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.

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.”

Thomas More announces Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

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Staff report

Father Ray Enzweiler, Ph.D., has been appointed Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Thomas More University, effective immediately. Father Enzweiler has served as interim dean since April 2024.

“I am grateful to Father Ray for his leadership as interim dean and congratulate him on his appointment to the permanent role,” says vice president and chief academic officer Jay Langguth, Ph.D. “I look forward to the continued success of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences under his guidance.”

As dean, Father Enzweiler oversees 10 academic departments offering 19 baccalaureate degree programs and two graduate programs, including a Master of Arts in Teaching and a new Master of Education in Education Leadership in the School of Education.

Father Enzweiler serves on the academic leadership team, ensuring alignment of the College’s programs with the University’s mission and strategic plan, and plays a crucial role in advancing student and faculty success initiatives.

The dignity of the immigrant is the responsibility of the nation — diocesan presentation on immigration addresses social teaching and demonization of the migrant

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

The Diocese of Covington, in collaboration with the Intercommunity Sisters Peace and Justice Committee, held a presentation, June 25, titled “Immigration: The Catholic Perspective.”

The first of its kind in the diocese, the presentation addressed the issue of immigration as it pertains to the current climate and the Catholic faith. Speakers, which included Mother of God pastor Father Michael Comer, Thomas More University professors James Camp and Hannah Keegan, Divine Providence Sister Kay Kramer and Notre Dame Sister Maria Francine Stacy, addressed topics such as the Catholic social teaching on immigration and the reality at the US/Mexico border — as well as the religious sisters sharing stories of personal witness of 25-plus years working directly with immigrant populations.

Extremely well-attended, what was expected to be a crowd of 20-30, turned out to be near 200 participants filling Bishop Howard Memorial Auditorium.

Hannah Keegan, who works at Thomas More University as the director of the Center of Faith, Mission and Catholic Education, highlighted the Catholic Church’s teaching on immigration. The Church teaches and encourages the right of the migrant to seek safety and asylum as much as the right of the nation to secure its borders — however, it is the responsibility of a country to treat all immigrants with respect and dignity.

“Pope Francis has also said this, whether you embrace them, welcoming them into your country or have to send them back to their country, it’s done affirming their dignity, and not demonizing them,” said Ms. Keegan, who pointed out the USCCB’s poignant stance on nativism. “Like it says on page three USCCB, the native does not have superior rights over the immigrant and that’s a different narrative than the one we’re hearing.”

Following Ms. Keegan’s presentation, Sister Maria Francine’s presentation put a face to immigration by sharing her personal witness with migrants she has met and served in her ministry — having ministered in the Boone County detention center, which holds detained immigrants. She presented names and faces — such as a father separated from his family, and a mother of a young child who lost her husband crossing the Darien Gap — stressing the importance of seeing the immigrant as a person and an individual, not just a number or statistic.

The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption chimeras to land within months as project completion draws near

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

The Diocese of Covington Restored in Christ Campaign is nearing completion as the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, enters the final stages of construction. Still to be completed in the coming months is the finishing of: Dutchmen repairs to the tracery, stone replacement, terracotta reglazing; instillation of the gargoyles, chimeras, lower columns, bases and cross; the stabilization of seven spires; and final touches such as the façade cleaning and the sealing of the 12 unsealed windows.

Don Knochelmann, diocesan director of the Buildings and Property Office, said the chimera will be the first to arrive but the last to be installed, hoping to minimize the possibility of damage during their instillation.

Trisco Construction Company continues its work of the upper tracery, which is the limestone columns and the decorative pieces at the top of the Cathedral, this will continue through August, said Mr. Knochelmann.

The gargoyles, which are nearing completion at Boston Valley Terra Cotta, New York, are on track to be installed in October.

“Everything they’re doing now is a continuation of what they’ve been doing all along. There’s stone replacement, there’s terracotta glazing around the tracery, around the windows, column replacement. It’s a big project. We’re doing some sealing around the windows to repair leaks,” said Mr. Knochelmann

The Restored in Christ Campaign, which was announced in early 2023, has been raising funds to support the repair and restoration of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption. Currently, 96 percent of the $7,560,000 goal has been raised, with $250,000 left to raise.

Bishop John Iffert says about the fundraising goal nearing completion, “I am deeply grateful for your sacrificial gifts that have raised an incredible $7.31 million toward our Cathedral Renovation Capital Campaign … Because of your unwavering support, the Cathedral Basilica will continue to shine as a timeless symbol of faith, beauty and community in our Diocese of Covington.”

Religious sisters give witness to God through their lives, says Bishop Iffert at annual Serran luncheon

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

Annually, the Serra Club for Vocations — an organization that promotes and sponsors vocations to the priesthood and religious life — hosts a luncheon for the women religious of the Diocese of Covington. This year’s luncheon, held at the Devou Park Golf and Event center, July 8, celebrated the women in attendance with an afternoon of lunch, games and fellowship.

Bishop John Iffert, who attended the luncheon, addressed the sisters and thanked them for their work across the diocese — in service, in prayer and in teaching. But, Bishop Iffert said, “even more than the work is the witness of your life that you give.”

“We dedicated ourselves to God … your whole life is that witness. And so, I’m very grateful.”

Continuing from his point, Bishop Iffert commented on the fact that vocations to the religious life are “fewer and fewer” in the United States, and thus asked for prayers from the sisters and the Serra Club members presents, to “bombard heaven” with prayer — “to keep that witness alive in the Church, in the Diocese of Covington and around the world.”

As Sisters of Notre Dame celebrate final 4th of July festival, legacy continues in the people

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Laura Keener

Editor

Notre Dame Sister Cormarie Rebhan patiently encouraged the young children to “pick a winner” as they fastidiously maneuvered fishing nets around the festival’s Duck Pond to snare a rubber a duck in exchange for a prize. Joan Lecoy, parishioner, Sts. Boniface and James Parish, Ludlow, and volunteer at the festival also working the Duck Pond, leaned over and whispered, “they’re all winners.”

The Sisters of Notre Dame, Covington, held its final Fourth of July Festival this year, ending a 103-year tradition. The festival began in 1922 as a way for local parishioners to help support the Sisters and to fund the building and maintenance of St. Joseph Heights convent, Park Hills.

At that time the St. Joseph Heights Home Association, affectionately known by the Sisters as “The Old Faithful Club” and led by John F. Cook, Grand Knight of the Price Hill Council of the Knights of Columbus, organized the first Fourth of July Festival. For 103 years the Club has helped the Sisters of Notre Dame organize the Fourth of July Festival, which has become a way for the entire community to not only financially support the Sisters but also to come together in joy and gratitude.

“Today we dress in red, white and blue and are graced with patriotic fun and genuine friendship in the SND style,” wrote Notre Dame Sister Mary Dennise Wagenlander, Festival Chair, in the “103 4th of July Festival: Fun for the Whole Family” program distributed at the event. “We treasure you, our faithful supporters and partners, in doing the mission of Jesus. We are grateful for the many ways you contribute to help us fund-raise and friend-raise.”

Walter Witt, parishioner, St. Agnes Parish, Ft. Wright, is one of the many volunteers who, out of love and respect for the Sisters, has been working the festivals. Mr. Witt will celebrate his 90th birthday next month, and the Sisters of Notre Dame have been a part of his life since he was a student at Sacred Heart School, Bellevue. He is grateful to the Sisters of Notre Dame for their dedication to Catholic education, not only his own but also that of his five children and the thousands of children throughout the Diocese of Covington over the last 151 years, beginning with Mother of God School, Covington in 1874.

“The Sisters, they have staffed I don’t know how many schools right in this area. Ever since they came here from Germany the sisters have, you know, given a lot to the community,” said Mr. Witt.

Mr. Witt said he began volunteering at the festival 50-plus years ago. His daughter, Margaret, a second grader at St. Agnes School, raised her hand when Sister Paulita asked for volunteers to help the festival. Since then, the Witt family has been a mainstay at the festival, beginning with the Grocery Booth and moving up to the Major Raffle booth for the last 25 years.

“They’ve (the Sisters of Notre Dame) been part of my life, you know, in my younger days of formation, and you appreciate these things,” said Mr. Witt. “If you can say ‘thank you’ by giving them some service when they need some helpers, I was honored to do it.”

The Fourth of July Festival is ending the way it began, being connected to the rise and fall of the St. Joseph Heights building. For over 100 years, St. Joseph Heights has been home to the Sisters of Notre Dame. With the number of Sisters decreasing, so did the need for the large historic building. The Sisters conducted studies to find ways to repurpose the building, but none proved feasible. Days after the final Fourth of July festival, O’Rourke Demolition Company began razing the building, July 7.

The Sisters of Notre Dame plan to continue its mission and ministries in Northern Kentucky by repurposing the property to address the many needs of senior adults, including recreation, education, housing, inter-generational opportunities and meeting space for Park Hills seniors. This work will continue as St. Charles Community, a senior living community founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame, assumes the property.

“The ministry and mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame will be continued from the Dixie Highway to the expressway. That whole the property can then house the mission and ministry,” said Notre Dame Sister Shauna Bankemper.

By the end of October 2024, all of the Sisters had moved from the Heights building. Of the 68 Sisters of Notre Dame living in Kentucky, 38 are living at St. Charles Community. The other 30 Sisters are living and ministering in the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati area.

“The Sisters might not be living there, but our mission is continuing through St. Charles and Notre Dame Academy,” said Sister Shauna. “The building isn’t the legacy. Our legacy is the people. You are our legacy. Where you go, our mission and ministry goes forward. You carry it forward,” she said about the all the students taught by the Sisters of Notre Dame and at Notre Dame Academy and all of the people whose lives have been touched by the Sisters.

Considering the immense influence of the Sisters of Notre Dame, through the grace of God and his Divine Providence, like the children at the Duck Pond, all the people in Northern Kentucky are winners.

Community gathers at St. Patrick Cemetery for historic groundbreaking of Stations of the Cross

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

There was standing room only under the white peaked tent at St. Patrick Cemetery, Maysville, as ground was ceremoniously broken on the new multimillion dollar, life size, bronze, Stations of the Cross and meditation garden. The June 3 event drew together notable community leaders such as Maysville Mayor Debra Cotterill, Mason County Judge Executive Owen McNeill and Kentucky State Representative William “Buddy” Lawrence. Also in attendance were friends, family, community members and others involved in the project.

This project, many years in the making, is led by Jerry Lundergan, former chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party, and Alissa Tibe, executive vice president of the Lundergan Group Companies.

“The idea and purpose behind this project is not only to beautify the cemetery and this wonderful space, but to take pride in our beautiful Catholic church, St. Patrick, and even more so, the community of Maysville, and to bring visitors from far away. Pilgrims, those of religious descent and folks that are looking for spirituality and community to find solace here on these sacred grounds,” said Mrs. Tibe.

Mr. Lundergan said the decision for the garden to reside at St. Patrick Cemetery was an easy one, “we’ve always had a love for the St. Patrick Cemetery and were brought up that way as children … about 15 years ago I purchased that piece of property over there … and I said, ‘we’re going to build a little meditation garden over there and people can come and just sit on the bench and think about life and think about how they’re going to get to where they’re supposed to go.’”

The garden, which will begin with a seventy-foot tall cross, will be exactly 2500 feet, and an exact replica of the route Christ took on his road to Golgotha. Along the route will be six-foot tall statues designed by Mr. Lundergan and Reto Demetz, chief executive officer, Art Studio Demetz, Italy. Each statue will be 300 pounds and hand carved by Mr. Demetz and his team of sculptors.

“We made an effort that they [the sculptures] have no base. So, once a visitor comes up to the stature, he’s looking at the raised statue, but brings Jesus down to the same eye level as us,” said Mr. Demetz.

Nine of the stations have already been completed, with the tenth underway. Stations 11, 12, 13 and 14 are expected to be finished before the intended project completion date of April 2026.

John Carman, senior principal of CARMAN Landscape Architecture Firm, said, “the journey is meant to be a very meaningful journey, very spiritual. It’s meant to engage whoever’s walking on that path to understand really what that final walk was all about. So, creating the Passion and also trying to give a feel of the anguish that Christ understood and that he went through.”

Mr. Carman and his team will seek to incorporate many aspects of symbolism into the landscape including the use of the color white. White is a symbol of pureness, meant to enhance the sacredness of the space. In conjunction with the white will be small pops of color courtesy of Redbud Trees, or Judas Tree.

“The seven-story cross … it’s made up of a cluster of four-square columns. Four has to do with a lot of meaning and symbolism. Symbolism in the Bible, such as the four Gospels. The Garden of Gethsemane was actually an olive garden. While we can’t grow olive trees here, we’re going to have about a 200-year-old antique olive mill and press in the garden,” said Mr. Carman.

The goal, Mr. Lundergan said, is to have the project completed within 10 months, just in time for Easter, so that every aspect of the Triduum can be celebrated at the garden.

“The idea would be to have a very important Holy Thursday service, to have a 7 p.m. Stations of the Cross on Friday, and a sunrise Mass, which we are building an altar over there on the hillside, we’ll have a sunrise service on Sunday morning,” said Mr. Lundergan.

The intent for the Stations of the Cross and garden is to encourage people to have a deeply spiritual experience and to drive people from all over the world to Maysville.

“If we could just get 200,000 more people coming into Mason County in Maysville for the filling stations, the restaurants, the hotels and leave a donation of some type, which will be distributed between the upkeep of the garden, the upkeep of the cemetery, and the upkeep of St. Patrick School and Church, then we will have fulfilled our dream,” said Mr. Lundergan.

Thirteen catechists from across the Diocese recognized at the Catechetical Leadership Awards

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

Catechists, friends and family gathered in Bishop Howard Memorial Auditorium, Covington, May 29, for the annual Catechetical Leadership Awards hosted by the Diocese of Covington Office of Catechesis and Evangelization. These awards honor outstanding catechetical leaders in parishes and schools throughout the Diocese.

Isaak Isaak, director of the Office of Catechesis and Evangelization, welcomed those in attendance.

“It’s really truly a joy to have all of you with us this evening, celebrating ministerial life, celebrating catechesis and the new evangelization that you all are committed to,” Mr. Isaak said. “Thank you for assisting our chief catechist and shepherd, Bishop John as his extension in ministry. Thank you for enabling our parishes and schools to exercise their mission to bring Christ into the world as leaven. As lay ecclesial ministers you undertake an important work that’s essential to the very life of our local Church.”

Eight awards to 13 recipients highlight the work of catechists from early childhood, through high school and parish life.

The first award, Outstanding Early Childhood Teacher/Catechist, was awarded to five recipients: Rosada Harr, St. John the Evangelist Parish, Carrollton; Jenny Long, St. Pius X School, Edgewood; Rose Miller, St. Agnes Parish, Ft. Wright; Janet Schmidt, St. Joseph School, Crescent Springs and Dan Walsh, St. Thomas Parish, Ft. Thomas.

Together, these five recipients have over 80 years of catechetical teaching experience. Ranging in grade level from preschool through eighth grade, these catechists exemplify what it means to be an outstanding early childhood teacher/catechist. The Outstanding Junior High Teacher/Catechist award was awarded to Ashleigh Stall of Blessed Sacrament School, Ft. Mitchell. The impact of Ms. Stall on her students is immeasurable, with 14 of her eighth-grade students nominating her for this award.

“Ashleigh’s genuine faith and connection with God permeates all her interactions with students, staff and parents,” said Allison Miller, pledge coordinator with the Diocese of Covington Office of Stewardship and Mission.

The Outstanding Catechetical Leader award was presented to two recipients: Terri Mounce, St. John the Evangelist Parish, Carrollton, and Divine Providence Sister Armella Pietrowski, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Burlington.

Ms. Mounce has served as a catechist for 17 years as a part of the St. John the Evangelist parish’s CCD program. Sister Armella has been the director of Religious Education at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish for 39 years, making her a mainstay in the culture and life of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish.

Deacon Jerry Franzen, Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, was the recipient of the Sister Ann Adele Fritz Catechetical Award.

“He has consistently offered encouraging, and sound preaching and leads a lectio divina prayer group at the Cathedral Basilica’s Parish Office. He has prepared countless couples for the baptism of their first child, hosting them in his own home. Deacon Jerry, with his wife Tena, continue to work with engaged couples in preparation to receive the sacrament of marriage,” said Mrs. Miller.

Deacon Franzen’s consistent work in sacramental preparation and prayerful leadership sets him apart, qualifying him recipient for the Sister Ann Adele Fritz Catechetical Award.

The Outstanding Youth Minister award was presented to John Kidwell, St. Barbara Parish, Erlanger. Mr. Kidwell has served in St. Barbara Parish for 23 years creating a fun, safe and engaging space for parish youth to become involved in their faith. “John is a spiritual role model and support mentor to the youth he serves,” said Angie Poat, diocesan youth minister.

Terese Meeks, Holy Cross District High School, Covington, was awarded the Outstanding Campus Minister award for her 35 dedicated years to Holy Cross District High School. Mrs. Meeks, now retired, creates an atmosphere of openness, welcome, kindness and compassion, said Mrs. Poat. She created opportunities for students and adults to see God in themselves and others around them through her example in the classroom, retreats or in individual connections.

The Outstanding Catholic Retreat Minister award was presented to Bridget Price, Notre Dame Academy, Park Hills. Mrs. Price has been leading or assisting with retreats at Notre Dame Academy for 20 years. Her dedication to the retreats and countless hours spent preparing spiritual experiences for students is done with her whole heart and soul. She provides rich spiritual opportunities for students to encounter Christ.

Aaron Batson, also of Holy Cross District High School, was one of two recipients for the Outstanding High School YCET Leader. Mr. Batson is a recent graduate of Holy Cross District High School and a member of Mother of God Parish, Covington. During his time at Holy Cross, Mr. Batson started an adoration club, helping to draw other students closer to Christ.

“He is a great example of Christ’s heart, reaching out to students at retreats who were on their own, making them feel welcome and seen,” said Mrs. Poat.

Clara Howard, recent graduate of Ryle High School, Union, and parishioner of Blessed Sacrament Parish, also received the Outstanding High School YCET Leader award. Ms. Howard is grounded in Christ and embodies what it means to have the heart of a missionary, said Mrs. Poat. Ms. Howard will begin a year of missionary work as a Regnum Christi Missionary in an assigned city to serve middle school and high school girls.

“Let me add my congratulations and my thanks to all of you who are here in the room and to all of your coworkers and your co-laborers in the vineyard, back in our parishes and schools,” said Bishop John Iffert, emphasizing the importance of living and leading with love to the awarded catechists. “Thank you for passing on the faith … We share the faith with one another the way the faith is taught primarily — the example we set for one another, the way that we love one another.”

God’s mercy is the reason for priestly vocation, Bishop Iffert says at ordination Mass

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

Celebrated among a congregation of the people of the diocese – including family, friends and many fellow clergy – Father Joshua Heskamp was ordained to the Order of Priest, June 7, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington.

Bishop John Iffert was the celebrant of the Mass, and welcomed the now ordained Father Heskamp to the presbyterate alongside priests fro across the diocese – and some beyond, including St. Vincent Seminary faculty Benedictine Father Jude Brady and Benedictine Father Isaac Haywiser.

Father Heskamp’s family also partook in the Mass, with notably his uncle, fellow priest, Father Jeffery Von Lehmen, pastor of St. Patrick Parish, Taylor Mill, serving as vesting clergy for his investiture.

Bishop Iffert began his homily acknowledging to the contribution of Father Heskamp’s family to his formation. Even though he addresses him as his “own dear son,” Bishop Iffert said, and that “this is an acknowledgment that I’m able to introduce [Deacon Heskamp] to the life of grace-filled service to God’s people in the priesthood,” he said, “in no way is this little reference of endearment meant to supplant the role of Deacon Heskamp’s own father and his own family…who gave him life and nurtured him in the faith.”

“It’s a profound gift,” said Bishop Iffert, “that Deacon Heskamp presents today in offering himself to be set apart for the ministry. I thank you for supporting his in his vocational discernment.”

As part of his homily, Bishop Iffert also reflected on a question that a student asked him at a dinner at Thomas More University, Crestview Hills. The student asked him why he thought that God chose him as a bishop, to which Bishop Iffert replied that, after a moment, the reason is that, “God is always being merciful, and always leading us to salvation.”

“I can only presume that God has allowed me to be here,” he said, “because there is something in this experience that will help me towards salvation, something that I need to be able to grow in holiness and be more like Christ.”

“As soon as I said it, I recognized that truth of it,” said Bishop Iffert, then addressing the soon to be ordained Deacon Heskamp, “Joshua, we are not called to be priests because we are such swell guys…We are called to be priests because the empty, needful, broken space inside us conforms to the way Christ and his Holy Spirit long to fill us and make up for our sins and our failure. We are called not because of our personal strengths, but because we boast in our weakness and in the cross of Christ that is our salvation.”

“Today,” Bishop Iffert said, “you are called to be a father to the faithful. As you will pray over the fathers of the children you will baptize, so we all pray for you today.”