Annual Connect retreats seek to strengthen students’ bond with each other and God

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Bella Young

Multimedia Correspondent

The Youth Ministry Office of the Diocese of Covington hosted what is known as a “Connect” retreat, Feb. 22, for sixth, seventh and eighth graders of the Diocese at Thomas More University, Crestview Hills. This retreat, which happens three times a year, serves to bring students together in community and helps them build a relationship with God.

Michelle Bump, senior theology student at Thomas More and a member of the leadership team, said, “The point is really to bring all the parishes together as a community … it is a time for them to come together for community and for faith and to get to know Jesus a little bit better.

“Any retreat, in particular Connect, is an opportunity for students and young people to get away from the craziness of their daily lives. Students are always packed with school and sports and extracurriculars and family time and friends. It can be really overwhelming … Connect is a special opportunity for students to take that step back and remember their roots, get back to the foundation of, ‘I am a child of God, and this is my time to spend with the people around me,’” said Ms. Bump.

During the retreat students break into small groups and hear from different speakers, they play ice breaker games, get know each other, sing worship songs and participate in Eucharistic adoration.

“We start with the ice breakers … get people comfortable with each other because that way when it is time to pray and praise the students feel more comfortable being themselves and openly worshipping Jesus,” said Ms. Bump.

This year, 130 students attended, a welcome increase from the 80 that attended last year. The students came from all over the Diocese, with many also being either homeschooled or attending a public school.

Angie Poat, diocesan Youth Minister, said about the 47 percent increase in attendance, “it’s really special, it speaks to the desire and the need this is filling … it is like casting the nets, come one, come all.”

With One Heart update— Diocese begins a six-month pilot to unify social media presence

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Staff Report

The Diocesan communication team is taking the next step in advancing the communication goals outlined in the “With One Heart” Diocesan Pastoral Plan. During the information gathering phase in developing the pastoral plan, one of the key priorities that emerged from the parish listening sessions, focus groups and Deanery strategy sessions was the desire for a more unified and dynamic social media presence across the Diocese.

To help make this vision a reality, the Diocese is launching an enterprise-wide, 6-month pilot of the “Catholic Social Media” platform by Prenger Solutions Group. This content development and distribution tool will allow the Curia to upload social media content, which parishes and schools can select and share on its own social media accounts.

“Many of our parishes and schools have vibrant social media platforms with engaged subscribers and followers,” said Laura Keener, communications director. “The listening sessions conducted by With One Heart have confirmed that the faithful are eager to gain insights into Diocesan events and happenings. Social media has emerged as a desired platform for them to seek and disseminate this information.”

Already, staff in the offices of Catechesis and Evangelization, Catholic Charities, Stewardship and Missions Services, Youth Ministry and the Messenger have met with the Catholic Social Media team on how to use the platform. They care currently working to load content to Catholic Social Media.

Parishes will be brought onboard in four waves. Pastors in wave 1 have already been contacted and will be onboarded in late March, early April. The following waves will be starting soon.

“We’re excited about the possibilities and can’t wait to see how this collaboration will bring our Diocese closer together as we share the Gospel message,” said Mrs. Keener.

Numerous (arch) dioceses and parishes in the United States utilize the Catholic Social Media platform to oversee their social media operations and have discovered its advantages. The Diocese of Covington will assess the platform’s benefits at the conclusion of its pilot program in June 2025.

George Weigel joins Institute for Religious Liberty in commemorating the anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II’s death

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

Thomas More University’s Institute for Religious Liberty welcomed George Weigel, theologian and Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) as the keynote speaker for its Feb. 12 presentation, “Pope St. John Paul II and Religious Liberty.” This presentation is first in a series by the IRL, commemorating the 20-year anniversary of the titular saint’s death.

Heralded as “one of America’s leading public intellectuals,” Mr. Weigel is best known for his widely translated and internationally acclaimed two-volume biography of Pope St. John Paul II: the New York Times bestseller, “Witness to Hope,” and its sequel, “The End and the Beginning.”

As the keynote presenter, Mr. Weigel’s talk began detailing large parts of the history of religious liberty and the Catholic Church, from the way church and state intertwined throughout the Byzantine Empire and middle ages, to the American revolution, and beyond.

“The Church had spent hundreds of years thinking that in one way or another, it needed the help of the state to do what it alone could do,” said Mr. Weigel, “The American experience suggested that there might be another way of looking at this.” — that being the separation of Church and state, allowing for Rome to appoint bishops in the new world and handle its own affairs separate from politics. This led directly into the Second Vatican Council where “groups of bishops came eager for a Catholic affirmation of religious freedom,” said Mr. Weigel.

In 1895, only 70 years before the Council, on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the American hierarchy, Pope Leo XIII sent a letter to the bishops of the United States, in which he “commented very favorably on the growth of the Church in the United States … and said that this distinctive American arrangement, a constitutional separation of Church and state institutionally, could be tolerated.”

As George Weigel’s presentation was the first in the series, those interested in the celebration of Pope St. John Paul II and the Institute for Religious Liberty can look forward to the second installment on March 31 with keynote speaker Dr. Paul Kengor, titled “John Paul the Great: Seven Things Every Catholic Should Know.”

Annual solicitors luncheon kicks off phase one of the DPAA

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

The Diocesan Parish Annual Appeal, DPAA, is fast approaching as phase one officially commenced with the solicitors luncheon, Feb. 12. The luncheon is used to thank the solicitors who volunteer to call the top DPAA donors.

In years past, the number of donors contacted has stayed consistent at 200, with approximately 30 solicitors making calls. This year however, there were over 60 solicitors, allowing for the top 300 donors of previous DPAA efforts to be contacted.

Jeff Jehn, general gifts chair for the DPAA, said “Due to the fact that we had such good recruitment of adding new people, we’ve increased the number to 300 and because of that, we are going to see, I believe, some very good results for what we are trying to accomplish.”

By the time the DPAA is launched in parishes in late March, thanks to the work of the solicitors the campaign will be closer than ever to its goal of $2,700,000.

At the luncheon, solicitors peruse cards containing the names of 300 top donors, finding people they may know.

“The dollar figure of the number of gifts that are represented by that table … will be over $1,600,000. That will take us over 50 percent of the total goal of the DPAA. I think that is pretty incredible, that our top 300 donors are a little over $1,600,000. I’m so happy that we are doing this process, I think it is a real strength of our Diocese and of the DPAA,” said Jim Hess, director of the Office of Stewardship and Mission.

Lisa Knochelmann, leadership gifts chair, quoted Bishop John Iffert saying, “‘As we begin this Jubilee year inspired by Pope Francis’ call to mercy, our DPAA theme, ‘Pilgrims of Hope, Missionaries of Mercy,’ invites us to find the heart of Christ by sharing our spiritual and material gifts. We can extend God’s love, compassion and hope to those who suffer.’”

As solicitors were enjoying lunch, Bishop Iffert spoke to them about what giving to the mission of the DPAA truly means.

“All of life is a return to the Lord what he has given to us, that is what we’re here for. The Lord reveals himself to us, reveals his loving nature, reveals his redemptive purpose, reveals his desire that we are all to be saved and to spend eternity in his divine company … We respond with a grateful return into the Lord. Not just a percentage of who we are, but we respond with our whole being,” Bishop Iffert said.

Part of that whole being, Bishop Iffert said, is the way we live your economic, financial life. That is not to say that one should begin selling off assets.

“How much you give does not make you a member or not member,” said Bishop Iffert, “All we ask people to do is enter into a relationship with the Lord and do what God asks us to do. That’s how we’re judged. God judges us by our conscience, some people will only be able to give a very small gift.”

Bishop Iffert ended his talk in gratitude for the solicitors. “Thank you for joining us … thank you for saying yes to that invitation,” said Bishop Iffert.

Dr. Mandy Sanchez returns to the Diocese of Covington fora presentation on ties between apps, video games and pornography

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

Dr. Mandy Sanchez, director of programming at Culture Reframed, will return to the Diocese of Covington on March 3 for another presentation on the dangers of pornography. In a presentation titled, “Just a Click Away – Monitoring the Risks and Rewards of Gaming and Apps for Our Youth,” Dr. Sanchez will explore the most popular social media apps and give parents advice on how best to monitor them effectively.

Dr. Sanchez visited the Diocese of Covington previously on November 2024, to give a presentation titled, “Growing up in a Porn Culture: How Social Media, Gaming and Pornography Harms Our Youth.” She spoke about popular social media apps like Snapchat and Instagram, and how their connection to the porn industry is stronger than many think.

Julie Feinauer, director of the Safe Environment Office for the Diocese of Covington, said that the decision to invite Dr. Sanchez back for another presentation was an easy one. The feedback they received from those in attendance was staggering. “They were all saying specifically this is what people need to hear,” she said. “That was something we felt very strongly about because we realize that a lot of parents are in the dark about what is out there and so it is hard hitting.”

A goal for the March 3 presentation being given by Dr. Sanchez, is to have as many people in attendance as possible. “We want to make sure that we get as many people there as possible,” said Mrs. Fienauer, “She is going to go back over some of the pieces about pornography and access and what’s actually happening in some of the details … she’s also going to bring in social media, the apps, and the gaming. That is what parents are asking for.”

“She is going to talk a little bit about age appropriateness. About when kids should have access to these kids of apps and games … I think that is really important,” said Mrs. Fienauer.

The presentation, Mrs. Feinauer said, “is not for somebody that is going to be prudish about what they’re going to hear because they are going to hear the truth and they are going to hear about very difficult things.” The presentation will take place on March 3, at the Thomas More University Ziegler Auditorium, Crestview Hills. The doors will open at 6 p.m. with the program beginning at 7 p.m.

The end of training nears for the first group of mentors ready to accompany online Catechetical Institute learners

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Laura Keener

Editor

The Office of Catechesis and Evangelization continues to make strides in implementing its portions of the “With One Heart” Diocesan Pastoral Plan. About 40 people are nearing completion of the five series “Mentoring Workshops,” offered by the Franciscan University’s Catechetical Institute. Sarah Wells, pastoral associate, Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, led Part I of the final session, “Empathic Listening,” Feb. 8, at the Curia’s Bishop Howard Memorial Auditorium. These soon-to-be mentors are from parishes throughout the diocese.

Priority one of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan is for ongoing faith formation. One of the goals in that priority is to empower parishes and families to fulfill their shared mission of ongoing faith formation. One of the strategies the Diocese is employing to achieve this goal is its partnership with the Catechetical Institute of Franciscan University.

Through the Catechetical Institute’s “Franciscan at Home” online courses, everyone in the Diocese has free and unlimited access to over 200 courses, workshops and tracks — in both English and Spanish — that can help them to grow in their understanding and practice of the faith. And while online courses are the meat and potatoes, having a mentor as a guide along the way has been called “the secret sauce” of Franciscan at Home.

“What a mentor does is helps people to tap into what the University offers,” said Isaak A. Isaak, co-director, Office of Catechesis and Evangelization.

Mentors, Mr. Isaak said, will help pastors and people in the parish use the Franciscan At Home library to create small group Bible studies, retreats and even how to pray rosary and other prayers of the Church. They will also accompany individuals as they learn and deepen their faith life by taking individual courses.

“It’s an accompaniment relationship,” said Ms. Wells. “It benefits them greatly to have a spiritual mentor of some kind, some kind of spiritual big brother or big sister that can just walk with them and really accompany them, for the sake of accountability and for someone to reflect back to you the growth that you’re making.”

“When you have a mentor, you have somebody to go to, someone you can interact with in real time, who is familiar with the course that you’re taking, who can affirm and answer questions. A mentor is also somebody, if they don’t know the answer, they’ll find it and get back to you, so you’re not going to be left wondering,” said Jenn Ledonne, director of Religious Education, St. Mary Parish, Alexandria.

Mrs. Ledonne and Ms. Wells are both a part of the leadership team made up of parish directors and coordinators of religious education that is assisting Mr. Isaak with implementation of Franciscan At Home.

Mentors, Mrs. Ledonne said, can help learners break out of their comfort zone and explore courses and workshops that they might not otherwise choose.

“Everybody has different areas that they’re trying to grow in ministry, and having a mentor in those areas, I think is especially beneficial. When clearly there’s a need, they can help identify that offer suggestions and affirm you throughout the process,” she said.

Every parish and school in the Diocese of Covington is already registered and waiting for parishioners to create their own free account. Simply go to https://franciscanathome.com/diocese-covington to create a free account. Then choose from the dozens of courses, workshops and tracks available through Franciscan at Home. And, if you are interested in finding a mentor, contact Isaak Isaak at iisaak@covdio.org.

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption updates digital tour, with North window in high def

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

In 2010, Msgr. William Neuhaus, at time the rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, published a 360-degree digital tour of the cathedral using panoramic photography. Now, more than 10 years later, the digital tour has been updated with new imagery of Covington’s iconic cathedral.

“I decided that with some of the recent enhancements and additions over the last 10 years that we re-conducted that tour,” said Father Ryan Maher, the cathedral’s present rector.

Father Maher said that part of the parish’s pastoral plan priorities is to “continue to be a welcoming community,” and the up-to-date tour serves as a “kind of way to welcome people virtually to the cathedral.”

The new tour was put together by Ron Rack Photography, out of Cincinnati, and features beautifully detailed and colorful photos of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and many of its windows, artwork and features. Various buttons allow for easy navigation and allows visitors to see details they would otherwise not be able to view in person. Notably, the tour features a large-scale, high-definition image of the Cathedral’s North window that can be zoomed in upon.

The release of the updated tour also coincides timely with the jubilee, offering a pilgrimage option to the sick, incarcerated and those who otherwise cannot visit the pilgrimage site in person. For the purpose of obtaining indulgences, according to the Decree on the Granting of Indulgence during the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025 called by His Holiness Pope Francis, 13.05.2024, “The faithful who are truly repentant of sin but who cannot participate in the various solemn celebrations, pilgrimages and pious visits for serious reasons (especially cloistered nuns and monks, but also the elderly, the sick, prisoners, and those who, through their work in hospitals or other care facilities, provide continuous service to the sick), can obtain the Jubilee Indulgence, under the same conditions if, united in spirit with the faithful taking part in person.” Digital spaces can serve as ways to help facilitate this relationship for those who cannot visit in person, with full information on obtaining an indulgence available online at www.usccb.org/jubilee2025 or at https://covdio.org/jubilee/.

Catholic Education sows the seeds of God’s word

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

Catholic Schools Week is a long-standing tradition and national celebration of Catholic education. As a student, it means pajama days and pizza parties, as a teacher it means small tokens of appreciation. The highlight of the week is the annual Catholic Schools Week Mass, where students, faculty and staff from all Catholic schools in the Diocese gather and celebrate Catholic education with Bishop John Iffert and the Catholic Schools Office. From St. Patrick High School in Maysville, to Prince of Peace School in Covington, there were representatives from each school in attendance at the January 29 Mass.

In opening remarks from Kendra McGuire, superintendent of Schools, she said, “That is why we are here, to celebrate Catholic Schools Week as the same faith community. This is one week that we pause each year to appreciate the education where Jesus is the focus. A time to where we thank our parents, for sacrificing to send us to Catholic schools. To the principals and teachers, who work so hard to educate us. The volunteers, who give so much of their time, their talents and their treasures to ensure that we can walk with more and more students to learn about Jesus each day. To our priests, who walk with us each day inviting us to grow in our relationship with Jesus, especially in the sacraments.”

In his homily, Bishop Iffert recalled a story which took place over many decades. As a child he attended a summer camp, at this camp they took a hike to Packentuck waterfall. Bishop Iffert said that the hike to the waterfall was relatively easy the first time he went as there was a paved path. Upon his return year after year however, the pavement started to crack, roots begin to poke out of the pavement, and vegetation from the surrounding woods begin to encroach. Before long, Bishop Iffert said, the path was unrecognizable, life had grown and blossomed in a place where it was seemingly impossible.

“Those little cracks in the pavement, seed fell down there and lived and died and lived and died and broke open those little cracks and ford first sediment, then sand, then soil … 40 years after my first visit, you can’t recognize there was ever a road there, the forest has reclaimed it,” Bishop Iffert said. The seed of the word of God can work in you, Bishop Iffert said, the same way that the seeds of the forest worked in the paved path to Packentuck.

“You are more than a couple of trillion cells and an electric charge finding your way through the world. Instead, you are that noble, loving, heroic person you sense yourself to be … Catholic Education exposes you first of all to the faith, of God, so that you know your life is more than just a bunch of cells and an electric charge, that you are an eternal spirit, you are an eternal spirit enfleshed in this magnificent creative body. Being that creature of flesh and spirit, God has made you to sense his ways in the world and respond to them and to become that noble person you know yourself to be and are capable of becoming,” Bishop Iffert said.

Catholic education, which is celebrated Catholic Schools Week, instills and sows the seeds of God’s word into the hearts and minds of students, so that in 40 years, when they look back, they will see God’s work in their life.

Bishop Iffert thanks consecrated persons for witness, faithfulness, trust and most especially joy

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

Religious brothers and sisters throughout the Diocese of Covington gathered in celebration, Feb. 1, with Mass and breakfast for the World Day of Consecrated Life. Bishop John Iffert was the celebrant with Deacon Eric Ritchie assisting at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington.

The gospel reading, Mark 4:35-41, is well known; the apostles awaken Jesus, who is asleep in the stern of a boat, to quell the stormy seas, allowing for the safe passage of the apostles and himself. Mark writes of this event, but Mark was not there to witness it, rather, he receives the story from the apostle Peter. Bishop Iffert says in his homily, “Mark of course is considered by many to be a disciple of Peter, who accompanied Peter for years as a secretary and coworker. The Gospel is included among apostolic writings because it is believed that Mark received the teaching from peter and that he received that teaching, and he remembered it well.”

“Remember,” Bishop Iffert continued, “it was a difficult thing to be a Christian in the times when Mark wrote. It was a challenging reality to be a Christian. If you were a Jewish Christian, you were likely alienated from family, from profession, from the honor that attaches to family. You were likely alienated from synagogue, from community.”

Mark was writing during the dawn of a new institution, Bishop Iffert said, the institution of the Catholic church. “This little community in Rome that had been considered an outcast was beginning to grow as a result of the witness of those martyrs and beginning to realize that they could not go on to think of themselves as a sect of Judaism, but that they were becoming something new.”

“In that sense,” Bishop Iffert said, “I believe the … vocation of Mark writing his Gospel, is very much like the vocation of consecrated people in this world. There are lots of folks who do not understand consecrated life. There are lots of folks who do not understand how we can make the decisions that we make, how we can make the sacrifices that we make.”

Making the devotion to consecrated life in today’s world can be difficult, Bishop Iffert said, it is not like the consecrated life of generations before. “You are consecrated religious at a time too late to be laid to rest by those armies of young, consecrated men and women coming behind you. You are consecrated religious at a time when you are selling off your mother house, at a time when you are embracing the language of right sizing, at time when you are struggling to figure out who is going to lead the institutions you have created and bring them into the future.”

Much like Mark, unsure who will take the helm of their new institution, being a member of consecrated life at a time where the numbers are shrinking rather than growing, lends to a feeling of unsureness. But, Bishop Iffert said, there is an assurance, “I know your life is filled with sacrifices to the Lord, but it is a joy to join Jesus on his cross. It is a joy to live in the assurance of God, it is a joy to let that promise direct everything in our lives.”

“Thank you,” Bishop Iffert said, “for your witness, and your faithfulness, and your trust and most especially your joy.”

March for Life returns to Frankfort for a second year — here’s how to participate

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

Feb. 12 marks the second year for the March for Life in Frankfort, Ky. — organized by the Kentucky Right to Life organization, this statewide event brings the message of life, from natural conception to natural death, to the state capitol.

Since the first event, organizers have gained a little bit more experience, said Faye Roch, director of the Diocese of Covington’s Pro-Life office. This year, they’re hoping for less rain and less hiccups as the date of the March approaches.

The gathering begins at 9:30 a.m. with Mass at Good Shepherd Church, Frankfort, with marchers meeting at the front steps of the capitol at 11:30 a.m. for music, prayer and a rally before walking from the steps to the Memorial for the Unborn in Frankfort’s cemetery.

Currently, the Diocese of Covington has chartered three buses to take individuals interested in participating from Covington and Florence to Frankfort. Among the participants will be students of diocesan high schools, as well as from Thomas More University and Northern Kentucky University’s Newman Club.

Last year, according to Mrs. Roch, the Diocese of Covington had a recorded attendance of around 200. This year, she hopes to double that number.

“We have this battle within our state,” she said, “and we need to come together in the state of Kentucky to show our legislators the importance of respect for life, especially at conception.”

Transportation to the March for Life via the buses will be free of cost, although space is limited. Interested parties are encouraged to contact the diocesan Pro-life Office at (859) 392-1545 for information.