“It was an honor to go on this mission trip to Guatemala,” was the sentiment echoed by four of the people who traveled to Guatemala and visited sister parishes earlier this year. Missions International organized the recent trip. Of the 16 attendees, eight were from the Diocese of Belleville and eight from the Diocese of Springfield.

“Catholic education is wonderful,” Michael Buscher says. Buscher is the new principal at St. Bruno in Pinckneyville. He was a retired public school principal and teacher and also spent eight years as associate director for education for the Diocese of Belleville. He came out of retirement to take the position at St. Bruno because they needed a principal. “We are putting faith together with what is taught in the classroom. Our parents think that is important. And it is,” he says.

“It was an awesome weekend.” Uplifting. Powerful. Motivational. Inspiring. An amazing weekend. These adjectives and many more were shared by two faith formation leaders and several teenagers from the Diocese of Belleville who attended the Steubenville STL Mid-America Conferences. The Steubenville Youth Conferences are a series of 25 conferences across North America that help teens encounter the love of Christ. Steubenville STL Mid-America Conferences (also called SteubySTL) are two of the conferences that are held every year in July on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo.