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Dark memory

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IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
Inside each of us, beyond what we can picture clearly, express in words, or even feel distinctly, we have a dark memory of having once been touched and caressed by hands far gentler than our own. That caress has left a permanent mark, an imprint of a love so tender and deep that its memory becomes a prism through which we see everything else. This imprint lies beyond conscious memory but forms the center of our soul.

This is not an easy concept to explain. Bernard Lonergan, one of the great intellectuals of the past century, tried to explain it philosophically by saying we bear inside us “the brand of the first principles,” namely, the oneness, truth, goodness and beauty which are the attributes of God. That’s accurate, but abstract. Maybe the old myths and legends capture it better when they say that, before birth, each soul is kissed by God, and it then goes through life always in some dark way remembering that kiss and measuring everything it experiences in relation to that original sweetness. To be in touch with your heart is to be in touch with this primordial kiss, with both its preciousness and its meaning.

What exactly is being said here?

Within each of us, at that place where all that is most precious within us lives, there is an inchoate sense of having once been touched, caressed, loved, and valued in a way that is beyond anything we have ever consciously experienced. In fact, all the goodness, love, value, and tenderness we experience in life fall short precisely because we are already in touch with something deeper. When we feel frustrated, angry, betrayed, violated or enraged, it is because our outside experience is antithetical to what we already hold dear inside.

We all have this place, a place in the heart, where we hold all that is most precious and sacred to us. From that place our own kisses issue forth, as do our tears. It is the place that we most guard from others, but the place where we would most want others to come into; the place where we are the most deeply alone and the place of intimacy; the place of innocence and the place where we are violated; the place of our compassion and the place of our rage. In that place we are holy. There we are temples of God, sacred churches of truth and love. There we bear God’s image.

But this needs understanding: the image of God inside of us is not a beautiful icon stamped inside of our soul. No. The image and likeness of God inside us is energy, fire and memory; especially the memory of a touch so tender and loving that its goodness and truth become the prism through which we ultimately see everything. Thus, we recognize goodness and truth outside of us precisely because they resonate with something that is already inside us. Things touch our hearts when they touch us here. Isn’t it because we have already been deeply touched and caressed that we passionately seek a soulmate, that we seek someone to join us in this intimate place?

And, consciously and unconsciously, we measure everything in life by how it touches this place: why do certain experiences touch us so deeply? Why do our hearts burn within us in the presence of any truth, love, goodness or tenderness that is genuine and deep? Is not all deep knowledge simply a waking up to something we already know? Is not all love simply a question of being respected for something we already are? Are not the touch and tenderness that bring ecstasy nothing other than the stirring of deep memory? Are not the ideals that inspire hope only the reminder of words somebody has already spoken to us? Does not our desire for innocence (and innocent means “not wounded”) mirror some primal unwounded place deep within us? And when we feel violated, is it not because someone has irreverently entered the sacred inside us?

When we are in touch with this memory and respect its sensitivities, we are in touch with our souls. At those times, faith, hope and love will spring up in us, joy and tears will both flow through us freely, and we will be deeply affected by the innocence and beauty of children, as pain and gratitude alternately bring us to our knees.

That is what it means to be recollected, centered. To be truly ourselves is to remember, to touch and to feel the memory of God’s original touch in us. That memory fires our energy and provides us with a prism through which to see and understand.

Sadly, today, too often a wounded, calloused, cynical, over sophisticated and overly adult world invite us to forget God’s kiss in the soul, to view this as childish. But, unless we lie to ourselves and harden ourselves against our own ourselves (the most dangerous of all activities), we will always remember, dimly, darkly, unrelentingly, the caress of God.

(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)

Adoration anchors one’s life in Jesus, pope says

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By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The best way to ensure evangelization is about Jesus and not about oneself is to spend time in prayer and especially in Eucharistic adoration, Pope Francis told members of the Oblates of St. Joseph.

“Young people do not need us; they need God,” the pope told members of the order’s general chapter during a meeting at the Vatican Aug. 26.

“The more we live in his presence, the more we are able to help them encounter him without unnecessary protagonism and having only their salvation and full happiness at heart,” the pope said.

People today, but especially young people, he said, live in a world where what seems to count most is what is on the outside: one’s appearance, achievements or adventures.

Pope Francis talks about the plight of migrants during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Aug. 28, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

“But a life lived all ‘outside’ leaves the inside empty like someone who spends all his time on the street and lets his home fall into disrepair for lack of care and love,” the pope said. Instead, “make your hearts, your communities (and) your religious houses places where the warmth of familiarity with God and among brothers and sisters can be felt and shared.”

The life of every Christian, but especially of a member of a religious order, must be anchored in “a daily ‘being’ with Jesus,” he said. “Let’s not delude ourselves: without him we do not stand, none of us. We each have our own frailties, and without the Lord to sustain us, we would not stand.”

Participating in the sacraments, listening to and meditating on Scripture and spending time before Jesus in the Eucharist are essential parts of religious life, he said.

“I want to emphasize this: Sometimes we neglect adoration, the prayer of adoration, silence before the Lord,” Pope Francis said. The priests and brothers in the order should imitate St. Joseph, their patron, and the way he responded to “the immense gift of having the very Son of God made man in his home: by being with him, listening to him, talking to him and sharing with him the life of every day.”

The pope also asked members of the general chapter to think about their sins and notice how “when you fell into sin it was because you were not close to the Lord. That is always the case. Those who are close to the Lord immediately cling to him and do not fall.”

Embracing hope: A jubilee journey

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KNEADING FAITH
By Fran Lavelle
Pope Francis has declared 2025 to be a Jubilee Year of Hope. In his February 2022 letter announcing the Jubilee 2025, he stated: “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire…”

One can clearly see the need for greater hope in the world, but it also can feel like an overwhelming ask. It is easy to lose hope in our current political climate. It is easy to lose hope in the midst of the divisions within the church. It is easy to lose hope when we see the result of despair in the news every day. To call for hope can seem quite Pollyanna-ish. We clutch pearls, shrug shoulders, and sigh emphatically as if it’s too late to restore hope in anything. But Pope Francis is not operating out of naiveté. Rather he is responding to what he knows to be true, right, and just. “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you – oracle of the Lord – plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

In reflecting on his vision of hope, I have found myself asking how we as the people of God in the Diocese of Jackson reflect hope. I was quickly and swiftly reminded of the Synod on Synodality process in 2021 and the pastoral reimagining process that began in 2023. Both processes put our resolve to the test. They both offered the people of God to reflect on what type of church we want to be. For me, I have been reminded time and again that the institution and the church are not one in the same. The institution is the governing structure. And as with all governing bodies can make mistakes. The church, however, is the Body of Christ. It is all of us. It is, for me, easy to put my faith in us. All of us. Institutions and bureaucracies can fail and disappoint us, but the Body of Christ is compelled by its very nature to work toward a fulfillment of the Gospel. This, friends, gives me great hope.

So, we turn to the implementation phase of the pastoral reimagining process. As it is with any process, one of the biggest concerns at the onset of pastoral reimagining was a fear that the end product would end up filling space on a bookshelf. From the early stages of development we knew this had to be an organic process.

The formal process was completed at Pentecost 2024 with the publication of a pastoral letter from Bishop Kopacz. The letter summarizes the reimagining process and encourages all parishes to begin implementation of what they developed and have refined through the overall pastoral reimagining process.

For that vision to flourish the diocese recognizes the need to:

  • Oversee the pastoral planning aspects of pastoral reimagining.
  • Provide resources to assist parish leaders in creating and implementing pastoral plans in their family of parishes.
  • Serve deanery and parish leaders directly through liaisons and other services.

Further, we recognize that the success of implementation will come down to having someone dedicated to helping parishes succeed at the local level. To that end, I have accepted the responsibility for the implementation phase of pastoral reimagining beginning this month. I will be responsible for the various aspects assisting in developing and implementing pastoral plans at the parish, mission, deanery and diocesan level.

I am ready to get to work assisting our parish leaders bring their pastoral plans to fruition. The church, the Body of Christ, needs us to fulfill the vision of the Gospel. It will not happen overnight, but it can be achieved. Our hope anchored in the Gospel will continue to fuel the reimagining process. It clearly is not over. We have just begun. Let us be inspired by part of Pope Francis’ prayer for the Jubilee of Hope, “… May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally …”

(Fran Lavelle is the Director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Jackson.)

Missionary disciples prayer: St. Joan of Arc

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CALLED TO HOLINESS
By Jaymie Stuart Wolfe

Whether our hopes for this summer have been fulfilled or not, the season is waning. Most kids have returned to school, and the full force of the fall calendar is poised to kick in. All we can do now is hope that whatever rest and recreation we managed to get will be enough to draw on in the months ahead, enough to motivate us, enough to see us to the winter and through it.

Sometimes, though, one summer can change everything that follows it. That’s what happened to one young French girl in 1424. Sometime during that summer six centuries ago, Joan of Arc heard “voices” for the very first time. The exact date was never recorded. But what happened to Joan set her on a path that would change her life and the history of her country. This is how she described it at her infamous trial, on Feb. 22, 1431: “In my thirteenth year, I had a voice from God to help and guide me. The first time I heard this voice, I was very much afraid. The voice came around noon, in the summer, in my father’s garden. … It seemed to me a worthy voice, and I believe it was sent from God.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about Joan of Arc lately, and not just because I’ve spent close to a year writing two books about her. It’s that Joan has so much to teach us about prayer. And in this papally designated year of prayer, I’m hard-pressed to find a better example. Joan of Arc’s life shows us what it looks like when a Christian missionary disciple makes prayer a first response rather than a last resort.

Joan listened to her heavenly voices – those of St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Margaret of Antioch – for five years before beginning her mission. Over those first five years, Joan learned how to discern the voices that came to her and how to listen. But even more importantly, she learned that the voices she was hearing – and the God who sent them – could be trusted.

To Joan, however, prayer wasn’t just a tool of initial formation; it was an ongoing source of direction and guidance, the wellspring of her purpose and mission. When she left home at the age of 17, Joan was illiterate and untrained – unqualified to command the king’s army and lead men into battle. But she knew better than to trust in her own abilities. Instead, Joan placed all her confidence in God and continually sought his counsel in prayer. And she never stopped listening, not even when she was captured and tried by a panel of corrupt ecclesial judges. Joan prevailed. After her death, France defeated the English. She was vindicated, her greatest enemy posthumously excommunicated. And now she is counted among the most popular saints of all time.

Joan of Arc’s historic mission was inspired and fueled entirely by prayer. Apparently, however, ours are not. In a recent blog post, founder of Catholic Missionary Disciples Marcel LeJeune spoke openly about the role of prayer among today’s Catholic leaders. Prayer, he says, often “takes a back seat to strategy, discussion, plans, etc.” Unlike the first Christians, LeJeune observes, “we may not be facing any extreme kinds of persecution, but we are facing other issues. Our response has been training, classes, best practices, etc. But what about prayer? Why is it done so little? Why have we not prioritized it?” Why indeed!

Six-hundred years is a long time. But if we quiet ourselves down long enough to listen, we can still hear the voices that startled Joan of Arc echo in our own lives and faith communities. Contrary to popular belief, the King of the Universe is not silent. God does not shut up. His call and his invitation are issued in every age. And he is speaking to us. What has changed is our willingness to hear him out.

Our missions and apostolates suffer because we too often pray in a perfunctory way. We do not achieve the victories we long for because we do not take prayer seriously enough to seek God first, to discern and listen to his voice, and then do only what he commands. St. Joan of Arc, pray for us.

(Jaymie Stuart Wolfe is a sinner, Catholic convert, freelance writer and editor, musician, speaker, pet-aholic, wife and mom of eight grown children, loving life in New Orleans.)

Eucharistic procession on Mississippi River set to ‘go deeper’ for Christ

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By Gina Christian
(OSV News) – An annual Eucharistic procession on a Louisiana bayou moved to the mighty Mississippi River this year as part of the National Eucharistic Revival – and graces are set to overflow, the lead organizer told OSV News.

Some 15 boats accompanied the Blessed Sacrament an estimated 130 miles along the Mississippi River Aug. 14-15 for the Fête-Dieu du Mississippi.

The procession launched in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, following a morning Mass celebrated by that diocese’s Bishop Michael G. Duca at St. Joseph Cathedral.

Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans concluded the event Aug. 15 at that city’s Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis with Benediction and a Mass marking the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Rallies, spiritual talks, adoration, confession and recitations of the rosary took place at various ports of call along the route, with speakers and prayer presiders including author Father Josh Johnson of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Dominican Father Aquinas Guilbeau of The Catholic University of America and Father Dustin Dought, executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Divine Worship.

Father Michael Champagne of the Community of Jesus Crucified, climbs a ladder to remove the host from a 14-foot monstrance on the second day of Fête-Dieu du Mississippi in New Orleans Aug. 15, 2024, the feast of the Assumption of Mary. (OSV News photo/Jaymie Stuart Wolfe)

Father Michael Champagne of the Community of Jesus Crucified founded the procession a decade ago as the Fête-Dieu du Teche, the bayou where he’d grown up.
The Bayou Teche, an ancient channel of the Mississippi where French Catholics known as Acadians settled in the 18th century, was a natural inspiration for the procession, Father Champagne told OSV News.

And fittingly, the first discussions about the Fête-Dieu took place on the banks of the bayou, said the priest, whose religious community of men and women serve as “missionary contemplatives,” blending monastic prayer and active evangelization.
“I had the nuns with me in the truck, and we were driving on the Bayou Teche and saying, ‘We’ve got this anniversary coming up for the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the Acadians … and we need a Eucharistic procession on the bayou,’” said Father Champagne. “When the Acadians came, they came with their priest, they came with their flag of the Blessed Mother and they brought their faith. So I said, ‘Why don’t we reenact their arrival, and instead of doing that in boats dressed up like Acadians, let’s do a Eucharistic procession, and just move it onto the water?’”

Soon the 40-mile procession swelled to include “as many as 80 or 90 boats on the bayou,” he said.
But this year, the Fête-Dieu was put out into the deep – literally, said Father Champagne.

While the 125-mile Bayou Teche has an average depth of 5 feet, the 2,350-mile Mississippi River – despite reaching some critically low water levels in recent years – plunges to 200 feet at Algiers Point near New Orleans.

The shift in location has made for “a complicated endeavor,” admitted Father Champagne, noting that planning for this year’s procession, which required detailed logistics and permission from multiple officials, began over two years ago.

“We’re involved with the pilots’ association, the port authorities, nine sheriffs’ departments and the Coast Guard, which is supervising the procession,” he said.

Only commercial vessels operated by licensed river pilots, carrying “a handful of civilians” including the priests safeguarding the Blessed Sacrament, will be out on the water, with the average speed of the craft about 10 knots (approximately 11.5 miles) per hour, said Father Champagne.

But those on the banks were nonetheless able to participate in a rich “spiritual tailgating” experience as they witnessed the historic procession and honored the Blessed Sacrament in the port of call gatherings, he said.

Even the most casual observer had no trouble seeing the host, which was displayed in a 14-foot-tall monstrance crafted by Father Champagne’s cousin by marriage, Lyndon Stromberg of the Texas-based Stromberg Architectural.

Stromberg told OSV News that Father Champagne had provided him with a “an old antique monstrance … and said, ‘Can you make me something like this?’”

The “genius entrepreneur,” as Father Champagne described him, set to work modeling and refining a design, creating a mold for casting the monstrance in fiberglass over a metal frame, and finishing the surface in gold leaf.

A team of “about a dozen” staff worked on the project for a year, said Stromberg, noting that he and his team donated time and material for the 220-pound monstrance.

“A lot of them are Catholic, so we had people bringing their spouses and kids to show what mom and dad were working on,” Stromberg said.

The procession has also become an ecumenical encounter, said Father Champagne.

“I’ve been meeting with tugboat companies and pilots and industry guys that worked on the river their whole life,” he said. “One guy told me, ‘Look I’m Baptist, I’m not Catholic. I’ve been on the river 50 years, and it’s never been blessed. We got to bless the river, man. I’m all in.’ And another guy who’s not Catholic completely renovated one of his boats, with lots of money invested, just because he’s going to carry a statue and bells.”

As the procession looked to “bless the state of Louisiana and the Mississippi River … by bringing Jesus down a good swath of it,” Father Champagne hopes that participants were swept from the shallows of faith into a current of desire for Christ.

“I couldn’t imagine life without being in the presence of the Lord,” he said. “And I’ve got to go deeper, I’ve got to be more and more preoccupied with the Lord, and bring people to the Eucharist.”

(Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @GinaJesseReina.)

US bishops’ diocesan survey sets new baseline for Hispanic ministry in parishes nationwide

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By Marietha Góngora
(OSV News) – The U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs conducted a survey of dioceses and archdioceses in the country’s 14 episcopal regions and released its results Aug. 21. The survey shows how Hispanic ministry has taken off across the country and that in most dioceses, there is a parish-based pastoral response to Hispanic Catholics.

Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, assistant director of Hispanic Affairs under the Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, explained that the subcommittee sought to determine a baseline about the state of Hispanic ministry at the parish level.

He told OSV News that it was important to observe the implementation of the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry, a 10-year plan that was approved by the U.S. bishops in June 2023, and “to see how that parish ministry will develop in the years ahead.”

The survey, which was conducted from last April through mid-August, included questions on the number of parishes in each diocese, the number of parishes offering Mass in Spanish, and the number of parishes with a Hispanic/Latino presence or ministry without a Mass celebrated in Spanish.

“It was very important to know what the starting point is, what is the number of parishes that already have a Sunday Mass in Spanish, which is the quintessential sign that we see that the Hispanic community has been welcomed as a community in a parish,” said Aguilera-Titus. “In communities where the Spanish Mass is already established, many other ministries emerge as well.”

He said the committee was pleased to find that almost 30% of the parishes in the country have a Sunday Mass in Spanish established.

An Aug. 21 press release from USCCB indicated that 175 surveys were completed, representing 100% of the Latin Catholic archdioceses and dioceses in the U.S. It showed that 4,479 out of 16,279 U.S. parishes offered Sunday Mass in Spanish.

The survey also found that about 2,760 parishes have a Hispanic/Latino presence or ministry but do not currently offer Mass in Spanish and that “99% of the dioceses surveyed have several parishes that offer Mass in Spanish,” according to the release.

“We are talking about the fact that there is a Hispanic presence throughout the country, in the 175 dioceses (of the Latin Church) in the country” and that in most of those dioceses, “there is a significant response or parish ministry,” said Aguilera-Titus.

This survey focused on examining parishes serving Hispanics/Latinos in U.S. dioceses, but it also clarified that “several dioceses reported having missions or ministries serving Hispanics/Latinos extraordinary ministries or locations that are not identified as parishes” and that the survey did not intend to diminish those efforts.

Aguilera-Titus explained that in 2016-2017, a survey that was part of the V Encuentro process showed that about 4,485 parishes had some type of Hispanic ministry, although it did not specify data on Sunday Mass in Spanish, but rather Masses during the week or monthly Masses. This new survey indicates that 4,479 parishes have Sunday Mass in Spanish and that, in addition, almost 3,000 parishes have some type of Hispanic ministry or presence but do not have a Sunday Mass in Spanish.

“We are talking about the significant growth in the response that the church is giving at the parish level,” Aguilera-Titus said.

Over 42% of U.S. Catholics self-identified as Hispanic and it has been reported that this is the case for more than half of all U.S. Catholics under 30. But even though Latino Catholics have accounted for much of the growth of the U.S. church for decades, the data shows these Catholics are also leaving the church at high rates and becoming religiously unaffiliated, according to a 2023 report by the Pew Research Center.

“Much progress has been made in the awareness of the Hispanic presence in the country and in the response at the parish level,” Aguilera-Titus said, but the subcommittee’s survey also shows “that there are still thousands of parishes where that Hispanic presence needs to be more accurately recognized, and an adequate pastoral response needs to be given to that presence.”

Aguilera-Titus anticipated that, in the context of the new pastoral plan for Hispanic ministry and its implementation, the number of parishes with Sunday Mass in Spanish and “with developed and well-organized ministries” will grow over the years.

Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose, California, chair of the Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs, welcomed the results and said these types of surveys are vital to the church’s response to Hispanic/Latino communities.
“There are common obstacles that dioceses face when engaging in Hispanic/Latino ministry, such as bilingual priests or limited resources,” the bishop said, according to the USCCB press release. “This survey helps to measure our work and determine how we can continue serving this thriving part of our church and the importance of ongoing ministry to the needs of our Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters.”

Aguilera-Titus echoed the crucial need to promote more vocations to the priesthood and religious life among Hispanic Catholics. He added that it was important that, regardless of culture and origin, seminarians and priests, “especially pastors, who are not yet interculturally capable, acquire that intercultural capacity,” knowledge, attitudes and skills “that will allow them to effectively and joyfully pastor with that Hispanic/Latino people that continues to grow in practically every corner of the country.”

He also told OSV News that despite the financial challenges facing the church in the U.S., particularly dioceses, Hispanic ministry at the diocesan level continues to be very strong. “It’s really good news that 57 of the dioceses that responded (to the survey) have their Hispanic pastoral office and director,” he said.

The survey indicated that close to 47% of respondents were directors or coordinators of Hispanic/Latino ministry. Meanwhile, “while another 35% of respondents held positions in offices dedicated to cultural diversity, faith formation, and catechesis, signaling that there are other diocesan offices engaged in, or overseeing Hispanic/Latino ministry,” the press release stated. According to the subcommittee, this point shows the correlation of a robust diocesan structure and a vibrant ministry at the parish level.

Aguilera-Titus also commented on places where there was a need for further growth. “We also have about 20% of the dioceses where we see that the diocesan structure could be further strengthened to support Hispanic ministry. That was also included in the pastoral plan,” he said.

Aguilera-Titus explained that three characteristics determine a successful diocesan ministry of Hispanic ministry (also known as “pastoral hispana”): the person who coordinates it has direct contact with the diocesan bishop, a budget that allows for the development of specific programs to support and promote and develop Hispanic ministry, and collaboration with other diocesan offices.

“We are deeply grateful for the high participation from the dioceses starting with the people who coordinate and direct Hispanic ministry, but also in some cases with people who were learning more about the Hispanic presence in their dioceses,” Aguilera-Titus said.

The USCCB press release stated the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, and the Eastern Catholic archeparchies and eparchies in the U.S. were also not included in this survey.

(Marietha Góngora V. writes for OSV News from Washington.)

NOTES: The USCCB Hispanic Affairs Subcommittee’s survey can be found at:
Diocesan Survey (English Edition) https://bit.ly/4edfYQL
Diocesan Survey (Spanish Edition) https://bit.ly/3TfoJ52

New study says Shroud of Turin bloodstains are ‘consistent with Jesus Christ’s tortures’

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By Junno Arocho Esteves
(OSV News) — A study published in July revealed that a new analysis of the Shroud of Turin, including the composition and a microscopic analysis of bloodstains, shows that the marks are consistent with the tortures endured by Christ as described in the Gospels.

The study, titled “New Insights on Blood Evidence from the Turin Shroud Consistent with Jesus Christ’s Tortures,” stated that the presence of creatinine particles with ferritin, which are often a by-product of muscle contractions, “confirms, at a microscopic level, the very heavy torture suffered by Jesus of the HST,” or Holy Shroud of Turin.

Furthermore, “numerous bloodstains scattered throughout the double body image of the HST show evidence that Jesus of the HST was tortured,” it stated.

“Bloodstained marks all over the body image which are consistent with pre-crucifixion flagellation, bloodstained marks on the head that are consistent with a ‘crown’ of thorns, blood marks on the hand and feet that are consistent with crucifixion and the bloodstain on the chest that evidences a post-mortem wound that corresponds with the post-mortem spear wound that Christ received as is described in the Bible,” the report said.

The new study was written by Giulio Fanti, associate professor of Mechanical and Thermal Measurements at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Padua. According to his personal website, Fanti has studied and written about the famed burial cloth since 2004.

The funding for the study, the report said, “was partially supported by a religious group
that requested anonymity” and that the group entrusted Fanti with “the analysis of the so-called ‘Padre Pio handkerchief,’ a fabric on which two images considered miraculous are imprinted on the front and back of (a Shroud of Turin-like) Jesus Christ and Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, respectively.”

According to the report, a preliminary study conducted by Fanti, along with Christian Privitera, an engineer, revealed the presence “of an almost transparent substance” between the bloodstained threads of the shroud.

“This substance, given its origin and in agreement with other scholars who have analyzed the Shroud of Oviedo, could be the semi-transparent fluid produced by pulmonary edema,” the report said, referring to the excessive accumulation of fluid in the lungs that Jesus was believed to have suffered from while on the cross.

The Shroud of Oviedo, Spain, is what both tradition and scientific studies claim was the cloth used to cover and clean the face of Jesus after the crucifixion.

Fanti’s study on the Shroud of Turin stated that aside from confirming the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ torture, including the flagellation, the right eye of the man of the shroud, given that it was “more sunken” with a vertical mark over the “apparently furrowed” eyelid,” indicate that he “could have been blinded by another blow of the scourge on the head.”

“As an alternative to the scourge mark on the right eye, one can think of a wound produced by a thorn from the crown placed on Jesus’ head,” the report stated.

The 14-foot-by-4-foot shroud features a full-length photonegative image of a man, front and back, bearing signs of wounds that correspond to the Gospel accounts of the torture Jesus endured in his passion and death.

The Shroud of Turin is pictured in a file photo during a preview for journalists at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. A study published in July revealed that a new analysis of the shroud, including the composition and a microscopic analysis of the blood, shows that the marks are consistent with the tortures endured by Christ as described in the Gospels. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

The Catholic Church has never officially ruled on the shroud’s authenticity, saying judgments about its age and origin belonged to scientific investigation. Scientists have debated its authenticity for decades, and studies have led to conflicting results.

A 1988 carbon testing dated the cloth to the 12th century, leading many to conclude that the shroud is a medieval forgery. However, scientists have challenged that claim by noting that the methodology of the testing was erroneous and that the sample used in the carbon dating process was a piece used to mend the cloth in the Middle Ages.

A 2014 study published in the 2018 Journal of Forensic Sciences by Matteo Borrini, an Italian forensic scientist, and Luigi Garlaschelli, an Italian chemist, stated that blood patterns on the shroud were not consistent with those left by a crucified person.

Garlaschelli also posted a YouTube video of his experiment in 2015 using a live person to study the blood patterns in various positions as well as pressing a sponge against a plastic mannequin to examine the way the fake blood flowed.

However, several experts and researchers criticized the 2014 study, stating that their findings lacked the accuracy of past studies, some of which involved cadavers of men who died of hemopericardium, the pooling of blood in the heart, which is believed to be what ultimately caused Jesus’ death on the cross.

In his report, Fanti questioned the results of the 1988 study, stating that certain factors, including the presence of neutron radiation, transformed elements in the shroud, “thus heavily skewing the results of the radiocarbon dating of the HST performed in 1988 by many centuries.”

(Junno Arocho Esteves reports for OSV News from Malmö, Sweden.)

Raphael’s Men

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By X.M. “Mike” Frascogna, Jr.
JACKSON – Joe Lee, who recently co-authored The Saints of St. Mary’s with X. M. Frascogna Jr., returns with Raphael’s Men, a biography of the late Bill Raphael and the towering legacy he left at St. Joseph Catholic School. Lee will sign copies of the book, published by the Mississippi Sports Council, at the Mississippi Book Festival on Saturday, Sept. 14.

A member of the Mississippi Association of Coaches Hall of Fame since 1984, Bill Raphael coached football and taught math at St. Joe from 1950-1990. He later taught math at Belhaven University and served as an assistant football coach at Millsaps College.

“Researching and writing this book, which I’ve done over the last few months, has been a uniquely rewarding experience,” said Lee, the Rankin County-based author of nine suspense novels and an active member of St. Francis of Assisi in Madison.

Raphael’s Men is the latest book by Joe Lee. The book is a biography of the late Bill Raphael and the towering legacy he left at St. Joseph Catholic School. It is available at Lemuria Books. (Photo courtesy of Joe Lee)

“I interviewed players from Coach Raphael’s early days like Con Maloney, guys like Andrew Mattiace and Roger Parkes from the great late-60s teams, Robert Dow from the landmark Capital Bowl-winning team in 1972, and stalwarts like Al Nuzzo, Joe Rooks, Jeff Artigues and Reggie Dampier from Raphael’s later years. All said he was an excellent math instructor as well as a great football coach and an outstanding person.”

St. Joe grad and Super Talk Mississippi radio host Gerard Gibert spoke glowingly of Raphael in the book’s foreword: “His math students wanted to ace his rigorous but fair tests, and his football players would absolutely run through a brick wall to deliver wins on the field. As a student or player, you wanted to please him as if he were your own dad.”

Lee, who will be on the book festival’s Mississippi Culture panel to discuss Raphael’s Men, expects the book to reach a wide audience because of its inspirational value.

“It’s about leadership that transcends generations,” he said. “Always give your best effort. Always do the right thing when no one is watching. And always believe you can accomplish more than you ever dreamed possible. Timeless advice from a devout Catholic that can be passed on to our kids and grandkids.”

Raphael’s Men will be available after Sept. 1 at Lemuria Books, located at 4465 I-55 North in Jackson on the second floor of Banner Hall. Copies are $24.95 plus tax and can be reserved by calling (601) 366-7619. For more information, visit lemuriabooks.com.

X.M. “Mike” Frascogna, Jr. has nearly fifty years experience as a practicing attorney, negotiator and professor. He is a prolific writer and has published a number of books on both professional and popular topics.

Sister Nancy Schreck, OSF receives “Outstanding Leadership Award” from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious

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By Jessi Russo
DUBUQUE, Iowa – Sister Nancy Schreck, OSF, was selected as the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) on Friday, Aug. 16, during the closing banquet of LCWR’s Assembly in Orlando.

Recipients are chosen based on their “commitment and collaboration in the ministry of leadership; faithfulness to Gospel values and mission; creative and innovative leadership in one or more areas; and significant contribution on the national and/or international level, particularly to women religious congregations in the United States,” according to the LCWR website.

Sister Nancy served in leadership and formation ministry for the Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, Iowa, as well as in the LCWR presidency and as a US delegate to the International Union of Superiors General (UISG). She also served for eight years as a member of the council of the Franciscan Handmaids in New York. Her contributions to LCWR over the years – including keynote presentations at LCWR assemblies, facilitation of the Leading from Within Retreat and New Leader Workshop, articles, and more – have influenced leaders nationally and globally. She is a sought-after presenter and facilitator for religious groups throughout the world. Sister Nancy founded and is currently the program director of Excel Inc., a community service organization located in Okolona, Mississippi.

In her acceptance speech Sister Nancy shared what she has come to learn about religious life through her work with thousands of Catholic sisters around the world who have asked her to serve as a facilitator and speaker with the hope that the reflections would help leaders know “who then shall we be.”

In her conclusion, she quoted Friedrich Nietzsche who said: “I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things, then I shall be one of those who makes things beautiful.” Sister Nancy added, “That is my hope – that as I have worked among you, I have been able to make religious life more beautiful.”

The Sisters of St. Francis, located in Debuque, Iowa, are dedicated to a life of service, prayer and community living based on the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi, Clare of Assisi and Mother Xavier. Learn more at osfdbq.org.

Briefs

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NATION
DENVER (OSV News) – The organization that coordinates efforts related to the National Eucharistic Revival announced Sept. 3 the launch of the Society of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus to boost revival efforts. In an email to supporters, Jason Shanks, CEO of National Eucharistic Congress Inc., described the society as a way people “can help and remain closely connected to the many ongoing efforts of charity and evangelization, of pilgrimage and procession – of mission – to bring Christ to every corner of our nation.” Joining the society requires a minimum $10 monthly donation to National Eucharistic Congress Inc. Members will receive a copy of “For the Life of the World: Invited to Eucharistic Mission” by Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who serves as board chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., and Tim Glemkowski, the founding CEO of National Eucharistic Congress Inc., who served in that role until Aug. 1. Society members also receive access to the National Eucharistic Congress digital platform, which includes all of the talks from the July 17-21 National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, as well as additional Eucharist-related content. Information on joining the society can be found at www.eucharisticcongress.org/donate.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Ahead of Hispanic Heritage Month, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church has released a resource kit “to help illustrate the profound impact of the Hispanic/Latino community within the Catholic Church in the United States,” according to a Sept. 4 press release. This resource kit includes statistical information on the Catholic population in the United States, categorized by race/ethnicity, a statistical profile of Hispanic/Latino ministry, the percentage of Hispanic/Latino Catholics by diocese and the percentage growth of Hispanic/Latino Catholics in the Millennial and Gen Z generations. It also reports on the growth of the Hispanic/Latino population in the church’s 14 episcopal regions and the estimated Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. in 2022 by country of origin, as well as a timeline of Hispanic/Latino ministry events and milestones spanning from 1945 to 2024. Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, assistant director of Hispanic Affairs under the USCCB’s cultural diversity secretariat, said that through the information in this resource, they hope to “help show the vibrant faith and the richness of the Hispanic and Latino communities within our Church and society.” The resource kit – published in English and Spanish – is available on the USCCB website: usccb.org/committees/hispaniclatino-affairs.

VATICAN
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNS) – Even members of the most remote, smallest and poorest Christian communities are called to share the Gospel and to do so, first, by the way they live, Pope Francis told the Catholics of Indonesia. With tens of thousands of people gathered in Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium Sept. 5 – and thousands more watching on screens from Madya Stadium, a smaller venue nearby – Pope Francis presided over his only public Mass in Indonesia. He was scheduled to fly to Papua New Guinea the next morning. Seated together wearing the bright green, yellow, white, blue, red or black t-shirts designating the parish, diocese or Catholic organization they belong to, the crowd made the main stadium look like it was built with Lego bricks. The people arrived at the stadium hours early, visiting with each other, singing hymns and lively modern Christian songs and praying the rosary. In his homily, Pope Francis urged Indonesian Catholics “to sow seeds of love, confidently tread the path of dialogue, continue to show your goodness and kindness with your characteristic smile and be builders of unity and peace.” Pope Francis asked the crowd not to forget that “the first task of the disciple is not to clothe ourselves with an outwardly perfect religiosity, do extraordinary things or engage in grandiose undertakings. The first step, instead, is to know how to listen to the only word that saves, the word of Jesus.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Earth is ailing, and it needs the prayers of Catholics as well as their personal commitment to caring for creation, Pope Francis said. “Let us pray that each of us listen with our hearts to the cry of the Earth and of the victims of environmental disasters and climate change, making a personal commitment to care for the world we inhabit,” the pope said in a video message released Aug. 30 by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network. The network posts a short video of the pope offering his specific prayer intention each month, and members of the network pray for that intention each day. Pope Francis’ intention for September is: “For the cry of the Earth,” which coincides with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation Sept. 1 and its inauguration of the monthlong “Season of Creation.”

Pope Francis receives wine from women in traditional Indonesian dress during the presentation of gifts as he celebrates Mass in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Mass Sept. 5, 2023. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

WORLD
KATSINA, Nigeria (OSV News) – Back to school will be especially tough in Nigeria this year as a new report shows that Fulani herders, or ethnic militia, are killing Nigerian civilians unopposed. Mass killings, abductions and the torture of whole families go largely unchallenged as government forces pursue targets hundreds of miles away, according to the research findings. As the security situation in Nigeria worsens, an increasing number of schools, especially in the northern part of the country, face forced shutdown on the verge of a new academic year. This has led to a significant decline in student enrollment, with many citizens relocating within the country or going abroad. A new report published Aug. 29 by the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa – a four-year data project on religious persecution in Nigeria – showed that the most populous African country was an extremely violent and insecure place to live in the reporting period from October 2019 to September 2023, at least in parts of the country. In total, 55,910 people were killed in 9,970 attacks, while 21,621 people were abducted in 2,705 attacks, the report said. “Many civilians lived in high levels of insecurity and fear of the unexpected,” the report said. The data shows that more Nigerian Christians were victims of violence than Nigerians with other religious affiliations.

JERUSALEM (OSV News) – The Holy Land’s sacred sites overflow with tourists in normal times, but with war in Gaza, most airlines have canceled flights to the region. The streets of the Old City of Jerusalem are deserted with merchant’s stalls shuttered. Yet for two Catholic peace activists from the United States, it was the perfect time to visit. Invited by Palestinian Christian groups, they joined with 10 other U.S. Christians and flew to neighboring Jordan. From there they journeyed overland to Palestine and Israel. “Church leaders here asked people from the United States to come and stand in solidarity with their brothers and sisters. That concept of solidarity is central to my faith, to the way that I think about the cross,” said Kelly Johnson, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton, Ohio. The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 40,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Scott Wright, a 74-year-old Pax Christi member from Washington who worked for years with refugees in Central America, said he wanted to come precisely because it was a difficult time. The U.S. Catholic delegation’s schedule included interviews with church leaders, clerics, nonviolent activists, Palestinian farmers and urban residents whose lands have been appropriated by army-backed settlers, and families whose homes have been demolished in East Jerusalem. In Rahat, Israel, the group helped local residents pack food boxes for distribution inside Gaza.