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John Paul the Great Catholic University to double its academic space
Posted on 03/19/2024 12:00 PM (CNA Daily News - US)
CNA Staff, Mar 19, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).
John Paul the Great Catholic University, also known as “JPCatholic,” announced earlier this month that it will double its academic space through a new creative arts academic complex.
The Catholic liberal arts college, located in Escondido, California, in the northern suburbs of San Diego, features hands-on creative programs in film, animation, design, music, and acting, as well as business entrepreneurship, combined with an education in theology, philosophy, and the humanities.
The two new arts buildings will feature a new soundstage, an illustration studio, an acting rehearsal studio, additional classrooms, computer labs, and more.
“This complex will more than double our academic space and equip our growing student body with the resources needed to produce impactful projects across the creative arts,” the university said in a press release.
“Right now, the facilities can handle 300 students pretty well, but there’s a lot of space that has double and triple usage,” founding president Derry Connolly, Ph.D., told CNA. “So once we bring the new building online, we’ll have much more dedicated facilities for each of the programs.”
The 30,620-square-foot building, previously the home of Johnson Furniture and Sears Roebuck, will be repurposed into a cinematic and visual arts building and a performing arts building. The property will feature outdoor space as well, with a courtyard for community events, outdoor performances, and student life.
“With the new building, we’re going to have much larger, dedicated spaces for all of the artistic, creative work that the students do,” Connolly said. “So that’s the biggest impact.”
Professor of music Robert Giracello, who pioneered the digital music program at JPCatholic, said the new project will “give us twice as many opportunities for creative arts projects for the students.”
“It’s a great place for all of our creative disciplines, between visual art and acting and film and music, to collaborate and work together in a centered area,” he noted.
Giracello said a soundstage can be used as “a multifaceted blackbox area.”
“You could film a scene there, or you can green screen, or we could even use it as a live room and do live recording of music,” he said. “Or we could even put on a performance.”
The renovation is expected to be completed in early 2025.
What is JPCatholic?
Connolly launched the school in 2006 and it has continued to grow ever since, with a small, but lively, “dynamically Catholic” community of about 300 students. It is now affectionately known as “JPCatholic.”
Connolly was inspired to found the school after a visit to Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, late on a Friday night while in adoration.
“God hit me over the head and said, ‘I want something like this in San Diego,’” he recalled, adding: “God never put something on my heart [like that] before or afterwards.”
Far from being a creative, Connolly was an engineer and businessman, originally from Ireland. But he saw what he called a “great need” for a “Catholic academic institution that trains people to use the arts for evangelization.”
“And that was in the early 2000s, when the Internet and Internet video was starting to boom,” he recalled. “I felt that the Church desperately needed something in the creative arts so combining what God had put on my heart and looking at the reality of the times led to the genesis of JPCatholic.”
“There’s a huge need in the particular space we’re in,” he said. “The creative arts were something that the Church totally dominated in the Middle Ages [and] the Renaissance… But in the 2020s, it’s not very clear that the Church has any great influence on the arts.”
But Connolly noted that young Catholic creatives are “looking for a place where they can create with people who share their values, and that’s difficult to find.”
“There’s no shortage of talent. God has produced the talent,” he said. “He just needs a place where they can be together and work on creating together.”
Montessori religious community develops in North Dakota ‘to serve Christ in the child’
Posted on 03/19/2024 11:00 AM (CNA Daily News - US)
CNA Staff, Mar 19, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).
When you think of Montessori education, you don’t think of Catholic nuns. But Dr. Maria Montessori wanted just that: a Catholic order of religious sisters dedicated to the education method that became her namesake.
Two years before her death, Montessori (1870–1952) expressed her wish that a religious order would exist to promote and develop Montessori-style education. More than 70 years later, the Servants of the Children of the Light is now a reality, thanks to Mother Chiara Thérèse.
Following “many years of personal discernment,” Mother Chiara brought the idea to her local Ordinary in Manden, North Dakota. Originally named Julie Jacobson, she took the name Chiara Thérèse and received her habit in 2020, taking her first vows on Jan. 3, 2021, the feast of the Epiphany.
“The Lord often brings about new religious communities in response to a need in the world at a particular moment or time in history,” she continued. “Although the Lord needs the ‘yes’ of human instruments, he works independent of us, drawing souls to live out this new form of life in the Church.”
The community was established as a Public Association of the Christian Faithful for Women in view of becoming a religious institute in the Diocese of Bismarck on Oct. 1, 2020.
“The inspiration for the founding of the community comes from the Holy Spirit,” Mother Chiara Thérèse said.
Founding a religious order is a long process, and the group currently boasts two members.
Earlier this year, on Jan. 6, Mother Chiara Thérèse professed her final vows, and novice Sister Lucia Rose received her habit during a special Mass at Our Lady of Victory Chapel on the campus of St. Mary’s Central High School in Bismarck.
“The process of beginning a new community follows the path of Christian life, and a solid foundation is necessary in order to grow and flourish,” Mother Chiara told CNA.
Though the community is small, it has received international support.
“We have been blessed to have the support of many people in the Church, far and wide; from our local bishop to the faithful in the Diocese of Bismarck, to people from all over the world,” she noted.
“I was taken aback, at the time of foundation, to hear from individuals across the world, as far away as Australia, Sweden, Wales, and Canada,” she continued. “Their voices resounded in unison as all exclaimed their joy that Dr. Montessori’s dream of a religious community was finally being realized.”
Since its establishment in 2020, the community has “had the grace of establishing ourselves in a proper convent, through the generosity of many benefactors,” Mother Chiara explained.
The Servants currently serve at Christ the King Catholic Montessori School in Mandan, a city just west of Bismarck.
“We continue to form young people — body, mind, and soul — through this method of education,” she said. “The early years of formation of the young sisters takes place at our convent. After the profession of simple vows, the sisters will pursue an AMI Montessori diploma, according to the age of the children they feel called to serve.”
“We continue to be open to what the Lord is asking of us and pray that we can remain faithful to the call we have received,” she noted.
Dr. Maria Montessori’s name has become synonymous with a style of education for children that is tactile, playful, and practical. It’s designed for the developmental needs of the child.
“Dr. Montessori desired that the child be respected and honored in this world, so often made only for adults,” Mother Chiara explained. “Therefore, from her we draw our deep desire to not only assist the child but to understand and respect the child in all his moments of development.”
Montessori became the first female doctor in Italy and studied psychiatry with a focus on education. In 1907, she opened a child care center in Rome, “Casa dei Bambini” — Italian for “Children’s House,” where she worked with disadvantaged children.
Catholic religious education was initially an integral part of Maria Montessori’s educational program, but as secular Montessori schools were established in the U.S., the religious element was dropped from the curriculum.
“We know that Dr. Montessori was a devout Catholic. In fact, she said, as E.M. Standing recounts, that ‘her own method could only find its fullest expression when applied to the teaching of the Catholic faith,’” Mother Chiara explained.
“In 1950, two years before her death, Dr. Montessori spoke of her desire for a religious community to carry out her work,” she continued. “She was convinced that she alone could do little in comparison to how a religious community could spread her work throughout the world.”
Dr. Montessori wished for the community to be called “The Servants of the Children of Light.”
“Therefore, it is her desire that is finally being realized after all of these years!” she noted.
Mother Chiara explained the Montessori “learned much” from the Catholic Church “as she formulated and developed her method of education,”
“Dr. Montessori also believed that ‘the true respect of the child is only possible when one respects God in the child,” Mother Chiara noted, citing her own translation of “Dio e il Bambino,” (“God and the Child”), a book of Montessori’s writings that have not been fully translated into English yet.
“From this flows our community’s unique fourth vow: to serve Christ in the child. We do so not only to safeguard our charism but also to truly serve the child as Dr. Montessori prescribes in her method,” Mother Chiara continued. “She said that a Montessori guide (or teacher) must root out all pride, impatience, and anger if he is truly going to lead the child to develop into the ‘man he is to become.’”
To find out more about the Servants of the Children of the Light, visit their website.
5 shrines dedicated to St. Joseph in North America
Posted on 03/19/2024 09:00 AM (CNA Daily News - US)
CNA Staff, Mar 19, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).
The feast of St. Joseph, celebrated on March 19, honors the foster father of Jesus and the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was one of the most important figures in Jesus’ life and yet one of the quietest. However, St. Joseph remains a strong example to the faithful of trusting God, accepting his will, serving one’s family, and working hard.
In honor of the patron of the universal Church, here are five shrines dedicated to St. Joseph in North America that pilgrims visit throughout the year.
St. Joseph Oratory of Mount Royal — Montreal, Quebec
Each year about 2 million people visit the St. Joseph Oratory of Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. St. Andre Bessette, a lay brother of the Congregation of Holy Cross, was devoted to St. Joseph and his dream was to build a chapel dedicated to the beloved saint. The first chapel built where the Oratory now sits was 15 feet by 18 feet. It has now been enlarged four times. Many pilgrims climb up the 100 stairs to reach the church on their knees in a gesture of prayer. The Oratory was founded in 1904 and is the largest shrine in the world dedicated to St. Joseph.
St. Joseph Shrine — Detroit
The St. Joseph Shrine in Detroit was completed in 1873 and is a landmark center of the Catholic faith in Detroit’s historic Eastern Market district. The Victorian Gothic shrine was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 due to its beautiful stained-glass windows in the sanctuary and its intricate architecture. What was once a key parish in the area, in March 2020 the parish was granted the designation of archdiocesan shrine. The shrine, which offers daily Traditional Latin Masses, is home to an active and growing community.
National Shrine of St. Joseph — De Pere, Wisconsin
The National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, was initiated by Father Joseph Durin, MCS, pastor of the former parish, in 1888. On Sept. 25, 1891, Pope Leo XIII issued the Bull of Canonical Coronation for the solemn crowning of the shrine’s statue of St. Joseph. This statue remains one of only 17 crowned Josephian statues in the world by papal decree and the only one in the U.S. In 1892, the term “National Shrine of St. Joseph” began to be used and it has been defined that way ever since. In 1898, the shrine was entrusted to the local missionary Norbertines. Today, it is visited by thousands of pilgrims each year seeking the intercession of St. Joseph.
Shrine of St. Joseph — St. Louis
Founded by the Jesuits in 1843, the Shrine of St. Joseph in St. Louis is one of the few churches in the Midwest to be the site of a Vatican-authenticated miracle. In 1864, Ignatius Strecker, a German immigrant, was suffering from an injury he received while working at the local soap factory. After all known treatments failed, he was given two weeks to live. He visited the church and kissed a relic of Blessed Peter Claver. He was miraculously healed and within a few days was back at work and returned to full health in a few months. The miracle was authenticated by the Vatican in 1887 and Blessed Peter Claver was canonized in 1888.
The miracles didn’t end there. During an outbreak of cholera in the city two years after Strecker was cured, parishioners gathered together and vowed to build a monument to St. Joseph if God would protect them from illness. No one who signed the vow died of cholera. The monument honoring St. Joseph, known as the Altar of Answered Prayers, was installed in 1867 and continues to be the centerpiece of the church today. Thousands visit the shrine each year.
Shrine of St. Joseph Guardian of the Redeemer — Santa Cruz, California
Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Shrine of St. Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer in Santa Cruz, California, is a ministry of the Oblates of St. Joseph. Construction of the church began in 1951 but it wasn’t until 1993, after extensive construction and renovations, that it was proclaimed a diocesan shrine in honor of St. Joseph. The shrine encourages the faithful to visit the chapel where daily Mass is held along with daily confessions. The shrine also has a coffee shop called Shrine Coffee, which is a nonprofit community coffeehouse seeking to evangelize through the “culture of encounter.”
San Antonio archbishop bans retreat center for ‘false teachings’ against Pope Francis
Posted on 03/18/2024 22:00 PM (CNA Daily News - US)
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 18, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).
San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller has restricted a local priest and a ministry known as the Mission of Divine Mercy (MDM) for disobedience and for spreading “false teachings,” presented as prophecies, against Pope Francis.
The apostolate and priest who was sanctioned, meanwhile, are defying the archbishop’s disciplinary measures and have held at least one unsanctioned Mass.
Garcia-Siller’s disciplinary action follows MDM’s publication of several messages on its website in which the group claimed “God the Father” told one of its members that the pope is a “usurper” and an “enemy of the Church.”
In response, García-Siller said in a March 15 statement that the group’s “status as a Catholic apostolate of the Archdiocese of San Antonio has been suppressed and revoked by official decree.”
According to the archbishop’s statement, MDM’s founder, Father John Mary Foster, refused to remove the messages from the group’s website despite repeated admonitions, thus breaking his vow of obedience and necessitating that he be barred from publicly practicing his priestly faculties.
Despite the archbishop’s ban, a representative for MDM told CNA that the apostolate plans to continue operating and that Foster celebrated Mass on Sunday.
What did the ‘prophetic messages’ say?
Based in New Braunfels, a town in the Texas Hill Country, MDM has operated as an approved Catholic retreat house and ministry devoted to promoting prayer and contemplating God’s will since 2010. According to García-Siller, the ministry has enjoyed good relations with the archdiocese until now.
Then in February, MDM began posting a series of supposed “prophetic messages” conveyed by “God the Father” to a member of the ministry, identified as “Sister Amapola.”
MDM claimed in one of its website statements that God had a message for priests in which he said: “You have not only let the smoke of Satan infiltrate into My Sanctuary; but you have allowed a whole army of demons to take your places. And you have allowed the usurper to sit on the chair of My Peter — he who is carrying out the Great Treason that will leave My Church desolate.”
The PDF of the following Message in both English and Spanish can be downloaded at https://t.co/4QI7g7miYG
— Mission of Divine Mercy (@MDMFaith) March 14, 2024
TO MY FAITHFUL PRIESTS
MARCH 1, 2024
MESSAGE RECEIVED IN ENGLISH BY SR. AMAPOLA
[God the Father] Write, My daughter, for My faithful Priests – Write for My sons who have…
Several other similar messages were posted to the apostolate’s website claiming that the Church was filled with “demons” and “imposters.”
Foster endorsed the messages, saying in a video that the Church is facing an “extreme crisis,” which he said justifies his disobedience to the archbishop. He pointed to the controversial Vatican document Fiducia Supplicans, which approved blessings for same-sex couples, as an example of “confusion and harm” being sown by Francis.
“From this statement and others of a similar nature that we’ve received, the terrible conclusion seems clear: Bergoglio [Pope Francis] is exercising illegitimate authority and acting as the enemy of Christ and his Church,” Foster said. “Given this extreme crisis, we are obeying God in publishing these messages, even without our archbishop’s permission.”
Archbishop bans MDM
García-Siller issued three official decrees on March 15, barring MDM as an apostolate, removing Foster as the group’s leader, and barring Foster from exercising priestly faculties.
“Whereas the activities of the Reverend FOSTER and the Mission of Divine Mercy have led to confusion and division and have caused grave scandal to the faithful … I WITHDRAW my approval of the ‘Mission of Divine Mercy’ as a Catholic apostolate,” one decree reads.
In so doing, the archbishop restricted the Christian faithful from associating with MDM and ordered that the apostolate not “use the name Catholic or call themselves a Catholic association.”
The archbishop further prohibited Foster from publicly exercising his priestly ministry on MDM grounds and ordered him to enter a “time of spiritual retreat” for six months. The decree said that if Foster violated the prohibition, he could face a total ban on publicly exercising his priestly ministry in the archdiocese.
The archdiocese declined to comment further on the matter, directing CNA to the archbishop’s decrees and statement.
According to the decrees, Foster and MDM have 10 days to appeal the archbishop’s decision.
MDM continues to defy archbishop
Emily Jebbia, a representative for MDM, told CNA that despite the archbishop’s ban, Foster celebrated Mass at the New Braunfels retreat center on Sunday. According to Jebbia, the Mass was attended by about 450 people, which she said is more than double the amount at a normal Sunday service.
Jordan McMorrough, a representative for the archdiocese, confirmed with CNA that the Mass was in violation of the bishop’s decree.
Jebbia said that though MDM has yet to confer with canon lawyers since the archbishop’s decree, apostolate staff plan to continue their ministry.
Jebbia said that MDM has previously had a “cordial” relationship with García-Siller and that they take the archbishop’s statement seriously. Nevertheless, she said that “given that we think this is an unprecedented situation in the Church, we have to act in an unprecedented way in obedience to what we believe God has asked us to do.”
Asked if MDM hopes to reconcile with the archbishop, Jebbia said “yes,” but she qualified her response by saying: “We hope that the [arch]bishop will be open to what is happening here at the mission.”
Stephen Colbert co-narrates Pope Francis’ new audiobook memoir
Posted on 03/18/2024 21:00 PM (CNA Daily News - US)
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 18, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).
The Catholic late-night talk show host and comedian Stephen Colbert is one of the narrators for the English audiobook version of Pope Francis’ upcoming autobiography, which comes out on Tuesday, March 19.
Francis’ book, titled “Life: My Story Through History,” documents the most significant moments of the pontiff’s life from his childhood until the present day. The publisher, HarperCollins, lists “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” host, along with Franciscan Father John Quigley, as the narrators for the English-language audiobook version of the autobiography.
The book discusses Francis’ upbringing, his time in the seminary, and his service as a priest, bishop, and ultimately pope. It does not shy away from the controversial elements of his papacy but rather addresses his detractors and defends his efforts to make the Church more pastoral.
Colbert, who has been outspoken about his Catholic faith throughout his career, has frequently expressed his affinity for Francis’ papacy, such as saying on his show in 2015 that he is “a total Francis fanboy.” When the pontiff visited the United States that year, Colbert dedicated a small portion of his show to discussing papal infallibility, the Second Vatican Council, and apostolic succession.
Despite his Catholic faith, Colbert has diverged from Church teaching on some issues, such as homosexuality and abortion.
U.S. bishops call for ‘focused effort of prayer’ ahead of Supreme Court abortion pill hearings
Posted on 03/18/2024 16:55 PM (CNA Daily News - US)
CNA Newsroom, Mar 18, 2024 / 12:55 pm (CNA).
The U.S. bishops are calling for a nationwide prayer campaign ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s hearing next week that could affect the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone.
The court last year said it would review a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling decided in August 2023 that imposed restrictions on the abortion pill based on safety concerns. The Supreme Court’s ultimate decision could curtail the shipping of the drug through the mail.
The hearing is scheduled for March 26. In a letter this month, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) president Archbishop Timothy Broglio and USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities chairman Bishop Michael Burbidge said they were “inviting Catholics to join a focused effort of prayer” for “the end of abortion and the protection of women and preborn children” starting on March 25.
The bishops said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), through its allowance of mailed abortion pills, “has enabled a nationwide mail-order abortion industry and turned neighborhood pharmacies into chemical abortion providers.”
Those pills “are now the most common form of abortion in the United States,” the bishops pointed out.
The Supreme Court’s ultimate decision on the matter, the bishops noted, “has the potential to make a major impact in the widespread accessibility of chemical abortion.”
“While the Supreme Court case is not about ending chemical abortion, it can restore limitations that the FDA has overridden,” they wrote.
The prayer campaign — which will begin on the anniversary of St. John Paul II’s pro-life encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) — will invoke the intercession of St. Joseph under his title “Defender of Life.”
“We ask Catholics to offer this prayer daily, from March 25 through June, when a decision is expected,” the bishops wrote.
The FDA’s regulation of abortion pills was subject to a whipsaw series of court decisions last year. In 2022, several pro-life groups and individuals, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), sued the FDA arguing that the administration failed to use the proper channels and hurriedly approved the drug in 2000 without weighing its severe risks to women.
Texas judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a controversial ruling on April 7, 2023, that suspended the FDA’s approval of mifepristone on the grounds that the agency had “acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns” and approved the drug “based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions.”
The Biden administration immediately issued an emergency appeal to block the ruling, first to a three-judge panel in the 5th Circuit and then to the Supreme Court.
In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked Kacsmaryk’s ruling and returned the case to the 5th Circuit for full review, leading to the ruling in August, which will be the subject of the Supreme Court’s March hearing.
Do you know how to make ‘St. Joseph’s bread’? Here’s the recipe
Posted on 03/18/2024 15:00 PM (CNA Daily News - US)
ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 18, 2024 / 11:00 am (CNA).
In the book “Dining with the Saints” there is a special recipe for making delicious “St. Joseph’s Bread.” Below you can find the ingredients and how to make it, perhaps as a special treat for the saint’s feast day, March 19.
According to the National Catholic Register, the book “Dining with the Saints” features a variety of foods and drinks in honor of famous and not-so-known saints. In addition, there’s a wide variety of dishes according to the liturgical season.
The book was written by chef and EWTN host Father Leo Patalinghug and drinks expert Michael Foley. At the end of each recipe you can even find a box titled “Food for Thought” with messages about faith or advice from a saint.
The introduction explains that “Dining with the Saints” offers you the resources you need for a healthy and uplifting family meal, a memorable couples’ night-in, or a fun dinner.
In honor of St. Joseph, a prudent and just man, the book offers the following recipe for a sweet bread for four people:
St. Joseph’s Bread
Serves 4
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (110 degrees Fahrenheit)
2 packages active dry yeast
6 cups bread flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons melted butter, at room temperature
5 large eggs, divided
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon anise seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Directions:
1. Combine lukewarm milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir together and rest for 10 minutes until yeast blooms.
2. Add melted butter, sugar, and 1 cup of the flour and beat with the regular paddle attachment of the mixer for about 2 minutes.
3. Add 4 of the eggs, the anise seeds, and 1 more cup of flour and beat for 2 more minutes.
4. Switch out the regular paddle attachment on the mixer for the dough hook and add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough starts to tighten up. (Depending on the size of the eggs, you may not need all the flour.) Continue to knead the dough for about 3-4 minutes.
5. Transfer dough to a greased bowl, cover with a cloth towel, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
6. Punch the dough and divide it into 3 equal pieces.
7. Roll each piece of dough into the shape of a thick noodle, about 1/2- to 1-inch thick and 20-22 inches long. Braid the dough together loosely and tuck the ends of the braids under the dough. Place the braided loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
9. Combine the water and the remaining egg to make an egg wash, and use it to brush the loaf.
10. Generously sprinkle the top of the dough with sesame seeds.
11. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Transfer dough to a wire rack and let it rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving.
Enjoy!
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
‘Miracles’: Rhode Island Catholic school thrives after last-ditch purchase from diocese
Posted on 03/18/2024 11:00 AM (CNA Daily News - US)
CNA Staff, Mar 18, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).
A newly launched Catholic school in Rhode Island is on a fast track to growth after what its leader described as a series of “miracles” that led to its acquisition of a disused Catholic property.
Dioceses across the U.S. regularly announce the sale of old parish properties that are no longer actively in use. The Diocese of Fall River in Massachusetts, for instance, is moving to sell a disused “seasonal church” in Dennis Port — the Our Lady of the Annunciation Chapel — so that the town can raze it to make way for a public park.
The Diocese of Springfield, also in Massachusetts, is likewise seeking buyers for several properties in its territory. Several years ago the diocese sold a shuttered Catholic high school that was then converted into apartments.
‘God and Our Lady are at the helm’
In Warwick, Rhode Island, meanwhile, the newly launched Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope recently acquired the property of St. Francis School and Church from the Diocese of Providence in what the school’s head described as several miraculous occurrences that played out in rapid succession.
Michael Casey, the president and executive director of the institution, said the school — part of the Minneapolis-based Chesterton Schools Network — was first launched in early 2022 with the goal of opening for students at the start of the 2023 school year.
Casey said the school’s leaders chose Warwick for its central location in the state.
“We first went to the diocese to look for properties we could rent, and every property was either in terrible shape or was not for rent by the local pastor,” Casey said.
The school’s board of directors discovered the St. Francis property and sought to obtain it, but it was not for sale or lease at the time. The school settled instead on a 3,000-square-foot property, which Casey said was “tight.”
“As we tried to make this rental our temporary home, I felt it was too small and kept waiting for a shot at St. Francis,” Casey said, admitting that “every day, I drove by St. Francis Church and School, waiting for the for-sale sign to go up.”
After writing one last-ditch letter to the diocese, Casey learned that the property had just come up for sale and that closing bids on the parcel were in a matter of days. After a flurry of walkthroughs, consultations with a lawyer and real estate agent, a last-minute benefactor’s letter of collateral, and an extension from the realtor — all while the school community was praying a novena — they delivered the proposal “with two hours to spare.”
“I aged about 10 years from Tuesday night to the following Monday morning,” Casey admitted.
The school’s bid was ultimately accepted.
“There are so many miracles that happened in those three days and over the three months while the decision was made,” Casey said, “but we became owners of three acres with a church that seats 400 people, a school that can accommodate 160 students and a rectory [at which] we are housing our teachers.”
“It has been a crazy ride, but we believe God and Our Lady are at the helm,” Casey said.
Following the school’s acquisition of the property, volunteers and engineers both pitched in to help prepare it for opening. Workers “did quite a bit in a short time to get the buildings to code to move in,” Casey said. “We spent about $55,000 to open it and during the first year we needed about $20,000 in repairs that showed up as we started using the property again.”
He admitted that those investments were financially “draining” but that the school is engaging in fundraising as it grows into a four-year institution, after which “the financials look pretty good.” The school currently hosts about 20 students; the St. Francis property can accommodate a total of 160.
Casey said the school is well supported as it launches. Benefactors “are starting to get behind the mission and vision to help the school get to the next level,” he said, while volunteers “have been incredible, sharing their gifts in areas such as painting, construction, and much sweat equity.”
Casey said the experience with the school shows that lay Catholics looking to help the Church need to “step up and help instead of hoping someone else does it.”
“Catholic laypeople must become part of the solution for the Church’s future,” he said. “We need to support our diocese and priests.” The diocese, Casey added, has been “so supportive” of the school, with a different priest visiting the school “every day” to celebrate its daily Mass.
“Priests visit us from all over Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts, and the students have an opportunity to see how each priest has a different journey in faith,” he said. “They sometimes share lunch with the students. Priests or deacons help us every month for our First Friday Holy Hours. Both bishops and a few monsignors have celebrated Mass with us.”
Casey said the school aspires to “bring spiritual life back to the Warwick and greater Rhode Island community and help families committed to raising their children to be the next generation of saints.”
“Many Chesterton schools do not start this way with buying at the start,” he said, “but we believe with Our Lady of Hope guiding us, that we will be able to fill the school and help bring more souls to Christ.”
‘The religion of the Incarnation’: Catholic artists reflect on the necessity of beauty
Posted on 03/17/2024 11:00 AM (CNA Daily News - US)
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 17, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).
St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City is easily the most recognizable church in the world. Visitors to the basilica are often left staring up in awe, taking in the grandeur and beauty of the world’s largest church.
Likewise with Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings, Johann Christian Bach’s “Requiem Mass,” and even Jean-Francois Millet’s “Angelus” — some more of the world’s most influential and beloved works of art created throughout the millennia.
What do all of these great works of art have in common? They were created by Catholics.
For millennia, Catholic artists have drawn millions to God through the power of truth, goodness, and beauty. But today, the Church is no longer widely known for producing beautiful art. What happened?
Daniel Mitsui, a contemporary Catholic artist based in Hobart, Indiana, who creates art in the medieval style, told CNA that Catholic art today suffers from the wounds of a double-edged sword: rejection of tradition and complacency.
“I believe that Catholic religious artists have two tasks,” he said. “First, they should be faithful to tradition, attempting to hand down in their turn the things that have been remembered since the time of the New Testament and that are reflected also in the sacred liturgy and the writings of the Church Fathers. And second, they should make their work as beautiful as possible, because they are attempting to depict things the way that God sees them.”
“The experience of beauty,” he said, “is like a dim memory of life in paradise, an experience that no fallen human artist will be able to recreate. But we should strive to do the best we can!”
The ‘religion of the Incarnation’
Despite the artistic lack in recent decades, there appears now to be a growing resurgence in the Catholic artistic world.
Gwyneth Thompson Briggs is one of the most prolific artists creating in the traditional Catholic style. A New England-based artist, Briggs told CNA that she has seen “stirrings of a restoration in the art world” and a “growing desire for a return to the grand tradition of sacred art.”
She started a website called the Catholic Artists Directory, which features many of the artists leading the Church’s artistic revival. This revival, Thompson believes, is vitally important.
“It is the enemy who wishes to make the world ugly, and he has had a lot of help in that direction these last 200 years. Our task is to make the world more beautiful,” she explained, adding that because “Christianity is the religion of the Incarnation,” Christian art “should be incarnational too.”
Rebuilding the Church
The Catholic artistic revival is not just limited to painting. Emerging from a relatively dark age of Catholic art, there are now many talented Catholic artists working in the mediums of painting, sculpting, music, architecture, and more.
Indeed, a large percentage of the Catholic churches built in the last two decades have been constructed in traditional styles in which beauty and form are emphasized.
A thread of American Catholic churches built in the last 2 decade
— Al Carbo (@carbo_al) March 9, 2024
Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart, Knoxville, Tennessee (2017) pic.twitter.com/rA1RVKS8Jd
St. Mary’s Catholic Center in College Station, Texas, is just one example of a beautiful Catholic church built in the last decade.
Serving a vibrant student community at Texas A&M University, St. Mary’s long struggled to fit the multitudes of students coming to Mass in its old church building. Finally, St. Mary’s decided it was time to build a new church.
Father Will Straten, St. Mary’s pastor, told CNA that when they were considering the new church, they wanted something “that did not look like other buildings” that “students could identify as a church.”
“We wanted the building to be a beacon, to be a light that guided students to God,” he said.
The church was designed by a team of faithful Catholics from Studio io and completed in 2023. Anna Olinger, a student at A&M and an intern at St. Mary’s, told CNA that the new church has already had a big impact on students, Catholic and non-Catholic alike.
“The new church has been such a blessing because it has allowed students to enter into the liturgy and prayer in a way that uses all of our senses,” she explained. “From his birth, cross, and resurrection to his eternal reign, the church makes heaven seem a little closer. The church better helps students understand salvation history and the plan that God has for their personal salvation.”
“Art and architecture have been important tools of evangelization for centuries, and that is still true with the younger generation,” she said.
‘Surprised by the Gospel’
Martin Earle, a U.K.-based sacred artist who specializes in works for churches and the liturgy, told CNA that one should not mistake an artistic revival for a simple re-creation of the past.
According to Earle, the job of a Catholic artist today is to get “under the skin” of the old masterpieces of the faith and instead of copying them, “create new works that manifest a living tradition.”
“We artists have a role to play in preaching the Gospel to each generation: to present it in all its freshness, beauty, and liveliness in a language that is attractive to our peers. This can only happen if we firstly allow ourselves to be surprised by the Gospel. Then we need to find the tools to communicate our wonder,” he explained.
Yet, according to Mitsui, if any Catholic artistic revival is to occur, ordinary, lay faithful will need to play a crucial part in it. Without Catholics supporting artists and fostering an environment where new art can be made, nothing will change.
“We live in a time when it is easy to obtain reproductions of many historic masterpieces. Maybe collecting those and only those seems satisfactory and less risky than supporting any living artist. But if everyone does that, the next great religious artist will never get a chance to exist, because he or she had to get a job in advertising or something like that,” he explained.
Only with the help of the faithful, Mitsui said, can Catholic artists help the Church reach a new age of beauty and wonder in art.
Harrison Butker addresses family life, gun violence, Taylor Swift, and more in far-reaching interview
Posted on 03/16/2024 13:21 PM (CNA Daily News - US)
CNA Staff, Mar 16, 2024 / 09:21 am (CNA).
Super Bowl-winning kicker Harrison Butker shared a simple — but countercultural — message when he delivered a graduation speech at his alma mater, Georgia Tech, last year.
“Get married and start a family,” the Kansas City Chiefs NFL star told the new graduates.
Outspoken about his Catholic faith for several years, Butker garnered headlines during the 2023 Super Bowl when fans noticed he was wearing a scapular — a brown woolen sacramental from the Carmelite tradition, worn around the neck as a sign of consecration to Mary.
In addition to Butker’s devotion to the Traditional Latin Mass, the 28-year-old father of two frequently promotes his pro-life convictions as well as the importance of marriage and family life, frequently emphasizing the importance of prioritizing his vocation as a husband and father.
In an interview Friday with Mark Irons on “EWTN News in Depth,” Butker said he wants to encourage men, especially fathers, to “be courageous, to not be afraid to be the leader.”
“It’s something that we struggle with, I think, a lot of times to go outside of our comfort zone and to say, ‘You know what? God has called me to be a leader, and to lead by example. I’m going to lead my household and I’m going to lead outside the world when I’m evangelizing.’ So that’s something that I’m very passionate about,” Butker told “EWTN News in Depth.”
“I think Our Lord needs to be king. He needs to be front and center. And as Catholics, we have to be unapologetically proud of our faith and of Jesus Christ.”
Addressing several topics in the interview, Butker spoke out against the violence that erupted last month at the Feb. 14 parade in Kansas City celebrating the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory. A dispute between revelers escalated into a shooting that claimed the life of Lisa López-Galván, a local radio DJ, mother of two, and a parishioner at Sacred Heart-Guadalupe Parish in Kansas City.
Butker said he later learned that López-Galván was wearing a football jersey with Butker’s number when she was shot. He said he subsequently gifted López-Galván’s family one of his own jerseys, and she was buried in it.
Butker said although he didn’t know López-Galván, he said he hopes that “she appreciated the fact that I was a Catholic, that I was outspoken for my faith.”
“To be able to receive that encouragement, that love, even though I never met her, I heard that from her family, how much she was encouraged by me and loved all my work. That’s just very encouraging for me to continue on the path that I’m on and to be never unwavering in my beliefs,” Butker said.
Expressing deep sorrow over the violence, Butker said the shooting incident demonstrated the need for strong father figures to set positive examples.
“I think we need strong fathers in the home. I think we need men that are leading, that are setting good examples, that are teaching the young men in our society that violence is not the way to handle our disputes,” he said.
Butker was asked about another recent news item, also from February, whereby Catholics expressed outrage over a controversial and irreverent funeral service for a well-known transgender advocate that was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan — who oversaw a Mass of reparation at the cathedral after the funeral — later said that the cathedral “had absolutely no idea about this” and that the archdiocese does not “do FBI checks on people who want to be buried.”
Butker said he sent Dolan a letter encouraging him to take a “strong stance” against the irreverent actions that took place during the funeral.
“We need men that are leading saying, ‘This is not right. This is wrong. As Catholics, we will not accept this.’ We need to take a hard stance. I think sometimes we value what the world says about us instead of what Jesus Christ says about us,” Butker said.
Addressing the ongoing and soon-to-be culminating Eucharistic Revival taking place in the United States, Butker said he personally was encouraged in his belief in the Eucharist when, while in the process of returning to the faith, he attended a Catholic conference and got the opportunity to spend time in Eucharistic adoration with thousands of other people.
Butker said the truth about the Eucharist “can’t be promoted enough.”
“I think a lot of Catholics who prioritize adoration and time with Our Lord in daily Mass and daily Communion and confession … I think they see this big growth in their spiritual life, because they are allowing themselves to fully immerse themselves in the Church and her sacraments.”
“I’m very excited for the Eucharistic Congress,” he added, referring to the upcoming national event set for July 17-21.
Asked about Taylor Swift — the ubiquitous pop star currently dating teammate Travis Kelce — Butker described her as “so humble and so gracious” when he met her for the first time at a New Year’s Eve party.
“I was a little nervous to meet Taylor Swift. I mean, it’s Taylor Swift, so maybe I’m a ‘Swifty’ if I was nervous to meet her, but it was a great experience, and I can’t say enough great things about her,” he said. “And I hope [she and Kelce] get married and start a family.”