Category Archives: Featured

Two ordained as priests

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Father Nick Adam and Father Aaron Williams were ordained to the priesthood on the Feast of the Visitation, Thursday, May 31, at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle. Both are local vocations. Father Williams grew up at the Cathedral and graduated from Jackson St. Richard and Madison St. Joseph schools. While Father Adam grew up out of state, he first felt the call to the priesthood while working in Meridian so he calls St. Patrick and St. Joseph his home parishes.
At the ordination Bishop Joseph Kopacz announced that Father Adam has been assigned as parochial vicar at Jackson St. Richard Parish and Father Williams has been assigned as parochial vicar at Greenville St. Joseph Parish. Father Williams will also teach at St. Joseph School.
Both men also celebrated their first Masses of Thanksgiving the following day. Father Williams celebrated a votive Mass of the Sacred Heart at 12:05 Friday at the Cathedral while Father Adam celebrated his Mass at 6 p.m. at St. Richard Parish.
Mark Shoffner is set to be ordained a transitional deacon on the day this paper is delivered to homes, Friday, June 9, at his home parish of Greenville St. Joseph. Deacon Adolfo Suarez Pasillas was ordained in Mexico earlier this year. Deacon Shoffner will serve his transitional year at Gluckstadt St. Joseph Parish while Deacon Pasillas will serve at Jackson St. Therese Parish.
Full coverage of all four of this year’s ordinations will appear in the next edition of Mississippi Catholic, set to publish Friday, June 29.
In Bishop column you can read the bishop’s ordination homily or click here.

Cleaning robot to compete nationally

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JACKSON – A team of sixth-graders from St. Richard Catholic School won top honors in the state eCYBERMISSION competition, which will send them to the nationals in Washington, D.C. this summer.
Team Squeegee Feast won the state and then regional levels of the eCYBERMISSION competition – a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiative offered by the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP). The St. Richard students built “The Squage,” a working robot, to clean tables and floors in their school cafeteria.
“These kids came in after school, on weekends and during the holidays to brainstorm, problem-solve and perfect their robot,” said St. Richard Principal Jennifer David. “We are so proud of all the work they put into it and thankful to have such dedicated team leaders in Ashley and Allan Klein, who volunteer to lead this project every year.”
Students compete on state, regional, and national levels for monetary awards, with national winning teams receiving up to $9,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds, valued at maturity. Two teams from Madison St. Joseph School received state recognition for their projects.
All 20 regional winning teams move on to compete as national finalists at the National Judging and Education Event (NJ&EE). NJ&EE is an all-expenses-paid trip set for June 17-22 in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
Sponsored by the U.S. Army and administered by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), eCYBERMISSION is a web-based STEM competition that is free to students and designed to help build their interest and knowledge in STEM. Students in grades six through nine are challenged with developing a solution to a real-world problem in their local community.

Schools, parishes honor Mary in May

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JACKSON – Sixth-grader Lillian Boggan places the crown on Mary’s statue during the school Mass on Wednesday, May 9. (Photo by Maureen Smith)

MADISON – St. Joseph students Gianna Altamirano and Syndi Vandevender, below, crowned Mary at the Thursday, May 10 school Mass. Fathers John Bohn and Jason Johnston also blessed junior class rings at the Mass. (Photos by Maureen Smith)

GRANADA – Tony Le, presents flowers at the May crowning at St. Peter Parish on Sunday, May 13. Children in the parish each presented flowers before Madeline Liberto placed a crown on Mary’s statue. (Photos by Michael Liberto)

St. Francis’ Cajun Fest pleases all ages

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By Joe Lee
MADISON – The 33rd annual Cajun Fest fundraiser at St. Francis of Assisi on May 6 made approximately $32,000 in sun-baked, mouth-watering profits, as people from all over central Mississippi enjoyed boiled crawfish, pulled pork sandwiches and many other culinary favorites. The proceeds will help repair the interior of St. Clare Hall on the St. Francis campus. On May 12, Knights of Columbus Council 9543 at St. Francis raised approximately $15,000 for seminarian education at their annual Floyd Q. Doolittle Memorial Golf Classic, held at Whisper Lake Country Club of Madison.

Spring Sacrament Edition

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Mississippi Catholic will publish a Spring Sacraments edition in July. This means we need your First Communion and Confirmation photos. This is your only chance to submit posed group photos to Mississippi Catholic by email to editor@mississippicatholic.com. The final due date for submissions is Friday, July 6.

PEARL – St. Jude celebrated First communion Sunday, May 6. (Photos by Tereza Ma)

Five priests to celebrate significant anniversaries

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Five priests in the Dio

cese of Jackson will mark significant anniversaries of ordination in 2018. Father Noel Prendergast marks 60 years as a priest on June 7, Msgr. Elvin Sunds was ordained 45 years ago on August 5, Fathers Kent Bowlds and Tim Murphy are celebrating 25 years and Father Lincoln Dall was ordained 10 years ago on May 31.

Father Prendergast’s photo from when he first arrived in Mississippi. (Diocese of Jackson Archives)

Father Prendergast was born in Kilkenny, Ireland in 1934. He was ordained in St. Patrick’s Church in Carlow in 1958 and arrived in the then Diocese of Natchez Jackson that fall. He grew up with six brothers and one sister. Two of his brothers became priests. One stayed in their home diocese and another went to Africa as a missionary. The other siblings became farmers. Father Prendergast still goes home to visit his great-grand nieces and nephews.
When he arrived in Mississippi, starting his ministry at Biloxi Blessed Nativity Parish, the church was on the cusp of Vatican II and the state was just starting to see the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement. Father Prendergast said he and his brother priests had to listen and be patient as history took its course.
The priests got updates on Vatican II as the council progressed. “Our bishops were very supportive, Bishop (Joseph) Brunini and Bishop (Oliver) Gerow. Bishop Brunini would go over to Vatican II and come back after two or three months over there and tell us what went on. Then then we had workshops to prepare ourselves for what was coming out of Vatican II. It was all very helpful,” he said.
Father Prendergast went on to serve at Jackson St. Mary, Natchez Assumption, Columbus Annunciation, Vicksburg St. Michael, Yazoo City St. Mary and St. Francis and Clinton Holy Savior as well as at the mission in Gulfport. These days he is retired in Clinton. He helps out at Holy Savior, offering Masses when the pastor is out of town, between playing golf and visiting with friends.
Holy Savior will celebrate Father Prendergast’s anniversary on Monday, June 18, with Mass at 6 p.m. followed by a reception. All are welcome.

JACKSON – Msgr. Sunds, with Secretary of State Delbert Hoseman, opened the 2016 Mississippi Legislative session with prayer. He was often at the capitol advocating for Catholic Charities. (Mississippi Catholic File Photo)

Msgr. Sunds said he can hardly believe he is celebrating 45 years of priesthood. Although born in Nebraska, he was raised in Iowa where he attended Catholic schools. After high school, he went to seminary. He was not convinced he had a vocation, but “had a feeling this is what God wanted me to do.” Msgr. Sunds always tells young men they don’t have to go to seminary with their minds made up. Seminary, he said, helps men discern their call and acquire the skills they will need to do the job. “After all, as they say, God does not call the enabled, he enables the called,” he said.
When he advises young men who believe they have a vocation, Msgr Sunds urges them to “pray. Really listen to the Lord. He’s not going to whisper in your ear, but he will tug at your heart.” He took a year off during his seminary formation to be sure he was following the right path. He was serving in New York when he met some priests from Mississippi. “They were very involved in social ministry and serving the poor and I thought ‘that’s the kind of priest I want to be,’” said Msgr. Sunds. He returned to seminary and asked to be ordained for the Magnolia state.
He started on the coast, serving at Biloxi Sacred Heart before coming to Jackson for the most significant part of his career, working for 19 years at Catholic Charities. He was the director of the agency for 16 of those years. He left Charities and served as the Vicar General of the Diocese for 10 years. In parishes, he served at Jackson Holy Family, Meridian St. Patrick and St. Joseph and currently serves as pastor of Jackson St. Therese.

JACKSON – Father Kent Bowlds celebrates Mass with Bishop William Houck at St. Richard Parish in this 2001 photo. (Mississippi Catholic file photo)

Father Kent Bowlds will mark 25 years of the priesthood this June. The Kentucky native moved to Jackson with his parents, four sisters and one brother, when his Dad’s job was moved here. He was in seventh-grade so he finished school at St. Joseph School.
“I started thinking about priesthood in my junior or senior year of high school, and I think an important factor was all of the priests I had known — from Father Mitchell in Kentucky, who was young and down to earth, to Fathers Eddie Balser, Joe Dyer, Elvin Sunds, and others who helped me grow in faith, perhaps without their ever realizing it, while also being themselves with their unique personalities,” wrote Father Bowlds in an email to Mississippi Catholic.
Father Kent was not convinced of his vocation so he went to college and started a career. “After graduation I worked at Mississippi Public Broadcasting for ten years. I enjoyed that immensely but the idea of priesthood had never entirely gone out of my mind. I was ready for a change and after some good spiritual direction I decided the only way to truly discern was to enter seminary and was accepted by the Diocese of Jackson. In seminary the discernment continued and the call to priesthood solidified,” he wrote.
He worked as vocations director for the Diocese of Jackson for a number of years, so Father Kent has spoken to many young men about vocations. He urges them to have courage and be open. “And it’s important not to pray in a total vacuum, ‘just me and God,’ but also to consider all sorts of things, such as what others are saying about him, what his experiences tell him, where he finds himself naturally drawn, etc. A good spiritual adviser, also, will not try to talk someone into the priesthood, but can help one figure out what God could be saying,” he explained. “Some men think, ‘I might want a family someday’ — which doesn’t necessarily mean they are not called to priesthood. A desire for family can also indicate a generous spirit and an openness to long term commitment, qualities that are also essential for priesthood.”
He served at Madison St. Francis of Assisi, Meridian St. Patrick and St. Joseph, Clarksdale St. Elizabeth and Immaculate Conception, Jackson St. Richard and Holy Family, Crystal Springs St. John and Hazelhurst St. Martin as well as his current parish of Cleveland Our Lady of Victories.
Father Bowlds will celebrate his anniversary with a Mass and reception at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 22, at Cleveland Our Lady of Victories, Parish.
Also celebrating a quarter of a century of priesthood is Father Tim Murphy, pastor of Tupelo St. James and Pontotoc St. Christopher, ordained Nov. 27, 1993. “I was ordained by Bishop (William) Houck at Glenmary in Cincinnati. It was a wonderful privilege,” said Father Murphy, who was born in New Jersey.
He came to the diocese as a Glenmary Home Missioner in 1991. He was working with the Glenmary research center out of Atlanta as part of the order’s Commission on Justice. At that time, the Glenmarys had founded and were staffing several missions and parishes in the state including Amory St. Helen, Fulton Christ the King and West Point Immaculate Conception.
When the Glenmarys left in 2015, he was incardinated into the diocese. Father Murphy has always served in some of the diocese’s rural locations, often caring for more than one community at a time. He said he came to Mississppi “by the grace of God.”
His postings include Amory St. Helen, Fulton Christ the King, Aberdeen St. Francis, Houston Immaculate Heart of Mary, Okolona St. Theresa, Pontotoc St. Christopher and Bruce St. Luke.
“I am very happy to be here and I am grateful for the mission and to be a part of it,” said Father Murphy.

TUPELO – Father Lincoln Dall brought the tradition of the Camino del Santiago to St. James Parish. Wearing his pilgrim’s shell, he walks a pilgrimage to the parish in 2015. (Mississippi Catholic file photo)

Ten years ago, the diocese welcomed Father Lincoln Dall to the presbyterate. Dall was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was a lay missionary for eight years in Canada, Ecuador and the U.S. before he ended up in a teaching corps in Greenville. He joined Sacred Heart Parish. “I had been looking into the priesthood and they encouraged me,” he said of the parish community. He went to Sacred Heart Seminary in Wisconsin where he “had the most wonderful experience possible,” said Father Dall. “It encouraged me and nurtured me.” He was ordained on May 31, 2008.
Father Dall said he tells young men they don’t have to be 100 percent sure to attend seminary. “Just listen to where God is calling you and don’t be afraid to take little steps,” he advised.
Father Dall has made a number of pilgrimages – including several to the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James in Spain. He said the first one he made helped him discern his vocation. “Sometimes, you don’t understand what is happening while you are on the pilgrimage and you come home and unpack it – sometimes even years later,” he said. He started a pilgrimage at Tupelo St. James Parish to celebrate the parish’s patron.
Father Dall has served at Jackson St. Richard, Yazoo City St. Francis and St. Mary, Belzoni All Saints and Tupelo St. James. He is currently pastor of Pearl St. Jude Parish.

Weeks before grand opening, shelter burns

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – On Sunday, April 29, the dream of opening a new shelter for those fleeing domestic violence almost went up in flames. Catholic Charities was only a few weeks away from opening a new shelter in Jackson when an abandoned house next to the facility caught fire. The flames were so intense, they jumped to the roof of the facility.
“It was pretty devastating,” said John Lunardini, COO of Catholic Charities Jackson. Investigators continue to look for a cause, but Lunardini said the blaze may have started when a vagrant started a fire inside the abandoned house to stay warm on the cold night.
Catholic Charities was going to purchase the house and tear it down to put in a play area for children, but did not yet own the property. This move has been about four years and a million dollars in the making. When the previous shelter was facing some costly repairs, the Catholic Charities board looked at all the available options and decided moving to a new facility was the best approach.
After an exhaustive search, Charities found a new site and started work more than a year ago. The new facility, once renovated, could house nine families at a time. The building included rooms for staff members to be housed on-site to assist victims 24-hours a day. Other amenities include a therapeutic group and counseling area, a suite of offices, a family room, commercial kitchen facilities, a dining area and bathing facilities. The shelter will serve Copiah, Hinds, Rankin, Madison, Issaquena, Sharkey, Simpson, Yazoo and Warren counties.
Workers had begun to move in furniture and plans were in place to tear down the house next door when the fire erupted. Fire damaged the roof and firefighters had to smash a window to get inside to douse the flames. There is also water damage inside, but cleanup started within 12 hours of the fire under the supervision of Restoration 1 and program directors are hopeful they can evover.
The Domestic Violence program offers more than just shelter. Case workers and counselors work with survivors, usually women and their children to start a whole new life. Families must attend counseling. Survivors get childcare, help finding a new job and a new place to live and have access to resources even after they leave the shelter.
Counselors told Mississippi Catholic in 2016 that it can take time for a woman to transition from feeling like a victim to taking charge of her life. She needs support and sometimes some practical knowledge to break the cycle of violence and control abusers use against them.
The program can still use furniture and cash donations to get the renovations back on track. Insurance will cover repair to some of the damage to the building, but the agency will need to cover the gap and the program is always looking for items for the families who stay with them such as toiletries, clothing, gift cards for stores and toys for the children. To make a donation, call 601-355-8634 or donate online at www.catholiccharitiesjackson.org.

Hope Haven opens doors

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JACKSON – Bishop Joseph Kopacz, center, gathers visitors and staff for a blessing at the new Catholic Charities Hope Haven Residential facility on Friday, April 13. Hope Haven hosted an open house to celebrate their new residence, which will allow them to double their capacity. Hope Haven is a temporary shelter where teens in crisis and their families can get help to start the path to healing. The organization is still looking for supplies including sheet and comforter sets, exercise equipment and toiletries. Contact Kim Thomason to donate at 601-397-2224 or kim.thomason@catholiccharitiesjackson.org. (Photos by Tereza Ma)

Photo by Tereza Ma

Bishop ordains deacon for Jackson while visiting Saltillo

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By Monsignor Michael Flannery
SALTILLO, MEXICO – On Thursday, April 12 Bishop Joseph Kopacz and I began our annual visit to the mission in Saltillo, Mexico. The highlight of this year’s visit was a side-trip for the diaconal ordination of Adolfo Suarez Pasillas in his home parish in Aguascalientes.
Fathers David Martinez and Evelio Casarubias, the priests of the mission, met us at the airport to bring us on the 70-mile drive to Saltillo in time for 6 p.m. Mass at Divine Mercy Church, dedicated by Bishop Kopacz two years ago. After Mass, a delicious meal was served honoring our arrival.
The following morning (Friday), we were on the road at 7 a.m. to visit the ranchos (mountain villages), accompanied by five altar servers and three musicians. Our first stop was the village of San Francisco to celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation. Seldom, if ever, do the mountain villages see a bishop. Under normal circumstances, a villager must travel to the cathedral church for confirmation, bringing family and sponsors with him/her and maybe stay overnight. Therefore, bishop’s visit is a great savings for the families. After confirmation, we all shared a big breakfast with the villagers and newly confirmed.
In the course of that day we left the State of Coahuila into State of Zacatecas, visiting the villages of Jalapa, Anima, Sabanilla, Garambullo and Tapon. Tapon is the most remote village and takes six hours of travel to get there. Most of the way follows a bouncy trail, traveling approximately five-to-seven miles an hour. Our last stop of the day was el Rancho el Cuervo, a famous hunting camp where the gracious host had prepared a delicious meal. In all, it was a full day for Bishop Kopacz, having celebrated three ceremonies of Confirmations, four celebrations of the Word and Holy Communion and one blessing of the villagers.
Saturday, Bishop Don Raul Vera, bishop of Saltillo, joined Bishop Kopacz to bless the cornerstone of a new church, San Jose. The blessing took place outdoors under an improvised shade. The excitement of the 200 villagers was amazing. They participated in the Mass with great reverence and enthusiasm. The reality of having their own worship space was within view. Bishop Vera preached the homily. He spoke of cooperating with the bishops of Texas and the Mexican bishops whose dioceses were adjacent to the U.S. border. This newly-formed group of bishops were in the process of drafting a letter to President Trump pleading with him not to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Bishop Kopacz, paraphrasing Pope Francis, spoke of building bridges such as the bridge which the Dioceses of Biloxi and Jackson has had with the Diocese of Saltillo for 49 years.
After Mass, we travelled on to Presa San Pedro for the celebration of Confirmation for villagers from La Rosa, La Purisima and La Ventura. Again, it was a great festival of faith. Before leaving, Bishop Kopacz made a home visit to a lady who suffered from cerebral palsy. She was now 24 years of age and weighed no more than 45 pounds. She had never spoken and only made guttural sounds. The family was very appreciative of the bishop’s visit.
On Sunday morning, back in Saltillo, we had a Mass at 9 a.m. at Divine Mercy Church including several baptisms, and a breakfast with the senior citizens. After the meal we joined a procession four blocks from the church led by Aztec dancers, who were on their way to the largest Mass of the day at 1p.m. Again, Bishop Kopacz was the main celebrant, accompanied by Bishop Vera. Celebrations continued until 11p.m. Bishop also visited the grave of Father Patrick Quinn, the founder of the mission and a local seminary during his weekend in Saltillo.
On Tuesday we were off to Aguascalientes for the ordination. After a rehearsal we shared a meal with Adolfo’s delightful family. On Wednesday morning Adolfo showed us the historic sites of Aguascalientes. The town was making extensive preparations for the three-week Fair of San Marcos, an annual festival attended by several million people from all over Mexico. This musical festival is an unbroken tradition for 190 years. Locals allege more beer would be consumed over the three-week period of the fair than during the remainder of the calendar year.
The Mass of ordination took place in Adolfo’s home town of Jesus Maria at the parish church of Jesus of Nazareth at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 18. Bishop Kopacz presided over the Mass with a packed church of an estimated 500 people, another 400 had gathered in the courtyard. The support from the parishioners was incredible. The vicar general of the Diocese of Aguascalientes welcomed Bishop Kopacz to the diocese.
He remarked that the parish of Jesus of Nazareth was the most spiritual parish of the whole diocese. The Diocese of Aguascalientes ordains an average of 12 priests per year and presently has enough of a surplus that some of their priests are serving in other areas of Mexico. In fact, the vicar mentioned sharing some priests with the Diocese of Jackson.
Father Kent Bowlds, pastor of Cleveland Our Lady of Victories parish, where Adolfo has served, made the trip for this joyful event. He gave the testimonial of readiness of the candidate. After the ordination we adjourned to a nearby salon where we were greeted by a Mariachi band and the celebration continued until 11 p.m. When he returns to Jackson, Deacon Suarez Pasillas will be assigned to Jackson St. Therese Parish for the year before he is ordained a priest.
In all, it was a packed week, a tremendous experience of faith-sharing and a great blessing for all participants. On our trip home, Bishop Kopacz was already making plans for his return journey in the coming year when he will hopefully bless the newly constructed church of San Jose and participate in the golden jubilee of the foundation of the Saltillo Mission. The good work begun by Fr. Patrick Quinn, the founder of the Saltillo Mission still continues in its outreach to the poor.

(Editor’s note: More extensive coverage of Deacon Adolfo’s ordination will appear in the June 29 edition of Mississippi Catholic along with all ordination for this year.)
(Msgr. Michael Flannery is a retired priest for the Diocese of Jackson. He has written a book about the Saltillo mission, available at Madison St. Francis Parish.)