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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
