By SUZANNE KOZIATEK Staff writer Soon, students at Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School – and beyond – will get the chance to experience reading in a whole new way. The school is one of the first sites for a program aimed at making books and reading more appealing to young kids, particularly children of color. …
Editor’s Note: The following story was written by students from Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School. Father Maurice Nutt, a former student of Sister Thea Bowman, is optimistic about her chance of sainthood. Fr. Nutt was in town recently for a revival at Saint Augustan of Hippo, and he decided to pay a visit to the …
A year ago, the men and women who serve southern Illinois inmates’ spiritual needs lost their leader, Father Christopher Reuter, OFM. It’s been a year of poignant reminders and a determination to continue to fulfill Father Reuter’s vital work, says Louis Slapshak, associate director for prison ministry for the Diocese of Belleville.
For Dennis Trickey, God’s call came in stillness. Trickey, then a rising junior at Mater Dei Catholic High School, was attending a summer retreat aimed at vocations. As an altar server, Eucharistic minister and lector at his home parish in Pierron, he’d often been told by parishioners and priests that he’d make a good priest, but he hadn’t thought much about it.
For Southern Illinois’ Catholic schools, service and values education are more than just “doing the right thing” – they’re an essential part of imbuing education with Catholic social teaching. The Church has developed seven themes of this teaching, aimed at building a just society and living lives of holiness: The life and dignity of the human person; call to family, community and participation; rights and responsibilities; option for the poor and vulnerable; the dignity of work and rights of workers; solidarity; and care for God’s creation.