Staten Island Ministry helps youth make a radical choice of faith

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The religious order of nuns that runs the St. Edward Food Pantry in Pleasant Plains has formed a ministry in the hopes of strengthening the Roman Catholic faith among young people.

The Franciscan Handmaids of the Most Pure Heart of Mary has formed a Catholic Youth for Radical Faith Ministry (CYRF) on Staten Island that operates out of the order’s convent in Pleasant Plains.

The worldwide CYRF ministry is a response to Pope Benedict’s call for youth to make a radical choice of faith within the “New Evangelization.” As part of their mission, the sisters have launched a fund-raising campaign in the hopes of sending 13 Staten Islanders to World Youth Day 2013, slated for July 23-28 of that year in Rio De Janeiro in Brazil.

The order already has earmarked $10,000 to cover the expenses of three attendees, and needs nearly $30,000 additional to sponsor all the candidates, said Sr. Gertrude Lilly Ihenacho, congregation minister. 

/subONE OF THE CHOSENRRGabriella Reyes, 22, a parishioner of Holy Child R.C. Church who aspires to become a medical doctor, was thrilled to be chosen as one of the WYD attendees.

“I went to World Youth Day when I was 11 and it had a huge impact on me,” the Huguenot resident said. “It was amazing to see so many young Roman Catholics coming together at one place at one time.”

Unfortunately, the St. Joseph by the Sea High School graduate, does not see that enthusiasm matched on Staten Island.

“It’s hard to find Catholic youth who are excited about their faith,” Ms. Reyes said, noting that some don’t even want to admit to their religion.

“Sometimes it’s seen as nonsensical to be religious,” she observed, speculating that negative media accounts about the Roman Catholic Church have fueled those sentiments.

“I am happy and excited to be a Catholic,” said Ms. Reyes, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering at Stevens Institute and is studying for her master’s degree in biomedical science at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

The goals of the CYRF ministry are to generate youthful enthusiasm in and defense of their faith, to foster Gospel values and discipleship and to provide young people with the opportunity to interact with other Roman Catholics from throughout the world. The Franciscan Handmaids sponsors people to attend World Youth Day as a way of reaching these goals, according to the order’s literature. 

/SUBA GLOBAL EXPERIENCErR“World Youth Day is a global experience,” Sister Gertrude noted. “We want them to see knowledge and spirituality among Catholic Youth. We want the youth to really understand their faith, to be able to defend their faith.”

The ministry aims to give young people more information about their religion, especially with regard to issues of social justice.

“We want to empower the youth to make informed decisions,” Sister Gertrude said.The Staten Island ministry also provides ample opportunities to serve both on the Island and throughout the world, while trying to counterract powerful negative social forces, such as drugs and crime that are influencing today’s youth.

“You can’t get by stealing, by wanting somebody to bring it to you,” said Sister Gertrude, who was a public health physician prior to joining the order. “You can be anything you want to be as long as you identify what your skill is and go for it,” she said.

The CYRF ministry allows for real and web-based contact with other members throughout the world. The ministry is a global link to educational, financial, volunteer, internship, missionary and employment opportunities and resources with Catholic agencies, the United Nations and many other non-profit organizations.

Members of the ministry have opportunities to attend various conferences, retreats and pilgrimages. They have acces to Papal messages, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops newsletters and a wealth of educational information on the Roman Catholic faith and social justice issues.

Volunteers are needed to join a fund-raising committee. To make a donation or for additional information about the CYRF ministry, contact Anita Fein, administrator of the St. Edward Food Pantry, at 718-984-1625, or e-mail stedwardfoodpantry@hotmail.com.

CLEOTILDE SANSEVIERI – Times Herald

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June 3, 1936 – May 10, 2012

Cornwall, NY

Cleotilde Sansevieri, a 76-year-old, long-time resident of Cornwall, NY, went to the Lord on Thursday, May 10, 2012 after a long battle with cancer. She was a devoted wife to Vincent Sansevieri, her husband of 55 years, who died this past June 2011.

She was the daughter of the late Concepcion and Amerejelda Gueverra Parra. She was born June 3, 1936 in Dinamante El Siete, Durango, Mexico.

Cleotilde was a long time parishioner of St.Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Church in Cornwall-on-Hudson. She was a member of the Catholic Daughters Court Rita # 264. She was a Supervisor for over 30 years in the Cadet Mess Hall at West Point. She had an endless love and enthusiasm supporting the Cadets there. She enjoyed following sports and was hoping Army would Beat Navy this year. She enjoyed playing Bingo with her friends. Cleo also enjoyed her many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She loved cruises and traveling with her husband across the U.S., Mexico, Caribbean and Europe.

She is survived by her brother, Aristeo Gueverra Parra of Durango, Mexico. She is survived by her children: Suzanne Sansevieri Bewick and her husband, Drew of Alexandria, VA, Gloria Sansevieri Toombs of New Windsor and Vincent A. Sansevieri and his wife, Lisa of New Hartford, NY. Cleotilde is survived by six grandchildren: Christopher Toombs and his wife, Heather, Daniel, Ashley and Kristen Sansevieri, Brendan and Jacquelyn Bewick; five great grandchildren: Kain Sansevieri, Egan Monahan, Deacon, Gabrielle and Madalyn Toombs. Cleotilde was predeceased by her brother, Roberto Martinez, and her sister, Maria Gueverra Parra.

A Visitation will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 18, 2012 at Quigley Bros Funeral Home, 337 Hudson St., Cornwall-on-Hudson. A Catholic Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 19 at St. Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Church, followed by burial in Calvary Cemetery in New Windsor. A reception will be held immediately following burial at the St. Thomas of Canterbury School, 340 Hudson Street, Cornwall on Hudson, NY 12520.

Flowers to Quigley Bros Funeral Home, 337 Hudson St., Cornwall-on-Hudson 12520 and any donations may be sent to the American Cancer Society.

Catholic women of the diocese explore richness, beauty of Catholic Church

Catholic women of the diocese explore richness, beauty of Catholic Church

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
(Email Katie)

MOVILLE – Women of the Diocese of Sioux City gathered for the 40th Biennial Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (DCCW) Convention on April 20 and 21 at Immaculate Conception Church in Moville.

The focus of this year’s convention was to explore the richness and beauty of the Catholic Church. There were close to 50 attendees at the convention.
Business meeting

The first night there was a soup supper followed by a business meeting, which included the bylaws, process for the new officers and changes to be made.

“We went over our job descriptions. We went through the bylaws and voted on them,” said Ellen Streit, outgoing president and a parishioner at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in West Bend. “Everyone seemed to be pleased with the few changes that we made. We thought it was an improvement.”

The decision was made to change the name from Diocesan Council of Catholic Women to Catholic Women of the Diocese of Sioux City. The hope is that all women feel like they are part of the organization.
The new bylaws were all accepted by unanimous vote.

Why Catholic?

The National Evangelization Team (NET) led the second day of the event. NET Ministries have been around for 30 years and they have trained teams of young adults who travel across the country challenging Catholic youth to explore their faith and learn to love God.

This particular NET Ministries team happened to be traveling in the area during the convention date and they didn’t have anything scheduled for April 21.

The title of NET’s program was “Why Catholic?” Such topics as Apostolic Succession, the power of the sacraments, a moral life and prayer were discussed. It consisted of skits, songs, talks, personal testimonies and small group discussions.

Teresa Kostohris, a member of the NET team, talked to the women about Catholicism, ways to get to heaven, believing in and knowing Jesus, the apostles, the Eucharist, reconciliation, prayer and listening to God.

“In the Catholic Church we have the fullest form of all the sacraments,” she said. “The Eucharist is a gift that we have in the Catholic Church. I know sometimes I take it for granted. If we stop and think about it, our God humbled himself so much to come down in the form of bread and wine, in a form that we can see and receive him.”

Kostohris said that prayer is being in a relationship with God.

“He has lots of grace to give us in our lives. The way we ask for it and receive it is through prayer,” she said. “There is no right or wrong way to pray. I really encourage you to take the next step in your prayer life. There is always a deeper level that we can go in relationship with the Lord.”

NET team members, Brandon Hall and Rachel Staley, gave personal testimonies from their lives about being Catholic and coming to know Jesus.

In the afternoon, Lucy Jackson, also a NET team member, talked about the journey of being a woman of God.
“We all want to be seen and this desire was placed there by our heavenly father,” she said. “He wants us to find our identity and to find who we are and to be seen by him.”

Jackson said that God made women beautiful, loved and worthy.

“God sees you deep down in your heart of hearts. He knows all,” she said. “Our beauty is not determined by how we look in the mirror. Our body and souls are a gift from God.”

Streit said she was impressed with the youth of the NET team.

“Even with their struggles, they had to turn to the Lord,” she said. “Us grandmas have been through all of that and understood where they were coming from. We still struggle but not as much as we used to.”

She could see how NET Ministries is good for the junior high and high school students that they generally interact with.

“They did a good job,” said Streit. “They set very good examples. We appreciate the youth and we will be praying for them to continue their good work. They have a really positive attitude.”

The day concluded with Mass celebrated by Father Jim Tigges, spiritual advisor.

The new officers were installed during the Mass. Each was presented with a rose and the name of a saint to be their patroness throughout their time as an officer. Father Tigges also described their role as an officer.

“Our symbol for this installation ceremony is the rose which reflects strength, beauty and love,” said Father Tigges. “As we begin a new year for the Catholic Women of the Diocese of Sioux City, let us all be aware of the strength and power of love. Let us pray to be guided by the love symbolized by the rose.”

The Our Lady of Good Counsel Award was presented to Wynn Touney, a parishioner at Holy Trinity Parish in Fort Dodge.

Growing as Catholic women

Anne Studer, a parishioner from St. Joseph Parish in Wesley, attended the convention because it was on a weekend and that enabled her to do so. She is the representative from her parish.

“I used to be more involved in CCW,” she said. “My mother was very active in Minnesota. I think it is a great organization. They have a lot of good commissions and a lot of good things going on.”

Studer enjoyed that the day with the NET team was a retreat.

“They had a lot of good experiences that they passed on,” she said. “Every time you talk about God and let yourself get involved, you become more Christian. It helps you and the whole communion of saints when we get together and pray for each other and the betterment of mankind.”

Newly elected secretary, Jean Ehrp, a parishioner at St. Joseph Parish in Le Mars, wanted to attend the convention “to grow as a Catholic woman and to be with other Catholic women to learn about my faith.”
She said that as an officer she looks forward to learning more about the Catholic faith and continuing to experience events.

By sharing her faith stories and listening to other women’s stories, Ehrp said her faith was strengthened.

“I learned new approaches of what techniques other parishes use,” she said. “Experiencing the NET experience was excellent.”

Throughout the day, attendees participated in a silent auction.  They also viewed information boards on Trinity Heights, Carmelites, promotion for Mary’s Choice in Sioux City and more.

The 14 members of the diocesan board planned and executed the day. Streit said they did a wonderful job.

Newly elected officers

President – Mary Ann Ruether, St. Joseph Parish in Le Mars
Vice-president – Robin Corzilius, St. Mary Parish in Remsen
Secretary – Jean Ehrp, St. Joseph Parish in Le Mars
Treasurer – Joanne Craig, Blessed Sacrament Parish in Sioux City

Women’s retreat to focus on spirituality

OGDEN — A chance for women to think about their faith and how to incorporate it into their everyday lives will be offered during the Seasons of Faith retreat presented by the Northern Deanery.

“This will be a day where we can talk about our faith, think about it, look at how we react to our faith, and talk about the Holy Spirit,” said Maria Lobato, the Saint Mary parishioner who is coordinating the event. “I don’t think there’s enough spirituality out there for women in the Catholic faith. I think so often we go to so many things, we listen, we hear information and we’re appreciative of what we hear, but I don’t think that we are filled with our inner spirit and we get that fulfillment that we need.”

The Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, is scheduled to give the opening prayer. Father Carl Schlichte, pastor of Saint Catherine of Siena/Newman Center, will lead the panel of speakers.

Many adult Catholics need to reconsider how they think about God and their faith, “because there’s a lot of older Catholics who, the last time they seriously thought about this, was when they were a teenager or a child,” Fr. Carl said. “They need to start treating God as more than a divine vending machine: They put in two Our Fathers and a Hail Mary … and they say, ‘How dare you not give it to me? I did my thing, why didn’t you do yours?’”

In addition to discussing whether those at the retreat have the tools to deal with the questions they have at this point, Fr. Carl also will address the issue of functional atheism.

“We say we believe, but we don’t always act like it,” he said. “We need to realize that we do it and then learn how to address it.”

Among the other speakers is Jean Hill, Diocese of Salt Lake City government liaison and director of the Peace and Justice Commission. She will speak twice; once about how to put faith in practice during daily life, and again on faithful citizenship.

“Catholicism isn’t just for Sunday; it’s every day, and it’s in everything we do,” Hill said. “To really grow your faith, you’ve got to be living it. It’s making conscious decisions from the small things, like which apple to buy, to the big things, like who you are voting for.”

The other speakers are Monica Howa-Johnson, music ministry coordinator at Saint Catherine of Siena/Newman Center and middle school religion teacher at Saint Vincent de Paul School; Thomas Devereaux, a Saint Mary parishioner who teaches religious education and is a member of the Parish Advisory Committee; and Carol G. Ruddell, a Saint Thomas More parishioner and chairperson for the Diocese of Salt Lake City Commission for People with Disabilities. All three are in the diocesan Lay Ecclesial Ministry formation program and each will address an aspect of faith.

Women’s Retreat

When: May 19, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; check-in starts at 8 a.m.

Where: Holy Family Catholic Church, 1100 East 5550 South, Ogden

Registration: $10 in advance, $15 at the door; breakfast and lunch included

Contact: Maria Lobato, joyfulevent@yahoo.com or 801-989-2257.

Appeal to Archdiocese to speak to parents who saw ‘inappropriate images’

Published on Saturday 14 April 2012 10:02

THE Archdiocese of Armagh has been urged to speak with parents who saw 16 pornographic images on a projector screen during a presentation by the Parish Priest of Pomeroy, and make its position clear about whether the cleric will be taking part in First Communion and Confirmation ceremonies in the area.

Details of the incident, which took place a fortnight ago at St Mary’s Primary School in the village, have made headlines around the world, with the concerned parents demanding to know why Fr Martin McVeigh has not been suspended pending the outcome of a church investigation.

Cardinal Sean Brady, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, said: “inappropriate imagery was inadvertently shown by a priest at the beginning of a Powerpoint presentation,”

He added: “The priest has stated that he had no knowledge of the offending imagery. The archdiocese immediately sought the advice of the PSNI who indicated that, on the basis of the evidence available, no crime had been committed. The priest is co-operating with an investigation of the matter on the part of the archdiocese.”

The public storm surrounding the incident looks set to continue this week, with parents now threatening to withdraw their children from First Communion and Confirmation services if the church refuses to say whether Fr McVeigh will be taking part.

One parent told the Mid Ulster Mail: “If we find that he (Fr McVeigh) will be conducting the service or even in attendance, we won’t allow our children to take part. It is absolutely disgraceful that Armagh have not suspended him from his duties after what took place last week. We have been left in the dark over this matter but we certainly will not be stopping until we get answers.”

Another parishioner from Pomeroy called on the Archdiocese of Armagh to speak to parents and make its position clear.

“This is a public heartfelt appeal to Armagh to sort this out. This is tearing Pomeroy apart”, said the man.

Fr McVeigh has said that he has no idea where the inappropriate images came from and that he was as shocked as the other people present in the room at the time.

The Tyrone Times asked the Archdiocese of Armagh to provide confirmation as to whether Fr Martin McVeigh will be involved in First Communion or Confirmation ceremonies in the Pomeroy Parish over the coming weeks, however, no comment was forthcoming.

Similarly, no answer was given as to when the investigation into the incident is likely to be concluded.

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Easter Celebration Doubles As Goodbye For Cardinal O’Brien

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Christians celebrated the holiest day of the year Sunday morning at church services around the world, including here in Baltimore. Andrea Fujii reports one Catholic Mass was extra special as parishioners said goodbye to Cardinal Edwin O’Brien.

It’s standing room only at the Baltimore Basilica, as Catholics worship the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“It’s the most holy day of the year for all Christians. It gives us hope and salvation,” said parishioner Tim Leahy.

Parishioners of all ages came in their Easter best—although some had other things on their minds.

“I like the candy,” said Dylan Hadaway.

But this is the last Easter mass in Baltimore Cardinal O’Brien will participate in. In January, the Pope elevated the former Baltimore Archbishop to Cardinal.

“The opportunities for growth in this community are just so great. I’d like to stay around a little longer but the Holy Father had other ideas,” Cardinal O’Brien said.

Next month, newly appointed Archbishop William Lori will take his place.

Parishioners here for O’Brien’s final Easter message feel honored.

“I think this is monumental that it’s the very last one and I’m here for it,” said parishioner Oluwa Tosin.

Across town in Baltimore County, this holy day is always popular at Christian Life Church.

“Easter service is almost like the Super Bowl. Everybody wants to come out. Everybody is excited,” said Dr. Hugh Bair.

Coming together to celebrate new life.

Cardinal Edwin O’Brien was head of Baltimore’s Catholic church for four and a half years. He will now be based in Rome.

Another Church in Jos, Nigeria Hit by Suicide Bombing

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JOS, Nigeria, March 11 (CDN) – Two weeks after a suicide bomb attack by the Islamist sect Boko Haram during a church service here left at least three Christians dead, a similar blast during a Catholic Mass today killed at least three people.

As in the Feb. 26 bomb blast outside the church walls of the Church of Christ in Nigeria service, security personnel action apparently forced the suspected Islamic extremists approaching St. Finbar’s Catholic Church in Rayfield, an affluent area of Jos, to detonate their bomb before their car reached the sanctuary where worship was taking place, eyewitnesses said.

At Jos University Teaching Hospital, 14 people were reportedly receiving treatment for wounds following today’s explosion, which damaged the church’s roof, windows and a portion of a fence surrounding its compound. Others received treatment and were released.

Damian Babang, 26, a parishioner at the church, told Compass that he had just completed a reading during the service when he heard the explosion.

“The next thing I saw was the ceiling of the church falling on us and cries of people struggling to get out of the church,” he said. “Many people are injured, and many have died. I cannot say how many died or injured, but I saw dead bodies being carried away, as well as the injured.”

Babang, visibly traumatized as he spoke inside the church building, said he did not understand why churches have become targets of Muslim terrorists.

Retaliatory attacks by Christian youths reportedly took at least seven other lives today.

The Rev. Emmanuel Kundum told Compass that he had concluded the second Mass and left the third service to be conducted by another priest when he heard the explosion at 10:30 a.m.

“On getting outside, I saw members of our church rushing out from the church too – many were injured and others were dead,” Kundum told Compass.

The priest said he was unsure of the number of people killed, as both the dead and the injured were evacuated to various hospitals in Jos by workers of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Red Cross Society. At press time NEMA reported three bodies at the site, but it was not clear if those included the suicide bombers.

“It is very difficult for us to say how many of our parishioners that were either killed or injured,” Kundum said. “NEMA officials removed the dead and the injured to hospitals in the city. We are waiting for them to provide us with the details after calm is restored.”

St. Finbar’s is one of the largest Catholic parishes in Jos, with an average attendance of more than 3,000 worshippers each Sunday.

Jos, often described as a religious fault line between the north and the south, has been the site of numerous large-scale and isolated incidents of violence containing a religious component.

Suspected Islamic extremists detonated a bomb outside a church building in Suleja, Niger state, on Feb. 19, two months after Boko Haram Islamists killed 44 Christians and blinded seven in a Christmas Day church bombing in nearby Madalla. The Feb. 19 blast injured at five Christians.

Nigeria’s population of more than 158.2 million is divided between Christians, who make up 51.3 percent of the population and live mainly in the south, and Muslims, who account for 45 percent of the population and live mainly in the north. The percentages may be less, however, as those practicing indigenous religions may be as high as 10 percent of the total population, according to Operation World.

Boko Haram, the name given to the Islamic extremist group officially called Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad – “The People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad” – seeks to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on Nigeria. The name Boko Haram translates loosely as “Western education is forbidden.”

c. 2012 Compass Direct News. Used with permission.

Publication date: March 13, 2012

Nigeria: Another Church In Jos Hit By Suicide Bombing

By Obed Minchakpu

Two weeks after a suicide bomb attack by the Islamist sect Boko Haram during a church service here left at least three Christians dead, a similar blast during a Catholic Mass today killed at least three people.

As in the Feb. 26 bomb blast outside the church walls of the Church of Christ in Nigeria service, security personnel action apparently forced the suspected Islamic extremists approaching St. Finbar’s Catholic Church in Rayfield, an affluent area of Jos, to detonate their bomb before their car reached the sanctuary where worship was taking place, eyewitnesses said.

At Jos University Teaching Hospital, 14 people were reportedly receiving treatment for wounds following today’s explosion, which damaged the church’s roof, windows and a portion of a fence surrounding its compound. Others received treatment and were released.

Damian Babang, 26, a parishioner at the church, told Compass that he had just completed a reading during the service when he heard the explosion.

“The next thing I saw was the ceiling of the church falling on us and cries of people struggling to get out of the church,” he said. “Many people are injured, and many have died. I cannot say how many died or injured, but I saw dead bodies being carried away, as well as the injured.”

Babang, visibly traumatized as he spoke inside the church building, said he did not understand why churches have become targets of Muslim terrorists.

Retaliatory attacks by Christian youths reportedly took at least seven other lives today.

The Rev. Emmanuel Kundum told Compass that he had concluded the second Mass and left the third service to be conducted by another priest when he heard the explosion at 10:30 a.m.

“On getting outside, I saw members of our church rushing out from the church too – many were injured and others were dead,” Kundum told Compass.

The priest said he was unsure of the number of people killed, as both the dead and the injured were evacuated to various hospitals in Jos by workers of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Red Cross Society. At press time NEMA reported three bodies at the site, but it was not clear if those included the suicide bombers.

“It is very difficult for us to say how many of our parishioners that were either killed or injured,” Kundum said. “NEMA officials removed the dead and the injured to hospitals in the city. We are waiting for them to provide us with the details after calm is restored.”

St. Finbar’s is one of the largest Catholic parishes in Jos, with an average attendance of more than 3,000 worshippers each Sunday.

Jos, often described as a religious fault line between the north and the south, has been the site of numerous large-scale and isolated incidents of violence containing a religious component.

Suspected Islamic extremists detonated a bomb outside a church building in Suleja, Niger state, on Feb. 19, two months after Boko Haram Islamists killed 44 Christians and blinded seven in a Christmas Day church bombing in nearby Madalla. The Feb. 19 blast injured at five Christians.

Nigeria’s population of more than 158.2 million is divided between Christians, who make up 51.3 percent of the population and live mainly in the south, and Muslims, who account for 45 percent of the population and live mainly in the north. The percentages may be less, however, as those practicing indigenous religions may be as high as 10 percent of the total population, according to Operation World.

Boko Haram, the name given to the Islamic extremist group officially called Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad – “The People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad” – seeks to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on Nigeria. The name Boko Haram translates loosely as “Western education is forbidden.”

About the author:

Compass Direct News

Compass Direct News is a news service dedicated to providing exclusive news, penetrating reports, moving interviews and insightful analyses of situations and events facing Christians persecuted for their faith.

Holy Wisdom Monastery provides church services for disaffected local Catholics

This story first appeared in the Sunday edition of the Wisconsin State Journal.

Alice Jenson’s faith took an irreversible turn six years ago.

It was Nov. 5, 2006, and she was contributing to Mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Madison as a lay person, reading Bible passages from the lectern.

The same day, Madison Bishop Robert Morlino required all priests to play a recorded message from him explaining his position on three issues state residents would vote on that week, including a ban on same-sex marriage, which he supported.

When the priest hit “play,” Jenson walked out.

“It was the first time I’d ever outwardly gone against what I was raised to follow,” said Jenson, 67.

She found a new religious home at Holy Wisdom Monastery, a former Roman Catholic monastery in the town of Westport, just outside Madison. Its Sunday service, offered by the sisters who live there, retains many elements of a traditional Catholic Mass but diverges in sometimes startling ways.

Women can lead the service and preach the sermon. Gay relationships are warmly embraced. All parishioners, not just Catholics, can consume the communion wine and bread because the service is ecumenical, meaning welcoming of all Christian traditions.

It’s an alternate universe of sorts — what some think a Catholic Mass might look like today if the liberal spirit of Vatican II in the 1960s had taken root and flowered.

“We’re doing what the hierarchical church was afraid to complete,” said Jim Green, a longtime Holy Wisdom parishioner who is gay and describes himself as “a Catholic in exile.”

The service, called Sunday Assembly, is attended by people from many denominational backgrounds but has become especially popular with Catholics displeased with Morlino or church doctrine in general. Membership doubled in five years to 335, and parishioners estimate a majority are Catholics who left their regular parishes.

Detractors say the parishioners strayed too far from Catholicism to warrant the label.

Approach evolves

Though many self-described Catholics attend Holy Wisdom, it’s no longer an official Catholic Mass.

A little history: In the 1950s, a group of Benedictine nuns opened a high school at the site for girls in the Madison Catholic Diocese. Benedictines belong to a monastic religious order regulated by the canon law of the Catholic Church. Masses at the site were led by Catholic priests, often provided by the diocese.

In 1966, the nuns closed the school and turned the buildings into a Christian retreat center. The sisters, spurred by the Benedictine tradition of hospitality, gradually made the service more inclusive to all Christians. Lay people, especially women, took on greater roles.

In 2000, the Benedictine sisters went a step further, welcoming a Protestant woman to live with them. “When we chose to open our community to Protestant women, it meant other doors closed,” said Sister Mary David Walgenbach, the monastery’s head.

The sisters sought independence from the Catholic Church, and the Vatican granted it in 2006. Consequently, they no longer are tied to the local diocese. They remain affiliated with a Benedictine federation, but they have a special status, not a full membership, because of their ecumenism.

Bishop’s request

When the sisters disassociated from Rome, Bishop Morlino asked them to no longer celebrate Mass at the site so as not to cause confusion, said Brent King, a diocesan spokesman.

“Many people had visited (the monastery) over the years, and the bishop felt it would take time for people to understand that it was no longer a Roman Catholic institution,” King said, adding the bishop “was in no way unfriendly toward their desire to start a non-Catholic ecumenical community.”

The sisters understood the bishop’s position and stopped calling the service a Catholic Mass in 2006, Walgenbach said. Priests ceased to lead the service.

Today, the sisters describe the Sunday Assembly as being “for the celebration of Eucharist,” a term most commonly used to refer to Catholic communion. However, Walgenbach said some Protestant churches also use it. To many people, the service still has the essence of a Catholic Mass.

“You wouldn’t know it wasn’t a Catholic church, except for the person officiating,” said parishioner Pat Hobbins-Kemps, 64. A lifelong Catholic, she said she left her regular parish partly out of a lack of opportunities for women to lead.

Finding a home

Trisha Day, 66, said she came to Holy Wisdom after growing tired of sermons that focused on politically charged issues such as abortion and homosexuality while saying little about social justice and the poor.

Jeanne Marquis, 68, found Holy Wisdom after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “I needed someone to talk about forgiveness instead of retaliation,” she said. “I needed a place where I was encouraged to ask questions.”

Ann Baltes, 44, a lifelong Catholic, said she sought a place where she and her husband, Bill Rosholt, a Lutheran, could participate in communion together.

Are these parishioners still Catholic? The answers vary.

Jenson says she’s not. “Too much divides us.”

Day calls herself “a transitional Catholic,” unsure where she’ll end up. Green said his Catholic identity can’t be taken from him. “The church is the people of God, not the institution,” he said.

Joanne Kollasch, one of the three Benedictine sisters who live at the monastery, said she “is a Catholic and will remain a Catholic,” adding, “I don’t like to be thought of as less Catholic because I’m ecumenical.”

Said Walgenbach: “The Catholic spirituality is bigger than the Roman Catholic Church.”

Both sisters said they respect the Catholic Church and Morlino and don’t seek controversy.

Detractors

Syte Reitz, a member of Madison’s Cathedral Parish who blogs about Catholic issues, said disaffected Catholics are free to start their own churches, but they shouldn’t confuse people by suggesting they still are faithful Catholics.

“Does it matter whether they are errant Catholics or not Catholics?” asks Reitz. “No matter what we label them, the laws of right and wrong and of morality still stand, and they and others will suffer from the mistakes that they make.”

Reitz said because a male priest is not presiding over the Eucharist, the bread is not being turned into the body of Christ, thus depriving attendees of the Catholic Church’s central sacrament.

King, the diocesan spokesman, said for Catholics to fulfill their obligation to attend Mass on Sundays, they must attend a Catholic Mass validly offered by an ordained Catholic priest.

Does the Holy Wisdom service qualify?

“In charity, we must respond that it does not,” he said.

In This State: Their voices keep age-old Gregorian Chant in play

An image of St. Gregory, the pope who in the 6th century promoted the chant later named after him. The image appears on a stained glass window in St. Augustine’s Church on Barre Street in Montpelier. Photo by Dirk Van Susteren

In a neighborhood where the voices of parochial students once echoed in Latin song, a careful listener can still hear a spiritual chant from centuries past.

Not verses robustly delivered by teenagers, mind you. Rather, these would be the voices of older folks, a dozen of them, who gather on Monday nights in a former schoolroom, where they are singing the Gregorian Chant. It is music that was heard in cathedrals for over 1,000 years and that was once viewed as central to Roman Catholic liturgy.

The singers, under fluorescent lights, say they are learning, or in some cases relearning, the chant because they love its sound, history and message. They are invariably enthusiastic: “Want to join us?” is the refrain directed at most any curious visitor. While they are not on a crusade to keep a church tradition alive, that is just what they are doing.

Several months ago, Mary Frances Stafford of Montpelier, a well-known Celtic harp performer and teacher and a parishioner at St. Augustine’s Church, the stately Gothic-style edifice on Barre Street, put an invitation in the church bulletin suggesting the formation of a Gregorian Chant group. For years, she had sung with community choruses and helped lead church choirs.

“I used to lead folksy groups at church,” she explains before a recent Monday night practice. Folk, along with other popular genres, had begun squeezing out the chant after Pope John XXIII, 50 years ago, began opening the gates to liturgical change with his convening of the Second Vatican Council.

One effect was the near total surrender of the Latin language to the vernacular in the Catholic Mass. The idea was to make the Mass more understandable to the faithful, a trend embraced by many, but one others think went too far.

“Contemporary, pop-style music can be beautiful, but I grew tired of it,” admits Stafford. “I don’t know which of the (contemporary) songs we sing will ever last, but my guess is not all of them,” she says with a laugh.

The chant, which probably grew from Hebrew music traditions, was embraced in the 6th century by Pope Gregory (whose likeness appears on stained glass windows at St. Augustine’s). So, the music had heft.

Though a product of parochial school education, Stafford is young enough to have missed the chant in its heyday, when it was a staple in parochial school music classes and parish choirs. She heard it, though, and became intrigued, especially during visits to Mass in the late 1960s at a Franciscan monastery near her Michigan hometown.

A few years ago she attended a week-long workshop on the Gregorian Chant at a retreat in Mystic, Conn., a program directed by chant scholar William Tortolano, an emeritus music professor at St. Michael’s College.

Tortolano, who still teaches the chant at St. Michael’s, has made the music accessible to less-academic types with his book, appropriately titled, “A Gregorian Chant Handbook.”

For Stafford, the workshop provided divine-like inspiration.

The response to Stafford’s invitation in the church bulletin was not massive, but no one is complaining about the turnout. And it helps that a few in the group have musical backgrounds.

Credit the chorus and its director for any success.

“That was lovely, and on the first attempt!” Stafford says at one point during the evening practice, six days before the monthly performance at Sunday Mass.

“Think about your ‘operatic’ pronunciation,” she reminds.

“When we start a new verse, let’s get peppy,” she says with vim.

Mary Frances Stafford leads singers in the Gregorian Chant at the old St. Michael’s elementary school, near St. Augustine’s Church in Montpelier. Photo by Dirk Van Susteren

The practice, running like clockwork during the prescribed 75 minutes, reminds of a workout, a run-through, before the big game, only vocal cords are being loosened not leg muscles, and verses are reviewed, not X’s and O’s.

Stafford instructs team members to hold their music books high near their chins on Sunday so they can read and watch her hand signals.

Gregorian Chant, though religious, had a brush with secular popularity in the 1990s thanks to a batch of CDs, put out by monastic groups, among them the nuns at the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Connecticut, and, the monks of the Benedictine Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos in Spain.

The music, usually without instrumentation and “soothing and comfortable” in the words of Tortolano, had some new-age appeal for a while – the monks’ CD actually rising to the top of U.S. pop charts, even though the Latin was Greek to most listeners.

The fact the chant entered the mainstream, coupled with Pope Benedict XVI’s support for Latin Mass, gives chant enthusiasts hope for more renewal.

In fact, as chant devotees point out, Vatican II didn’t ban the chant, rather the prelates in Rome reaffirmed it as the official music of the church. The chant was just heard less and less as popular music in parishes became, well, more popular.

It didn’t also didn’t help that those parochial schools, ideal training grounds for the Gregorian Chant, began closing down across the country due to limited resources.

There is a resurgence. Will it eventually return as the only form of musical expression in the Catholic Church? I am not sure that will happen. But I think it should still be a structural part of the musical education of any parish.”
Kevin Parizo
music director, St. Mary’s Church, Middlebury

Still, Mary Frances and the St Augustine’s group are not alone in their efforts. For more than a decade, All Saints parish in Richford has been offering a traditional Latin Mass with Chant on Sundays. Holy Angels in St. Albans, with Dr. Tortorlano’s help, has formed a chant group. At St. Mary’s in Middlebury, Kevin Parizo, music director, has put together a choir of 30 that’s well-versed in the Gregorian Chant.

And the chant has forever been sung by the nuns at the Benedictine Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Westfield, where it is a part of the daily ritual.

“There is a resurgence,” says Parizo in Middlebury. “Will it eventually return as the only form of musical expression in the Catholic Church? I am not sure that will happen. But I think it should still be a structural part of the musical education of any parish.

“We have a need for this music because it is a part of our church’s cultural heritage, and because it has had such a vital influence on so many of the world’s great composers,” stresses Parizo.

A few of the older singers in Stafford’s group admit to a tinge of nostalgia when they remember the “Sanctus,” the “Agnus Dei,” the woeful “Deis Irae” or the hopeful “Tantum Ergo” and “Panis Angelicas.”

One choir participant, Sam Geyselaers, puts his chant book down during practice, not needing it, since he knows the words and music. The chant figured big time while he was growing up in a uniformly Catholic town, Berg-Terblyt, in southern Holland during the late 1940s and ‘50s.

As Geyselaers relates, during his childhood, all the kids attended public school, but the teachers still would provide religious instruction and still would march the youngsters over to the Catholic church for choir practice.

“Nostalgia? Yes,” he says, but there’s also the reverence and joy that comes with age-old music that’s “so relaxing and easy to sing”

Dirk Van Susteren is a Calais, Vt., freelance reporter and editor.