preparar la visita del Papa Francisco a Canadá, dijo que gestos como la ceremonia de la mancha o mirar a las cuatro direcciones para orar, muestran sensibilidad hacia la cultura indígena y no son contrarios a la fe católica. (Foto del CNS de Reuters) (derecha) El Papa San Juan Pablo II intercambia regalos con la Reina Isabel II de Gran Bretaña durante su audiencia privada en el Vaticano el 17 de octubre de 2000. La Reina Isabel falleció el 8 de septiembre de 2022, a la edad de 96 años. (Foto de CNS/Reuters)
A new documentary from NewGroup Media and the Diocese of Jackson, MS, Going Home Like a Shooting Star: Thea Bowman’s Journey to Sainthood, presents the riveting life of Sister Thea Bowman, an African American Catholic Franciscan Sister who used her powerful gifts to educate and challenge the church and society to grow in racial inclusivity. Her skills of preaching, music, and teaching moved many Catholics to begin to confront their own racism while she urged her African American brothers and sisters to claim their gifts and share their “fully functioning” personhood. Thea worked tirelessly to proclaim this message until her untimely death from breast cancer in 1990.
The film features interviews and commentary from her family, Sisters in community, colleagues, friends, and former students. Input from African-American scholars, clerics and bishops will speak to the ongoing issue of systemic racism in the church and country. Extensive use is made of archival media that portrays Thea in action–photographs, film, video and audio recordings recorded in locations of significance to her life.
The program title is drawn from a quotation attributed to Sojourner Truth. When Thea was asked what she wanted said at her funeral, she answered, “Just say what Sojourner Truth said: ‘I’m not going to die. I’m going home like a shooting star.’”
The film, part of the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission’s fall documentary season, will begin airing on ABC stations nationwide on October 2, 2022. As of Sept. 30, the following stations have scheduled showings of the film:
WTVA Tupelo- Oct. 2 at 10 a.m. WTOK Meridian – Oct. 2 at 11:30 p.m. WLOX Biloxi – Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. WAPT Jackson – Oct. 30 at 1 p.m.
Sister Judith Ann Zielinski, OSF researched, wrote and produced the film, from early COVID-quarantined research in spring, 2020 through fund-raising, location production, scriptwriting, and delivery to ABC in fall, 2022. She coordinated dramatic re-enactments from Thea’s childhood and early convent life and conducted all of the program’s interviews—with Thea’s childhood friends, former students, teaching colleagues, two bishops, several priests and Franciscan Sisters, weaving together their personal memories and testimonies as a basis for the script.
Christopher Salvador, NGM Partner, directed the dramatic re-enactments within the film, coordinated budget, contractual and network relations, and oversaw post- production.
Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, Ordinary of Jackson, MS, initiated Sister Thea’s Cause for Sainthood in 2018 with an appeal to the full body of US Bishops which won unanimous approval. As Executive Producer, he supported the production of the film, actively collaborated with the production team, and continues to oversee the advancement of Sister Thea’s Cause.
Other interviewees include:
Rev. Maurice J. Nutt, CSsR, Preacher and pastoral theologian; Thea’s doctoral student; her biographer; associate producer instrumental in gathering pivotal colleagues and friends of Thea to participate in the project;
Rev. Bryan Massingale, Theology Professor, Fordham University, Authority/ speaker on systemic racism in the US and church;
Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, Ordinary, Archdiocese of Washington, DC, senior African-American Bishop who was present at Sister Thea’s famous Seton Hall address to the US Bishops in 1989;
Sr Eileen McKenzie, FSPA, President, Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Thea’s religious community, La Crosse WI;
Sr Dorothy Ann Kundinger, FSPA, Thea’s friend, companion and caretaker during Thea’s struggle with cancer and present at her death
Going Home Like a Shooting Star includes extensive use of Bowman family photos, archival material, and footage of Thea from varied public appearances, including her famous interview with Mike Wallace on CBS’ 60 Minutes.
Going Home Like a Shooting Star was filmed on location in:
Jackson and Canton, MS
New Orleans, LA
La Crosse, WI
Washington, DC
San Antonio, TX
New York City
South Bend, IN
The film makes a strong connection between Thea’s Gospel call for justice, love and unity and the current effort of Black Lives Matter activists and efforts to combat systemic racism. Many in the film cite Thea’s voice as an influence on their ongoing efforts to achieve social and racial justice.
Production of Going Home Like a Shooting Star: Thea Bowman’s Journey to Sainthood was made possible with funding from the Catholic Communications Campaign of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as support from various foundations and congregations of U.S. men and women religious.
