Maura Baker

Staff Writer

In celebration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, and along with National Migration Week — Set. 22 through Sept. 28 — a prayer service will be held at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, Sept. 26, 7 p.m.

For over 40 years, the Catholic Church has celebrated National Migration Week. Historically held around the time of the epiphany, using the example of the three wise men as migrants themselves, the date has been changed to September in recent years.

Every year, Notre Dame Sister Maria Francine Stacy participates in this celebration. A member of the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Committee, who has worked with migrants in the community and as a Spanish teacher at Notre Dame Academy, Sister Maria Francine was part of the committee putting together this prayer service. With it, she invites everyone to join in the celebration.

“The Church says when you welcome a stranger, you welcome me,” Sister Maria Francine said. “I want to invite people to pray for and open their hearts to the migrant.”

“It’s a place to show compassion and to learn to feel Jesus’s presence,” she said, “as we are honoring the immigrant, which is something that I think Jesus would do.”

Diversity will be a big part of the prayer service, as well — with readings and songs to be included in Spanish and English. “That sort of gives you the experience of a migrant,” Sister Maria Francine said, “We want to give glimpses of that experience.”

Sister Maria Francine also said that she was “moved” by the attendance of people at the two immigration and social teaching presentations earlier this year, seeing that the topic of immigration is “important to people.”

“I really like that we’re able to come together and work together and do something that I think people are responding to,” she said.

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

The Diocese of Covington Office of Catechesis and Evangelization hosted the annual Wedding Anniversary Vespers, Sept. 7, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington. Married couples celebrating major anniversary milestones — 1, 25, 50 and 60-plus years — are invited to attend the Vespers where Bishop John Iffert meets with and blesses each couple.

This year, the Messenger spoke with three couples who were in attendance. Linus and Ruth Ann Enzweiler, parishioners at St. Joseph Parish, Camp Spring, were celebrating their 62-year wedding anniversary. Eloy and Yazmin Fuentes, parishioners at St. John the Evangelist Parish, Carrollton, were celebrating 25 years of marriage. Josh and Stephanie Bornhorn, parishioners at Holy Cross Parish, Latonia, were also celebrating 25 years of marriage.

Each of the couples had valuable insight on what makes a marriage. For the Fuentes, it is a firm foundation rooted in faith.

“Make sure that God is always first before anything else,” said Mrs. Fuentes, using her, Christian, son as a translator.

For Mr. and Mrs. Bornhorn, the key to a strong marriage is communication, “You need to remember to not just talk, but truly communicate with each other. Don’t assume that the other knows how you’re feeling, or what you’re thinking, tell them,” said Mrs. Bornhorn.

Mrs. Enzweiler emphasized the importance of community, recalling the time they were planning their wedding.

“We didn’t have any money,” she said, “every time we turned around somebody was helping us. His mother baked our cake, the catering was family, I wore my sister’s wedding dress.”

Despite having very little, however, the Enzweilers were rich in love for one another, “we had no money, but we were in love and wanted to get married,” said Mrs. Enzweiler.

Mr. and Mrs. Fuentes while rich in love, emphasized the importance of having a Christ centered marriage, “make sure you go to church on obligation days, and have some type of a role inside church,” said Mrs. Fuentes.

Her son, followed up on the importance of a Christ centered family, “my mom was a lector and reader, as siblings we have always been altar boys and altar girls. To them, it’s just one thing is always helping church and being there.”

For the Bornhorns, faith is also an important aspect of family life, “we both knew we wanted to raise our kids in the Catholic Church and have tried to show the importance of our faith with our kids through our relationship.”

When asked what piece of advice she would give to newlyweds, Mrs. Enzweiler thought for a moment, remembering her 62 years of marriage, before saying, “You need to know how to have give and take. I think that’s a big thing, sometimes you might do something with them that you don’t care for, but you do it anyways, and they do it back to you.”

Mrs. Bornhorn tells couples, that marriage is more than the choice you make on the day you say, “I do,” it is a choice you make every day.

“Marriage is a choice you both have to make. It’s not always easy, and it’s not always fun, but it’s always worth it to put in the effort,” Mrs. Bornhort said. “You have to choose each other every day.”

Mrs. Fuentes said, “try to do prayer together.” Christian added, “that’s what they do. When my dad leaves for work, they always do a prayer together and dedicate that time together in the morning.”

With 113 years of marriage between the three couples, Mr. and Mrs. Enzweiler, Mr. and Mrs. Fuentes and Mr. and Mrs. Bornhorn, speak from experience on what makes a marriage strong: trust, patience, communication and a marriage rooted in faith and love of Christ.

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati, thanks to the generous donation of an anonymous donor, is building in Northern Kentucky for the first time in six years. Their chosen sites are located in the Botany Hills neighborhood of Covington. The construction of these nine new homes, is rooted in faith with the campaign donning the name, “The Pope Leo Village Campaign.”

“An anonymous donor came forward who was very inspired by Pope Leo’s commitment to serving others and decided to give a generous gift to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati,” said Sarah Reynolds, marketing and communication officer for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati.

Ron Washington, mayor of Covington, said, “The Pope Leo Village Campaign in Botany Hills will not only provide nine families with safe and affordable homes, but will also strengthen the fabric of our neighborhoods.”

With homelessness on the rise in Kenton County, increasing steadily over the past three years — from 167 persons in 2023 to 234 persons in 2025 according to the Kentucky Housing Corporation’s annual K-Count. Rates of homelessness are also significantly higher than those of neighboring Northern Kentucky counties — 67 and 39 persons in 2025 for Boone and Campbell Counties, respectively. These nine Habitat for Humanity homes will mean new beginnings for the families who purchase them.

Ms. Reynolds spoke to one of the intended residents, “for her, this home means stability,” she said. “Now that she is building and buying a home with Habitat, she feels like this will give her and her three children the stability that they’ll need to have a better life.”

The nine homes being built will stand on infill plots of land, where once historic homes stood. Each house will be slightly different to accommodate the land; however, each will have at least three bedrooms. Two of the homes will be joined together to form a duplex, while the other seven will be stand-alone homes with either one or two stories depending on the plot of land.

“We decided to build homes in Covington, even though we didn’t have funding for them, because we know that there’s such a need for affordable housing in the community,” said Ms. Reynolds, “We took a leap of faith and started building and then this anonymous donor came forward to help cover some of those costs .. .it was answered prayers.”

Despite not being a Catholic organization, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati is rooted in Christian faith. Beginning as a grassroots effort, they relied on churches for support. Thirty years later, many of those churches still contribute to their mission.

“We have a huge faith involvement to begin with, and so, when we share about the Pope Leo Village with those groups, they’re just really excited,” Ms. Reynolds said.

It is the community involvement, Ms. Reynolds said, that sets this initiative apart from the rest. “We’ve seen a lot of excitement, we have seen lots of people wanting to come and volunteer, wanting to learn more, and calling, reaching out to us in that way … the outpouring of support from the community … is really inspiring,” she said.

Mr. Washington shared the sentiment of inspiring community support.

“After seeing Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati’s impact during last year’s Rock the Block event, it’s inspiring to now see the first new Habitat homes built in Northern Kentucky in six years — and right here in Covington. This project reflects the power of collaboration and community, and we are proud to support it,” he said.

Construction on the nine homes will be completed in 2026 with two already being near completion. Once the homes have been constructed, they will stand tall as a reminder of God’s providential love and Pope Leo’s commitment to serving others; giving nine families newfound stability.

Maura Baker

Staff Writer

Youth ministry in the Diocese of Covington is launching into its “next phase,” according to Angie Poat, the diocesan youth minister who has been building up the structure of youth ministry since joining the Curia in 2023.

Building up from the With One Heart pastoral plan, and skill sets obtained from the “Tending the Talents” programs via Catholic Leadership Institute, the Youth Ministry office has chartered four official “teams” led by existing youth ministry leaders, which will tackle different youth ministry needs in the diocese.

The first team, called the Youth Commission Evangelization Team (YCET), is the most familiar team in the diocese already and was active in ministry previously. Under the official charter, YCET will be led by Hannah Ubelhor, a parishioner of St. Timothy Parish, Union. An active youth minister — Ms. Ubelhor has previous experience as a retreat director and worship leader. YCET will also be led in conjunction with Mark Johnson, from St. Thomas, Ft. Thomas, where he is the current youth minister and catechetical leader.

Bradley Barnes, campus minister of Newport Central Catholic, will be spearheading two of the other youth ministry teams — middle school ministry, and the intern team which assists youth ministry faculties in the youth ministry summer internship.

As for the fourth team, Service and Mission, Carrie O’Connor — a member of the Regnum Christi movement — will be leading.

Each team leader, along with their teams, average 20 hours a month in service to the diocese — leading meetings and events throughout.

The primary goal of devising these teams for youth ministry lies in the importance of sustainability, Mrs. Poat said, to earn the ability to maintain youth ministry function long term — but also to “empower volunteers and lay people in the diocese to use their leadership skills.”

This year, the youth ministry leaders are being “put into action,” but Mrs. Poat hopes that their example will be “models for youth ministry teams,” which she hopes will form throughout diocesan parishes and communities.

“Whether you have a full-time youth minister or a part-time youth minister or no youth minister,” Mrs. Poat said, “you can have a successful youth ministry in every parish.” This is accomplished through teamwork and collaborative ministry, she explained, saying that “not one isolated person can run a ministry on their own.”

Mrs. Poat encourages all lay people to involve themselves in youth ministry, starting with “getting the word out to the young people in their parish” and getting them to attend diocesan events. “They can sponsor their way to attend these events, or they could simply show up and be present,” she said. Additionally, Mrs. Poat says they can “let diocesan events and teams be a springboard to chartering their own youth ministry involvement in their own parish, whether it’s big or small.”