Category: News

On
Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Hispanics join in national effort

encuentro
Carlos Hernandez, Hispanic ministry director for the Diocese of Green Bay, stands with Francisco Sanchez from St. John the Baptist Parish in Waunakee and Juan Estrada from Cathedral Parish in Madison during the recent diocesan training session for “V Encuentro” at Holy Name Heights in Madison. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)

MADISON — “We are in a very crucial day today,” said Edgar Martinez, positively looking ahead to the start of a training session on July 7 at Holy Name Heights in Madison.

Martinez, member of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madison, is helping to lead the efforts of the Diocese of Madison’s role in “V Encuentro” — a series of meetings that will take place over the next few years aimed at getting to know Hispanics and producing more involvement in the Catholic Church of its second largest and fastest growing community.

Encuentro is a national effort on behalf of the Catholic Church in the United States to respond to the needs of Hispanic Catholics and to strengthen the ways in which Hispanics respond to the call to the New Evangelization as missionary disciples serving the entire Church.

Spanish translation
A Spanish version of this article can be read here.

Encuentro means “encounter” and this encuentro is the fifth such series of meetings held in the United States since the first in 1972.

According to the V Encuentro website (https://vencuentro.org), there are more than 38,000 Hispanic Catholics in the Diocese of Madison. That is about 15 percent of the total number of Catholics in the diocese.

The training session’s goal was to bring together the Hispanic ministry leaders from the 16 parishes in the Diocese of Madison that have them. The leaders included priests and laity.

Martinez said the first step in the process is “to organize everyone from the base, from the parish to the diocese and so on.”

Read More
On
Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

God is good . . . all the time . . . at Totus Tuus

JANESVILLE — It’s never a dull moment when Totus Tuus comes to your parish.

For the fourth summer in a row, the Diocese of Madison is presenting the summer Catholic youth program dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith through evangelization, catechesis, Christian witness, and Eucharistic worship.

Two teams of four college-aged leaders each are travelling to a different parish, over a six-week period, to lead programs for grade school-aged and junior high-aged children.

Read More
On
Chris Lee

Sisters explore healthcare transfer to SSM Health

MADISON — The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes (CSA) and SSM Health have signed a letter of intent to transfer sponsorship of Agnesian HealthCare based in Fond du Lac and Monroe Clinic based in Monroe.

The parties will begin a due diligence process with the goal of integrating the hospitals and affiliate organizations within the SSM Health system.

As mission-driven organizations, SSM Health and CSA share a commitment to ensuring the long-term sustainability of Catholic healthcare and providing exceptional healthcare services to meet the needs of the patients and communities they serve across Wisconsin.

Read More
On
Kevin Wondrash

Free presentations on Gut and Physiology/Psychology Syndrome

REEDSBURG — Does your child display strange behaviors, speech delays, fussy eating habits, tummy aches, and other anomalies? Have you been diagnosed with gut related conditions such as IBS, SIBO, diarrhea, and eating disorders?

Are you concerned that you may have an autoimmune disorder? Suffering from allergies, depression, or obsessive-compulsive disorder? Have you been diagnosed with PMS, PCOS, endometriosis, and other fertility related concerns?

Read More
On
Kevin Wondrash

St. Dennis Parish holds festival

MADISON — All are invited to the 61st annual St. Dennis Parish Festival. The festival has fun for all ages and is open to the public. The festival begins at 5 p.m. Friday, July 28, and ends at 6 p.m. Sunday, July 30, at 409 Dempsey Rd.

The festival includes live bands, children’s games, 5K road race, $10,000 grand prize raffle, 1,000 family flea market, book tent, food, soda, beer tent, bingo, all-you-can-eat beef dinner, outdoor Mass at 10 a.m. Sunday, and much more.

Read More
On
Deacon Jim Hoegemeier, For the Catholic Herald

Celebrating persons with disabilities

MADISON — Parishes throughout the Diocese of Madison are taking advantage of a program developed and sponsored by the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities-Diocese of Madison (Apostolate to the Handicapped).

Recently, nearly 50 people gathered at Blessed Trinity Parish in Lodi to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of parishioners with disabilities as part of a Blessed Margaret Celebration.

Read More
On
Jane Lepeska Grinde, Catholic Herald Correspondent

Diocesan women challenged to lead

FORT ATKINSON — In an afternoon “shareshop” on leadership at the Madison Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (MDCCW) convention held recently at St. Joseph Parish Hall here, members of MDCCW board shared their enthusiasm for the work of CCWs at the parish and vicariate levels.

Technology

Calling each segment an infomercial, Co-President Sue Koch introduced each one, beginning with technology presented by MDCCW Treasurer Kathy Loy, Fennimore, and Jan Block, Grant Vicariate president from Lancaster.

Read More
On
Kevin Wondrash

NFP Awareness Week begins July 23

MADISON — “It’s time! Say ‘Yes’ to God’s plan for married love” is the theme of this year’s Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, a national educational campaign of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to celebrate God’s vision for marriage and promote Natural Family Planning.

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an umbrella term for the safe, natural, and effective methods of both achieving and avoiding pregnancy. NFP education courses teach couples how to observe and interpret the woman’s signs of fertility and infertility. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, NFP methods “respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them, and favor the education of an authentic freedom” (CCC, no. 2370).

The dates of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week are July 23 to 29. These dates highlight the anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae (July 25) that articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, marriage, conjugal love, and responsible parenthood.

Read More
On
Kevin Wondrash

St. Ambrose Academy Reading Institute gives presentations

MADISON — Debra Krebs, director of the St. Ambrose Academy (SAA) Reading Institute, will give two presentations on dyslexia and the program the SAA Reading Institute uses to provide participating students the help they need to become successful readers.

The presentations will be given on Sunday, July 16, at 11:15 a.m. in the basement of St. Clare of Assisi Church at 1760 14th St., Monroe, and Saturday, July 22, at 5:15 p.m. in the St. Dennis Parish Center, 505 Dempsey Rd., Madison. Snacks will be provided.

Read More