Day: September 24, 2015

On
Chris Lee

St. Maria Goretti Parish in Madison hosts tour of saint’s relics

st maria goretti
St. Maria Goretti’s remains are encased inside a glass-sided casket. Inside the casket is a wax statue, which contains her skeletal remains. Her body is not incorrupt, and none of the sacred remains are visible. Nevertheless, the skeleton is complete save for small fragments that have been taken for placement in altars and for use in the Church’s ministry. (File photo)

MADISON — St. Maria Goretti Parish is one of more than 50 sites in the United States to host the major relics of its patron saint, St. Maria Goretti, as part of the “Pilgrimage of Mercy: The Tour of the Major Relics of St. Maria Goretti.”

The relics will be brought into the church at 5313 Flad Ave. on Friday, Oct. 16, at 8 a.m. and lie in repose there for public veneration beginning at 9 a.m. that day until 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17.

Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison will celebrate a Solemn Mass at 7 p.m. on Friday evening.

Hundreds of pilgrims are expected to walk past the reliquary during the 22-hour period. October 16 is St. Maria Goretti’s 125th birthday.

Fr. Carlos Martins, CC, a Custos Reliquiarum (ecclesiastically appointed curate of relics) and director of Treasures of the Church, will lead the tour of the United States with the sacred remains of St. Maria Goretti. She is an immensely popular saint, and this is the first time her body travels to the United States and only the second time she has left Italy.

The youngest canonized saint in the Catholic Church, the 11-year-old Maria Goretti died July 6, 1902, after being stabbed 14 times in an attempted rape.

Her last words on her deathbed were of mercy toward her 20-year-old attacker: “I forgive Alessandro Serenelli . . . and I want him with me in heaven forever.”

The unrepentant Serenelli famously reported receiving an apparition of his victim within his prison cell, some six years into his 30-year sentence. That occasion began his dramatic transformation from being a violent and ruthless man to that of a gentle and renewed soul intent on spreading devotion to God and his saintly victim. In his words, “Maria’s forgiveness saved me.”

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On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Holy Name Heights new residential community on Madison’s west side

MADISON — Imagine living in a unique apartment home in a beautiful historic building located on Madison’s west side, close to stores, restaurants, and golf courses.

As an added benefit for Catholics, this building offers weekday daily Masses and Eucharistic Adoration in a chapel featuring a large mosaic of Christ and stained glass windows, including one of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

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On
Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Teens join together to serve others

MADISON — “This is a place where you’ll make a difference.”

Those are bold words coming from Edgewood High School junior DC Morris, but they are true.

Morris, along with 21 other teens, makes up the St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Youth Service Council.

Nearly two years ago, the society’s District Council of Madison formed the council consisting of high school students who serve as representatives for their home parishes or schools.

 

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Local Church musicians showcase original compositions

MADISON — On Friday, Oct. 2, at 7:30 p.m., church musicians from Madison and the surrounding area will showcase their own compositions in a public recital at St. James Catholic Church, 1204 St. James Ct., Madison.

Local homegrown musical craft will include works for organ, choir, and other instruments. The Wadsworth pipe organ at St. James will be featured. All music presented will be available at the event in a volume published by the Association of Church Musicians, sponsor of the program.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Conversation planned on encyclical

MADISON — A conversation on Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care of Our Common Home and sustainable agriculture in Wisconsin will be held Sunday, Sept. 27, from 1:30 to 6 p.m. in Anderson Auditorium in Predolin Hall at Edgewood College.

Panelists will include environmentalist Calvin DeWitt , Sr. Miriam Brown, Eric Anglada of the New Hope Catholic Worker Farm, and Edgewood economics professor Kevin Biller. The speakers will lead break-out sessions after the panel concludes.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Annual picnic held at historic church in Waterloo

WATERLOO — The Island Church Foundation invites the public to visit the historic St. Wenceslaus Church, commonly referred to as the Island Church, for the annual St. Wenceslaus Day celebration on Sunday, Sept. 27.

The celebration will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include Mass in the church at 2:30 p.m. Local historian Edward Langer will be on hand with books, maps, and other information from his research on the emigration from Landskron to Waterloo and other places in Wisconsin.

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On
Bishop Robert Barron

Your life does not belong to you

It was revealed recently that, for the first time in its history, Harvard University, which had been founded for religious purposes and named for a minister of the Gospel, has admitted a freshman class in which atheists and agnostics outnumber professed Christians and Jews.

Also recently, the House and the Senate of California passed a provision that allows for physician-assisted suicide in the Golden State. As I write these words, the governor of California is deliberating whether to sign the bill into law.

Though it might seem strange to suggest as much, I believe that the make-up of the Harvard freshman class and the passing of the suicide law are very really related.

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