Archive for category: Featured Stories

Laura Keener

Editor

A little piece of the hearts of parishioners from Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish (IHM), Burlington, now beats in Tepa, Ghana, in the form of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Technology Center. The Center, which is in the hometown of Msgr. Dominic Fosu, pastor, IHM, was made possible through donations and support from IHM parishioners. Bishop John Iffert dedicated the Center on a recent trip Ghana. The Center blessing was part of a larger trip, July 7–23, to the Archdiocese of Kumasi.

Bishop Iffert was accompanied by Msgr. Fosu, four other Ghanian priests ministering in the Diocese of Covington — Father Augustine Aidoo, pastor, St. Patrick Parish, Maysville; Father John Opoku, parochial vicar, St. Agnes Parish, Ft. Wright; and Father Samuel Owusu, parochial vicar, Mary, Queen of Heaven Parish, Erlanger — Msgr. Daniel Vogelpohl, Deacon Jim Fortner and Julie Fortner and nine IHM parishioners. All four of the Ghanian priests are from the Archdiocese of Kumasi, three of the four — Msgr. Fosu, Father Opoku and Father Owusu are from the city of Tepa.

“It was a wonderful, amazing trip. Instructive at every level,” said Bishop John Iffert.

The idea for the trip came from Bishop William Medley of the Diocese of Owensboro, Ky. In a conversation with Bishop Medley during one of the bishop’s meetings several years ago, Bishop Iffert learned that Bishop Medley had made a point of visiting the home dioceses of missionary priests ministering in Owensboro.

“He talked about what a joy it was to meet their families and have Masses in their home parishes. As soon as I heard him talk about that, I just thought, well, that is a good and right thing to do,” said Bishop Iffert in an interview with <<Messenger>> after returning from the trip.

Msgr. Fosu worked out the details of the visit with Archbishop Gabriel Justice Yaw Anokye, who proved to be eager for Bishop Iffert’s visit. Archbishop Anokye even invited Bishop Iffert to ordain five priests during the visit — four priests for the Archdiocese of Kumasi and a Redemptorist priest.

“That became the centerpiece of going there, to preside at the ordination and to visit the Archbishop, and then I also got out to visit the home parishes of these men, and to visit with their families, and to see the kinds of ministries they had done at home, and to learn about where they came from, and just to see them interact with their families and with the Church that they’re most familiar with,” said Bishop Iffert.

The Church in Ghana is “very lively and growing” Bishop Iffert said. The Archdiocese of Kumasi has 212 priests for its 72 parishes, with about another 75 priests serving outside of the country, like the four who serve in Covington.

Bishop Iffert said that the Archbishops of Ghana have taken seriously the call of Pope John Paul II who, on in his 1995 visit to Cameroon, exhorted the young Church in Africa to, “set yourselves on the path of holiness. Only thus can you be a sign of God in the world and relive in your own countries the missionary epic of the early Church. You will also be a leaven of missionary spirit … (Ecclesia in Africa 260) In the Kamasi, with the permission of Rome, priests are assigned secular jobs — professors and teachers at public universities and schools, architects, engineers, lawyers and government workers.

“The whole idea is that they will work in these offices, in these schools, and that they will never take a bribe; never ask for anything … To show up on time, work full days, and, to kind of set the example in ethics, to try to raise the bar for the whole culture,” Bishop Iffert said.

Their efforts are having a positive effect on priestly vocations. “There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of young men in seminary,” Bishop Iffert said, noting that he celebrated Mass for a high school seminary class of first- and final-year young men because the church would not hold all the students. It was estimated that 40 of the senior students would go on to college seminary and that 15 would be ordained priests. “Very lively vocational situation there,” he said.

The liturgies are equally lively. The ordination lasted over 5 hours with Sunday Masses in Tepa typically lasting 2.5 hours, with lots of singing, dancing and drumming.

“They did not just receive the Roman Catholic liturgy as an imported product,” said Bishop Iffert. “It really, at least in the central part of Ghana, they have made it their own.”

Also typical of a Ghana Mass, are several processions. During the offertory, worshipers are called by the day of their birth to dance up the aisle and present their gifts. In another procession, parish groups of women bring food, toiletries, cleaning products and anything they have that the Church would need. The items were brought to Bishop Iffert as he sat in the chair, and he touched each item in blessing. Afterward, the priests and seminarians would place the items under the altar.

“So that when you’re celebrating the Eucharist, you’re literally celebrating all the gifts that everyone had brought forward,” said Bishop Iffert. “Those gifts are used later, some help provide support for the priests and the rectory. Some of it goes out to the seminary. Some of it goes to the high schools to provide for their needs there, and others is kept by the parish to distribute to people in need. Just incredible.”

“If we brought all of that into our liturgy, it would be an import; it would not speak to us, it would be a distraction from the Consecration,” Bishop Iffert said. “But for them, it’s not. For them, it’s an expression of who they are and how they come to recognize Jesus. It’s really quite beautiful. That inculturation is part of what is encouraging the growth of the Church, is encouraging the growth in vocations, is encouraging young men and women to consider consecrated life as a real option. It’s, it’s amazing.”

A highlight was visiting the families of the priests in Tepa and Father Augustine’s family in Kumasi. “It was just a joy to visit them in their home… it was really a lovely, lovely gathering and to get to know their parents,” Bishop Iffert said.

The group also took time for some cultural experiences enjoying the local food, crossing a rope bridge, visiting art and cultural centers, the palace of the Ashanti King and meeting local artisans — weavers, printers and carvers. An especially haunting and moving was a tour of Elmina Castle — the first European slave trading post in sub-Saharan Africa.

“It was a slave dungeon, and it was where millions of people from that West African area were held captive and eventually shipped off on that middle passage. Probably half of the people who went through there died. Others were enslaved and became the beginnings of generations of chattel slavery in our country and others,” said Bishop Iffert. “It was just, it was very eye opening, and this made us aware of the other half of that equation. That was very, very moving.”

In the next year or two, Bishop Iffert plans to visit the home dioceses of the priests from India ministering in our diocese.

“I hope to make those visits and to meet their religious superiors and to meet the local churches that they’re from, and meet their families,” said Bishop Iffert. “It was well worthwhile.”

Laura Keener

Editor

On a hot and humid evening, over 200 people gathered, July 25, at St. Mary’s Park, Covington, to celebrate the 80th birthday of Bishop Emeritus Roger Foys. The concert celebration was hosted by Bishop John Iffert and included live music by the Pete Wagner Band with Nancy James.

“It is my pleasure to be able to welcome you,” said Bishop Iffert as the concert began. Quoting from Psalm 90, Bishop Iffert said, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures.” (10)

“There is no surprise to us that Bishop Roger Foys is strong,” Bishop Iffert said. “He led us here in the Diocese of Covington for 20 years, a quarter of his life. Before those 20 years, he spent another 20 years as vicar general at the Diocese of Steubenville. For half of his life Bishop Foys has been carrying the weight of leadership at a diocesan level in the life of the Church. We pray that we will have many more birthdays to celebrate with you, Bishop Foys.”

A highlight of the evening was the presentation of the birthday cake accompanied by six Margaret Mary Foys Ciesla scholarship recipients. The Margaret Mary Foys Ciesla ACUE Scholarship Fund was established by Bishop Foys and is named in honor of his sister, who died from pancreatic cancer not long after his installation as Bishop of Covington. Another highlight was a musical tribute by the Bishop’s Choir, a parody on the Andy Griffith Show’s “Welcome Sweet Springtime,” led by Greg Schaffer.

Speakers included Dale Henson, the diocese’s former Chief Financial Officer who worked with Bishop Foys for over a decade and Father Joey Shelton, former secretary to Bishop Foys.

Mr. Henson praised Bishop Foys for his commitment to Catholic education, especially in formalizing and centralizing the Alliance for Catholic Urban Education Consortium.

“This new model introduced elements of consistency and operational efficiency that allowed for the realization of significant cost savings,” Mr. Henson said. “His forethought in the formation and support of ACUE absolutely saved our inner-city schools and has allowed them to continue serving our community and transmitting the faith to hundreds of students over the years.”

Mr. Henson also commended Bishop Foys for his commitment to vocations by, early on, making the vocations promoter a full-time position.

“Bishop Foys himself was active in the diocese’s pursuit of good men for the priesthood. That increased focus had a profound impact on the number of men discerning for the priesthood in our diocese,” he said mentioning that at one time during his tenure, 28 men were studying for the priesthood and Bishop Foys ordained 42 men to the priesthood. “Today over 60 percent of our active diocesan priests were ordained by Bishop Foys. That’s a true testament to his love of the Church, the priesthood and our diocese.”

Father Shelton also affirmed Bishop Foys commitment to his priests. “Bishop Foys is a priest’s bishop,” Father Shelton said. “If a priest needed something – anything at all – Bishop Foys would do everything in his power to get that priest what he needed … He was always there to provide support and encouragement to those priests whose vocations he fostered … Bishop Foys loves the priesthood and during his time as our chief shepherd we knew and felt his love for us.”

In his remarks, Bishop Iffert recalled his first conversation with Bishop Foys just minutes after speaking with the nuncio calling him to Covington.

“From the very first moments he was supportive, encouraging, reassuring … from the very first moments he expressed his happiness to welcome me and to support me in this transition. That’s the graciousness of this man. That is who Bishop Foys is and has been to so many. It is why we are all so eager to be here tonight to wish him a happy birthday and to celebrate these 80 years of life,” Bishop Iffert said.

Bishop Foys ended the presentation in deep gratitude.

“To all of you who came I am very, very grateful,” said Bishop Foys. “I am grateful for all the outpouring of support, and encouragement and love that came from you these past 23 years. Know that I love you and pray for you every day and will continue to do so. I ask, please, that you pray for me. My sincere gratitude to Bishop Iffert who spearheaded this gathering — this is the kind and wonderful person that he is.”

For a related article go to https://covdio.org/foysbirthdaythankyou/.

Maura Baker

Staff Writer

An incoming junior student of St. Henry District High School, scout Sam Dirksing has achieved the rank and honor of Eagle Scout — the highest rank attainable in the organization of the Scouts BSA.

The efforts to become an Eagle Scout are lifelong, with Mr. Dirksing having entered the Boy Scouts of America in the first grade and continuing to this day. The journey culminates with an Eagle Scout project, scout-led and benefitting the community.

To Sam Dirksing, he took example from the conservation requirements needed for ranking up and turned his project into an opportunity to clean up the community’s local waterways.

He teamed up with the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) and rallied community members, family and friends for a litter cleanup along the banks of the Ohio River at Giles Conrad Park, Hebron this past October.

“I cleaned up the park and the bank of the river,” said Mr. Dirksing. “The weather was perfect, and it went great.”

In addition to the project, achieving the rank also gave Mr. Dirksing time to reflect on his achievements as a scout, and the memories therein.

“To me Eagle represents all of the hard work that I have put into scouting and all of the fun trips and memories I have made along the way and the ones yet to come,” he said, “This was accomplished by the love and support of many adults in my life and the support of my fellow scouts. Many of the rank requirements and merit badge requirements have collaborative aspects where a Scout has to teach, lead and demonstrate life skills to others. I have learned much about myself during this journey.”

Laura Keener

Editor

In the summer of 1943 — during the years of segregation (the 58 years between the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision, which legalized “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” and the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, which made racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional) — Bishop Francis Howard, the Diocese of Covington’s fifth Bishop, erected Our Savior Church and School.

Our Savior Church and School served as a mission of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, for the worship and educational needs of black Catholics. The diocese purchased two properties on East Tenth Street, Covington, converting a single-family house into a church building and a two-family house into classrooms and a convent for the Sisters of Divine Providence, who staffed and operated the school. Divine Providence Sister Francis de Sales was the school’s first superior. She was assisted by Sisters Rita Marie and Mary Clementia.

The grades one-through-12 school opened September 1943, with an enrollment of 56 pupils — 14 of whom were Catholic. Our Savior School was one of only two schools in Northern Kentucky accepting black students and the only Catholic school to do so. During segregation, some states would allow white private schools to accept black students. Kentucky was not one of those states. In Kentucky, it was illegal for both public and private schools to accept both white and black students.

Under state law at the time, blacks paid property taxes that funded schools that excluded blacks from enrollment. In Northern Kentucky, Covington’s Lincoln (elementary school opened in 1880) – Grant (high school opened 1886) school, located just blocks from Our Savior on Seventh Street, was the only public school accepting black students. Parents from neighboring counties wanting a formal education for their black children would need to travel to one of these two Covington schools.

Due to desegregation, Our Savior high school closed in 1956, with the elementary school following in 1963. Its public-school counterpart did likewise with the high school closing in 1965 and the elementary school closing in 1976. In 1981, Bishop William Hughes elevated Our Savior from a mission of the Cathedral to a parish.

“Many people have already forgotten that. They don’t know that there was a black Catholic school here,” said Divine Providence Sister Janet Bucher, July 12, at the unveiling of the state historical marker dedicated to Our Savior Church and School. “We need to keep that history alive and let people remember.”

Dignitaries attending the marker unveiling included Father Mark Keene, vicar general, Diocese of Covington; Ronald Washington, mayor of Covington; Jim Seaver, community engagement coordinator, Kentucky Historical Society; and Divine Providence Sister Barbara Rohe, provincial superior, Congregation of Divine Providence, Melbourne. The voices of Covington’s own Brotherhood Singers added to the celebration with an acapella rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready.”

“In 1963, the school closed but the building and the graduates that came from it are still alive today and contributing to our society,” said Mayor Washington, who spoke at the unveiling. “Imagine how many buildings did the children back then walk past to go to one of these two schools. And would you imagine that today you have a black mayor. This speaks volumes to you all, to our community. This marker represents so much about what’s Covington. The City of Covington thanks you and we look forward to the next stages of this great journey we are all on.”

After the unveiling of the marker, Father Keene blessed the marker and the people in attendance.

“I’m very honored to be here to do this blessing,” Father Keene said. “I read years ago about how important it is for us to be reminded, and maybe even more importantly to be taught. A marker like this reminds us and teaches us about our heritage, those who have gone before us, those whose shoulders we stand. Hopefully we will be good stewards of the gifts that we got from all of them.”

Getting the historical marker at Our Savior Parish took about three years and was not without struggle. Recently, the Kentucky Historical Society had updated the historical marker program to classify cemeteries and houses of worship as local history topics, “and not necessarily the best fit for the state-level program,” said Mr. Seaver. “But Sister Janet was very adamant. She said there is a story here that is more than just the local community. There is a story worth celebrating. There is a story that has a footprint well beyond just the neighborhood where this historical marker would be.”

From that initial phone call, Mr. Seaver said, he and Sister Janet developed a wonderful working relationship.

“The thing that always shone through in our communications was that there was so much love that Sister Janet and so many others have for this house of worship, for the community it serves, for the story and for the heritage of Our Savior Church and School,” Mr. Seaver said. “It was truly a blessing for me to be involved in this project.”

Also in attendance were Divine Providence Sister Alice Marie Schmersal (formerly Sister Monica Joseph), who taught at Our Savior School, and former students, Ella Blackwell Helmes, Owen Lewis, James Penman, James Stowers and Jeff Stowers. Rosa Hollis-Bird, an Our Savior elementary school student who went on to finish her high school education at Notre Dame Academy, (1962) Park Hills, was also in attendance.

“As a first grader it was a little scary at first,” said Mr. Penman. “I had a good teacher here who made us feel welcome,” he said nodding toward Sister Alice Marie.

“I was kind but firm,” Sister Alice Marie said. About her students, Sister Alice Marie said, “Each, as an individual, can learn.”

“My whole family went here; we were baptized in this Church and First Communion. We all grew up here, all 13 of us,” said Mrs. Blackwell Helmes about her and her siblings. Mrs. Blackwell Helmes said that a favorite school memory was ringing the bell for recess and playing ball. She has the bell, which has a revered place in her home. And though she has moved away, she said she always comes back to Our Savior Parish. “I’ve always loved Sister Janet and Our Savior.”

Coincidentally, after 34 years as pastoral administrator of Our Savior Parish, Sister Janet retired July 14. (See related story on page 1.) Father Michael Comer has been assigned pastor of Our Savior Parish.

“It’s so nice to see the historical marker here put in just a few days shy of your retirement,” said Mr. Seaver. “It’s a very fitting tribute for all the good work you have done for this community through the decades. Sister Janet, thank you so much.”

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