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- [A jubilee woven without a pattern: Sr. Anitawa Fearday, ASC, marks 60 years](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/07/a-jubilee-woven-without-a-pattern-sr-anitawa-fearday-marks-60-years/) - Sr. Anitawa Fearday, ASC, works on one of the 120 woven pieces she has created through the years (Submitted). By Carlos Restrepo For The Messenger Every night before Sr. Anitawa Fearday turns out the light, she looks at a homemade vision board fastened to the wall of her room at Benedictine Living Community at the
- [From a milk house to a Blessed Mother Mary grotto](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/07/from-a-milk-house-to-a-blessed-mother-mary-grotto/) - Dominic Grzegorek, of Ashley, regularly prays at the grotto (right) for the Blessed Mother Mary that was built on his property by Nashville mason Dave Schuette. “It’s a way of honoring her and showing respect for her, and it turned out really good,” Grzegorek said (Submitted). By Linda Norris Messenger Staff Dominic Grzegorek starts and
- [Belleville astronaut touches down at Benedictine](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/07/belleville-astronaut-touches-down-at-benedictine/) - Belleville astronaut Sandy Magnus with residents at the Benedictine Living Community before her April 17 visit (Submitted). By David Wilhelm Messenger Editor Sr. Barb Biver remembers the time several years ago when an Elvis Presley impersonator came to entertain residents at the Benedictine Living Community at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in
- [What will heaven be like?](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/6750/) - By Ron Rolheiser, OMI Andrew Greeley once suggested that we might profitably meditate on the following vision of heaven: The condition of physical ecstasy and emotional satisfaction which results from sexual intercourse between two people who are deeply in love is the best anticipation currently available to us of our permanent condition in the resurrected
- [The complex mystery of suffering](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/06/the-complex-mystery-of-suffering/) - By Ron Rolheiser, OMI Sometimes it’s hard to tell sickness from health. When we’re suffering, is it an indication that there’s something wrong with us or might it be that the suffering is the healthy result of living faithfully? When we are anxious, are we worrying God’s kingdom into birth or are we simply
- [Adorers of the Blood of Christ sell Ruma Center buildings](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/06/adorers-of-the-blood-of-christ-sell-ruma-center-buildings/) - By Linda Norris Staff Writer Four years after the sisters of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ (ASC) moved out of the Ruma Center, they have sold the property buildings and 33 acres of land to Books for All, a nonprofit organization establishing community libraries with free resources. ASC will retain ownership of the
- [Back Home - World War II airman from Prairie du Rocher returns 82 years after death](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/06/back-home-world-war-ii-airman-from-prairie-du-rocher-returns-82-years-after-death/) - A U.S. Army detachment from Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri carries the remains of World War II veteran Edgar William “Billy” Nevois to his final resting place at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Prairie du Rocher. At left, Illinois Patriot Guard Riders hold flags and salute Nevois, who died in 1944 (David Wilhelm photo). By
- [Catholic Relief Services gets $240 million in U.S. humanitarian aid](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/06/catholic-relief-services-gets-240-million-in-u-s-humanitarian-aid/) - By Madalaine Elhabbal Catholic News Agency The U.S. State Department has awarded more than $240 million in foreign aid to Catholic Relief Services for humanitarian and disaster response efforts. The grant to Catholic Relief Services (CRS) marks “the first of a series of global State Department awards to trusted and vetted implementing organizations,” according to
- [Former diocesan priest, Messenger editor 'Rafe' Middeke dies at 92](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/06/former-diocesan-priest-messenger-editor-rafe-middeke-dies-at-92/) - Raphael H. “Rafe” Middeke, 92, of Trenton, formerly of Damiansville, died at 6:25 a.m. Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at Aviston Countryside Manor. He was born June 21, 1933, in rural Clinton County, a son of the late Bernard and Mary (nee Hellmann) Middeke. After attending St. Rose Elementary School, Rafe attended St. Henry Seminary in
- [A plan for the future](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/06/a-plan-for-the-future/) - Dear Friends, On Pentecost Sunday, I promulgated a new pastoral plan. Springing significantly from the broad consultation that led to Archbishop Michael McGovern’s plan, Servants on Christ’s Mission, issued two years before on Pentecost, the priorities remain the same. Incorporating many of the comments from the listening sessions conducted last year, the new plan provides
- [Pope Leo urges civilization of love in digital world](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/06/pope-leo-urges-civilization-of-love-in-digital-world/) - By Carol Glatz Catholic News Agency VATICAN CITY — At a time when digital technologies are developing at a rapid and unpredictable pace, every single person must decide if she or he will be: a passive bystander; an unhelpful commentator; an avaricious architect of a new “Tower of Babel”; or a patient, hope-filled builder of
- ['The right man for the time' Archbishop Rozanski, other clergy laud Fr. Godfrey's selection as bishop](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/05/the-right-man-for-the-time-archbishop-rozanski-other-clergy-laud-fr-godfreys-selection-as-bishop/) - Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski believes the Diocese of Belleville is well-positioned for the future with the selection of Fr. Godfrey Mullen, OSB, as its 10th bishop. “I’m happy for the priests and the people of Belleville that the Holy Father has chosen Bishop-elect Godfrey Mullen as their bishop,” said Archbishop Rozanski, who leads the Archdiocese of
- [Ordination and Installation: After a year as a diocesan administrator, Fr. Godfrey Mullen, OSB, assumes role of bishop](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/05/ordination-and-installation-after-a-year-as-a-diocesan-administrator-fr-godfry-mullen-osb-assumes-role-of-bishop/) - Bishop Godfrey Mullen, OSB, wearing his mitre and carrying his crozier for the first time, blesses parishioners who attended his ordination and installation as the 10th bishop of the Diocese of Belleville on May 1 at the Cathedral (Tim Vizer photo). The sun shined brightly on the face of Bishop Godfrey Mullen, OSB, as he
- [Fr. Godfrey Mullen, OSB, becomes bishop-elect](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/03/fr-godfrey-mullen-osb-becomes-bishop-elect/) - Fr. Godfrey Mullen, OSB, at the March 13 news conference at Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville announcing that he is the bishop designate of the Diocese of Belleville. "I have always been fascinated by the way Christ is present in His wonderful people in southern Illinois,” Bishop-elect Godfrey said (David Wilhelm photo). By David
- [Fr. Gene Neff laid to rest](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/03/fr-gene-neff-laid-to-rest/) - Pallbearers (clockwise from left) Eddie Essenpreis, Zach Bair, Jaydon Wyms, Jeff Bair and John Schomaker carry the body of Fr. Gene Neff to a hearse following the Feb. 27 Funeral Mass at St. Augustine of Canterbury in Belleville. Fr. Neff, a 53-year priest in the diocese and the director of the Ministry to Sick &
- [Fr. Gene Neff dies at age 81](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/02/fr-gene-neff-dies-at-age-81/) - Father Eugene “Gene” Neff, who had been the director of Ministry to Sick and Aged since 1974, died on Friday, Feb. 20, in his residence at Keystone Place at Richland Creek in O’Fallon. Fr. Neff was 81. He was a priest in the Diocese of Belleville for 53 years before retiring in 2019. On July
- [Top stories of 2025](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/01/top-stories-of-2025/) - Fr. Levi James (right) with former Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis Mark Rivituso during the promise of obedience June 7 at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville. By David Wilhelm Messenger Editor There was no shortage of important stories for Catholics in 2025, both locally and on the worldwide stage. The
- [An ASC sister professes her final vows at St. Augustine of Canterbury, Hecker](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/01/an-asc-sister-professes-her-final-vows-at-st-augustine-of-canterbury-hecker/) - Sr. Sarah Harbaugh (above left) and Sr. Barbara Hudock, ASC regional leader, stand at the altar during Sr. Sarah’s Perpetual Profession of Vows on Dec. 6 in Hecker (Submitted photo). Before a large gathering of friends, family and members of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, Sister Sarah Harbaugh on Dec. 6 celebrated her
- [Pope encourages priests to share responsibilities](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2026/01/pope-encourages-priests-to-share-responsibilities/) - By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — At a time when so much pressure and so many demands are placed on priests, they should find support, freedom and relief in recognizing the gifts of laypeople and collaborating with them, Pope Leo XIV said. “The ministry of the priest must move beyond the model
- [Pope: Treatment of migrants 'extremely disrespectful'](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/12/pope-treatment-of-migrants-extremely-disrespectful/) - By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY —Insisting that the dignity of all people, including immigrants, must be respected, Pope Leo XIV asked U.S. Catholics and “people of goodwill” to read and listen to the U.S. bishops’ recent pastoral message on the topic. “When people are living good lives — and many of them
- [Pope to poor: God loves you; urges governments to act](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/12/pope-to-poor-god-loves-you-urges-governments-to-act/) - By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Before joining hundreds of people for lunch, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for the Jubilee of the Poor and prayed that all Christians would share “the love of God, which welcomes, binds up wounds, forgives, consoles and heals.” With thousands of migrants, refugees, unhoused people, the
- [Jesus provides sustenance, not ready-made answers, pope says](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/12/jesus-provides-sustenance-not-ready-made-answers-pope-says/) - VATICAN CITY — Power, possessions and rank do not satisfy the deep desire for real meaning in life, Pope Leo XIV said. “It is only the resurrected Jesus who can give the true and lasting peace that sustains and fills us,” the pope said in English on Oct. 15 during his weekly general audience in
- ['Meeting' the Pope: Diocesan students enjoy livestream with Pope Leo in schools, at National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/12/meeting-the-pope-diocesan-students-enjoy-livestream-with-pope-leo-in-schools-at-national-catholic-youth-conference-in-indianapolis/) - Pope Leo’s vantage point during his livestreamed digital connection with 16,000 people at the NCYC conference in Indianapolis (CNS photo/Vatican Media). By Linda Norris Behrens and David Wilhelm Messenger Staff On Nov. 21, history was made as the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, embarked on his first- ever digital visit to the United States, live
- [Treasures from Bethlehem: Olive wood carvings, other items from Christ's birthplace come to O'Fallon](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/12/treasures-from-bethlehem-olive-wood-carvings-other-items-from-christs-birthplace-come-to-ofallon/) - Peter Abu Farha carves a mother-of-pearl seashell into a broach at his shop in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born (Submitted photo). By Liz Quirin For The Messenger “Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie, above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by … the hopes and fears of
- [Dickens' Christmas parable](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/12/dickens-christmas-parable/) - By MSGR. JOHN MYLER Culture Columnist As a young boy, I’d lay on the family room carpet, eyes glued to the black and white TV, for a Christmastime showing of an old movie version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Through all the years and in all its forms — from Dickens’ original 112-page novella
- ['I Feel Whole' - Nine months after horrific car accident in Breese, Maci McCabe reflects on recovery](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/11/i-feel-whole-nine-months-after-horrific-car-accident-in-breese-maci-mccabe-reflects-on-recovery/) - Maci McCabe, a native of Breese and a graduate of Mater Dei Catholic High School, is held aloft during a cheerleading routine at a recent Lindenwood University football game in St. Charles, Mo. McCabe is less than a year removed from a serious car accident that threatened to end her life (Submitted photo). By David
- [Unexpected Honor - Catholic War Veterans Post 370 member 'floored' by St. Sebastian Award](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/11/unexpected-honor-catholic-war-veterans-post-370-member-floored-by-st-sebastian-award/) - Denny Koesterer, a native of Freeburg who lives in Smithton, holds the Order of St. Sebastian Award that he received at the Catholic War Veterans National Convention in August. Koesterer was one of just three recipients (David Wilhelm photo). By David Wilhelm Messenger Editor Denny Koesterer didn’t understand what was happening when he was summoned
- ['Breaking the Cycle' helps businesses in disadvantaged counties, with support from Catholic Campaign for Human Development](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/11/breaking-the-cycle-helps-businesses-in-disadvantaged-counties-with-support-from-catholic-campaign-for-human-development/) - Cairo in Alexander County receives support from Breaking the Cycle (Kathleen Hunt photo). By Linda Norris Behrens Messenger Staff Alexander County is the southernmost county in Illinois. Pulaski County is adjacent to it. Both counties, located within the Diocese of Belleville, lead the list of the highest percentage of families below the poverty level in
- [New council brings young adults together to socialize, evangelize](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/10/new-council-brings-young-adults-together-to-socialize-evangelize/) - In August 2023, nine Catholics came together as members of the Diocesan Young Adult Council for the Diocese of Belleville. “Throughout the first year, growth was slow and difficult,” said Mark Loyet, director of Faith Formation and Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Belleville. “Covid was not all that far behind us, so ministry in
- [BDCCW Convention reaches 99 years](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/10/bdccw-convention-reaches-99-years/) - Bonnie Schmersahl (left) of St. Barbara in Okawville shares a story with (from left) Diane Winkeler, Jan Gonzalez and Karen Beckemeyer, all of St. Anthony in Beckemeyer, at the Belleville Diocesan Council of Catholic Women Convention, held Oct. 8 at St. Joseph in Marion (David Wilhelm photos). The Belleville Diocesan Council of Catholic Women will
- [Joe Hubbard, a beacon of light for the poor, dies at age 82](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/09/joe-hubbard-a-beacon-of-light-for-the-poor-dies-at-age-82/) - Joe Hubbard, who spent a lifetime helping the impoverished, underprivileged and ill, died at 7:17 p.m. on Sept. 10 at age 82. Hubbard’s care and compassion for needy people in the Diocese of Belleville was legendary, and his service led many of them to refer to him as a “saint,” a term Hubbard disdained. The
- [Our hearts are broken: In light of tragedy at Camp Mystic, Camp Ondessonk shares safety measures](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/08/our-hearts-are-broken-in-light-of-tragedy-at-camp-mystic-camp-ondessonk-shares-safety-measures/) - The massive sandstone grotto at Camp Ondessonk in Ozark, located deep in southern Illinois, is like a cave and can be used as a shelter during storms (Submitted photo from recent Earth Day Mass). In the pre-dawn hours of July 4, catastrophic flooding of the Guadalupe River in west-central Texas claimed the lives of 27
- [God has been good: Trenton native Fr. Adrian Fischer, OFM, celebrates 50 years in priesthood](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/08/god-has-been-good-trenton-native-fr-adrian-fischer-ofm-celebrates-50-years-in-priesthood/) - Fr. Adrian Fischer, OFM, a Trenton native, recently returned home to celebrate his 50th jubilee (Submitted photo). As a young man, Fr. Adrian Fischer, OFM, had no interest in becoming a priest. But there he was on July 13, back at his home parish, St. Mary in Trenton, celebrating his 50th jubilee with friends, family
- [Pope takes peek at heavens during Apollo 11 anniversary](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/08/pope-takes-peek-at-heavens-during-apollo-11-anniversary/) - By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Peering at the sunlit skies through a Vatican-owned space telescope and calling the last surviving member of the Apollo 11 spaceflight mission was how Pope Leo XIV celebrated the anniversary of the first crewed moon landing. U.S. astronaut Michael Collins flew the command module around the
- [Creator: Goal of 'The Chosen' is to point people to Jesus](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/08/creator-goal-of-the-chosen-is-to-point-people-to-jesus/) - By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Just as “The Chosen” wrapped up the release of Season 5 in the U.S., the hit series about Jesus and those who knew him was set to stream internationally in select countries, including Italy, starting in July. The Vatican hosted a news conference and a premiere
- [Levi James Ordained into Priesthood](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/07/levi-james-ordained-into-priesthood/) - Fr. Levi James (right) stands with parents David and Ann at the start of the Rite of Ordination of Priests on June 7 at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville. Fr. Levi, the lone priest ordained in the Diocese of Belleville, spent the last year as a transitional deacon. Most Rev. Mark S. Rivituso,
- [Pete's personal pilgrimage: A five-year journey visiting 99 parishes in the diocese](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/07/petes-personal-pilgrimage-a-five-year-journey-visiting-99-parishes-in-the-diocese/) - St. Rose of Lima in Metropolis was the last parish in the Diocese of Belleville visited by Pete Joergensen (second from left) during the last five years. Joergensen is pictured with members of the church council: (from left) Len Maggio, Fr. Michael Chris Mujule, Christy Willmes and Caroline Korte (Submitted photo). “You can pick any
- [I just started crying: Fr. Barker shares his feelings about his good friend, Pope Leo XIV](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/06/i-just-started-crying-fr-barker-shares-his-feelings-about-his-good-friend-pope-leo-xiv/) - In 2023, Fr. Brian Barker attended the installation of then-Bishop Robert Prevost as a cardinal (Submitted photo). Fr. Brian Barker of the Diocese of Belleville was honored and humbled to be invited to the Papal Mass of Installation and to be part of a private audience with the new head of the Catholic Church and
- [St. John the Baptist Catholic School better than ever after fire](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/06/st-john-the-baptist-catholic-school-better-than-ever-after-fire/) - Fr. Michael Caruso, SJ, director of education and superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Belleville, blesses a new classroom and students at St. John the Baptist Catholic School on May 13 in Red Bud. A fire damaged the school in May 2024 (David Wilhelm photos). Students, teachers, parishioners and other community members came together
- [Remembering Catholic War veterans: Avenue of Flags returns on Memorial Day at Green Mount Cemetery](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/06/remembering-catholic-war-veterans-avenue-of-flags-returns-on-memorial-day-at-green-mount-cemetery/) - The Avenue of Flags at Green Mount Catholic Cemetery in Belleville will be on display for the 29th time on Memorial Day, May 26. The avenue, which salutes Catholic veterans, began in 1996 with two flags but has grown to 175. Most of the flags honor the memory of parishioners from the Cathedral of St.
- [Former Belleville Bishop installed as Omaha Archbishop](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/05/former-belleville-bishop-installed-as-omaha-archbishop/) - Former Diocese of Belleville Bishop Michael McGovern during his installation as the new Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Neb., on May 7 (Susan Szalewski photo). By Susan Szalewski Catholic Voice OMAHA, Neb. — On a warm May afternoon, inside a packed cathedral filled with joyful hymns of praise, Archbishop Michael McGovern became the sixth
- [Fr. Stan Konieczny, of Smithton, dies at 70](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/05/fr-stan-konieczny-of-smithton-dies-at-70/) - Fr. Stanley J. Konieczny, OFS, 70, of Smithton, born April 14, 1955, in East St. Louis, died Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at his residence. After graduating from Assumption High School in East St. Louis, he received a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary University in San Antonio and a master’s from Washington University in St. Louis.
- [Spring Farm Blessing: Bishop McGovern visits Ruppert family in Coulterville for annual event](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/05/spring-farm-blessing-bishop-mcgovern-visits-ruppert-family-in-coulterville-for-annual-event/) - Bishop Michael McGovern talks with parishioners before the Spring Farm Blessing at the Ruppert home (David Wilhelm photo). Bishop Michael McGovern presided over his final Spring Farm Blessing in the Diocese of Belleville on a sunny and pleasant April 23 at the Lonnie and Melinda Ruppert home on Tulip Road in rural Coulterville. During his
- [Pope Francis Dies at 88 - His Easter Monday death is mourned by millions, ends 12-year papacy](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/04/pope-francis-dies-at-88-his-easter-monday-death-is-mourned-by-millions-ends-12-year-papacy/) - Pope Francis, aboard the popemobile, greets people in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican after giving his Easter blessing on April 20, 2025. The pope, whose papacy began in March 2013, died hours later at age 88 (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza). By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, the
- [McGovern leaving Belleville after five years as its Bishop](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/03/bishop-mcgovern-appointed-archbishop-of-omaha-neb-will-be-installed-may-7/) - March 23 has been a noteworthy day in the life of Michael McGovern. In 2020, it was when McGovern received word from Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, that Pope Francis had appointed him bishop of the Diocese of Belleville. Five years later, McGovern was driving from Marion to Herrin when the
- ['Codfathers' looking forward to another season of fish fries at Queen of Peace](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/03/codfathers-looking-forward-to-another-season-of-fish-fries-at-queen-of-peace/) - The "Codfathers" brought fish fries back to Queen of Peace in 2022, and they're looking forward to another big season of Lent starting March 5. Seven of the 20 Codfathers are shown above. Left to right: Ray Schott, Craig Vosse, Eric Edgar, Scott Simonin, Kevin Boron, Mike Riley and Adrian Jacquot (David Wilhelm photo). The
- [Following the Father's call: Casmir Cozzi on course to be ordained into priesthood in June 2027](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/03/following-the-fathers-call-casmir-cozzi-on-course-to-be-ordained-into-priesthood-in-june-2027/) - Casmir Cozzi, pictured at the Chapel of Immaculate Conception at Mundelein Seminary on Aug. 30, 2023, is expected to be ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Belleville in October 2027 (Submitted photo). Casmir Cozzi can’t remember a time when he didn’t want to become a priest. “I wanted to be two things: a
- [Healing words: St. Teresa teacher Neville contributes chapter to book designed to help people navigate the grieving process](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/02/healing-words-st-teresa-teacher-neville-contributes-chapter-to-book-designed-to-help-people-navigate-the-grieving-process/) - Adrianne Neville, a math teacher at St. Teresa Catholic School in Belleville, has authored a chapter for "Threads of Gold," a soon-to-be-released book written to help people overcome grief (David Wilhelm photo). Adrianne Neville knows a thing or two about grief. Neville and her husband, Jared, experienced the heart-wrenching loss of their 28-day-old daughter, Eden,
- [Welcome to 'Hubbard's Haven:' St. Vincent de Paul receives generous donation, renames its soup kitchen to honor man who has assisted the poor, homeless and hungry since 1973](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/02/welcome-to-hubbards-haven-st-vincent-de-paul-receives-generous-donation-renames-its-soup-kitchen-to-honor-man-who-has-assisted-the-poor-homeless-and-hungry-since-1973/) - Former metro-east resident and Blue Angels pilot John Foley (right), now a motivational speaker, enjoys a light moment with Joe Hubbard on Jan. 30 after Foley chose "Hubbard's Haven" as the new name for the soup kitchen at St. Vincent de Paul in East St. Louis. Foley and his wife, Carol, also announced they will
- [After 40 years, Immaculate Conception students are still taking to the road to enhance learning opportunities](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/02/after-40-years-immaculate-conception-students-are-still-taking-to-the-road-to-enhance-learning-opportunities/) - Students and teachers from Immaculate Conception at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn, site of the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination and the home of the National Civil Rights Museum (Submitted photo). Immaculate Conception School in Columbia ensures its students’ learning isn’t restricted to the classroom. Since 1985, the school has made history, science, music,
- [Mater Dei junior Owen Musenbrock scores a 36 on ACT](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/02/mater-dei-junior-owen-musenbrock-scores-a-36-on-act/) - The pursuit of perfection can be a frustrating endeavor. But Mater Dei Catholic High School junior Owen Musenbrock achieved it Dec. 14 when he scored a 36 on the American College Testing exam, commonly referred to as the ACT. The test included 215 questions in English (75), math (60), reading (40) and science (40). It
- [Pope reflects on his life, urges people to look to future with hope](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/02/pope-reflects-on-his-life-urges-people-to-look-to-future-with-hope/) - By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — While calling himself an “old man” and saying he never expected to be pope this long, Pope Francis said he still has dreams for the future. “We must not stumble upon tomorrow, we must build it, and we all have the responsibility to do so in
- [Head of the Class: Diocesan teachers' excellence recognized with Emerson Awards](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2025/01/head-of-the-class-diocesan-teachers-excellence-recognized-with-emerson-awards/) - Diocese of Belleville educators Peggy Butler (above) of Blessed Sacrament Grade School in Belleville and David Schauer of Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo recently received Excellence in Teaching Awards from Emerson Electric. More than 100 teachers in the St. Louis metropolitan area, from the kindergarten through college levels, were honored with the annual awards,
- [Heralded Mater Dei athlete stands tall in two sports, eyes more state titles](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/09/heralded-mater-dei-athlete-stands-tall-in-two-sports-eyes-more-state-titles/) - Alyssa Koerkenmeier is in her senior year at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Breese. Above, the highly recruited athlete holds state-championship trophies she helped the Knights win in basketball, when she was a sophomore, and in volleyball, when she was a junior. Both came in 2023. The 6-foot-6 Koerkenmeier will soon decide where, and
- ['Mind-blowing' - Student from Indiana helps conserve painting of Mary, Christ Child to be used as Christmas stamp](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/12/mind-blowing-student-from-indiana-helps-conserve-painting-of-mary-christ-child-to-be-used-as-christmas-stamp/) - Allie Miller, a senior at Marian University in Indianapolis, uses an X-ray fluorescence macro-scanner to analyze the painting "Madonna and Child" in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields during her time there as an intern this past summer. The United States Postal Service selected the painting as an image for one
- [Catching up with Most. Rev. Edward K. Braxton](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/12/catching-up-with-most-rev-edward-k-braxton/) - Former Diocese of Belleville Bishop and current Bishop Emeritus Edward K. Braxton at his home in west Belleville (David Wilhelm photo). THE MESSENGER: You have been a priest for 54 years and a bishop for 29 years. What have been some of the most fulfilling aspects of your journey? BISHOP BRAXTON: The joy of my ministry
- [100 candles - The Academy of Notre Dame holds centennial celebration at St. Augustine of Canterbury](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/09/100-candles-the-academy-of-notre-dame-holds-centennial-celebration-at-st-augustine-of-canterbury/) - Biological sisters (from left) Maxine Karcher Ferris (Class of 1962), Shirley Karcher (Sister Nicolette, Class of 1961) and Dolores Karcher Elliff (Class of 1959) graduated from the Academy of Notre Dame in Belleville. They attended the centennial celebration Aug. 18 at St. Augustine of Canterbury and shared their memories of the academy with The Messenger
- [200 years and counting - St. Augustine of Canterbury in Hecker celebrates milestone anniversary](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/11/200-years-and-counting-st-augustine-of-canterbury-in-hecker-celebrates-milestone-anniversary/) - Diocese of Belleville Bishop Michael McGovern greets parishioners as they exit the church following the 200th Anniversary Mass and celebration at St. Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Church on Oct. 19 in Hecker (Tim Vizer photo). We’re part of a story That’s over a century old, A tale of Catholic settlers Who weren’t looking for gold.
- [Getting to know Fr. Pat McDevitt - Chicago native begins new role as chancellor of Diocese of Belleville](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/11/getting-to-know-fr-pat-mcdevitt-chicago-native-begins-new-role-as-chancellor-of-diocese-of-belleville/) - Fr. Pat McDevitt couldn’t say no to Bishop Michael McGovern or the Diocese of Belleville. A Vincentian priest for 38 years, Fr. Pat recently concluded a four-year term as provincial superior of the Congregation of the Mission Western Province. The Chicago native, who already was living in St. Louis, didn’t idle long. On Oct. 7,
- [God is the author of life](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/10/god-is-the-author-of-life/) - Dear Friends, Autumn is a time of year I find my eyes drawn to the glory of God’s creation. It could be the beauty of the moon at night, the leaves on the trees turning orange and red, or the shortening of daylight, so much of nature that is changing points to our eternal God
- [Blessing of the Harvest - Sun breaks through clouds as Bishop McGovern begins ceremony](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/10/blessing-of-the-harvest-sun-breaks-through-clouds-as-bishop-mcgovern-begins-ceremony/) - Bishop Michael McGovern talks with attendees at the Blessing of the Harvest on Sept. 24 at Four Beck Dairy (David Wilhelm photo). Clouds yielded to sunshine just in time for the start of the annual Blessing of the Harvest, held Sept. 24 at Four Beck Dairy in Bartelso. Rain from the previous couple of days
- [St. Michael Celebrates - More than 500 parishioners gather to commemorate 150 years at the church in Radom](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/10/st-michael-celebrates-more-than-500-parishioners-gather-to-commemorate-150-years-at-the-church-in-radom/) - Some of the more than 500 people who celebrated the 150th anniversary Mass on Sept. 29 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Radom (David Wilhelm photo). The 150th anniversary at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Radom stirred up memories and stories for one of the parish’s oldest members, 91-year-old Joe Kula.
- [Teachers, administrators upbeat about new school year](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/09/teachers-administrators-upbeat-about-new-school-year/) - Teachers talk to colleagues Aug. 13 after being asked by keynote speaker Fr. Patrick McDevitt, CM, to share what they love about being an educator. They attended the annual Teachers' Convocation at Althoff Catholic High School's Heritage Hall (David Wilhelm photo). Mass at St. Henry, donuts, water and an enthusiastic address from Fr. Patrick McDevitt
- [Megan Massie is first recipient of Althoff scholarship that honors fallen Marine](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/07/megan-massie-is-first-recipient-of-althoff-scholarship-that-honors-fallen-marine/) - Megan Massie (middle) on June 14 became the first recipient of the Capt. Eleanor LeBeau Cooke Memorial Scholarship. She is pictured with the parents of LeBeau Cooke, David and Victoria LeBeau (left) and her family, parents Steve and Kasey Massie, brothers Jack, 11, and Nathan, 8, and her sister, Marianne, 6. Megan Massie will be
- [Two women, two journeys and the people you meet along the way](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/09/two-women-two-journeys-and-the-people-you-meet-along-the-way/) - Diane Sonneman (middle) with Mark Loyet and Fr. Carroll Miziko, OFM, following a Mass of Thanksgiving on Aug. 25 at St. Augustine of Hippo in East St. Louis (Submitted photo). Diane Sonneman and Carly Etter have life journeys that God has called them to take. One has happened over decades; the other is just beginning.
- [Bishop McGovern's Column - You Are Not Alone](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/09/bishop-mcgoverns-column-you-are-not-alone/) - Dear Friends in Christ, This week we are observing National Suicide Prevention Week. In my years as a priest, I have met and prayed with many families who have suffered the loss of a loved one who took his or her own life. In the past 30 years, I believe there is an increasing awareness
- ['Life has been a gift from God' Sister Rose Anthony Mathews celebrates 70 years with Adorers](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/08/life-has-been-a-gift-from-god-sister-rose-anthony-mathews-celebrates-70-years-with-adorers/) - Sister Rose Anthony Mathews works a jigsaw puzzle, one of her many hobbies, in her apartment at Benedictine Living Community at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville. In July, she celebrated 70 years as an Adorer of the Blood of Christ (David Wilhelm photo). “If you only write one sentence about
- [Holy Family church: 325 years and counting](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/08/holy-family-church-325-years-and-counting/) - John Reed (above) is an expert on the 325-year history of Holy Family Catholic Church in Cahokia Heights, and has given many tours to people interested in stories of the old Log Church (David Wilhelm photo). Ten generations of John Reed’s family have been parishioners at Holy Family Catholic Church in Cahokia Heights, a parish
- [Emmaus Days Gallery](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/07/emmaus-days/)
- [Arrival of Eucharist highlights Emmaus Days in Diocese of Belleville](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/08/arrival-of-eucharist-highlights-emmaus-days-in-diocese-of-belleville/) - Bishop Michael McGovern leads the procession with the Holy Eucharist following devotion, music and prayer at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows Amphitheatre on the evening of July 7 (David Wilhelm photo). Bishop Michael McGovern welcomed the Holy Eucharist to the Diocese of Belleville on July 7 as it continued on a 2,200-mile,
- [Fr. Gene Neff marks 50 years as director of Catholic Ministry to Sick & Aged](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/07/fr-gene-neff-marks-50-years-as-director-of-catholic-ministry-to-sick-aged/) - Fr. Gene Neff (right) visits with Bob Raab at the Catholic Ministry to Sick & Aged Picnic, held June 5 at the Catholic War Veterans Post 370, south of Belleville. Fr. Neff is celebrating 50 years as director of the Catholic Ministry to Sick & Aged (David Wilhelm photo). Father Gene Neff learned the importance
- ['Awe and Wonder' Eclipse travels across heart of diocese, thrills Holy Trinity students at Camp Ondessonk](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/05/awe-and-wonder-eclipse-travels-across-heart-of-diocese-thrills-holy-trinity-students-at-camp-ondessonk/) - Fifth- through eighth-graders from Holy Trinity Catholic School in Fairview Heights point at the sun and moon during the Great American Eclipse on April 8 at Camp Ondessonk. The total eclipse covered about 128 miles of the Diocese of Belleville (Submitted photo). On April 8, the 2024 Great North American Eclipse was visible in Illinois
- [Lanham exits Gibault to become Associate Director of Education](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/06/lanham-exits-gibault-to-become-associate-director-of-education/) - Sarah Lanham, sitting at her desk at Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo, has 19 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in the Diocese of Belleville. She will begin her new role as Associate Director of Education on July 1 (David Wilhelm photo). The new educational leadership team in the Diocese of Belleville
- [Sweet sounds of strings](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/06/sweet-sounds-of-strings/) - Phil Tinge, violin instructor, plays the instrument with a group of Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School students during the spring concert at the East St. Louis school May 4. Tinge, the Concert Master and first chair in violin for the Belleville Philharmonic Orchestra, has been working with students at Sr. Thea Bowman for 20 years
- [Bishop names Birdsong new Althoff principal](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/04/bishop-names-birdsong-new-althoff-principal/) - Diocese of Belleville Superintendent of Schools and Director of Education, Jonathan "Skip" Birdsong, has been appointed the new principal at Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville, replacing Sarah Gass. Birdsong's first day at Althoff will be July 1. Gass will take over as the new superintendent in Freeburg Community High School District 77. Her first
- [Spring Farm Blessing - Braeutigam serves as host](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/05/spring-farm-blessing-braeutigam-serves-as-host/) - Bishop Michael McGovern stands with the Range family after the Spring Farm Blessing on April 26 at Braeutigam Orchards in Belleville. The bishop blessed the people, the seed and grain, the machinery and tools, the animals and the land (David Wilhelm photo). A threatening sky and strong wind were followed by light rain, but they
- [New director of education 'passionate' about Catholic schools](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/05/new-director-of-education-passionate-about-catholic-schools/) - Fr. Caruso leaves St. Louis U. High, joins Diocese of Belleville Fr. Michael Caruso, SJ, wasn’t necessarily on the hunt for a new position. Diocese of Belleville Bishop Michael McGovern contacted Fr. Caruso, his friend since 2010, to see whether Fr. Caruso could offer any recommendations for the Director of Education position, which opened in
- [In a world of hostility, vocation of Christians is to hope, pope says](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/05/in-a-world-of-hostility-vocation-of-christians-is-to-hope-pope-says/) - VATICAN CITY — Though the global situation risks plunging people into pessimism, Christians are called to pursue their vocation of becoming “men and women of hope,” Pope Francis said. “As individuals and as communities, amid the variety of charisms and ministries, all of us are called to embody and communicate the Gospel message of hope
- [Breese native will become first president at Gibault High](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/04/breese-native-will-become-first-president-at-gibault-high/) - The president and principal model for educational leadership is trending higher among private schools, and Gibault Catholic High in Waterloo is following suit. Gibault has hired Katie Robben, a native of Breese, as its first president. Robben will work alongside Sarah Lanham, the principal. “Their vision for this is for me, as president, to focus
- [Althoff junior Gabby Orlet wins national courage award](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/04/althoff-junior-gabby-orlet-wins-national-courage-award/) - Althoff Catholic High School junior Gabby Orlet, a three-sport athlete, has won the Jersey Mike's Naismith High School Basketball Courage Award. Orlet is battling bone cancer but vows to overcome it. "You've got to attack it head-on," she said (David Wilhelm photo). Gabby Orlet can be excused for not immediately being aware of the magnitude
- [Following God's Path - 'Baby Deacons' in Trenton and New Baden completing first year in service to Church](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/03/following-gods-path-baby-deacons-in-trenton-and-new-baden-completing-first-year-service-to-church/) - Deacons (from left) Justin Wolfslau, Brad Haar and Tom Ritzheimer are completing their first year of service since being ordained June 3 at Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville. All three minister at St. George in New Baden and St. Mary in Trenton (Submitted photo). Bishop McGovern on the role of deacons: "One of the
- [Memory book: Pope reviews his life and shares dreams for future](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/04/memory-book-pope-reviews-his-life-and-shares-dreams-for-future/) - VATICAN CITY — Asked to reminisce about his life and where he was at key moments in history, the 87-year-old Pope Francis obliged, but also used the opportunity to talk about the lessons the events hold today and his hope for the future. The book, “Life: My Story Through History,” written with Italian journalist Fabio
- [Our Lady Queen of Peace Students Spreading Joy to the Elderly](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/02/our-lady-queen-of-peace-students-spreading-joy-to-the-elderly/) - Queen of Peace School first-grader Eddie Brownfield reads to a client at All In 4 You in Belleville. Students from Michelle Gregory's class regularly visit the day care center to interact with people suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia (Submitted photo). Eating lunch or being excused for recess with their classmates might be the favorite parts
- [Honoring their memory - Boy Scout, Cathedral of St. Peter parishioner leads project to clean SSND grave markers, monuments at Green Mount Cemetery](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/03/honoring-their-memory/) - Carter Lindauer, a 17-year-old senior at Belleville East High School and a parishioner at Cathedral of St. Peter, cleans a grave marker in the School Sisters of Notre Dame plot at Green Mount Cemetery. It's part of Lindauer's Eagle Scout project (David Wilhelm photo). One hundred forty years ago, a tragedy occurred that Mother Caroline
- [Pope: Discount personal appearances, listen to God during Lenten season](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/03/pope-discount-personal-appearances-listen-to-god-during-lenten-season/) - ROME — In an age when even one’s most intimate thoughts and feelings can become fodder for social media, Lent is a time to cast aside appearances and to find God at work in the depths of the heart, Pope Francis said. Without realizing it, Christians have become immersed “in a world in which everything,
- [Combating The Cold - Clinton County Woman "Throws" Her Heart, Hands into Helping People Stay Warm](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/02/combating-the-cold-clinton-county-woman-throws-her-heart-hands-into-helping-people-stay-warm/) - Pat Brandmeyer (above right) and niece Mary Miller fold material that has been cut and pinned. From there, it’s off to the sewing machine, where it will be used to make a throw that will be donated to St. Vincent de Paul to help needy metro-east residents stay warm in the winter months. Brandmeyer and
- ["The Chosen" in Theaters, Then Streaming](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/02/the-chosen-in-theaters-then-streaming/) - By MSGR. JOHN MYLER The international hit “The Chosen” has begun its fourth season — first playing in movie theaters and later, at an unannounced date, widely available for streaming. The producers chose the “theaters first” premieres to “raise funds in order to make Season 4 available for free around the world.” The new episodes
- [Lending a hand - with a smile on his face](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/02/leading-a-hand-with-a-smile-on-his-face/) - Mater Dei Catholic High School senior Dalton Timmermann provides daily lunchtime assistance to the cafeteria staff - with a smile on his face and happiness in his heart. His dedication is greatly appreciated by those around him (David Wilhelm photo). The season of giving is a yearlong endeavor for Dalton Timmermann. Timmermann, a senior at
- [St. Joseph Teacher Uses STEM Lab to "Make Learning Fun"](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/02/st-joseph-teacher-uses-stem-lab-to-make-learning-fun/) - Teacher Melissa Thomas leads the STEM lab for kindergarten through eighth-grade students at St. Joseph Catholic School in Freeburg. The program is in its third year since receiving a generous $150,000 grant from the Harold Zaring Charitable Foundation (David Wilhelm photo). Melissa Thomas is never worried about the motivational level of her students. Indeed, they’re
- [Althoff Basketball Coach Leib Still Counting His Blessings After 26 Seasons](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/02/althoff-basketball-coach-leib-still-counting-his-blessings-after-26-seasons/) - Althoff High boys basketball coach Greg Leib in the Crusaders' game against Quincy during the Collinsville-Prairie Farms Holiday Classic in December (David Wilhelm photo). Greg Leib isn’t a glass-half-empty type of guy. Instead, Leib’s cup overflows with joy as he goes about his daily duties at Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville, where he is
- [Surprises, disappointments in '23](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/02/surprises-disappointments-in-23/) - By MSGR. JOHN MYLER It was not a great year for films. Nevertheless, the annual long list of “Best Picture” nominees has been announced. May I suggest the following as the best “surprisingly good” films of the year? “THE IRON CLAW” is the true story of professional wrestling’s famous Von Erich brothers — but you
- [Pope Francis urges young professionals to dream big, be creative](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/02/pope-francis-urges-young-professionals-to-dream-big-be-creative/) - VATICAN CITY — Young people are meant to be “levers” that renew established systems, not “gears” to keep the old ways grinding, Pope Francis told a group of young professionals. “We all need the creativity and impetus that only you young people can give us; creativity and impetus lie in your hands. Your thirst for
- [Canopy over main altar of St. Peter's Basilica will undergo restoration](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/02/canopy-over-main-altar-of-st-peters-basilica-will-undergo-restoration/) - VATICAN CITY — The nearly 400-year-old sculpted canopy towering over the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica will be surrounded by scaffolding for most of 2024 as it is washed, repaired and restored. Standing over 30 feet tall, the baldachin, designed by Baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini, has stood over the tomb of St. Peter
- [Church, world must 'respect, defend, esteem' women, Pope Francis says during Mass to usher in new year](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2024/02/church-world-must-respect-defend-esteem-women-pope-francis-says-during-mass-to-usher-in-new-year/) - VATICAN CITY — The world and the Catholic Church must respect and defend women and foster a motherly care for others to end dehumanizing cycles of violence, Pope Francis said. “The church needs Mary in order to recover her own feminine face, to resemble more fully the woman, virgin and mother, who is her model
- [Family Center in East St. Louis blesses new building, celebrates 30th anniversary](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/10/family-center-in-east-st-louis-blesses-new-building-celebrates-30th-anniversary/) - The “family” was gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of East Side Heart and Home Family Center and witness the dedication and blessing of a new building. “Without the Family Center and Sr. Carol’s help, I don’t know where I would be,” said Helen, a home owner in the neighborhood. Sr. Carol Lehmkuhl, OP is
- [What will heaven be like?](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/09/what-will-heaven-be-like/) - By Ron Rolheiser, OMI Andrew Greeley once suggested that we might profitably meditate on the following vision of heaven: The condition of physical ecstasy and emotional satisfaction which results from sexual intercourse between two people who are deeply in love is the best anticipation currently available to us of our permanent condition in the resurrected
- [Father Dennis Voss, 85, dies Aug. 19, 2023](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/09/father-dennis-voss-85-dies-aug-19-2023/) - Father Dennis Frank Voss, 85, of Belleville, Ill, born May 30, 1938, in Germantown, IL, died peacefully Saturday, August 19, 2023, at Freeburg Care Center, Freeburg. Father Voss attended Germantown Grade School, St. Henry Preparatory Seminary, and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Zuroweste at
- [Illinois March for Life & Life Advocacy Day March 21](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/illinois-march-for-life-life-advocacy-day-march-21/) - Bishop Michael McGovern, center, greets people after Mass July 16 at the Log Church at Holy Family in Cahokia as part of his first visit to the church.
- [Diocesan teachers gather for institute](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/every-team-needs-a-sister-kathleen/) - More than 400 diocesan teachers gathered Aug. 7 at Mater Dei High School in Breese to listen, to renew old acquaintances and make new friends before diocesan Catholic schools open their doors to new and returning students. Then everyone got down to business by choosing a breakout session that related to the subject or grade
- [La Importancia de la Protección de la Conciencia](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/6756/) - 29 March 2023 Queridos amigos en Cristo, El sur de Illinois tiene muchas instituciones dedicadas al cuidado de la salud. Hay un buen número de hospitales, tanto católicos como no católicos, que atienden a las personas de nuestras comunidades. Desafortunadamente, algunos proveedores médicos seculares actualmente realizan procedimientos que son objetables debido a sus implicaciones morales
- [Film: After ‘The Passion’ will come ‘The Resurrection’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/04/film-after-the-passion-will-come-the-resurrection/) - By MSGR. JOHN MYLER The mega-hit 2004 film THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST from director / producer / actor Mel Gibson will be followed in 2024 by THE RESURRECTION, also to be directed by Gibson. Filming is scheduled to begin in the next few months, with Jim Caviezel again as Christ and Maia Morgenstern as
- [Responding to Indigenous, Vatican disavows 'doctrine of discovery'](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/responding-to-indigenous-vatican-disavows-doctrine-of-discovery/) - VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church formally "repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political 'doctrine of discovery,'" a Vatican statement said. Issued March 30 by the dicasteries for Culture and Education and for Promoting Integral Human Development,
- [Pastor’s homilies inspire grand-prize winning quilt block](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/pastors-homilies-inspire-grand-prize-winning-quilt-block/) - COLUMBIA—Lily Neace listens carefully when her pastor, Father Steve Thoma, gives his homilies. In memory of Martin Luther King, Jr., Father Steve was recently talking about how we are all brothers and sisters, no matter our race or color. “Father Steve’s homilies encourage us to treat everyone fairly and with respect and I really agree
- [Fraternity, tears, smiles': Pope shares hopes for the future](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/fraternity-tears-smiles-pope-shares-hopes-for-the-future/) - By Cindy Wooden | Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In interviews focused on the 10th anniversary of his election, Pope Francis insisted it is not his task to make an accounting of what he has or has not accomplished since March 13, 2013. "The Lord will do the appraisal when he sees fit,"
- [Pope asks Catholics to renew consecration of world to Mary every March 25](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/pope-asks-catholics-to-renew-consecration-of-world-to-mary-every-march-25/) - By Carol Glatz | Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has invited Catholics worldwide to renew the act of consecrating the church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine, to Mary every March 25, the feast of the Annunciation. At the end of his general audience in St. Peter's Square March
- [Respecting Life In Lent](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/respecting-life-in-lent/) - Dear Brothers and Sisters,As we progress through the Season of Lent, I am mindful that this time of prayer, fasting and works of mercy prepares us for Holy Week and Easter. The core mysteries of our faith are celebrated in this holy time of year. We believe as Catholics that the Passion, Death and Resurrection
- [Waiting for the Angel to Come](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/waiting-for-the-angel-to-come/) - Ron Rolheiser, OMI The night before he died, Jesus struggled mightily to accept his Father’s will. The Gospels describe him in the Garden of Gethsemane, prostrate on the ground, “sweating blood”, and begging his Father to save him from the brutal death that awaited him. Then, after he finally surrenders his will to his Father,
- [Mater Dei Lady Knights capture state 2A basketball title](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/mater-dei-lady-knights-capture-state-2a-basketball-title/) - Mater Dei High School girls basketball coach Craig Zurliene was eager to talk about the secret to his team’s 62-46 Class 2A state championship victory over Byron on March 4 at Redbird Arena in Normal. “This is the byproduct of the girls working together, being selfless and really embracing our motto which is ‘Only Jesus,’”
- [At Rite of Initiation, parents follow in their son’s footsteps](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/at-rite-of-initiation-parents-follow-in-their-sons-footsteps/) - Bishop McGovern celebrated the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion on Sunday Feb. 26 at the Cathedral of St. Peter with dozens of catechumens and candidates preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Cameron and Taylor Yosanovich of Christopher are following in the footsteps of their son John Matthew, 7. After
- [Two Diocesan teachers recognized with ‘Those Who Excel’ Award](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/best-thing-about-catholic-education-is-being-able-to-talk-about-god/) - By LINDA BEHRENS Cally Mitchell and Cindy Vymola, two teachers from schools in the Diocese of Belleville, have received special recognition awards as classroom teachers in the Those Who Excel program by the Illinois State Board of Education. Since 1970, the Illinois State Board of Education has sponsored the “Those Who Excel” and “Teacher of
- [‘Accountability, rehabilitation, healing and reconciliation’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/accountability-rehabilitation-healing-and-reconciliation/) - ‘Accountability, rehabilitation, healing and reconciliation’ By LINDA BEHRENS | Contributor In February 2023, in preparation for the Lenten season, the Illinois Catholic bishops released the document, “A Catholic Vision for Restorative Justice in Illinois.” The document outlines a vision grounded in principles of Catholic Social Teaching for a justice system not motivated by punishment, but
- [Faith on the frontlines: How the pope's support is manifested in Ukraine](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/faith-on-the-frontlines-how-the-popes-support-is-manifested-in-ukraine/) - Faith on the frontlines: How the pope's support is manifested in Ukraine By Justin McLellan | Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Along with the Our Father sung at the end of his weekly general audience or his Sunday Angelus in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis has added to these public events for the
- [Teach Us to Pray](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/teach-us-to-pray/) - Teach us to pray During Lent we have a number of catechumens preparing for baptism at the Easter Vigil in the different parishes in southern Illinois. As I write this column we have just finished the Rite of Election at the Cathedral of St Peter where I welcomed those catechumens and prayed for them as
- [Deacon’s pursuit of social justice leads him to become Global Fellow](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/deacons-pursuit-of-social-justice-leads-him-to-become-global-fellow/) - Deacon’s pursuit of social justice leads him to become Global Fellow By LINDA BEHRENS | Contributor CRS Fellows are shown dancing with the Ngone tribe at St Joseph Parish in Kanyama. Kanyama is a neighborhood near the center of the capital city of Lusaka that suffers from extreme unemployment, poverty, and crime. The CRS Fellows
- [Requiem for an older brother](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/03/a-requiem-for-an-older-brother/) - Requiem for an older brother Ron Rolheiser, OMI Several weeks ago my older brother George died. His death was somewhat of a shock since he had been in relatively good health until a week before he died. His story is worth telling. No community, Mircea Eliade once said, should botch its deaths. Although highly intelligent
- [Two movies the Oscars ‘forgot’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/two-movies-the-oscars-forgot/) - By MSGR. JOHN MYLER | Culture Columnist When the Academy Awards are presented on Sunday evening, March 12, two of the best films of the year will go unmentioned.THIRTEEN LIVES is director Ron Howard’s story of the amazing, true-life 2018 cave rescue of twelve young soccer players and their coach in northern Thailand. Howard –
- [Sister Joyce Ann Berkel, SSND, age 89](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/sr-joyce-ann-berkel-ssnd-age-89/) - Sister Joyce Ann Berkel (formerly Sr. John de Deo), SSND, age 89, died February 16, 2023. She served as Secretary to Bishop (now Archbishop Emeritus) James P. Keleher and Bishop (now Cardinal) Wilton D. Gregory. Sister Joyce Ann taught high school following completion of her studies and first profession of vows, on August 3, 1957.
- [A special prayer initiative for the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis' pontificate](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/a-special-prayer-initiative-for-the-10th-anniversary-of-pope-francis-pontificate/) - The Digital Synod launches an online prayer initiative to mark the tenth anniversary of the pontificate of Pope Francis on March 13. Vatican News In less than a month from now, on March 13, Pope Francis will celebrate ten years of his pontificate. To highlight this milestone anniversary in a “viral” manner, the Digital Synod
- [Sister Helene Schneider, OSF, 98](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/sister-helene-scheider-osf-98/) - Sister Helene Schneider, OSF, of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis died on Friday, February 17, 2023, at 3:55 a.m. at St. Francis Convent, Springfield, IL. She was 98. Sister Helene, the former Wilma Schneider, was born in Belleville, IL, on December 1, 1924, the daughter of Otto and Anna Weik Schneider. She entered the
- [Pope's message for Lent: Synodal, Lenten journeys require effort, sacrifice, focusing on God](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/popes-message-for-lent-synodal-and-lenten-journeys-require-effort-sacrifice-focusing-on-god/) - Carol Glatz | Catholic News Service A mosaic called "Face of Christ" appears in an exhibit, "He Became Flesh," in Florence, Italy, in this file photo from Nov. 9, 2015. Pope Francis reflected on the transfiguration of Christ in his 2023 Lenten message. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) VATICAN CITY -- Tradition is a source of inspiration
- [Embracing Uncertainty](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/embracing-uncertainty/) - 11 January 2023 Dear Friends in Christ, Over the course of our lives, many of us experience uncertainty. We may feel uncertain about how we fit into our families, our school community or the workplace. We may experience anxiety because we are uncertain about our future, our health or our relationships. As we begin a
- [Lent 2023: Be Missionaries of Compassion](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/lent-2023-be-missionaries-of-compassion/) - 13 February 2023 Dear Friends in Christ,As I participate in conversations about what are our priorities in the Diocese of Belleville, I frequently hear about the importance of evangelization, and the need for Catholics to live as “missionary disciples”. I find such conversations beg a question or two: What does a “missionary disciple” look like?
- [To evangelize, Christians are not called to argue but be meek like sheep](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/to-evangelize-christians-are-not-called-to-argue-but-be-meek-like-sheep/) - Pope Francis waves to a group of Italian children after his weekly general audience in the Vatican audience hall Feb. 15, 2023. (CNS photo/Vatican Media) By JUSTIN MCCLELLAN | Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians are not called to “argue, counterattack and defend themselves” when evangelizing but to be meek and humble, Pope
- [SIU-Carbondale Newman Center is pipeline for vocations](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/siu-carbondale-newman-center-is-pipeline-for-vocations/) - Four current seminarians connected to SIUC Newman Center By LINDA BEHRENS | Contributing writer In 1958, as an outreach of St. Francis Xavier Church in Carbondale, the first chaplain was assigned to the Newman Catholic Student Center that serves the Catholic community at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale (SIUC). Five years later, the Newman Center
- [‘Daystar was an answered prayer,’ says mom of three](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/daystar-was-an-answered-prayer-says-mom-of-three/) - Amy Conaway of Daystar.
- [Respect Life Apostolate invites everyone to get involved in prayerful pro-life activities](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/respect-life-apostolate-invites-everyone-to-get-involved-in-prayerful-pro-life-activities/) - BY LINDA BEHRENS | Contributing writer “The Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade is, without question, an answer to prayer,” begins the September 2022 statement by Archbishop William E. Lori Chairman, USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities. In the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court returned the issue of
- [Inclusivity and love](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/inclusivity-and-love/) - The other night, I had the privilege of participating in one of the listening sessions for the continental phase of the Synodal process. The basis for our discussion was a lengthy document produced by the Vatican after it had compiled data and testimony from all over the Catholic world. As I have been studying and
- [More spirituality in Oscar films](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/more-spirituality-in-oscar-films/) - By MSGR. JOHN MYLER | Culture Columnist In the last issue, we looked for at least a thread of spirituality in five of the ten films nominated for the “Best Picture” Academy Award: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, THE FABELMANS, and TRIANGLE OF SADNESS. Here
- [Pope preaches peace, cooperation, resilience to a Congo 'gasping for breath'](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/02/5969/) - By Cindy Wooden | Catholic News ServiceWednesday, February 1, 2023 Pope Francis and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi attend a meeting with authorities and members of the diplomatic corps in the garden of the Palais de la Nation in Kinshasa, Congo, Jan. 31, 2023. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) KINSHASA, Congo -- The people of Congo are more
- [The Beatitudes](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/the-beatitudes/) - Dear Friends in Christ, On the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, as we listened to Matthew’s gospel account of Jesus teaching the crowd the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12a), I thought of Jesus as an artist, sketching the features of a person for a portrait. As Jesus declared: Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are they
- [Health care is a universal right, not a luxury, Pope Francis says](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/health-care-is-a-universal-right-not-a-luxury-pope-francis-says/) - By Carol Glatz | CNS Rome Wednesday, January 18, 2023 VATICAN CITY — Health care is not a luxury, it is a right that belongs to everyone, Pope Francis told health care workers. “A world that rejects the sick, that does not assist those who cannot afford care, is a cynical world with no future. Let
- [Spiritual values in Oscar films?](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/spiritual-values-in-oscar-films/) - By MSGR. JOHN MYLERCulture Columnist Ten films have been nominated for the Academy Ward as ”Best Picture” – dramas, comedies, a musical, even an action movie or two … but do any of them contain a spiritual element?ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, based on Erich Maria Remarque’s classic World War I novel, is a
- [God puts you in a place you need to be, nursing instructors say](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/god-puts-you-in-a-place-you-need-to-be-nursing-instructors-say/) - CNA student Alexis Kampwerth (left) receives a blessing of the hands from CNA instructor Mrs. Sue Darr. (Submitted photo) By LINDA BEHRENS Contributing writer Four seniors and two juniors from Mater Dei Catholic High School in Breese have begun training for a future career in the medical field while they are still in high school.
- [Sister Ann Frances Gross, ASC, dedicated life to God, nursing](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/sister-ann-frances-gross-asc-dedicated-life-to-god-nursing/) - Sister Ann Frances Gross, ASC, died on January 8, 2023, at 10:00 p.m. at Benedictine Living Community near Belleville, Illinois. Born on November 19, 1934 in Evansville, Illinois, she was baptized Anna Lee and was the ninth of ten children in the family of Michael and Martha (Bleem) Gross. One child died in infancy. Four
- [God's word, mercy must be shared with everyone, pope says](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/gods-word-mercy-must-be-shared-with-everyone-pope-says/) - The Word of God, a word of mercy and healing, is a call to conversion and to sharing the Good News with everyone, Pope Francis said as he celebrated Sunday of the Word of God. Pope Francis gives a Bible to a woman he installed as a lector during a Mass marking the Sunday of
- [Pope Francis asks for prayers for Pope Emeritus Benedict](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/12/pope-francis-asks-for-prayers-for-pope-emeritus-benedict/)
- [Next generation of witnesses to the faith attend SEEK23 conference](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/next-generation-of-witnesses-to-the-faith-attend-seek23-conference/) - Attendees at the SEEK23 Conference in St. Louis (Photo/FOCUS) By LINDA BEHRENSContributing writer “SEEK23: You Are Called,” a five-day event, hosted by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), took place at the America’s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, Jan. 2 to 6. Through fellowship, prayer, world-class speakers and entertainment, participants were inspired to
- [Cathedral of St. Peter to open its doors for 24 Hours of Mercy](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/cathedral-of-st-peter-to-open-its-doors-for-24-hours-of-mercy-2/) - The Cathedral of St. Peter will again open its doors for 24 hours to those seeking the Lord’s mercy in the sacrament of Reconciliation.Diocesan priests will be available for Confessions at the Cathedral from 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24 until 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25.“To begin Lent, we want to offer an extended opportunity for
- [Pope Benedict and The Chosen](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/pope-benedict-and-the-chosen/) - By MSGR. JOHN MYLERCulture Columnist It’s said that Pope Benedict’s favorite TV program was Kommissar Rex—a 1990’s German series about a police dog who each week helps solve perplexing crimes.But I’d bet that, if he’d been able to watch it, the late Pope would have been intrigued and delighted by The Chosen – Season 3,
- [Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service to be held Jan. 17](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity-service-to-be-held-jan-17/) - The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Service, held annually, will be held this year on Tuesday, January 17, at 9:30 a.m. at the combined worship space of St. Mark Lutheran Church and St. George Episcopal Church at 105 East D Street in Belleville.The presider of the service will be the Reverend Brian Robison, pastor
- [The One and the Many – Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/the-one-and-the-many-ecumenical-and-interfaith-relations/) - One of the most ancient problems in philosophy is the question of ‘the one and the many’, whether reality is ultimately a unity or a plurality and how these interrelate. We might ask the same question regarding the plurality of religious faiths, churches, and forms of worship in our world. Is there some inherent oneness
- [Father Gary Gummersheimer, 71, was generous in his service](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/fr-gary-gummerscheimer-71-was-teacher-pastor/) - New Athens, Illinois - The Reverend Gary Paul Gummersheimer, 71, of Murphysboro, IL, formerly of New Athens, IL, passed away Friday evening January 6, 2023 at Memorial Hospital in Murphysboro, IL. He was born on September 22, 1951. He was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ by The Most Reverend William M. Cosgrove on
- [McKendree students receive ‘radical hospitality’ at Joseph House](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/mckendree-students-receive-radical-hospitality-at-joseph-house/) - By LINDA BEHRENSContributing writer McKendree students receive ‘radical hospitality’ at Joseph House The term “radical hospitality” can be defined as a practice of putting extraordinary effort and emphasis on making people feel welcome. By practicing radical hospitality with McKendree University students from around the world – Argentina, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Ghana, Italy, Japan and
- [Statement of Bishop Michael McGovern: On the Death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/12/statement-of-bishop-michael-mcgovern-on-the-death-of-pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi/) - Dear Brothers and Sisters, In union with our Holy Father Pope Francis, we lift up our hearts in prayer to God in thanksgiving for the life and ministry of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
- [May We Open Our Hearts to Christ](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/may-we-open-our-hearts-to-christ/) - As I am sitting here on December 28 writing this column, I am absorbing the remarks in Rome today by Pope Francis and the Holy See press office concerning the declining health of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. I pray each day for Pope Francis and for Pope Emeritus Benedict and invite you to join me
- [Farewell Pope Benedict](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2023/01/farewell-pope-benedict/) - One of the most consequential churchman of the last hundred years has died. Pope Benedict XVI (formerly Joseph Ratzinger) leaves a remarkable legacy in both the Church he served and in the wider society. Often pilloried by his opponents as a fire-breathing conservative, he was in fact one of the most balanced, nuanced, and stabilizing
- [Engineering Hawks win Sixth Annual Gateway Arch Engineering](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/12/engineering-hawks-win-sixth-annual-gateway-arch-engineering/) - By LINDA BEHRENS Contributing writer They participated in the Sixth Annual Gateway Arch Engineering Competition, sponsored by Washington University. Gibault’s team was the only team from Illinois. Teams from Gibault have participated in five years of the competition, placing second or third. This is the first year they won. “The challenge each year usually involved
- [True love leads to freedom, not possessiveness, pope says](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/12/true-love-leads-to-freedom-not-possessiveness-pope-says/) - By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- True love of God or love of another person should lead to a sense of freedom, not to a need to possess or control, Pope Francis said. "Possessiveness is the enemy of goodness and kills affection -- pay attention to this," the pope told people
- [Pope to travel to Congo, make ecumenical peace pilgrimage to South Sudan](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/12/pope-to-travel-to-congo-make-ecumenical-peace-pilgrimage-to-south-sudan/) - VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After postponing his trip last July, Pope Francis has rescheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 5 his trip to Congo and his ecumenical visit to South Sudan, the Vatican announced. With the pope's mobility still impaired, the new schedule for the trip has been trimmed slightly from what was planned in July, according
- [Pope tells young people: Skip Google, search God first for advice](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/pope-tells-young-people-skip-google-search-god-first-for-advice/) - Pope Francis watches dancers during a meeting with young people at Sacred Heart School in Awali, Bahrain, Nov. 5, 2022. (CNS photo/Yara Nardi, Reuters) By: Carol Glatz Date: November 5, 2022 AWALI, Bahrain (CNS) — Everyone needs help to mature and to grow as a person of faith, Pope Francis told young people in Bahrain,
- [Prayers For Holy Communion](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/prayers-for-holy-communion/) - As we continually grow in our Catholic beliefs in the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, I thought I would use today’s column to share some prayers that might be helpful for people who would like to develop a vocabulary for praying before or after receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist. As you
- [Immaculate Mary](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/12/immaculate-mary/) - In 2016, a marvelous discovery was made in an estate house on a Scottish Isle. Researchers discovered in the estate’s collections one of Shakespeare’s First Folio’s. Valued at 3 million dollars apiece, the First Folio is one of the most sought-after books in the world as it is the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays
- [Notre Dame Academy school teacher recognized with Emerson Award](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/12/notre-dame-academy-school-teacher-recognized-with-emerson-award/) - Even as a little girl Jenny Raetz knew she wanted to be a teacher. “I decided to teach in Catholic schools since my childhood was very faith-based,” she says. Recently Raetz was among 86 St. Louis-area teachers honored with the annual Emerson Excellence in Teaching Awards. The award recognizes classroom instructors for their accomplishments and
- [A new ‘All Quiet…’<br>War movie or peace film?](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/a-new-all-quietwar-movie-or-peace-film/) - By MSGR. JOHN MYLER Culture Columnist World War One ended in 1918 on the “eleventh day of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour.”Now streaming on Netflix—ahead of Veterans’ Day—is a new film version of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, loosely based on Erich Maria Remarque’s classic 1928 novel. A group of fresh-faced and
- [Thankful times have changed — or have they?](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/thankful-times-have-changed-or-have-they/) - By MSGR. JOHN MYLER Culture Columnist The time is the summer of 1955 in the recently released film TILL.And it’s the 1980’s in the new movie ARMAGEDDON TIME.Each film portrays the sad racial divide in the United States, almost seven decades ago and nearly thirty-five years ago.TILL is the story of the brutal lynching of
- [Br. Andrew Lawlor, OMI, was passionate about helping needy](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/br-andrew-lawlor-omi-was-passionate-about-helping-needy/) - Brother Andrew Lawlor, OMI, 75, died on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Belleville.He was born in Tullamore, Offaly, Ireland on Oct. 15, 1947, to the late John and Ester, nee Hayes, Lawlor. He made his First Vows as a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate in 1995 at the Oblate Novitiate in Godfrey, Ill. and his
- [Jesus in the Chapel](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/jesus-in-the-chapel/) - By Sr. Constance Veit When I was a kid, I was fascinated by magnets. I loved to watch the little magnetic skaters glide across a mirror in our family’s Christmas village at the flip of a switch and I enjoyed doing science experiments with magnets and iron shavings in school. I recall a comparison Pope
- [Students gain valuable life lessons feeding the lonely and homeless](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/students-gain-valuable-life-lessons-feeding-the-lonely-and-homeless/) - By LINDA BEHRENS When Langston Deterding was in confirmation earlier this year, she chose Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, the patron saint of the homeless, as her saint name. In her hometown of Prairie du Rocher, Langston doesn’t witness homelessness. But because of a service trip three years earlier to St. Louis with Moms on a
- [On Being Jealous of God's Generousity](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/on-being-jealous-of-gods-generousity/) - By Ron Rolheiser, OMI “The cock will crow at the breaking of your own ego – there are lots of ways to wake up!” John Shea gave me those words and I understood them a little better recently as I stood in line at an airport: I had checked in for a flight, approached security,
- [Diocese of Belleville Announces Findings of the Synod Process](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/diocese-of-belleville-announces-findings-of-the-synod-process/) - Bishop Michael McGovern opened the Synod process in the Diocese of Belleville on Oct. 17, 2021. This followed several months of an introduction to Synodality and a call for frequent prayer to the Holy Spirit, asking the Spirit’s assistance in the process. Over the course of months, the People of God in southern Illinois participated
- [JustFaith program fires up participant  to do more for those in poverty](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/justfaith-program-fires-up-participant-to-do-more-for-those-in-poverty/) - By LINDA BEHRENS Contributing writer At age 75, Evelyn Duffin is “fired up.” Duffin, who lives in Waterloo and attends St. Patrick Catholic Church in Tipton, has completed her second JustFaith Series online program about poverty and now is actively looking for more ways to help those in need. She is so excited about what
- [My New Hero](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/my-new-hero/) - By Bishop Robert Barron My new hero is Mother Alfred Moes. I realize that she is not a household name, even among Catholics, but she should be. She came on my radar screen only after I became the Bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, where Mother Alfred did most of her work and where she
- [Library exhibit celebrates 200 years  of Catholic sisters’ presence in area](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/03/library-exhibit-celebrates-200-years-of-catholic-sisters-presence-in-area/) - A new exhibit titled “Catholic Sisters: The Spirit of St. Louis,” celebrates 200 years of Catholic Sisters’ presence in the St. Louis area.
- [The Qualities People Admire in Priests](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/the-qualities-people-admire-in-priests/) - Each year, one Sunday is set aside as Priesthood Sunday, which this year is celebrated Oct. 30th. To celebrate the ministry of all priests in the diocese, The Messenger invited people to comment on the qualities in their priests that they most admire.
- [Bishop McGovern, diocese prioritize faith opportunities for young adults](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/bishop-mcgovern-diocese-prioritize-faith-opportunities-for-young-adults/) - By LINDA BEHRENSContributing writer “It’s important in our diocese, in every diocese, for the bishop to invest in our young people,” says Bishop Michael McGovern of the Diocese of Belleville. “I am trying to make it a priority to provide opportunities for young adults 18 to 35 years old to gather and to pray together,”
- [Priests share their stories of hearing vocation call later in life](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/10/priests-share-their-stories-of-hearing-vocation-call-later-in-life/) - By LINDA BEHRENS Contributing writer At age 54, Father Steven Pautler was called to priesthood “later in life.” “I was always a service-type person,” Father Pautler says. He worked 32 years for Xerox Corporation. He started fixing copiers, eventually becoming a senior customer service engineer. “I could always fix the copiers,” he says, “but I
- [Remembering Sherry Miller](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/remembering-sherry-miller/) - The Diocese of Belleville and southern Illinois community are grieving the loss of one of its most beloved and faithful servants.Sherry Camille Miller, longtime director of Daystar Community Programs in Cairo, died on Oct. 30, 2022. She was 75.The cause of death was reportedly complications following hip replacement surgery.Friend and colleague Deacon Corby Valentine said
- [Saints were revolutionaries who lived the beatitudes, pope says](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/saints-were-revolutionaries-who-lived-the-beatitudes-pope-says/) - Pope Francis leads the recitation of the Angelus from a window of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Nov. 1, 2022, the feast of All Saints. (CNS photo/Vatican Media) By: Cindy Wooden Date: November 1, 2022 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The saints were not “starched,” picture-perfect conformists, Pope Francis said; they were “countercultural and revolutionary.”
- [Supreme Court justices question affirmative action admission policies](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/supreme-court-justices-question-affirmative-action-admission-policies/) - Demonstrators gather near the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington Oct. 31, 2022, as the justices heard oral arguments in two cases challenging whether colleges may continue to use race as a factor in student admissions. (CNS photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters) By: Carol Zimmermann Date: October 31, 2022 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A divided and often skeptical
- [Catholic leaders want Latin American church that’s synodal, reaches out](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/11/5227/) - Carla Marquez, 36, who is six months pregnant, burns wood on the street to cook a meal for her husband, Carlos Henrique Mendes, 25, and their daughter, Gabriela, 5, outside their home in São Paulo Sept. 16, 2022. Marquez and her family live in a room paid for by a church and struggle to feed
- [Theology Club a ‘great way to deepen, further religious education’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/04/theology-club-a-great-way-to-deepen-further-religious-education/) - “As a Catholic going to a Catholic high school, I feel that participating in my school’s Theology Club is a great way to deepen and further my education in religion,” says Julia Nugent, 18, a senior from O’Fallon. “It exposes me to other people’s thoughts on religion and other theological ideas,” she says. Nugent attends Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville and is co-president of the Theology Club.
- [Gibault’s Campus Ministry group is ‘On a Mission’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/10/gibaults-campus-ministry-group-is-on-a-mission/) - This year, Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo is “On a Mission.” This is the theme they are embracing school wide. “‘On a Mission’ can take many different forms,” says Scott Ruppel, campus minister and music director at Gibault.
- [First African-American parish here founded 100 years ago](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/11/first-african-american-parish-here-founded-100-years-ago/) - Oct. 2, 2021, marked the 100th anniversary of the first Mass at St. Augustine Colored Mission in East St. Louis. This first African-American parish in southern Illinois was located at 14th and Broadway Ave. The school opened in 1922. Part of the heritage of the St. Augustine Mission is the involvement of a saint. Saint Katharine Drexel was an American heiress, philanthropist, religious sister and educator. She was the second person born in what is now the United States to be canonized as a saint and the first one born a U.S. citizen.
- [Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament returns to St. Teresa Parish](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/12/adoration-of-the-blessed-sacrament-returns-to-st-teresa-parish/) - With the blessing of then Bishop Wilton Gregory, on Corpus Christi Sunday, June 6, 1999, the Diocese of Belleville began perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Teresa of the Child Jesus Catholic Church in Belleville. For more than 20 years, the practice of perpetual adoration or exposition of the Blessed Sacrament took place 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the St. Joseph Chapel at St. Teresa. Then in March of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was discontinued and the exposed Blessed Sacrament was moved to St. Teresa’s tabernacle.
- [Thomas Lugge ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Belleville on June 4](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/06/thomas-lugge-ordained-to-the-priesthood-in-the-diocese-of-belleville-on-june-4/) - A young man who grew up in the parish of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville was ordained to the sacred priesthood for the Diocese of Belleville. Bishop Michael McGovern conferred the sacrament of Holy Orders upon Father Thomas Lugge June 4 at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville. Father Lugge had a calling to ordained ministry from an early age, first thinking about the priesthood in third grade. The idea stayed with him until junior year in high school when he began to seriously discern if God was calling him to be a priest. Father Lugge was appointed Parochial Vicar at St. Nicholas Parish in O’Fallon, effective July 1, 2022.
- [These Mater Dei seniors are playing a more active role in Eucharist](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/09/these-mater-dei-seniors-are-playing-a-more-active-role-in-eucharist/) - On Mondays at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Breese, the students in the various theology classes attend Mass, alternating each week by class period. At these Masses and the nine all-school Masses held throughout the year, the students might receive communion from their fellow students – students who have been trained as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. Mater Dei students have been trained as extraordinary ministers for 30 years, since the fall of 1992.
- [Seminarian Director: “Our seminarians are a spirited, faithful group of guys”](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/02/seminarian-director-our-seminarians-are-a-spirited-faithful-group-of-guys/) - The Diocese of Belleville currently has seven seminarians. Some have only recently started the process of discernment, while one, Thomas Lugge, is a transitional deacon scheduled to be ordained a priest on June 4, 2022. Besides Deacon Lugge, three seminarians are studying Theology at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. These are Levi James, Joshua Elmore
- [Gibault celebrates a half-century of ‘seniors serving others’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/03/gibault-celebrates-a-half-century-of-seniors-serving-others/) - On Feb. 18, Fr. Linus Umoren, C.M., pastor of S.S. Peter and Paul Parish in Waterloo, blessed Gibault Catholic High School’s Class of 2022 and sent them out into the community for their three-week senior service project. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Gibault’s inaugural senior service project held in 1972, a program school
- [Journey of faith led family to become Catholic at Easter Vigil](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/05/journey-of-faith-led-family-to-become-catholic-at-easter-vigil/) - Each year on Holy Saturday during the Easter Vigil, thousands are baptized into the Catholic Church in the United States. Parishes welcome these new Catholics through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). This is true for individuals and families from around the Diocese of Belleville, who made professions of faith to the Catholic church, receiving the sacraments of confirmation and communion, or were baptized. Sister Laura Reynolds, a Franciscan Sister of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, is one of many coordinators of RCIA throughout the Diocese of Belleville. For 10 years, she has served in Franklin County, which includes three parishes and two chapels.
- [Pietra Fitness is a Catholic way of enriching body, mind and soul](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/04/pietra-fitness-is-a-catholic-way-of-enriching-body-mind-and-soul/) - When Angie Leonelli found Pietra Fitness online, she fell in love with it. “It spoke to my heart in ways yoga never could,” she says. “I used to make up my own prayer workouts because I love prayer and fitness together. When I found Pietra Fitness, I thought, Wow!” Leonelli, a Pietra Fitness instructor and parishioner at St. Clare Church, O’Fallon, says this exercise option combines the love of fitness and Catholic faith.
- [Steubenville Youth Conference: ‘Jesus is the center of everything they do’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/08/steubenville-youth-conference-jesus-is-the-center-of-everything-they-do/) - “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.
- [Diocese will begin new permanent deacon formation class in the fall of 2023](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/07/diocese-will-begin-new-permanent-deacon-formation-class-in-the-fall-of-2023/) - Do you already have the heart of a deacon? Do you have passion for Christ-like charity? Do you exhibit diaconal gifts in everyday life? Deacons share in Christ’s mission and grace in a special way. The call to diaconal service is a gift of the Spirit to the Church. Are you called to diaconal service? Father Steve Pautler, director of permanent deacon formation for the Diocese of Belleville, says most permanent deacons are called by their community because they have taken an active part in their local parish.
- [Meeting Pope Francis](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/09/meeting-pope-francis/) - Dear Friends in Christ, As many of you know, I spent the beginning of September in Rome for a seminar for 150 new bishops from around the world. It was a good conference, and I especially enjoyed meeting other bishops. Some of the bishops are in very challenging areas especially the five who came from Ukraine and about fifteen who are stationed in the Middle East. I was edified by all the bishops and their commitment to the Lord and the people. On September 8, our group celebrated Mass at St. Peter’s basilica and prayed at the crypt we believe contains the bones of St. Peter the Apostle. We then proceeded to a meeting room in the Vatican where we were received by the successor of St. Peter, Pope Francis. The Holy Father invited the bishops to ask questions and he addressed whatever topics were raised. I enjoyed the Holy Father’s words about how each bishop should be close to others and not be a distant figure. He encouraged us to be close to: God, other bishops, our priests and our people, the People of God.
- [Detainees are our fellow parishioners, Prison Ministry reminds us](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/03/detainees-are-our-fellow-parishioners-prison-ministry-reminds-us/) - “It’s Canon Law that surrounding parishes take care of those who are in the prisons near them. Those in custody at these prisons are members of the local parish,” says Louis Slapshack, associate coordinator for prison and reentry ministry for the Diocese of Belleville. Taking care of incarcerated parishioners’ needs—both spiritual and temporal—is the mission of the Prison and Reentry Ministry. The spiritual isolation brought on by COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on prisoners, Slapshak notes. Prior to COVID-19 mandates, priests, deacons and lay persons could enter the prisons and offer scripture studies or RCIA classes.
- [3 high school students recognized for exhibiting Catholic identity](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/05/3-high-school-students-recognized-for-exhibiting-catholic-identity/) - Three recent high school graduates were chosen by the administration at their respective schools to receive the Bishop’s Discipleship Award. The award is given for exhibiting Catholic identity in knowledge, attitude and behavior both within school and in the wider community. The awards were presented by Bishop Michael McGovern at their combined Baccalaureate Mass, held May 3 at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville.
- [New school buildings show commitment of sharing Gospels to future generations](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/08/new-school-buildings-show-commitment-of-sharing-gospels-to-future-generations/) - “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.
- [For ‘pilgrims,’ mission trip was time for reflection, humility and prayer](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/09/for-pilgrims-mission-trip-was-time-for-reflection-humility-and-prayer/) - “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.
- [‘Peaceful prayer gives people the courage to stand up’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/10/peaceful-prayer-gives-people-the-courage-to-stand-up/) - “Standing in front of a clinic in a prayerful, peaceful way,” Mary Fleming says, “sends a message for women coming to the clinic and to those who work there.” Fleming recently shared her perspective about praying at abortion clinics as Respect Life Month begins in October. Fleming is the coordinator of Respect Life Ministry for the Diocese of Belleville and the leader of the Respect Life Committee at St. Clare Church in O’Fallon. In her role with the diocese and her parish, Fleming hopes by participating in peaceful prayer at these clinics that people understand they are there to help. “This is our way of reaching out to the community to let them know there is another side to this, and we care about your unborn child,” she says.
- [Cathedral of St. Peter to open its doors for 24 Hours of Mercy](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/02/cathedral-of-st-peter-to-open-its-doors-for-24-hours-of-mercy/) - The Cathedral of St. Peter will open its doors for 24 hours to those seeking the Lord’s mercy in the sacrament of reconciliation. March 4 – 5 will mark the first 24 Hours of Mercy event in the Diocese of Belleville. “To begin Lent, we want to offer an extended opportunity for people to meet
- [Group provides gathering place for anyone on their own in life](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/01/group-provides-gathering-place-for-anyone-on-their-own-in-life/) - As the population ages, members of diocesan parishes are aging. Not surprisingly, parish leaders are asking how they can reach these older parishioners? One example of this kind of outreach is the On Our Own group offered through partner parishes Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady Queen of Peace in Belleville. The group is open to anyone who is on their own in life.
- [Pregnancy Care Center volunteers are Walking with Moms in Need](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/01/pregnancy-care-center-volunteers-are-walking-with-moms-in-need/) - The Pregnancy Care Center is committed to the respect and dignity for life and enhancing the quality of human life by providing crisis intervention, support, guidance and education to persons in need. “The founders attended a Right to Life Conference in Nebraska in 1982. A seed of an idea was planted, that there was a need for help for pregnant mothers in our area,” says Jill Lugge, president of Pregnancy Care Center and a volunteer at the center, and a parishioner at the Cathedral of St. Peter, Belleville.
- [Local brewery creates the perfect beer for St. James Parish](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/01/local-brewery-creates-the-perfect-beer-for-st-james-parish/) - When Father Marvin Volk was asked to bless a new brand of beer, one created specifically for St. James Parish in Millstadt, he said he was pretty sure he could find a beer blessing. "The Church has a long history, we bless everything from medicine to cheese to seeds to food and drink. Why wouldn't
- [Patience, prayer are secrets to long marriage, jubilarians say](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2022/10/patience-prayer-are-secrets-to-long-marriage-jubilarians-say/) - Dozens of couples from across the Diocese attend Mass celebrating the meaning and value of married life. The Mass recognized couples celebrating their 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and beyond wedding anniversaries. Bishop Michael McGovern served as principal celebrant and homilist.
- [Visiting sister parishes in Guatemala – a journey of connection](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/07/3665/) - They donated for years, sometimes decades, putting checks into envelopes that traveled thousands of miles to help sister parishes in Guatemala.
- [Father Christian Reuter, OFM, remembered for his ministry to prisoners](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/07/father-christian-reuter-ofm-remembered-for-his-ministry-to-prisoners/) - Father Christian Reuter, OFM, is being remembered for his early work in the Civil Rights Movement and his admirable work with inmates in southern Illinois prisons and with ex-offenders.
- [Retiring pastor overcame  illness to journey on historic Spanish pilgrimage](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/07/retiring-pastor-overcame-illness-to-journey-on-historic-spanish-pilgrimage/) - Monsignor Thomas Flach’s journey in the priesthood took a difficult turn more than 10 years ago, when an unexpected illness slowed his steps.
- [70 years on, Serra Club is still fostering religious vocations](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/07/70-years-on-serra-club-is-still-fostering-religious-vocations/) - Twice a month, a group of men and women with a commitment to fostering vocations to the priesthood and religious life come together at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows to pray and learn.
- [Bishop Braxton's Statement on the Holy See's Request to Delay Voting on Abuse](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/11/bishop-braxtons-statement-on-the-holy-sees-request-to-delay-voting-on-abuse/) - As you know, I am in Baltimore for the autumn meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. On Sunday, I participated in the meeting of the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People during which we discussed a number of issues critical to the current crisis. The Bishops spent yesterday primarily in prayer and listening to lay women and men expressing their concerns for those who have been abused by members of the clergy and their dissatisfaction with the way some Bishops have responded to this abuse.
- [Retired priests, sisters continue to make their mark on local parishes](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/11/retired-priests-sisters-continue-to-make-their-mark-on-local-parishes/) - For many retired priests and women religious, retirement doesn’t lead to a gold watch and a condo in Florida – it’s the first step to a continuing calling to help others. They serve in individual parishes and schools, in diocesan roles and in private prayer, serving as a spiritual force multiplier to accomplish greater goals than might be possible otherwise. The Diocese of Belleville will support their work through a special collection at Masses on Dec. 8-9 to benefit elderly Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests.
- [Carbondale holds inter-faith vigil for synagogue shooting victims](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/11/carbondale-holds-inter-faith-vigil-for-synagogue-shooting-victims/) - Within hours of the Oct. 27 massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, religious leaders in Carbondale were making plans to come together in solidarity and healing. The next day, more than 150 people crowded into Congregation Beth Jacob in Carbondale offering prayers for the victims of the shooting, as well as everyone affected by the violent attack.
- [Vocations director encourages parish ministries, support from families](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/10/vocations-director-encourages-parish-ministries-support-from-families/) - There’s no one way and no perfect time to discern a vocation. Some people realize as children that they want to become priests or sisters. Others hear their calling in high school or college. Still others come to it later in adulthood, after another career.
- [Immigrants bring special feast of  St. Francis of Assisi to Diocese](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/10/immigrants-bring-special-feast-of-st-francis-of-assisi-to-diocese/) - In Cherán, a small town in central Mexico, residents hold a special reverence for St. Francis of Assisi, celebrating his feast day Oct. 4 with a Mass, music, dances and food.
- [At St. Augustine of Hippo, church, PSR, parents support one another](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/10/at-st-augustine-of-hippo-church-psr-parents-support-one-another/) - At St. Augustine of Hippo’s parish school of religion program, parents, church and catechists don’t operate separately, they are woven together to form a strong connection between children and their Catholic faith. Parents support the catechists through assignments that promote family religious education at home.
- [Diocesan priests witness impact of immigration debate at border](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/09/diocesan-priests-witness-impact-of-immigration-debate-at-border/) - Diocesan priests Fathers Flannery and Salamanca say we should welcome the ‘stranger among us’
- [Father Federico Higuera remembered for helping parishioners in need](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/09/father-federico-higuera-remembered-for-helping-parishioners-in-need/) - Father Federico Higuera, 77, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Anna, died Sept. 4 in Carbondale. He had been in failing health for some time. He was assigned to the pastorate of St. Mary Parish in Anna in 2009 and continued as the pastor of the Union County parish until his death. He was the face and presence of Hispanic ministry in the Cobden-Anna-Carbondale area for 35 years.
- [Heaven’s Babies offers support to families grieving miscarriage](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/10/heavens-babies-offers-support-to-families-grieving-miscarriage/) - The death of a baby during pregnancy never leaves a parent. Emily York has seen those reverberations, as she works to provide ways for families to remember their children lost to miscarriage.
- [Parishioners write about how priests pastoral ministries affect their lives](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/09/parishioners-write-about-how-priests-pastoral-ministries-affect-their-lives/) - To celebrate the ministry of priests in the diocese, The Messenger invited parishioners to comment on how priests’ pastoral ministries affect their spiritual and personal lives or the parish community.
- [Local man takes the Gold at  U.S. Transplant Games](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/08/local-man-takes-the-gold-at-u-s-transplant-games/) - John Reed just made a triumphant return to the Metro East, bearing a gold medal he won in the 2018 Transplant Games of America in Salt Lake City. The road to that victory – and to the life-changing kidney transplant he received four years ago – ran through Holy Family Catholic Church in Cahokia. That’s where his parents, John and Dee, are members and where their fellow parishioner, Kathy Carron, learned about his need for a kidney donor.
- [Markus Sisters reunited after decades of far-flung religious life](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/08/markus-sisters-reunited-after-decades-of-far-flung-religious-life/) - Three sisters growing up in rural Clinton County, chose a path of religious life – one that branched into separate journeys all over the country and even the world. Now the sisters, all of whom are celebrating jubilee years, have come to live together for the first time in decades.
- [Jaime Gil Nuñez Appointed Director of Faith Formation](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/08/jaime-gil-nunez-appointed-director-of-faith-formation/) - Bishop Edward K. Braxton has appointed Jaime Gil Nuñez as the new Director of Faith Formation for the Diocese. The appointment is effective Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. The director of faith formation provides a central role in the promotion and implementation of the National Directory for Catechesis to parishes in the diocese.
- [Siempre en Camino!](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/08/siempre-en-camino/) - Holy Trinity Parishioner Receives Inspiration on Journey of the Saint James Way
- [Fund for Ministry grant allows school to keep music program](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/12/fund-for-ministry-grant-allows-school-to-keep-music-program/) - By SUZANNE KOZIATEK Staff writer It's the time of the year for homemade halos and DIY mangers, when the school gym blossoms into Bethlehem. The Christmas play, complete with carols sung in young voices, is a mainstay of Catholic school life.In Red Bud, St. John the Baptist Catholic School is putting the finishing touches on
- [Statement of Diocese of Belleville regarding the Illinois Attorney General Preliminary Report](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/12/statement-of-diocese-of-belleville-regarding-the-attorney-general-report/)
- [St. John Nepomucene Catholic Parish in Dahlgren celebrates 125 years](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/12/st-john-nepomucene-catholic-parish-in-dahlgren-celebrates-125-years/) - In 1893, Leo XIII was pope, Grover Cleveland was president of The United States, The World’s Columbian Exposition was in full swing in Chicago, the song we now sing as “Happy Birthday to You” was published, and the panic of 1893 was causing hundreds of U.S. banks to fail. What decidedly did not fail was
- [Mater Dei teens travel to March for Life; experience is ‘educational and energizing’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/02/mater-dei-teens-travel-to-march-for-life-experience-is-educational-and-energizing/) - By SUZANNE KOZIATEK Staff writer The southern Illinois students and chaperones who make the yearly trek to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. are a hardy bunch. A day and a night spent on a bus from Belleville, marching for hours in all kinds of weather and the same long journey home can take
- [Teacher returns to Althoff after varied career in science, education](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/01/teacher-returns-to-althoff-after-varied-career-in-science-education/) - By SUZANNE KOZIATEK Staff writer Dave Fahrner has come full circle.He’s back teaching anatomy, physiology and biology in Room 304 at Althoff Catholic High School – the same classroom he taught in as a young teacher in 1977. And back in the school he attended himself as a high school student.In between, he’s taught and
- [New education director focusing on building bridges](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/01/new-education-director-focusing-on-building-bridges/) - In the nearly six months that the Diocese of Belleville’s new superintendent of schools/director of education Jonathan “Skip” Birdsong has been on the job, he has visited 26 Catholic schools. The new director took charge August 1, just as the new school year was beginning. Almost immediately he began accompanying Bishop Edward K. Braxton on
- [The Catholic Church and New House Bills Expanding Abortion 'Rights'](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/02/the-catholic-church-and-new-house-bills-expanding-abortion-rights/) - The Catholic Church in the United States stands at a critical crossroad. On the one hand, the Church is facing the greatest crisis in its history with the unspeakable sin, scandal and crime of members of the clergy abusing children and concealing that abuse.
- [Bishop to deliver Martin Luther King, Jr. keynote address in Philadelphia](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/01/bishop-to-deliver-keynote-address-on-mlk-day-in-philly/) - In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office for Black Catholics will sponsor a keynote address by Bishop Edward K. Braxton of the Diocese of Belleville. The presentation is the second in a three-part series developed by the Office for Black Catholics in response to the U.S. bishops’ pastoral initiative against racism, “Open
- [Catholic Charities’ inmate literacy program has been highly successful](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/01/catholic-charities-inmate-literacy-program-has-been-highly-successful/) - By SUZANNE KOZIATEK Staff writer An innovative program to provide peer-to-peer literacy help in Illinois’ prisons has been phenomenally successful: results show 97 percent of inmates who were tutored by other inmates have advanced their reading skills, making them more employable after release and less likely to end up back in prison.Now, the agency that
- [Two parishes suppressed in Hamilton County as part of restructuring plan](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/03/two-parishes-suppressed-in-hamilton-county-as-part-of-restructuring-plan/) - Two southern Illinois parishes in Hamilton County have been suppressed as part of the ongoing diocesan Pastoral Plan for Parish Renewal and Restructuring. St. Clement of Rome Parish in McLeansboro, and St. John Nepomucene Parish in Dahlgren will now be designated as chapels of the “Mother church,” St. John the Baptist Parish in Piopolis. The three rural communities are located about 80 to 90 miles southeast of Belleville.
- [Labrador puppy in training brings pet therapy to students, adults at Mater Dei High School](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/03/labrador-puppy-in-training-brings-pet-therapy-to-students-adults-at-mater-dei-high-school/) - The latest and littlest Mater Dei Knight spends her days winning hearts and soothing stressed souls. CoCo, a 12-week-old chocolate Labrador retriever, comes to the Catholic high school daily with her human, Mater Dei’s counselor Tammy Carroll. There, CoCo socializes with the kids and adults, providing pet therapy to anyone who needs it.
- [Herrin Chamber honors Msgr. Ken Schaefer for contributions to community](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/03/herrin-chamber-honors-msgr-ken-schaefer-for-contributions-to-community/) - Every year, the Herrin Chamber of Commerce honors an individual, chosen by the group’s president, for his or her contributions to the community. As she prepared for her final awards as chamber president, Kelly Green was having some difficulty figuring out who to choose for the 2019 President’s Award. Turns out, all she had to do was look up from her keyboard.
- [Trustees work to save unique Shrine to Our Lady of Siluva](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/03/trustees-work-to-save-unique-shrine-to-our-lady-of-siluva/) - Few people know that there is a unique shrine to the Blessed Virgin overlooking Highway 64 through East St. Louis. The shrine of Our Lady of Siluva is located in the church yard of Immaculate Conception Lithuanian Catholic Church, East St. Louis, the East European-style church with the uncommon steeple that is clearly visible from the highway.
- [Improv class brings the power of ‘saying yes’ to Gibault students](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/04/improv-class-brings-the-power-of-saying-yes-to-gibault-students/) - The central principle of improvisational theater, or improv, is “saying yes” – following the spontaneous suggestion of your acting partner in a performance, no matter how outlandish it is or where it may lead. That element makes it a great fit with Catholic high school students, says MaryBeth Babcock, who has been teaching improv classes at Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo for about six years.
- [Gibault students’ farm project aids global development efforts](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/04/gibault-students-farm-project-aids-global-development-efforts/) - Students at Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo are digging deep to help families far away, as they join forces with a non-profit that aids farmers in the developing world in improving their harvests.
- [St. Vincent de Paul plans night outreach center to assist homeless adults](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/02/st-vincent-de-paul-plans-night-outreach-center-to-assist-homeless-adults/) - For years, St. Vincent de Paul has worked tirelessly to help people living on the margins by offering food, clothing and access to services from the society’s outreach center in East St. Louis. Now, the group has its sights set on one of the area’s thorniest problems – caring for those who don’t have a place to sleep at night.
- [Schools make Catholic social teaching key part of curriculum](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/05/schools-make-catholic-social-teaching-key-part-of-curriculum/) - 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.
- [Seminary-bound Mater Dei senior tells teens, ‘You’ll know when God’s calling’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/05/seminary-bound-mater-dei-senior-tells-teens-youll-know-when-gods-calling/) - 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.
- [Prison ministry celebrates life of former director](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/06/prison-ministry-celebrates-life-of-former-director/) - 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.
- [Camp gives MDHS students chance for prayer, fellowship, service](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/06/camp-gives-mdhs-students-chance-for-prayer-fellowship-service/) - By SUZANNE KOZIATEK Staff Writer Summer can be a time of rest and relaxation. But a group of students from Mater Dei Catholic High School used it as an opportunity to refocus on their faith, diving into service and contemplating what God wants of them. The 10 students participated for the first time in the
- [Cathedral man sets out on pilgrimage of faith to visit every parish in diocese](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/10/cathedral-man-sets-out-on-pilgrimage-of-faith-to-visit-every-parish-in-diocese/) - For three years, Pete Joergensen has been attending Mass at churches throughout the diocese. His goal is to celebrate the Eucharist in every parish in the Diocese of Belleville. He says his pilgrimage has helped him fill the hole in his life caused by the death of his wife Virginia, while giving him a new appreciation for the Catholic community in which he lives.
- [‘Discernment pilgrimage’ hopes to inspire young men to consider priestly life](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/10/discernment-pilgrimage-hopes-to-inspire-young-men-to-consider-priestly-life/) - St. Junípero Serra described the string of missions he established along the coast of California as a “heavenly ladder” to bring people closer to God. Now, Father Nick Junker is inviting young men in the diocese to climb Serra’s ladder, to help them decide whether they’re willing to devote their lives to God as priests.
- [Althoff graduate makes his debut in Hamilton … as Hamilton](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/07/althoff-graduate-makes-his-debut-in-hamilton-as-hamilton/) - It’s one of the most sought-after roles in theater: Alexander Hamilton, the singing, dancing founding father as portrayed in Lin Manuel Miranda’s acclaimed musical “Hamilton.”
- [Sister Julia Huiskamp celebrates 60 years of serving underprivileged](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/08/sister-julia-huiskamp-celebrates-60-years-of-serving-underprivileged/) - Sister Julia Huiskamp has spent the past 60 years serving God and the poor, creating havens where people on the margins can build escape ladders out of poverty and violence.
- [Hispanic Youth Day speaker: ‘You are our future’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/07/hispanic-youth-day-speaker-you-are-our-future/) - By CHRISTOPHER ORLET Editor “You are the future of the Catholic Church!” That was one of the main messages delivered to more than 90 teenagers and pre-teens June 29 at the annual Diocesan Hispanic Youth Day. The gathering was sponsored by the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry and held at the Pastoral Center in Belleville.
- [Once a recipient of help, Vienna parish now 'paying it forward'](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/07/once-a-recipient-of-help-vienna-parish-now-paying-it-forward/) - More than 30 years ago, St. Paul Parish in Vienna, Ill., was able to take a big step forward with the help of Catholic Extension. The parish was ready to expand from a small wooden structure in order to accommodate its growing congregation. Among the groups that contributed money to the project was what was then known as the Catholic Church Extension Society, an organization devoted to building and strengthening isolated faith communities.
- [A National Crisis  A Pastoral Reflection on the Deadly Epidemic of Gun Violence in the U.S.](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/08/a-national-crisis-a-pastoral-reflection-on-the-deadly-epidemic-of-gun-violence-in-the-u-s/) - We are facing a national crisis in the United States. As a Catholic Bishop striving to live by and teach the good news of justice and peace proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth, I am compelled to name this truth. It is, in some way, a crisis of gun violence.
- [Historic Immaculate Conception chapel open after months of flooding](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/09/historic-immaculate-conception-chapel-open-after-months-of-flooding/) - Immaculate Conception Church perches on Kaskaskia Island, a tiny outpost of Illinois on the western side of the Mississippi River. For more than three months this summer, its perch got a bit lonelier, as rising floodwaters covered the main road into the town, cutting off the church from most of its congregants.
- [Cathedral organist, music director retires after nearly 6 decades](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/09/cathedral-organist-music-director-retires-after-nearly-6-decades/) - This summer marked the end of an era at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville, as Dennis York stepped down from a 59-year career as organist and music director. For decades, his musicianship and his leadership of the church choirs created a sacred setting for Masses and other important events in the life of the Cathedral parish and the Diocese of Belleville.
- [Immaculate Conception Parish dedicates new educational campus](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/09/immaculate-conception-parish-dedicates-new-educational-campus/) - In these days of school consolidation, it is truly a joyous occasion to dedicate the opening of a new Catholic school — or as they are called these days — a Catholic education and activity center. Hundreds of parishioners of Immaculate Conception, Columbia celebrated that joy as they attended Mass and the Rite of Dedication
- [Bishop dedicates new altar at Mary Help of Christians, Chester](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/11/bishop-dedicates-new-altar-at-mary-help-of-christians-chester/) - Parishioners of Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, Chester, participated in a rare experience in their parish on Sunday, Nov. 24. The dedication of a new altar. The dedication comes after the parish completely restored the interior (and some of the exterior) of their church, a project which took seven months. Parishioners were all smiles (with the exception of a few tears of joy) on Sunday as their new altar was dedicated by Bishop Edward K. Braxton.
- [Research of Jesuit slaveholding may provide  links to modern-day descendants in Illinois](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/11/research-of-jesuit-slaveholding-may-provide-links-to-modern-day-descendants-in-illinois/) - The early history of the Jesuits in the United States is entwined with the institution of slavery. Records show that in about 1670, French Jesuit missionary Father Jacques Marquette received the gift of an American Indian slave from the Illinois tribe he ministered to. Years later, at the Kaskaskia settlement Father Marquette helped found on the Mississippi River in southern Illinois, both Indian and African people were held in bondage.
- [Diocese’ newest priest, Father Steven Pautler, ready for pastorate](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/12/diocese-newest-priest-father-steven-pautler-ready-for-pastorate/) - While the Advent Season is traditionally one of joy and gratitude, Father Steven Pautler has even more reason to be thankful. On Dec. 1, the first Sunday of Advent, he became pastor of St. Mary Parish in Centralia and St. Lawrence Parish in Sandoval.
- [Students come to the rescue of suffering Australian wildlife](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/01/students-come-to-the-rescue-of-suffering-australian-wildlife/) - God created the animals – the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and the many beloved creatures who walk or crawl on the earth – and God declared them all to be good. A closely knit group of students at St. Mary Catholic School, Mt. Vernon are doing their part to help
- [Gerry Hasenstab to retire from CUP after 43 years](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/01/gerry-hasenstab-to-retire-from-cup-after-43-years/) - Nearly half a century later, Hasenstab, now 66, is preparing for his final day at CUP on Jan. 17. Toni Muhammad, the assistant director will take over an agency that looks very little like it did 43 years ago, or even six years ago, when Hasenstab took over after Hubbard’s retirement.
- [Daystar is a ‘Godsend’ for disabled McClure woman](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/02/daystar-is-a-godsend-for-disabled-mcclure-woman/) - Donna Humphrey is not too proud to accept help. “I’ve been the one who helps people my whole life,” the 67-year-old McClure resident says. “I’ve always been independent. But I am not afraid to ask for a hand up.” Helping people is what got Donna in her latest predicament. While trying to stop a co-worker from falling, Donna fell and broke her femur.
- [Students give grocery bags new life as made-with-love mats for the homeless](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/03/students-give-grocery-bags-new-life-as-made-with-love-mats-for-the-homeless/) - Students at St. Joseph Catholic School in Olney have done that one better. When the world gives you plastic grocery bags, make sleeping mats for the homeless. As part of their study of homelessness and the affordable housing crisis, students in the sixth and eighth grades have been turning thousands of used plastic grocery bags into sleeping mats.
- [Longtime homeless woman credits St. Vincent de Paul for new start](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/03/longtime-homeless-woman-credits-st-vincent-de-paul-for-new-start/) - By CHRISTOPHER ORLET Editor Cindy K. doesn’t mince words when it comes to her feelings for the Belleville Council of St. Vincent de Paul. “I owe my life to St. Vincent de Paul,” she says. Cindy (she asked that we not use her last name) was for many years a successful, highly ambitious woman with
- [Latest Diocese Precautionary directives due to COVID-19](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/03/latest-diocese-precautionary-directives-due-to-covid-19/) - Updates and the latest news regarding the Diocese of Belleville and the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
- [A life devoted to prayer](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/02/a-life-devoted-to-prayer/) - Katlin O’Connor is ready to devote her life to prayer and penance as a Carmelite nun. O’Connor says she is confident about her divine calling, as her leap of faith came after she returned to the Catholic church amid much soul-searching. “It doesn’t seem like a big change for me,” she said. “It will be comforting to go back to the basics, to do the simple work of daily life and focus on prayer.”
- [Diocesan priests recall seminary days with Bishop McGovern](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/07/diocesan-priests-recall-seminary-days-with-bishop-mcgovern/) - Parishioners and pastors from the Diocese of Belleville say they are excited to welcome The Most Reverend Michael McGovern as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Belleville this summer. While the coronavirus pandemic meant a customary celebration could not take place for the installation and ordination of the new bishop on July 22, Bishop McGovern is planning a series of parish visits to meet the Catholics of southern Illinois – while following public health precautions and protocols, of course.
- [Diocesan teachers, students adapting well to long-distance learning](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/03/diocesan-teachers-students-adapting-well-to-long-distance-learning/) - By LYNN VENHAUS Contributing Writer As a global pandemic has changed American life in a matter of weeks, the three high schools and 26 elementary schools in the Belleville Diocese have had to quickly adapt. Several local administrators and teachers say they see positive outcomes in an unprecedented challenging time. Of course, this isn't just
- [The Poor Clare nuns offer tips for sheltering-in-place](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/04/the-poor-clare-nuns-offer-tips-for-sheltering-in-place/) - You might say that Poor Clares have practiced social distancing for 800 years.The women who follow St. Clare of Assisi see their lifetime “sheltering in place” as a response to a call which unites them more deeply to every person, enabling them to offer their lives and prayers for the needs of the world.But cloistered
- [Who is the Jesus you want people to discover?](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/07/who-is-the-jesus-you-want-people-to-discover/) - For the past five weeks, I have been packing my belongings in order to bring them with me to my new home in Belleville. In addition to my clothes, family photo albums, and personal papers, I have been sorting and packing many, many books that I own. I have hundreds of books; some were given to me, and others I purchased over the years. I enjoy books and many of the ones in my library have influenced my thoughts, my faith and my prayer life.
- [St. Francis Xavier pastor working to free detainees during pandemic](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/05/st-francis-xavier-pastor-working-to-free-detainees-during-pandemic/) - Father Bob Flannery likes to recall to the message of love of Jesus Christ as he works to protect the lives of immigrant detainees in one southern Illinois detention center. Father Bob, pastor of Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Carbondale, is a founding member of Detained Immigrant Spiritual Care, an organization started in 2018 by members of Carbondale’s Interfaith Council and trained volunteers of a variety of faiths and languages.
- [Catholic high schools honoring graduates in special ways](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/05/catholic-high-schools-honoring-graduates-in-special-ways/) - Mater Dei High School Principal Dennis Litteken wanted to honor the 107 seniors graduating this year in a special way—so he had yard signs made and delivered them to each student’s home in April. Litteken and Maria Zurliene, director of enrollment, split the list up and trekked not only across Clinton County, where a majority of students reside, but also to Belleville, O’Fallon, Lebanon, Mt. Vernon and north of Greenville­—wherever a senior called home. They managed it in two trips.
- [Most Reverend Michael McGovern installed as ninth Bishop of Belleville](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/08/most-reverend-michael-mcgovern-installed-as-ninth-bishop-of-belleville/) - BELLEVILLE — Father Michael G. McGovern, a former pastor in the Archdiocese of Chicago, became the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Belleville on July 22. Bishop McGovern, 56, said he chose the motto “Vos autem dixi amicos,” or “I have called you friends,” as an expression of the relationship between Christ and the church,
- [Meet the Diocese of Belleville's new seminarians](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/08/meet-the-diocese-of-bellevilles-new-seminarians/) - The Diocese of Belleville’s newest seminarians come from diverse backgrounds of education and have different life experiences, but they all heard God calling first in a gentle whisper and then, a little louder voice.Luke Fitzgerald, Josh Elmore and Casmir Cozzi are now in formation and studies, and continuing to discern God’s call more clearly.Cozzi, at
- [Stillpoint](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/09/stillpoint/) - Last Saturday a moving truck drove down from Lake County bearing most of my possessions. A terrific team of a dozen Knights of Columbus were at the bishop’s residence in Belleville, and when the truck arrived, emptied the contents of the truck and brought everything into the house, placing everything on the living room floor. I am most grateful to the K of C members for their generous service.
- [Father John Iffert appointed Vicar General, Moderator of Curia](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/09/father-john-iffert-appointed-vicar-general-moderator-of-curia/) - Bishop Michael McGovern has appointed Father John Iffert as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Belleville. The appointment took effect Oct. 1.Father Iffert, 52, is currently pastor of St. Mary (Mt. Vernon) and St. Barbara (Scheller). He succeeds Msgr. John McEvilly who is retiring after 15 years of service as
- [COVID-19 pandemic cannot stop true love, weddings](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/10/covid-19-pandemic-cannot-stop-true-love-weddings/) - After their engagement last December, Amy Krebs and Grant Camillo started planning their wedding for July 11 at St. Dominic’s Church in Breese. Then a global pandemic in March changed everyone’s plans. After a period of closure, the Diocese of Belleville released new public health rules for marriage preparation and the sacrament of Matrimony. With those guidelines in hand, the wedding took place. However, getting there meant resorting to an ever-changing playbook.
- [An outpouring of support for first African American cardinal-designate for U.S.](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/10/an-outpouring-of-support-for-first-african-american-cardinal-designate-for-u-s/) - They came in tweets, news releases and Instagram posts from old friends, women religious and brother bishops in various languages congratulating Washington's Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory. The news of the country's first African American prelate to be elevated to the rank of cardinal Nov. 28 sparked joy, as well as commentary that it was something that should have happened long ago.
- [PSR students’ ­Ark of Hope brings attention to poverty issues](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/11/psr-students-ark-of-hope-brings-attention-to-poverty-issues/) - An Ark of Hope seemed like a good fit for the Catholic Relief Services’ Advent fundraising campaign. After all, Advent is a season of hope, said Joan Wilkens, a parishioner at St. Michael Parish, Paderborn.
- [Worker co-ops in state’s poorest region get boost from CCHD](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/11/worker-co-ops-in-states-poorest-region-get-boost-from-cchd/) - Hoping to give a voice and economic power to low-income individuals in southern Illinois, GROW (Grass Roots Opportunities Work-Cooperatives) is an incubator for jobs in high-growth fields with worker shortages. It is intended to aid small businesses from Carbondale to Cairo.
- [Louis Jones recognized with Cardinal Bernardin new leadership award](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/12/louis-jones-recognized-with-cardinal-bernardin-new-leadership-award/) - At only 27, Louis Damani Jones has already made quite the name for himself in the Diocese of Belleville and in the Catholic community nationwide.
- [On All Souls Day, Joe Hubbard reflects on Catholic duty to bury the dead](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/10/on-all-souls-day-joe-hubbard-reflects-on-catholic-duty-to-bury-the-dead/) - All Souls’ Day is a time when Joe Hubbard reflects on the Catholic duty to bury the dead.Hubbard, who is director of four Catholic cemeteries in the Diocese of Belleville (Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Belleville, Holy Cross Cemetery in Fairview Heights, St. Philip Cemetery in East St. Louis and Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Centreville) says
- [Through the spirit of Juan Diego, Mater Dei reaches out to Hispanics](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/01/through-the-spirit-of-juan-diego-mater-dei-reaches-out-to-hispanics/) - Alejandro Avalos and his wife, Gabriela De La Cruz, both immigrated from Mexico as young adults. They met in the United States. After they were married, they settled in Albers, where they live with their two children, Ana, a freshman at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Breese, and Alejandra, a 5th grade student at Albers Elementary School. “When Ana was younger, it was a dream to send her to Mater Dei,” Avalos says. “With the help of scholarships, Ana has the opportunity to attend Mater Dei and learn the Catholic values my wife and I want her to grow up with.
- [Covid-19 Concerns Alters Thanksgiving Dinner](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/11/covid-19-concerns-alters-thanksgiving-dinner/) - Each year the Diocese of Belleville provides a Thanksgiving Dinner for the needy. The annual event is normally held at St. Henry Parish in Belleville. Due to heightened concerns about the spread of the Coronavirus, this year’s Thanksgiving Dinner will not be held on site. Instead, the people who have registered for the meal are
- [Retirement short-lived for ‘retiring’­ Vicar General McEvilly](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/01/retirement-short-lived-for-retiring-vicar-general-mcevilly/) - Msgr. John Wallace McEvilly, 81, was fairly certain he wouldn’t be taking up golf upon his retirement. A priest for 56 years, Msgr. McEvilly retired last fall as Vicar General after 15 years. Father John Iffert assumed those duties on Oct. 1. Retirement was short-lived, however, for soon after, Bishop Michael McGovern tapped him to be his special assistant, and then he was assigned pastoral duties at St. Bernard Parish in Albers and St. Damian Parish in Damiansville at month’s end.
- [Mater Dei students put faith into action by building bunk beds](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2020/12/mater-dei-students-put-faith-into-action-by-building-bunk-beds/) - Students from Mater Dei Catholic High School really got into the spirit of the Christmas season this month by volunteering to build beds for needy children. So far, some 30 high school students have built 30 twin beds, all of which will be donated to children in Clinton County. The build is part of a
- [A Dangerous Hour for the United States](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/03/a-dangerous-hour-for-the-united-states/) - Prayer and a greater effort to listen to God's voice must be the Catholic response to "the completely unthinkable events that have overshadowed the end of one presidency and challenged the beginning of another," retired Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville, Illinois, said at a Jan. 17 Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church in Belleville. Calling the present moment in the United States a "dangerous hour," Bishop Braxton said God may be “urging us to think more and learn more about the causes of the political turmoil swirling around us.” “Could it be that, if we listen, God is calling us to be more responsible citizens by opening our minds to learn more about the many different and opposing factions that are causing such divisions in our country?” he asked.
- [Mike Kish, principal who lives the gospel everyday, to retire](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/04/mike-kish-principal-who-lives-the-gospel-everyday-to-retire/) - When Mike Kish first entered the doors of Immaculate Conception School (ICS) in Columbia, he was a young student starting first grade. The year was 1955. In 1971, he entered the doors of ICS as an eighth-grade teacher. Four years later, he became the school’s principal. On July 1, 2021, after 50 years serving the Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the students, families and staff, Mike Kish will retire as principal of Immaculate Conception School. “I wanted to create a school I would want to attend. Actually, a school where Joseph and Mary would want to send Jesus,” Kish says, reflecting on his long career at ICS.
- [Discipleship on Draft aimed at reaching out to young adults](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/04/discipleship-on-draft-aimed-at-reaching-out-to-young-adults/) - By LINDA BEHRENS Contributing writer Draft beer, Peel pizza and fire pits. Promotions for an upcoming event focused on these three details as part of a Discipleship on Draft gathering at St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church in O’Fallon, held at the church’s outdoor pavilion on April 11. What type of event? Why these three
- [Sister Elaine Freund created a place where it was ‘cool to be smart’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/04/sister-elaine-freund-created-a-place-where-it-was-cool-to-be-smart/) - “Some make their mark on the soccer field. Some make history on the basketball court. I was never that sort,” says Jill Haberl Steffens, 1995 graduate of Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo. “Sister Elaine Freund gave me, and many like me, another place to compete.” Steffens was a member of the Gibault Scholastic Bowl team, coached by Sister Elaine Freund, ASC, from 1992-1995.
- [Bishop McGovern to Speak at March On The Arch March 6](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/02/bishop-mcgovern-to-speak-at-march-on-the-arch/) - Bishop Michael McGovern will speak at the March on the Arch at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 6. You are invited to join Bishop McGovern on a Rosary Walk at noon. The bishop will speak on life issues and lead a Rosary walk around the Planned Parenthood facility. The Diocese of Belleville's Respect Life Ministry, highlighting Project
- [Bishop McGovern asks marchers to be advocates for life](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/03/bishop-mcgovern-asks-marchers-to-be-advocates-for-life/) - The Joost family of Swansea have always been active in the Pro-Life Movement. Twenty-two years ago Lyndon Joost and his wife Elaine found out that they were about to give birth to a daughter with extreme disabilities. “We made that choice for life,” Lyndon said.
- [Bishop to ordain one man to transitional diaconate May 22](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/05/bishop-to-ordain-one-man-to-transitional-diaconate-may-22/) - When Thomas Lugge is ordained by Bishop Michael McGovern as a transitional deacon May 22, he will begin the final year of formation before ordination to the priesthood. The transitional diaconate will be Lugge’s entry into the clerical state, which means he will become a member of the clergy. Bishop Michael McGovern called Lugge “a wonderful young man” and said he looks forward to ordaining him to the sacred priesthood next year.
- [Parishes will celebrate Year of St. Joseph in many ways](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/03/parishes-will-celebrate-year-of-st-joseph-in-many-ways/) - With the Apostolic Letter, Patris corde (“With a Father’s Heart”), Pope Francis recalls the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To mark the occasion, the Holy Father has proclaimed a “Year of St. Joseph” from December 8, 2020, to December 8, 2021. The pope wrote Patris corde, according to an article from Vatican News, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, he says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day.
- [Bishop McGovern reflects on his first six months as Bishop of Belleville](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/02/bishop-mcgovern-reflects-on-his-first-six-months-as-bishop-of-belleville/) - Bishop Michael McGovern celebrated six months as Bishop of Belleville on Jan. 22. The Messenger recently asked Bishop McGovern to reflect on the challenges and accomplishments during those six months. You were installed as the ninth bishop of Belleville on July 22, 2020, during a global pandemic. As a new bishop, I suppose leading a
- [‘Daystar is the best thing that ever happened to Cairo’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/02/daystar-is-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-cairo/) - Carolyn Ponting isn’t going anywhere. Ponting, 84, lives in a cozy ranch house in Cairo. She is one of a small number of people who have chosen to remain in the small southern Illinois city. Cairo has seen dramatic population loss and economic decline since the early 20th century and the drop-off in riverboat traffic
- [Racial Justice and Equity Committee to observe Juneteenth with prayer service](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/06/racial-justice-and-equity-committee-to-observe-juneteenth-with-prayer-service/) - The Diocese of Belleville’s Racial Justice and Equity Committee will observe Juneteenth with a special prayer service at St. Augustine of Hippo Church, East St. Louis, at 2 p.m. Sunday June 13.
- [Sister Julia Huiskamp finalist for Lumen Christi Award](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/08/sister-julia-huiskamp-finalist-for-lumen-christi-award/) - The Diocese of Belleville may be small population-wise, but it has been blessed to have been home to many remarkable, saintly people. Two of these saintly people, Joe Hubbard, now retired as director and founder of Catholic Urban Programs, and the late Sister Ann Connolly, ASC, were recognized for their selfless service with the Catholic
- [Parishioners invited to return to in-person Mass once again](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/07/parishioners-invited-to-return-to-in-person-mass-once-again/) - In his June 4 video message, Bishop Michael McGovern extended an invitation to parishioners of the Diocese of Belleville to attend Mass in person once again. “Phase 5 allows us more leeway on how we gather together and assemble in order to worship the Lord at Sunday Mass,” Bishop McGovern said. The Phase 5 Updated Mass and Liturgy Guidelines, published by the diocese, recognizes the past 15 months have been an extremely challenging time for everyone – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The new guidelines also contain the news everyone has been waiting a year to hear: churches can go back to100 percent capacity, and registration is no longer required.
- [Bishops: Getting COVID-19 vaccine is ‘act of charity,’ supports the common good](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/07/bishops-getting-covid-19-vaccine-is-act-of-charity-supports-the-common-good/) - The “gravity” of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and “the lack of availability of alternative vaccines,” are “sufficiently serious” reasons to accept the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ doctrine and pro-life committees said Dec. 14. “Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine ought to be understood as an act of charity toward the other members of our community,” they said. “In this way, being vaccinated safely against COVID-19 should be considered an act of love of our neighbor and part of our moral responsibility for the common good.”
- [Pope Francis appoints Father John Iffert of the Diocese of Belleville as Bishop-elect of Covington](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/07/pope-francis-appoints-father-john-iffert-of-the-diocese-of-belleville-as-bishop-elect-of-covington/) - Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Roger J. Foys, 75, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Covington and has appointed Father John Iffert, a priest of the Diocese of Belleville as Bishop-elect of Covington. Bishop-elect Iffert currently serves as vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Diocese of Belleville. The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on July 13, 2021, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
- [New seminarian’s vocation journey began on trip to Holy Land](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/05/new-seminarians-vocation-journey-began-on-trip-to-holy-land/) - For Ben Baker, it started in 2019 during a spring break trip to the Holy Land with students from the University of Illinois. Baker, whose home parish is St. Joseph in Olney, graduated from the University of Illinois in December 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. At that time, he contacted the Diocese of Belleville asking to be accepted into the seminary. There currently are six seminarians in the diocese.
- [Sister Barbara Hudock: planting seeds in the hope that something grows](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/07/4546/) - “Sometimes we plant seeds, literally and figuratively. We establish connections and hope that something grows from that.” These words were shared by Sister Barbara Hudock, ASC, who is celebrating her 50th jubilee as an Adorer of the Blood of Christ this year. Sister Barbara said this when talking about the “Be a Blessing Garden” project located at the Adorers’ Ruma Center in Ruma, bwut the heart of these words could apply to her 50 years as a woman religious. At age 70, Sister Barbara is not working full time. She recently completed 12 years in leadership positions for the Adorers – as an ASC councilor for the United States Region (2006-2012) and ASC regional leader (2012-2018). From 1973 to 2006, she served in education.
- [Mass celebrated in southern Illinois prisons for first time in 18 months](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/09/mass-celebrated-in-southern-illinois-prisons-for-first-time-in-18-months/) - Due to COVID-19 restrictions in March 2020, the Illinois Department of Corrections closed all prisons, jails and work camp access to clergy and lay volunteers who were providing Catholic service ministry to detainees and those incarcerated. On August 24, 2021, Father Nick Junker, pastor at St. Mary the Immaculate Conception in Mt. Vernon, enthusiastically posted on Facebook that he celebrated Mass at the Big Muddy River Correctional Center in Ina. This was the first time in more than 18 months that the men at Big Muddy could receive the sacraments.
- [Students undertake spiritual journey through the culinary arts](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/09/students-undertake-spiritual-journey-through-the-culinary-arts/) - Picture a big bowl of tri-colored pasta salad with vegetables, brimming with multi-colors, tastes, shapes and textures. Now read this description: “As different as we are, we are ALL called to be disciples of God. We all have special gifts, talents and charisms that blend so beautifully with our neighbor and help build up the Kingdom of God. When you take a big bite of this pasta salad, be reminded of your calling, the value of your neighbor and mission of the Kingdom.”
- [Hope for the Journey walks with those experiencing a loss](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/09/hope-for-the-journey-walks-with-those-experiencing-a-loss/) - For Ken and Barb Kenney, the next chapter of their lives began in 2012. Barb had been married to Tom for 39 years before he died in 2005. They lived in Chesterfield, Mo. After his death, Barb moved to southern Illinois to be closer to family and started attending St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church in O’Fallon. Ken had been married to Jeanne for 43 years before her death in 2011.
- [Diocesan schools promote centrality of music education](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2021/10/diocesan-schools-promote-centrality-of-music-education/) - Every student at Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School in East St. Louis learns how to play the violin. Every student. Beginning in kindergarten. Third graders at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School in Belleville learn to play the recorder as part of an arrangement with the St. Louis Symphony. In turn, they are invited to perform with the Symphony. At Mater Dei High School in Breese, various band and vocal classes are offered, along with extracurricular activities, such as marching band. These are just three examples of music education opportunities available at the schools in the Diocese of Belleville.
- [Get in the Garden to Relieve Stress and Stay Active](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/get-in-the-garden-to-relieve-stress-and-stay-active/) - Ah, spring, and the smell of new mown grass (no allergy sufferers, please). People want to go outside and start digging, preparing the soil for their gardens.
- [A Few Hearing Loss Strategies for Seniors](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/a-few-hearing-loss-strategies-for-seniors/) - It’s likely someone you know – a partner, parent, colleague or friend – has experienced hearing loss. In fact, by 2020, more than 44 million U.S. adults ages 20 and older will have “clinically meaningful” hearing loss – and that’s expected to nearly double by 2060, according to new findings published Thursday in JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.
- [School’s new ‘reading room’ aims to cultivate love of literacy](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/06/schools-new-reading-room-aims-to-cultivate-love-of-literacy/) - 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.
- [Priest says he’s optimistic of Sister Thea Bowman’s cause for sainthood](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/06/priest-says-hes-optimistic-of-sister-thea-bowmans-cause-for-sainthood/) - 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
- [](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2019/01/bishop-braxton-delivers-martin-luther-king-jr-event-keynote-address/)
- [Catholic schools seek ways to draw more Hispanic students](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/06/catholic-schools-seek-ways-to-draw-more-hispanic-students/) - In the Diocese of Belleville and across the country, Catholic schools are seeking to reach an underrepresented group of potential students by taking steps to recruit Hispanic families.Catholic schools seek ways to draw more Hispanic students
- [Consolidation of Gallatin County parishes to be completed with closures of 3 chapels](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/07/consolidation-of-gallatin-county-parishes-to-be-completed-with-closures-of-3-chapels/) - For nearly two centuries, Catholics in Gallatin County in the far southeastern corner of Illinois somehow found ways to worship together.
- [Camp Ondessonk’s move toward self-sustainability pays off](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/06/camp-ondessonks-move-toward-self-sustainability-pays-off/) - At Camp Ondessonk’s dining hall, the salad bar is not an afterthought.
- [Bishop ordains Father Steven Pautler and eight deacons](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/05/bishop-ordains-father-steven-pautler-and-eight-deacons/) - On Saturday morning, May 19, 2018, the Vigil of the Feast of Pentecost, the Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Bishop of Belleville, ordained the Reverend Steven M. Pautler to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. In the same ordination Liturgy, the Bishop ordained eight new Permanent Deacons: Deacon Daniel R. Cozzi, Deacon Steven M. Eischens, Deacon John J. Gomez, Deacon Mark F. Kabat, Deacon James C. Law, Deacon John H. Mote, Deacon Randall L. Riesenberger, and Deacon Kevin T. Templin.
- [New system at O’Fallon church brings crystal clear sound to those with hearing loss](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/06/new-system-at-ofallon-church-brings-crystal-clear-sound-to-those-with-hearing-loss/) - When Tom Goller began to lose his hearing, he says it took a toll on his spiritual life. Attending Mass at St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church in O’Fallon, he often couldn’t hear what was going on, or catch the nuances of the readings or the homily.
- [Reentry program is 'outlet for good'](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/05/reentry-program-is-outlet-for-good/) - Carmona spent seven years behind bars at the Western Illinois Correctional Center in Mt. Sterling. After his release he prayed he wouldn’t have to return to the streets of south Chicago. “I knew if I went back to Chicago I’d be right back in the same chaos,” he says.
- [Southern Illinois students brave long commute to attend Catholic High School in Missouri](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/05/southern-illinois-students-brave-long-commute-to-attend-catholic-high-school-in-missouri/) - Many Catholic families make sacrifices to give their children a religious education. But a group of southern Illinois students go the extra mile – into a different state – to keep that education going through high school.
- [Vietnam War pilot who paid the ultimate sacrifice remembered](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/05/vietnam-war-pilot-who-paid-the-ultimate-sacrifice-remembered/) - On Thursday, May 3, the late 1st Lieutenant Dennis Peek, was inducted into the Mater Dei (Breese) Hall of Honor. Fellow classmate Howard Kapp, who led the effort to include Peek, was especially pleased that 16 members of the Vietnam Veterans of American, Clinton County Chapter, were in attendance to honor his close friend.
- [A lifetime of walking the pathway of faith](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/04/a-lifetime-of-walking-the-pathway-of-faith/) - Like many jobs, the vocation of deacon has changed over the years for Doug Boyer. Boyer, a deacon for St. Mary Parish, Belleville, says his vocation is nothing like he thought it would be.
- [Deacon Steven Pautler: ‘Looking forward to where I will serve’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/05/3619/) - When Deacon Steven Pautler told his brother Brian that he was going to seminary in hopes of entering the priesthood, Brian replied, “It’s about time! I can’t believe you’ve waited this long!”
- [For Platzkoester sisters Catholic education is a family tradition](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/04/for-platzkoester-sisters-catholic-education-is-a-family-tradition/) - One of the best parts of Catholic Schools Week for students at St. Agatha Catholic School this year was getting to see two Ms. Platzkoesters “running around the same school,” they said.
- [Seminarian reflects on his  continuing journey to priesthood](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/04/seminarian-reflects-on-his-continuing-journey-to-priesthood/) - These days Nick Fleming is the only seminarian from the Diocese of Belleville at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. While it is certainly a singular honor, he would not mind some company.
- [St. Kateri Farm Family: ‘The More Blessings the Better’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/04/st-kateri-farm-family-the-more-blessings-the-better/) - Jim Keasler, a farmer in Ridgway and member of St. Kateri Parish, talks like a man who knows his true purpose in life.
- [Bishop Urges us to Listen, Learn, Think, Pray, Act in Dean’s Lecture on Race, Law and Society](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/04/bishop-urges-us-to-listen-learn-think-pray-act-in-deans-lecture-on-race-law-and-society/) - In the prologue of his Dean’s Lecture on Race, Law and Society, “The Catholic Church and the Racial Divide in the United States,” Bishop Edward K. Braxton asked Notre Dame law school students a thought provoking question: “What if?”
- [Local priest recalls meeting, photographing Dr. King](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/03/local-priest-recalls-meeting-photographing-dr-king/) - I saw Dr. Martin Luther King up close twice in the summer and fall of 1967. In those days I always carried a 35mm camera in my pocket; so I’m not sure on which occasion I snapped the images (at right) that I now treasure.
- [Lucky Corpus Christi  parishioners play for, meet with Pope Francis](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/04/lucky-corpus-christi-parishioners-play-for-meet-with-pope-francis/) - It was the chance encounter of a lifetime for two young Corpus Christi Catholic Church (Shiloh) parishioners.
- [Be ‘active bridge builders,’ bishop urges](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/03/be-active-bridge-builders-bishop-urges/) - Those who attended the Annual Thomas Merton Black History Month Lecture at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., Feb. 21 heard Bishop Edward K. Braxton say that in order to bridge the racial divide in the United States one must listen, learn, think, pray and act.
- [Althoff students attend Mass, walk out for Parkland school victims](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/03/3582/) - In the Diocese of Belleville, about 110 students from Althoff Catholic High School participated in the walkout. Students and some faculty joined hands and formed a prayer circle on the athletic field behind the school and prayed silently for 17 minutes.
- [Columbia man credits prison ministry for getting life on track](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/02/columbia-credits-prison-ministry-for-getting-life-on-track/) - For most of his adult life John Woods was known as Prisoner No. B27737.
- [The Miracle on 37th Street](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/02/the-miracle-on-37th-street/) - The “Miracle on 37th street” as it was called, was witnessed Feb. 17, with the blessing and grand reopening of the new facility.
- [Hubbard Compassionate Assistance Fund buries the poor with prayer](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/02/hubbard-compassionate-assistance-fund-buries-the-poor-with-prayer/) - When local hospitals and mortuaries have deceased persons who are indigent and without family or friends to bury them, they usually call Joe Hubbard.
- [CUP warms up community by assisting with utilities](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/02/cup-warms-up-community-by-assisting-with-utilities/) - The mission of Catholic Urban Programs is to “advance the dignity of the human person through compassionate response to human needs, advocacy for justice, and the empowerment of individuals to reach their full potential.” The agency is doing just that by helping individuals struggling to pay utility bills stemming from the harsh temperatures of the winter, said Venessa Marion, case manager for CUP, one of the ministries supported by The Catholic Service and Ministry Appeal.
- [Diocese’ longtime education director to retire this summer](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/01/diocese-longtime-education-director-to-retire-this-summer/) - This summer, the Diocese of Belleville’s longtime Director of Education, Tom Posnanski will retire after 40 years.
- [Local relief agencies struggle to help the needy during cold snap](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/02/3520/) - As temperatures plunged to below zero many people were forced to show up at the Catholic relief agencies like Daystar in Cairo, and Catholic Urban Programs and St. Vincent de Paul in East St. Louis. And because of the overwhelming numbers of people seeking help relief agencies, both private and public, were soon tapped out.
- [Student creates saintly images for new grade school](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/02/student-creates-saintly-images-for-new-grade-school/) - Annelise Coello never thought doodling in class would lead to this. Coello, a recent graduate of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Grade School, is the artist behind the images of the four evangelists that grace the front of the new regional Catholic school in Herrin. The school opened last month.
- [March for Life Greeting](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/01/march-for-life-greeting/) - Bishop Braxton's Greeting to Young People at Celebration of Life March in Washington DC
- [Bishop dedicates new Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Grade School](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/01/bishop-dedicates-new-our-lady-of-mount-carmel-catholic-grade-school/) - At a time when many Catholic schools are shutting down or partnering with other parish schools, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Regional Grade School in Herrin has outgrown its old space and moved into a larger, state-of-the-art building.
- [Sr. Thea Bowman School makes family involvement top priority](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/12/sr-thea-bowman-school-makes-family-involvement-top-priority/) - While the growth and learning of elementary school children is the primary focus of diocesan schools, Sister Thea Bowman in East St. Louis has expanded its educational endeavors to the families of students with the creation of the Family University Program.
- [Catholic farmers make impact on global level](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/01/catholic-farmers-make-impact-on-global-level/) - When Fran Etter and her son Max had the opportunity to travel to El Salvador with Friends Across Borders in 2013, she didn’t know just how much the trip would impact her family.
- [Father Lenzini remembered as ‘bright, insightful, caring’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2018/01/father-lenzini-remembered-as-bright-insightful-caring/) - Father Donald J. Lenzini, who died Dec. 31, at St. Paul Home in Belleville, will be remembered as “bright, insightful and caring,” longtime friends say. Father Lenzini, who has been in failing health for some time, was 91.
- [Outpatient surgery center blessed, dedicated in Breese](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/11/outpatient-surgery-center-blessed-dedicated-in-breese/) - HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese unveiled a new outpatient surgery center Nov. 9, with a blessing and dedication Mass led by the Most Reverend Stanley G. Schlarman, DD. Officials said the new outpatient surgery center is designed to increase efficiency and patient privacy. The $9.4 million outpatient surgery expansion includes a 13,880 square-foot addition to house 22 ambulatory surgery prep/recovery rooms, including four infusion rooms, support space, consultation rooms, waiting areas, and a new ambulance garage.
- [Ladies sodality brings back time-honored tradition](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/12/3460/) - Anyone who has attended a Catholic funeral has seen them. They are the ladies who reliably show up to prepare and serve (and clean up after) the post-funeral meal, usually in the school lunchroom or the church basement.
- [At Daystar, it's the 'most busiest time of the year'](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/12/at-daystar-its-the-most-busiest-time-of-the-year/) - What began as an effort to provide Christmas gifts for needy families by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ 40 years ago has evolved from a pile of presents in a convent basement to Santa’s Workshop at the thrift store of Daystar in Cairo.
- [Bishop discusses race relations and the church on EWTN](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/11/bishop-discusses-race-relations-and-the-church-on-etwn/) - Bishop Edward K. Braxton was the guest on EWTN’s The World Over,” hosted by Raymond Arroyo on Nov. 9 where he discussed his recent address “The Horizon of Possibilities, The Catholic Church and the Racial Divide in the United States: Old Wounds Reopened” at Catholic University.
- ['Praying with our Feet'](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/11/praying-with-our-feet/) - What started as Sister Carol Lehmkuhl’s women’s writing circle at the East Side Heart and Home Family Center in East St. Louis has morphed into a one-of-a-kind urban immersion retreat connecting students and groups with residents of the city to counter negative stereotypes about East St. Louis.
- [St. George parishioner forges  64-year friendship with pen pal](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/11/st-george-parishioner-forges-64-year-friendship-with-pen-pal/) - While many friendships do not stand the test of time, Marlene Fridley, a parishioner at St. George in New Baden, knows the exception. Fridley forged a friendship 64 years ago with Hawaii-native Theresa Silva, a friendship she credits to a nun at her elementary school in McCartyville, Ohio.
- [The Horizon of Possibilities](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/10/the-horizon-of-possibilities/) - “The Catholic Church and the Racial Divide in the United States: Old Wounds Reopened” and address by His Excellency The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton Ph.D., S.T.D., Bishop of Belleville, Illinois.
- [Thanksgiving dinner is a chance to give back](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/11/thanksgiving-dinner-is-a-chance-to-give-back/) - What better way to give thanks for all the blessings we receive than by giving to those less fortunate? That’s the idea behind the annual free community Thanksgiving day meal at the Newman Center at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. The meal has been a turkey day tradition for almost half a century.
- [Together in the Lord](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/11/together-in-the-lord/) - Looking for a Confirmation patron? Many students preparing for the sacrament and choosing the name Clare, do not know what Order she founded or realize they can find a Poor Clare monastery in their home diocese on the grounds of the former St. Henry’s Seminary in Belleville.
- [Vocations director asks students to be open to God's call](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/10/vocations-director-asks-students-to-be-open-to-gods-call/) - Every fall, vocations director Father Nick Junker and members of the Serra Club invite fifth and sixth grade school boys from diocesan schools to tour Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. After Christmas, it is the high school sophomores turn. The tradition goes back almost a decade.
- [The Martyrs Remembered](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/10/the-martyrs-remembered/) - Twenty-five years ago this October, five Adorers of the Blood of Christ serving as missionaries in Liberia were slain in that west African nation’s long civil war.
- [Unions, volunteers give St. Vincent de Paul new life](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/10/unions-volunteers-give-st-vincent-de-paul-new-life/) - Local unions, business owners and parishioners are giving their time and treasure to renovate the St. Vincent de Paul center in East St. Louis.
- [Bishop Braxton: Silence implies consent on HB 40](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/10/bishop-braxton-silence-implies-consent-on-hb-40/) - In late September, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law a controversial measure to expand taxpayer-subsidized abortions. Rauner earlier promised to veto the bill, which passed both the Illinois House and Senate in April.
- [A Beacon of Christ's Light](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/10/a-beacon-of-christs-light/) - Though times and locations have changed, the mission of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital remains the same: to carry on the work of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis and St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
- [Local Catholics, Lutherans consider common heritage](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/10/local-catholics-lutherans-consider-common-heritage/) - Catholic and Lutheran Christians from across the globe will commemorate together on Oct. 31, the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation.
- [How do we heal racial tensions? Start by admitting errors, Bishop Braxton says](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/10/how-do-we-heal-racial-tensions-start-by-admitting-errors-bishop-braxton-says/) - To address the long-standing racial divide within the United States — and within the Catholic Church in the country — Catholics should learn more about the history of that divide and honestly engage with that history and with others attempting to tackle similar issues themselves.
- [Lay Ministers Flock to Into My Vineyard Program](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/10/lay-ministers-flock-to-into-my-vineyard-program/) - Last spring, Bishop Edward K. Braxton asked capable, dedicated parishioners from throughout the Diocese of Belleville to come forward to serve as lay ecclesial ministers and contribute their time and talent to the renewal, revitalization and strengthening of their parishes. These lay ministers will assist the priests and deacons in the service of God and neighbor, helping fellow parishioners to learn their faith, love their faith, and live their faith.
- [Sister Thea Bowman School shows its unbreakable spirit](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/10/sister-thea-bowman-school-shows-its-unbreakable-spirit/) - Vandals may have broken 35 windows at Sister Thea Bowman Grade School, but the small, yet thriving Catholic school in East St. Louis has shown that its spirit is unbreakable. A random act of destruction, which occurred the night before school opened in 2015, began a magical chain of events for the school community.
- [Guadalupe Project celebrates tremendous growth with new location](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/09/guadalupe-project-celebrates-tremendous-growth-with-new-location/) - In the fall of 2013, a small group of Clay County ladies began meeting, planning and praying to begin a pro-life presence in their area.
- [The Diocese Recognizes Those Who Take Their Faith into the Marketplace](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/09/the-diocese-recognizes-those-who-take-their-faith-into-the-marketplace/) - Each year, for the past ten years, people have gathered to honor individuals who have taken their faith out of the pews and into the marketplace — into the lives of the working men and women of our diocese, to the clients and customers who will reap the rewards of these laborers, in the clinics and hospitals, caring for the sick, in the courtroom making sure justice is served, in the lives of grief-stricken families, in the care of our children and “walking the talk” of faith in everyday life.
- [Many local Hispanics feel  unrecognized as parishioners](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/09/many-local-hispanics-feel-unrecognized-as-parishioners/) - Many Spanish-speaking Catholics still do not feel like they belong to their local parish. That was one of the findings of a recent meeting of local Hispanic leaders at the diocesan pastoral center.
- [Students Glimpse Rare Eclipse](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/09/students-glimpse-rare-eclipse/) - Adrienne Rolf, a first and second grade teacher at St. Ann Catholic School in Nashville, stayed up late the night before the eclipse making extra safe eyewear for her students made from NASA-approved glasses and paper plates.
- [Project Buys Headstones for Needy Infants](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/08/project-buys-headstones-for-needy-infants/) - The idea for the Our Holy Innocents Project came to Richard Jordan one day in 2010 when he was visiting his wife Linda’s grave in Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Belleville.
- [Justice Forum offers teachable moment](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/09/justice-forum-offers-teachable-moment/) - It was no coincidence that an Incarceration Forum billed as “A Catholic Response to Mass Incarceration” was held the same weekend and in the same city as the annual Congress of the American Correctional Association.
- [Dreamer sees DACA as a way to contribute to society](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/09/dreamer-sees-daca-as-a-way-to-contribute-to-society/) - Octavio Ramirez, 18, is a dreamer in more ways than one. Octavio is a student at Southwestern Illinois College, where he is studying to be a civil engineer.
- [How many times?](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/09/how-many-times/) - Sunday, Sept. 17, Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sirach 27:30—28:7; Romans 14:7-9; and Matthew 18:21-35 As a sequel to last Sunday’s Gospel reading, rules for fraternal correction within a Christian Community, Matthew adds a question proposed by Peter, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? Why this question at this
- [Fraternal Correction](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/09/fraternal-correction/) - Sunday, Sept. 10, Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10; and Matthew 18:15-20 The context of today’s Gospel is the fourth of five great sermons Matthew constructed from traditions about Jesus, with his own command of the Old Testament and the needs of his Christian Community. That community was probably in the city
- [Diocesan outreach agencies help cool down homeless](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/08/diocesan-outreach-agencies-help-cool-down-homeless/) - Catholic Urban Programs has provided services to communities in the Belleville diocese since 1973, and is one of the 14 ministries benefiting in part from The Catholic Service and Ministry Appeal.
- [Deadline for 'Into My Vineyard' Program Approaching](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/08/deadline-for-into-my-vineyard-program-approaching/) - Parishioners of the Belleville diocese are invited to register for the "Into My Vineyard" program, a two-year program of worship, formation and outreach. For more information, contact Sue Huett, director of pastoral services, at 618-722-5038 or shuett@diobelle.org. The following is a list of parishes already represented within the program. SOUTH VICARIATE St. Patrick, Cairo St.
- [St. Clare Parishioners Carry on ‘Amazing Torch of Faith’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/08/st-clare-parishioners-carry-on-amazing-torch-of-faith/) - About 400 people were in attendance for St. Clare’s open house, Sunday, Aug. 13. The open house was held in conjunction with the Feast of St. Clare of Assisi and featured tours of the parish’s 10-year-old church, the ancient fossil stone altar and baptism font, Turkish iconography of Christ’s passion and hand-blown glass windows of creation, as well as several prayer spaces. Tour guides explained the meaning of Catholic architecture in the church.
- [Volunteers Keep Food Pantry Stocked and Social](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/08/volunteers-keep-food-pantry-stocked-and-social/) - Approximately 15 to 18 parishioners volunteer their time, serving about 50 people who come to the window adjacent to the garage attached to the parish rectory each week. On a typical Friday morning, Clete Blaes makes conversation with a Belleville resident seeking groceries to feed her family.
- [Peter’s Fleeting Exaltation](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/08/peters-fleeting-exaltation/) - Sunday, Sept. 3, Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jeremiah 20:7-9; Romans 12:1-2, and Matthew 16:21-27. By Father Donald Dilger The gospel reading of this Sunday is the immediate sequel of last Sunday’s Gospel. In that episode Simon Peter publicly professed his faith in Jesus as “the Messiah (Christ), Son of the living God.” In reply,
- [Jesus Takes a Poll](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/08/jesus-takes-a-poll/) - Sunday, August 27, Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Isaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11:33-36; and Matthew 16:13-20. By Father Donald Dilger Two Sundays ago we encountered the first of three special traditions about Simon Peter, traditions found only in the Gospel of Matthew. That first tradition was Peter’s attempt to walk on water at the invitation of
- [PHJC Reflects on 50 Years of Ministry](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/08/phjc-reflects-on-50-years-of-ministry/) - As a young student at St. Mary’s School in Trenton, Sister Margaret Anne Henss, PHJC, knew she wanted to live a religious life while also teaching. “In my second grade mind teachers and sisters were one and the same,” she said.
- [Former Provincial, Sister Mildred Gross, ASC, Celebrates 60th Jubilee](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/08/former-provincial-sister-mildred-gross-asc-celebrates-60th-jubilee/) - Sister Mildred Gross, ASC, Continues Ministry at St. Vincent de Paul Society in East St. Louis.
- [Bishop Braxton Publishes New Pastoral Letter](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/bishop-braxton-publishes-new-pastoral-letter/) - "The Catholic Church and The Black Lives Matter Movement: The Racial Divide in the United States Revisited" Bishop Edward K. Braxton has published a pastoral letter that builds on his previous pastoral letter published in 2o15. "This Pastoral Letter should be read as a companion piece to "The Racial Divide in the United States: A
- [Bishop Braxton Reflects on the Museum of African American History and Culture in Essay](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/bishop-braxton-reflects-on-the-museum-of-african-american-history-and-culture-in-essay/) - We, Too, Sing America: The Catholic Church and the Museum of African American History and Culture January 15, 2017 published as an essay written in commemoration of the 88th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., January 15, 1929 — April 4, 1968
- [Bishop Braxton Delivers Message to Diocese at Vatican development Meeting](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/bishop-braxton-remembers-martin-luther-king-at-vatican-development-meeting/) - The work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to promote the "integral human development" of all peoples is a work that must continue today in the world and in the Catholic Church, Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville, told participants at a Vatican conference.
- [Jubilanians Celebrate Years of Ministry](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/jubilanians-celebrate-years-of-ministry/) - Eight men, representing 320 years of ministry celebrate their anniversaries of ordination in 2017. Bishop Edward K. Braxton, principal celebrant and homilist, celebrated a special liturgy, honoring those men June 5 at the cathedral.
- [A Changed Ministry](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/08/a-changed-ministry/) - The readings for Sunday, August 20, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, are Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; and Matthew 15:21-28.
- [Identifying Jesus](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/08/identifying-jesus/) - The readings for Sunday, August 13, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, are 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a; Romans 9:1-5; and Matthew 14:22-33.
- [Youth Share Time and Talents at Daystar Program](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/youth-share-time-and-talents-at-daystar-program/) - Recognizing the need for time and talent, three youth groups from the diocese have continued a tradition of assisting the residents of Cairo while spending time each summer supporting the efforts of Daystar Community Program, a diocesan outreach agency.
- [Newman Center helps ease academic and spiritual transition into college](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/newman-center-helps-ease-academic-and-spiritual-transition-into-college/) - Incoming college freshmen, while excited, often find themselves faced with uncertainty and challenges, according to Tim Taylor, director of the Newman Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
- [Hispanic Youth Learn About Loving the Self(ie)](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/hispanic-youth-learn-about-loving-the-selfie/) - “What makes you feel strong, happy, sad or scared?” Father Juan Gaspar, OMI asked young Hispanics on June 17 at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Belleville.
- [Bishop Braxton Writes Letter as The Messenger Editor Retires](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/bishop-braxton-write-letter-as-the-messenger-editor-retires/) - Bishop Braxton writes a letter on the occasion of The Messenger editor's retirement.
- [Camp Ondessonk Opens  a ‘Hammock Village’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/camp-ondessonk-opens-a-hammock-village/) - Camp Ondessonk dedicated The Wolf Lounge June 3, in an area near the covered bridge that marks the entrance to camp when you arrive on Sunday afternoon. It’s the gateway to a week or more of adventure, of meeting new friends and reuniting with old, where the mystic of Ondessonk begins.
- [Parish leaders — two priests, three PLCs — reflect on future plans](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/parish-leaders-two-priests-three-plcs-reflect-on-future-plans/) - Two priests and three parish life coordinators will retire from leadership roles in the Belleville diocese effective July 11.
- [Breaking ground for new school](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/breaking-ground-for-new-school/) - It was a beautiful afternoon June 24 to break ground at Immaculate Conception in Columbia for the parish Catholic Education and Activity Center. In fact it was six years ago that the parish broke ground for the new church that stands now as a backdrop to this latest project.
- [“Spiritual Body Cameras”](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/spiritual-body-cameras/) - The body camera has rapidly become a requirement by many police departments in the United States. It helps police officers and citizens to have a more objective record of what actually happens when there is a conflict between members of the community and law enforcement.
- [Of Treasures and Fish](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/of-treasures-and-fish/) - The readings for Sunday, July 30, 2017, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, are 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12; Romans 8:28-30; and Matthew 13:44-52.
- [The Transfiguration](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/the-transfiguration/) - The readings for Sunday, August 6, Transfigurtion of the Lord, Cycle A, are Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 Peter 1:16-19; and Matthew 17:1-9.
- [Journey Through Illness](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/journey-through-illness/) - It’s hard to see a child who is sick, but Luke Beck (in photo above) of Holy Childhood in Mascoutah seems to be taking it in stride.
- [Bishop Braxton Introduces ‘Into My Vineyard’ Program](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/bishop-braxton-introduces-into-my-vineyard-program/) - As we continue to implement The Pastoral Plan for Parish Renewal and Restructuring, we are focusing on our Parish Partnerships, which must work diligently to bring parishes closer together in greater cooperation for the good of the Christian Faithful.
- [Father Joseph Oganda Reads The Messenger](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/father-joseph-oganda-reads-the-messenger/) - The diocesan Catholic newspaper has asked a number of people in the diocese why they read the paper. The Messenger reaches out; it evangelizes, according to Father Joseph Oganda, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Du Quoin.
- [Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School in Herrin Taking Shape](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/our-lady-of-mt-carmel-school-in-herrin-taking-shape/) - A new school is taking shape right before their eyes at Our Lady of Mt. Caramel in Herrin. Msgr. Kenneth Schaefer, pastor, checks on the building’s progress every day, he said.
- [Keeping Up and Keeping On](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/keeping-up-and-keeping-on/) - I’m not sure what I should call this column because it’s just a “two-fur.” For July, I will continue to make sure The Messenger hits deadline and goes out on time.
- [Speaking in Parables](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/speaking-in-parables/) - This Gospel selection begins a series of three Sundays on the 13th chapter of Matthew. This chapter is the third of the five great sermons of Jesus which Matthew constructs from oral and written tradition for the catechetical needs of his Christian Community.
- [Weeds in the Wheat](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/07/weeds-in-the-wheat/) - More parables! More puzzles! Last Sunday’s Gospel selection was taken from the opening of Matthew 13, the third of five great sermons Matthew constructed in his Gospel from traditions about Jesus and to meet the needs of his Christian Community.
- [St. Teresa in Belleville celebrates 50-year anniversary](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/st-teresa-in-belleville-celebrates-50-year-anniversary/) - Msgr. David Darin sprinkles the people during the May 7 liturgy celebrating the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the current St. Teresa Church in Belleville. (St. Teresa Parish was founded in 1926.) Msgr. Darin is pastor of St. Teresa and St. Luke parishes. In the photo he is accompanied by Deacon Robert Lanter. Both
- [Bishop Braxton Announces Official Appointments](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/bishop-braxton-announces-official-appointments/) - His Excellency, The Most Rev. Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., S.T.D., Bishop of Belleville, is pleased to announce the following clergy, religious, and lay appointments, effective July 11, 2017.
- [Germantown Family Remembers Brother Memorial Day](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/germantown-family-remembers-brother-memorial-day/) - When the boys and girls went off to war in the 1940s to fight and die in WWII or to do the same in the 1950s during the Korean Conflict or the many “Operation” names of battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, they were thanked and applauded for their service. But one war stands out as the one where military veterans were not applauded or feted or thanked.
- [A Look Back to June 22, 1979:  St. Joseph, Cobden Parish Bible School](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/a-look-back-to-june-22-1979-st-joseph-cobden-parish-bible-school/) - Three members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame volunteered to conduct a two-week Bible School program for parish youth, Father Ted Baumann, pastor, reported.
- [Poor Clare makes First Profession May 13](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/poor-clare-makes-first-profession-may-13/) - Sister Miryam of the Holy Family professed her simple profession as a Poor Clare nun May 13 in the chapel of the Poor Clare Monastery in Belleville.
- [People Work to Make Houses Homes](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/people-work-to-make-houses-homes/) - People from many places both in the diocese and from St. Louis gather when it’s time to build a home. This year, East Side Heart and Home Family Center is building its 21st home, making it possible for a dream to come true for a family.
- [MSA Picnic for Long-term Care Residents Turns 40](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/msa-picnic-for-long-term-care-residents-turns-40/) - It couldn’t have been a more perfect day for a picnic for residents of long-term care facilities, and the diocesan Ministry to Sick and Aged — MSA — couldn’t have been more delighted.
- [Father James Jeffrey dies May 28: Que en paz descanse (May he rest in peace)](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/father-james-jeffrey-dies-may-28-que-en-paz-descanse-may-he-rest-in-peace/) - Father James Jeffrey, ordained a priest for the Diocese of Fargo, N.D., who served in the Diocese of Belleville since his retirement from ministry in the Diocese of Fargo in 1999, died May 28 in Belleville. He was 83.
- [An Attitude of Gratitude](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/an-attitude-of-gratitude/) - If I wrote the “penultimate” column in the previous paper, this would be the “ultimate,” the last one. However, as we all know, what appears to be true is not necessarily the whole truth or the whole story, in this case. We’ll see, as my mother told me when I asked her repeatedly what would
- [The Ultimate Wisdom](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/the-ultimate-wisdom/) - The Gospel of this day is Jesus’ hymn of praise and thanksgiving to his heavenly Father for the gift of revelation. Many of the thoughts expressed in this hymn are similar to thoughts and expressions found in Old Testament Wisdom Literature and in various Old Testament Prophets.
- [Missionary Instructions](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/missionary-instructions/) - Today’s gospel selection is a continuation of last Sunday’s Gospel — instructions for Christian missionaries in the eighties of the first century of Christianity. The author of the Gospel according to Matthew gradually moved his catechesis from specific instructions for missionaries to general instructions for all Christians.
- [Fr. Eugene Neff Reviews Chris Lowney's Book](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/fr-eugene-neff-reviews-chris-lowneys-book/) - Father Eugene Neff, pastor at St. George in New Baden and director of the diocesan Ministry to Sick and Aged (MSA), has read a book recently that he believes would help in the restructuring and renewal of parishes in the diocese.
- [The Bread of Life](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/the-bread-of-life/) - The Gospel for the Feast of Corpus Christi is the heart of the Bread of Life Discourse in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John.
- [The Penultimate Column, Maybe](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/the-penultimate-column-maybe/) - I say “maybe” because I’m not sure exactly what will happen at the end of June. However, I write this as if I will indeed be replaced because we are, truly all replaceable.
- [Second Great Sermon](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/second-great-sermon/) - The context of this Gospel selection is the second of five great sermons the author of Matthew’s Gospel constructed from traditions about Jesus. This sermon is called “Missionary Instructions.”
- [Pentecost](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/pentecost/) - What is the meaning of the Greek word Pentecoste? It is the ordinal number “fiftieth.” Greek-speaking Jews used this word for the fiftieth day after Passover.
- [A Look Back to March 26, 1976: Holy Childhood in Mascoutah](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/a-look-back-to-march-26-1976-holy-childhood-in-mascoutah/) - A Look Back to 1976 and Mascoutah's Holy Childhood student council. Father Joseph Oganda Reads The Messenger
- [St. Elizabeth's Hospital Moves Forward](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/st-elizabeths-hospital-moves-forward/) - St. Elizabeth’s Hospital continues to take shape in O’Fallon. Members of the diocesan Art and Architecture Committee tour the area where the new chapel is being built in the hospital.
- [Spring farm blessing at Zwilling family farm](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/spring-farm-blessing-at-zwilling-family-farm/) - Father Mark Stec, East Vicariate Vicar Forane, blessed the seeds as well as the people, the animals, the fields and soil, and the machinery April 18 at the farm of Byron and Donna Zwilling near Dundas.
- [A Look Back to 1978 and TEC retreat #32](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/a-look-back-to-1978-and-tec-retreat-32/) - Teens Encounter Christ retreats have been held in the Diocese of Belleville for many years. The TEC organization celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015.
- [The Trinity Historically](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/the-trinity-historically/) - For the existence of the Holy Trinity we must rely entirely on revelation in the New Testament and the oral tradition of the Church which was the foundation of the New Testament. Human reason does not reveal the Trinity.
- [A Pilgrim People](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/06/a-pilgrim-people/) - We are a “pilgrim people,” always journeying from one point to another, sometimes spiritually, theologically or philosophically and often, quite literally.
- [Nurturing Friendships](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/nurturing-friendships/) - Can you stop in your busy schedule for just a minute because I want to ask you a question: Who is your best friend, and when was the last time you just called that person to say I’m glad you’re in my life?
- [The Holy Spirit as Enabler](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/the-holy-spirit-as-enabler/) - Selections from the Last Supper Discourse of Jesus with its theme of departure continues on this Sunday, but with a difference. Last Sunday the emphasis was on faith in Jesus, and faith in God as the same faith.
- [The Ascension in Matthew](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/the-ascension-in-matthew/) - The Gospel of Matthew closes with the Great Commission — the Gospel selection for the Ascension of Jesus. In Matthew 28, the faithful women disciples from Galilee had watched from a distance when Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried.
- ['The Bread Monk' to Demonstrate Baking April 8](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/the-bread-monk-to-demonstrate-baking-april-8/) - Fr. Dominic Garramone, OSB AKA "The Bread Monk," will share his love of bread making at the Pastoral Center April 8, 2017.
- [Bishop Braxton Hears Pope Francis on 50th Anniversary of Encyclical](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/bishop-braxton-hears-pope-francis-on-50th-anniversary-of-encyclical/) - Pope Francis addressed today, April 4, 2017, in the Vatican’s New Synod Hall, the participants, including Bishop Edward K. Braxton, in the Congress promoted by the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, being held in the Vatican on April 3-4, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio.
- [Going to Work at a Job He Loves](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/going-to-work-at-a-job-he-loves/) - In the grand scheme of things, most people decide to work during their adult life at something, whether it’s indoor or outdoor, and after a number of years, retire. That works for most, but not all, including Bill Roewe, now 92, president of Missouri Pipe Fittings Co., who continues to work four days a week.
- [More Than a ‘Knack’ for Selling Cars Keeps Woman Busy](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/more-than-a-knack-for-selling-cars-keeps-woman-busy/) - It takes more than just a “knack” for selling cars to stay in the business.
- [Young Woman Answers God’s Call as Lay Missionary](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/young-woman-answers-gods-call-as-lay-missionary/) - God doesn’t send a text or make phones ring/buzz or otherwise chirp, but God does call each person and make that call known.
- [Bishop Braxton Confers the Ministry of Lector on Belleville Seminarians](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/bishop-braxton-confers-the-ministry-of-lector-on-belleville-seminarians/) - On Wednesday, March 22, 2017, Bishop Edward K. Braxton was the Principal Celebrant of the Eucharist in Sacred Heart Chapel of Sacred Heart Seminary in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. During this Mass, he conferred the Ministry of Lector on six Seminarians, including three from the Diocese of Belleville.
- [Upswing Recovery Care Program at Murphysboro Hospital](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/upswing-recovery-care-program-at-murphysboro-hospital/) - Anyone who needs care and assistance in recovering from an illness or a surgery can find special encouragement and professional treatment in the Upswing Recovery Care unit at St. Joseph Hospital in Murphysboro.
- [Deacon Thomas Helfrich: Ministry Is His Passion](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/deacon-thomas-helfrich-ministry-is-his-passion/) - Deacon Thomas Helfrich said becoming a deacon was one more way he could “give back” to God for blessings he has received in his life and give back to his church.
- [Hospital Honors Nurse with National Daisy Award](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/hospital-honors-nurse-with-national-daisy-award/) - Most people don’t work in jobs that may mean life or death to those whom they meet, but nurse Mary Maxim does.
- [Deacon Michael Rowland Ministers at Parishes in Christopher, Sesser and Benton](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/deacon-michael-rowland-ministers-at-parishes-in-christopher-sesser-and-benton/) - Deacon Michael Rowland wears many hats as he ministers at St. Andrew Parish in Christopher and the partner parishes of St. Mary in Sesser and St. Joseph in Benton.
- [A Look Back to March 1960 in Clinton County](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/a-look-back-to-march-1960-in-clinton-county/) - Breese — At a luncheon meeting, Monday, March 7, attended by His Excellency, Bishop Albert R. Zuroweste and all pastors of the 14 parishes of Clinton County, it was decided that a major development program should be undertaken immediately.
- [Take a Ride on the Bus If You Can](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/take-a-ride-on-the-bus-if-you-can/) - When we see people holding up signs on street corners, hoping for a donation, we don’t want to catch their eyes as we wait for the light to change and we can get away.
- [The Good Shepherd](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/the-good-shepherd-2/) - Christians are familiar with the parable of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. It is found in the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John. The first ten verses of chapter ten contain two parables that introduce the Good Shepherd parable.
- [Teaching About Heaven](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/05/teaching-about-heaven/) - For the Fifth Sunday of Easter the liturgy presents us with a Gospel reading from Jesus’ Last Supper Discourse in the Gospel of John. Seems a bit odd as we work our way toward the feasts of Ascension and Pentecost.
- [Fund for Ministry Grants Make Communion Visits Easier in Parish](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/fund-for-ministry-grants-make-communion-visits-easier-in-parish/) - Every weekend parishioners gather at the Lord’s table at their parishes to receive the Body of Christ. While this is the way many receive Communion, a good number of people — and the number seems to be growing — are no longer able to leave their homes to attend parish liturgies as they once did. They rely on clergy and other volunteers to bring them the Eucharist.
- [Changes Made to Diocesan College of Consultors](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/changes-made-to-diocesan-college-of-consultors/) - Bishop Edward K. Braxton announced changes to the Diocesan College of Consultors March 6.
- [St. Joseph in Marion Evangelizes Faithful](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/st-joseph-in-marion-evangelizes-faithful/) - A number of parishes made an effort to “re-engage” Catholics in the South Vicariate and beyond, so they invited people in the region to join them for a presentation on enlivening their faith and becoming more dynamic as Catholics.
- [A Look Back, March 10, 1950](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/a-look-back-march-10-1950/) - A group of 17 Holy Year Pilgrims, including five clergy from this Diocese, will leave Sunday morning, March 12, for a two-week air tour to Rome and other points in Europe.
- [Demonstrate Respect for Others](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/demonstrate-respect-for-others/) - What do you want to be when you grow up? If you’re a bully, do you aspire to be a bigger bully?
- [On the Road to Emmaus](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/on-the-road-to-emmaus/) - A masterful composition is Luke’s story of Jesus’ encounter with two of his disciples returning from Passover in Jerusalem to their hometown Emmaus.
- [The Resurrected Jesus](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/the-resurrected-jesus/) - There are three parts in this Sunday’s Gospel reading. The first part takes place on the evening of the first day of the week (Sunday), on the same day as Jesus’ resurrection.
- [Olivia Heinzman reads The Messenger](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/olivia-heinzman-reads-the-messenger/) - Olivia made friends with the Messenger a couple of years ago. “Every day I read parts of it; I let myself have 30 minutes every day just to read a section so that next week when it comes, I will be done with that and I can start over. My favorite part is what the kids talk about.”
- [Matthew's Passion](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/matthews-passion/) - The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew is the longest in the four Gospels. Matthew composed his Gospel in the mid-eighties of the first Christian century.
- [John's Account of Women Finding Jesus' Empty Tomb](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/johns-account-of-women-finding-jesus-empty-tomb/) - It was the first day of the week, the day we call Sunday. The body of Jesus had been entombed late Friday afternoon. On the Sabbath all Jews rested, including the disciples of Jesus.
- [Easter Hope Will Fill Our Hearts](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/04/easter-hope-will-fill-our-hearts/) - We are about to enter into the darkest and most brilliant time of year for the Church — the Sacred Triduum.
- [Messenger to Celebrate 110 Years in 2017](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/messenger-to-celebrate-110-years-in-2017/) - It’s no small feat to keep a newspaper up and running for 110 consecutive years, so we decided it was a good idea to make this a year of celebration. As part of that, we will run “A Look Back” in every issue, with something pulled from a past Messenger and run as a column in present issues. Here's our first example: an article from the Jan. 27, 1939 issue.
- [Take a Look Back to Oct. 11, 1946 in The Messenger](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/take-a-look-back-to-oct-11-1946-in-the-messenger/) - BREESE — Council 2869, Knights of Columbus this week completed plans for the acceptance of a large class of candidates in honor of the memory of their three members who gave their lives in World War II, namely Paul B. Hemann, Thomas Hummert and Raymond Von Bokel.
- [“Serving Our Friends Daily in the Name of Jesus Christ”](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/serving-our-friends-daily-in-the-name-of-jesus-christ/) - “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for today is the evil thereof.”
- [Scouts Receive Awards Feb. 26 at St. Augustine in Belleville](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/scouts-receive-awards-feb-26-at-st-augustine-in-belleville/) - Boy and Girl Scouts from across the diocese gathered Feb. 26 at St. Augustine of Canterbury in Belleville to receive their religious awards.
- [Mike Kish Subscribes to The Messenger](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/mike-kish-subscribes-to-the-messenger/) - Mike Kish, principal of Immaculate Conception Grade School in Columbia, Ill., talks about The Messenger and its importance in his life. “The Messenger connects me to what we’re thinking about in Rome, to what we’re thinking about in Belleville with Bishop Braxton and what happens in our parishes.
- [Look for a Miracle Every Day](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/look-for-a-miracle-every-day/) - In our small, mostly rural diocese, we have some people leading truly extraordinary lives. They’re literally making a difference here in the diocese, the region, the country and all over the world.
- [Jesus' Friend Lazarus](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/jesus-friend-lazarus/) - The third of the great Lenten Gospels for the instruction of catechumens before baptism is the resurrection of Lazarus. It is the last of the seven miracles of Jesus that John narrates.
- [The Man Born Blind](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/the-man-born-blind/) - The second of the three great Lenten gospel readings for the preparation of catechumens is John’s story of the man born blind. The other Gospels have stories of Jesus restoring sight to the blind. This story in John is different.
- [Woman at the Well in Samaria](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/woman-at-the-well-in-samaria/) - The gospel reading of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well in Samaria is the first of three readings the liturgy of Year A (Matthew) imports from the Gospel of John. These readings, narrating major episodes from Jesus’ life, are particularly suitable for instruction of catechumens preparing for baptism.
- [Bishop Braxton to speak at the shrine Feb. 25](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/bishop-braxton-to-speak-at-the-shrine-feb-25/) - Bishop Edward K. Braxton will give an address at 2 p.m. at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows Guild Center in Belleville.
- [Look Back to Jan. 29, 1937 When the Floods Hit](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/look-back-to-jan-29-1937-when-the-floods-hit/) - Approximately ten cities in the Diocese of Belleville have been seriously affected by the unprecedented rise of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The flood, which has taken a tremendous toll in property and an unrecorded number of human lives, has caused heavy damages to churches, schools, church property and homes in the extreme southeastern and southern portions of the Diocese.
- [Parishes Share Eucharist, Faith, Conversation](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/parishes-share-eucharist-faith-conversation/) - Parishioners at SS. Peter & Paul Parish in Waterloo and St. Augustine of Hippo East St. Louis are using their faith as a cornerstone to build relationships with one another.
- [Daystar Helps  Keep a Body Warm on a Cold Winter Night](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/daystar-helps-keep-a-body-warm-on-a-cold-winter-night/) - When a customer walks into the store at Daystar Community Program in Cairo, he or she will always receive a smile and a “what can I do for you”? And they mean it. Amy Conoway works at the store, greeting customers, meeting needs and fulfilling requests for food or assistance along with others, including Sherry Miller, Daystar director.
- [Gary Mueller to be ordained to permanent diaconate](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/gary-mueller-to-be-ordained-to-permanent-diaconate/) - The road to the diaconate has proved to be a bit longer for one candidate, but ordination is just a few days away. Gary Mueller will be ordained a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Belleville Feb. 26 at St. Nicholas Church in O’Fallon, his home parish.
- [Sr. Thea Bowman Catholic School Community Responds to Syrian Refugees](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/sr-thea-bowman-catholic-school-community-responds-to-syrian-refugees/) - Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School decided to step away from the traditional activities of Catholic Schools Week this year to participate in a program offered by the National Catholic Educational Association and Catholic Relief Services.
- [Make a Difference with Catholic Relief Services in This Diocese](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/make-a-difference-with-catholic-relief-services-in-this-diocese/) - With prayer and story and song and information, representatives from diocesan parishes gathered at St. Barbara in Okawville to meet with the Catholic Relief Services Midwest Relationship Manager.
- [Transfiguration’s Lesson](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/transfigurations-lesson/) - One of three versions of the transfiguration of Jesus, from Mark or Matthew or Luke, is always the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Lent. This year is Matthew’s turn. Matthew begins, “Jesus took aside Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.”
- [We Stand With the Immigrants](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/03/we-stand-with-the-immigrants/) - As I drive from one event to the other in the diocese, sometimes at distances from my home, I have time to listen to the news and think. I often wonder how people, especially immigrants, manage to stay here or why they would want to, given the way they are being treated by some.
- [Belleville Diocesan Vocations Director Wears Different Hats](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/belleville-diocesan-vocations-director-wears-different-hats/) - The Belleville diocesan Vocations director keeps a busy schedule. Father Nicholas Junker is Sacramental Minister to the Newman Catholic Student Center at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where he lives and maintains an office at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Belleville as well.
- [Take a Look Back to 1942 in the Diocese of Belleville](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/take-a-look-back-to-1942-in-the-diocese-of-belleville/) - As part of The Messenger’s 110th anniversary, we are taking snapshots of past newspapers. This issue we go back to 1942 In the Diocese — In the Diocese of Belleville the year 1942 was marked by a spirit of increased prayerfulness for the welfare of our country and for the safe keeping of our boys in service.
- [People gather in Belleville to protest immigration ban, refugee crisis](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/people-gather-in-belleville-to-protest-immigration-ban-refugee-crisis/) - Members of the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry were among the 100 or more people who gathered January 31 in Belleville to protest the ban on immigrants and refugees among other issues. At present it is suspended, and the courts are deciding what will happen.
- [Breakfast honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/breakfast-honors-dr-martin-luther-king-jr/) - People across this nation celebrated the 88th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in many ways, and in O’Fallon, about 200 people gathered at New Life in Christ Interdenominational Church for the Eighth Annual O’Fallon-Metro East NAACP Community Martin Luther King breakfast where Msgr. William Hitpas spoke. Msgr. Hitpas is pastor of St. Nicholas in O’Fallon and St. Joseph in Lebanon.
- [Local student among 10 NCEA honored nationally](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/local-student-among-10-ncea-honored-nationally/) - While Catholic Schools Week is now in the rearview mirror, Althoff Catholic High School junior, Emma Murphy, will remember this one for quite awhile. Her family and her school are proud of her.
- [Responsibility Needed to Address Pollution](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/responsibility-needed-to-address-pollution/) - If making ethical, just decisions were easy, we would not be having a conversation about pollution. We would have a beautiful, green planet where all decisions would be based on what is best for the earth and its inhabitants.
- [Improving Luke’s Gospel](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/improving-lukes-gospel/) - The Liturgy of the First Sunday of Lent annually presents us with the story of the temptation of Jesus. This year — Matthew’s version. The original version is found in Mark 1:12-13, a very brief note that “The Spirit immediately (after Jesus’ baptism) expelled him out into the wilderness.
- [The Role of Mammon](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/the-role-of-mammon/) - This gospel reading completes the series of six Sunday readings taken from the Sermon on the Mountain for this year. The Gospel for the Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time is also taken from the Sermon on the Mountain, but the 9th, 10th, and 11th Sundays in Ordinary Time are omitted this year.
- [St. Mary, Mt. Vernon Students Practice Virtue-Based Restorative Discipline](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/st-mary-mt-vernon-students-practice-virtue-based-restorative-discipline/) - Conflict and resolution meet at a crossroads over and over again, probably more than once a day. Whether conflict wins or resolution does depends on our attitudes and beliefs.
- [Holy Childhood Students in Mascoutah Take Seriously Call of ‘Feeding God’s People’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/holy-childhood-students-in-mascoutah-take-seriously-call-of-feeding-gods-people/) - When students at Holy Childhood Catholic School in Mascoutah meet at 7:30 a.m. on the third Thursday of every month to make sandwiches, they don’t know who will receive them. When Felix McGaughy began distributing the sandwiches at the Mary Brown Center in East St. Louis, he didn’t know who had made them or why.
- [Christians and the Torah](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/christians-and-the-torah/) - Today’s Gospel reading is the third in a series of selections from the Sermon on the Mountain. Reading between the lines of Matthew’s Gospel it is clear that one of his purposes was to bring about unity in his Christian Community between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians.
- [Is This Possible?](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/is-this-possible/) - The Sunday Gospel readings taken from the Sermon on the Mountain continue with the fifth and sixth theses and their antitheses. A thesis is introduced with these or similar words, “You have heard that it was said…,” indicating a quote from Scripture.
- [Making a Difference in Our World](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/02/making-a-difference-in-our-world/) - I looked out over more than 250 young people at the shrine attending an all-day event to help prepare youth for confirmation. It wasn’t the event that struck me but the number of adults who were sprinkled liberally among the young people.
- [A Review of the News and Events in 2016 in the Local Diocesan Church](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/a-review-of-the-news-and-events-in-2016-in-the-local-diocesan-church/) - The Messenger marks the year 2016 by recalling people, places and events of the past year. Parishes and Catholic schools celebrated milestones with beginnings and endings. People were also celebrated for their gifts, their talents, their generosity and their faith. Following is our "year in review."
- [Bishop Edward K. Braxton to Speak at John Carroll University in Ohio](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/bishop-edward-k-braxton-to-speak-at-john-carroll-university/) - The Most Rev. Edward K. Braxton, Bishop of Belleville will give a major address at John Carroll University on the Catholic Church and the Black Lives Matter Movement on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. The bishop’s address will examine key elements contributing to the racial divide in the United States and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter Movement from the perspective of the Catholic Church.
- [Gibault Catholic High School Marks 50 Years](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/gibault-catholic-high-school-marks-50-years/) - Fifty years ago, Father Edwin Hustedde had a vision for a dynamic, integrated education.
- [The Rally as an Expression of Solidarity](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/the-rally-as-an-expression-of-solidarity/) - When people arrive at a point where they have become so frustrated, feel so powerless and must do something to share their feelings and call attention to issues of grave importance, they call those of like mind to rally, often in our nation’s capital, the focal point of so many memorable gatherings.
- [Salt, Light, a City on a Hill](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/salt-light-a-city-on-a-hill/) - The Sermon on the Mountain was introduced in last Sunday’s Gospel reading by a kind of preamble enumerating the beatitudes attributed to Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. Luke also enumerates beatitudes attributed to Jesus, but only four.
- [Beatitudes: New Torah](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/beatitudes-new-torah/) - This Sunday’s Gospel reading begins a series of five Sundays of selections from Matthew’s composition called the Sermon on the Mountain. The Sermon on the Mountain is the first of five major sermons the author of Matthew’s Gospel constructs from current traditions about Jesus in the mid-eighties of the first century. Why five?
- [BDCCW speaker outlines issues of trafficking at convention held in Marion](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/bdccw-speaker-outlines-issues-of-trafficking-at-convention-held-in-marion/) - A record crowd gathered Oct. 12 at St. Joseph in Marion to pray, share fellowship, listen, learn and celebrate at the 90th annual convention of the Belleville Diocesan Council of Catholic Women.
- [People Celebrate Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/people-celebrate-feast-of-our-lady-of-guadalupe/) - It was standing room only Dec. 11 at St. Damian Church in Damiansville to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe as parishes did locally and around the world to celebrate Our Lady’s Dec. 12 feast day.
- [Christmas Blessings to You from Young People Across the Diocese](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/christmas-blessings-to-you-from-young-people-across-the-diocese/) - The Messenger invited fourth- to sixth-graders in every parish to write a Prayer for Christmas. Hundreds of prayers were submitted, and the first three entries were selected as exemplary among their classmates. They are: Kendra Vaughn, Emma Howard and Carolin J. Bouc. Then other notable prayers were added. Following are some of the prayers we received.
- [The Move to Galilee](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/the-move-to-galilee/) - There are two parts to this Gospel reading. The first part places Jesus in Galilee in northern Palestine. Galilee was his homeland and the major location of his ministry in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke.
- [Fr. Peter Hsu dies Dec. 31, 2016](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/fr-peter-hsu-dies-dec-31-2016/) - Fr. Peter Hsu, 85, died Dec. 31, 2016 in Herrin Hospital. He would have celebrated his 60th anniversary as a priest in the Diocese of Belleville in 2017.
- [Preventing People from Reaching the ‘Last Stop’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/preventing-people-from-reaching-the-last-stop/) - Perhaps because I have recently released custody of 2016, I continue to think in terms of “last” things or sayings about “last” — I heard a mother tell her 2-year-old that he was “standing” on her last nerve. While I had never heard that said before, I knew exactly what she meant.
- [Ultimate Passover Lamb](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2017/01/ultimate-passover-lamb/) - The liturgy of this Sunday takes a break from the Gospel of Matthew and substitutes a reading from the Gospel of John. The setting is the ministry of John the Baptizer.
- [Diocesan Finance Statements  for Fiscal Year 2015-2016](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/diocesan-finance-statements-for-fiscal-year-2015-2016/) - The Diocese of Belleville has completed the audit of its financial reports for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2016. We are presenting the summary reports that display the financial position and statement of activities for each Fund of the Diocese for the Fiscal Year. Supplemental discussions will explain the composition of each operating entity.
- [‘Happy Easter!’ A Christmas Reflection](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/happy-easter-a-christmas-reflection-3/) - Dear People of God: Happy Easter! American culture has almost completely secularized the celebration of Christmas. Our commercialized society takes us from “Turkey Day” (Thanksgiving) to “the Holidays” with little or no serious attention given to the birth of the Messiah!
- [Weeks of Advent filled with activities at parish school](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/weeks-of-advent-filled-with-activities-at-parish-school/) - First- and second-graders at St. Joseph School in Olney participated in an Advent project called “Giving Our Hearts to Jesus” with encouragement from their teachers: Marcia Horstmeyer, Michelle Burgener and Casey Hemrich.
- [Addressing the Friction](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/addressing-the-friction/) - The Christian scribe whom tradition calls Matthew seems to have been commissioned by the Christian Community of Antioch in Syria to compose a document to bring about unity between Christian Jews and Christian Gentiles in that already well known Christian Church.
- [Mary’s Motherhood](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/marys-motherhood/) - his feast day celebrates Mary’s motherhood of Jesus. He is not only the son of Mary but “the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Father before all ages, God from God, light from light, true God from the true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial (of the same substance) with the Father.”
- [Becoming ‘Infected’ with Christmas Joy](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/becoming-infected-with-christmas-joy/) - For all of us who are looking expectantly to 2017 and wonder what the year holds in store for us, we may be looking back wistfully and wonder what happened to these 12 months that have slipped so quickly by. For a good number of us, illness plagued our last days of 2016.
- [Readers Send in Recipes to Share Spirit and Taste of Christmas](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/readers-send-in-recipes-to-share-spirit-and-taste-of-christmas/) - Editor’s note: For a number of years, The Messenger has asked readers to send in their favorite recipes so that we can publish them before all of the holiday bakers have finished their labors. This year is no exception. We have received recipes from all over the diocese.
- [And the Children Will Lead Us](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/and-the-children-will-lead-us/) - When I was a child, we generally “asked Santa” for a pony. The closest we ever came was a burro named Rosita, but since we had no transportation for the four-legged girl then living in St. Louis, my father breathed a sigh of relief and said he was sorry we just couldn’t get her to Illinois.
- [Luke’s Birth of Jesus Story](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/lukes-birth-of-jesus-story/) - The Fourth Sunday of Advent, we experience the first of two “Birth Stories” in the Gospel of Matthew. Today, on the feast of the birth of the Messiah and Lord, (titles bestowed on him by the angel of the shepherds), we experience a very different story of the birth of Jesus.
- [Two-pronged Approach](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/two-pronged-approach/) - Characteristic of Matthew’s Gospel is a two-pronged approach. What led him in that direction? To call his Gospel a compromise document is not off the wall. A valid hypothesis is this: Matthew writes for the Christian Community of Antioch in Syria about 85 A.D.
- [New school at St. Joseph in Olney blessed](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/new-school-at-st-joseph-in-olney-blessed/) - Students at St. Joseph School in Olney began the year in their new school building. On Sept. 30th, the church was full as students, teachers, parents, friends and parishioners gathered with pastor, Father Mark Stec for the blessing of the new school.
- [St. Joseph Parish in Stringtown Closes 175th Anniversary Year](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/st-joseph-parish-in-stringtown-closes-175th-anniversary-year/) - Nov. 6 was a beautiful day for celebration at St. Joseph in Stringtown as more than a few parishioners donned period clothing to remember ancestors who came together to nourish their faith and form a parish 175 years ago.
- [Parish mission with story and song at St. Mary in Mt. Vernon energizes people](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/parish-mission-with-story-and-song-at-st-mary-in-mt-vernon-energizes-people/) - “I can do this.” That’s what speaker ValLimar Jansen told the more than 250 people attending the first evening of the Nov. 6-8 regional parish mission hosted at St. Mary in Mt. Vernon.
- [John’s Disciples’ Question](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/johns-disciples-question/) - The gospel readings of the second and third Sundays of Advent annually remind us of the importance of John the Baptizer’s witness to Jesus and his God-given ministry.
- [The Baptizer](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/the-baptizer/) - Today’s gospel reading centers on the ministry of John the Baptizer and his first public witness to “One mightier than I, whose sandals I am unworthy to carry.” Unlike Luke, Matthew gives his readers no background about the origin of the Baptizer.
- [Recognizing Those in Our Global Families](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/12/recognizing-those-in-our-global-families/) - The many and varied reactions — both positive and negative — to the death of Fidel Castro rekindle memories of a trip I made to Cuba in 2000 with the Illinois Council of Churches, so it was legal then.
- [Deacon Candidates Pray, Study on Journey to Ordination](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/deacon-candidates-pray-study-on-journey-to-ordination/) - Nine men from the Diocese of Belleville and three men from the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in Missouri are journeying to ordination in the Permanent Diaconate.
- [A Prayer of Praise For Thanksgiving Day](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/a-prayer-of-praise-for-thanksgiving-day-2/) - We give thanks to You, O God Almighty, for Your wondrous creation:
- [Bishop Braxton makes school visit to Sr. Thea Bowman](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/bishop-braxton-makes-school-visit-to-sr-thea-bowman/) - During the fall as students return to school, Bishop Edward K. Braxton begins to fill his calendar with pastoral visits to diocesan Catholic elementary and high schools. This year is no different.
- [Jesus as Final Judge](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/jesus-as-final-judge/) - The gospel reading for the first Sunday of Advent in any of the three Cycles of Readings is always taken from the last discourse of Jesus in Matthew, or Mark, or Luke. The readings for the current liturgical year, YEAR A, are taken from the final sermon of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.
- [Christ the King](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/christ-the-king-2/) - The feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925. According to Pius XI, people of his time “...thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives,” so that “these have no place in public affairs and politics.” Pius continues,”...as long as individuals and states refuse to submit to the rule of our Savior, there will be no hopeful prospect for a lasting peace among nations.”
- [Facing the Death of a Child](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/facing-the-death-of-a-child/) - I stood in line at a wake last week, watching the parents of a young man in his 30s try to cope with his death. He had struggled with drugs for a good number of years during his young life. And finally, he just couldn’t manage it.
- [Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Breaks Ground](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/our-lady-of-mt-carmel-breaks-ground/) - Our Lady in Mt. Carmel Church was packed at the 11 a.m. liturgy on Oct. 9 as people celebrated not only the Mass but also the day on which ground would be broken for the new regional parish school.
- [When We Become the Refugees](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/when-we-become-the-refugees/) - Here’s a scenario: You have plans to visit an historic site in the Middle East — pick one — since the cradle of Christianity began rocking there centuries ago. Now, picture yourself stranded ...
- [Time of Jesus’ Return](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/time-of-jesus-return/) - The setting of this Sunday’s Gospel reading is Jerusalem. Jesus is sitting in an outer court of the temple. He and those with him were watching people drop contributions in chests set up to receive them.
- [Trick Questions](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/11/trick-questions/) - After Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus (last Sunday’s Gospel reading) in the city of Jericho, Luke points out that the end of the Journey to Jerusalem is almost at hand. Then he inserts the parable of the talents as a final teaching before Jesus enters Jerusalem.
- [St. John the Baptist Parish: One Hundred Years of Faith](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/st-john-the-baptist-parish-one-hundred-years-of-faith/) - On Sunday, September 25, 2016, Bishop Edward K. Braxton was the principal celebrant and homilist of the Mass of Thanksgiving marking the centenary of St. John the Baptist Parish in West Frankfort.
- [Diocese Recognizes Those Who Take Faith into the Marketplace](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/diocese-recognizes-those-who-take-faith-into-the-marketplace/) - Each year, for the past nine years, people have gathered to honor individuals who have taken their faith out of the pews and into the marketplace — into the lives of the working men and women of our diocese, to the clients and customers who will reap the rewards of these laborers, in the clinics and hospitals, caring for the sick, in the courtroom making sure justice is served, in the lives of grief-stricken families, in the care of our children and “walking the talk” of faith in everyday life.
- [Diocesan Catholic High Schools Engage Students](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/diocesan-catholic-high-schools-engage-students/) - Three diocesan Catholic high schools prepare young people not only academically but also spiritually to meet the challenges they will face in life. These young adults learn about social justice in their schools, their communities and their world.
- [Welcoming the Fall, a Season of Change](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/welcoming-the-fall-a-season-of-change/) - We are coming into a wonderful time of the year — fall, when the seasons change and nature demonstrates the wonder and beauty of God as leaves turn from green to gold and crimson.
- [A Prayer Lesson](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/a-prayer-lesson/) - Another parable — this one aimed at a fault common to many, and not just in the time of Jesus or the time of Luke. The parable addresses “those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised others.”
- [Also Children of God](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/also-children-of-god/) - The longest section of Luke’s Gospel, called “The Journey to Jerusalem,” is almost ended. The journey began at Luke 9:51, where Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” The journey became a framework for Luke’s catechesis — including difficult material for his Christian Community to absorb.
- [There Are No 'Minority' Voters](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/there-are-no-minority-voters/) - As Election Day approaches, commentators are speculating about the impact the “minority” vote will have on the outcome. Can Mrs. Clinton win even if she does not receive as high a “minority” vote as President Obama did? Can Mr. Trump win without a significant number of “minority” votes? The “minority” voters they are speaking of are almost always African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans.
- [Missionary Priests Play Important Role in Diocesan Pastoral Plan](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/missionary-priests-play-an-important-role-in-the-pastoral-plan-of-the-diocese/) - Bishop Edward K. Braxton hosted a luncheon Sept. 12 at his residence for Father Evaristus Okaa Onwuogu, Personal Secretary to His Excellency, the Most Rev. Valerian M. Okeke, Archbishop of Onitsha, Nigeria. Father Onwuogu was a guest of the bishop while visiting fidei donum missionaries from Onitsha, who are serving in Belleville.
- [Of Elections and Candidates and Decisions](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/of-elections-and-candidates-and-decisions/) - It’s October and that means many things to many people — leaves changing from green to vibrant hues of red and gold, schools delving deeply into topics of great importance in their lives and next month the end of an election season that has surprised and baffled us in many ways on more than one occasion.
- [The Crooked Judge](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/the-crooked-judge/) - The next item on Luke’s catechetical agenda is prayer. The instruction begins with a parable “about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.”
- [The Lepers’ Faith](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/10/the-lepers-faith/) - Once again Luke reminds us that Jesus & Co. are “on the way to Jerusalem.”
- [Moral Leadership in Action:  All Lives Really Do Matter](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/moral-leadership-in-action-all-lives-really-do-matter/) - As a citizen of this country, as a Catholic Priest and Bishop, and as an African-American, I am deeply distressed by the recent violent eruptions of the racial divide in the United States.
- [Bishop Braxton Speaks on Moral Leadership in Action](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/bishop-braxton-speaks-on-moral-leadership-in-action/) - On Monday evening, August 8, 2016 Bishop Edward K. Braxton spoke about the need for moral leadership in action in order to bridge the racial divide in the United States.
- [Parish Religious Education Programs Begin in the Diocese](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/parish-religious-education-programs-begin-in-the-diocese/) - Each year Catholic parishes throughout the United States begin the catechesis of their young parishioners through religious education programs held in the evenings or on weekends for those who do not or are unable to attend Catholic schools.
- [Youth ‘Rally’ with Karl Zimmerman at Afternoon of Faith Formation](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/youth-rally-with-karl-zimmerman-at-afternoon-of-faith-formation/) - Corpus Christi in Shiloh, St. Clare and St. Nicholas parishes in O’Fallon jointly sponsored a youth rally (retreat) for young people in grades five and six from 3:30-5:30 on Aug. 28 in the school gym.
- [Relying on God Must Be Enough](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/relying-on-god-must-be-enough/) - Not a stellar athlete? Neither am I, but I can still ride a bike, and I’ll be doing just that for Pedal the Cause, a nonprofit that raises money for cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and Children’s Hospital, both in St. Louis. I ride because my friend Larry died with cancer, and I have good friends who have or are battling that terrible disease. Some won’t make it, like Larry, but some will.
- [Too Late a Request](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/too-late-a-request/) - The major theme of last Sunday’s Gospel was Christians and wealth. Luke presented his teaching on this theme through a story about a crooked manager who got caught and fired. Following that story, Luke gathered sayings attributed to Jesus about the honest and dishonest use of wealth.
- [The Gift of Faith](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/the-gift-of-faith/) - On this Sunday both Luke and the liturgy give us a break from the theme of Christians and wealth. This part of Luke’s Gospel is still under the framework of the “Journey to Jerusalem.”
- [Retired Priests Continue to Minister](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/retired-priests-continue-to-minister/) - Retirement living can mean many things, but to priests who have retired, it seldom means sitting in the rocking chair on a porch someplace. Many of our retired priests continue to minister in parishes, celebrating liturgies for the living and the dead, visiting the sick or homebound.
- [Residents, Staff Find Common Ground, Respect](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/residents-staff-find-common-ground-respect/) - It may be hard to find good help these days, but the residents and staff at Aviston Countryside Manor work hard together to make “care” the important word in nursing home care.
- [Sister Parishes Greet Bishop of Jalapa, Strengthen Relationships](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/sister-parishes-greet-bishop-of-jalapa-strengthen-relationships/) - Was it a reunion, an update, a grateful farewell tour? How about all of the above. Bishop Julio Cabrera Ovalle visited the Diocese of Belleville Aug. 8-10 and spoke Aug. 9 at a conference to strengthen relationships with sister parishes.
- [Deacon Robert G.H. Lippert dies Aug. 30 in Beckemeyer](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/deacon-robert-g-h-lippert-dies-aug-30-in-beckemeyer/) - Deacon Robert G.H. Lippert, 76, died Aug. 30 at his residence in Beckemeyer.
- [Use or Abuse of Money](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/use-or-abuse-of-money/) - After a half century and more of studying, teaching, and writing about the Gospels, it should be possible to some extent to observe at work the mind of the author of a given Gospel. The authors are not writing biographies of Jesus but catechetical instruction about Jesus.
- [Catechists as Disciples](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/catechists-as-disciples/) - When Jesus said “come follow me,” he didn’t say when it’s sunny outside and the temperatures are moderate, when you have plenty of time, when your children are healthy and grown, in effect, when “all is right” in our world. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that all the time — sometimes yes, but often not.
- [Eating with Sinners](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/09/eating-with-sinners/) - Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel is the “Lost and Found” chapter. The headline: “Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to Jesus to listen to him, but the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” Tax collectors were among the most despised of all people by their fellow Jews. Why?
- [Althoff/St. Louis U Grad, Competing for Australia, Centered on Faith](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/althoffst-louis-u-grad-competing-for-australia-centered-on-faith/) - Pro basketball player Kevin Lisch works hard at his game. He played Division I ball at St. Louis University, was up for the NBA draft when he graduated in 2009, has won championships for pro teams in Spain, France and Australia and is heading to Rio de Janeiro to represent Australia, months after signing with the Sydney Kings.
- [Griffin Center 30 Years Young and Celebrating Success Every Day](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/griffin-center-30-years-young-and-celebrating-success-every-day/) - When Sister Julia Huiskamp DC arrived from Chicago 30 years ago in June, she wanted to work with children and families in East St. Louis, and the best way to do that was to offer a service to the families.
- [Franciscan Friar Celebrates 50th Anniversary, Continues Ministry](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/franciscan-friar-celebrates-50th-anniversary-continues-ministry/) - If someone had told Father Christian Reuter when he was a child that he would someday be ministering to people in prisons, he would never have believed it, he said.
- [Poor Clare Sisters Celebrate Together](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/poor-clare-sisters-celebrate-together/) - Part of the world yet apart from the world: The Poor Clares live in cloistered community, praying daily, beginning at 12:30 a.m. with Office of Matins and again at 4:55 a.m. for Lauds. These two times for prayer are among the times selected to gather for prayer throughout the day and are part of the Divine Office.
- [Harvesting Blessings of the Farm](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/harvesting-blessings-of-the-farm/) - It’s almost harvest time; we can all see it as we drive down our highways on short trips or long, and farmers are preparing to combine soybeans or shell corn, preparing crops for market.
- [Love of Family](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/love-of-family/) - In his ongoing catechesis under the framework “Journey to Jerusalem,” Luke continues to astound readers with difficult material for instruction. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading he seems to have reached the limits of problematic sayings attributed to Jesus.
- [The Humility Lesson](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/the-humility-lesson/) - The substance of this Sunday’s Gospel reading is an instruction on humility, but the reading does not begin that way. Luke writes, “One Sabbath Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler who was a member of the Pharisees.”
- [Sr. Grace Celebrates 25 Years at St. Luke Parish](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/sr-grace-celebrates-25-years-at-st-luke-parish/) - Being anywhere for 25 consecutive years is sometimes viewed as miraculous, but Sister Grace Marie Mueller, SSND seems to have stayed above the fray and glided along at St. Luke Parish in Belleville.
- [Youth from Two Parishes Offer Service in Alaska](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/youth-from-two-parishes-offer-service-in-alaska/) - Fifty-two youth and 14 adults from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel/Holy Spirit Youth Ministry (in Herrin and Carterville respectively) performed more than 1,200 hours of service in Anchorage, Alaska from July 10, 2016-July 16, 2016.
- [Youth at St. Mary in Mt. Vernon Offer Service at Daystar](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/youth-at-st-mary-in-mt-vernon-offer-service-at-daystar/) - Youth from St. Mary in Mt. Vernon have formed a relationship with the people of Cairo through their work with Daystar, a diocesan outreach agency.
- [Bridges retreat offers way to practice Spiritual Exercises](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/bridges-retreat-offers-way-to-practice-spiritual-exercises/) - “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46). How many of us can say we set aside a significant amount of time each day to pray? Probably not too many, and the reasons people say they have no time to pray are, well, reasonable, at least to some people.
- [The Symbol of Fire](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/the-symbol-of-fire/) - The immediately preceding context, which was also last Sunday’s gospel reading, centered on the end time and the return of Jesus, although in somewhat veiled language. What now follows in Luke’s Gospel seems to also be related to the end time and the expected problems in such a time of turmoil and upheaval.
- [The Salvation Question](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/the-salvation-question/) - Luke’s ongoing catechesis is still under the heading, “The Journey to Jerusalem.” Thus Luke begins, “Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went, making his way to Jerusalem.” That journey is a journey to a difficult ending — the cross.
- [Practicing an Attitude of Gratitude](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/practicing-an-attitude-of-gratitude/) - During these days of political rancor and disillusionment, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction and goals versus real action plans that can be put into practice. As they say, it’s difficult to know what politicos mean rather than just what they say.
- [Two new elementary school principals ready to go](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/08/two-new-elementary-school-principals-ready-to-go/) - St. Mary School in Centralia and St. John the Baptist in Smithon will welcome new principals as they begin the school year in coming weeks.
- [New Catholic School Elementary Principals Ready to Go](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/new-catholic-school-elementary-principals-ready-to-go/) - While elementary school students are still enjoying their summer vacations, new Catholic school principals began their first days on the job July 1, and they are anxious to move forward with their plans for the new school year that begins in mid-August in most cases.
- [King’s House in Belleville names deacon new director](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/kings-house-in-belleville-names-deacon-new-director/) - The King’s House Retreat and Renewal Center in Belleville is announcing its new director, Deacon Douglas Boyer. As the King’s House celebrates its 65th anniversary and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate celebrate their 200th anniversary, they look to the future with excitement and energy, much the way their new director does.
- [Camp Ondessonk Thrives with Young People, Staff and Volunteers](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/camp-ondessonk-thrives-with-young-people-staff-and-volunteers/) - Temperatures are beginning to soar; humidity’s up; bug spray’s in abundance — let the fun begin at Camp Ondessonk. Young people don’t mind inconvenience and a little heat because they are living the dream while they explore, hike, ride — two-wheeled or four-footed — swim, craft and more in the 983 acres of the great outdoors in the Shawnee National Forest.
- [Time: Something Precious to Use Wisely](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/time-something-precious-to-use-wisely/) - Do you ever think or say: “When I have time, I’ll get right on that project.” Or perhaps: “I’ll take care of that tomorrow or next week.”
- [Luke and Money](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/luke-and-money/) - Luke presents important themes one after another. Last Sunday’s theme: prayer and perseverance in prayer. The week before: discipleship for women. The week before that: discipleship for outsiders (Samaritans). This week: money.
- [Msgr. Joseph Schwaegel dies July 13](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/msgr-joseph-schwaegel-dies-july-13/) - Msgr. Joseph R. Schwaegel died July 13 at St. Paul’s Home in Belleville. He was 79.
- [Making Sure Our ‘Truth’ Is God’s ‘Truth’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/making-sure-our-truth-is-gods-truth/) - In these days of angry rhetoric and blustering politicians who obfuscate the truth if they want or need to, we can’t be blamed if we feel more unsettled than usual.
- [Living Compassion: Author Stands Against Human Sexual Trafficking](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/living-compassion-author-stands-against-human-sexual-trafficking/) - When Molly Olson was growing up, going to St. Clare School in O’Fallon, learning her faith in a warm and loving family, who knew she would become caught by compassion and a determination to respond and to act for victims of human sexual trafficking, giving voice to a tragedy engulfing young people around the world and here in our midst in the Midwest?
- [Ecumenism Alive and Well in the Diocese of Belleville](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/ecumenism-alive-and-well-in-the-diocese-of-belleville/) - Heard the expression “When God closes a door, he often opens a window?” Parishioners of the former St. Francis Xavier Church in St. Francisville know a good deal about windows. That faith community celebrated a closing liturgy Feb. 16, 2014 at the church along the banks of the Wabash River in the eastern part of the diocese.
- [Jewish Prayers](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/jewish-prayers/) - Prayer is one of several major themes of Luke’s Gospel and is the subject of this Sunday’s Gospel. Luke begins, “Jesus was praying in a certain place ... .”
- [Women as Jesus’ Disciples](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/07/women-as-jesus-disciples/) - Jesus visits his friends, Martha and Mary. Luke writes, “As they went on their way, Jesus enters a village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary ... .”
- [Sister parishes see new Diocese of Jutiapa created in Guatemala](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/sister-parishes-see-new-diocese-of-jutiapa-created-in-guatemala/) - Some diocesan parishes will now be partnered as sisters with parishes in the new Diocese of Jutiapa after a portion of the Diocese of Jalapa was designated as this new diocese.
- [Hispanic youth go on pilgrimage for a day](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/hispanic-youth-go-on-pilgrimage-for-a-day/) - Using a theme of pilgrimage with the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry sponsored a gathering of youth June 4 for Hispanic Youth Day, an annual event in the diocese.
- [Bishop Braxton celebrates liturgy at Catholic Media Conference](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/bishop-braxton-celebrates-liturgy-at-catholic-media-conference/) - Bishop Edward K. Braxton celebrated one of the liturgies at the Catholic Media Conference this year, held in St. Louis June 1-3.
- [Diocese hosts finance workshop](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/diocese-hosts-finance-workshop/) - Partnering with Catholic Church Extension Society, the Diocese of Belleville sponsored a workshop called “Money Tools for Presbyters” June 7-8 at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows.
- [Diocesan Priests Celebrate Anniversaries of Ordination](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/diocesan-priests-celebrate-anniversaries-of-ordination/) - Some of the diocesan priests and one Franciscan ministering in a parish and prison ministry are celebrating their anniversaries of ordination this year gathered with other priests to mark in a special way their priestly ministry in the Diocese of Belleville.
- [Father Charles Kribs dies June 10 in Belleville](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/father-charles-kribs-dies-june-10-in-belleville/) - Father Charles Kribs died June 10 at Memorial Hospital in Belleville. He was 90 years old.
- [Weapons and Amendments and Rights](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/weapons-and-amendments-and-rights/) - We will be celebrating another 4th of July next week, looking forward to gathering with family and friends to enjoy the holiday. However, fireworks have already rocketed into view in many places, and the rhetoric associated with these fireworks is hateful, to say the least.
- [The Good Samaritan](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/the-good-samaritan/) - Luke begins, “A scholar of the law stood up to test Jesus, and said....” A scholar of the law in the New Testament is more commonly known as a scribe. The “law” is not civil law or canon law but the Torah, the laws of Moses and everything else contained in the first five books of the Bible.
- [Disciples’ Mission Trip](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/disciples-mission-trip/) - Mark, Matthew, and Luke all include in their Gospel a sending out (mission) of the twelve apostles. Luke’s Gospel has an additional mission of seventy-two (or seventy) disciples. He uses an unusual Greek verb here translated as “appointed.”
- [King’s House Celebrates 65 Years](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/kings-house-celebrates-65-years/) - In 1951, the King’s House Retreat and Renewal Center opened its doors in Belleville to welcome people to their quiet retreats and over the years gained a reputation for the many and varied programs they provided.
- [Couples attend anniversary liturgy at the cathedral](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/couples-attend-anniversary-liturgy-at-the-cathedral/) - Bishop Edward K. Braxton spoke about love to the couples who attended an annual liturgy June 5 at the cathedral in Belleville.
- [Paying Attention to Our Relationships](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/paying-attention-to-our-relationships/) - People always seem to be harping at us about relationships, and we have so many of them. We have spouses, close friends, children, grandchildren, lots of relatives and even colleagues at work with whom we spend an inordinate amount of time.
- [Journey to Jerusalem](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/journey-to-jerusalem-2/) - “When the days for Jesus being taken up were fulfilled ... .” Thus Luke begins the longest section of his Gospel, “the Journey to Jerusalem.” For Luke, the journey is an integral part of the passion, death, and resurrection/ascension of Jesus.
- [‘You Are the Messiah’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/you-are-the-messiah/) - Luke begins: “Once when Jesus was praying....” The “praying” is a Lucan touch. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus characteristically prays before important events or before a major decision. This tells us that Luke himself was a man of prayer.
- [Doctor’s Advice: Be Active Now](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/doctors-advice-be-active-now/) - If life is truly a journey with heaven our destination, most folks don’t want to arrive too early. With that in mind, The Messenger went to see what family medicine practitioner, Dr. Jeff Ripperda, said about walking and exercise.
- [Gibault Seniors Reflect on Their Service, Life Lessons](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/gibault-seniors-reflect-on-their-service-life-lessons/) - While all eyes are firmly turned to graduation, several seniors at Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo took a few minutes to reflect on their senior service projects earlier in the year.
- [Memorial Day: A Time to Remember the Fallen](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/memorial-day-a-time-to-remember-the-fallen/) - Copilot of a B-24 Liberator bomber, Army Air Corps 2nd Lt. Olympio Zanini, 23, died May 19, 1944 on a bombing run over Brunswick (Braunschweig), Germany.
- [Tears for Jesus’ Feet](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/tears-for-jesus-feet/) - Even though the Pharisees get bad press in our four Gospels, Jesus had friends among them and table fellowship with them. It is unfortunate that the heated struggle between the leaders of Judaism (the “Pharisees”) and Christian scribes in the last third of the first century resulted in the negative depiction of these good pious men in the Gospels.
- [Tradition of ‘WidowCare’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/tradition-of-widowcare/) - Jesus restores life to the only son of a widow. The context: Jesus has just completed Luke’s version of teachings similar to those found in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mountain.
- [On Finding Welcome and Joy](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/06/on-finding-welcome-and-joy/) - Being welcomed into a gathering makes all the difference in whether we feel comfortable or ill at ease. Imagine hearing someone say: “You’re not welcome here.” As a reporter attending various meetings over the years, I have been unceremoniously ejected from them occasionally, and when it happens, it’s a bit jarring.
- [Youth Raise Awareness, Funds for Cancer Research](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/youth-raise-awareness-funds-for-cancer-research/) - Jane Whelan belongs to the Builders Club at Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Columbia.
- [Bishop Braxton Addresses Oblate Convocation](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/bishop-braxton-addresses-oblate-convocation/) - Bishop Edward K. Braxton addressed nearly one hundred and eighty Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate during their annual convocation at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows on Thursday, April 21, 2016.
- [‘Kid’ Safety Number One Priority for Cardinal Glennon Coordinator](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/kid-safety-number-one-priority-for-cardinal-glennon-coordinator/) - No matter how old you are, if you want to ride something with wheels, you need a helmet, so even if you’re going “triking,” be safe.
- [Marking Our Milestones](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/marking-our-milestones/) - Graduation, Mother’s Day, wedding, Father’s Day, baby shower, birthday, confirmation, and the need for cards just keeps coming. It’s that time of year, though, when we look at the milestones in our lives.
- [‘All Ate and Were Satisfied’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/all-ate-and-were-satisfied/) - The name of this feast day, Corpus Christi, is the Latin word for “Body of Christ.” Although this ancient name is still used, the new name, “The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ,” more fully expresses what is celebrated.
- [Trinity and Family Life](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/trinity-and-family-life/) - Before commenting on the gospel reading of the Feast of the Holy Trinity, it is worthwhile to give a brief history of the development of this feast. Devotion to the Holy Trinity was not known in early Christianity except in some invocations in the New Testament and in the baptismal formula of The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 … .
- [Don’t Wait for Health Disaster to Change Lifestyle](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/dont-wait-for-health-disaster-to-change-lifestyle/) - In a culture that cheers on the foods that will kill us — bring on the fried Twinkies, fried potatoes, fried macaroni, fried pickles, fried everything — we don’t seem to be able to keep from eating ourselves to death in one of the most advanced societies in the world. Most people take their health for granted until something happens.
- [Loving Stitches for Babies](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/loving-stitches-for-babies/) - Piece by piece, love is stitched into the fabric of every sheet made for baby beds. Measuring fabric, cutting elastic, dropping the needle — it’s all part of the ritual as Dorothy Suchomski makes crib sheets for the Pregnancy Care Center in Belleville.
- [Father John Joyce dies April 8 in Belleville](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/father-john-joyce-dies-april-8-in-belleville/) - Father John Joyce died April 8 at the Hincke-Sense Home for Retired Priests in Belleville. He was 70 years old. At his request, Father Joyce’s body has been cremated, and the Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Bernard in Albers when his brother, Stephen Joyce, is able to travel from New York to the diocese.
- [Picture-perfect Weather for Spring Farm Blessing](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/picture-perfect-weather-for-spring-farm-blessing/) - Father Mark Stec, vicar forane for the East Vicariate, leads the spring farm blessing at the farm of the Jeanne and Jim Tennis family in Mt. Carmel.
- [Lying, a Most Grievous Offense](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/lying-a-most-grievous-offense/) - “Oh what a tangled web we weave/ When first we practise to deceive.” Sir Walter Scott penned those words in 1808 as part of his poem, “Marmion,” but they continue to ring true today.
- [The Pentecost Accounts](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/the-pentecost-accounts/) - The liturgy of the Ascension of the Lord presented us with two quite different narratives proclaiming the ascension. Both narratives were composed by Luke, one in his Gospel, the other in his Acts of Apostles.
- [Luke’s Ascension Accounts](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/05/lukes-ascension-accounts/) - The Gospel for the Feast of the Ascension begins with the only post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to his disciples. Before our Gospel reading begins, Jesus first had to deal with the fright of his disciples at seeing him after their experience of his death.
- [Wife’s Organizational Skills Help Deacon in His Ministry](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/wifes-organizational-skills-help-deacon-in-his-ministry/) - Some people “juggle” more than others, and a deacon’s wife is no exception. Josie Weiler is a parish secretary at the cathedral in Belleville and also the wife of Deacon Wayne Weiler, ordained in 2013. Josie describes her role as “far more fulfilling than I had even anticipated.”
- [Deacon’s Wife Ministers with and Supports Husband in His Role](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/deacons-wife-ministers-with-and-supports-husband-in-his-role/) - Deacons live busy lives, working at jobs to secure their financial stability or in retirement to take on other roles, but always in the public eye. Most deacons enter their lives of ministry as one half of a married couple, with their lives of service shared by those closest to them — their wives. While they do not seek to be recognized, they play important roles as part of the couple, both emotionally and intellectually.
- [Deacon Answered Call, Placed Life in God’s ‘Hands’](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/deacon-answered-call-placed-life-in-gods-hands/) - Serving in a parish partnership with three parishes and working a 40-hour week at a local store give Deacon Archie Bowers plenty to do, but he wouldn’t trade it.
- [Ministry Takes Many Forms, Includes PSR, Bus Driving and Preaching](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/ministry-takes-many-forms-includes-psr-bus-driving-and-preaching/) - Everyone leads a busy life these days, running from one appointment to the next, juggling family and other obligations, but Deacon Charles Litteken, who says he is retired, keeps busy all week and weekend long.
- [The Road to the Diaconate](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/the-road-to-the-diaconate/) - Just how does one become a deacon? It involves first and foremost a willingness to embark on a journey of discovery which doesn’t happen overnight. As a matter of fact, it takes about five years.
- [Illinois Needs Lesson in Compromise, Humility](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/illinois-needs-lesson-in-compromise-humility/) - The clock is about to run out on the Illinois budget for FY2016. At the beginning of the fiscal year, this seemed like a glitch that would be fixed within days or weeks when politicians could meet and hammer out a compromise.
- [A 'Farewell' Address](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/a-farewell-address/) - The context of this Sunday’s Gospel reading is the Last Supper discourse in John’s Gospel. The theme is Jesus’ departure from his disciples. In the context of the Last Supper discourse, Jesus’ departure refers to his crucifixion, death and burial.
- [The Betrayal Confusion](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/the-betrayal-confusion/) - The general context of this gospel reading is the Last Supper. The specific context is a solemn statement that “one of you will betray me.” Great consternation follows.
- [Beginning a Life in Christ: an Easter Story](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/03/beginning-a-life-in-christ-an-easter-story/) - The sacred Triduum begins tonight, Holy Thursday, with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and the washing of feet. Megan Crawford and Rick Kenner of Holy Family in Cahokia had planned to process through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults — RCIA — together.
- [Student Thanks Pope Francis on His Third Anniversary](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/03/student-thanks-pope-francis-on-his-third-anniversary/) - Each year, Bishop Edward K. Braxton invites Catholic school students to write a personal letter to Pope Francis on the anniversary of his election as pope.
- [John: Jesus Replaces Moses](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/john-jesus-replaces-moses/) - The very brief gospel reading of this Sunday is a sequel to and summary of the Parable of the Good Shepherd. Between the presentation of the parable and its summary John quotes various statements connected with the parable. The parable had pointed out that the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The expression, “lays down his life” is especially appropriate because a Palestinian shepherd brought the sheep into the fold or pen at night.
- [Anchoring Ourselves in Prayer](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/anchoring-ourselves-in-prayer/) - “To you, Lord, I lift up my soul, my God.” Let’s talk about prayer since most of us find one way or another to take action and more often than not, speak to God.
- [Peter’s Betrayal Forgiven](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/04/peters-betrayal-forgiven/) - This Sunday’s Gospel includes most of John 21, which could be called the postscript to the rest of John’s Gospel. The primary purpose of the chapter is to justify the role of Simon Peter as head of the Christian Community and the continuation of that role after Peter’s death.
- [Sr. Thea Bowman Catholic School Forms Students](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/sr-thea-bowman-catholic-school-forms-students/) - Everyone who has ever sent a child to a Catholic school knows it’s a struggle to pay tuition. Norkisha Epps knows this because she works two jobs to send her children to Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School in East St. Louis, and she is beginning to see the fruits of her labors.
- [Faith Flows from the Newman Catholic Student Center](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/faith-flows-from-the-newman-catholic-student-center/) - The hub, the core, the heartbeat of a campus community: Some words just can’t capture fully what students describe as the Newman Catholic Student Center at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
- [Combat Veteran Finds Peace, Support at Newman](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/combat-veteran-finds-peace-support-at-newman/) - When Ben Cascarano, 28, transferred to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, he didn’t know what to expect, but he certainly didn’t know he would grow in his faith, embrace a community that he hadn’t realized he needed and forge lifelong friendships, even after he graduated and returned home to Lisle, Ill.
- [The Lenten Fish Fry a Tradition in Many Parishes](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/03/the-lenten-fish-fry-a-tradition-in-many-parishes/) - If it's Lent, a fish fry must be someplace near here, wherever "here" is. Each Lent for the past few years, Sue Huett, diocesan Office of Worship director and I have been sampling fish at a different location each week.
- [Youth Gather for Annual Diocesan Conference](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/03/youth-gather-for-annual-diocesan-conference/) - About 150 youth and adults gathered March 4-6 at the Gateway Center in Collinsville, Ill., to consider the theme: “Here to Serve: God’s Love in Action.” They came from as far as Mt. Carmel and Hamilton County and as near as St. Teresa in Belleville.
- [The Faithful Women’s Response to the Empty Tomb](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/03/the-faithful-womens-response-to-the-empty-tomb/) - Why do we use the name “Easter” for the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus? The origin of this usage is obscure. St. Bede the Venerable, (died 735), in a work written in 725, claims that the word is derived from the name Eastre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess associated with the season of Spring.
- [The First and Second Post Resurrection Appearances of Jesus](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/03/the-first-and-second-post-resurrection-appearances-of-jesus/) - The gospel reading of the Second Sunday of Easter includes the first and second post resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples. The first appearance takes place on the very day of the resurrection (Sunday) in the evening. Jesus had already appeared to an important woman disciple, Mary of Magdala.
- [Preparing for the Easter Feast](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/03/preparing-for-the-easter-feast/) - The older we get, the more difficult it is to amaze us, to surprise us although the present political situation has amazed, surprised and sometimes confounded people as it unfolds.
- [Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/rite-of-election-and-call-to-continuing-conversion/) - The Diocese of Belleville held the annual Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion Feb. 14 at St. Peter Cathedral in Belleville.
- [Making a Place in Our Lives for the Holy](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/03/making-a-place-in-our-lives-for-the-holy/) - How important are our children in 21st century America? I ask the question because we have so many ways our children are pulled from one direction to the next, it’s hard not only to establish but also to maintain a strong, faith-filled family life.
- [Luke: Jesus the Healer](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/03/luke-jesus-the-healer/) - There are four Passion Narratives. Each expresses the theology of the author. There are considerable differences among them. Mark’s Passion Narrative is thought to be the oldest. The best hypothesis sees strong connections between Mark, Matthew, and Luke.
- [Too Easy Forgiveness?](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/03/too-easy-forgiveness/) - On the fifth Sunday of Lent, the cycle of readings from the Gospel of Luke takes a detour through the Gospel of John. The story of the woman caught in adultery with its theme of repentance and forgiveness fits well into the Lucan cycle of readings, but does not fit so well into the Gospel of John.
- [New Diocese of St. Francis of Assisi of Jutiapa Announced](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/new-diocese-of-st-francis-of-assisi-of-jutiapa-announced/) - Bishop Julio Cabrera Ovalle received greetings from the Apostolic Nuncio to Guatemala, Archbishop Nicolas Thevenin on Jan. 25 announcing the erection of the Diocese of Jutiapa from territory within the Diocese of Jalapa in Guatemala.
- [Catholic Schools Celebrate, Serve Others](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/catholic-schools-celebrate-serve-others/) - Catholic Schools Week (CSW) was celebrated in the Diocese of Belleville and across the United States last week with activities around the theme of community, faith, knowledge and service.
- [Confirmation/La Confirmación](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/confirmationla-confirmacion/) - Today we live in a world where it takes lots of commitment to live good, holy and healthy lives. Many believe in God and have faith, but live as though they had no faith or relationship with God. Hoy en día vivimos en un mundo en que hace falta gente comprometida. Muchos creemos en Dios y tenemos fe, pero vivimos como si no la tuviéramos.
- [CUP Reaches Out to Those in Need](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/cup-reaches-out-to-those-in-need/) - When catastrophic events interrupt people’s lives that were just making it, everything changes. A chasm opens, and stretching a budget from week to week and month to month becomes impossible.
- [The Season of Lent/Es Cuaresma otra vez!](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/the-season-of-lentes-cuaresma-otra-vez/) - Life can happen quickly — you know the feeling — doesn’t it seem like you just celebrated a birthday or anniversary and you just turn around and it’s time to celebrate that occasion again! Algunas cosas en la vida son seguras que van a llegar muy rápido. Año tras año, la Cuaresma nos llega de sorpresa.
- [Correcting an Attitude](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/correcting-an-attitude/) - Jesus is engaged in his Galilean ministry of teaching and healing. Bystanders told him that some of their fellow Galileans had recently been in Jerusalem, where Pontius Pilate, at least by his command, mingled the blood of Galileans with their sacrifices.
- [Moving Forward in Faith](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/moving-forward-in-faith/) - Riding on the St. Vincent de Paul “breakfast bus” Sunday, I was amazed by the generosity of so many people.
- [Luke 18 Retreat Gathers Youth](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/luke-18-retreat-gathers-youth/) - The “Luke 18” retreat model for 6th-8th-graders is used in many areas. The model, according to adult team coleaders Kristine Lamons and Randy Riesenberger is a weekend long retreat inviting this group of young people into the Church — to help them see that they are not only the future of our Church, but they are also the Church right now.
- [Guatemala Credit Union to Celebrate 50th Anniversary](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/guatemala-credit-union-to-celebrate-50th-anniversary/) - Sometimes dreams come true, and in a big way. That’s what this story is about, but it took 50 years to arrive at this point. Msgr. Vincent Haselhorst entertained three people from the Diocese of Jalapa in Guatemala, which, if you know Msgr. Haselhorst would not be considered unusual.
- [Lent: a Time to Reflect, to Look Inward](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/lent-a-time-to-reflect-to-look-inward/) - As this issue of The Messenger goes to press, we as members of the Catholic Church linked to others around the world, are just beginning our Lenten journeys. The ashes were distributed to the faithful and we are, in these cold days of winter, beginning to turn inward and reflect on whether our daily lives mirror the lessons of the Gospel.
- [Transfiguration](https://bellevillemessenger.org/2016/02/transfiguration/) - The liturgy places the story of the transfiguration of Jesus on the Second Sunday of the Lenten season, perhaps as a beacon of hope for Christians undergoing the rigors of Lenten fasting, abstinence, and other penitential works imposed by Church authority. The transfiguration is a preview of Jesus’ resurrection.

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