THEOPHILUS PATHS By Ely Segura I wonder where I’ve been all this time, as I didn’t know Archbishop Fulton Sheen until relatively recently. It wasn’t until I arrived in Chicago in 2019 that his name began to ring a bell.
One evening, while browsing YouTube for material for my parish ministry, I came across a video from the 1950s in which an eloquent and lively bishop shared words of wisdom on the meaning of our existence. It was the now Venerable Fulton John Sheen in one of the episodes of his well known TV show “Life Is Worth Living.” I was immediately captivated.
Hearing Fulton Sheen for the first time, I felt a sense of nostalgia that wasn’t my own; nostalgia for something great that I hadn’t experienced at the time, but which I realized had been a watershed moment for the American Church in the last century. A man of substance, filled with God, spoke with courage and enthusiasm about the Triune God on national television, wearing the vestments of a consecrated Catholic bishop with pride and joy. Brilliant! I got goosebumps straight away!
His work, like all of God’s work, endures to this day, spreading throughout the world. For example, I was certainly familiar with the missionary rosary and had indeed prayed it with the very same intention with which Sheen had conceived it in 1951.
I came across words attributed to the Chilean writer Isabel Allende that really struck a chord with me: I am not afraid of death; I am afraid of a lack of passion, of not having lived with sufficient intensity. St. Irenaeus of Lyon had already alluded to this in the second century of Christianity when he stated: “The glory of God is man fully alive, and true life for man is the vision of God.”
For me, Fulton Sheen is the epitome of a human being who embodies these statements. He was a man overflowing with divine grace and wisdom, capable of affirming through his testimony – despite his many trials and tribulations – that life is worth living, cherishing and sharing in every second that is granted to us.
In May 2024, I fulfilled a goal I had set myself before leaving Chicago: to visit the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Museum, located at the Diocese of Peoria’s Spalding Pastoral Center. After all, it couldn’t be true that, living in the same state where my dear Fulton Sheen was born and lived, I wouldn’t go to see it. I prepared briefly for my visit there by reading a heart-warming memoir written by Joan Sheen Cunningham (one of the bishop’s nieces) entitled “My Uncle Fulton Sheen.” I booked a room in a hotel near the museum for a couple of days and, filled with the Pentecostal enthusiasm of those days, set off on a train journey to Peoria.
The museum is just a short walk from the Cathedral of St Mary of the Immaculate Conception, where the young Fulton Sheen was ordained a priest in 1919, and where his mortal remains now rest. Although it is, in reality, a small and simple space, I felt an overwhelming emotion there that I had to contain, as I had made this pilgrimage on my own and had no one there with whom to share it.
During my stay in Peoria, I visited the museum and the cathedral twice. I tried to take in as much as possible of all the exquisitely selected information and all the objects so harmoniously displayed. I watched at my leisure a film shown in a room in the museum decorated to look like the set of the show “Life Is Worth Living.” I loved it. I bought a copy of the film so that I could share its content with my community later.
It is easy to imagine the joy I felt when the Vatican announced the official date of Sheen’s beatification. To celebrate, I proposed “Treasure in Clay,” his spiritual autobiography, as the title for my Catholic book club last April.
I rejoice with the whole Church. I rejoice because another of our own is being raised to the altars. I am eager to share this admiration for him, his fidelity to Christ and the way in which he taught us to live. I constantly present my pastoral and professional intentions (which are one and the same) to Sheen, and I pray that others may not go through this life – as I did for so long – without having the joy of knowing of the existence of this remarkable human being.
(Ely Segura is a laywoman and creator of the Teófilo project, an initiative for the faith formation of Hispanic adults in the United States – www.proyectoteofilo.com.)
Ordinary Times By Lucia A. Silecchia “Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
This season, with somber hearts, we mark 25 years since achingly bright September skies were filled with the horrors of an evil still incomprehensible.
For so many years, whenever I took the train from Washington back to New York, the Twin Towers were the first sign in the distance to tell me I was almost home. New York City’s skyline without them still startles me after all these years.
In far greater losses than steel and stone, my high school, parish and neighborhood in Queens were home to those who never came home that day. In Washington, I shared a University family and a parish with those who perished at the Pentagon. When I learned that the last flight could have been bound for the Capitol, above the subway where I was commuting in the last innocent moments of that day, I wondered whether I might owe my own life to the heroism of those whose lives ended in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Now, that dark day lies a quarter of a century ago. Most of my students were not alive that day. If they were, most were blessed with such youth that they would have no memories of it. My prayer for these generations that follow us is that they will never know a day like that one, when the evil that mankind is capable of plays out in real time before them.
As years go by, it becomes ever easier to view the events of that day as historical affairs, to be studied with the mind but no longer felt with the heart. Those of us who recall that day owe a sacred obligation to those before us and those who come after us, to remember those whose lives ended that morning, and in the tragic aftermath of that morning. Sometimes, when losses are so many, and the list of those who perished is so long, we can lose sight of the individual people who were lost.
Those who died that day were living the ordinary times so often taken for granted. The police officers, firefighters, first responders, chaplains and members of the military were doing what they do each and every day – ready to give up their lives for others. The airline pilots and flight crews were engaged in the awesome responsibilities they have when, around the clock and around the world, passengers entrust their lives to them.
The thousands who went to work for the last time that day were parents, seeking only to earn a living and return home to the embrace of their children. They were older workers, laboring in the last year or two of their careers, anticipating the family times they thought lay ahead. They were young people, the same ages as my students, starting their first jobs in the hopes of a bright future. They were those working hard at the top rungs of the ladder of success, and they were those working difficult, minimum wage jobs so that their children would not have to do the same. They were those who were on flights for the myriad reasons we travel, and those who were where they were that day through seemingly inexplicable happenstance.
They were newlyweds in the springtime of new love, and those who cherished the spouse whose hand they had held for decades in sickness and health and in good times and bad. They were women carrying their children within them, in eager anticipation of holding newborns in their arms within a few short months or weeks. They were friends making plans to be with friends to enjoy those happy bonds of affection.
All were those for whom the day began with no hint of what was to come. While some were or became well known in the aftermath of that day, most lived the quiet hopes and dreams of ordinary lives.
In the holy fragility of life, each of those thousands of our sisters and brothers had a unique place in the world that no one else could fill.
Since that day, their loved ones have mourned for them even as life resumed, never the same. So many of us remember the images of those who were lost as they were that day. But their loved ones lost all the days since then. They lost all the joys, sorrows, hopes, dreams, good times and hard times that would have filled these past 25 years. These 9,125 days. These 219,000 hours. This year, although 25 years have passed, there are so many for whom grief is still fresh. Whatever else we might do this Sept. 11, let us take some time to pray in the early hours of the day, when we recall what happened that morning a quarter of a century ago. With gratitude for all whose heroism brought light to a dark day and showed the world a glimpse of the face of God.
With hope for all those lost that day, that their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. And with love for all whose hearts still grieve. May God comfort them as they mourn their beloved and ache for so many lost moments of ordinary time.
(Lucia A. Silecchia is a Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America. “On Ordinary Times” is a biweekly column reflecting on the ways to find the sacred in the simple. Email her at silecchia@cua.edu.)
Franciscan Father Mychal Judge, a chaplain with the New York Fire Department, is pictured in an undated photo wearing his helmet and bunker coat. Father Judge died while giving last rites to a firefighter in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people in New York City and Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon. (OSV News photo/courtesy Holy Name Province Franciscans)
By Kimberley Heatherington The offering placed before the altar on Sept. 11, 2001, was unlike any ever seen at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Manhattan’s Financial District: the lifeless body of 68-year-old Franciscan friar and New York City Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge.
He was killed when the 110 stories of the World Trade Center’s south tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m., blasting debris into the adjacent north tower lobby where Father Judge was stationed. At the moment, he reportedly was repeatedly praying, “Jesus, please end this right now! God, please end this!” He was shortly afterward carried from the apocalyptic site.
Some four blocks away, St. Peter’s own roof had been struck by landing gear from one of two hijacked jets smashed into both towers that morning. Father Judge’s journey there was captured in an instantly iconic photo seen worldwide – dust-covered, slumped in a chair and already shockingly pale as he was carried by five men.
Since he lost his life, Father Judge – a friar for 47 years; a priest for 40 – has been hailed as a hero, suggested for sainthood, and praised as a selfless friend not only to first responders, but also to the poor, sick and forgotten of the Big Apple’s sometimes tough streets.
Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack in recorded history, friends of Father Judge shared memories of his life and loss, and reflected on his legacy.
“People would often say about him, when you talk to him it was like you were the only person before him,” said Father Kevin Mullen, a Franciscan friar of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe and former president of Siena University in Loudonville, New York, where he currently teaches.
“He engaged you fully; he was not looking around for who he could talk to next. He was fully present to you,” Father Mullen told OSV News. “And that’s what made a difference to a lot of people about Mychal Judge – they could talk to him, bare their souls, share their good news, share their bad news. And he was going to be there for them.”
– ‘He was there. He was present’ – On the morning of 9/11, Father Mullen, stationed in a parish approximately 15 miles from midtown Manhattan, was responsible for a funeral liturgy.
“I was aware before I started the funeral that the first tower had collapsed,” he recalled. “And when I finished the funeral, I was told the second tower had collapsed. So I knew things were getting worse.”
That afternoon, he heard a radio announcement reporting an injured fire chaplain at the World Trade Center.
“And my gut said, ‘That’s Mychal Judge,’” Father Mullen said. “He was right across the street from a fire station that responded immediately.” The church where Father Judge ministered and the friary where he lived, St. Francis of Assisi on West 31st Street, neighbored New York City Fire Department Engine 1/Ladder 24.
“And I had no doubt he was down there,” Father Mullen said, referring to the disaster area.
To confirm his suspicion, he called the regional head of his order.
“As soon as he answered the phone – he didn’t even say, ‘Hello, Kevin’ – he just said, ‘It was Mychal.’ And I said, ‘I thought so.’ That’s how I learned.”
Father Mullen said the already crushingly tragic day immediately became painfully personal. But nonetheless, he still found himself certain of one thing.
“I felt that if Mychal was given his choice of how he would go out of this world, that would have been his choice: to be with the firefighters, literally going with his boots on. He was there. He was present.”
– ‘He resided deeper in you than you understood’ – The first introduction Michael Daly – journalist and author of “The Book of Mychal: The Surprising Life and Heroic Death of Father Mychal Judge” from St. Martin’s Griffin – had to the priest was the sound of his and others’ laughter.
And it was coming from, of all places, a hospital burn unit.
Accompanying Patrick “Paddy” Brown – an FDNY captain who later died on 9/11 – Daly was there in 1994 to visit FDNY Captain John Drennan, who had been critically burned battling an apartment fire.
“So I go in,” Daly recalled, “and there’s all these guys laughing because of something this priest said – and I’m thinking, ‘Who is this guy?’” On 9/11, Daly, a Catholic, was at the scene of the attack for the New York Daily News when the north tower collapsed. He remembers running for his life as a massive cloud of debris – chokingly dense with pulverized concrete, glass, metal and the contents of countless offices – rolled like a tsunami through the surrounding streets.
He admits he was afterward “hazy about timing and hours and all that.”
But he does know the air had finally cleared when FDNY Deputy Fire Chief Peter Hayden told him Father Judge was dead. “And my knees just went,” recalled Daly, overwhelmed with shock. “I didn’t expect that; I didn’t know Mychal had been down there. Someone had called over the radio for the fire chaplain earlier. But I didn’t hear any response. And then – he’s gone, you know?”
“I think he just …” Daly paused, searching for the right description. “He resided deeper in you than you understood.”
– ‘A genius priest’ – Daly described Father Judge walking the streets of New York City in his brown Franciscan habit, greeting homeless people by their first names, praying with them and distributing neatly folded cash.
Daly also recalled Father Judge often worked 16-hour days ministering at blazes and rescues – counseling firemen, their families and victims – and that he gently tended AIDS patients in an era when medical staff would not make physical contact.
After Father Judge’s death, close friends and associates revealed he was gay – but by all accounts, maintained his vow of celibacy. The response of Kevin Shea, a firefighter at FDNY Engine 40/Ladder 35 in Manhattan’s Lincoln Square, apparently typified the reaction of other first responders. “He said,” Daly recalled, “Well, if you tell me Michael Judge was gay, I’ll tell you I just had my first gay friend.”
While not “out” in the fire department, Daly said Father Judge told Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, who was struggling with his son’s gay identity.
“You know, he was a genius priest,” said Daly. “He just was.”
– ‘I sat with his body for about an hour’ – Father Christopher Keenan, a friar of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, entered the Franciscans more than 60 years ago at Father Judge’s urging and became a FDNY chaplain after his friend’s death. On 9/11, he was helping in the emergency room at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
About 2 miles from ground zero, St. Vincent’s staff were caring for the dust-caked and dazed people who had outrun the collapse of the towers.
“I was connecting with their families to come pick them up. And about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, it kind of stopped. I left at 5:30 to walk home from 12th to 31st Street,” Father Keenan recalled. “I had a shift of confessions at 6:00. I came out of the hospital, and there’s doctors and nurses and staff with stretchers – still waiting for all the people that never came.”
Father Keenan had been looking for Father Judge.
“So when I arrived at the firehouse across the street from St. Francis of Assisi Church, I asked the guys, had they heard from Mychal? And they said, ‘He died – and his body is in the back of the firehouse here.’ They had set up sheets and cordoned off a section, where his body was in a black bag. And so I sat with his body for about an hour.”
Father Judge had been moved to Engine 1/Ladder 24 after temporarily lying in front of St. Peter’s altar.
“Then the friars came from across the street. And the firefighters gathered that were there … and we friars sang the Blessing of St. Francis … and then an ambulance took him to the morgue.”
Father Keenan noted that six from the firehouse had also died.
– Victim 0001 – Father Judge was later numbered victim DM (Disaster Manhattan) 0001-01 of 2,753 souls eventually tallied in New York City after the World Trade Towers crumpled into an infernal landscape of fiery and smoking rubble. Father Keenan himself would spend seven months assisting in that rubble with recovery efforts, afterward contracting several forms of cancer.
In Washington that day, 184 were killed when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. Another 40 aboard United Airlines Flight 93 died when a fourth hijacked plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field.
“The 25th anniversary is going to be a very solemn time,” Father Mullen said. “And I hope we have that consciousness still alive in our country – that this is very, very painful, especially for the families,” he shared.
“Because a lot of people have just taken this event for granted: ‘Well, that’s history – it happened, it’s over,’ he said. “But it’s never over for those families. Never, ever, over.”
(Kimberley Heatherington is an OSV News correspondent. She writes from Virginia.)
By Rob Herbst, The Catholic Week MOBILE – When Sister Damiana Pickett professed her first religious vows Sept. 8 in Kraków, Poland, it marked another step in a journey of faith that has included conversion, disappointment, perseverance and a call to serve those in need.
The 38-year-old Greenville, Mississippi, native, who once rejected Christianity and did not enter the Catholic Church until age 27, will profess vows of poverty, chastity and obedience with the Congregation of Albertine Sisters Serving the Poor.
For Sister Damiana, formerly Zola Pickett, the path to religious life has hardly been a straight one.
She was raised in a Protestant family and remembers enjoying church as a young girl, particularly singing hymns and learning Bible stories in Sunday school. But by about age 11, she began wrestling with questions about her faith and said she could not find the answers she was seeking.
Sister Damiana Pickett professed her first vows with the Congregation of Albertine Sisters Serving the Poor in Kraków, Poland on Sept. 8. (Photo courtesy of Sister Damiana Pickett)
She eventually rejected Christianity during her teenage and young adult years, a period she said was increasingly affected by alcohol and drug abuse. That changed Oct. 15, 2015.
Sister Damiana described that night as her “road to Damascus” moment. “God gave a small whisper of grace into my heart that blinded my understanding with this intense light: He has loved me tremendously from the beginning of time, through every difficulty of my life, and He is always patiently waiting for His children to return to Him,” she said in an email interview.
While she keeps the words she experienced that night between herself and God, Sister Damiana said she came away with one unmistakable realization. “God wanted me to belong completely to Him,” she said. “I had no idea what that looked like or how to achieve this, but I blindly resolved to try.”
She began attending RCIA (now OCIA) at St. James the Greater Parish in Tupelo, where she credits Father Lincoln Dall with patiently helping her find answers to questions about God, Christian life and prayer. At the Easter Vigil in 2016, she was confirmed and received her first Holy Communion.
“It was the best moment of my life,” she said. “I truly can’t imagine how my life would be if I had not entered the Church.”
Her journey eventually brought her to the Archdiocese of Mobile.
Sister Damiana moved to Mobile in January 2019 to seriously discern religious life with a community in the archdiocese. She eventually found a parish home at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Chickasaw.
But in 2021, she said she was discouraged from applying to enter the community she had been discerning with after it was determined she was unlikely to do well in its formation program.
The setback left her questioning what she believed God had placed in her heart.|
She credits St. Thomas pastor Father William Saucier with helping her through the disappointment.
“Father William Saucier was incredibly supportive during this time, listening to my pain but always encouraging me to start again,” she said. “Without his support, I don’t think I would have had the courage to go ‘back to square one’ and start contacting other religious communities.”
She did just that.
In January 2022, Sister Damiana entered formation with a contemplative community in Minnesota and said she was happy there. But an encounter with a homeless woman led her to question whether God was calling her elsewhere.
With her superior’s blessing, she began looking for communities whose apostolates involved direct service to those experiencing homelessness.
Her search led her to the Albertine Sisters.
Founded in Kraków in 1891 by St. Brother Albert Chmielowski and Blessed Sister Bernardyna Jabłońska, the Congregation of Albertine Sisters Serving the Poor is an international congregation of pontifical right and part of the Third Order Franciscan tradition.
Its charism, Sister Damiana explained, is to see the suffering Christ in each person and “to pour out our lives doing good for all.” The sisters serve in shelters and soup kitchens for the homeless and poor, assisted living homes for people with physical or intellectual disabilities and homes for retired priests. They also perform mission work in Bolivia, Argentina and Ukraine. The congregation has three houses in the United States, including its American motherhouse in Hammond, Indiana, near Chicago. Sister Damiana said reading about the congregation and its founder immediately struck a chord.
“I immediately felt like Saint Brother Albert understood my desires very deeply,” she said.
She contacted the congregation’s American motherhouse and was welcomed for a visit. During the Easter octave in 2023, she left the contemplative community to continue following where she believed God was leading her.
That journey ultimately took her to Kraków and two years in the novitiate.
Her religious name also reflects her desire to serve those who may be overlooked.
In 2020, Sister Damiana worked as a certified nursing assistant in a nursing home and was among the few CNAs who volunteered to work with COVID-positive residents when needed.
During that time, St. Damien of Molokai, who ministered to people with leprosy in Hawaii, became a personal patron. After joining the Albertines, she said she began reflecting on how the “leprosy” of sin can isolate people from God, others and even themselves.
“When I entered the novitiate and was able to choose my religious name, I knew it had to be Damiana,” she said.
During her first profession, Sister Damiana made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience that will be binding for one year. She described poverty as sharing everything she is and has while keeping nothing for herself; chastity as loving God with an undivided heart and seeking Him and His kingdom; and obedience as seeking God’s will while setting aside her own preferences.
“In a certain sense, my religious life is only beginning on the day of my first vows,” she said. “My past two years of novitiate have been a time of preparation to live by these promises.”
Sister Damiana will remain in Kraków following her first profession. When she renews her vows next year, she could receive a new assignment.
For those discerning their own vocation, Sister Damiana recommends daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, the Rosary and making time for silence with God – even if only for five minutes.
But she has a particular message for those whose vocational journey has included the kind of disappointment she experienced. “Don’t give up on God’s plan for you,” Sister Damiana said. “Our God turns bottomless oceans into dry land for us to walk across. Don’t listen to your fears; trust in God and let Him show you the path which He has set out for you.”
As her own path leads to the altar in Kraków, Sister Damiana is also asking for prayers.
“Please pray for me, my superiors, and all my sisters, that we may be beacons of hope and instruments of the Holy Spirit for the people we encounter in our lives and ministries.”
Sister Emily Katherine Morgan, a Sister of Mercy of the Americas who served for 71 years, died on July 29, 2026, at Catherine’s Residence, the Mercy Retirement Center in Frontenac, Missouri. She was two days shy of her 91st birthday.
Sister Emily graduated from Mercy High School in St. Louis in 1953 and entered the Sisters of Mercy that same year, making final vows in 1960. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1958 and taught in elementary schools in Portageville, St. Louis and Sikeston, Missouri; Little Rock, Arkansas; and McAllen and Mission, Texas.
In 1984, answering the Second Vatican Council’s call for missioners, she studied at the IDEAL Language School in Cuernavaca, Mexico, after completing a master’s degree in theology at the University of Notre Dame in 1971.
She then served as pastoral associate at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Raymondville, Texas, ministering in three parishes and five missions until 2007. Following a brief sabbatical, she became pastoral assistant at Christ the King Parish in Southaven, Mississippi, where she launched the diocesan program for the laity, supported the Spanish-speaking ministry and coordinated music for the church choirs, until retiring in 2022.
A woman of many talents, Sister Emily put them all to work for the church for more than 70 years. An accomplished musician, she brought music wherever she went. At the heart of her life was a deep commitment to opening the Scriptures to adult lay people in weekly gatherings, preparing new apostles to share the Gospel.
A private Celebration of Life and Memorial Mass was held Aug. 3 at Catherine’s Residence Chapel.
Then-Bishop Fulton J. Sheen speaks inside of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester, NY, the day of his installation as the sixth bishop of Rochester Dec. 15, 1966. Catholics in the Diocese of Rochester will soon have a physical link to Venerable Sheen: A first-class relic of the soon-to-be-beatified cleric, who led the Rochester Diocese as its sixth bishop (1966-69), is being gifted to the diocese by Archbishop Sheen’s native Diocese of Peoria, Ill. (OSV News photo/courtesy Diocese of Rochester Archives)
NATION ROCHESTER, N.Y. (OSV News) – Catholics in the Diocese of Rochester will soon have a physical link to Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. A first-class relic of the famed cleric, who led the Rochester Diocese as its sixth bishop (1966-69), is being given to the diocese by Archbishop Sheen’s native Diocese of Peoria. The relic will be transferred during a Sept. 29 Mass at Rochester’s Sacred Heart Cathedral Sept. 24, five days after Archbishop Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis. The Sept. 29 Mass will be followed by a series of related liturgies at several diocesan parishes this fall. At these Masses, the faithful will have opportunities to view and venerate the relic – a small portion of Archbishop Sheen’s remains – before it is placed on permanent display at the cathedral for further viewing and veneration. Highlighting the Sept. 29 Mass will be an appearance by Bishop Louis Tylka, leader of the Peoria Diocese, who will formally present the relic to Bishop John S. Bonnici.
Dominic Auricchio in an undated photo poses with the plaque he received for winning the 2026 Cardinal Joseph Tobin Essay & Video Contest this summer. (OSV News photo/courtesy Archdiocese of Newark)
NEWARK, N.J. (OSV News) – A New Jersey teen said that at age 4 he heard God’s voice call him to become a priest. That dream, his strong faith and a struggle with a life-threatening health issue inspired his first-place essay on the priesthood. Dominic Auricchio, now 13, won first place in the Archdiocese of Newark’s Cardinal Joseph Tobin Essay and Video Contest. Administered by the Office of Priestly Vocations, the contest asks seventh graders to explain why priests are important. It’s because they share God’s Word, celebrate the sacraments and love everyone as Jesus did, Dominic wrote. His achievement came during a particularly trying time in his life. In December, he began experiencing seizures for which he is still seeking treatment. A mass developed on his brain. While his doctors and parents contemplated the best treatment options, he said he experienced an apparition of the Virgin Mary. According to Dominic, she told him not to worry and that everything would be OK. Soon thereafter, a CAT scan revealed that his brain mass had begun to shrink. His recovery cannot be confirmed as miraculous because he was taking medication that may have caused the improvement. But Dominic believes that something more than medicine was at work and feels fortunate he can share his experience to remind people “that God is always there.”
VATICAN VATICAN CITY (OSV News) – As Christians mark the Season of Creation, Pope Leo XIV is dedicating his September prayer intention to the care of water, highlighting both its spiritual significance and the global crisis of access to clean drinking water. In a video released Sept. 1, the pope called on Catholics to reject waste and pollution and to defend access to safe water as a fundamental human right. His appeal comes as U.N. agencies estimate that 2.1 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water, with millions relying on untreated sources such as rivers and lakes. The Season of Creation runs from Sept. 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, through Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. This year’s theme, “Living Water,” focuses on growing freshwater scarcity and unequal access worldwide. The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network said the intention is also a call to practical action, encouraging people to conserve water by reducing waste, repairing leaks and avoiding pollution. In the accompanying video, filmed at the Church of San Pellegrino in Vatican City, Pope Leo reflects on water’s role in baptism and daily life, presenting care for water as an act of stewardship, solidarity and concern for the poor.
WORLD KATHMANDU, Nepal (OSV News) – Caritas Nepal’s leader is urging global action on climate justice after catastrophic flooding in Nepal claimed more than 1,100 lives and left thousands missing. Speaking to OSV News Sept. 3, Sister Cecilia Durga Shrestha, executive director of Caritas Nepal, said many survivors are receiving medical treatment, while countless families have lost homes, land, livelihoods and loved ones. Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Management Authority reported 1,114 deaths, about 4,500 people missing and roughly 12,000 people rescued following the Aug. 26 flood and mudslide near the Chinese border. Sister Cecilia said the government’s immediate priority is protecting displaced families and supporting recovery efforts, but stressed authorities “cannot do this alone.” She called for coordinated support from national and international organizations to help communities rebuild with greater resilience. The disaster followed warnings from researchers that Himalayan glaciers are melting at an accelerating rate. A 5.2-magnitude glacial collapse triggered the deadly flooding. Noting Nepal produces less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Sister Cecilia called the country’s suffering “a profound injustice” and urged “concrete action” through climate finance, adaptation support and international solidarity. Caritas Nepal is providing emergency aid while planning long-term recovery and reconstruction efforts.
JOHANNESBURG (OSV News) – A network of Catholic priests with more than 2,200 members worldwide has joined growing calls to describe the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as genocide, citing widespread civilian deaths, displacement and destruction in the Palestinian enclave. In an Aug. 21 statement, the international network Priests Against Genocide said: “We believe that the policies and actions of the Government of Israel in Gaza constitute genocide.” The group, launched in August 2025, includes Cardinal Stephen Brislin of Johannesburg among the signatories of the declaration. The priests argued that repeated evacuation orders issued during the conflict have offered little protection to civilians. “To order people to flee when there is no safe place to flee to is not protection,” the statement said. The priests also cited findings by human rights organizations that have accused Israel of apartheid-like policies toward Palestinians, while stressing their criticism is directed at the Israeli government, “not at Jews or Judaism.” The statement condemned antisemitism and Islamophobia and also denounced the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. According to a U.N. humanitarian report, more than 73,000 people have died in Gaza and about 94% of the population has been displaced. Israel has rejected accusations that its military campaign constitutes genocide.
MERIDIAN – On Wednesday, Sept. 9, St. Patrick Catholic School held a special Mass honoring all first responders in remembrance of the 25th Anniversary of 9/11. First responders from the local community attended and received drawings and cards made by students. (Photo by Helen Reynolds)
SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT CAMDEN – Sacred Heart, Sister Thea Bowman, Servant of God – her legacy, speaker Karla Luke. Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost $10. Registration open through Oct. 23. Details: amelia.breton@jacksondiocese.org.
GREENWOOD – Locus Benedictus, Understanding St. Francis of Assisi, Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m. Father Greg Plata, OFM will present the historical person of St. Francis, using stories about the saint which continue to speak to people of all faiths today. All are invited. No charge. Details: (662) 299-1232.
HERNANDO – Holy Spirit, Discovering Christ, Thursdays, Oct. 8 through Dec. 3 in the Family Life Center. Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Come explore the meaning of life! Details: Call (662) 342-1073 or email nwms.evangelization@gmail.com.
MADISON – Millions of Monicas will be praying at St. Catherine’s Village chapel (200 Dominican Drive), the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. When you arrive at the gate, let the team know you are joining the Millions of Monicas ministry. Please, mark your calendars for the following meeting dates: Oct. 13, Nov. 10 and Dec. 8, 2026. Details: call (601) 613-8526.
OLIVE BRANCH – Queen of Peace, Millions of Monicas, Thursdays from 6:15-7:15 pm. Join with other mothers as we pray to grow in holiness and for our children’s faithful return to the Church. Details: church office (662) 895-5007.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Mother Teresa Institute and the Saint John Paul II National Shrine is honored to host a temporary exhibit, entitled “Works of Love Are Works of Peace,” on the life and mission of St. Teresa of Calcutta, featuring more than 80 photographs by Collopy. Exhibt open through Nov. 11. Details: https://www.jp2shrine.org/exhibits.
PARISH & YOUTH EVENTS CLARKSDALE – St. Elizabeth, Trunk or Treat, Oct. 25. Details: church office (662) 624-4301.
GREENVILLE – St. Joseph, Lunch Fundraiser, Sunday, Sept. 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Menu: Sloppy joes, baked beans, chips and browine. Cost: $15/plate. Details: church office (662) 335-5251.
GREENWOOD – St. Francis of Assisi, 75th Anniversary Mass and Celebration, Sunday, Oct. 4. Details: church office (662) 453-0623.
HERNANDO – Holy Spirit, Fall Bazaar, Saturday, Oct. 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Details: Julie at (901) 371-6253 or julieastefanik@gmail.com.
Holy Spirit Men’s Association, Fish Fry by Holy Spirit Men’s Association, Friday, Oct. 16, from 4-7 p.m. Adults $13; Children $6. Eat in or take out. Plate includes Catfish, Hushpuppies, Fries, Slaw, Drink and Dessert. Details: call Jon (901) 481-0228 or Lee at (662) 233-4833.
JACKSON – St. Richard, Evening with Mary, Thursday Oct. 1 at 5:30-7:30 p.m. with Rhonda Bowden. RSVP and bring your Rosary. Details: church office (601) 366-2335.
JACKSON – St. Richard School, Cardinal Fest, Saturday, Oct. 24. Enjoy food, live performances, games, art, chili cookoff and more! Visit https://bit.ly/cardinalfest2026 for tickets, chili cookoff registration, sponsorship or more info. Details: school office (601) 366-1157.
MADISON – St. Francis, Blessing of the Pets, Saturday, Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. in the courtyard. Pets must be on leash. Details: church office (601) 856-5556.
Taste of St. Francis, Sunday, Oct. 4 in the Family Life Center, following 10:30 a.m. Mass.
MERIDIAN – St. Joseph, Octoberfest, Saturday, Oct. 3, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Theme – “Once Upon a Time.” Tickets on sale soon. Details: church office (601) 693-1321.
NATCHEZ – Cathedral School, Fall Festival, Oct. 10 and 11.
OLIVE BRANCH – Queen of Peace, Men’s Club Golf Tournament, Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. at the Wedgewood Golf Club. Cost: $125/player – 4-person scramble. Details: Tim at (901) 515-8598.
SENATOBIA – St. Gregory, Six Parish Event, Sunday, Sept. 27 with Mass at 3 p.m. followed by music, games and dinner. All are welcome. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.
St. Gregory, Blessing of the Pets, Saturday, Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. Pets must be on leash.
SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, Fall Fest, Saturday, Oct. 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Join us for a day of food, fun, games and fellowship. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.
Christ the King, Blood Drive, Sunday, Sept. 27 12-4 p.m. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.
DIOCESE EVENTS ENGAGED ENCOUNTER 2026: Oct. 2-4 at Camp Garaywa in Clinton. Details: couples may register at https://jacksondiocese.flocknote.com/signup/230073 or email debbie.tubertini@jacksondiocese.org.
HOPE YOUTH FEST 2026 – Our Lady of Hope, Osyka (Chatawa) Oct. 10 for 9th and 12th graders. Registration is open. Contact your parish youth leader to sign up.
SEARCH RETREAT 2027 – Camp Wesley Pines, Gallman Jan. 15-17, for 10th and 12th graders. Registration opens Fall 2026. Contact your parish youth leader to sign up.
