The Winning Essay

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The Winning Essay

St. Timothy School, Union

It was a morning like any other.  My stomach grumbled, and I felt the deep pain of hunger in the pit of my stomach.  I knew the day would bring only a few small morsels of food.  I was born into poverty-stricken Ethiopia, and I lived there until the age of four when I was adopted.  I am here living with a wonderful family and several other adopted sisters.  I am able to walk the earth today because my birth mother recognized the dignity and worth of all life.  My parents also understand this, and they created a welcoming home for their children.  Knowing the pain of hunger myself, I understand how poverty and food-scarcity could lead to women terminating the life in their own womb rather that facing the struggle of not being able to raise their child.  By offering support such as childcare and food relief to poverty-stricken mothers, we can offer hope and compassion during a pivotal time in their lives.

By having a mother who embraced my innate, God-given dignity, my life was spared.  My birth mother lived in poverty in a small town in Ethiopia.  She could barely feed herself, and she knew she would not be able to take care of me when I was born.  Instead of taking the easy way out, she chose to carry and give birth to me.  She put me in an orphanage that had more resources than she could ever provide.  She had tears in her eyes as she watched me leave and go to a place where she knew I would get the care I needed.  Because of her selfless decision, I am able to realize the worth of life.  Scripture states, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you-oracle of the LORD-plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope” (New American Bible Revised Edition, Jeremiah 29:11).  My birth mother knew that God had a plan for my life, and she understood that my life was meaningful, no matter the circumstances I was born into.  All life is precious regardless of the condition.

It is our responsibility to support struggling mothers and families in our community.  According to a recent study, “The average cost of childcare for one child in the U.S. is about $10,900 per year.” (The Economic Impact of Childcare by State”).  This puts additional stress on mothers with a limited income.  This was the case with my younger sister who was adopted at birth.  Her mom lived in Cincinnati, and was not able to provide for her, so she made an adoption plan.  The lack of support mothers receive with new children is devastating.  To help alleviate this, I have taken the initiative to offer free babysitting services in my community.  By using my service, families can have time to attend to health concerns, be active in their faith network, and work to provide for their families.  As leaders of our faith we need to lend a helping hand to impoverished mothers.  It is our duty as young Catholics to pray for leaders in our country to pass legislation and welcome new life.

Providing meals for lower income children and moms is essential to supporting families as they welcome new life into their homes.  I prioritize helping lower-income children because I remember when I was in Ethiopia and would only receive a small portion of food.  Go Pantry collects and distributes food to malnourished children in Boone County.  We need to raise awareness in our community about this beneficial service to our neighbors who need additional support to feed their families.   Attending to the needs of the poor is our call from God.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, “The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.  Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God” (2447). Feeding poor families brings alive the teachings of the Church.

To conclude, all life is precious and deserves dignity and respect.  When we support struggling women and families in both speech and action, we bring our faith to life.  Let us answer God’s call for us to help our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

The St. Mary Stadtmiller Family Parish Activity Center is dedicated and blessed in an October 2 ceremony

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Bella Young

Multimedia Correspondent

After a fruitful first phase of the St. Mary Parish, Alexandria, Cultivating Legacy capital campaign, which included the installment of a church elevator and the expansion of the parking lot, phase two officially concluded Oct. 2 with the dedication and blessing of the new Parish Activity Center.

“Today we ask God’s blessing on this Parish Center. We ask God that those entrusted with the education in this parish and school may teach how to join human wisdom with the truth of the Gospel, so that they will be able to keep the true faith and live up to it with their lives, said Bishop Iffert in his blessing. “We also ask the Lord that students find in their teachers, the image of Christ. So that, enriched with both human and divine learning, they are ready and able to enlighten and assist others.”

The new Parish Activity Center, or PAC, contains access to the main school building, three new preschool classrooms each at 750 square feet, and a new gymnasium with a capacity for 500 adults or 700 children, making it double the size of the previous gymnasium.

Looking forward, the third and final phase of the Cultivating Legacy capital campaign will include the renovation of the previous gymnasium into “a much-needed STEM classroom space,” said Father Joseph Gallenstein, pastor at St. Mary Parish.

During the planning process of the Cultivating Legacy capital campaign, it was determined that it would be feasible for the parish to raise $3.5 million.

“We said $4.2 million is needed,” said Father Gallenstein, “Then comes COVID and that went up to $5.9 million. At each turn, all the way, they met the fundraising challenges with confidence, creativity and enthusiasm … More than 900 people contributed, large and small donations, to make this facility possible,” said Father Gallenstein, standing in front of the emblem at center court.

The Stadtmiller family, for whom the PAC is named, was the lead donor to the capital campaign. “There is one family, who in fact, was the lead donor. In addition to their own personal generosity, they helped secure other large donors during the campaign. Without which, this project would not be possible — Jim and Connie Stadtmiller,” said Father Gallenstein.

To those in the St. Mary community the name Stadtmiller will sound familiar. Mr. and Mrs. Stadtmiller sent their four children to St. Mary School and have been faithful parishioners to the church for just as long.

“They have been tireless and generous supporters of St. Mary Parish and School,” said Father Gallenstein.

Now three of those four children are raising their own families at St. Mary Parish, and their daughter is investing her time and talents as a teacher and campus minister at neighboring Bishop Brossart High School, Alexandria. Father Gallenstein concluded his remarks, “The Stadtmillers are a family of deep Catholic faith … this facility will bear the name Stadtmiller.”

Jennifer Geiman, principal, St. Mary School, explained to those in attendance why this Activity Center was so desperately needed.

“The road to this moment was very challenging. Having to navigate a worldwide pandemic that exponentially changed the completion timeline and cost. In June 2022 when I stepped in as principal, the circumstances were dire. The lack of space for our rapidly growing student body … hard decisions were happening, such as eliminating our thriving preschool program,” Ms. Geiman said.

Those preschool students now have three classrooms in the PAC. “We are so blessed that our community provided us with such a beautiful new learning and activity space for our students and parishioners,” said Ms. Geiman

“When we say that the Church is holy, it doesn’t mean I’m all that,” said Bishop Iffert. “Jesus calls us together to eat his body. Jesus is the holiness of the Church. His life, his word, his ministry flows on in the mission that we share here at St. Mary’s. That is what makes the Church holy.

“Today we are here to bless this building. What we are really doing when we are blessing the building is we’re blessing you. We’re asking God to beat every evil, every temptation, every tendency to be divided, or to hurt one another, away from us. Instead, in this building, in this place you have created — you have made by your efforts and your sacrifices — to make this a place where you come to know Christ. Where he converts us and changes our hearts and helps us to be Christ to one another. That’s what we do when we bless this space. We say, ‘Make this a space where holy people gather in the image of Jesus and treat one another like Christ.’ Everything that happens in this building, we want to be leading toward Christ. The way you play here on this floor, the way you treat one another when you play, even when you are in competition with one another, the way you help one another learn, the way you assist one another … That’s what will make this building holy.”

Taking the aspersorium and aspergillum, Bishop Iffert blessed those in attendance, as well as the physical building with holy water raising screeches of delight from the preschoolers and kindergarteners as Bishop Iffert passed them, and more reverent signs of the cross from the older students, all of whom are on their way to making the St. Mary Stadtmiller Parish Activity Center a holy place.

Franciscan Daughters of Mary celebrate 25 years with Mass on the feast day of their patron

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

Bishop Emeritus Roger Foys recalled the founding of the Franciscan Daughters of Mary, 25 years ago when one of the diocesan priests recommended a small group of women who were “looking to follow the footsteps of St. Francis” — with hopes of being received into the Diocese of Covington.

Bishop Foys remembered asking them what they were about, to which the sisters replied with their special concern — “To care for others. To preserve life in any way.”

The rest, he said, is history.

On the evening of Oct. 4, the feast of the sisters’ patron, St. Francis of Assisi, a Mass was held celebrating not only this feast day, but the 25-year anniversary of the sisters’ founding.

Celebrated at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, Bishop Foys served as celebrant and homilist. Joining him in concelebrating were priests from the Dioceses of Covington, Cincinnati and Indianapolis — representing all from the tri-state whom the sisters have come to serve through their charism of stewarding and preserving life.

Joining in the celebration was a crowd of individuals all gathered to celebrate the sisters and their work, and to pray for them.

In his homily, Bishop Foys recalled the story of St. Francis — how he was born to a wealthy family, his conversion and turning to a life of prayer, solitude and meditation.

In addition, he shared a story of St. Francis from the “Little Flowers of St. Francis” — a collection of vignette stories from the people who knew him.

With the congregation, Bishop Foys recounted the story of the Wolf of Gubbio — a vicious wolf who was attacking all the animals, and eventually, the people, of the village.

“Francis visited Gubbio when he heard of this, and told the villagers that he wanted to see the wolf,” said Bishop Foys. And, although the villagers advised St. Francis not to, he made the sign of the cross, and insisted.

As the wolf rushed at St. Francis with open jaws, “Francis made the sign of the cross and commanded the wolf to cease his attacks in the name of God,” Bishop Foys recanted from the “Little Flowers.”

Calling him “Brother Wolf,” St. Francis was able to make peace between the wolf and the people of Gubbio — saying that the wolf played “one of his forepaws on Francis’s outstretched hand.”

“Is it any wonder that Francis is such a popular saint?” Bishop Foys asked the congregation. “He is genuine. He is real. He is committed by his actions to the words he preaches and teachers. Francis saw God’s hand in everything and everyone.”

He continued, saying, “Everything and anything we have comes ultimately from the hand of God. And, so, you see God’s beauty in a sunrise or a sunset, in a bird or a dog or a wolf.”

Circling back to the sisters celebrating their anniversary, Bishop Foys commented on their “remarkable” mission to “care for anyone who comes. No questions asked — because anyone who comes is a child of God to be treated with dignity and respect.”

“We pray that the ministry will continue to flourish and to grow,” Bishop Foys concluded, “and just as Francis brought peace to the wolf and the people of Gubbio, may the sisters bring peace and reconciliation to all who walk through their door.”

Praying for the dead in a communion of saints

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David Gibson

Catholic News Service

Some people cannot imagine praying for the dead. What is unimaginable to many others is not to pray for those who die.

To be sure, there is more than one way to pray for those who die, just as there is more than one way to pray for those in this world who share intimately in our daily lives. Our greatest hopes for others, whether in this world or the next, are what lend shape to our prayers for them, as does our appreciation of their finest gifts.

Whatever its form, prayer for others focuses on what is best for them, what God intends for them. With that in mind, we commend the dead “to God’s mercy,” as the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out. Indeed, we do.

But there is something beyond petitions for mercy that I find noteworthy about praying for the dead. It is the deep-down sense of continued connection with them that these prayers appear to express.

The loss suffered when someone we love dies is not absolute, which is not to suggest it is not painful. In praying for a parent, a spouse, a child or friend who died recently or long ago, we affirm that — though we may not fully understand how — they still matter for us in ways that add up to much more than the memories documented by old photo albums.

Our love of them remains meaningful, invaluable. Praying for the dead was hardly unimaginable for Pope Benedict XVI. In a 2007 encyclical titled “Spe Salvi,” he wrote:

“The belief that love can reach into the afterlife, that reciprocal giving and receiving is possible in which our affection for one another continues beyond the limits of death — this has been a fundamental conviction of Christianity throughout the ages, and it remains a source of comfort today.

“Who would not feel the need to convey to their departed loved ones a sign of kindness, a gesture of gratitude or even a request for pardon?”

Those comments by Pope Benedict suggest there are various ways of praying for the dead — that this kind of prayer might even assume the form of a kind, considerate and affectionate conversation.

Petitions to God undoubtedly rank as the principal form of prayer for those who have died. The Church prays, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, that those who die “may attain the beatific vision of God” (No. 1032) and “that no one should be lost” (No. 1058).

But does that imply that our prayers must be colored by a sense of desperate fear regarding the eternal life of someone who has died? It seems good to remember that our pleas for a loved one do not serve as God’s formal introduction to that person.

Maybe we think that after “Harvey” dies that he was hardly perfect, though he was dear to us and good in ways many did not recognize. But should we worry that God, too, did not recognize Harvey’s goodness or found no reason to care for him?

My spirituality prompts me to believe that the people I love are loved even more by God. In praying for them, I try not so much to petition God’s presence to them as to refresh my faith that somehow God always is present to them in ways that genuinely matter.

Dominican Father Brian Shanley, president of Providence College in Rhode Island, spoke in a 2012 address about praying for others.

St. Thomas Aquinas thought “that we can play a role in God’s providence for others through our freely chosen and grace-inspired prayers,” Father Shanley said.

He also said:

“When we utter a petitionary prayer for someone else, we are not informing God of what God does not know or asking God for a gift that God does not want to give. … It is part of the largesse of the grace of God that God allows us to cooperate with him in his providence for others.”

Beyond petitions to God, our prayer might assume the form of a meditation on the life of someone who dies. We might ponder how this person’s example constitutes a legacy able to inspire the next stages of our own life.

Our prayers might also be shaped by expressions of gratitude to God for someone who countless times was a gift to us.

Prayer for the dead is undergirded by the Church’s belief in the communion of saints. Pope Francis mentioned this in October 2013.

“There is a communion of life among all those who belong to Christ,” Pope Francis said. This “communion of saints,” he stressed, “goes beyond earthly life.”

Pope Francis pointed to “a deep and indissoluble bond between those who are still pilgrims in this world — us — and those who have crossed the threshold of death and entered eternity.”

For, he said, “all baptized persons here on earth, the souls in purgatory and all the blessed who are already in paradise make one great family

St. Paul School celebrates the100-year anniversary of its reopening

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Bella Young

Multimedia Correspondent

Bishop John Iffert gathered with the Florence community and St. Paul Church, Florence, parishioners to celebrate Mass in honor of the parish school’s 100-year anniversary. Saturday, Sept. 28, St. Paul Church was standing room only with overflow seating in the narthex, a testament to the impact that the school and church have had on the Florence community.

Bishop Iffert took a moment in his homily to reflect on the last 100-plus years of St. Paul Parish and School, using a “History of the Diocese of Covington Kentucky” by Paul E. Ryan as his main point of reference.

“There was a fellow who came here, his name was Cornelius Ahern. He moved into the Florence area, and he tried to find out how many Catholics were here, and he could identify three Catholic households in Florence,” Bishop Iffert said.

One of the Catholics living in Florence was the wife of a protestant doctor, Mrs. Scott. The others were Mr. and Mrs. Ferneding, keepers of the local tavern. Despite the absence of Catholic church in Florence, Mr. Ahern traveled to Covington where he met with the pastor of St. Mary Church, Father Thomas Butler and asked him to come back to the village of Florence and celebrate Mass for the small number of Catholics. It took a few months, but Father Butler made his way to Florence, and in 1851, in the small living room of the Ahern house, the Catholic faith had a new spark in Florence.

That first gathering was larger than expected, however. As Father Butler made his way to Florence, in those few months word had reach Boone County and Taylorsport. People traveled from up to 15 miles away, across counties, to come to the celebration of Mass.

“People came from all over … keep in mind in those days that would be 15 miles of walking, or 15 miles of horseback,” said Bishop Iffert. “Father Butler continued to send a priest out there every couple of months to celebrate Mass in this small Catholic community. In 1855 he established a parish, and the first church was built in 1856, the first resident pastor in 1873,” said Bishop Iffert.

It was that first resident pastor, Rev. Joseph Bent, who worked to open St. Paul School sometime between 1873 and 1877.

“To have the courage to go ahead and build a little room on the back of the small church and start a school. Open to educating Catholic children, hoping to keep them from falling under the influence of the anti-Catholic Know Nothings. Can you imagine how lonely that felt, and how difficult it was,” asked Bishop Iffert. “It was a one room school along the back of the church, and it functioned until 1913, when it closed. I don’t know why it closed, but I know exactly why. It closed for the same reason that Catholic schools always close. Three things open Catholic schools, three things close Catholic schools — Catholic faculty, sufficient students and money,” said Bishop Iffert.

However, as had been made evident, the resiliency of the Catholic community of Florence shone forth once again, and in 1923 Father Herbert Egbring re-opened the school under the care the Sisters of St. Benedict.

In 1924, 100 years ago, the interior of the church was decorated and a new altar installed. It took only two years after the reopening of the school for the number of pupils to outgrow the small one room classroom and in 1925 ground was broken for a new school building. Twenty-six years later, once again, the need for a new school building arose and in 1951, the new, modern school building was blessed upon completion of construction.

The intertwining history of St. Paul Parish and St. Paul School have left an impact on not only the city of Florence but also on the counties surrounding them. It was the bravery of Cornelius Ahern, Rev. Joseph Bent and Father Herbert Egbring, that brought St. Paul Parish and School to the city of Florence where it has shone as a beacon of faith for those near and far, for over 100 years.

Congregation reminded of the uniqueness of the individual, to ‘see Jesus in everyone’ at pro-life Mass

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

The twilight of Oct. 1 brought together people across the diocese in support of life. The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, had its pews filled for the 2024 annual Pro-life Mass, organized by the diocesan Pro-life Office.

Bishop John Iffert celebrated the Mass, with Bishop Emeritus Roger Foys in choro, and concelebrated with priests from across the diocese — all having come together to reinforce the Catholic truth of the dignity of life from natural conception to natural death.

Earlier the same day, the Republic of Iran fired missiles upon the state of Israel, with natural disasters and armed conflicts worldwide at the top of many headlines.

Father Daniel Schomaker, pastor, St. Augustine Parish, Covington, and director of the diocesan Office of Worship and Liturgy, served as homilist for the 2024 pro-life Mass, and brought attention to these world events as a pro-life issue.

He began his homily quoting the 1996 film “Matilda,” “Everyone is born, but not everyone is born the same. Some will grow to be butchers, or bakers, or candlestick makers. Some will only be really good at making Jell-O salad. One way or another, though, every human being is unique, for better or for worse.” “It is that uniqueness that makes us so concerned about the preciousness of human life,” Father Schomaker said, “because we have been made unique. There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be again in the history of the universe another you.”

“Think about that,” he continued, “There is only ever one you and that is true for every human being God has thought into being.”

Clarifying, Father Schomaker said that existence doesn’t begin at conception — but “at the moment God thinks of you, because it is from that moment God has loved you.”

Because of this uniqueness, “there has to be a dignity in every single one of us,” said Father Schomaker, “because every single one of us brings something new into the world.

During his homily, Father Schomaker recalled a child named Matthew — 24 weeks in utero when he died. When Father Schomaker entered the hospital room, Matthew’s grandfather, who was holding him, said to Father Schomaker, “Look, Father, he’s perfect.”

“That child is perfect because he had been made in the image and likeness of God, and he was unique,” said Father Schomaker.

“Every life is perfect, made as God has chosen,” he said, “which is why we uphold every life as having an innate dignity … the sad thing is, my friends, we live in a world that doesn’t like to recognize the dignity of the human person.”

“As most of you know, there is a conflict going on in the Middle East,” Father Schomaker brought to the congregation’s attention, “and as I was listening to the radio, I hear different sides rejoicing over this conflict — yet no one on the radio seems to be mourning the fact that one group of human beings is taking out after another, and unwilling to recognize the dignity that they each have.”

Towards the end of his homily, Father Schomaker brought up one of his favorite saints: St. Theresa of Calcutta.

“She did not care if you were rich or poor,” he said, “she did not care where you were from; She cared if you were in need.”

Father Schomaker continued, saying, “she was asked one time why she cared for everyone and anyone, and she said ‘I see Jesus in every human being … I serve because I love Jesus.’”

“This is our call, my friends,” he said, “to see Jesus in our neighbor. To see Jesus in our family, to see Jesus in our friends, to see Jesus in the stranger, to see Jesus in the one who might be classified as enemy. It is too easy to get pulled away from recognizing the dignity of every single person who exists on Earth, everyone we are called by the Lord to love. Even those who hate us.”

“Today,” Father Schomaker concluded, “as we come together to pray for life in every stage, from the moment of conception until natural death, let us love. Let us will the good of the other, and see Jesus in everyone.”

Custodian (Part-time) – St. Cecilia School

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St. Cecilia Catholic School in Independence, Kentucky is seeking a part-time custodian to assist with daily cleaning tasks.  The duties outlined below are included:

-Cleaning: Cleaning classrooms, bathrooms, hallways, and other areas daily. Perform weekly, monthly, and seasonal cleaning as needed.

-Sanitizing: Disinfect bathrooms, cafeteria, and touch surfaces such as door handles, switch plates, and trash receptacles.

-Trash removal: Empty trash containers and transport materials to disposal areas daily.

-Responding to emergencies as needed: Spills, illness, etc.

-Moving furniture: Moving heavy furniture, equipment, or supplies manually or with hand trucks.

-Setting up for events: Setting up, arranging, or removing decorations, tables, chairs,

etc. for meetings and events.

-Maintaining equipment: Maintaining small tools, equipment, cleaning supplies, and work areas.

-Using chemicals: Using appropriate chemicals and cleaners safely and productively.

-Maintaining professional relationships: Maintaining positive, professional relationships with staff, parents, and others.

Interested persons may submit a resume via email to [email protected].