Catholic News Around Indiana

Compiled by Brandon A. Evans

Diocese of Evansville

Benedictine Sisters Of Ferdinand Receive National Grant

By Special To The Message

The Support Our Aging Religious nonprofit organization announced on July 5 that it had awarded a grant to the Benedictine Sisters of Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand to fund the installation of a security system.

The Benedictines are among 52 religious organizations in 17 states that will receive almost $1 million in SOAR! Grants to assist aging Catholic religious-order priests and religious. They will benefit 2,770 men and women religious whose average age is 78. The grants total $983,167.

SOAR! grants assist religious communities in caring for their senior members. Grants cover expenses for basic needs such as handrails, hospital beds and emergency call systems. As a result of this assistance, many more Catholic Sisters, Brothers and religious-order Priests will be able to continue to age in place and remain at home with their religious communities. These grants help ensure the safety and dignity of men and women religious.

"We are grateful to SOAR! donors for making it possible to assist these elderly Catholic religious women and men in dire need. In our time of need, they have helped us in our school and hospital communities, in our parishes, and through their prayers," said Kathryn Pirrotta Caballero, chairperson of the SOAR! board. "As we celebrate SOAR's 30th anniversary, we give thanks for the work of these elderly women and men and for the generosity of our faithful donors."

As the cost of care continues to rise, the majority of men and women religious lack adequate funding for retirement. Meanwhile, the number of religious to support them in the workforce is dropping. A recent study projected that by 2020, religious ages 70 and older will outnumber those ages 69 and younger by four to one.

Members of the organization’s board of directors hand-delivered grant checks to many congregations around the country.

A group of concerned lay people founded SOAR! in 1986 to help ensure the financial stability of Catholic religious congregations in the care of their elderly and infirm members. In the past 30 years, SOAR! has awarded 1,115 grants worth more than $16 million to congregations across the country.
 

'We Are Called To Be The Soul Of This Nation'

By Tim Lilley

Father Alex Zenthoefer, pastor of Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Evansville, challenged those who attended the July 4 cluster Mass at Holy Spirit Church to live a witness of their faith for the good of our country.

“We are called to be the soul of this nation, which would otherwise get lost in political pursuits and economic strategies,” Father Zenthoefer said during his homily. “Our presence … a presence of joy and peace and hope … our presence reminds our fellow citizens and those who seek refuge here that the greatness of this nation lies in the fidelity of its people to the God who has filled us with such great gifts.”

Annunciation Parish and Holy Rosary Parish in Evansville celebrated the cluster Mass. Father Bernie Etienne, pastor of Holy Rosary, served as principal celebrant. Father Zentohoefer, Annunciation Associate Pastor Father Pascal Nduka and Holy Rosary Associate Pastor Father Ambrose Wanyonyi concelebrated. Deacon Jose Garrido and Deacon Jerry Pratt Jr. assisted.

“The United States has been a place of hope, a place of promise and a place of new opportunities,” Father Zenthoefer said. “We are abundantly blessed in this land by God and by those who have given their lives to defend it. And yet there are many who do not experience hope and promise and opportunity in our land. There are many who sleep under our spacious skies that feel only the burden of life and the pain of loneliness.”

He called on those in attendance and the faithful across our diocese and our nation to be witnesses to God’s love and mercy through our lives and our service to others.

“This is not a day for us to celebrate the fact that we can do whatever we want,” he said. “This is a day for us to celebrate that God has chosen us as his people. This nation needs us; it needs us to live well, and to be faithful to the people that God has called us to be. Today, let’s celebrate especially our freedom from sin, and our freedom to love and worship God, and to give ourselves for the sake of our brothers and sisters.”

The Mass included a collection that will be provided to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for its efforts in Evansville and across the diocese.

Photo caption: Annunciation Parish and Holy Rosary Parish gathered at Annunciation's Holy Spirit Church on July 4 for the annual cluster Mass the parishes celebrate. The Message photo by Tim Lilley.
 

(For news from the Diocese of Evansville, log on to the website of The Message at www.themessageonline.org)

 

Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend

TV Mass celebrates anniversary year

By Stephanie A. Patka

2016 marks the 30 year anniversary of the local TV Mass that is broadcast in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. The ministry of the TV Mass was designed with the sick and homebound in mind. While the televised Mass is never considered a replacement for Mass at one’s parish, it can be a help to those in hospitals, nursing homes or living alone and unable to travel.

Not only is the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend the only Indiana diocese to continue the televised Mass ministry, but it also is one of few dioceses to offer two local televised Masses to reach both ends of the diocese media markets. While the location has changed over the years, Mass is now broadcast every Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. on WNDU, Channel 16 in South Bend and WFFT, Channel 55 in Fort Wayne. Mass is also live-streamed through the diocesan website and previously streamed Masses can be viewed online 24 hours a day. Mass in Fort Wayne is celebrated at the chapel at the University of St. Francis and in the special set designed specifically for the TV Mass at the WNDU studios in South Bend.

The inaugural TV Masses were celebrated on the first Sunday of Advent, Nov. 30, 1986, by the late Bishop John M. D’Arcy in Fort Wayne and by the late Auxiliary Bishop Joseph R. Crowley in South Bend. At the time, Bishop D’Arcy said that he wanted to reach every person and that the “purpose of this Mass is to bring Christ into the living rooms of all our people.” Since the beginning, priests of the diocese have celebrated the weekly TV Mass and will typically bring parishioners to participate in the live liturgy as proclaimers, servers, musicians and choral groups.

The importance of the ministry of the TV Mass is also reflected in the dedication and enthusiasm of the over 20 volunteers in both locations that serve on a regular basis.

Photo caption: South Bend TV Mass volunteers enjoy time together following a Mass. Pictured here are Andy and Linda Knapp, Sister Agnes Marie Regan, OSF, Rick and Paula Burmeister and Paula Olen.
 

(For news from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, log on to the website of Today’s Catholic at www.todayscatholicnews.org)

 

Diocese of Gary

No news briefs are available this week

 

(For news from the Diocese of Gary, log on to the website of the Northwest Indiana Catholic at www.nwicatholic.com)

 

Diocese of Lafayette

No news briefs are available this week

 

(For news from the Diocese of Lafayette, log on to the website of The Catholic Moment at www.thecatholicmoment.org)