Category Archives: U.S. News

West Point native appointed to USCCB post

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Allison McGinn

WASHINGTON — West Point, Mississippi native Allison McGinn has been appointed as Executive Director of the Office of Human Resources for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
McGinn was not raised Catholic. She started RCIA to learn more about the faith when her children started Catholic school in Virginia. She felt called to the church through the classes. Monsignor Brian Bransfield, USCCB General Secretary, made the appointment which took effect January 7.
“Allison has a wealth of experience as a Human Resources professional. I am confident that her skills and abilities will be of tremendous value to the USCCB, and I am grateful to her for accepting this important position in service to the bishops and to the Church,” said Msgr. Bransfield.
McGinn earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Educational Psychology from Mississippi State University. She holds senior-level certifications in Human Resources from both the Society for Human Resources Management and the Human Resources Certification Institute.
Most recently, McGinn was self-employed as a Human Resources Consultant, working with firms in the areas of performance management, employee benefits and compensation, recruiting, HR policy and compliance. Prior to her consulting work, McGinn oversaw the HR function for organizations in the government contracting and airline industries, including over 18 years of service with US Airways.
McGinn lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband and two daughters. They attend the Basilica of St. Mary Church in Old Town.
McGinn takes on the leadership of the department after the tenure of Theresa Ridderhoff, who had served until recently as Executive Director of Human Resources and was appointed as USCCB Associate General Secretary.

Bishop Howze dies at 95; was founding bishop of Diocese of Biloxi, Miss.

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By Terrance P. Dickson (CNS)
BILOXI – Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze, the founding bishop of the Diocese of Biloxi and the first black bishop in the 20th century to head a U.S. diocese, was laid to rest Wednesday, Jan. 16. He died Jan. 9 at the age of 95.

Bishop Howze

Eight bishops, including Bishop Joseph Kopacz of the Diocese of Jackson, presided at this funeral along with another 50 priests and about as many family members. Archbishop Thomas Rodi, of the Archdiocese of Mobile, presided.
“While we are saddened by the death of Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze, we rejoice in his life,” said Bishop Louis F. Kihneman III of Biloxi. “His was a life well lived in faithful service to almighty God and to the people of Mississippi, both as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson and later as first bishop of Biloxi from 1977 to 2001.”
Noting that establishing a new diocese was difficult work, Bishop Kihneman said Bishop Howze was “very proud of what he, with the help of devoted clergy, religious and laity, accomplished during his tenure” and was “forever grateful to the people of the diocese for their unfailing generosity of time, talent and treasure.”
Bishop Kopacz commented on Bishop Howze’s legacy as a leader and evangelizer in the black Catholic community locally and nationally.
Despite deteriorating health in recent years, Bishop Howze remained interested in events in the diocese, Bishop Kihneman said.
“He loved the Diocese of Biloxi and prayed unceasingly for its continued success. He had a genuine concern for the salvation of souls,” he added.
Joseph Lawson Howze was born in Daphne, Alabama, Aug. 30, 1923, to Albert Otis Howze Sr. and Helen (Lawson) Howze. He began his school years at Most Pure Heart of Mary School in Mobile, Alabama, but his first year of school was interrupted in 1928 by the death of his mother, just six days after she bore her fourth child. The eldest, then age 5, young Lawson (Joseph is his baptismal name) was shuttled back and forth between the homes of his grandparents, aunts and father, who later remarried and fathered three more children.
After graduating as valedictorian of his 1944 high school class, a young Lawson Howze graduated with honors and as president of the senior class from Alabama State College. He had intended to study medicine, but instead earned a bachelor’s degree in science and education and began teaching biology and chemistry at Central High School in Mobile.

Bishop Howze first had been a Baptist, then a Methodist, serving as a choir director and church organist and pianist. But while teaching at Central High School he was drawn to the Catholic faith through the example of Marion Carroll Jr., one of seven Catholic students in his biology class. Soon he began instruction in the Catholic faith under the direction of Josephite Father Benjamin Horton.
At age 25 on Dec. 4, 1948, he was baptized a Catholic at Most Pure Heart of Mary Church in Mobile. An interest in the priesthood soon developed. After inquiring about becoming a priest with Bishop Vincent S. Waters of Raleigh, North Carolina, he later was adopted as a student for the diocese and began studies at the Diocesan Preparatory Seminary in Buffalo, New York.
The young Howze became the first black priest ordained in North Carolina, when he was welcomed to the priesthood in 1959 in the Diocese of Raleigh. He subsequently celebrated his first Mass at the parish in Mobile where he was baptized. He served as pastor of several parishes in North Carolina during his 13 years of ministry there.
In November 1972, St. Paul VI appoint Father Howze as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson, Mississippi. His episcopal ordination followed on Jan. 28, 1973, in Jackson.
Within a year, Bishop Howze accepted the presidency of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus.
On March 8, 1977, Bishop Howze was appointed as the first bishop of the newly established Diocese of Biloxi.
Bishop Joseph Latino, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Jackson, sent his condolences to the church in Biloxi. “From being a convert to Catholicism and then following His Lord’s call to the priesthood, Bishop Howze was fully enveloped in his Christian faith. With his appointment as auxiliary bishop of the then Diocese of Natchez-Jackson and subsequent historic appointment as the first Bishop of Biloxi, he ministered through good times and challenges with the steady hand and heart of a devoted shepherd,” said Bishop Latino.
During his leadership of the Biloxi Diocese, Bishop Howze served on several U.S. bishops’ committees focusing on justice, peace, interreligious and ecumenical affairs, and black Catholic ministry.
Bishop Howze held several honorary degrees and was a member of the Knights of Peter Claver and the Knights of Columbus.
He retired May 15, 2001, after serving the Biloxi Diocese for 24 years.
After his funeral, a horse-drawn carriage took him to the newly-esablished prayer garden for bishops behind the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral.

(Dickson is editor of Gulf Pine Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of Biloxi. Maureen Smith contributed to this report.)

Retiro de los Obispos

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Por Carol Zimmermann
WASHINGTON (CNS) Catholic News Service
Aunque el retiro de una semana de duración para los obispos católicos de Estados Unidos hizo hincapié en la reflexión tranquila, varios obispos hablaron en las redes sociales durante y luego del retiro, que concluyó el 8 de enero, con una reacción positiva al respecto y ensalzar al líder del retiro, el padre capuchino Raniero Cantalamessa, quien ha predicado a los papas y altos funcionarios de la Curia romana durante casi 40 años.

U.S. bishops listen to the homily at Mass Jan. 3 in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception during their Jan. 2-8 retreat at Mundelein Seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Illinois, near Chicago. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

Un obispo dijo que escuchar al padre Cantalamessa era como estar en presencia de los primeros teólogos cristianos. “Claro, intensamente lleno del Espíritu Santo, y todo por el Reino de Dios”, dijo el obispo auxiliar Michael J. Boulette de San Antonio en un tweet. “Sigamos orando los unos por los otros, nuestra iglesia y nuestro mundo. ¡Una bendición de estar aquí!” El arzobispo Paul D. Etienne de Anchorage, Alaska,
tuiteó que el líder del retiro era un “verdadero instrumento del Señor”. El obispo Lawrence T. Persico, de Erie, Pensilvania, describió las pláticas y homilías del padre Cantalamessa como “poderosas y atractivas”. El obispo auxiliar de Boston, Mark W. O’Connell, dijo que fue una “experiencia verdaderamente bendecida” estar en un retiro con el padre Cantalamessa, “El Espíritu Santo estaba poderosamente presente, y yo estaba bastante conmovido”, tuiteó.
El Papa Francisco sugirió al Padre Cantalamessa de 84 años, que ha servido como predicador de la casa papal desde 1980. El tiempo de oración del 2 al 8 de enero en el Seminario Mundelein en la Universidad de St. Mary of the Lake, cerca de Chicago, se planificó en gran medida en respuesta a las revelaciones del verano pasado sobre las denuncias de abuso sexual que alcanzaron los niveles más altos de la iglesia de Estados Unidos.
En un correo electrónico a CNS semanas antes del retiro, el Padre Cantalamessa dijo: “El Santo Padre me pidió que estuviera disponible para dirigir una serie de ejercicios espirituales para la conferencia episcopal para que los obispos, lejos de sus compromisos diarios, en un clima de oración, en silencio y en un encuentro personal con el Señor, puedan recibir la fuerza y la luz del Espíritu Santo para encontrar las soluciones correctas para los problemas que afligen a la iglesia de los Estados Unidos hoy en día “, agregó..

Obituary for Sister Mary Ann Grausam, SLW

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Sister Mary Ann Grausam

CHICAGO – Sister of the Living Word Mary Ann Grausam died December 5 in Chicago.
Born in New Ulm, Minnesota in 1940, Sister Mary Ann made her final vows in 1967. She joined the Sisters of the Living Word in 1975. She taught in schools in Iowa and Michigan, and served as a pastoral minister in Michigan, Mississippi, and Illinois. She was the Novice Director for the SLW for 14 years.
In the Diocese of Jackson, she was a pastoral associate at Carthage St. Anne from 1992–1994, at Canton Sacred Heart from 1992–2001, and at Holy Child Jesus from 1992–2001. She was a Social Service Minster at Sacred Heart Southern Missions in Holly Springs from 2002–2003 and Director of RCIA at St. Joseph in Holly Springs from 2012–2013. She also was a homeless shelter volunteer from 2012–2013, and in prayer ministry in Holly Springs from 2013–2015.
Her funeral Mass was December 8 at St Martha in Morton Grove, Illinois.
Sister Mary Ann is survived by her sisters Patricia (Steve) Burdick and Nanette (Robert) Helgeson; her brothers Robert (Nancy) Grausam, Michael (Kathleen) Grausam, Tom (late Theresa) Grausam, John (Evie) Grausam and James (Sandra) Grausam and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.

Obituary for Sister Mary Joan Mike

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Sister Mary Joan

NEW ORLEANS – Sister Mary Joan (aka Sister Mary Jo) Mike, the long-time principal of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Elementary School, passed away on January 2, at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans after a second battle with cancer. Sister Mary Jo was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on November 30, 1951.
She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Agnes Mike.
Sister Mary Jo is survived by her sibling sister, Judi Berger; her nieces and nephews; and her dearest friends, Margy and Dale Van Lerberghe of Port Clinton, Ohio.
Sister Mary Jo came to the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio, from her Presentation Parish in St. Paul in 1970. She made her First Profession of religious vows in 1972 and her Final Profession in 1975. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the former Mary Manse College in Toledo and her Master’s from the University of Detroit. She taught in schools in Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota and Louisiana and served as principal in Ohio and Mississippi. She served on the Sylvanian Franciscan Health Board for several years. She also held leadership positions in the Diocese of Biloxi where she was the beloved Principal of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) Elementary school for 27 years. Sister Mary Jo mentored several generations of children in Biloxi and beyond.
Attesting to her superior work in education, Sister Mary Jo received the highly acclaimed Principal of the Year Award given by the National Catholic Education Association in 2015 held at their annual convention in Orlando. That same year, Sister Mary Jo served as a liaison to the Holy See in a symposium held for Catholic Education throughout the world.
She was awarded for her 25 years of service at Nativity BVM Elementary School in 2017 with a plaque and a ticket to the Saints/Viking opening game (being an avid football fan). Not only did Sister Mary Jo excel in leadership in our Catholic Schools, she was a valuable community leader in Biloxi highly respected for her willing cooperation with the City. Sister Mary Jo came to the assistance of the City of Biloxi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when she opened her school to the City’s first responders, whose facilities were heavily damaged and turned it into a “M.A.S.H. unit.” By her cooperation, the City’s firemen and policemen operated out of the school in the immediate days following the catastrophe. Despite the chaos, and amidst damaged buildings, Sister Mary Jo managed the school’s reopening for regular classes within only a few weeks after the storm.
Sister Mary Jo was an outstanding school principal. She helped develop Nativity BVM Elementary school as a premier Catholic elementary school excelling in academics, child health, sports, robotics, and faith. She was instrumental in developing the only Special Education component within the Catholic School System in the Diocese of Biloxi. Over the years, she built up a highly qualified and stable staff of teachers which the school enjoys even to this day.
To know Sister Mary Jo was to know someone who loved her vocation as a religious Sister and educator. She loved her God, her religious community, her students, co-workers and the many families she served. Her sense of humor, her ready smile, her bravery under duress (cancer and hurricanes) are just some of the characteristics of Sister Mary Jo Mike that will be dearly missed by the Sisters in her community, her sister, her family as well as the beloved people of Nativity BVM Mary Parish in Biloxi.
A visitation for Sister Mary Jo was held at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Thursday evening, January 3. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Friday, January 4. Sr. Mary Jo will be sent to Sylvania, Ohio for interment in Porta Coeli Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, Sister Mary Jo requested that donations be made to The Nativity School Foundation. The proceeds from this perpetual foundation go directly to tuition reduction of the parents of school children. Donations should be mailed to Nativity School Foundation, P.O. Box 453, Biloxi, MS 39533-0453.

Nine Days for Life novena available

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WASHINGTON – On January 14, thousands of Catholics across the country will join in prayer for “9 Days for Life.” The prayer campaign, sponsored by the Committee on Pro Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, leads up to the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. The novena and day of prayer are a time of recollection and reparation in observation of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade — the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal throughout the United States.


The overarching intention of the novena is that all human life will be respected. Each day of the “9 Days for Life” novena highlights a related topic and provides a reflection, educational information, and suggested daily actions. For example, on the first day, the participant is asked to pray “May a culture of life grow ever stronger in our communities.” He or she will then read a reflection taken from Evangelium Vitae and decide which act of reparation to make for that day: abstain from caffeine, unplug from electronics for a time, or offer a sacrifice they feel called to make. Participants can subscribe to receive the daily prayers at www.9daysforlife.com.
Since 2013 more than 100,000 Catholics have joined together to pray this annual novena for the respect of human life sponsored by the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
9daysforlife.com is the dedicated website for joining the novena and for accessing resources. Participants can receive the novena by downloading the free 9 Days for Life app, or by subscribing to daily emails or text messages. A printable version is also available online. Those who join the campaign are invited to pray a multi-faceted novena that includes a new intention, brief reflection, related information, and suggested actions for each day. Participants can also share information about the campaign on social media platforms as they go.

Catholic advocates outline legislative goals for a new Congress

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By Mark Pattison
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas? Thought not. Neither did several Catholic organizations, despite the last-minute flurry of legislation typical of a lame-duck Congress.
Even though there’s still 300-plus days until Christmas comes around again, those groups have recalibrated their priorities in light of a new, divided Congress, with Democrats taking control of the House and Republicans slightly increasing their heretofore razor-thin edge in the Senate.
Much talk prior to Congress being seated Jan. 3 focused on a “Green New Deal,” a sweeping series of energy efficiency measures that has yet to be written. According to Catholic Climate Covenant executive director, Dan Misleh, the last bill Congress tried to pass was the cap-and-trade bill in the 2009-10 Congress, when Democrats had majorities in both chambers plus a president in the White House.
Since that bill failed, “there really hasn’t been much legislatively happening,” Misleh told Catholic News Service. The Obama administration’s way of dealing with environmental issues was with regulations, but “this administration is rolling a lot of that,” he said. “There really haven’t been a whole lot of initiatives at the federal level that they’re tackling.”
Catholic Rural Life got a farm bill for Christmas – this time without any delays in shipping. It was the first time since George H.W. Bush was president that a new farm bill was enacted the same year the previous one was set to expire.
However, it didn’t come with everything Catholic Rural Life had sought. Still, noted James Ennis, its executive director, there are ways other than a farm bill to get rural America what it needs.
With two years of prep work and education among its members prior to the farm bill, “our hope right now,” Ennis said, is to “continue to keep attentive to the programs that are benefiting rural residents, farms, and having access to healthy food.” How farm bill provisions are implemented are also key, he added.
“There’s a lot of pressure on farmers right now, a lot of pressure,” and even more on smaller, family-run farms, Ennis said. “It’s a risky business. Always has been, but it makes it that much harder when prices are low. Catholic Rural Life is very aware of that, and it works with local parishes and pastors to address it from a pastoral standpoint. But there are policies that also can help – or not help – that situation,” he added.
Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of Network, the nun-run social justice lobby, isn’t all that sad to see the Republicans lose one chamber of Congress. “What the Republican policies do is blame the people, not the system,” she said.
But what is good for the goose should be good for the gander, she argued. “Since they’re so into work requirements, none of the uber-wealthy should get a benefit for their unearned income unless they have maxed out their earned income on Social Security, which is, I think, $120,000,” Sister Campbell said.
Items she’d like to see addressed include health care and voting rights. “Our election system is being undercut by scheming, conniving people who want to win without seeing the people getting into the system,” she said.
The stocking might not be quite so stuffed, either, for pro-life Americans, to hear Tom McClusky, President of March for Life Action. “The last time Democrats were in power (in the House), there were 40 pro-life Democrats. Now there’s only two,” Reps. Bill Lipinski of Illinois and Collin Peterson of Minnesota, McClusky said. “Actual pro-life issues is going to be tough this Congress. In the Senate, (confirming) judges will always be a key thing, but what we’re already seeing on Day One,” he noted Jan. 3, “we’re already playing defense with the president’s foreign and pro-life policies.”
On the flip side of that coin, Catholic Charities USA is looking to the art of the possible, according to Lucas Swanepoel, its vice president for social policy.
Catholic Charities representatives will meet with House and Senate leaders to figure out their priorities and how Catholic Charities’ priorities can mesh with theirs. Then, it’s on to the 90 new members of Congress in both houses. “Most Congresses you have anywhere between 30-50 new members,” Swanepoel said. “It’s going to be a very busy time for our team. I’ll be going to those meetings, sharing the load because there’s so many.”
Two items on Catholic Charities’ wish list are flood insurance reauthorization and disaster assistance. For the former, “it’s critical if you’re in a flood plain and you’re low-income. You’re going to be more impacted by the consequences,” Swanepoel said.
As for the latter, Swanepoel wants to see low-income communities given greater priority. Currently, he said, “a disproportionate amount of the money will go toward Main Street, while low-income individuals are left behind and forgotten.”
But what Catholic Charities wants to get across to lawmakers is that they’re a ready resource. A Catholic Charities affiliate is active somewhere in each House member’s district. Moreover, Swanepoel said, “it’s key to our mission, frankly, the ability to build bridges between people and communities, but also between parties.”

U.S. bishops take part in weeklong retreat about clergy sex abuse crisis

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By Carol Zimmermann (CNS)
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Catholic bishops, including Bishop Joseph Kopacz of the Diocese of Jackson, took part in a closed-door retreat Jan. 2-8 at Mundelein Seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake near Chicago to prayerfully consider ways to rebuild trust over the clergy sex abuse crisis.

U.S. bishops receive Communion during Mass in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at Mundelein Seminary Jan. 3 at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Illinois, near Chicago. The U.S. bishops are on retreat Jan. 2-8 at the seminary, suggested by Pope Francis in September, which comes as the bishops work to rebuild trust among the faithful as questions continue to revolve around their handling of clergy sex abuse. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

“We are honored to welcome the bishops of the United States to Mundelein as they prayerfully unite to reflect on the urgent issues facing the Catholic Church today,” said Father John Kartje, rector of Mundelein Seminary in a statement.
He said it was fitting that the bishops were gathered where “seminarians come from around the nation to be formed into the next generation of parish priests and hundreds of lay men and women are trained for parish service.” He added: “The people of God deserve servant-leaders who are holy, joyful and competent in their ministry.”
Mundelein Seminary is the major seminary for the Archdiocese of Chicago and is the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. It currently has more than 200 seminarians from 34 dioceses across the country and around the world.
The structure of the retreat will emphasize quiet reflection, including silent meal times, and will offer daily Mass, time for personal and communal prayer before the Eucharist, vespers and an opportunity for confession. No ordinary business will be conducted.
Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household, led the retreat with the theme, “the mission of the apostles and their successors.” This time of prayer came at the suggestion of Pope Francis and was planned largely in response to last summer’s revelations of sex abuse that reached the highest levels of the U.S. church.
In a letter distributed to the bishops at the start of the gathering, Pope Francis said he was convinced their response to the “sins and crimes” of abuse and “the efforts made to deny or conceal them” must be found through “heartfelt, prayerful and collective listening to the word of God and to the pain of our people.”
“As we know,” he said, “the mentality that would cover things up, far from helping to resolve conflicts, enabled them to fester and cause even greater harm to the network of relationships that today we are called to heal and restore.”
Prior to the retreat’s start, Msgr. Jeffrey D. Burrill, associate general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told CNS that more than 200 bishops were expected to attend. Active U.S. bishops number 271 and there are 185 retired bishops.
A few bishops have tweeted about the retreat and asked for prayers. Portland Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, tweeted en route to the retreat: “Pray for us that our response to the call to holiness will be renewed and that we will be faithful shepherds according to the mind and heart of Christ and his apostolic Church.”
New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan asked for prayers in his tweet, which described the retreat as means to “respond to important matters facing the Church. Our first reliance is upon the Lord’s grace (and) mercy. Without intense prayers for healing, guidance, in reparation, we will not be successful.”
Bishop Frank J. Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, tweeted praise for the opening remarks of Father Cantalamessa, which he said focused on the “need to choose the right priorities around which we can live our daily lives. Of course, a central priority is daily prayer.”
During the retreat, many Catholics were joining in prayer for its success.
The website of Mundelein Seminary encouraged people to “join our seminary community in an online prayer chain for the healing of the Catholic Church,” suggesting that Catholics pray the rosary, attend daily Mass, engage in an act of penitential sacrifice or simply offer the prayer posted on their website – https://bit.ly/2VrAlST – called “Prayer for the Healing of Our Church.”
St. Maximilian Kolbe Shrine, adjacent to the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Libertyville, Illinois, was conducting its usual 24-hour adoration during the bishops’ retreat with specific emphasis on praying for the bishops.
Its website urged Catholics who could not pray at the shrine to pray at their own parish adoration chapel that the bishops’ retreat would be “truly guided by the Holy Spirit.”
Conventual Franciscan Father Benedict La Volpe, the shrine’s rector, told Catholic News Service that the shrine, where perpetual adoration “has been nonstop since 1928” has had more participants since the bishops’ retreat began Jan. 2.
He stressed that abuse victims are always in the church’s prayers but during this time of retreat, there is an urgency to pray for the bishops, specifically, that they “understand what happened and what needs to happen.”
The priest, who was going to hear confessions during the retreat, said he hoped the bishops would take away from this gathering the importance of taking time to “pause, pray, reflect and convert.”

Follow Zimmermann on Twitter: @carolmaczim)

Lumen Christi Award winner has spent life as a religious serving poor

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By Catholic News Service
CHICAGO – Sister Marie-Paule Willem, a Franciscan Missionary of Mary, who has been serving the poor in the U.S. and around the world for more than 60 years, will receive the 2018-2019 Lumen Christi Award from Catholic Extension.
The Office of Hispanic Ministry from the Diocese of Jackson was recognized as a finalist for the award. The members of that office offer their heartfelt congratulations to Sister Willem.
“Working across many countries, Sister Willem believes strong families are the foundation of the church and society,” said the news release announcing the award Nov. 19.
The Lumen Christi Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Chicago-based national organization, which raises and distributes funds to support U.S. mission dioceses, many of which are rural, cover a large geographic area, and have limited personnel and pastoral resources.
The recipient is chosen for best demonstrating how the power of faith can transform lives and communities.
Sister Willem, who is 85 and speaks five languages, is currently in ministry in the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she serves women in detention and leads a growing parish along the U.S.-Mexico border as pastoral administrator.
Nominated by her bishop, Sister Willem was one of 47 nominees this year and one of eight finalists.As the Lumen Christi recipient, Sister Willem and her diocese will share in a $50,000 grant.

Sister Marie-Paule Willem, a Franciscan of Missionary of Mary, poses for a photo Aug. 27 in Dona Ana, N.M. She was awarded the 2018-2019 Lumen Christi Award by Catholic Extension for her missionary work in the United States. (CNS photo/Rich Kalonick courtesy Catholic Extension)

Born into a large, Catholic family in the city of Bruges, Belgium, Sister Willem has early memories of World War II and the Nazi invasion, fleeing with her family as the bombs fell around them. They were eventually liberated by Allied forces. At age 23, she joined the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, “who serve where the need is greatest and where no one else wants to go, among the poorest and most forgotten,” Catholic Extension said.
She ministered in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay in the 1970s during times of military dictatorships and political upheaval.
“She was part of the church’s advocacy and social justice efforts to help the condemned, who were put in outdoor ‘corrals’ and left to starve. For her mission, she risked her life, received death threats and was ousted from the region,” the news release said.
Still wanting to work with the poor but knowing she could not return to Latin America, she found an opportunity in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
In 1980 Sister Willem joined her community in Roma, Texas, a border town, and became director of religious education for a parish. She led bilingual programs in catechesis for children and worked with incarcerated women at a detention center
She then moved to the Diocese of Las Cruces to serve migrant farmworkers and immigrants. At age 80, she became pastoral administrator at San Jose Mission Church in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, a mission church in a working-class neighborhood. It had only a handful of parishioners and no full-time pastor.
“When I arrived, it was so sad here,” Sister Willem recalled. “The buildings were falling apart, and no one seemed to care.”
She started walking around the neighborhood, telling people about the parish and asking what they needed.
She started building up the community and the church itself – the liturgy, the buildings, the ministries and the grounds, which are now full of gardens. The parish hall was recently remodeled, and the church received updating.
Today the parish has more than 200 active families; about 35 people attend Mass on Saturdays and nearly 100 on Sundays.
“Sister Marie-Paule has turned the parish around,” said parishioner Irma Chavez May. “The church was in bad shape, and few people came. It is beautiful now and so many attend Mass, it’s hard to find parking on Sunday.”
Added Irma’s husband, Robert: “She came with a vision, enthusiasm and a passion for the church. She has gotten everyone involved and keeps us connected. If she wasn’t here, this parish would likely have closed.”

Alabama archbishop releases names of clergy, religious accused of abuse

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(Editor’s note: The Diocese of Jackson is reviewing records and will release a list of credibly accused priests in the spring of 2019)
By Catholic News Service
MOBILE, Ala. (CNS) – Saying that Jesus provides light for the church to overcome darkness, Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile released the names of priests, deacons and religious brothers who had been credibly accused of sexual misconduct with minors.
In releasing the list Dec. 6, Archbishop Rodi apologized to victims of child sexual abuse as well as to parishioners throughout the southern Alabama archdiocese in a statement posted on the archdiocesan website, www.mobarch.org.
The names were included on two lists: one for archdiocesan clergy and the other for religious order clergy and religious men.
In the case of religious order clergy, he said, the list includes the names of all priests and brothers credibly accused, even if alleged incidents of abuse did not occur in the archdiocese.
The lists show that allegations were received from the 1950s through 2012. The most recent case involved a deacon of the archdiocese. All other incidents were reported no later than 1998.

Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile, Ala., is pictured in a 2012 photo. In releasing the Dec. 6 list of names of priests, deacons and religious brothers who had been credibly accused of sexual misconduct with minors, Bishop Rodi apologized to victims of child sexual abuse as well as to parishioners throughout the southern Alabama archdiocese. (CNS photo/Robert Duncan)

In all, 10 archdiocesan priests and one deacon were named as were 15 religious order priests and two religious brothers.
Archbishop Rodi said the allegations involved about 2 percent of the 457 archdiocesan clergy who have served since 1950. However, church officials were unable to determine how many religious order priests served in the archdiocese during the last seven decades because of incomplete records, he explained.
“I presume the percentage would be similar,” the archbishop’s statement said.
“As you will notice almost all of these acts of misconduct were many years ago. That is in no way to excuse the devastating harm of child abuse. The injury that sexual abuse of a minor inflicts lasts for many years,” the archbishop said.
“At the same time,” he added, “the fact that these horrible acts of misconduct are many years ago, reflects the commitment of the church to protect young people form abuse while they are involved in church ministries.”
The names have been forwarded to the offices of the Alabama attorney general and the Mobile County district attorney, the archbishop said.
“It is my prayer that this (release) will not re-traumatize anyone but will assist in the healing for which victims desperately long,” Archbishop Rodi’s statement said. “I also pray that it will help all the people of the church, and of the broader community, to know that the Archdiocese of Mobile is not allowing anyone to minister in our archdiocese who has credible accusations of sexual misconduct with minors.”