Divine Providence Sister Janet Bucher retires after decades of service to Our Savior Parish

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Macie Becker

Media Intern

Congregation of Divine Providence Sister Janet Bucher, who has been serving the Diocese of Covington and beyond for 65 years, has retired Monday, July 14. Sister Janet discerned religious life as a young adult, having “just felt a call,” she said. She often helped the sisters at her grade school, St. Aloysisus. She always appreciated the sisters who had taught her, and said she felt an “inner sense” toward religious life. Sister Janet attended Our Lady of Providence Academy in Newport until she entered the convent at St. Anne, Melbourne, where she finished high school. In 1958, Sister Janet made her profession religious vows.

Since then, she has been assigned to many places and jobs, both in and out of the diocese, some of which include teaching in schools in several states, serving as principal at Bishop Howard Nongraded School and parish work in Ecuador and on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.

Her longest assignment though has been in Covington at Our Savior Parish, where she has served as Pastoral Administrator since 1991. Our Savior, located on East Tenth Street, was founded in 1943 to serve the African American Catholic community in Covington. (See related story on page 1.)

“And now I’m 85 years old, I feel like it’s time to move on,” said Sister Janet. She will continue doing women’s jail ministry and visiting students at Holy Cross District High School, Covington, as she had before her retirement. She has always lived by the belief that community is important, saying, “it’s good to be present in the neighborhood,” and she will continue to do so in her retirement.

For a related story go to https://covdio.org/historicalmarker/

ACUE summer mission collection keeps Catholic education accessible to families in the urban core

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

In the Diocese of Covington, five elementary schools fall under the ACUE (Alliance for Catholic Urban Education) banner. Serving the Covington deanery, ACUE’s mission is to “preserve Catholic education in urban areas,” providing tuition assistance to low-income families, and with it the option for a Catholic education.

While these schools and the aid they provide are in part funded by the diocese’s 13 urban parishes, ACUE relies on donations from parishioners and community as a primary source of funds — and as a way to lessen the load on both the parishes and the diocese at large.

The Summer Mission Collection, which runs from July to the weekend of August 17, is just one of the fundraising efforts on behalf of ACUE and the Office of Stewardship and Mission — encouraging contributions during weekend Masses from not just the urban parishes, but suburban and rural parishes as well.

“Tuition assistance is our greatest thing,” according to Beth Ruehlmann, ACUE’s director of development, “We build on what’s most important — to allow the children access to the schools.”

Although ACUE school budgets are often very lean, children in the diocesan urban schools benefit from a “solid education,” said Ms. Ruehlmann, including small class sizes and “all the hallmarks of Catholic education.” Of all students who attend ACUE schools, a minimum of 90 percent move on to a Catholic High School — and a strong 99 percent of those students attend college, trade school or enter the armed forces.

“We know that the children (who attend ACUE schools) were not being served through the public schools,” she continued, “They were falling through the cracks … those families needed an alternative, and what’s what we are. It’s important to maintain a presence in our urban neighborhoods.”

To learn more about ACUE schools, or to make a financial contribution, visit https://covdio.org/acue/.

Mother of God parishioners celebrate Jubilee pilgrimage to Ky. Holy Land

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In the spirit of the Jubilee Year Father Michael Comer, pastor, led 53 people from Mother of God parish on a pilgrimage to “The Holy Land of Kentucky.”  On July 8–9, the pilgrims were immersed in Kentucky’s Catholic roots, as well as visiting historic sites.

In 1775 the first Catholics came to Kentucky from America’s coastal colonies, settling the Bluegrass and Bardstown areas. These pioneers grew and sustained their community through solidarity and Catholic devotion, eventually gaining Father Stephen Badin as the first permanent pastor of the area. He was often the only priest in the wilderness of Kentucky, traveling near 100,000 miles on horseback during his ministry. In 1808 the Diocese of Bardstown was created, and Bishop Joseph Flaget was appointed to head this first inland diocese.

The Mother of God pilgrims’ journey took them to the Basilica of St. Joseph Protocathedral, a structure so highly regarded that it was funded by Catholics and Protestants alike, and to the Abbey of Gethsemani where Father Comer celebrated Mass in the Skakel Family Memorial Chapel.

The historical portion of the pilgrimage included a tour of Federal Hill (My Old Kentucky Home), dinner at historic Talbott Tavern, The Stephen Foster Story Outdoor Drama, the Lincoln Museum, and Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood home.

Young people are beacons of hope, said Pope Leo XIV ahead of Jubilee of Young People

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

The Jubilee of Young People is set to take place July 28–August 3 as part of the 2025 Jubilee Year: Pilgrims of Hope. Specific jubilee days within the jubilee year are meant to celebrate and recognize groups of people within the Church, highlighting them and their contributions.

The Jubilee of Young People, or youth, recognizes men and women ages 18-35 and invites them to continue on their journeys as Pilgrims of Hope.

In his 2023 message to youth for World Youth Day the late Holy Father Pope Francis said, “As young people, you are indeed the joyful hope of the Church and of a humanity always on the move.”

It is a continuation, then, of this joyful hope that will draw an estimated 1,000,000 young people to Rome, fulfilling their jubilee call to be pilgrims of hope.

“To the young people gathered here I would like to say that you are the promise of hope for so many of us,” said Pope Leo XIV in a video message during Mass at White Sox Stadium, Chicago, June 14, “…As you offer your own experience of joy and hope you find out, you can discover, that you too are indeed beacons of hope.”

The light from that beacon of hope is the radiant faith in Jesus Christ, said Pope Leo XIV, which grows brighter as people grow in unity and communion with others. Pilgrims traveling to Rome for the Jubilee of Young People will have the chance to unite and grow in that communion with others.

For those unable to travel to Rome there are many ways to engage with the local faith community and prayerfully participate in the Jubilee of Young People. Making a pilgrimage to a diocesan cathedral is recommended by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) as a way to participate and become a pilgrim of hope during the jubilee.

The Diocese of Covington’s own Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, has been designated by Bishop John Iffert as a sacred site where one could receive a jubilee indulgence, as well as St. John the Evangelist Church, Carrollton and St. Patrick Church, Maysville. A pilgrimage to any one of these sacred sites will allow those unable to attend the celebrations in Rome to have a pilgrimage experience for the Jubilee of Young People.

In addition to pilgrimages to local jubilee sites, the USCCB also recommends taking time for prayer and reflection. Specifically focusing on God’s providential graces and divine mercy, prayer is another way to celebrate the Jubilee of Young People from home.

In his video message Pope Leo XIV said, “When I see each and every one of you, when I see how people gather together to celebrate their faith, I discover how much hope there is in the world. In this Jubilee Year of Hope, Christ — who is our hope — calls all of us to come together that we might be that true living example of the light of hope in the world today.”

Covington celebrates Father Daniel Schomaker Day

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

Mayor Ron Washington of Covington officially declared July 4, 2025, as Father Daniel Schomaker Day in the City of Covington. The official act serves to honor the legacy and lasting impact Father Schomaker leaves behind at St. Augustine Parish, Covington, reading, “​Many in the community consider St. Augustine campus to be an anchor of the neighborhood and would like to recognize Fr. Schomaker’s efforts to enhance the community through his incredible stewardship while assigned to St. Augustine parish.”

The recognition comes after several Covington community members and St. Augustine parishioners wrote into the mayor’s office nominating Father Schomaker for the award.

Students from across the Diocese worship together at annual retreat

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

The Diocese of Covington Office of Youth Ministry hosted the annual High School Summer Retreat, July 12-13, at Thomas More University, Crestview Hills. These retreats are designed to help teens grow in their relationship with God and each other.

This year the theme for the retreat was aligned with the Gospel reading for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Luke 10:25-37, in which Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Based off the Gospel reading the 2025 retreat came to be called the Heart and Soul retreat, inviting students to open their heart and soul to Christ.

“It’s seasonal, it’s liturgical, and they get immersed into the rhythm of the Church. It is a specialized, unique retreat. It’s not one that they have received before. So, it’s very current in the moment and in tune with the prayer of the Church.” said Angie Poat, diocesan youth minister.

Fifty students from parishes across the diocese attended the two-day retreat, where they were able to take a break from everyday life, and bask in the glow of faith-filled peers, sacred celebrations and the Gospel.

“They yearn for this,” said Mrs. Poat. A sentiment that was evident amongst the students in attendance the morning of July 12 as they sang loudly and danced proudly to worship music.

“As long as I’m breathing, I’ve got a reason to praise the Lord,” sang the students as they danced together. Mrs. Poat sees a difference in the way the students praise from the first retreat to now, one she attributes to the efforts of the Eucharistic Revival and the Holy Spirit.

“I think it’s also a fruit of the Eucharistic Revival,” she said, “and these pods of young people around the Diocese who have wanted something like this, and now they have it. Each time they come their energy is growing, it’s the way that they sang and danced, you could see the growth.”

Aside from the singing and dancing, the retreat offered students a chance for reflection and renewal of their heart and soul.

“They’re hungry for authentic relationships, authentic worship and for the Word of God. When you have those three things together in the same place at the same time, it is life changing,” said Mrs. Poat.

While the goal of the retreat is to help students grow in their faith, Mrs. Poat hopes that these retreats allow the students to open their hearts to whatever Christ has in store for them and to see His love for them.

“I hope that they receive whatever the Lord has for them, but I also hope that they have a glimpse of the love that God has for them, that our Bishop has for them, and that we as a Church have for them,” she said.

Giving Drink to the Thirsty!

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St. Augustine Parish, Augusta, celebrates 150 years of the Sisters of Notre Dame

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

The Sisters of Notre Dame celebrated 150 years of ministry to St. Augustine Parish and School, Augusta, June 28, with Mass and a reception following. Celebrating Mass was Father Joey Shelton, pastor, St. Augustine Parish.

In 1875, 150 years ago, the Sisters of Notre Dame made their way to Augusta, Kentucky, one year after landing in the United States from Germany. Upon their arrival the sisters got to work establishing a parish school for St. Augustine Parish. Since then, Father Shelton said, the sisters have dedicated their entire selves to handing on the Catholic faith, equipping young people to grow into good parents, neighbors and friends.

“We owe these women an immense debt of gratitude,” said Father Shelton. “For all that they have done — teaching during the day, visits they made after school to help a student who had fallen behind, helping families in crisis, ministering to the poor, evangelizing the community, and even caring for us when we are struggling.”

Father Shelton shared a personal instance when Sister Nance Hehman came to his assistance mere days after moving into the St. Augustine rectory in 2020, assisted by his parents. The night his parents left, Father Shelton set out to cook himself dinner in the rectory, an “image of independence,” said Father Shelton. Things quickly changed when he cut his finger deeply and realized a first aid kit was not among the things unpacked in the recent days.

“What is my very first thought,” Father Shelton asked the congregation, “Call Sister,” he answered. “In just a moment she was over with a first aid kit and had helped me to pull myself back together,” he said.

“In every aspect of the life of the parish, from mending the pastor’s nearly amputated finger, to sacramental preparation, to service to the poor, and everything in between, Sister Nance is the glue that holds our community together,” said Father Shelton.

While Sister Nance has been serving as the parish glue for 18 years, 122 Sisters of Notre Dame have served the parish and school before her.

In the spring of 1875, three Notre Dame Sisters — Mary Paula, Mary Marzellina, and Mary Clara — made their way to the river town of Augusta to serve the educational and spiritual needs of its people.  “Though those original sisters only stayed three years, plenty more would come to replace those sisters and then more to replace those sisters and then more to replace those sisters,” said Father Shelton. “But whichever sister was here,” he continued, “they brought with them the charism of their order, the charism of discipline, direction and quality education.”

It is not just what the sisters have done and continue to do for the St. Augustine community that lends them a debt of gratitude, said Father Shelton, “it is who they are.”

“Today we celebrate not just what the Sisters of Notre Dame have done, but who they are: prophetic women, who by their very lives remind us that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. These women have, for 150 years, been ambassadors of heaven among us,” said Father Shelton.

Concluding his homily Father Shelton said, “We owe these women a gift of gratitude for who they are, mighty prophets of the Most High, who through their vocation to religious life have reminded us and continue to remind us that the Kingdom of God is at hand. So, for all that they have done and for all they are we say, ‘thank you’ to the Sisters of Notre Dame.”

On Feast of Corpus Christi, St. Anthony Parish makes strides With One Heart

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Laura Keener

Editor

St. Anthony Parish, Taylor Mill, made strides, June 22, in implementing two of its With One Heart parish pastoral plan priorities — creating a welcoming community by hosting cultural exchange events and increasing confidence in Church teaching — with a Eucharistic procession on the feast of Corpus Christi.

Thirty-three days earlier, the parish collectively began learning more about the Eucharist by reading the book “33 Days to Eucharistic Glory,” by Matthew Kelly and watching its companion videos. Then, on the feast of Corpus Christi, the parish, which has a large Guatemalan community as well as an Anglo community, held an intercultural Eucharistic procession with members of its men’s prayer group, women’s prayer group and Guatemalan community each designing and constructing sawdust carpets for the procession.

Visiting celebrant, Msgr. Gerald Reinersman, led the procession, which concluded with a consecration to the Eucharist. “The Eucharist is more than something we believe in or something we celebrate. The Eucharist is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ — body and blood, soul and divinity — that we have received. The sacrifice of Christ’s own love. It is the real presence of Christ that we are. It is what we become for one another,” said Msgr. Reinersman in his homily

Cohort 2 completes Parish Missionary Disciples training adding more witnesses to ignite parish life

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Laura Keener

Editor

Cohort 2 completed four weekends of Parish Missionary Disciples training, May 17, at St. Joseph Parish, Cold Spring. Carla Molina, leadership consultant, Catholic Leadership Institute, led the training, with Deacon James Fortner, diocesan chief operating officer and Jamie Schroeder, chancellor, leading the sending at the final meeting.

In his comments, Deacon Fortner emphasized the importance of PMD as a model of how diocesan offices and parishes should work together, as envisioned by Bishop John Iffert.

“To him, this is the model of a lot of our ministries, where we provide some training, some accompaniment, some skill building and then we turn the lay faithful loose, to go work back at their parish,” said Deacon Fortner. “Parish life is ground zero, that’s where relationships are struck, that’s where we lead people to the sacraments.”

PMD is a training program designed to equip parishioners with the skills needed for effective evangelization. This includes knowing and be able to articulate a personal faith witness and to engage with others through prayer. PMD is part of the With One Heart initiative and a Leadership Development strategy of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan. PMD training is led by consultants from the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) and has been offered to members in the Diocese of Covington at no charge, thanks to generous donations from benefactors committed to promoting evangelization efforts in the diocese.

“We’re blessed to have CLI that brings this capability,” Deacon Fortner said.

Cohort 1, a group of 60 witnesses, completed PMD training in April 2024. Cohort 2 adds another 31 witnesses to Bishop Iffert’s goal of 500 witnesses, impacting 90 percent of parishes in the Diocese. Two initiatives begun by two couples from Cohort 1 will help the diocese to meet its goal.

The first is the establishment of the GYMM, an acronym for Growing Your Missionary Disciples Muscles. Bill and Kim Dehlinger, parishioners, Blessed Sacrament Parish and Jerry and Bridget Otto, Mother of God Parish, host a monthly meeting for PMD witnesses. At the GYMM, witnesses practice what they learned — praying together and sharing their faith story.

“The idea for the GYMM is that this is a place where you can go back and review and be refreshed and be renewed and get support and network with everybody else that’s been through Parish Missionary Disciples,” said Mrs. Schroeder. “I really encourage you to do that, just to keep this going and to keep that fire burning.”

The second is to continue honing a shorter, more easily presentable discipleship program to implement at parishes. Mr. and Mrs. Otto have already taken leadership of this program. With the blessing of the CLI, the Otto’s took the information from PMD training and distilled it into three two-hour sessions. Last month, the Otto’s held the first presentation at Mother of God Church. “It was a big success,” said Deacon Fortner noting that about 25 people from parishes across the diocese attended. “Honestly, that’s kind of what we’re thinking is the path forward, to reformulate this and to do an intermediate kind of a program.”

Having quantitative measures is certainly a worthy goal, but Deacon Fortner said, more important “is transformation.”

“You guys need to take this competency and run with it,” Deacon Fortner said, “We’re never going to have all the training, trust me. You’re never going to feel like you got it all, because we don’t. It’s all about the Holy Spirit. You know how to love. Invite others to dinner, invite them into a relationship and let the Holy Spirit come lead.”