Archive for category: Featured Stories

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

When Bishop Maes built the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, many projects were left unfinished, like the façade and stained-glass windows. Over the last 100 years the Bishops of the Diocese of Covington have each added to the interior of the Cathedral, contributing to the vision and hope of Bishop Maes to have a Cathedral worthy to be the house of God.

Bishop Camillus Maes, the third Bishop of the Diocese of Covington

– Erected the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption including the original chimera and gargoyles, as well as most of the façade.

– Installed many of the large stained-glass windows in the Cathedral, with few being left unfinished due to the first world war.

– Bishop Maes left instructions to his Vicar General (and future Bishop) Father Ferdinand Brossart to install mosaic stations of the cross.

Bishop Ferdinand Brossart, the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Covington

– Coordinated the logistics and managed the money for the Cathedral under Bishop Maes.

– Installed the mosaic stations of the cross as directed by Bishop Maes.

– Completed the installation of the stained glass windows.

Bishop Francis Howard, the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Covington

– Added a baptistry to the side of the Cathedral, making the baptistry the only structure of the Cathedral not present during Bishop Maes’ lifetime.

– Installed the Wicks pipe organ which is still in use today.

Bishop William Mulloy, the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Covington

– Attempted to repair the damaged chimera with concrete and rebar.

– Installed much of the wood detailing seen in the Cathedral today, including the large crucifix, baldacchino, choir stalls, pulpit, cathedra and decorative wood screens around the Mary and St. Joseph altars.

– Restored the Duveneck artwork in the Blessed Sacrament chapel.

– Enlarged the sanctuary to fit the choir and organ, with a new altar being situated just in front of the baldacchino.

– Installed new communion railing.

– Cleaned and repaired the entire interior of the Cathedral, including the ceiling, windows and walls.

– Replaced original electrical wiring and installed the light fixtures seen today.

Bishop Richard Ackerman, the seventh Bishop of the Diocese of Covington

– Created the Sacred Heart altar.

– Brought the Schwab Organ, which resides under the rose window, to the Cathedral.

Bishop Robert Muench, the ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Covington

– Completed major renovations to the interior of the Cathedral including the addition of the baptismal pool, the reconciliation chapel, air conditioning, ramps up to the altar.

– The renovations included moving the altar forward to be in the architectural center of the Church, a new altar which was fashioned from Bishop Mulloy’s altar and communion rails, reconfiguring the pews, cleaning of the interior and exterior of the building and upgrading the sound system.

Bishop Roger Foys, the tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Covington

– Completed the façade which Bishop Maes was unable to complete with the addition of 24 saint statues representing the parishes of the Dioceses, and the tympana over the north and south portal doors.

– Fashioned the reliquary altar using the same type of wood Bishop Mulloy used for the baldacchino.

– Commissioned the stencil work which is seen behind the Mary, St. Joseph and Sacred Heart altars, as well as behind the tabernacle in the Blessed Sacrament chapel.

– Recommissioned the old baptistry to be the final resting place of Bishop Maes, and returned Bishop Maes’ remains to the Cathedral.

Bishop John Iffert, the eleventh Bishop of the Diocese of Covington

– With the completion of the Restored in Christ restoration, Bishop Iffert will have many notable contributions to the Cathedral attributed to his episcopacy.

– These include the restoration of the chimera and gargoyles, the cleaning of the entire edifice and façade, the restoration of buttresses, piers, belt courses, balustrades, colonnades, stained glass, tracery and delicate decorative elements.

Staff Report

The FIRE Foundation of Northern Kentucky invites families, educators, parish communities and supporters to join “A Mass of Belonging,” a special Mass celebrating inclusion and creating a greater sense of belonging for individuals with learning differences and disabilities throughout the Diocese of Covington. This Mass will be the third annual Mass of its kind.

The Mass will be held Sept. 15, 6 p.m., at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington. Father Ryan Maher, the cathedral’s rector, will be the celebrant.

The event is designed to celebrate the belief that there should be no separate Church for persons with disabilities, but “rather one flock that follows a single shepherd”, according to the FIRE Foundation. The Mass will bring together members of the Diocese, families, Catholic schools, parishes, educators and advocates to celebrate the gifts and contributions of people of all abilities to the Catholic Church.

Representatives from the FIRE Foundation of Northern Kentucky will be in attendance. FIRE Foundation’s mission is to champion the inclusion of students with disabilities in Catholic schools by providing educational resources, fundraising and promoting a culture of belonging. This year, the FIRE Foundation was able to provide grant funding to six schools in the Diocese of Covington towards accessible education.

“A Mass of Belonging is an opportunity for our Catholic community to come together and celebrate that every person has a place at the table,” said Missy Hail, president of the FIRE Foundation of Northern Kentucky. “We want families and individuals with disabilities to know that they are valued, welcomed, and an important part of our parishes, schools, and Diocese.”

Following the Mass, attendees are invited to participate in a family ice cream social, providing an opportunity for fellowship and connection.

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

Bishop John Iffert officially installed Father James Schaeper pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Warsaw, and St. Edward Mission, Owenton, through the Rite of Installation of a Pastor, Aug. 16. Father Schaeper was gifted the keys to his parish, and vowed to fulfill his duties as pastor, making sacraments regularly available to his flock and sharing the word of God in accordance with the Church.

Father Schaeper’s elevation to pastor comes after two years as Parochial Administrator to the parish and its mission. “What’s the difference? What’s the difference between a priest who is an administrator and a priest who is a pastor,” asked Bishop Iffert to the congregation of St. Joseph Parish. Answering his own question he said, “To us biblical language, you might say it’s the difference between a hired hand and a shepherd … When a man becomes pastor, he becomes the shepherd of a local flock.”

This role comes with increased duties and responsibilities, said Bishop Iffert, explaining that Father Schaeper now has “responsibilities toward you,” he said to the congregation. “As pastor, he is in a sacred obligation to provide for you all of the instruments of sanctification that the Church extends. To assure that you have access to regular sacramental life, to the Eucharist, to the forgiveness of sins. He has a responsibility for the catechesis of every person in the parish,” said Bishop Iffert.

To Father Schaeper, being a pastor means “leading others to Christ,” he said. Through regular use of the sacraments, of Communion and reconciliation. “With faith … and with love and an open heart,” he said. “We bring the sacraments, and being there for people in difficult times, but also in joyous times … helping them to do God’s will and to live out their vocation with faith and cooperating with God’s will.”

The Gospel story for the day of Father Schaeper’s installation was the story of the Canaanite woman who was begging Christ for the healing of her daughter, who was wrought with evil spirits.

“Her only thought is the freedom of her child,” said Bishop Iffert, “and she has come to believe that Jesus can free her child, and in freeing her child, free her.” The woman pleaded with Jesus, calling out to him, “Lord, help me,” said Bishop Iffert.

“Father Jim,” said Bishop Iffert addressing Father Schaeper, “everything you and I do in service to the people of God should begin with that prayer of faith. Everything we do must begin with trust in the Lord God, and with crying out to the Lord to help us in everything we do.”

In begging for the healing of her child, the woman makes Jesus and his disciples “uncomfortable,” said Bishop Iffert, for they believe there is no way they can help her. This uncomfortable tension exists in the world today, said Bishop Iffert, “Our life together as the family of God is not going to be perfect this side of Heaven.”

From this Gospel reading, it is taught that amidst that tension “to persist in charity, to persist in love … always in enduring love, always go on teaching, pleading administering mercy with a persistent need in Christ,” he said.

“It’s great instruction for us today, we celebrate this priest who has become your pastor, and this people who has become your flock. Begin everything you do together in faith,” said Bishop Iffert.

During his remarks at the conclusion of Mass, Father Schaeper said, “we’ve done really great things here by cooperating with God’s grace … God bless you all and thank you.”

Maura Baker

Staff Writer

From July 12 to August 3, Bishop John Iffert travelled halfway across the globe to Africa. His trip took him to the countries of Kenya and Madagascar on the East side of the continent, where he met with African bishops and religious sisters, visited the humanitarian compound Akamasoa (“good friends” in Malagasy) in Madagascar and even encountered briefly wildlife such as a white rhino in Kenya and lemurs in Madagascar.

As a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Subcommittee for Solidarity with the Church in Africa, Bishop Iffert’s trip first had him attending a meeting of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

With one session every three years, Catholic bishops from Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and associate members Somalia and Djibouti all come together. This year, Bishop Iffert alongside USCCB consultant Fritz Zuger, attended the session for dialogue on how the USCCB Subcommittee for Solidarity with the Church in Africa’s yearly national collection — which genereates three and a half million dollars annually given as grants to the Church in Africa — can best support the needs of the people in these nations. While the Diocese of Covington has previously never taken the subcommittee’s collection for Africa, the diocese plans to begin taking it in 2027 as part of the international missions collection, according to Bishop Iffert.

“This year, the plenary session focused on accompanying young people,” Bishop Iffert said. “Young people from all of these countries came to Nairobi to give their input to the bishops on how they thought the Church could better accompany them as young Catholics.”

While in Nairobi, Bishop Iffert also visited the Sisters of Notre Dame there.

“The Sisters of Notre Dame were founded in East Africa by two sisters from Covington and two from California,” he said, “and started their presence there.”

The Sisters of Notre Dame now have their own province in East Africa, with Bishop Iffert visiting one of their houses of studies and one of their schools.

After Nairobi, Bishop Iffert and Mr. Zuger flew to the island nation of Madagascar, where they visited the National Episcopal Conference there — meeting with Malagasy bishops and staff of the conference and Catholic Relief Services and continuing dialogue of how the USCCB can best assist the nation’s needs.

“The whole mission was to get to know people,” Bishop Iffert said, “to get to know the Church and again to help them understand what our program can do and how we can help them.”

Bishop Iffert’s final visit on the trip was to Akamasoa. Founded in 1989 by Vincentian missionary Father Pedro Opeka, the compound of houses built to aid Madagascar’s poor has turned into a proper community and humanitarian effort — providing food, shelter and education.

The late Pope Francis, who visited Akamasoa himself in 2021, said “This is what one priest can accomplish. This is what one life can accomplish when they follow the will of God,” Bishop Iffert quoted.

“It was just extraordinary,” Bishop Iffert said, reflecting on a Mass of around 5,000 people held at the parish in Akamasoa. “Madagascar is the ninth poorest country in the world … extraordinary poverty, and they’re really struggling to develop. There’s a lot of political corruption there.”

Bishop Iffert commented further on the volunteers and missionaries at Akamasoa. “Just so many good people,” he said, “So many holy people who want to contribute to the life of this church. It was a wonderful visit.”

Maura Baker

Staff Writer

Changes were announced at a Deanery Council meeting, Aug. 8, affecting both the Deanery Council and the Diocesan Pastoral Council — with their name changes, Deanery Pastoral Council becoming Deanery Council and Diocesan Council becoming the Diocesan Pastoral Council, being the first distinction made.

“Both councils go along with the notion of synodality,” according to Jamie Schroeder, chancellor, “as well as consultation and walking together in terms of decision making and discernment about issues that impact the diocese and the local Church.”

The Deanery Council — which consists of “deans” from each deanery in the diocese, two lay representatives from each parish and a representative of clergy and religious from each deanery as well — as well as the Diocesan Pastoral Council, consisting of two of the lay representatives as well as the Vicar for Religious and Vicar General, both communicate and collaborate with the bishop and the chancery regarding the needs of the parishes and the diocese at large.

Lay members of both councils are chosen typically from their parish councils, so that they may serve as direct liaisons.

The name change was done in an effort to “distinguish” between the two councils, according to Mrs. Schroeder, as the Diocesan Pastoral Council was established later by Bishop John Iffert to allow for more open dialogue with lay people — and the names had previously caused confusion.

In addition to the change of names, it was announced at the meeting that deans, while remaining in leadership positions, can now delegate leadership responsibilities, such as “the logistical and practical duties of leading the deanery council” to Diocesan Pastoral Council members as they deem fit or necessary at their discretion.

“So many things happen in the Church behind the scenes,” Mrs. Schroeder said, “and your average person in the pew doesn’t realize that that’s happening. I think it’s good when the lay people of the diocese can stay informed of these changes at work.”