Diocese enlisting mentors to accompany learners engaged in FranciscanAt Home— could it be you?

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Laura Keener

Editor

The month of August is Back to School month and the perfect opportunity for the Campaign of Mercy to focus on the corporal work of mercy “to instruct the ignorant.” No one likes to think of themselves or others as ignorant. But the truth is, you can’t know what you don’t know and sometimes we don’t know what we think we know.

Everyone needs someone to show them the right way to accomplish tasks, to help them develop skills, to think critically, to develop their faith life and at times be corrected. It is an act of love to help others learn the truths they need to know to save souls — their own and others.

Bishop John Iffert, through the With One Heart diocesan pastoral plan, is removing barriers for the people of the Diocese of Covington to grow deeper in the faith and to accompany others on their faith journey. Through a partnership with Catechetical Institute, Franciscan University, everyone in the diocese has access — at no cost — to Franciscan At Home.

Franciscan At Home is an online library of over 200 workshops on the Catholic faith. Everyone can, right now, create an account at https://franciscanathome.com/diocesecovington, then choose a lesson to begin personal study. But what makes Franciscan At Home unique from other online learning platforms is the availability to choose a mentor to accompany the learner as they grow in learning and living their faith.

“This is like their secret sauce,” said Deacon James Fortner, chief operating officer, Diocese of Covington, about the effectiveness and importance of the mentoring aspect of Franciscan At Home. “It gives the ability as a mentor to ask questions, enabling the student to dig deep. You’re not telling them the answer. You’re trying to lead them to an introspection. How’s God moving? What did you feel; what did you see?”

Currently the Office of Catechesis and Evangelization is looking for people to be a part of Franciscan At Home as a mentor. Five in-person workshops, beginning August 17, are being offered to train mentors. (See schedule on page 13.) And like Franciscan At Home, these mentor training workshops are available at no cost to the lay faithful.

“Everything is going to depend on how much we accompany the learners,” said Isaak A. Isaak, co-director, Office of Catechesis and Evangelization. Mr. Isaak is leading the implementation of Franciscan At Home in the diocese. “The biggest thing, really, is how we develop good mentorship.”

Deacon Fortner and Mr. Isaak have a goal for every parish and school to have at least two mentors trained and available to accompany the parents, teachers and parishioners desiring a mentor as they take Franciscan At Home courses.

“Mentorship is just walking with people. Mentors don’t have to teach, they don’t have to offer courses, they don’t have to administer the program. All they need to do is be available as a mentor to walk with people and guide them,” said Mr. Isaak. “It’s like almost giving a person a gift of faith and salvation, introducing them to and leading them closer to Jesus Christ,” that’s the role of the mentor.

How do you know if you’re being called to be a mentor? First, if the thought of accompanying someone on their faith journey stirs your heart and mind, start praying about it. Ask the Lord if this is his plan for you. Then, talk with your pastor or school principal about becoming a mentor. And, of course, register for the mentor training workshops.

“The only qualification, as far as I know, is that you are a baptized Christian and Catholic, practicing your faith and that you are in union with Jesus Christ,” said Mr. Isaak. “The one thing that I would advise people is take advantage these free courses. Bishop Iffert has generously and kindly invested in his people’s lives by bringing this huge platform.”

Mr. Isaak’s encouragement to others comes from deep personal experience.

“When I talk about my faith, I always want to cry because I feel so awesome about it,” said Mr. Isaak. “I just love the Holy Spirit that’s working in it, in these words, in the things that we learn, in everything we do — it just so impactful. I want everyone to come and enjoy what I’m enjoying.”

Diocese urges support for Amendment 2 from teachers at professional development sessions

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

With the 2024–2025 school year on the horizon, the diocesan Schools Office brought in teachers for professional development days, occurring over four sessions divided by grade level, Aug. 1–2, at St. Barbara Parish, Erlanger.

The sessions, which began with presentations and reflections by Chris Padgett, author, musician and cofounder of CenterForHolyMarriage.com, geared teachers for the upcoming school year with information on new programs and interests of the Diocese of Covington’s schools.

One such interest is the promotion of the upcoming Amendment 2 on the Kentucky ballot for November’s election, posing the question, “To give parents choices in educational opportunities for their children, are you in favor of enabling the General Assembly to provide financialsupport for the education costs of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are outside the system of common (public) schools by amending the Constitution of Kentucky as stated below?”— with the amending text reading “The General Assembly may provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools. The General Assembly may exercise this authority by law, Sections 59, 60, 171, 183, 184, 186 and 189 of this Constitution notwithstanding.”

“Yes on 2” promotes school choice, and the Diocese of Covington vouches for voting “Yes” on the ballot this fall.

Kendra McGuire, diocesan superintendent of Catholic Schools, brought this interest to the attention of teachers during each session. For the upcoming school year, diocesan interest in serving under-represented communities is increasing. Programs such as the inclusion of the FIRE Foundation, which seeks to make Catholic schools accessible to students with disabilities, are being implemented in the new year.

“Another hindrance that we see especially in all our schools is finances,” said Mrs. McGuire. “Finances sometimes are a barrier to serving our families.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the responsibility of education for children, and as such, Mrs. McGuire said, “Parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions. This right is fundamental.”

Two years ago, the Vatican published a document called “The Identity of a Catholic School for a Cultural Dialogue,” which stated that, according to Mrs. McGuire, “a distinctive feature of the ecclesial nature of our schools is that it is a school for all, especially the weakest.”

Historically, Catholic schools were established by religious to serve the neediest populations — this mission remains.

Mrs. McGuire stressed that the passing of Amendment 2 won’t take away from public school funding, which is required to remain fully funded by law of the Kentucky Constitution — but would allow money to “follow the student” to allow for families a wider range of choice for education, regardless of financial barriers.

As of 2024, 33 states in the United States have some sort of school choice program or charter school law in effect, including every state bordering Kentucky.

If the amendment passes, no immediate programs will become effective, but it will allow “state legislators to listen to constituents across the state to choose to establish or not establish a school choice program in Kentucky,” Mrs. McGuire said. “I hope you will consider voting yes so that we can help all students in our state choose the school that’s best for them.”

“This is the moment for us in making an effort towards school choice,” she continued, “If it doesn’t pass in November, then we are out of options for these children.”

The first Eucharistic Congress in 83 years brings 60,000 Catholics together to revive their love of the Eucharist

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Bella Young

Multimedia Correspondent

At the first National Eucharistic Congress in 83 years, over 60,000 Catholics gathered in a celebration of the Eucharist. With Mass and speaker sessions being spread across a 1–2-mile radius of the Indianapolis Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, there were not many that missed the presence of the congress. For those in attendance the excitement came not only through the masses of their peers, but through the source and summit of the Catholic Church — the Eucharist.
The congress, as part of the three-year Eucharistic Revival, sought to bring people together for one goal — revival. The Eucharistic Congress website affirms this belief, “At the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, our Catholic Family will gather to experience profound, personal renewal through the power of Christ’s love. Like a new Pentecost, this transformation will flow out from Indianapolis to bring revival in our communities as the church returns to her first love — the source and summit of our faith.”
The three-year Eucharistic Revival comes on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic which significantly reduced the number of people going to Mass, even after restrictions were lifted. In a study published by the Pew Research Center in March of 2023, it was shown that only 33 percent of Catholic U.S. adults attended an in-person Mass in November 2022. This was not because they were attending Mass online either, as 22 percent of Catholic U.S. adults attended online Mass in November 2022.
It was these statistics that prompted the formation of National Eucharistic Congress, Inc., led by a governing board of five bishops and four lay people, chaired by Bishop Andrew Cozzens, Crookston, Minnesota. The goal of this group was to bring the revival, congress and pilgrimages to fruition, and so they did with the National Eucharistic Revival launching on Corpus Christi Sunday in 2022. With the congress having taken place July 17–21, there is still one year left of the Eucharistic Revival.
“Every Movement Needs a Moment,” is what sprawls across the front page of the National Eucharistic Congress website. This slogan is fitting as the National Eucharistic Congress was the moment of the Eucharistic Revival movement. The website reads further, “The Congress will fulfill in a moment the vision of the Eucharistic Revival. Together we will encounter the living Jesus Christ, experience renewal, and be sent out ‘for the life of the world.’”
For the 60,000 in attendance, it was evident that this was the moment. The excitement was palpable as people flooded Lucas Oil Stadium on the first night of the congress, filling the entirety of the bottom bowl of the stadium. It was there that the perpetual pilgrims of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage came out of the four corners of the stadium and met in the middle signifying the convergence and coming together of Catholics from across the country.
The culmination of the procession of pilgrims was evident when an awe-inspiring silence fell over the crowd as Bishop Cozzens carried a specially made monstrance holding Jesus to the altar in the middle of the field. Tom Kissel, parishioner, St. Pius X Parish, Edgewood, called this moment “divinely inspirational.”
Another member of the Diocese of Covington, Joseph Collopy, parishioner, St. Henry Parish, Elsmere, called it “a foretaste of Heaven.”
Along with Mr. Kissel and Mr. Collopy, Bishop John Iffert spoke
about his experience at the congress. “More people have the sense that they are missionaries for
Jesus. The people who are here, the lay people who are faithful to the Church have a greater sense of their missionary vocation in the life of the Church,” said Bishop Iffert. “It is interesting, it is both true that the Church is not smaller than it used to be, in absolute terms we are as large as ever … as a percentage there are fewer people who are regularly active in the faith or who think of themselves as Catholic. But if we think of the Church as a living mission of Jesus, the number of people who embrace that kind of identity, I really think more of the Church, than I have ever known it, has embraced that kind of identity.”
This embrace of missionary identity, Bishop Iffert noted is particularly poignant in young people. “Young people are looking for something larger than themselves to invest their lives in,” he said.
Recalling the homily of the Mass on Thursday morning, Bishop Iffert speaks about growing closer to Christ. “It is all in service to calling people to that personal relationship with Jesus. We want people to have a more intimate, stronger, personal, relationship with Jesus … You think of a wheel, with the spokes coming out of the hub of the wheel, if you think of Jesus as the hub of that wheel, the further you’re out on that wheel the further you are from Jesus, but the further you are from others as well. It is by moving toward the hub, toward Jesus, toward the center, that you not only draw closer to Jesus but to others as well.”
The spirit of revival filled the Indianapolis Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, with crowds rivaling the size concerts or football games. It was five days of excitement, love and adoration. Sixty thousand people from 17 countries, 50 states, speaking seventeen different languages, celebrating the source and summit of the Catholic Church together.
While the Eucharistic Congress was a pinnacle
moment in the movement, the movement is not yet complete. The revival, which started in 2022, continues. At the summation of the Congress, calling on the many in attendance, it was announced that the final year of Eucharistic Revival will be marked by a Year of Mission. This missionary year introduces an initiative entitled Walk With One.
Walk With One invites everyone to identify someone in their life who does not know Jesus or who has fallen away from the faith and walk with them back to Jesus, embodying the spirit of the Eucharistic Revival.

Vocations monstrance blessed by Pope John Paul II visits local churches

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Messenger staff report

The Serra Club for Vocations, Northern Kentucky is taking part in the effort to bring a monstrance blessed by Pope John Paul II to local churches, including the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, Aug. 2–4. The adoration schedule with the monstrance is:
August 2 The monstrance will be at Old St. Mary’s Church, Cincinnati, for an all-night vigil until Benediction the next morning. Exposition begins Aug. 3 after the 7:15 a.m. Mass until 9 a.m. Mass.
August 3
The monstrance then travels to the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption for adoration noon – 4 p.m. (Mass at 4:30 p.m.) and then 5:30 p.m. until 7 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 4. Officers will be present during the overnight hours to ensure the safety of adorers.
August 4–6
From Aug. 4, 1 p.m.– Tuesday, Aug. 6, 6 a.m., the monstrance will be at St. Agnes Church, Ft. Wright, for adoration.

In 2004, St. Pope John Paul II blessed six monstrances to be used during the Year of the Eucharist (2005-2006) for people to pray for an increase in vocations to ordained ministry and consecrated life. The monstrances were designated for Eucharistic adora- tion for vocations for each major continent around the world as a symbol of the connection between the Eucharist and priestly vocations. The six regions given a monstrance are: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. The Holy Father presented the North American Continent monstrance to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for this purpose. In turn, the USCCB entrusted the monstrance to the USA Council of Serra International with instructions to fulfill the Pope’s request: to ensure that this monstrance be used in local parishes so that all Catholics far and wide would come together and pray for vocations. The first diocese to receive the monstrance was Portland, Maine in 2005. A year later, the monstrance had traveled to over 45 dioceses throughout the U.S. and Canada by 2006. Due to the overwhelming volume of requests for the monstrance, the Bishops’ Committee on Vocations made a decision to prolong the availability of the monstrance beyond the end of the Year of the Eucharist, and as long as interest continues.

The Serra Club for Vocations, Northern Kentucky, is a group of Catholic men and women who pray and work to foster vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and religious life. Club members are also committed to grow in knowledge of the Catholic faith and to become better Catholics through prayer and acts of stewardship. For information about the Serra Club visit www.serranky.com.

Cathedral restoration campaign passes initial goal — but there is still work to be done

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by Maura Baker, Staff Writer

The “Restored in Christ” campaign to restore and pre- serve the historic Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, has recently reached an important fundraising milestone for the project.

The campaign has passed its initial goal of 6 million dollars, as of the week of June 28, with $6,020,917 from 1,892 donors. This total covers the estimated cost of most of the Cathedral’s restoration work — focusing on the stone and masonry. However, fundraising for the project is not yet complete, as Jim Hess, director, Stewardship and Mission, reported. “As they begin this kind of work on a historic building,” said Mr. Hess, “another 6 million could easily be used.”

As contractors are lofted above Cathedral gardens and Madison Avenue, more much-needed work on the Cathedral has been identified. One notable example is the tracing and lead elements of the iconic stained glass windows — which show wear on the seams and concrete pieces in the middle parts of the windows.

“So, even though we’ve reached our goal of 6 million,” said Mr. Hess, “we can’t necessarily be completely done trying to get gifts for the Cathedral because there is still work that needs to be done.”

Mr. Hess said that the majority of gifts towards the Cathedral were of $250 or less, with some being gifted as pledges of an estimated $4 per month. “Anybody can sacri- fice a cup of coffee a month to make a significant gift to the Cathedral,” he said.

“One thing I really want to stress is that I want to thank donors over and over again,” Mr. Hess continued, saying, “I think it’s a beautiful sign that the diocese was able to come together in this way to restore and preserve the Cathedral. It took a whole diocese to build, and now takes a whole diocese to maintain.”

More information on the Restored in Christ campaign, as well as information on how to contribute, can be found online at https://covcathedral.com/restored-in-christ/.

‘Everyone is hungry to know Jesus’ say perpetual pilgrims as they pass through Cincinnati enroute for Indianapolis

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by Laura Keener, Editor

The historic National Eucharistic Pilgrimage made its way through the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 1–8. Known locally by the slogan “Jesus Is Here,” the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton route of the Eucharistic pilgrimage made stops at seven Cincinnati churches, including a climaxed stop, July 6, at the Cathedral Basilica St. Peter in Chains, where Archbishop Dennis Schnurr celebrated Mass with an overflow crowd of an estimated 3,000 people, including many faithful from the Diocese of Covington.

Father Jacob Lindle, parochial vicar at the Mary, Queen of Angels Family of Parishes, which includes Immaculate Conception (North Lewisburg), Sacred Heart (St. Paris), St. Mary (Urbana), St. Mary of the Woods (Russells Point), St. Michael (Mechanicsburg) and St. Patrick (Bellefontaine), was the homilist. He is a young priest who was ordained in 2022.

In his homily, Father Lindle mentioned how it is common for people to ask about his age. Subsequently, the conversation falls to the dwindling number of youths in the Catholic Church. People ask Father Lindle frequently, “How do we keep them?”

“Some people say to me,’ Father, we need to mix things up … the youth, they like excitement. They like when things change.’ And I have to inform them as a young person myself that that’s not true. It’s the young who know the power of consistency, who can cry out again and again,” said Father Lindle, “It’s us who have grown old and grown tired.”

“The youth teach us something about the power of God,” he said, “who each morning says to the sun ‘arise’, and it rises … God responds with his faithful love each morning.”

“We have bread, coming down to our altars every single Sunday that won’t perish. We have the bread of life … do we grow tired?” Father Lindle asked. “What a tragedy that God’s humble love is not enough for us. We need to turn and grow young.”

Following Mass, a two blocks-long Eucharistic procession made its way through the streets of downtown Cincinnati from the Cathedral to Fountain Square for adoration, reflection, Benediction and celebration.

The Seton route — the Eastern route — is one of four Eucharistic Pilgrimage routes making its way, like a cruciform, across the United States to its destination — the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, July 17–21. The other three routes, also heading toward Indianapolis, include the Marian Route (Northern route) starting at Lake Itasca, Montana; the St. Juan Diego Route (Southern route) starting at Brownsville, Texas; and the St. Junipero Serra Route (Western route), the longest route at 2,200 miles, starting at San Francisco, California.

On May 18, six perpetual pilgrims — Christoph Bernas, Dominic Carstens, Zoe Dongas, Marina Frattaroli, Natali Garza and Amayrani Higueldo — began their Seton route pilgrimage with the Eucharistic Lord in New Haven, Connecticut. The route has taken the pilgrims along the Atlantic coast, through the nation’s oldest diocese — the Archdiocese of Baltimore — and across the Appalachian Mountains.

The Messenger caught up with pilgrims Christoph Bernas and Zoe Dongas at St. William Church, Cincinnati, July 7, following Holy Hour and a cookout, to gather their perspective on the Eucharistic Pilgrimage. With being just days away from their destination, the two pilgrims reflected on how they experienced God’s initial call to join the pilgrimage and how that call has changed or been reinforced.

Mr. Bernas said with a smile, “I feel like I’ve been duped a little. I signed up for a 65-day perpetual pilgrimage.” But after literally walking with Christ for the past 50 days he has arrived at a new realization. “I’m not just a pilgrimuntil this ends in about seven days, I am a pilgrim until I die and that is a lot to unpack. I’m still working on (under- standing) exactly what that means and how that demands that I’ll change my life and work more and more towards evangelizing others and evangelizing myself. That is definitely a lot and I learned that on this pilgrimage.”

Ms. Dongas said that for her initially the pilgrimage met her “desires for adventure and desires on my heart to do something crazy for Jesus.” But like Mr. Bernas, over the weeks of traveling with the Eucharistic Lord, “Jesus has made those desires deeper and deeper in my heart … it’s now a lifelong invitation to put Jesus at the center, specifically in the Eucharist, and to raise him up as high as we’re able so that he can be praised and adored by many.” Both pilgrims experienced spiritual highlights early in the pilgrimage, while in New York. For Ms. Dongas, it was while celebrating Benediction on a boat near the Statue of Liberty.

“To do Benediction on a boat like the way that Jesus traveled with his apostles … was itself a beautiful image of living the Gospels, but then to do Benediction at a statue that represents liberty, with Jesus, who is the one who sets us free, truly, that was just a beautiful, surreal moment.”

Mr. Bernas was struck by the love and joy the Sisters of Life demonstrated for Jesus in the Eucharist. As the Eucharistic procession exited the Sisters’ chapel on the site of St. Elizabeth Seton’s house in Manhattan, the Sisters of Life sprinkled rose petals from the choir loft down on the Eucharist as it passed.

“They were really exemplifying the spousal nature of their call and their love for Christ as their divine spouse … it was just like, wow, they really love him,” he said.

Both pilgrims said that no matter where the pilgrimage has taken them — on the sea, along the shore, through the mountains, in big cities, small towns or along country roads — what has been most inspiring is the faith of the people who have joined them in procession, for Mass, for adoration or who have just come out of their house or peered through the window to see the Lord and to be together in community.

“Everyone is hungry to know Jesus more, even if they don’t know that hunger is Jesus,” said Ms. Dongas. “It’s been really beautiful for us to see the hunger they have for community and that is all centered in Jesus — to see this desire to know others more deeply and to know Jesus more deeply. It’s been really interesting to see that kind of a universal thing — that everyone is seeking this relationship.”

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is the first of two unifying events of the Eucharistic Revival. The second and culminating event is the National Eucharistic Congress, which will be held July 17–21 in Indianapolis. Both are part of a three-year initiative sponsored by the United States Bishops, which officially began June 16, 2022, on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. The revival’s goals include inspiring and preparing people to have a renewed encounter with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. It’s never too late to get involved in revival and to grow deeper in understanding and faith in the Eucharist. Learn more at https://www.eucharisticrevival.org/.

Maura Baker, Messenger staff writer, contributed to this article.

TMU Baccalaureate Mass 2024

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Bishop Iffert convenes team to explore Covington Latin School and Thomas More University affiliation

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With a commitment to providing advanced learners an innovative, college preparatory, classical, Catholic education, Bishop John Iffert of the Diocese of Covington announces the exploration of an affiliation between Covington Latin School and Thomas More University. Read more on page 3.

‘Life is a school of learning to love,’ says Father Keene at High School Senior Mass

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Senior high school students from every diocesan high school joined together with teachers, administrators, parents, supporters and friends for a Mass celebrating their accomplishments as the school year draws to an end — and with it, the high school career of these students. Read more on page 1.