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Pope Announces new Cardinals

Posted on by Vermont Catholic 
(CNS photo/Paul Haring)Pope Francis arrives to lead a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican November 19, 2016. The pope created 17 new cardinals at the service.
Pope Francis announced he will create five new cardinals June 28; the new cardinals-designate come from Mali, Spain, Sweden, Laos and El Salvador.

Unusually, the group of prelates announced by the pope May 21 includes an auxiliary bishop whose archbishop is not a cardinal; he is Cardinal-designate Gregorio Rosa Chavez, 74, the current auxiliary bishop of San Salvador.

The other churchmen who will receive red hats are: Archbishop Jean Zerbo of Bamako, Mali, 73; Archbishop Juan Jose Omella of Barcelona, Spain, 71; Bishop Anders Arborelius of Stockholm, Sweden, 67; and Bishop Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, apostolic vicar of Pakse, Laos, 73.

After briefly talking about the day’s Gospel reading, leading the crowd in St. Peter’s Square in reciting the “Regina Coeli” prayer and greeting various groups present, instead of wishing everyone a good Sunday and a good lunch — the normal procedure at the noon prayer — Pope Francis made his announcement.

The five new cardinals coming from “different parts of the world demonstrates the catholicity of the church spread across the globe,” Pope Francis said. And the practice of assigning to each of them a church in Rome “expresses that the cardinals belong to the Diocese of Rome,” which, as St. Ignatius of Antioch explained, “presides in charity over all the churches.”

Pope Francis said that June 29, the day after the consistory and the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the new cardinals would concelebrate a Mass with him, the entire College of Cardinals and new archbishops from around the world.

“We entrust the new cardinals to the protection of Sts. Peter and Paul,” Pope Francis said, praying that with St. Peter they would be “authentic servants” of communion in the church and that with St. Paul they would be “joyful proclaimers of the Gospel.”

The pope also prayed that “with their witness and their counsel,” the new cardinals would “support me more intensely in my service as bishop of Rome, pastor of the universal church.”

With five new cardinals, the College of Cardinals will have 227 members, 121 of whom are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave. The number of electors exceeds by one the limit of 120 set by Blessed Paul VI. The next cardinal to turn 80 will be Cardinal Antonio Maria Veglio, retired president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers, who will celebrate his birthday Feb. 3.

The Vatican released brief biographical notes about the five who will be inducted into the college in June:

Cardinal-designate Zerbo was born Dec. 27, 1943, in Segou and was ordained to the priesthood there in 1971. He earned a license in Scripture studies from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and then returned to Mali as a pastor and professor at the seminary in Bamako.

Ordained a bishop in 1988, he served first as auxiliary bishop of Bamako and then was named bishop of Mopti. He has led the Archdiocese of Bamako since 1998.

According to the Vatican, “he played an active role in the Mali peace negotiations” and has worked for solidarity and reconciliation among the nation’s citizens.

Cardinal-designate Omella was born in the small town of Cretas April 21, 1946, and did his seminary studies in Zaragoza as well as Louvain, Belgium, and Jerusalem. He was ordained in 1970. In addition to parish work in Spain, he spent a year as a missionary in then-Zaire, now Congo.

Ordained a bishop in 1996, he served as auxiliary bishop of Zaragoza and later as bishop of Barbastro-Monzon, then bishop of Calahorra and La Calzada-Logrorio. Pope Francis named him archbishop of Barcelona in 2015.

He has long been a member of the Spanish bishops’ commission for social questions and served two terms as commission president. He is a member of the Vatican Congregation for Bishops.

Cardinal-designate Arborelius hosted Pope Francis’ visit to Sweden in October as part of an ecumenical commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

Born in Sweden Sept. 24, 1949, he joined the Catholic Church at the age of 20. A few years later, he entered the Discalced Carmelites, took vows in 1977 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1979.

Ordained bishop of Stockholm in 1998, he became the first native Swedish bishop in Sweden since the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, according to the Vatican.

Cardinal-designate Mangkhanekhoun was born April 8, 1944, in Laos. The Vatican did not say in what city, but did say he was educated and did seminary studies in Laos and Canada.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1972 by the apostolic vicar of Vientiane, he was instrumental in training catechists and was known for his pastoral visits to remote mountain villages.

In October 2000, he was named apostolic vicar of Pakse and was ordained a bishop six months later. Since February, he also has served as apostolic administrator of Vientiane, which currently is without a bishop.

Cardinal-designate Rosa Chavez was born Sept. 3, 1942, in Sociedad, El Salvador. He studied at San Jose de la Montana Seminary in San Salvador, earned a degree in social communications and studied at the Catholic University in Louvain, Belgium.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1970 in San Miguel and served overlapping — and sometimes simultaneous — terms as the bishop’s secretary, pastor of a parish and director of the diocesan radio station. From 1977 to 1982, he served as rector of San Jose de la Montafia Seminary in San Salvador, a position that brought him into regular contact and close collaboration with Blessed Oscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador, who was assassinated in 1980.

He was named auxiliary bishop of San Salvador in 1982. Currently, in addition to his duties as auxiliary bishop, he serves as pastor of the Church of St. Francis in the capital, president of Caritas El Salvador and president of Caritas in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Catholic College Graduations

Posted on by Vermont Catholic 
(Photo by Jerry Swope) Edmundite Father Raymond Doherty (left) of the St. Michael’s College Class of 1951, shares a laugh with Gen. Joseph Dunford of the Class of 1977, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and commencement speaker for St. Michael’s College, on Sunday, May 14. The two men have known each other since Dunford was a St. Michael’s student in the 1970s and Father Doherty was a campus minister. Father Doherty served in the Marines during the Korean War, and Dunford was Marine commandant before ascending to lead the Joint Chiefs.
Vermont’s two Catholic colleges conducted commencement ceremonies this month.

Seventy students received degrees at the College of St. Joseph’s 58th commencement ceremony May 13.

St. Michael’s College in Colchester marked its 110th commencement on May 14 in the Ross Sports Center; it included 456 undergraduates and 30 graduate degree recipients.

“It’s never about you,” said Gen. Joseph Dunford ’77, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told the St. Michael’s College Class of 2017 that moral courage and a commitment to serving others are essential qualities for “leaders of consequence.”

The nation’s highest-ranking military figure, Dunford told graduates that being a leader means doing the right thing even when it’s unpopular, and that “the greatest call is to serve.”

“What I’ve learned in 40 years is that extraordinary leaders are actually ordinary men and women who make a commitment to excellence” and dig down deep, he said, adding that the world will need the new graduates’ leadership given that “from a security perspective alone, the challenges we face are as complex as any we’ve faced since World War II,” while the pace of change is unprecedented. As St. Michael’s graduates, he told the class, “you are uniquely equipped” to meet those challenges.

Dunford called upon the graduates to “go forth to be leaders of consequence.”

At the College of St. Joseph, former Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas spoke of some of Vermont’s greatest challenges and how graduates can help to confront them, including the state’s declining population and its effects.

“So, here’s my pitch: We need each of you to be a part of our state’s future. We need you to live and work here, to make Vermont your home,” Douglas said. “To use your education to find meaningful work and perhaps create additional jobs. We need you to raise your families here and to contribute to your community and state.”

Douglas, the commencement speaker, also discussed his views on the decline of civil discourse and how graduates can best use their voices in discussions with others whose opinions with which they may not agree.

“I urge each of you to listen to different voices, to respect others when they speak and to weigh objectively the arguments they put forth. You may not be persuaded. You may become more confident in your own views,” Douglas said. “But, in a democracy, we can’t delegitimize the thoughts of others. We must allow them to be expressed. As many have said through the years, the remedy for speech you don’t like is more speech.”

St. Michael’s High School Accreditation

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

(Vermont Catholic/Cori Fugere Urban)Students in the 10th-grade class at St. Michael’s School in Brattleboro study grammar.

Rodney Duteau and Catherine Mazzer, both 16-year-old sophomores at St. Michael’s School in Brattleboro, began their education there as freshmen. He had attended public school through grade eight; she was homeschooled. Both look forward to completing their high school education at the Catholic school that now has received both regional and state accreditation through grade 12.

She likes the family atmosphere and small class size. He appreciates the faith-based education and the confidence instilled in students.

Last year the New England Association of Schools and Colleges expanded St. Michael’s School’s accreditation from a pre-kindergarten through grade-eight school to one that educates students through grade 12. And in April the Vermont State Board of Education granted the school approval to include all high school grades.

The school currently goes to 10th grade, and plans call for one grade to be added each year until the high school section includes grades nine through 12.

There are currently five students in the ninth grade and seven in tenth. In the fall a dozen students are expected to be enrolled as freshmen, five as sophomores and eight as juniors. The goal is to have 10-20 students per class eventually.

“This is very promising,” said Principal Elaine Beam.

The Walnut Street school building used to house both elementary and high school grades, but the high school closed in 1968. The high school reopened in 2015, and the first class is expected to graduate in 2019.

The high school is filling a need in the tri-state area for not only a solid academic education addressing individual learners and a religious-based education but for a secondary education that prepares young people to become “invested citizens,” said Bethany Thies, the school’s development/admissions director.

The community aspect of the school is also important to parents, Beam said. “We are a Catholic school for all children not a school for Catholic children.”

Numerous families have joined or returned to the Church through the children’s experience at St. Michael’s School. “The New Evangelization is Catholic schools bringing people into a loving, respectful, caring community and presenting them with opportunities to feel God’s grace in a safe environment,” Thies said.

And if parents want a St. Michael’s education for their children but have difficulty affording tuition, scholarships are available. “If you desire to be here, we do everything we can to make it happen,” Thies said, noting St. Michael Parish has been generous with aid.

Beam hopes that during the next academic year, when more courses are added, St. Michael’s School will participate with the Diocese of Burlington’s St. Therese Digital Academy with a sharing of staff.

The Brattleboro school also is connecting with local educational resources and community leaders to offer additional hands-on learning experiences that support classroom learning and get students “invested in being community citizens,” Thies said.

“I love the education here,” said Rodney, one of the sophomores. “I feel confident to go out into the world from here.”

‘Painting on Light – A Restoration’

Posted on by Cori Urban

“Painting on Light – A Restoration” is a new book about the history of Blessed Sacrament Church in Stowe, a church dedicated to Brother Joseph Dutton, a Vermonter who served the lepers of Molokai with St. Damien De Veuster. It is also a collection of photographs of the murals on the outside of the church and the church windows.

In 2010 the artworks were at the brink of being lost so the parish formed an Art Restoration Committee to preserve the 12 murals that depict the work with the lepers and the 36 windows with Gospel stories, all created by French artist Andre Girard.

“When we completed the restoration in 2013, the committee decided that we needed to make a durable record of all the artworks,” explained Lynn P. Altadonna, a parishioner of Blessed Sacrament Church and chair of the book committee. “Of course we have digital files now, but we know that the technology will continue to change and the digital records we leave in 2017 may not be ‘readable’ in 20 or 30 years. We see the book as the durable record.”

The author is of the book is Josephine Belloso, a student and friend of Girard.

The goals for the book are to create a revenue stream for maintaining the art; support the movement to recognize Brother Dutton with sainthood and honor Girard as a gifted artist.

“Girard was in the French Underground. The violence of World War II is visible in the powerful images he painted here just after the war,” Altadonna said. “Girard makes manifest the intensity of Christ’s Passion in his Stations of the Cross. Girard captures the Gospel scenes so you feel what is happening at the Nativity, the Sermon on the Mount, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. The outside murals are black paint on white pine boards. One can see life on Molokai with the lepers, St. Damien and Brother Dutton in full color. The lesson Girard captures is we all must simply serve God by serving our neighbor.”

Donors who give $50 to the Art Restoration Fund will receive a copy of the 128-page, hardcover book.

It is hoped that a book launch party will take place at Blessed Sacrament Church by Christmas.

For more information, call Blessed Sacrament Rectory at 802-253-7536 or visit bscstowe@myfairpoint.net.

—Originally published in the Winter 2017 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Bake for Good”

Posted on by Vermont Catholic 
(Cori Fugere Urban/Vermont Catholic)Evan Eggsware, 12, learns to toss pizza dough as Grace Kobelia, 11, makes cinnamon rolls at The School of Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales in Bennington under the guidance of Paula Gray, manager of the Bake for Good program of King Arthur Flour.

Twelve-year-old Evan Eggsware, a sixth grader at The School of Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales in Bennington, learned to toss pizza dough at school April 26.

But it was a lesson in more than pizza making or even baking.

King Arthur Flour presented its “Bake for Good: Kids Learn, Bake, Share” program for students in fifth through eighth grades, and Evan was one of the demonstrators.

He and Grace Kobelia, 11, also a sixth grader, assisted Paula Gray, manager of the Bake for Good program, onstage, putting into action what she talked about: making dough from scratch.

A former math and science teacher, she explained the math and science that go into baking bread as well as hygienic procedures like hand washing and pulling hair back.

Like a television cooking show, video close-ups of the dough-making procedures were shown on a large screen on the stage next to the table where the students and Gray worked.

One catchy lesson included in the program was the proper way to measure flour: fluff (in a bowl), sprinkle (into the measuring cup) and sweep (off excess with a dough scraper to even the flour in the cup).

Kneading requires “fold, push and turn” to get the dough soft, smooth, not sticky and stretchy, Gray instructed.

Once the students saw how it’s all done, they received a bread baking kit from King Arthur – based in Norwich – so they could bake at home. The kits included wheat and all-purpose flour, yeast, a dough scraper, a recipe booklet and a plastic bag and gift tag. (Gluten-free flour was given to students who are gluten-intolerant.)

Their instructions were clear: Bake one bread for themselves and one for the Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales food shelf in Bennington. (They could choose to make rolls if they preferred.)

“They are ‘baking for good,’ baking for other people,” and that fits in with lessons learned at the school of caring for others as Jesus would have them do, commented Principal David Estes.

At the school, “we learn to be respectful and serve our community and follow the example of Jesus Christ,” Grace said.

Gray said representatives of King Arthur like to present the free program in Catholic schools, which are “all about the mission of sharing, caring and giving to others,” just like the Bake for Good program.

After assisting her in the school program, both Evan and Grace said they are more inclined to bake more, though both have some baking experience at home.

King Arthur Flour presents the Bake for Good program at about 200 schools each year; about 800 apply.

For more information, go to kingarthurflour.com/learnbakeshare.

Catholic Schools Care for Creation

Posted on by Stephanie Clary

In response to Burlington Bishop Christopher J. Coyne’s call for a Year of Creation focused on Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home,” Catholic schools in Vermont immediately sprang to action planning a statewide day of creation education, action and prayer. On April 12, each Catholic school participated in Catholic Schools Care for Creation Day. Initiatives included immediate tasks and long-term projects.

Responding to the call to care for creation is part of the Catholic schools’ mission “to instill faith values in students and to create a desire to make a positive difference in the world.” Some schools began the day of service with Mass or another form of prayer. Others read and reflected upon quotes from “Laudato Si’” throughout the day. It was important for students to understand that this day wasn’t just in service to the world, but to their neighbors and to God as well.

“Care for creation is a matter of social justice because the ones who are most affected by pollution and climate change are the poor of the world,” Bishop Coyne said. “I hope many Catholics will take advantage of the opportunities being offered throughout the diocese to celebrate this Year of Creation.”

Vermont Catholic schools emphatically embraced the opportunity to spend some extra time beholding God’s creation and ensuring that it remains bountiful for generations to come.

Read about each school’s Care for Creation Day projects below.

Students at St. Monica-St. Michael School in Barre learned about reusing and recycling materials with an eco-fashion show, where students designed and modeled clothing creations made from materials found in recycle bins. As part of an ongoing project, students planted seeds in recyclable containers that will later be transferred to the school garden. Once in the earth, the seedlings will grow into food that sustains bodies. Students and their families share in the cultivation, growth, harvest and consumption.

Students at The School of Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales in Bennington used old newspapers to create biodegradable flower vases. The potted plants will be gifted to elderly individuals in the area and can be placed directly into the ground.

Everyone who attends St. Michael School in Brattleboro was encouraged to use sustainable transportation on April 12. Many walked, biked or carpooled to school. Members of the school community worked together on waste reduction strategies that could be implemented, with specific grades focusing on recycling and compost efficiency. Other grades focused on area beautification with litter pick-up and gardening. Others created an awareness and education bulletin board for visitors and as a reminder for everyone at the school.

Each classroom at The Bishop John A. Marshall School in Morrisville has prominent recycle and compost bins with a smaller trash bin alongside them. The school no longer provides single-use plastic straws or water bottles. There are water-bottle filling stations for reusable water bottles. Lunch trays are biodegradable. All of this is part of the school’s ongoing sustainability efforts.

Students at Christ the King School in Rutland led a prayer service designed to help people understand how they can contribute to ecological justice. Throughout the year, students will work with Marble Valley Grows to plant a garden and participate in tastings to promote the Farm to School programs. They will also learn about and begin a composting program for the lunch room.

Students at Christ the King School in Burlington and Mount St. Joseph Academy in Rutland spent their mornings cleaning up local parks and beautifying creation for area residents to enjoy.

Good Shepherd Catholic School in St. Johnsbury recently received a grant that allows them to begin construction on an outdoor nature classroom. After “greening up” the local area on April 12, students and staff gathered in the gym to plant seeds. Later in the spring, flower seedlings will be donated to the local eldercare home and vegetable seedlings to the community garden. Some of each will be reserved to plant in the outdoor nature classroom upon its completion.

Students at Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington helped to return the local ecosystem to balance by removing invasive species from a trail on school grounds and cultivating the land for new growth. Money collected from a dress-down day on the April 12 was donated to Pure Water for the World, a Rutland-based non-profit dedicated to sustainable, safe water solutions.

At St. Francis Xavier School in Winooski, students learned about the impact of separating food waste and began implementing a compost program in their cafeteria and classrooms.

See photos on the Flickr stream.