News from around the 11 counties of the Diocese of Madison.
MADISON — From the Vatican, the Apostolic Penitentiary issued a Plenary Indulgence under the usual conditions for all those who venerate the relics of St. Maria Goretti during the September to November U.S. tour.
The relics of St. Maria Goretti will be in Madison at St. Maria Goretti Church, 5313 Flad Ave., from the morning of Friday, Oct. 16, to the morning of Saturday, Oct. 17.
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| Joseph Baker |
Joseph Baker, a seminarian for the Diocese of Madison, will be ordained as a transitional deacon on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 9:30 a.m. at the Altar of the Chair at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York will be ordaining Baker and 39 other men from around the United States. A transitional deacon has completed his third year of theology studies and intends to be ordained as a priest.
Baker will participate as a deacon in a Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated by Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison on Friday, Oct. 2, at 8 a.m. in the Chapel of the Presentation at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Baker is the son of Kay and Mark Baker, members of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Chippewa Falls. His “home parish” is St. Paul’s University Catholic Center at the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison.
A graduate of Catholic schools in Chippewa Falls, Baker attended UW-Madison from the fall of 2006 to the fall of 2007. He then enrolled at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota/Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona from the spring of 2008 to the spring of 2009.
He was selected as a Basselin Scholar at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., which he attended from the fall of 2009 to the spring of 2012. He has attended the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome from the fall of 2012 to the spring of 2015.
Cathy Lins, and her sister Marie, got names of families from the Diocese of Madison who were going to see Pope Francis during his visit to the United States. What follows are comments from the families and pictures they shared.
Kevin Blau and his family, members of Divine Mercy Parish in Merimac and Sauk City, travelled to Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia for Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.
PRINCETON — Pastor Fr. Dale Grubba is planning a Hawaiian shirt/apparel weekend October 3 and 4 to go with the annual St. John Catholic School Gala. Parishioners and visitors are invited to wear Hawaiian apparel to Masses at St. James Church in Neshkoro and St. John Church in Princeton.
The Gala takes place on Saturday, Oct. 3, in St John Catholic School gym, 125 Church St. Dinner reservations may be made by contacting Alyssa Cattanach at 920-295-4275 or Mary Soda at 920-295-3078.
MADISON — Care of Creation has scheduled a presentation on Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home on Thursday, Oct. 1, 7 p.m. at the St. Dennis Parish Center, 505 Dempsey Rd.
John Huebscher, executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference will be the presenter. Fr. Randy Timmerman, pastor, and Steve Coleman, resident expert on climate change, will also attend.
SINSINAWA — A discussion of Pope Francis‘ encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, will be held at Sinsinawa Mound from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Oct. 6 through Nov. 10.
Over the course of six weeks, participants will read each of the six chapters of the encyclical, which calls us to re-examine our lives in light of the ecological crisis, and discuss what this means for us as a people of faith.
MADISON — Catholic Charities is partnering with Agrace Hospice & Palliative Care and Ryan Brothers Ambulance Service in the launch of a new scholarship for adults of color who want to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA) or an emergency medical technician (EMT).
The program is called “Collaboration for the Calling” and focuses on creating a workforce that is as diverse as the people they serve throughout southern Wisconsin.
Collaboration for the Calling scholarships are an expansion of a program Agrace launched earlier this year for disadvantaged students of color who recently graduated from high school.
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| 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.”
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.
The Madison Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (MDCCW) invites women of the diocese to gather for prayer, inspiration, and socializing at fall meetings scheduled as noted below. The vicariate sponsoring the meeting is noted followed by date and location.
Vicariate Council of Catholic Women (CCW) presidents will conduct the meetings with MDCCW President Rosa Ropers, Waunakee, participating. Mass will be offered at each meeting with either Msgr. Duane Moellenberndt, Sun Prairie, or Fr. Lorin Bowens, Lime Ridge, concelebrating with attending priests. Both are spiritual advisors to MDCCW.
