Bishop Iffert travels to Ghana to visit family, Church and culture of African priests serving in Covington

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Laura Keener

Editor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Father Joshua Whitfield

Contributor

Last Sunday’s Gospel reading and this Sunday’s Gospel reading are really one reading. You should read them together. The teaching Jesus offers is layered and rich and radical. He is trying to liberate his disciples, liberate us. You would do well to dive deep here to hear what Jesus has to say. Chances are it will make you uncomfortable. Chances are it will be good for you, especially eternally.

Jesus has been preaching against what causes fear, about what we should really fear instead. We shouldn’t fear what can kill the body, for instance, but instead fear him who can cast the soul into hell (Lk 12:5). We shouldn’t worry about things like inheritance, money, food or possessions, for “your Father knows that you need them” (Lk 12:30).

Jesus is not telling his disciples to shun possessions or money or food completely; he is not saying that each Christian should become a beggar like St. Francis. Rather, he is talking about the proper perspective believers should have and how such perspective should order their lives. That is, unlike the birds of the air or the lilies of the field, human beings have an eternal destiny to account for and prepare for.

What Jesus is trying to do is to get his listeners to focus on one treasure rather than another. That is, he is saying that when we fail to account for eternity, for the kingdom of God, our fear will too likely cause us to store up treasures for ourselves to hedge against the future. Which is plainly foolish, Jesus says; for once you’re dead, he asks, “the things you have prepared, whose will they be” (Lk 12:20-21)?

Instead, Jesus tells his disciples to focus on “a treasure in the heavens that does not fail” (Lk 12:33). And you do that, Jesus says, by selling your possessions and giving alms (Lk 12:32).

Here Jesus is simply underlining good rabbinic wisdom, wisdom almost completely forgotten today. It is the wisdom found in Proverbs 10:2 and 11:4, the idea that wealth “does not profit in the day of wrath” but that only “almsgiving delivers from death.” The notion of a treasury in heaven is thoroughly Jewish; Jesus didn’t pull it out of thin air. “Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from all affliction” (Sir 29:12).

This, simply and radically, is what Jesus teaches, but with an emphasis and urgency befitting the advent of the Messiah: “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” he says (Lk 12:32). These words have the same punch to them as those he spoke at Nazareth at the beginning of his ministry, that “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21).

What Jesus is saying is that his disciples are to enact the ethics of the kingdom now, to sell possessions now and to give alms now. “I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon,” Jesus will later say, “so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations” (Lk 16:9).

This is not something to put off, Jesus clearly teaches, for that’s the warning of the parable of the rich fool (Lk 12:20). Disciples are meant to begin heaven now not simply by believing in Jesus but also by living as he taught us to live as sharers with one another and as friends with the poor.

Now we may understand better the strange ethics found in Acts, why the first Christians “had all things in common,” selling their possessions and distributing goods “as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). Now we know why Luke said of that community, “There was not any one needy among them” (Acts 4:34).

These first Christians were simply being faithful to Jesus’ rabbinic teaching made real and contemporary by his continued Messianic presence in the community, the same Messianic presence we believe is present in the church today. The kingdom has been given in Christ today too, so what are we waiting for? Why aren’t we sharing our possessions now?

Which is the question, I said at the beginning, would make you uncomfortable. But I also said it may just save you, eternally at least. And please know how serious the question is: Why aren’t you sharing your possessions now?

Please don’t make the mistake of thinking this is not a question immediately connected to your salvation. Please don’t think you can get into heaven while ignoring this question, passing it off with excuse after excuse.

The whole wisdom of the Scripture, the clear teaching of Jesus, can’t be set aside. The matter is urgent. As St. Basil the Great preached once, “Think reasonably about that which is and that which shall come, and what you might lose through shameful profit.”

Really, I can’t say anything more chilling or truer than that. Just that maybe it harrows the soul to think of so many Christians who ignore such teaching, so weighed down by their possessions, unaware how eternally weighed down they really are.

Father Joshua J. Whitfield is pastor of St. Rita Catholic Community in Dallas.

The new chimeras have arrived ready to take their spots atop the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

Two years ago, the twenty-six chimera which lined the top of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, were removed as part of the Cathedral restoration initiative. Now, their new and improved counterparts have arrived, ready to reclaim their spots atop the Cathedral.

The new chimera, perfect replicas of the ones removed, were made by Boston Valley Terra Cota, New York, and arrived in late July. In order to perfectly replicate the ones removed, 3D scans were taken, and from those scans foam molds were made, which were cast to make a hollow mold, from which they created the new chimera.

“There’s a lot of hard work,” said Don Knochelmann, director, Buildings and Properties Office for the Diocese of Covington, “there’s a team of artists that put all the really fine detail; the wrinkles in the elephant’s skin and all the different things, that’s all done by hand.”

Father Ryan Maher, rector, Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption said about seeing the new chimera, “I was excited to see them up close, to see the incredible level of detail that the artist put into replicating the former chimera.”

Previously, each chimera weighed approximately 270 pounds, having at one point been filled with concrete. Each new chimera weighs only 170 pounds and are hollow. Mr. Knochelmann, suspects the old chimera, which were originally hollow as well, were filled in an attempt to elongate their life.

“Our understanding from the design team is that doing that actually shortens their life,” said Mr. Knochelmann, “because the concrete and terracotta didn’t expand at the same rate.”

While the talented team at Boston Valley Terra Cotta created the chimera, Trisco Construction will be the ones installing them.

“The workmen, to see day by day the details that they pay attention to do this restoration, every millimeter matters, every inch matters. Being here every day and being able to see them exercise the care, the diligence, the hard work, using their expertise, their God given talents, to do these small, very important restoration pieces, I’ve really enjoyed seeing that unfold,” said Father Maher.

He continued saying, “we’re doing something for the Lord, for all the Catholics in the area, all of the non-Catholics in the area, anybody who comes. We’re doing a great work of service in the Lord with his help to make sure this cathedral is here for generations, and that this type of work doesn’t have to be done for a long time.”

The replacement of the twenty-six chimera is one piece of the larger Restored in Christ Campaign, which seeks to restore the Cathedral façade and architectural structure. To learn more, go to covcathedral.com/restored-in-christ/.

Bishop Foys says thank you

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My dear Friends in Christ,

Although there are no words adequate enough to express the gratitude I have for the celebration of my 80th birthday, I nonetheless want to attempt to express my profound gratitude. I am especially grateful to our Bishop John Iffert for proposing this celebration and for the many other kindnesses he has shown to me since his arrival in the Diocese. I am likewise grateful to the committee that oversaw the festivities, to all those who were instrumental in preparing for the celebration in any way as well as to all those who attended, to those who sent cards, gifts. and expressions of support.

The celebration was overwhelming for me, and I will never forget it. As I grow older, I appreciate more and more the many gifts the Lord has bestowed on me throughout my lifetime. I thank Him for the gift of life, for a wonderful loving family, for parents who passed the faith on to me by their example, for the gift of the priesthood and the episcopacy, for the gift of good friends, for the priests and faithful with whom I have ministered and served to be best of my ability.

So, although it is inadequate, please accept my gratitude. Thank you! Let us pray for one another. God bless you!

​​​​​Yours devotedly and gratefully in the Lord,

​​​​​Most Rev. Roger Joseph Foys, D.D.

​​​​​Bishop Emeritus of Covington

Concert at St. Mary’s Park honors Bishop Foys 80th birthday

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Laura Keener

Editor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bishop Foys ended the presentation in deep gratitude.

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

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

Bishop John Iffert encourages school administrators and teachers to rely on Christ as the 2025-2026 school year begins

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

The annual Mass opening the new school year had the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, filled to max capacity as faculty and staff from schools across the Diocese gathered to celebrate the start of the 2025-2026 school year. The Mass, celebrated by Bishop John Iffert and organized by the Diocese of Covington Office of Catholic Schools, is a way for these school faculty and staff to gather in communion with one another before the hustle and bustle of a new year.

“In just a few days, you will welcome students into your classroom,” said Kendra McGuire, superintendent. “Each child in your class will be unique coming to you from different families, backgrounds and experience, their interests, talents and abilities will be unique too.”

Mrs. McGuire continued saying, “This year, let’s teach by looking at each child as Jesus would, to love them as Jesus would.”

A sentiment reaffirmed in the first reading, Numbers 11:4b-15, and Gospel reading Matthew 14:13-21, which showcased Jesus’ merciful love and unending patience as a teacher to all.

In his homily, Bishop Iffert reflected on the first reading, where God provided for the Israelites in the desert with manna. This manna, said Bishop Iffert, would provide all they would need to sustain life, but still, they griped.

“Oh yeah, the Lord saved our lives. But what a monotonous and terrible life it is. Manna every morning, manna every noon time, manna every evening,” Bishop Iffert said, echoing the cries of the Israelites. After hearing the plight of Moses and his people, in his infinite mercy, God provided the Israelites with quail, giving his people meat.

Perhaps a moment many teachers have experienced, when they have given all, they have to give, and still the student entrusted to their care asks for more.

“There will come a day this year,” said Bishop Iffert addressing the teachers in attendance, “when you’re tested, when you feel like ‘I have nothing left to offer.’ In that moment Jesus invites us, ‘What do you have? What’s left? What scrap?’ And when we bring it to him, he will bless that, he will break that, and he will give for the life of the world.”

In the same way that Jesus, grieving the death of John the Baptist in the Gospel reading, fed the 5,000 that followed him, though he was tired, grief stricken, and “he’s had just about enough,” said Bishop Iffert.

“Jesus teaches us the way to respond when we feel alone and tired and put upon and ground down and abused,” said Bishop Iffert. For, in spite of his grief and exhaustion, Jesus took five loaves and two fishes, and from these scraps fed the masses.

This year, as teachers bring to the feet of Jesus their scraps, Bishop Iffert said, Jesus will break it, as he did the loaves and fish, “and this is the promise, it will be plenty. It will be plenty for you, it will be plenty for them. That is the promise,” said Bishop Iffert.

Echoing the early message from Mrs. McGuire, Bishop Iffert said, “Trusting in Christ, we hold our heads high. We commit ourselves to these children and to their families. We strive to be like Christ, and we beg him to be our support.”

“Thank you,” he continued, “for leading these children to the truth. I thank you for giving them the example of one who follows Jesus Christ, even unto the cross. I thank you for your dedication and devotion this year”

As the new school year opens, teachers remember, that when there seems to be no more to give, offer the scraps to God, and he will make it plentiful, “that is the promise,” said Bishop Iffert.

St. Henry student achieves rank of Eagle Scout, busts river bank refuse

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

138th annual St. Ann novena highlights the major Councils of the Church

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Laura Keener

Editor

The major councils of the Church were highlighted at St. Ann Church, Covington, as the mission celebrated its 138th annual St. Ann Novena, July 18–26. Father Aby Thampi, pastor, welcomed a variety of diocesan priests and deacons to preach each night of the novena. Father Eric Boelscher, pastor, St. Joseph Parish, Crescent Springs, was celebrant and homilist on evening five; his topic was the Lateran Councils.

A quick show-of-hands survey determined that attendees were not adept on their knowledge of the Lateran Councils, alleviating any fact-checking, Father Boelscher humorously acknowledged. The Lateran Councils are five ecumenical councils that were held at the Lateran Palace in Rome over the course of about 400 years — First (1123), Second (1139), Third (1179), Fourth (1215), and Fifth (1512-1517).

It was a time, Father Boelscher said, when Church leaders couldn’t agree on almost anything. The first three councils occurred in quick succession because of this inability. And while there was an abundance of issues to discuss, during the fourth council Church leaders were determined to at least agree on the basics and were able to formally define the doctrine of transubstantiation, stating that in the Eucharist, the bread and wine are substantially changed into the Body and Blood of Christ.

“There is one thing we need to agree on, we all need to be real clear about who this is on the altar at each Mass. And once we get that, every promise and problem will be taken care of. All we are supposed to do is go and tell everyone we have seen the Lord,” Father Boelscher said.

Every evening of the novena has been recorded and is available for viewing on the “Saint John and Saint Ann Churches” Facebook page.

Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Go and Glorify

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Father Phillip W. DeVous

Contributor

For many years now I have thought the main reason people drift away from the practice of the faith is due to the total fragmentation of our attention and our capacity to pay attention to God. Attention is a sacred act for the simple reason that we become that to which we pay attention.

Because of our frayed and fractured attention spans, we have become less capable of paying attention to anything important, especially God. At a fundamental level, faith may be understood, at a minimum, as the attention we pay to the God who has revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ.

How do we recover that attention which is so essential to the life of faith; that in some sense IS the life of the faith? Let us turn our mind’s attention to our Blessed Lord: “Jesus was praying…”

We must take the time to pray. Prayer, which as the philosopher and mystic Simone Weil understood it, is “laboring to give our attention to God.” When I have struggled in prayer over the years, I have always found comfort in Weil’s understanding of prayer. My very labor to pay attention to the living God was itself prayer.

It is essential to note that prayer, deep prayer, is hard and we, like the disciples, turn to the Lord and pray for the gift of prayer, asking, “Lord, teach us to pray.” And the Lord answers that prayer.

“Father.” Jesus reveals to us that God is not some cold, distant first cause or prime mover, but the source of my existence and life. He is Father to each of us and all of creation. Though our heavenly Father is certainly almighty, he revealed by Christ to be in familial relation of generativity and intimacy to us.

“Hallowed be your name.” When we enter in the labor of praying, we recognize the one to whom we direct our attention is like no other. To call upon the Father is to do more than enter some kind of random chat. When we are praying, we enter a communion with the all-holy God and in so doing, His holiness becomes transformative to us. His holiness hallows us, that is, makes us holy, for prayer is one of the means by which our Father shares the divine life with us.

“Your kingdom come.”  In the person of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God is at hand! The Kingdom of God is made present and personal in Jesus Christ. In prayer we come to see that a whole new manner of being, and relationship of God has come to us as we receive Jesus Christ in prayer, which is the most fundamental act of faith.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” We pray for our daily bread — the things we need to sustain life. This, however, goes beyond the earthly and material life, for what we really need to sustain us is the “bread of life” wherein we feed on the very life of God. Thus, the “true bread come down from heaven” that sustains us in the divine life of God is the Most Holy Eucharist. Every Holy Mass that is celebrated is the Father’s direct and personal answer to this prayer.

“Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us.” This single line embodies the absolute primacy of divine mercy in our lives. Having received the divine mercy of Jesus in His paschal mystery, we are enjoined to liberally extend forgiveness to others. If we pay close attention to this petition, we get the sense that we are not forgiven of our sins if we do not forgive others. Therefore, essential to our Eucharistic Communion with the Lord is active sense of mercy sought, mercy received, and mercy extended-from God, to us, and from us to others.

“Do not subject us to the final test.” The Christian life is a life of spiritual warfare against the forces of the world, the flesh and the devil. We must turn to the Lord and ask him to deliver us from evil and give us the grace of final perseverance in our communion and friendship with Him as we navigate life’s trials and sufferings. It is precisely this grace for which we pray when we say, “that through the powerful working of your grace (that) these most sacred mysteries may sanctify our present way of life and lead us to eternal gladness.”

Father Phillip W. DeVous is the pastor of St. Charles Parish, Flemingsburg and St. Rose of Lima Parish, Mayslick, Ky.

Our Savior Parish celebrates dedication of its state historical marker that ‘reminds us and teaches us’

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Laura Keener

Editor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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