unite – Madison Catholic Herald Archive (2001-2025)


	Fr. Grant Thies, parochial administrator of St. Peter Parish in Madison, leads the Benediction during the second “Unite” Rosary Rally in Madison on October 11. Nearly 1,000 people came out for the peaceful afternoon of prayer. (Catholic Herald photo/Joe Ptak)

MADISON — In the midst of protests, conflicts over the upcoming election, and a range of varying reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was time for some peace and prayer.

Nearly 1,000 people came out to downtown Madison for those moments of peace and prayer during the second “Unite” Rosary Rally on October 11.

The first rally was on August 15 and brought out more than 3,000 people.

The day also marked the conclusion of a 54-day Rosary Novena that started the same day as the previous rally.

There was an emphasis that the event was not a political event, but a prayer event, despite the closeness to the election and the State Capitol.

Teens unite in faith and fun at Frassati Fest

“I’ve never known anyone who’s gone to Frassati Fest and hasn’t had a good time.”

That’s how youth minister Andy Schindhelm from Blessed Trinity Parish in Lodi and Dane sums up the “coolest weekend around for Catholic High School students in the Diocese of Madison.”

Redemptive suffering is part of being a Christian

It is not easy to block out the multiple cries of pain and suffering that permeate the world. It is almost deafening.

All one has to do is turn on the radio, read the newspaper, watch television, or go online. We are bombarded with news of pain and suffering, almost to the saturation point. I think of the people in Libya, Haiti, Japan, and others affected by war and natural disasters. It gives me an overwhelming feeling.

Good people suffer

A couple of years ago I attended several lectures on the martyrs of El Salvador who were killed during a civil war that took place there in the 1970’s and ’80s. Archbishop Oscar Romero, four women missionaries, and several Jesuits — only to name a few of hundreds of people — were brutally murdered because they spoke out against the intense suffering of the Salvadoran people and a system of government that perpetuated it.