”What are you giving up for Lent?” For many Catholics, the question appears almost automatically – and even before the last box of Christmas decorations has been packed up and stowed away. As someone who spent most of my life in that category and with that crowd, I think it’s because Lent can feel a lot like a competition, a 40-day spiritual marathon with winners and losers.
Every Ash Wednesday, it seemed to me, the church threw personal holiness down like a gauntlet. The point, I thought, was to accept the challenge and do everything in my power to excel in achieving it. My naturally competitive nature means that I have always been more than willing to take up just about any challenge. Living the faith was no exception.
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.
That’s one reason why I figured that the more demanding and strenuous Lent was, the better. It was a matter of simple logic. If fasting on Fridays demonstrated my love for God, then fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays would do so even more. If praying one novena was good, two or three had to be even more beneficial. Whenever I heard about someone else’s sacrifice, I’d up the ante for myself. If someone was giving up coffee, I’d commit to drinking only water. When someone I knew gave up chocolate (and there was always someone who did), I’d attempt to give up sweets of any kind. There were years I even put pebbles or toothpicks in the soles of my shoes for the season. Nothing was too much for me.
And that was the problem. In doing all those things, I failed to grasp the point of Lenten penitential practices and disciplines. I didn’t realize that because nothing was too much, nothing would ever be enough. Rather than accepting my weaknesses, I tried to live my spiritual life beyond my means and the measure of my strength. And those efforts never produced the fruit of repentance in my life. Instead, they left me exhausted and puffed up. Eventually, I finally recognized that intensifying penitential practices in preparation for Easter isn’t about spiritual bootstrapping or one-upmanship. As a result, I decided to give up giving up things for Lent.
So, for more than a decade now, I’ve been letting God choose what I give up for Lent. And he has chosen some real doozies. The things God has invited me to sacrifice have challenged me at a much deeper level because they call for more faith than I can muster on my own. This approach has made a real difference in what I gain from Lenten practices because God knows what I need better than I do. He is happy to show me all the things I have allowed to take his place. And he is more than willing to reveal the pantheon of idols in my heart, especially when I am convinced that I have none.
The truth is that the crosses I used to choose – even the most difficult ones – were still within my control, simply because I was the one who chose them. Sometimes, they required significant discipline on my part, but they also fueled my pride. In contrast, moving across the country, facing a health scare or losing financial security pulls the ground out from under me. And that’s the only way I can truly know what I’ve been standing on all along.
God understands precisely what it will take to make each one of us rely on him, to accept his grace and to trust him more completely.
As St. Francis de Sales wrote, “The everlasting God has in his wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that he now presents to you as a gift of his inmost heart. This cross he now sends you he has considered with his all-knowing eyes, understood with his divine mind, tested with his wise justice, warmed with loving arms, and weighed with his own hands to see that it is not one inch too large nor one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with his holy name, anointed it with his grace, perfumed it with his consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God.”
(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.)
January was National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, leading up to the Feb. 8 feast of St. Josephine Bakhita. St. Josephine Bakhita was a young southern Sudanese girl who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. She eventually was bought by an Italian diplomat and taken to Venice, where she encountered the Catholic faith.
Her story is an interesting one, since escaping from slavery was not an easy task even in Italy during the 19th century, yet Josephine persevered and became a Canossian sister. She was canonized by St. John Paul II, who in his homily said, “We find a shining advocate of genuine emancipation.” Josephine has become the patron saint of those enslaved and trafficked, as well as one venerated by African American Catholics in the United States and also the patron saint of Sudan.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio is retired bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y. He writes the column “Walking With Migrants” for Catholic News Service and The Tablet. (OSV News photo/courtesy DeSales Media Group)
Human trafficking, often referred to as a modern form of slavery, involves using force, fraud or coercion to make someone provide labor or engage in sexual activities against their will. Migrants are particularly vulnerable to trafficking because, in their desperation, they may resort to paying a smuggler to arrange transportation to their destination.
Exploiting this vulnerability, smugglers may then traffic migrants for labor or sex. The hazards migrants encounter during their difficult journeys can expose them to trafficking, regardless of whether they have used a smuggler before.
Even though those who are smuggled might initially consent and pay a fee for transportation to their desired country, some soon find themselves recruited or lured into situations of sexual exploitation, forced labor or indentured servitude – whether it happens before, during or after their migration journey. Trafficked individuals are frequently deceived with promises of a good job and a better life or, like St. Bakhita, kidnapped.
Awareness of the problem is a critical tool to combat the crime of human trafficking, which is a worldwide problem. Due to the underreported nature of the crime, it is difficult to gather accurate statistics of those trafficked and exploited. Nevertheless, the Global Slavery Index reports that at any given moment there are nearly 50 million people living in a situation of modern slavery. Estimates show there are about 1 million people living in situations of slavery in the United States.
The bimonthly newsletter put out by the anti-trafficking office of the U.S. bishops’ conference titled “Hidden in Plain Sight,” highlights how often we fail to see trafficking situations in our own communities. Hidden in plain sight is the best way to describe this reality, as they are sometimes hidden in nail salons, massage parlors or in sectors of the entertainment industry.
Awareness, prevention and detection are effective tools to eliminate human trafficking from our midst. How important it is that we keep watch for any signs of those who may be ill-treated in their workplaces, understand what might constitute a human trafficking situation and then report it to the proper authorities who can then intervene.
It is admirable that many female religious orders have dedicated much of their resources, both personnel and financial, to combating this terrible scourge on our world society. Most of those trafficked are women, but young and middle-aged men are among those trafficked.
A Prayer to St. Josephine Bakhita St. Josephine Bakhita, you were sold into slavery as a child and endured untold hardship and suffering. Once liberated from your physical enslavement, you found proper redemption in your encounter with Christ and his church. O, St. Bakhita, assist all those trapped in a state of slavery; Intercede with God on their behalf so that they will be released from their chains of captivity. Those whom man enslaves, let God set free. Provide comfort to survivors of slavery and let them look to you as an example of hope and faith. Help all survivors find healing from their wounds. We ask for your prayers and intercessions for those enslaved among us. Amen.
(Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio is the retired bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. He writes the column “Walking With Migrants” for The Tablet and OSV News.)
By Lauretta Brown (OSV News) – Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a Catholic mother of two and beloved disc jockey for the KKFI radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, was killed Feb. 14 amid a mass shooting following the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade.
“It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we let our community know that KKFI DJ Lisa Lopez, host of Taste of Tejano lost her life today in the shooting at the KC Chiefs’ rally,” the radio station announced on Facebook that Wednesday evening. “This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community.”
Lisa Lopez-Galvan, second from right, stands with her family in a photo posted to her Facebook account Sept. 26, 2022. Lopez-Galvan, a parishioner of Sacred Heart-Guadalupe Parish in Kansas City, Mo., was killed Feb. 14, 2024, Ash Wednesday, during a mass shooting following the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade. (OSV News screenshot/Facebook)
Lopez-Galvan was an active parishioner at Sacred Heart-Guadalupe Parish in Kansas City, Missouri, where she was fondly remembered by her fellow parishioners.
Ramona Arroyo, director of religious education at the parish, told OSV News that Lopez-Galvan’s whole family is “devoted to the church.” Her brother, Beto Lopez Jr., is the chief executive officer of Guadalupe Centers, one of the nation’s first social service agencies for the Latino community.
Arroyo said the loss was “devastating” to the community. “She was a beautiful person,” Arroyo said. She expressed her sympathy for Lopez-Galvan’s husband, Michael, saying, “It’s a horrible thing that happened to a good family.”
Monica Palacio, another parishioner who knew Lopez-Galvan, said the shooting was a “tragedy for our whole community because everybody knows the family” and they “grew up within blocks of each other.” She also noted Lopez-Galvan’s role as host of Tejano Tuesdays at KKFI and as a well-known DJ presence at local weddings and quinceañeras.
“She was an amazing person,” Palacio said. “She was full of joy all the time, no matter where she was.” Palacio remembered Lopez-Galvan as the “life of the party” who “came with red lipstick and a big smile.” The Kansas City Star reported that Lopez-Galvan, who was in her mid-40s with two adult children, died in the hospital during surgery after a gunshot wound to her abdomen.
Arroyo and Palacio said Lopez-Galvan, a known Chiefs fan, was at the parade with her family, including her son and nieces and nephews, and they had heard that other family members had been injured as well. Father Luis Suárez, parochial administrator of Sacred Heart-Guadalupe Parish, remembered Lopez-Galvan in his homily at the Ash Wednesday evening Mass and encouraged the community to unite in prayer amid the tragedy.
Lauretta Brown is culture editor for OSV News. Megan Marley, digital editor for OSV News, contributed to this report.
By Maria Wiering (OSV News) – Super Bowl LVIII watchers can saw at least three faith-based commercials during the televised Feb. 11 showdown in Las Vegas between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. The Catholic prayer app Hallow plans to run a 30-second commercial featuring Catholic actors Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie. According to Hallow, the advertisement “will encourage fans to take time away from the spectacle of the big game and enjoy a moment of prayer on the Lord’s day.”
Wahlberg, who played prizefighter-turned-priest Father Stuart Long in the 2022 biopic “Father Stu,” is helping to lead Hallow’s annual #Pray40 Lent prayer challenge.
During Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers Feb. 11, 2024, the Hallow app plans to run a 30-second commercial featuring Catholic actors Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie. The app is centered on prayer and meditation. (OSV News photo/courtesy Hallow)
Pray40 also features Roumie, who portrays Jesus in the popular series “The Chosen.” Roumie voices other Hallow audio content, including the Divine Mercy Chaplet, scriptural rosary and daily Gospel readings. “The goal at Hallow has always been to reach out to as many folks as possible, both those who take their faith seriously and especially those who might have fallen away, and invite them deeper into a relationship with God,” said Alex Jones, Hallow co-founder and CEO, in a statement announcing the commercial.
A teaser for the commercial posted on YouTube shows Wahlberg in a church dipping his hand in holy water and making the sign of the cross, and Roumie receiving ashes. Wahlberg says, “God, we take this moment,” as the screen reads, “For the first time ever, join over 100 million people in prayer during the Big Game. … Pray this Lent with Hallow.”
According to Hallow’s media statement, the commercial is expected to run “shortly before halftime.” A recent survey by NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics found that a record 200.5 million U.S. adults plan to watch this year’s game. A 30-second Super Bowl commercial spot reportedly costs around $7 million. Launched in December 2018, Hallow has more than 10,000 guided prayer sessions. It claims to be the No. 1 Catholic app in the world, with more than 10 million downloads across more than 150 countries.
After appearing at the Super Bowl for the first time last year, ads from the He Gets Us campaign also are expected to run during this year’s game. Backed by Hobby Lobby co-founder and Christian David Green, last year’s ads presented Jesus as relatable and compassionate, and encouraged people to love their enemies.
This year’s ads – a 60-second spot followed later by a 15-second spot – focused on loving one’s neighbor as Jesus did.
By Staff Reports OXFORD – Holy water hit Swayze field the first Friday of February when Father Mark Shoffner blessed the field for the upcoming season.
Head Coach Mike Bianco invited his pastor Father Shoffner of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Oxford to pray for the upcoming season.
“Blessings can be bestowed upon people and all manner of objects,” said Alexandra Barfield, campus minister for St. John the Evangelist.
Last year, after a difficult run, Father Shoffner blessed the field, and the Rebels had a winning home tournament.
“Blessings aren’t magical,” said Barfield, “but a petition to God for the good things that He gives.”
The video of the blessing has been viewed 50,000 times, reaching over 33,000 people. The introduction to the blessing reads, “God has given us our physical powers in order that we may serve him joyously, help one another, and, by discipline in accord with the law of God, make our body fit for every good work.
“God therefore approves of sport for the relaxation of the mind and the exercise of the body. Care of our bodies fosters mental well-being, and we more readily establish friendly and affable relations with other people,” it continues.
About: Catholic Campus Ministry is at the service of the students at the University of Mississippi. CCM is a Registered Student Organization associated with St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Oxford, Mississippi. Alexandra Barfield serves the students as campus minister under the direction of St. John’s priest and pastor Father Mark Shoffner.
By OSV Staff WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception has once again been targeted by vandals. This time, a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the north lawn of the basilica grounds, located in an area known as Mary’s Garden, suffered severe damage.
At approximately 2:30 p.m. Feb. 15, a visitor praying the rosary in the garden discovered the desecrated statue. The individual immediately alerted the basilica staff, prompting an inspection. It appeared that the Blessed Mother’s face had been deliberately struck with a hammer, and the surrounding light fixtures, meant to illuminate the path for visitors, were shattered.
A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the north lawn of the grounds of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington was vandalized Feb. 15, 2024. According to the basilica’s rector, the damage appears to have been caused by a hammer and is being investigated. (OSV News photo/courtesy of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception)
According to Msgr. Walter Rossi, the basilica’s rector, this act of vandalism seems to have occurred shortly before its discovery, given the routine checks performed by the security staff. This act of vandalism echoes a disturbing pattern of disrespect towards religious symbols at the national shrine. Msgr. Rossi recalled, in a statement, a similar incident on Dec. 5, 2021, when the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, an image of the Virgin Mary located in the Rosary Walk and Garden across Harewood Avenue from the basilica, was also vandalized.
The statue vandalized Feb. 15, “Mary, Protector of the Faith” by sculptor Jon-Joseph Russo, depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the child Jesus. According to the basilica’s website, it was erected in 2000 in honor of Bishop Thomas J. Grady, the fifth director of the national shrine, who oversaw the construction of the Great Upper Church.
Msgr. Rossi expressed concern and compassion not only for the sanctity of the shrine but also for the person or people responsible for the damage. “While this act of vandalism is very unfortunate, I am more concerned about the individuals who perpetrate such activity and pray for their healing,” he said.
The basilica is the largest Roman Catholic church in North America and one of the 10 largest churches in the world. The basilica welcomes nearly a million visitors annually.
The shrine’s security team is working closely with the Metropolitan Police Department to investigate the vandalism and bring those responsible to justice. Sources tell Our Sunday Visitor that the incident is being investigated as a hate crime. The Metropolitan Police Department has not yet returned Our Sunday Visitor’s request for comment.
By Galen Holley NEW ALBANY – The theological term “domestic church” expresses well the genesis of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, which began as a modest gathering of Catholics who met in their homes and were ministered to by missionary circuit priests.
In 1922, E.W. Viola, and Dorothy Kelso moved from Jackson, Tennessee, to New Albany, in order to open a bakery. That’s when the first Catholic community began to take shape. Because there was no church in New Albany, the Kelsos had to drive to Oxford or Tupelo for Mass. That changed when an Irish priest, Father Patrick Moran, became pastor of the already established St. Patrick Parish in Water Valley. He also assumed responsibility for St. Patrick’s missionary district, which, among 11 counties, included New Albany.
The fledgling Catholic community celebrated the first Mass in Union County in the fall of 1938. It was in the Kelsos’ home, at 357 Garfield Street, with Father Moran as celebrant. The faithful used a portable altar, about the size of a card table. Dorothy Kelso joked that the table and furnishings were so modest, that, as she put it, “We often thought that only a prayer held it up.” Those present at the first Mass included Viola and Dorothy Kelso, Tom Bonner, a Mr. Flanagan, Mrs. John Tilly and her daughter, Margaret Ellen, and Mrs. Edith Stone.
The following year the center of the missionary circuit shifted from Water Valley to St. John’s in Oxford, and Father Cletus Manon became responsible for making the rounds and celebrating Mass in people’s homes.
Under Father Manon’s leadership, the New Albany Catholics (consisting of less than 20 adults) built their first, physical church on Cleveland Street. Bishop Richard Gerow bought the land in 1948, and the construction was made possible by aid from the Extension Society, along with private donations, including those from Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lewis, as well as Dr. Palmer Patterson, and volunteer labor, as from the Milton DeNault family. St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church was dedicated on June 19, 1949, by Archbishop William O’Brien of the Extension Society. The first child to be baptized at St. Francis was a young man named Robert Thomas, in 1950.
St. Francis continued as a mission of St. John’s in Oxford, and throughout the years the Sisters of Mercy taught vacation Bible school, and later, Franciscan Sisters from Holly Springs headed educational endeavors. For 10 years, Sacred Heart priests from St. Joseph Parish in Holly Springs served as pastors at St. Francis.
In 1965 it was announced that the small community of St. Christopher’s in Pontotoc would be linked to St. Francis, under the leadership of the Cincinnati based Glenmary Home Missioners. Father Bob Rademacher became the first Glenmarian to pastor both the New Albany and Pontotoc churches in 1967.
Rademacher was a robust, hands-on man, and he continued the tradition of visiting families, celebrating Mass in members’ homes, and maintaining close ties with the rural community. He was even known to help farming families harvest crops.
In October of 1986 the congregation purchased the land on which the church now stands, on Highway 15.
By the late 1990’s many Catholics had begun arriving from Latin America, primarily from Mexico. Mississippi had not experienced an influx of native Catholics like that since the Irish arrived in the early part of the 20th century. Like the Irish, Hispanic Catholics brought with them folk customs, liturgical traditions, and valuable cultural symbols, perhaps none more sacred than the Virgin of Guadalupe. Their contributions enriched and deepened the Catholic heritage at St. Francis and gave members a good perspective on the universality of the Catholic faith.
Glenmary priest, Father Will Steinbacher was pastor when the present sanctuary was built in 1993. He spoke about the intentional choice of architecture. “We chose the design to symbolize arms, reaching into and embracing the community,” said Father Will.
Steinbacher spoke glowingly of the Kelso family, having once humorously referred to Dorothy as “the bishop” as well as of the other hardworking people who built the community. True to the Glenmary spirit, and in perfect agreement with the life of St. Francis, Father Will recalled the creation of the Good Samaritan Center as one of the highlights of his time in New Albany. The Good Samaritan Center is an inter-faith, non-profit that helps meet the emergency needs of the poor.
Father Steve Pawelk followed Steinbacher as the pastor in 1993. Pawelk, a Minnesota native, oversaw many of the developments with which younger parishioners are familiar. Pawelk started the Spanish Mass, as well as overseeing the church paying off its debt for the sanctuary and rectory. He was a member of the Board of Directors at New Albany’s Boys and Girls Club and worked vigorously in ecumenical efforts. Pawelk spoke warmly about his time in New Albany. “St. Francis will always have a special place in my heart,” said Pawelk. “This was my first pastorate. During this time the parish grew with new converts, people moving in and with the beginning of the Spanish Mass. We had a wonderful youth group. Part of my heart will always be there.”
Father Xavier Jesuraj took over as pastor in February 2016, and he has worked hard to learn Spanish as his third language in order to serve the flourishing Hispanic community, while also honoring the Anglo traditions that were there from the church’s inception.
The welcoming spirit upon which it was founded still abides today in the congregation of St. Francis of Assisi, as together in Christ, they continue their seventh decade of worship.
By Lauretta Brown (OSV News) – Only about 15% of U.S. adults who were raised Catholic said they had remained practicing Catholics attending weekly Mass into adulthood, according to data from the General Social Survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
But what were some of the things that distinguished the families of those children who remained practicing Catholics as adults from those who left the faith entirely? Seeking answers to this question, researchers at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life conducted the “Future Faithful Families Project” study.
The interviews for the study were conducted with 28 individuals from June 2021 to February 2023 and included qualifying participants from past CARA surveys. The study noted “a greater lack of response from the adult children than the parents who had been interviewed,” but added that “it is well known in the social science research fields that it is often easier to recruit participation from older adults than young adults.”
A Catholic family is pictured having dinner together at their home in Valatie, N.Y. The recent “Future Faithful Families Project” study identifies families who successfully raised most — and in many cases all — of their children to a faithful adulthood. The study was conducted by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life. (OSV News photo/Cindy Schultz via The Evangelist)
The study found that participants from these families generally described their households as “warmer and more affectionate than the average family.” Most of the participants also indicated “very good communication” within the family.
Another shared thread among those interviewed was having rituals of meals eaten together and prayer, with most indicating that faith was a part of family routines regardless of the routines themselves.
Additionally, all participants emphasized the importance of weekly Mass attendance and nearly all participants reported doing service work and giving to charity, with many doing so through their parish or a church organization.
Mark Gray, director of CARA Catholic Polls, co-wrote the study along with Greg Popcak, co-executive director of the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life. Gray told OSV News that while the findings from these qualitative interviews were not meant to be taken as some sort of “checklist” of things to keep one’s child Catholic, parents could gain insight from the common responses.
For these families, he said, “their faith wasn’t just something that they went and did on Sunday morning; their faith was present in the household. It was present every day. It came out in conversations about the faith, with prayer, with things that are in the home.”
He also noted that when children would come to the parents with doubts about the faith, most of the parents “went on a journey with their children and said, ‘Well, let’s see why the church teaches this,’” as opposed to strictly shutting down questioning of the church’s teachings.
“It’s a lot of discussion, working through things, thinking about things rather than being this overbearing parental force,” he said.
The study also included an analysis of existing data from the General Social Survey, or GSS, going back to the 1970s, which showed a marked decline in the number of U.S. adults who were raised Catholic and stayed Catholic while still attending Mass weekly.
In the 1970s, “an average of 36% of those who were raised Catholic remained Catholic as adults and attended Mass weekly (peaking at 40% in 1977).” GSS data later showed “this average percentage declined to 32% in the 1980s, 25% in the 1990s, and 21% in the 2000s. In the 2010s, this averaged 15% and was 14% in the 2018 study.”
These numbers exclude those who converted to Catholicism but were not raised Catholic. The study also notes the large number of Catholics who have immigrated to the U.S.
Focusing on the 51% of U.S. adults who were raised Catholic and had remained so between 2010 to 2018, there were some commonalities. Among weekly Mass attendees who had remained Catholic, 81% were “more likely to have been living with both parents at age 16” compared to the 72% who attend Mass less often than weekly or the 63% who left the Catholic faith.
Gray said that the families they spoke with referenced things that “any parent can do,” noting the importance of the child to see their parent be “Catholic every day of the year, not just on Sundays” and for the parent “to listen to their children and have conversations with them, and guide them through what the faith teaches and why the faith teaches it.”
(Lauretta Brown is culture editor for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @LaurettaBrown6.)
ST. CATHARINE, Ken. – Dominican Sister of Peace Barbara Ann Fava, OP (87), a native of Greenville, Mississippi, died on Feb. 8, 2024, at Sansbury Care Center, St. Catharine, Kentucky. Sister Barbara is survived by two sisters, Annette Willis (Lynn, Massachusetts) and Paula Fava (Brandon, Mississippi), and several nieces and nephews.
A Dominican for 63 years, Sister Barbara earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies/English/Education from Siena College (Memphis); a Master of Arts in Theology from Catherine Spalding College (Louisville, Kentucky) and a Master of Arts in History from Memphis State University (Memphis). She ministered as a teacher at St. Dominic (Springfield, Kentucky); St. Joseph (Mattoon, Illinois); Bishop Donahue High (McMechen, West Virginia); Owensboro Catholic (Owensboro, Kentucky); St. Catharine Academy (St. Catharine, Kentucky) and as an instructor at St. Catharine College. Sister also served as parish and campus minister at St. Clare Parish (Berea, Kentucky) and Memphis State University Catholic Center. In 1993, Sister Barbara taught adult education (GED classes) in Marks, Mississippi until 2002. Sister returned to St. Catharine Motherhouse (Kentucky) where she began the ministry of Dominican coordinator at Sansbury Care Center. She held this position from 2002 until 2012. Beginning in 2013, Sister Barbara spent several years at Springbank Retreat Center (Kingstree, South Carolina) where she served on the staff and assisted with the retreat programs on a part-time basis until 2022.
Early 2024, Sister Barbara moved to Sansbury Care Center (St. Catharine, Kentucky) where she began a ministry of prayer and presence.
A funeral for Sister Barbara was held on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at Sansbury Care Center Chapel, with burial in the St. Catharine Motherhouse cemetery.
Memorial gifts in Sister Barbara’s memory may be sent to Dominican Sisters of Peace, Office of Mission Advancement, 2320 Airport Dr., Columbus, OH 43219-2098. To make a secure online donation or to view a full obituary, please visit www.oppeace.org
Bishop Peter M. Muhich of Rapid City, S.D., revealed Feb. 14, 2024, that he is entering hospice due to cancer. He is pictured in an undated photo. (OSV News photo/courtesy Diocese of Rapid City)
NATION RAPID CITY, S.D. (OSV News) – The Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota, announced “with sorrow” that its shepherd, Bishop Peter M. Muhich, died Feb. 17. “Bishop Peter, 62, was in hospice care after suffering from esophageal cancer. Please continue to pray for the soul of our shepherd,” the diocese said in a statement. “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may your perpetual light shine upon him.” Funeral arrangements are pending. Two days earlier a message from the Diocese of Rapid City called for a novena for their bishop Feb. 15-22, the feast of the chair of St. Peter. “In our prayers for Bishop Peter leading up to this feast, we are also giving thanks for his leadership and imploring the Lord that we may enjoy this leadership for more years to come,” it said. On Feb. 14, Bishop Muhich had announced he was moving into hospice treatment, and planned to offer his suffering from cancer to increase devotion to the Eucharist. “I have reached another step along my journey with cancer. Despite the best efforts of my health care team, all treatment options have been exhausted and there is no more that can be done without causing greater harm to my system,” Bishop Muhich said in an announcement released by the diocese. On Feb. 15, a message from the Diocese of Rapid City called for a novena for their bishop Feb. 15-22, the feast of the chair of St. Peter.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (OSV News) – The Nashville Diocese announced Feb. 9 that Father Juan Carlos Garcia, a former associate pastor at St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin, who was ordained nearly four years ago, has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple sex abuse charges. A Williamson County grand jury indicted the priest on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of sexual battery. The Nashville Diocese removed Father Garcia from his parish post and from public ministry in January while the Franklin Police Department investigated reports of sexual misconduct. The police began their investigation of Father Garcia after representatives of the Nashville Diocese contacted the police department to provide information it had received regarding alleged misconduct. He was booked into the Williamson County Jail Feb. 9 and as of midday Feb. 13, he remained in custody. Father Garcia, ordained to the priesthood in 2020, was assigned to St. Philip in July 2022. In early November, St. Philip officials reported to the Diocese of Nashville Safe Environment Office that a teen in the parish had made a report of improper touching involving Father Garcia. Per diocesan protocols, a report was immediately made by the diocese and St. Philip representatives to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
VATICAN VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The second assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality will meet Oct. 2-27 and will be preceded by several formal studies coordinated by the synod general secretariat working with various offices of the Roman Curia. The Vatican announced the dates for the assembly Feb. 17, indicating that the desire of some synod members to spend less time in Rome was not accepted. The fall assembly will be preceded by a retreat for members Sept. 30-Oct. 1, the Vatican said. And in response to a formal call by members of the first assembly of the synod, Pope Francis has agreed to the establishment of “study groups that will initiate, with a synodal method, the in-depth study of some of the themes that emerged.” In a chirograph, or brief papal document, released Feb. 17, the pope said that “these study groups are to be established by mutual agreement between the competent dicasteries of the Roman Curia and the General Secretariat of the Synod, which is entrusted with coordination.” However, the papal note did not list the topics to be studied nor the members of the groups. The synod office said it hoped the approved groups and their members could be announced by mid-March.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – One day, Jesuit Father Jorge Bergoglio, the future Pope Francis, wanted to make sure a group of visitors did not go home hungry, so he whipped up a huge omelet loaded with onions and potatoes. One of those guests, Claudio Perusini, who still remembers that meal fondly, was in Rome for the canonization of Argentina’s first female saint Feb. 11. It was his inexplicable recovery from a devastating stroke in 2017 that became the second miracle needed for the canonization of Blessed María Antonia de Paz Figueroa, known as Mama Antula. Perusini met the pope when he was 17 on a trip with five others for an ordination. After the ordination, then-Father Bergoglio, who was provincial superior of the Jesuits, invited the group “to the residence of the Catholic university, where he cooked us an enormous omelet with 30 eggs,” onions and potatoes, he told the Punto Medio program on Radio2 in Argentina.
“He divided it into six and served each of us, and since then I have been friends with him,” he told the radio in late October after the Vatican announced Pope Francis had approved the miracle attributed to the intercession of Mama Antula. The last time Perusini saw the pope was in 2014 when he and his wife, María Laura Baranda, had an audience at the Vatican. “I brought him ‘dulce de leche,’ ‘alfajores’ (cookies) from Santa Fe, drawings from my children and craft beer that I make,” he told the radio. The pope gave away the food, but not the beer, he said.
WORLD LVIV, Ukraine (OSV News) – As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine reaches the two-year mark, the Knights of Columbus are calling for nine days of prayer to end the bloodshed. The national chaplains of the Knights in Ukraine, Metropolitan Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishop Mykhailo Bubniy of the Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Odesa, recently announced a “Novena for Peace and Healing in Ukraine.” In their joint appeal, the bishops invited “the brotherhood of the Knights and people of good will around the world” to begin the novena on Feb. 15, nine days ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty on Feb. 24, 2022. The war has been declared a genocide in two collaborative reports by the New Lines Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights. Szymon Czyszek, director of international growth in Europe for the Knights of Columbus, previously told OSV News that his organization’s members are “doing heroic work, and they are willing to risk their lives to bring aid to people in places like Avdiivka and … other villages that (are) close to the front line.” To date, the Knights have provided close to $22.4 million in aid to Ukraine, even as their organization, along with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, was outlawed by a Russian occupation official in the Zaporizhzhia region.
MAKURDI, Nigeria (OSV News) – Nigeria is one of the countries in the world with the best Mass attendance. As many as 94% of self-identified Nigerian Catholics surveyed said they attend weekly or daily Mass, according to a study published in early 2023 by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. The World Values Survey, which conducted the poll, doesn’t survey all countries in the world, but among those asked, Nigerian Catholics had the highest Mass attendance, followed by Kenya (73%) and Lebanon (69%). At the same time, both Christian Concern and Open Doors, organizations that track Christian persecution in the word rank Nigeria as one of the worst countries for Christians to live in after North Korea, and followed by India, Iran, China, Pakistan and Eritrea as top countries for Christian persecution. Father Moses Iorapuu, director of social communications for the Diocese of Makurdi, said that Christianity should continue to grow in an environment as hostile as Nigeria, because “this is the mystery of our faith: The blood of the martyrs remains the seed of Christianity.” Nigeria’s Intersociety advocacy group said over 100,000 unarmed and defenseless citizens have died directly or indirectly outside the law in the hands of security forces in the past eight years, between August 2014 and December 2023. Emeka Umeagbalasi, director of Intersociety, said the killings are part of a government agenda to “Islamize Nigeria.”
VALPARAISO, Chile (OSV News) – Since wildfires devastated areas in the province of Valparaíso and other regions of Chile early February, authorities and international agencies have multiplied their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the communities. OSV News spoke with Lorenzo Figueroa, director of Caritas Chile, about what he called a tremendous catastrophe, saying that in addition to at least 131 lives lost, the number of those missing and the extent of the damage has yet to be determined. “There is talk of up to 20,000 houses affected,” said Figueroa, for whom psychological damage is also a determining factor during and after these emergencies. Figueroa highlighted the community’s participation in the recovery and assistance efforts amid this natural and human tragedy. “Their knowledge, their experience. They know their territory and are active protagonists,” he explained. And after the emergency aid organizations leave “the community is no longer the same because they remain organized” to face emergencies, he added. For Figueroa, the support of other organizations is fundamental, not only financially but also in terms of experience, training and human resources, which add up when it comes to providing the necessary support to the victims. “The action of Caritas all over the world is an expression of humanitarian action in which we express ourselves as a family and the help of CRS and USAID allows us to take care of our common home, our people and those most in need,” Figueroa said.
