Month: April 2018

On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

SS. Andrew-Thomas School in Potosi observes 175 years

potosi school
On June 5, 2017, the Little Saints Daycare was opened at SS. Andrew-Thomas School in Potosi. It currently serves 62 children from six weeks to 12 years old, Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Here Jessica Welch, assistant director and lead preschool teacher, works with some of the children. (Contributed photo)

POTOSI — SS. Andrew-Thomas School in Potosi — the oldest Catholic school in the Diocese of Madison and in Wisconsin — is celebrating 175 years of continuous Catholic school education in Potosi and Tennyson.

A special anniversary celebration will be held on Sunday, May 6, starting with a 10 a.m. Mass followed by a performance of an original SS. Andrew-Thomas play written by one of the parishioners.

Following the performance will be a free dinner for the public.

“We are excited,” said Principal Deb Pfab of the plans for the 175th anniversary celebration.

“A Catholic school has existed in this area continuously since 1843,” noted Michael Lancaster, superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Madison. “2018 marks 175 years of continuous Catholic school education in the Tennyson/Potosi area (even though the school names and locations have changed over that time). That means that Catholic schools have been in the area longer than they have been anywhere else in the state.”

History of school

In sharing the school’s history, Pfab noted that although Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP, founded the parish of St. Thomas in Potosi, it was his successor, Fr. James Causse, who established the first school in 1843.

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On
Tony Magliano

Stone soup for hungry children

Do you remember the childhood story “Stone Soup”? It’s an old folk tale about a couple of hungry travelers who creatively entice hesitant villagers to fill their large cooking pot with delicious soup ingredients.

After the initial refusal of the villagers to feed the hungry travelers, the two men fill their pot with stream water, light a fire under it, and then add a large stone to the water.

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On
By Jane Lepeska Grinde

Sinsinawa Mound site of women’s convention

SINSINAWA — All women of the Diocese of Madison are invited to attend the 64th annual convention of the Madison Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (MDCCW) at the historic Sinsinawa Mound on Wednesday, June 13.

Grant Vicariate CCW President Janet Block, St. Clement Parish, Lancaster, chairs the convention and is working with fellow parishioner Bernadette Schaefer, who will assume the MDCCW presidency at the convention.

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On
Bishop Robert Barron

Paul Tillich and The Shape of Water

I knew that The Shape of Water would win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It checked three of the major Hollywood boxes: celebration of oppressed people, valorization of complete sexual freedom, and a Christian villain. It used to be that a black hat or shifty eyes or a foreign accent would give someone away as the bad guy, but now, it is the quoting of the Bible.

Of course, this shouldn’t surprise us in regard to The Shape of Water, for the auteur behind the film is the Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, who has gone on record many times as a despiser of religion, especially Catholicism.

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On
By Kim Donohoe, For the Catholic Herald

New developments at St. Ambrose Academy

MADISON — St. Ambrose Academy has recently announced two significant new initiatives that will position the school for future growth and success, including adding new members to its Board of Directors and kicking off a three-year plan to move into a new school building by September 7, 2021.

Since St. Ambrose Academy’s founding in 2003 as Madison’s first independent, classical, Catholic middle and high school, enrollment has grown tenfold. In its first 15 years, St. Ambrose has continually expanded its ability to deliver on its mission of providing Madison-area families with access to a classical education rooted in the Catholic faith.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Princeton school plans Golf Benefit

PRINCETON — Plans are underway for St. John Catholic School’s in Princeton’s 18th annual Golf Benefit to be held on Saturday, May 19, at Sondalle’s White Lake Country Club, Montello.

Price is $75 per person as last year in the hopes of increasing participation. Cost includes 18 holes of golf, cart, and dinner. The cost for full members of Sondalle’s White Lake Country Club is $50 per person.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Women invited to share their faith

HILLPOINT — Marie Lins, associate coordinator of the Madison Diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, will speak on “Sharing the Love of Our Faith” at the spring meeting of the Sauk Vicariate Council of Catholic Women (CCW) Saturday, May 5, at the Joyce Fichtel Farm, 17502 Pregal Dr., Hillpoint.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. with registration and prayer, followed by business meeting, program, and lunch. It concludes with the Beatitude Rosary and prayers at 12:30.

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On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

A woman with compassion and courage

Sometimes we learn more about a person after he or she dies. That is the case for me of former First Lady Barbara Bush.

Although I knew about her as the wife of President George H.W. Bush and mother of President George W. Bush, I must admit that I didn’t know as much about her until after she died on April 17.

I learned that she took on a number of causes starting with her husband’s inauguration in 1989. These included homelessness, teenage pregnancy, children’s education, and AIDS.

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