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a review of the year 2011 in the church in southern illinois

Story by RAFE MIDDEKE
Photos by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger staff

Several parishes celebrated anniversaries or marked new beginnings. St. Damian’s in Damiansville celebrated its 150th anniversary, including the dedication of a new altar in the renovated church by Bishop Edward K. Braxton. Corpus Christi Parish in Shiloh dedicated its new church. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Herrin began a 100th anniversary observance of the parish school. Immaculate Conception Parish in Columbia broke ground for a new church and SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Waterloo began an addition to and renovation of its school.
St. Rose parishioner Mike Schuette received Catholic Charities USA’s Volunteer of the Year award. Individuals were recognized by Catholic Social Services in the Belleville and Carbondale regions; by The Messenger’s Faith in the Marketplace awards and the Bishop’s Discipleship awards.
The Illinois Supreme Court denied a request to review a court decision granting $5 million to a sexual abuse victim. Catholic Social Services severed its connection to the diocese to secure employees’ jobs and retain its foster care contracts with the state after passage of a “Civil Union Law.”

January
Diaconate ministry — from prison ministry and marriage preparation, liturgical and sacramental celebrations, educational and parish programs — including the involvement of spouses in their varied ministries of service — was the focus of The Messenger’s annual Vocations supplement in the Jan. 20, 2011 issue. Featured were the ministries of Deacon Richard and Jan Olson, Deacon Ron and Judy Karcher, and Deacon Linus and Sue Klostermann, ordained as members of the classes of 1980, 1997 and 2008, respectively.

Also reported in January:
• A Mass for Peace and Justice was celebrated Jan. 22, the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, at the Cathedral of St. Peter.
• The three Knights of Columbus councils in Jackson County held a March for Life Jan. 23 in Carbondale.
• St. Clare Parish in O’Fallon scheduled a presentation on “Healing After Divorce: a Catholic Approach.”
• The Belleville diocesan Office of Worship and the Springfield, Ill., Office of Worship and Catechumenate cosponsored a Jan. 23 workshop on the catechumenate at the King’s House Retreat and Renewal Center in Belleville.
• The 5th District Appellate Court in Mt. Vernon upheld the $5 million jury judgment against the diocese in the 2008 sexual abuse civil trial in St. Clair County.
• In remarks at the Jan. 16 liturgical celebration at St. Augustine of Hippo Parish in East St. Louis, honoring Martin Luther King Jr., Circuit Judge Milton Wharton, a member of the parish, highlighted the influence of civil rights activists who pre-dated and influenced King.

February
The theme for 2011’s Catholic Schools Week — A+ for America Catholic Schools — came to life in the Messenger’s Feb. 3 annual Diocesan Catholic Schools supplement featuring families with generations of Catholic school enrollments. Blessed Sacrament, Belleville parishioners Jim and Rose Gomric’s five children attended the parish school; five grandchildren are currently enrolled in the school, with more to come. Students at St. Agatha’s in New Athens include students of two families with a continuous presence for four generations. Don and Ruth Ann Opp’s grandchildren are third generation students at St. Bruno’s in Pinckneyville. (The fourth generation is currently in preschool.) At St. Joseph’s in Olney Don Blank’s grandchildren continue the family’s tradition as Catholic school students. Also featured in the supplement were service projects at diocesan elementary and high schools.

Also reported in February:
• The Feb. 17 issue included an article on bullying policies in diocesan Catholic schools.
• People from across the diocese returned from participation in the annual March for Life in Washington D.C.
• Fourteen permanent diaconate candidates received the “Institution of Reader” in a Feb. 12 St. Peter Cathedral liturgy.
• A Feb. 17 issue featured World War II veterans Fred Drew, Jr. and Holly Easter, who served in segregated units. They got to know each other when Easter’s son and Drew’s daughter married in the 1970s. Their sons took them to the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C., in 2009.
• A regional “Justice for Immigrants Living Among Us” information and video session was held Feb. 20 at St. Rose Parish in St. Rose.
• Bishop Braxton published a memorial commentary on Father Robert Gore, who died Jan. 20.
February obituaries: Father Robert Gore; Arlene Gummersheimer, mother of Father Gary Gummersheimer.

March
There were more than 500 — and there was one. The celebration of their Catholic faith linked them — the 500-plus Catholic youth at their annual convention and opening the cause for canonization of Father Augustus Tolton, the first priest of African descent born in the United States (1854), who ministered as a priest in Alton and Chicago, Ill. The March 17 issue of The Messenger reported on both events.

The youth gathered March 5 and 6 for a non-stop weekend of workshops, an awards banquet and a closing liturgy, with the theme “Saints … B 1”. Keynote speaker Sal Solo focused on Catholic social teaching and the possibility of involvement.

Father Tolton’s canonization cause was opened Feb. 21 in Chicago by Cardinal Francis George. Bishop Braxton, who participated in the formal ceremony, published a commentary on Father Tolton’s significance and an adapted biography from the writings of Bishop Joseph Perry, Chicago auxiliary and postulator of Father Tolton’s cause. Father Tolton went to the seminary and was ordained in Rome because no U.S. seminary opened their doors to him. His ministry was severely stressed by the prejudicial attitudes and actions of both lay people and clergy.

Catholics in the diocese began traditional Lenten faith journeys, with Ash Wednesday observances March 9.

Also reported in March:
• March issues included Lenten parish and institution events and liturgies, information for food donations and readers’ Lenten recipes.
• Sister Grace Mueller, SSND, parish life coordinator at St. Luke Parish in Belleville, was one of five women inducted into Aquinas Institute of Theology’s St. Rose of Lima Society for contributions to the life of the Catholic Church.
• Erin Hammond, campus minister at McKendree College in Lebanon, was the featured speaker at the diocese’s annual “Catechetical Days,” held in four locations.
• Waterloo’s SS. Peter and Paul parishioners Scott and Karen Seaborn were among Worldwide Marriage Encounter leaders who met with Marshall and Winnie Kuykendall Feb. 14 in Lordsburg, New Mexico on their 82nd wedding anniversary.
• The Cordi-Marian Sisters, who administer the Catholic Day Care Center in East St. Louis, observed the 90th anniversary of their founding.
• The Newman Center, Office of Youth Ministry, Catholic Social Services and Catholic Urban Programs were featured in a kick-off spread of the annual diocesan Catholic Service and Ministry Appeal.
• Christine Westhoff, former student at the Cathedral Grade School, and now a classically-trained lyric soprano, planned to provide, with her husband, Timothy Allen, a classical organist, the musical backdrop April 8 for St. Peter Cathedral’s “Solemn Stations of the Cross.”
• Sarah Hart, a nationally known singer, songwriter and retreat leader, planned to lead a one-day retreat April 9 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Herrin, after an April 8 concert at Herrin’s Civic Center.
• The first of a series of scheduled workshops on the use of the revised Roman Missal was held March 26 and 27 at St. Clare in O’Fallon and St. Dominic in Breese.
• The annual “El Mensajero en español supplement with news of the Hispanic presence and ministry in the diocese was published in the March 31 issue.
• The March 31 issue included a 125th Anniversary Bulletin on plans and events for the diocese’s 125th anniversary.
• March obituaries: Father Eugene Tremblay, OMI; Sister Patricia McKeever, ASC; Father Eugene Linnemann; Father Donald Abell; Father John Dietzen, Messenger columnist.

April
The experiences of journeys to Easter were recorded in photos, features and greetings in The Messenger’s April issues.

Bishop Braxton presided at the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion at the annual rite for catechumens and candidates -- continuing their journey to Easter Vigil receptions of sacraments of initiation -- the first Sunday of Lent at St. Peter Cathedral in Belleville.

Members of the RCIA class at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Herrin gathered April 13 to prepare baskets for children and families who would otherwise have little to celebrate Easter morning.

The April 14 Easter Greetings supplement welcomed catechumens and candidates to be baptized or welcomed into full communion in the Catholic church during Easter Vigils in parishes throughout the diocese.

Bishop Braxton published his annual Easter Greeting, “Spirit and Blood Have a Place Within God,” in the supplement.
The Easter Vigil at SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Waterloo had a special significance for second grader Caitlyn Johnson. After her baptism in March so she could make her first Communion with her class, she would watch her mother Toni and grandmother Cathy Smith join the Catholic church during the parish’s Easter Vigil.

Also reported in April:
• Bishop Braxton published a memorial commentary on Father Donald Abell, who died March 24.
• The bishop reported on his continuing visitations to diocesan parishes and institutions in the April 14 issue.
• Personnel at the Hospital Sisters hospitals in Belleville, Breese and Highland, Ill., collected an estimated 2,500 pounds of medical equipment for the Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach program. It was trucked April 9 to Mission Outreach headquarters in Springfield., Ill.
• Scouts and their families participated in the Annual Scout Religious Award Recognition Ceremony Feb. 27. Bishop Stanley Schlarman presided at the ceremony.
• The annual Spring Senior Living Supplement, published in the April 8 issue, highlighted Margaret Pauley’s lifelong love of music, a member of the RSVP Orchestra (Retired Senior Volunteer Program Orchestra), which performs weekly. At 92, she is the second oldest orchestra member. The oldest is Earl Jones, band leader and trumpet player. Jones and Pauley joined the musicians’ union together in 1935.
• The Daughters of Isabella Illinois State Circle held their State Convention at Rend Lake in Whittington.
• The Hispanic Committee at Holy Rosary Parish in Fairmont City made and sold 120 dozen tamales to raise money to send to Catholic Relief Services for Japanese earthquake and tsunami victims.
• April obituaries: Sister Eulogia Jansen, ASC; Sister M. Renelle Brueggemann, OSF.

May
Recognitions as disparate as a high school valedictorian and the recipient of Catholic Charities USA’s Volunteer of the Year award were the inspiration and challenge in May issues of The Messenger.

Mike Schuette, a member of St. Rose Parish in St. Rose was announced as Catholic Charities USA national Volunteer of the Year for his varied and ongoing volunteer involvement in addressing the causes of poverty.

Recipients of Catholic Social Services annual Christian Service Awards in the Metro East Region were Charles Kramer, a lifelong charities volunteer and organizational supporter; the five McGlynn sisters, members of Queen of Peace parish in Belleville, whose efforts have resulted in the distribution of 4,400 malaria bednets to schools in Uganda; and Emily Tally, member of St. Augustine of Hippo parish in East St. Louis, a special needs educator and St. Vincent de Paul volunteer. In CSS’s Carbondale region Susan and Tony Sena, members of St. Joseph Parish in Marion, were recognized with a Community Service Award.

Recipients of the Bishop’s Discipleship Award, presented after a May 5 baccalaureate Mass at St. Peter Cathedral were seniors Amanda Peters, Mater Dei Catholic High School in Breese, Madeline Kruez, Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo and Jonathan DeRousse, Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville.

The May 26 Graduation Supplement saluted 31 valedictorians and salutatorians and congratulated graduates from the diocese’s three Catholic high schools and Catholic graduates from public schools throughout the diocese.
Our Lady Queen of Peace School in Belleville was singled out for a “Home Run for Character Service Learning” recognition for its St. Vincent de Paul chapter activities.

Also reported in May:
• “Jump Rope for Heart” an event at St. Agatha School in New Athens since 1987, and an American Heart Association fundraiser, had special significance in 2011, especially for Ty Milburn, whose father, Tad, had received a new heart in March.
• A Campership Challenge Grant for tuition assistance to attend Camp Ondessonk was established by Belleville residents Jeanne Newton and Thomas Cromwell.
• Programs by physical therapists from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese and St. Elizabeth’s in Belleville were highlighted in The Messenger’s May 12 Health and Fitness section.
• A Memorial Day feature included an interview with Larry Flynn, a member of St. Joseph’s in Elizabethtown and a Vietnam War veteran, whose brother was killed in the Korean War, and whose family members have served in the Civil War, World War I, World War II and currently. Also featured was a focus on U.S. Army captain Matthew Haselhorst (serving his second tour n Iraq), and his family, members of St. Mary’s Parish in Trenton.
• May obituaries: Sister Julie Netemeyer, ASC; Sister Marina Gross, ASC; Msgr. Paulin Dobkowski.

June
Priests in the Diocese of Belleville began or changed ministries. June Messenger issues recorded the ordination of one diocesan priest, anniversary celebrations of 11, and the retirement of three.

Celebrating anniversaries and 495 years of ministry were Father Charles Kribs (60), Father Donald Lenzini (60), Msgr. Donald Eichenseer (50), Father Leo Hayes (50), Msgr. Joseph Lawler (50), Father Thomas Barrett (40), Father Henry Fischer (40), Msgr. Thomas Flach (40), Msgr. James Margason (40) Father Eugene Neff (40), and Father Jose Ancheril (25). Also celebrating 25-year anniversaries were Vincentian Father Urban Osuji and Montfort Missionary Father Jose Jacob, on loan to the diocese at the time. The June 9 issue included a congratulatory supplement.

Announcing their retirements were Msgr. Donald Eichenseer, Father Albert Eugene Kreher and Msgr. Joseph Lawler. Also retiring was Deacon Omer DuBois.

Ordained to the priesthood for the diocese was Father Anthony Onyango.

Also reported in June:
• Bishop Braxton published a pastoral letter asking the Illinois Supreme Court to reconsider its denial to review an Appellate Court decision affirming a lower court decision in a sexual abuse trial.
• The June 9 issue featured the effects of floods affecting parishes and ministries, especially in Metropolis and Cairo.
• Bishop Braxton published a memorial commentary on Msgr. Paulin Dobkowski, who died May 12.
• During a Parish Pastoral Visitation at St. Joseph Parish in Marion, Bishop Braxton also blessed the new baptismal font and church door in the parish’s newly renovated church.
• The School Sisters of Notre Dame inaugurated the Central Pacific Province and installed its first leadership team. The new province represents 1,100 sisters from the merged provinces in the cities of Dallas, Texas, Mankato, Minn., and St. Louis, Mo.
• June obituaries: Sister Mary John Witte, SSND; Father Leo Reinhardt.

July
The parish is at the center of Catholic life. That was the message in The Messenger’s July issues.
Parishioners at Immaculate Conception Parish in Columbia broke ground for the new parish church on a new site.
At St. Damian’s in Damiansville Bishop Braxton joined parishioners to dedicate their new altar, handcrafted by parishioner Pete Toennies, who also created the large crucifix, Altar of Repose for the tabernacle and the ambry for the holy oils.

St. Rose of Lima parishioners in Metropolis continued a 40-plus-years tradition of a fish fry for others, including a community pantry and a shelter for victims of domestic violence, their children and homeless women, which received $2,250 from the proceeds.

Hundreds of parish volunteers prepared for traditional southern Illinois parish picnics, famous for handmade quilt Bingos and chicken and dinner buffets.

A July 7 feature focused on parish picnics and volunteers at St. Anthony’s in Beckemeyer, St. Dominic’s in Breese, St. Boniface in Germantown, St. Joseph’s in Stringtown, Holy Cross in Wendelin, St. Boniface in Evansville, St. John the Baptist in Red Bud and St. James in Millstadt.

Youth from parishes in Albers, Anna, Aviston, Belleville Benton, Cahokia, Carbondale, Cobden, Damiansville, Dupo, Fairmont City, Lebanon and New Baden participated in the annual Hispanic Youth Day, sponsored by the Diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry.

St. Stephen’s, Caseyville parishioner Norma McQuade raises a few chickens and provides fresh eggs for parishioners.

Also reported in July:
• Bishop Braxton celebrated the annual liturgy for anniversary couples June 12 at St. Peter Cathedral.
• Catholic Social Services foster care contracts with the state of Illinois were in jeopardy because of passage of a civil union law without a religious conscience clause. A lawsuit was filed seeking to block contract cancellations.
• A July 21 feature chronicled the traditional camp adventures at the diocese’s Camp Ondessonk in far southern Illinois.
• Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood employee, was the featured speaker at the Vitae Foundation’s Benefit Dinner.
• Sherry Miller, director of Cairo’s Daystar Community Program, was a finalist in the Extension Society’s Lumen Christi Award.
July obituaries: Father Walter MacPherson, Deacon John Dilley.

August
Anniversary celebrations of a parish and of women and men religious with family roots and/or ministry in the diocese were highlighted in August Messenger issues.

St. Damian Parish in Damiansville celebrated its 150th anniversary with a special liturgy July 23, with Bishop Braxton as the celebrant and homilist.

The August 18 issue included the annual Religious Jubilees supplement congratulating and thanking 60 men and women religious on their anniversaries and for over 3,000 years of ministry.

Featured in the supplement were Sister Mary Beth Reissen, SSND, celebrating 50 years of teaching ministry in environments from the classroom to the halls of the United Nations, and Oblate Brother Ed Driggens, currently working at Catholic Urban Programs and King’s House of Retreats.

Bishop Braxton published a pastoral announcing the initiation of the Pastoral Plan for Parish Renewal and Restructuring, which will be concluded in February of 2013, noting the possible need to reduce the number of parishes by 15 to 20.

Also reported in August:
• Bishop Braxton published a memorial commentary on Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, who died July 27.
• The Illinois Supreme Court denied a diocesan request to reconsider its refusal to review a court decision granting $5 million dollars to a sexual abuse victim.
• Four new parish elementary school principals were announced in the Aug. 4 issue. They were: Cheryl Dunnells, St. James in Millstadt; Edward Noll, St. Andrew in Murphysboro; Milissa Faust, St. Clare in O’Fallon and John Smith, St. Bruno in Pinckneyville.
• Holy Cross, Wendelin parishioner Henrietta Deimel celebrated her 100th birthday with family and friends.
• Retired farmer Martin Mueller, a member of Holy Childhood Parish in Mascoutah continues to plant several acres of sweet corn which he shares with diocesan food pantries and organizations.
August obituaries: Father Charles Prass, OMI; Sister Dorothy Mary Meirink, CSJ.

September
The connecting link in the three September Messenger supplements was faith in action — from senior volunteers and catechists in parishes throughout the diocese to Catholics in the marketplace.

The September 1 Senior Living supplement featured the contributions of thousands of seniors volunteering their time, talent and treasure wherever needed in their parishes.

The September 15 Parish Religious Supplement focused on programs at the cluster parishes of St. Dominic’s and St. Augustine’s in Breese and St. Anthony’s in Beckemeyer; Immaculate Conception Parish in Columbia; St. Joseph Parish in Marion; and the cluster parishes of St. Clare and St. Nicholas in O’Fallon and Corpus Christi in Shiloh.
Six people were honored at The Messenger’s annual recognition of Catholics taking their faith into the marketplace. They were: Geri Boyer, SS. Peter and Paul Parish, Waterloo; Steve Clement, St. Luke Parish, Belleville; Tom Grimmig, St. Clare Parish, O’Fallon; Mark Kabat and Mary Beth Mezo, both from St. Mary Parish, Mt. Vernon; and Judge Milton Wharton, St. Augustine Parish, East St. Louis.

Also reported in September:
• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Herrin began a year-long celebration of the parish school’s 100th anniversary.
• St. Liborious Youth Ministry sponsored its 10th annual Run for the Son, with more than $25,000 previously donated to various individuals or organizations.
• Sister Hang Pham made her final vows as an Adorer of the Blood of Christ Aug. 10 in Ruma.
• Sister Mary Edith Donze, ASC celebrated her 100th birthday Aug. 13 at the Ruma Center.
• Debbie Humphrey and Gina Hill, whose son and husband, respectively, suffer from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) were speakers at the annual Erase the Stigma conference at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows.
• St. Elizabeth’s Hospital employees planted and tended a first-time garden to provide fresh vegetables to area pantries and agencies.
• The Belleville Diocesan Cursillo Grand Ultreya was held Sept. 25, beginning with a 1 p.m. Eucharist at St. Andrew’s in Murphysboro.
• Dolores Clendenin, long-time member of Our Lady Help of Christians parish in Chester, celebrated her 100th birthday Sept. 14.
• Corpus Christi Parish in Shiloh dedicated its new church, with Bishop Braxton the main celebrant at the dedication.
• A Sangamon County Circuit Court judge denied the Illinois Catholic Charities request to reconsider his Aug. 18 decision, which effectively barred diocesan Charities organizations from foster care and adoption contracts with the state because of the Catholic church’s conscience objection to the state’s “Civil Union Law.”
• September obituary: Sister Agnesine Jansen, ASC.

October
Witnesses to life were displayed and acknowledged in The Messenger’s October pages. The Life Chain tradition was continued Oct. 2 as hundreds stood along southern Illinois’ highways in silent witness against abortion.

The Messenger’s Oct. 13 issue’s Respect Life section included pro-life messages and expressions of gratitude. A display at St. Stephen Church in Flora featured 3,300 flags representing the daily number of abortions.

The diocesan Prison and Respect Life ministries sponsored a presentation by Sister Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking” and a committed witness against the death penalty.

Mike Schuette, member of St. Rose Parish in St. Rose, was honored at a luncheon hosted by Bishop Braxton after being named Catholic Charities USA.’s Volunteer of the Year, selected from 260,000 applicants. Schuette is the chair of Catholic Charities of Southern Illinois and Poverty Services boards.

Also reported in October:
• The annual Harvest Blessing was hosted by Joe and Lucille Bierbaum, members of St. Mary Parish in Mound City.
• Bishop Braxton welcomed four new priests —Rev. Christopher Anyanwu, from Nigeria, Rev. Peter Balili, from the Philippines, Rev. Augustine Ibezimako, from Nigeria and Rev. John Kizhakedan, originally from India.
• The diocese’s seminarians — Deacon Ronald Weber, Max Guilford, Brett Judkins, Nicholas Reed and Haydn Holloway were introduced in the Oct. 27 issue.
• Messages and comments of support and gratitude filled the pages of The Messenger’s annual Priest Appreciation supplement in the Oct. 27 issue.
• The annual Red Mass, with Bishop Braxton as the celebrant, was held Oct. 7 at St. Peter Cathedral.
• A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Sept. 23 for the addition and renovation of SS. Peter and Paul School in Waterloo.
• The Oct. 13 issue included a special section on Catholic high schools’ open houses.
• Features by Messenger editor Liz Quirin, reporting on her trip to Nicaragua, highlighted programs to reduce violence against women and helping youth at risk.

November
Unrelated but significant changes were addressed in The Messenger’s November issues. Bishop Braxton wrote a letter addressing the anticipated new translation of the Roman Missal, including participants’ responses at Mass, effective the first Sunday of Advent.

Catholic Social Services and the diocese announced that its connection to the diocese would be severed to retain the state’s foster care contracts after Illinois’ passage of the “Civil Union Law.” The new independent agency will continue without changes in service or programs as Christian Social Services. It is expected to begin operation in February 2012.

A Veteran’s Day feature personalized the traumatic changes for veterans and their families coping with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Also reported in November:
• Twelve-year-old Jashira Bolden, a member of St. Augustine of Hippo Parish in East St. Louis, hosted a banquet fundraiser to benefit the homeless. In her third year of fundraising, the banquet netted over $3,000, distributed to shelters.
• Messenger editor Liz Quirin continued a report on her visit to Nicaragua with a feature on women seamstresses “stitching together a future for families in Nicaragua.”
• Fanning the Flame, a proposed diocesan year-long 125th anniversary “book group” was outlined in the Nov. 10 issue.
• St. Henry Parish in Belleville scheduled a benefit for parishioner Ashley Hettenhausen, 19, who suffers from a complex regional pain syndrome.
• The Belleville Diocesan Council of Catholic Women held their 85th annual convention Oct. 12 at Holy Trinity Church in Fairview Heights.
• The Messenger’s first Children’s Corner supplement in the Nov. 24 issue included features on daycare priorities, children’s dentistry and talking to children about God.
• The Nov. 24 issue included an Advent Calendar.
• The Mater Dei Lady Knights added to their record of state championships by winning the Class 3A tournament for the second consecutive year and their seventh historically. The Gibault Catholic High School Lady Hawks brought home a fourth-place trophy in the Class 1A division.
• Sister Clotilda Spezia, ASC celebrated her Oct. 28 100th birthday with ASC community members, family and friends in Ruma.
• St. Stephen Parish in Flora dedicated an Ave Maria Garden, made possible with funds generated by the 2010 confirmation class.
• November obituaries: Sister Helen Miller, DC; Father Paul Stauder; Sister Dolore Gerau, SSND; Father Leo Miller, OMI.

December
Almost 300 youth and adults from the Belleville diocese participated in the 2011 National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, Ind. Participants called the experience of faith with 23,000 members of the young church exciting, unique, and life-changing.

December issues of The Messenger were a reminder of the annual Advent journey to the celebration of Christ’s birthday and his rebirth in the faith lives of diocesan parishioners. Two Advent Evensongs were featured. Members of the Williamson County Cluster parishes gathered at St. Paul’s in Johnston City for an Advent Evensong which included an organ concert on St. Paul’s new organ and refurbished pipes. Holy Cross parishioners in Wendelin continued their traditional Austrian Advent Evensong, including the parish’s Kloepfen singers.

The prologue of Bishop Braxton’s Advent meditation presented to the U.S. bishops at their annual fall meeting was published in the Dec. 9 issue.

Christmas reflections and greetings, including Bishop Braxton’s annual reflection, filled the pages of the Dec. 22 issue.
The same issue included the winners of The Messenger’s “The Greatest Gift” essay contest. They were: Ellen Toennies and Madeline Moylan, Mater Dei Catholic High School, Breese; Abby Naumann. Gibault Catholic High School, Waterloo; and Emily Kronenberger, St. Peter Cathedral Parish, Belleville. The issue also announced the winners of the Knights of Columbus “Keep Christ in Christmas” poster contest. Winners were: Erin Huene, All Saints Academy, Breese; Paige Brueggemann, St. Cecilia PSR, Bartelso; Malina Langenhorst, St. Rose PSR, St. Rose; Sophie Thomas, St. Damian PSR, Damiansville; and Brooke Harris, St. Mary’s, Mt. Vernon.
The Dec.12 feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe was celebrated with traditional liturgies and celebrations, especially by diocesan Catholics of Mexican heritage.

Also reported in December:
• The Dec. 8 issue included the diocesan financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011.
• Diocesan “chefs” shared favorite recipes in the Dec. 8 issue.
•The Newman Catholic Student Center at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale received the Catholic Campus Ministry Association’s Excellence in Vocations Ministry award.
• December obituaries: Sister Frances McDonagh, OSU; Sister Priscilla Wilke, OLVM; Father Joseph Hagen, OFM.