C
atholic
Herald
DIOCESE OF SUPERIOR
www.superiorcatholicherald.org Vol 152/Edition 2, 12 Pages Feb. 17, 2022
JENNY SNARSKI
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF JSNARSKI@CATHOLICDOS.ORG
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iocese of Superior Bishop James P. Powers traversed the diocese during Catholic Schools Week to visit four schools and connect with students and faculty of the 14 diocesan schools. Visiting one each day from Feb. 1-4, the bishop traveled to Ashland, Medford, Hudson and Rice Lake. Most years, schools in a region will gather at the host site for a joint school Mass with the bishop. With the spike in COVID cases, only students and staffat host schools attended the Mass in person, with the others participating via lives- tream. The video for each of these Masses is available on the schools Facebook pages. At each school, Bishop Pow- ers took the initial moments of his homily to introduce and acknowledge diocesan superin- tendent Peggy Schoenfuss. He noted the numerous roles she ills for the diocese and asked for a show of appreciation for her. The bishop also asked all teachers - those present with him and each school in their own location - to stand and be recognized and applauded as well. At St. Patricks in Hudson, the bishop shared heartfelt words. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the gift that you are to these young people and really to our world because how much our world needs what you are about and what you share. At the last Mass of Catho- lic Schools Week, held at St. Joseph in Rice Lake, Bishop Powers thanked parents for giving the gift of a Catholic edu- cation to their children and the gift their children are for the diocesan schools. He expressed his desire for all to continue growing in understanding of the gift that Catholic education is, a gift that keeps on giving. With students of Our Lady of the Lake School in Ashland, the bishop admitted he had not had the opportunity to attend a Catholic school. Bishop Powers shared that his first experience with one was as a priest. He noticed and has continued to be edified by the strong relationships that develop among students and within diocesan school commu- nities. These deep friendships are so important to getting through life,he irmed. The founda- tion of Catholic schools really does help to enhance those friendships because hopefully every day we talk about the love of God and neighbor - Jesus two great commands. He also called attention to the importance of faith and love as preached in the days Gospel reading. We need to be that witness of faith to others. To let others know who Jesus is and how he is alive in our hearts, to under- stand and share the gift of faith and knowledge of God. For the Feb. 2 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also called Candlemas, the bishop was in Hudson. He spoke to students about
Bishop grateful Catholic schools share light of faith
Bishop James P. Powers takes questions at the start of his homily during a Catholic Schools Week Mass with students of St. Patrick Catholic School in Hud- son. The bishop visited four schools around the diocese that week, celebrat- ing Mass with regional schools via livestream. (Photo credit: Tricia Pieper)
See SCHOOL MASS, Page 8
ANITA DRAPER
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF ADRAPER@CATHOLICDOS.ORG
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n March 15, the Diocese of Superior is offering a workshop on youths and mental health at St. Joseph, Rice Lake. Hosted by the ice of Catholic For- mation and the ice of Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, the 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. event is open anyone interested in helping youths and is particularly pitched to clergy members, staffand volunteers working with teens in a parish setting. Speakers are Pat and Kenna Millea, a Catholic couple with seven children from the Twin Cities. Pat has been a youth min- ister for 15 years, and Kenna is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a back- ground in ministry. Together, they will discuss the current landscape of youths and mental health, how the loss of Christianity has affected the culture, how to be pastoral while setting boundaries and finding practical ways to respond to mental health problems. According to diocesan icials, the gath- ering - first of its kind on this topic - will provide much-needed formation. The mental health concerns for chil- dren and youth have been a concern for many years, said Peggy Schoenfuss, superintendent of Catholic schools and di- rector of the ice of Catholic Formation. Unfortunately, everything surrounding COVID has exacerbated it even more. With the ever increasing use of social media in their lives, young people have become more and more isolated from others. Chris Hurtubise, director of the ice of Evangelization and Missionary Disciple- ship, agreed. With mental health issues having become so overwhelmingly prevalent in recent years, any serious attempts that we make to disciple young people - or adults for that matter - has to be informed with a basic understanding of the mental health landscape, he said. If we arent aware of and conversant with these issues, young people are not going to take our disci- ple-making efforts seriously - and rightly so.
Event offers formation on youths, mental health
See YOUTH, Page 3
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