Extension magazine - Fall 2023

catholicextension.org 

STORIES OF FAITH FROM CATHOLIC EXTENSION 

FALL 2023 

REBIRTH 

AMONG 

THE RUINS 

LUMEN CHRISTI AWARD 

FINALIST: PUERTO 

RICO PRINCIPAL 

TRIPLES ENROLLMENT 

AT EARTHQUAKE- 

DAMAGED SCHOOL 24 

See this year’s other outstanding finalists 16

Extension | Fall 2023 3 

S T O R I E S O F F A I T H F R O M C A T H O L I C E X T E N S I O N 

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magazine since 1906 to share with our donors 

and friends the stories illustrating our mission: 

to work in solidarity with people to build up 

vibrant and transformative Catholic faith 

communities among the poor in the poorest 

regions of America. 

Contact Us 

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Board of Governors 

CHANCELLOR 

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich 

Archbishop of Chicago 

VICE CHANCELLOR 

Most Reverend Gerald F. Kicanas 

Bishop Emeritus of Tucson 

PRESIDENT 

Reverend John J. Wall 

VICE CHAIR OF COMMITTEES and SECRETARY 

Elizabeth Hartigan Connelly 

BOARD MEMBERS 

Most Reverend Gerald R. Barnes 

Bishop Emeritus of San Bernardino 

Most Reverend Steven Biegler 

Bishop of Cheyenne 

John W. Croghan 

Most Reverend Daniel E. Flores, STD 

Bishop of Brownsville 

Most Reverend Ronald Hicks 

Bishop of Joliet 

The Honorable James C. Kenny 

Most Reverend Robert N. Lynch 

Bishop Emeritus of St. Petersburg 

Peter J. McCanna 

Michael G. O’Grady 

Christopher Perry 

Andrew Reyes 

Sister Fatima Santiago, ICM 

Karen Sauder 

Pamela Scholl 

Most Reverend Anthony B. Taylor 

Bishop of Little Rock 

Most Reverend George L. Thomas, Ph.D. 

Archbishop of Las Vegas 

Timothy Turner 

Most Reverend William A. Wack, CSC 

Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee 

Edward Wehmer 

Your investment in Catholic Extension is tax 

deductible to the extent allowed by law. Catholic 

Extension is a nonprofit 501(c)( 3 ) organization. 

ISSN Number: 0884-7533 

©2023 The Catholic Church Extension Society 

All rights reserved. 

Extension is a publication provided to you and 

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not wish to continue receiving Extension, email 

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remove you from this mailing list. 

LUMEN CHRISTI AWARD 

Building 

Church and 

transforming 

society 16 

Carmen Alicia Rodríguez 

Echevarría stands outside a 

ruined school in Guayanilla, 

Puerto Rico. She was hired as 

principal after an earthquake 

toppled the parish church and 

school. But three years later, 

school enrollment has tripled. 

Rodríguez is one of our seven 

Lumen Christi Award finalists this 

year. Their stories showcase how 

throughout America, the Catholic 

Church has a positive impact on 

our society. 

BUILD 

From migrant worker to bishop 11 

NEWS BRIEFS | Extension-supported priest named an auxiliary 

bishop of San Diego 

Cardinal Farrell returns to Dallas 12 

FEATURE | Revered bishop turned top Vatican adviser 

honored with Catholic Extension’s Spirit of Francis Award 

INSPIRE 

Graduation rates soar among Native 

American children 18 

IGNITE 

LUMEN CHRISTI FINALIST | Brother Dale Mooney, FSC, leads the 

quality education behind the De La Salle Blackfeet School 

Why do 200,000 Hispanic Catholics in 

Utah know this woman? 30 

LUMEN CHRISTI FINALIST | Over 24 years of ministry, María-Cruz 

Gray has left no Hispanic community in the state untouched 

Houston parish supports education for 

children of migrant farmworkers 34 

PARISH PARTNERSHIPS | Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church 

helps mobile literacy program in Washington state 

A leap of faith: Engineering graduate 

embarks on path to religious life 36 

FEATURE | Catholic Extension program leads Latino young 

adults to lives of service 

Letter from Father Wall 4 

Mission needs 8 

Lumen Christi Award nominees 40

4 

Letter from Father Wall 


Can you be 

proud of the 

Catholic Church? 

Dear Friends, 

Iknow there is a lot you can 

read about the Catholic 

Church that is downright 

dispiriting. People constantly 

bring up to me in conversation 

their anger about the 

Church’s human frailties, the 

ideological fault lines and the 

institutional failures. I don’t 

dismiss any of their discouragement. 

These real challenges 

need attention and 

solutions. 

But, through my work at 

Catholic Extension, I am also 

blessed to be in touch with 

the side of the Church where 

there is abundant heroism, 

big ideas, daily sacrifice and 

life-giving impact at every 

turn. Having exposure to this 

part of the Church not only 

reinforces why I am Catholic 

but also why I am absolutely 

proud to be so. 

If you are searching for 

inspiration, this is most definitely 

the magazine for you, 

whether you are Catholic or 

not. I hope that you share 

my joy and awe in all that is 

being accomplished in the 

name of this Church that 

moves hearts, improves lives 

and leads to the betterment 

of society. 

We present to you the 

2023 class for our Lumen 

Christi Award (Latin for “light 

of Christ”). Since 1978, the 

Lumen Christi Award has 

been Catholic Extension’s 

highest honor. It is given 

annually to people who radiate 

and reveal the light of 

Christ present in the communities 

where they serve. 

This year’s class consists of 34 

nominees and seven finalists. 

For me, each of the seven 

finalists you will read about 

is somewhat like our seven 

sacraments—they are unique 

symbols of God’s love that 

serve as conduits of actual 

grace that flows generously 

to God’s people through their 

deliberate actions. 

What this year’s finalists 

share in common is that they 

all reach out to people who 

are at their lowest point. They 

minister to those who are 

victims of disasters, betrayal, 

war, violence and societal 

exclusion. Yet, instead of 

letting them remain as victims, 

our finalists step up in 

big ways to help restore their 

humanity and reclaim their 

full potential. They do this 

by radiating and revealing 

Christ’s light that is present 

among them, that needs to 

be let out. 

When girls as young as 11 

are abused and assaulted, our 

award finalist St. María Eufrasia 

Home takes them in and 

helps them heal and plot a 

hope-filled pathway forward. 

Its staff has helped 1,000 

such girls. 

When a war in Ukraine 

shattered an entire country, a 

group of nuns rushed to the 

frontlines of war and to refugees 

to help the most vulnerable 

survive. These sisters 

don’t plan on stopping anytime 

soon. 

When human bodies of 

those fleeing Haiti wash up 

on American shores, a poor 

pastor in Puerto Rico ministers 

to the living and the 

dead to remind us and them 

that they are beloved children 

of God. 

When children who have 

so many emotional problems 

that they cannot find foster 

or adoptive parents, a nun in 

Nebraska gives them a home, 

family and love. 

When the 2020 earthquakes 

destroyed their city, 

parish church and school, 

a young principal in Guayanilla, 

Puerto Rico, found 

a way to give children an 

excellent Catholic education 

amid the wreckage. 

When poor educational 

outcomes plagued the Blackfeet 

Native children of Montana, 

a religious brother took 

on a ministry to help students 

close the achievement 

gap and change their destiny. 

And when Hispanic Catholics 

were isolated across 

rural Utah, one woman figured 

out a way to bring these 

marginalized communities 

into the heart of the Church 

and diocese. 

Christ’s light was there the 

whole time in these seemingly 

God-forsaken circumstances, 

but these finalists 

found ways to let that light 

break through the darkness. 

These finalists represent 

a small fraction of the daily 

activities of the Catholic 

Church that go unnoticed by 

so many of us. It is too easy to 

focus on the blemishes of the 

Church, while turning a blind 

eye to the beauty of its people 

and the light of Christ that 

burns brightly within them. 

I hope that these Lumen 

Christi nominees and finalists 

truly illuminate your heart 

and soul as you read their stories, 

just as they have for me. 

I thank you for your support 

of Catholic Extension, 

which seeks to build up 

vibrant and transformative 

Catholic faith communities 

such as these. As you will see, 

these faith communities not 

only contribute immensely 

to the spiritual health of our 

country but also to our societal 

health. 

That is why there is no 

doubt in my mind that one 

of the best ways we can 

strengthen our country is to 

build up faith communities 

through Catholic Extension. 

This year’s Lumen Christi 

Award nominees and finalists 

are case studies that highlight 

how faith communities are 

an indispensable pillar of our 

American society. 

May God bless you and all 

whom you love, 

Rev. John J. Wall 

PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC EXTENSION 

Father Jack Wall 

and more than 

60 women faith 

leaders supported 

by Catholic 

Extension met 

Pope Francis 

in spring 2023. 

The Holy Father 

commended our 

mission.


THE GIFT THAT 

PAYS YOU BACK 

A Catholic Extension 

charitable gift annuity gives 

you an attractive income for 

as long as you live and makes 

a lasting impact on poor 

communities of faith across 

the country. 

BUILD 

News from 

around the country 

NEWS BRIEFS 10 | SPIRIT OF FRANCIS AWARDEE ADVOCATES FOR THE POOR 12 

• Receive fixed, stable 

payments for life 

• Get immediate and future 

tax benefits 

ATTRACTIVE 

PAYOUT RATES 

8.7% 

9.7% 

Effective January 1, 2023 

7.6% 

AGE 

4.9% 

60 

5.4% 

65 

Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska 

5.9% 

70 

6.6% 

For a personalized proposal, contact Betty Assell, Manager of 

Annuities at 800-842-7804 or Bassell@catholicextension.org 

or visit catholicextension.org/annuities 

75 

80 

85 

90+ 

Bishop 

Anthony Taylor 

of Little Rock, 

Arkansas, greets 

a parishioner in 

a distant corner 

of the diocese. 

He recently hit 

an impressive 

milestone in the 

vehicle he drives 

across the state. 

See News Briefs, 

page 10.

8 BUILD Mission Needs 


PLEASE HELP UPLIFT FAITH COMMUNITIES 

ACROSS THE UNITED STATES 

Your donation will support a poor faith community in need and help keep the presence 

of the Catholic Church strong in our country. To contribute to one of these projects, 

please contact us at magazine@catholicextension.org or call 1-800-842-7804. 

PLEVNA MONTANA 

Tenakee Springs is known for its natural 

hot spring baths, fishing and hunting. 

The Chalan community Kanoa is 

128 nautical miles 

southwest of Juneau 

and only accessible 

by ferry or float 

Guam 

plane. Your donation 

will support travel 

costs for a circuit 

priest to journey to 

celebrate Mass at St. 

Francis Chapel, a mission church on the 

Caroline Islands 

remote island that Catholic Extension has 

proudly supported since 1975. 

Marshall Islands 

Samoa–Pago Pago 

TENAKEE SPRINGS ALASKA 

QUEMADO NEW MEXICO 

Sacred Heart Church serves a small 

community of 

farmers and retirees 

near the New 

Mexico-Arizona 

border in the 

Diocese of Gallup. 

Your donation will 

support a stipend for 

the parish’s resident 

priest, Father Divine 

Ebeke, who also travels 85 miles round trip 

to serve another mission. 

ISSION NEEDS 

Hawaii 

Located in eastern Montana near the North 

Dakota border, Plevna is home to workers 

in the agriculture, oil 

and gas production 

industries. St. Anthony’s 

Church has been 

part of the fabric of 

the community for 

more than a century, 

receiving Catholic 

Extension support as 

early as 1913. Your donation will fund basic 

operating expenses for this small-town 

mission church. 

EL INDIO TEXAS 

Your donation 

will ensure 

pastoral care for a 

community where 

nearly two thirds 

of children live 

below the poverty 

line. Father Peter 

Antonisamy, OMI, 

will be able to travel one hour round trip 

to serve parishioners at Our Lady of San 

Juan de los Lagos Mission in the village 

of El Indio. 

BATESVILLE ARKANSAS 

Three religious sisters provide ministry at 

two parishes in north-central Arkansas, 

where the Catholic 

population 

has doubled in 

recent years. The 

sisters’ incredible 

formation classes 

have inspired 

many lay Catholics 

to become 

involved as faith leaders in the Church. 

Your donation will support their ministry. 

Puerto Rico 

St. Thomas- 

Virgin Islands

10 

BUILD 

News Briefs 


HIGHLIGHTS 

Become a 

parish partner 

Would your parish 

like to support the 

mission of Catholic 

Extension? Visit 

catholicextension. 

org/parishpartnerships 

or 

contact Natalie 

Donatello at 

ndonatello@ 


to learn more. 

Follow us on 

social media 

Follow Catholic 

Extension’s social 

media channels to 

see more stories, 

photos and videos 

about the vibrant 

faith communities we 

support! 

Facebook: 

@CatholicExtension 

Instagram: 

@catholicextension 

Twitter: 

@CathExtension 

Extension’s chancellor visits Ukraine 

Cardinal Blase Cupich visited Poland and Ukraine in late June, 

where he met with Catholic leaders serving those displaced by the 

Russia-Ukraine war. He was struck by how the Ukrainian people 

live each day with “hope and generosity” amid the ongoing assault 

on their country. 

He heard stories of loss and resilience from the long-suffering 

Ukrainian people and witnessed the humanitarian and spiritual 

work that the Catholic Church is carrying out there. In Ukraine, he 

visited a group of Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great who 

are using their monasteries to house, feed and aid refugees. The 

Basilian Sisters, based in Ukraine and the United States, are finalists 

for Catholic Extension’s Lumen Christi Award. See page 26. 

Cardinal Cupich said, “The example the Ukrainian people are 

giving the world in defending their self-determination inspires us 

all to stand in solidarity with them—not only for their future but 

also for our own.” 

NEW LILLY 

ENDOWMENT GRANT 

NATIONWIDE 

In June, Lilly Endowment 

Inc. awarded a four-year 

grant of $1.25 million to 

Catholic Extension to 

participate in its highly 

competitive Christian 

Parenting and Caregiving 

Initiative. Its aim is 

to help engage culturally 

diverse parents and caregivers 

in the Christian formation 

of their children. 

The grant will support new 

tools and resources for 

parents from diverse faith 

communities as they seek 

to share the Catholic faith 

with their children. 

FROM MIGRANT 

WORKER TO BISHOP 

CALIFORNIA 

In September Father 

Felipe Pulido, who served 

as a pastor and vocations 

director in the Diocese of 

Yakima, Washington, will 

be ordained as one of 

two new auxiliary bishops 

of the Diocese of 

San Diego. As a teenager, 

Father Pulido worked in 

agricultural fields picking 

crops and later served 

migrant workers as a 

pastor. Catholic Extension 

supported his seminarian 

education and ministries 

to migrants in Yakima. 

For over 100 years, Catholic Extension 

has brought religious art into 

millions of homes through our 

Catholic calendars. 

The new Apostles’ Creed 

2024 calendar has emerged 

as a top seller among parishes 

nationwide. It features 

religious artwork paired 

BISHOP EXCEEDS 

600,000 MILES 

ARKANSAS 

Bishop Anthony B. 

Taylor of the Diocese 

of Little Rock, a member 

of Catholic Extension’s 

Board of Governors, 

drives a 2003 Honda 

Civic with more than 

600,000 miles. He is 

not looking to replace it 

anytime soon, despite 

living in a diocese that 

covers the entire state 

of Arkansas. Instead, he 

seeks to set an example of 

simplicity and humility for 

the many young priests of 

his diocese. 

NEW APOSTLES’ CREED CALENDAR TOPS IN SALES 

LAS VEGAS BECOMES 

AN ARCHDIOCESE 

NEVADA 

Pope Francis elevated 

the Diocese of Las Vegas 

to a metropolitan archdiocese. 

It will be led by 

Archbishop George L. 

Thomas, a member of 

Catholic Extension’s 

Board of Governors since 

2010 and bishop of Las Vegas 

since 2018. Before arriving 

in “Sin City,” Archbishop 

Thomas spent 14 

years as shepherd of Helena, 

Montana, where he 

was given an honorary native 

name, “Holy Warrior,” 

by the Blackfeet Nation’s 

leaders. 

with doctrinal and scriptural selections 

that explain our faith as expressed in the 

Apostles’ Creed. Calendars are available 

in English and Spanish, and 

100 percent of the proceeds 

support our mission. Order 

Extension calendars for your 

parish at catholicextension. 

org/calendars. 

NEWS BRIEFS

12 

BUILD Extension | Fall 2023 13 

Spirit of Francis Award 

Revered bishop turned top 

Vatican adviser honored 

with Catholic Extension’s 


Cardinal Kevin Farrell (center), former bishop 

of the Diocese of Dallas, Texas, praised the work 

of Catholic Extension as he received our Spirit of 

Francis Award. Our chancellor, Cardinal Blase 

Cupich (left), and our president, Father Jack 

Wall (right), presented the award. 

In May, Cardinal Kevin Farrell 

returned to Dallas, Texas, which 

he led as bishop from 2007 to 

2016, to accept Catholic Extension’s 

Spirit of Francis Award. 

Currently serving in Rome, 

he was named in 2016 to 

the College of Cardinals and 

appointed to various top Vatican 

positions, including leader 

of the newly established Dicastery 

for Laity, the Family and 

Life. 

This was only his 

second visit to the 

city since his departure. 

He still considers 

Dallas his home. 

He was glad to be welcomed 

back to Texas, 

where Catholic Extension 

has built 2,000 

church facilities—more 

than in any other state. 

With one of the highest 

rates of population 

growth of any diocese 

in the country, Dallas is 

in an increasingly unique and 

influential position to broadly 

impact American Catholicism. 

A joyous reunion 


recipients are laudable for 

their commitment to “reach 

out to the margins of society” 

in the spirit of St. Francis 

of Assisi, Pope Francis and 

Cardinal Kevin Farrell 

returns to Dallas 

to advocate 

for the poor 

Catholic Extension’s founder, 

Father Francis Clement Kelley. 

Cardinal Farrell told the crowd 

of 300 donors, friends and 

acquaintances gathered at 

Dallas’ Morton H. Meyerson 

Symphony Center, “I thank 

you for this honor that I do not 

deserve, and I accept it in the 

name of all the people because 

you made me who I am.” 

The benefit dinner was 

co-chaired by Lydia and Dan 

Novakov and Mary and Rich 

Templeton, who are Dallas 

philanthropists and friends of 

Cardinal Farrell. 

“We are overjoyed to have 

Cardinal Farrell accept Catholic 

Extension’s invitation to this 

celebratory dinner with the 

Catholic people of Dallas so that 

Bishop Edward Burns of the Diocese of Dallas, Texas, welcomed back his predecessor. 

we can honor him,” said Lydia 

Novakov. 

Mary Templeton said that 

the event was an “opportunity 

to show Cardinal Farrell our 

love and appreciation not only 

for his past work among us, 

but also for the ministry he has 

undertaken on a global scale 

to strengthen families, support 

laypeople and uphold the dignity 

of human life.” 

More than just a reunion, 

however, Cardinal Farrell came 

back to Dallas at the invitation 

of his successor, Bishop Edward 

Burns, with a serious agenda 

to support Catholic Extension 

and the poor Catholic faith 

communities of America. 

From 2009 to 2017, Burns 

served as bishop of Juneau, 

Alaska, whose Catholics, 

especially Native Alaskans, 

are spread out over 

vast distances in areas not 

accessible by roads. Catholic 

Extension funds the 

costs to fly priests and 

ministers to these communities 

to administer the 

sacraments. 

“I give thanks for the extraordinary 

work of Catholic 

Extension,” said Bishop 

Burns. “For more than a 

century, this invaluable organization 

has supported 

the growth and vitality of Cath-

14 

BUILD 


olic faith communities across our 

nation, particularly in areas of poverty 

and need.” 

Carrying out the pope’s vision 

At the award dinner, Cardinal 

Farrell explained that the heart 

of Pope Francis’ world vision is 

genuine concern for all humanity 

beyond just Catholics and the 

Catholic Church. He explained, 

“[Pope Francis] cares for humanity 

and the human race and people 

and human persons. And he 

cares for the home which we all 

share, which is the world we live 

in today. I’ve heard him talk about 

the suffering, the pain, the violence, 

the wars that go on all over 

the world today. He says that the 

fundamental problem here is that 

we have forgotten how to love and 

how to express our concern and 

our understanding that all human 

beings are in this world together.” 

Cardinal Farrell also described 

Pope Francis’ priority to be close 

with people. He explained that he 

has been in the unenviable position 

of meeting with Pope Francis 

on Wednesday mornings, just 

before the pope goes out to his 

weekly audience, where he greets 

thousands of people in St. Peter’s 

Square in Vatican City. 

He joked that on those occasions 

the pope “wasn’t interested 

in what I had to say. He was interested 

in going into the square.” 

Cardinal Farrell said Catholic 

Extension’s work aligns with 

the pope’s: “I think that Catholic 

Extension Society is a part of 

that mission of Pope Francis. Pope 

Francis cares about the universal 

Church. He cares about the 

Church everywhere.” 

ABOVE Lydia (center) and Dan Novakov 

(right) honored the global impact of Cardinal 

Kevin Farrell (left) as co-chairs of the event. 

Catholic Extension, he explained, 

cares about strengthening 

the Church in America. “They 

go about creating and promoting 

the Catholic Church. It was founded, 

as Father Jack told us, in 1905. 

And since then, they have built 

ABOVE Mary 

Templeton (left), 

who co-chaired 

the event with her 

husband, Rich 

Templeton, was 

happy to celebrate 

the achievements 

of Cardinal Kevin 

Farrell (right). 

13,000 churches and institutions 

and schools and parish centers in 

this country.” 

Proceeds from the award 

dinner are supporting Catholic 

Extension’s work of building and 

repairing churches, supporting 

leaders and funding critical ministries 

among the poor throughout 

Texas. 

Share your legacy. 

Our Lady Help of Christians Center, Gwinn, Michigan 

People like you have named Catholic 

Extension as a beneficiary of their estate 

to leave a lasting impact on Catholic 

faith communities in the poorest regions 

of our country. 

Have you considered making such a gift to 

Catholic Extension? 

By doing so, you become a treasured member of the 

LEGACY CLUB. Your commitment will be able to positively 

change the lives of millions of Catholics in America for 

generations to come. 

Not sure how your estate plan can create your 

legacy to the Church? 

Contact Frances Caan, Manager of Planned Giving, at 

800-842-7804 or plannedgiving@catholicextension.org. 

Make a lasting impact by joining 

the LEGACY CLUB today! 

legacy.catholicextension.org 

Legacy 


is tried and true, 

uses its financial 

resources wisely 

and will be there 

in the future. It is a 

lasting investment. 

—JEANNE BEREZA, 

Legacy Club member 

since 2017 

Club


INSPIRE Features of faith 

2023 u 2024 

Introducing the 2023-2024 

Lumen Christi Award finalists 

Lumen 

Christi 

AWARD 

ST. MARÍA EUFRASIA HOME 

DIOCESE OF ARECIBO, PUERTO RICO 

BROTHER DALE MOONEY, FSC 

DIOCESE OF HELENA, MONTANA 

FATHER OLIN PIERRE-LOUIS 

ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 

THE LUMEN CHRISTI AWARD is Catholic Extension’s highest honor given to people who radiate and 

reveal the light of Christ present in the communities where they serve. 

This year, 41 of our Extension dioceses submitted nominations for the award. On page 40, you 

can read how this year’s nominees are offering their hearts and hands to serve God’s children. 

The following seven nominees have been chosen as award finalists and will receive $10,000 to 

support and enhance their ministries. From among these finalists, the 2023-2024 Lumen Christi 

Award recipient will ultimately be selected and given a $25,000 grant, along with an additional 

$25,000 grant for the nominating diocese. The award recipient will be revealed in the next edition 

of Extension magazine. 

The annual award is a unique reminder of the positive and transformative impact of the 

Catholic Church in our society. This good work often goes unnoticed by larger media outlets, but 

it is felt very deeply in the poorest corners of our country. This year’s finalists see the value and 

potential within each refugee family escaping violence, each young student trying to learn in a 

disadvantaged community and each child born into fraught circumstances. They are everyday 

citizens who sacrifice their time, energy and even safety to share Christ’s love here on earth. 

SISTER CATHERINE NAGL 

DIOCESE OF GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA 

CARMEN ALICIA RODRÍGUEZ ECHEVARRÍA 

DIOCESE OF PONCE, PUERTO RICO 

SISTERS OF THE ORDER OF ST. BASIL THE GREAT 

UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC ARCHEPARCHY OF PHILADELPHIA 

MARÍA-CRUZ GRAY 

DIOCESE OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

18 INSPIRE 

Lumen Christi Finalist 


BROTHER DALE MOONEY, FSC | DIOCESE OF HELENA, MONTANA 

Graduation rates soar among Native American children thanks to his ministry 

Only 12 percent of 

students in the 

public elementary 

school in 

Browning, Montana, 

are proficient 

in reading and math, according 

to U.S. News & World Report. 

Throughout his life as a De 

La Salle Christian Brother, Dale 

Mooney has specialized in helping 

educate young people in 

extremely difficult circumstances. 

For the past 11 years, he has 

served as president of the De La 

Salle Blackfeet School on the 

Blackfeet Nation reservation. The 

school educates fourth through 

eighth graders, helping prepare 

them emotionally and academically 

for high school. By the time 

some fourth graders enter the 

school, Brother Dale said, they 

are so far behind that they cannot 

yet even identify the letters 

of the alphabet. These are precisely 

the students he and his dedicated 

team seek to help. It is not 

an easy task, but Brother Dale was 

uniquely prepared for this special 

mission. 

LEARNING WHAT 

SACRIFICE MEANS 

Born in a German family, 

Brother Dale grew up on a farm in 

Arcadia, Iowa. He woke up every 

day at 5:15 a.m. to milk the cows. 

His upbringing taught him that 

faith, hard work and sacrifice are 

FAR RIGHT Brother 

Dale Mooney, FSC, 

leads the quality 

education behind 

Montana’s De La Salle 

Blackfeet School for 

middle school children. 

RIGHT A student and 

Brother Dale Mooney, 

FSC, exchange a few 

words. 

Nation reservation, he encountered 

families that were impacted by historical 

trauma and struggling with 

substance abuse, unemployment 

and suicides. Brother Dale said the 

weight of these hardships can be 

overwhelming. Only 60 percent of 

Native students enrolled in the reservation’s 

public schools graduate 

high school. Yet De La Salle Blackthe 

pillars of a life well lived. 

He joined the De La Salle Christian 

Brothers after high school 

and began his teaching ministry in 

Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, 

Missouri. 

In 1982 Brother Dale’s religious 

community sent him to work at a 

school in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, 

at the height of the country’s 

bloody civil war. For the next 12 

years he taught hundreds of young 

Indigenous men. Brother Dale witnessed 

brutal repressions and even 

personally knew some missionaries 

who were martyred, including 

fellow Americans Father Stanley 

Rother and Brother James Miller, 

both of whom have since 

been beatified on their 

road toward sainthood. 

Many of Brother Dale’s 

students had parents who 

were “disappeared,” that is, 

abducted and assassinated 

secretly, never to be found. 

During the war, more than 

45,000 people suffered 

this fate. 


Lumen 

Christi 

AWARD 

FINALIST 

“I was very much aware that my 

life was not guaranteed,” Brother 

Dale said of his time in Guatemala. 

“But I felt there were people who 

depended on me.” 

EDUCATION THAT 

TRANSFORMS LIVES 

Brother Dale returned to the 

United States and worked for 16 

years in Kansas City. There, he 

helped start a Cristo Rey Catholic 

high school, giving students from 

Hispanic, working-class families 

opportunities to go to college. 

Eleven years ago, he was named 

president of De La Salle Blackfeet 

School in Browning—a place 

he had never been to or 

imagined he would end up. 

The school is associated 

with Little Flower Parish, 

a faith community serving 

the Blackfeet people that 

Catholic Extension has 

supported for more than 

five decades. 

When Brother Dale first 

arrived on the Blackfeet 

feet School has nearly a 100 percent 

graduation rate for its students. 

Brother Dale and his devoted 

team do this by earning the respect 

of the community and parents. 

They are attentive to what is 

happening in students’ personal 

lives outside the classroom. They 

have morning check-ins with students 

where they assess how they 

are feeling. They are trained to hold 

talking circles in the classroom 

when conflicts arise. In these situations, 

students open up about their 

challenges. This helps the students 

“ask for help when they need it,” 

Brother Dale said. One-on-one tutoring, 

excellent school athletics, 

and cultural and service immersions 

are also part of the school’s 

formula for success. 

Every day, Brother Dale models 

to the children what it means 

to serve. 

“He is our school president, but 

you always find him helping serve 

our lunch and picking up around 

our school. Every morning he 

greets us at the door. It makes my 

day! If we need a bus driver for our 

field trips, he’s there for all of us,” 

wrote an eighth grader. 

Many alumni have gone into 

wonderful and fulfilling professions. 

One of his past students is 

starting a doctorate degree in Indigenous 

health. Another has even 

joined his teaching staff. 

Witnessing these outcomes is 

what keeps Brother Dale going. He 

said, “To see a student coming into 

fourth grade and staying with us 

and working through everything, 

and then seeing them move on and 

be successful in high school—as a 

teacher, there is nothing that gives 

greater pleasure than that.” 

His job as an educator has not 

been easy, but it has certainly been 

worthwhile.

20 INSPIRE 




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Refugee women and girls experience 

God’s loving care at San Mateo Parish in San 

Juan, Puerto Rico. 

The hard part was 

supposed to be 

over. 

The mother and 

her 3-year-old had 

survived the terrors 

of the violent gangs that roam 

Haiti, kidnap children and bring 

indiscriminate violence down 

upon the most vulnerable. 

She and her child had survived 

the hunger that has racked 

the poorest nation in the western 

hemisphere. They had survived 

the earthquakes and hurricanes 

that have killed hundreds and left 

FATHER OLIN PIERRE-LOUIS | 

ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 

Haitian refugees arriving 

in rickety boats find shelter 

at this priest’s poor parish 

thousands homeless over 

the past three years. They 

had even survived a dangerous 

60-mile journey 

through the rough waters 

at the confluence of the 

Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean 

Sea, known as the 

Mona Passage. 

That was supposed to 

be the hard part. But as 

the rickety boat known 

as a “yola” approached 

the Puerto Rican shore, it 

capsized in the 15-foot swells and 

the 3-year-old was thrown from 

the mother’s arms. With their destination 

literally just meters away, 

the mother lost her precious toddler, 

who would only return in a 

body bag. It was just days before 

Christmas. 

Then the hard part began for 

her and so many other seabound 

migrants who have lost loved ones 

during their escape. 

SAFE PASSAGE FOR FLEEING 

FAMILIES 

It is our Christian belief that 

God’s love is always and everywhere 

present to us in every moment—most 

especially during the 

hard parts of our lives. Sometimes 

we imagine God’s love as angels 

who come near. Mary, Joseph and 

their newborn, Jesus, were refugees 

on a dangerous midnight road. The 

Holy Family was in a hard and desperate 

place. And God’s love came 

near. The silent night became a 

holy night. 

The refugees fleeing the chaos 

in Haiti, washing up on the shores 

of Puerto Rico, have an angel too. 

His name is Father Olin Pierre- 

Louis. He brings God’s love to the 

desperate. 

Father Pierre-Louis is the pastor 

of San Mateo Parish in San Juan. 

San Mateo is a small parish. Its 

weekly collection is only $200, but, 

being an angel, Father Pierre-Louis 

knows that it does not take a big 

budget to live the Gospel. 

Father Pierre-Louis, who is Haitian 

born, speaks Creole, the language 

of the Haitians. He is now 

a priest of the Archdiocese of San 

Juan. Puerto Rican federal immigration 

authorities, at a loss to help 

the hundreds of desperate Haitians 

washing up on their shores, release 

the Haitians from detention and 

ask Father Pierre-Louis to drive 

four hours round trip to Puerto Rico’s 

western coast to pick up the 

refugees and help them. 

Father Pierre-Louis makes room 

for them in his poor parish. It is 

amazing how much room God’s 

love can make. San Mateo’s tiny 

parish hall, which is connected to 

the church, is a makeshift migrant 

shelter. It can house up to 80 people, 

who sleep on mats on the floor 

and cook for themselves in the 

parish’s kitchen where people can 

donate food supplies. Those who 

need to stay longer can find rooms 

in the boiler room. No square inch 

of the parish goes unused. 

Frederick, a former Haitian ref- 

Father Olin Pierre-Louis gazes at 

the dangerous Caribbean waves. 

He regularly crosses the sea by 

ferry to bring refugees back safely. 

ugee, has been helping out at the 

parish for 14 years, ever since he 

washed up on Puerto Rico’s shore. 

No one understands the migrants’ 

burden better than Frederick. 

Twice a month, Frederick and 

Father Pierre-Louis fill the parish 

van with food, clothing and 

other necessities. They drive it to 

the coast, take a 24-hour ferry to 

the Dominican Republic, drive it 

to Haiti and then deliver the goods. 

They do this in hope that Haitians 

won’t be forced to migrate and put 

their lives in danger. 

Father Olin Pierre- 

Louis provides food, 

clothing and shelter 

to Haitian refugees 

escaping violence 

and gangs. 

TRUSTING GOD’S LOVE 

Meanwhile, the mother who 

lost her child last December is preparing 

to testify against the “coyotes” 

who crammed more than 50 

people in a rickety boat built for 

10. Hundreds have drowned. Father 

Pierre-Louis is helping her get 

access to legal and counseling services. 

The mother is going to relive her 

ineffable heartbreak to bring justice 

to those who 

so callously take 

advantage of the 

desperate. Her 

love for her child 

lost at sea will 

live on in her effort 

to help others avoid her fate. It 

is hard to imagine a braver or more 

fitting memorial. 

Father Pierre-Louis never ceases 

to see God’s hand in this work. 

When things get tight, the resources 

run dry and hope gets dim, 

he says that someone always calls 

and help comes. God’s love always 

prevails. 

Catholic Extension is part of this 

help. Our Holy Family Fund supports 

this amazing ministry. It is 

our honor to help. If we can’t drive 

a van, at least we can help fill it. 

God’s love is always and everywhere 

present to us, especially 

during the hard and desperate 

parts of our lives. Father Pierre- 

Louis’ ministry at San Mateo is 

proof. And all this from a little parish 

with a $200 Sunday collection. 

Angels don’t play harps. They do 

the hard and gritty work of collecting 

essentials, packing and driving 

vans, making room for the homeless, 

caring for the disconsolate, 

and standing up for justice.

22 INSPIRE 



When Sapphire, 

at 10 years 

old, showed 

up at an 

unassuming 

house on a 

quiet street in Grand Island, Nebraska, 

she didn’t expect to stay for 

long. She had already lived in 10 

foster homes and two failed adoptive 

homes. She was malnourished 

and could not communicate well 

due to a deformity in her jaw that 

made it difficult for her to speak 

and chew food. 

As Sister Catherine Nagl 

opened the door and welcomed 

her in, she found a stable and 

peaceful environment that she 

had never experienced before. 

Originally, Sapphire was only 

supposed to come on weekends 

as a “respite” child, to give her 

current caregivers a break. But 

after six months, she moved in 

permanently. Sister Catherine 

brought in a speech therapist to 

help Sapphire learn how to speak 

and eat according to the shape of 

her mouth. Sapphire began to talk 

and grew rapidly. “Of course, she’s 

been a social butterfly ever since,” 

Sister Catherine said. 

LOVING THE NEGLECTED 

Sapphire’s story proves how 

Sister Catherine’s care and love 

can truly transform children. Her 

ministry is called the Family of 

the Good Shepherd. Since 2010, 

she has cared for more than 50 

children, many of whom were 

considered too challenging to be 

housed by other caretakers. She 

takes in short- and long-term 

foster children and helps them 

understand their worth. 

Sister Catherine Nagl helped Sapphire flourish after she first arrived at the home unable to eat or 

speak well. 

SISTER CATHERINE NAGL | 

DIOCESE OF GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA 

Castaway children 

thrive thanks to 

this Catholic sister 

From a young age, Sister 

Catherine always knew she 

wanted to help children, 

especially those who require 

special care and attention. 

As a child, she too 

was counted out. She was 

born premature, and her 

parents were told that their 

daughter would never be 

able to breathe on her own. 

They dedicated the feeble child 

to the Blessed Mother, and a few 

days later she went home without 

an oxygen mask. Sister Catherine 

now seeks to bring about miracles 

for children who are “impossible 


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cases” like she was once 

thought to be. 

She joined the Sisters 

of the Society of Our Lady 

of the Most Holy Trinity. 

She served as teacher and 

coordinator of residential 

services at a Christian 

home for pregnant teens 

and teen moms. The call 

to serve children grew 

stronger still. With the permission 

of her religious community, she 

returned to Nebraska to establish 

her new ministry to help foster 

children. She also aspires to form 

a new religious community, the 

Daughters of Mary, Mother of Jesus 

the Good Shepherd, to expand 

ministries to children. 

Sister Catherine is still the 

guardian of Sapphire, who is now 

a young adult. Sapphire graduated 

from a Catholic boarding school 

for children with special needs, 

where she thrived, and now helps 

care for the other children at the 

house. 

Among the other children is 

Eleyna, a seventh grade girl, and 

Micah, a sixth grade boy. Sister 

Catherine also gives special attention 

and love to a very medically 

fragile toddler currently living in 

the home. 

HELPING CHILDREN ‘BLOSSOM’ 

The children that Sister Catherine 

takes in often struggle to 

manage their emotions. She says 

children who grew up in abusive 

homes see the world very differently. 

They are survivors and react 

strongly. “They have traumas that 

trigger each other’s traumas,” she 

said. 

Sister Catherine teaches them 

forgiveness and helps them understand 

what they are feeling so 

they don’t let their emotions get 

the better of them. 

“We work on healing emotionally, 

spiritually and physically, if 

that’s needed,” she said. “We learn 

how to have a healthy sense of 

pride. We learn how to value ourselves 

and the others around us.” 

She prepares many children 

to live with adoptive families. 

She loves to see them “blossom” 

in their new environments. She 

helped one family adopt four siblings. 

“I had to teach them how to 

be siblings in a non-abusive environment, 

where they didn’t have 

to live and survive the way they 

had been, where they could treat 

each other with respect,” she said. 

The children’s new parents said 

they never would have been able 

to take in all four siblings without 

Sister Catherine’s guidance. 

Some families just need her to 

take temporary care of children 

with special needs or who are 

more challenging. 

She will take 

Sister Catherine 

Nagl has fostered 

them in often at 

more than 50 

children. She has the drop of a hat. 

guardianship of “My name gets 

Sapphire (second out,” she said. 

from right) and Sister Catherine 

has es- 

Eleyna (right) and 

cares full time for 

Micah (left). 

tablished firm 

household 

rules that help the children form 

healthy habits and a positive outlook 

on life. 

“I very quickly get them into 

the routine of the household. Everybody 

has chores,” she said. 

While introducing them to 

structure, her highest priority is 

for them to find joy and security. 

“Children should be happy,” she 

said. “It’s the carefree time of life.” 

Sister Catherine sees the face of 

Christ in each child she cares for. 

Her patience, thoughtful attention 

and ever present smile tell the 

children that they are important 

and loved.

24 INSPIRE 



Carmen Alicia Rodríguez Echevarría, principal of a damaged but 

thriving school, works with a prospective student. 

CARMEN ALICIA RODRÍGUEZ ECHEVARRÍA | 

DIOCESE OF PONCE, PUERTO RICO 

At earthquake-damaged 

school, students flourish 

under unflappable 

principal’s leadership 

Carmen Alicia 

Rodríguez Echevarría 

is unflappable. 

The principal 

of Inmaculada 

Concepción School 

in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, which 

serves children pre-K through 

eighth grade, is a job that demands 

a certain amount of unflappability. 

But doing it through an earthquake? 

And then a pandemic? And 

then another hurricane, in an area 

still recovering from Hurricane 

Maria? And then raising school 

enrollment by nearly 300 percent 

in the process? This is world-class 

unflappability. 

For Rodríguez, this is personal. 

She graduated from the school in 

1998. She is a homegrown talent. 

As a young athlete standing out in 

volleyball, she received a sports 

scholarship at the Pontifical Catholic 

University of Puerto Rico. In 

2005 she completed her bachelor’s 

degree in education, specializing 

in secondary mathematics, 

and in 2008 she received a master’s 

degree in educational supervision 

and administration. She is 

now going for her doctoral degree. 

For 14 years she worked as a 

math teacher at Cristo Rey Academy 

in Ponce, where she developed 

as an educator, mentor and 

academic leader. She and her husband 

developed a sports and fam- 

Inmaculada Concepción School in 

Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, was severely 

damaged in a 2020 earthquake. 2023 u 2024 

ily project in Guayanilla, which 

gives low-income children and 

young people an outlet to have fun 

and develop team-building skills. 

Sports were key to Rodríguez’s 

development, and now she is giving 

those same formative opportunities 

to the young people from her 

hometown. 

FINDING SOLUTIONS AMID 

DISASTERS 

But nothing could prepare 

Rodríguez for the trifecta of troubles 

to come that would test all of 

her skill, faith and resolve. 

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake 

struck the island on January 7, 

2020. It devastated Inmaculada 

Concepción, the parish and the 

town. The church walls collapsed 

on part of the school, leaving over 

half of the school’s building useless. 

Many families pulled their 

kids out of the school and fled their 

disaster-stricken town. 

Around that time, Rodríguez 

received the phone call from Father 

Melvin Díaz, the parish’s 

equally unflappable pastor. 

He knew that if there 

was one educator in town 

that could help the school it 

would be her. She accepted 

the challenge to lead her 

alma mater. 

Then the pandemic struck in 

March. All the schools in Puerto 

Rico were closed, but the unflappable 

Rodríguez improvised and 

trained staff to provide online 

instruction. The virtual teaching 

system was so successful that 

enrollment rose from 90 to 229 

students. 

In September 2022 Hurricane 

Fiona roared in and took what 

remained of the church roof and 

deposited it next to the white tent 

that the parish uses for the Eucharist 

and the school uses for a lunchroom. 

In spite of this, the school grew 

again this past year. As classes 

begin for the 2023-2024 academic 

year, enrollment is expected to go 

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Carmen Alicia 

Rodríguez Echevarría 

increased enrollment 

by finding creative 

solutions, such as 

outdoor tents, to keep 

students learning. 

up yet again to 250 students. 

The staff has cleared 

out attics, storage rooms 

and pantries to use all the 

physical space they have 

to accommodate the students. 


is supporting them 

by funding air conditioning units 

on an upper floor, so they can add 

desks for students. 

What has happened under 

Rodríguez’s leadership is nothing 

short of a miracle. This is especially 

true considering that most 

school families are working class, 

and the parish—which serves a 

town where more than 50 percent 

live below the poverty line—does 

not have the means to subsidize 

tuition for its schoolchildren. 

Families, no doubt, believe that 

sending their kids to Inmaculada 

Concepción is an investment in 

their future. Perhaps they want 

their kids to be just like the school 

principal—a confident, well-educated 

professional who uses her 

talents to help build back their 

struggling town. 

FLOURISHING THROUGH FAITH 

Parents don’t send their kids to 

schools with great missions. Parents 

send their kids to schools 

whose leaders personify a great 

mission. Rodríguez is Inmaculada 

Concepción’s great mission. She 

shows that we are all sustained by 

the grace of God. 

And what does Rodríguez say? 

She quotes Psalm 92:14–15: “Where 

the Lord plants you, you will flourish 

and bear fruit, because it is the 

grace of God who sustains you.” 

God is not done channeling 

graces through her. In her “spare” 

time, she is completing her doctoral 

degree in education at the 

Pontifical Catholic University of 

Puerto Rico. She wrote her thesis 

on the impact of remote learning 

during the pandemic, as a way to 

understand how she can put all her 

students in a position to succeed 

academically. 

All the eyes of Rodríguez’s students, 

parish and community are 

fixed on her. They see a role model 

and reason for hope that not even a 

hurricane, an earthquake or a pandemic 

can stop. 

She is unflappable. World-class 

unflappable.

26 INSPIRE 



SISTERS OF THE ORDER OF ST. BASIL THE GREAT | 

UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC ARCHEPARCHY OF PHILADELPHIA 

On the warfront, Ukrainian nuns brave 

ongoing battles to aid families 

The Sisters of the 

Order of St. Basil 

the Great’s monastery 

in Zaporizhzhia, 

Ukraine, 

is less than 40 

miles from the frontlines of the 

ongoing war between Ukraine 

and Russia. 

Since February 2022, their city 

has been under constant missile 

attack. Their entire monastery 

shakes when the missiles land. 

Once, when Sister Lucia Murashko 

was huddled in her room 

during an air raid, she realized 

that if a Russian missile struck 

her monastery, she would likely 

fall dead onto the altar in their 

chapel directly below her. Accordingly, 

she prepared what 

she would say to her Lord if that 

came to pass. “Here I am!” she 

would say to Jesus, “Ah, you look 

so nice! I have wanted to see you 

for some time.” 

The sisters have certainly shed 

many tears in recent months for 

their country and their people, 

but they haven’t lost their sense 

of purpose. Like the Ukrainian 

people, their will cannot be broken. 

There is no time for fear or 

despair. 

MINISTERING IN A WAR ZONE 

In their Zaporizhzhia monastery 

and across Ukraine, the 

sisters regularly house women 

and children, whose husbands 

and fathers are at war and whose 

homes and livelihoods have been 

destroyed. 

They give comfort to the soldiers, 

some of whom have come 

to their monastery straight from 

the battlefield trenches. Some 

haven’t showered in months. The 

sisters provide showers, wash uniforms 

and cook hearty meals for 

them. The grateful soldiers have 

told them that the meals taste like 

their mothers’ own cooking. 

The sisters also started to make 

trips to the frontlines themselves, 


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Basilian Sister 

Lucia Murashko 

brings supplies to 

families stranded on 

the frontlines of the 

war in Ukraine. 

realizing that vulnerable people 

were stranded there, unable to 

evacuate due to health or age. 

They now make regular supply 

runs to these war-torn villages 

less than a mile from combat, 

bringing food, gas for cooking, 

water, clothes and sleeping bags 

in the coldest months. 

Why the sisters enter such 

peril again and again is true to 

their missionary identity. “We decided 

what we have to do is help 

those who are most in need,” said 

Sister Lucia, who is among the 

sisters making these life-threatening 

journeys. “We have a car, 

we have something to share, and 

we have a face because we trust 

that God will help us.” 

HELPING UKRAINIANS 

IN AMERICA 

Living the charism of their 

founder, St. Basil the Great, the 

Basilian Sisters are called to express 

God’s eternal love through 

deeds focused on making the 

world a better place. Not only 

have they been carrying out this 

mission in Ukraine, but they are 

also actively ministering throughout 

Europe, South America and 

the United States. 

Basilian Sister 

Teodora Kopsky, 

a native Ukrainian, 

helps settle 

displaced refugees 

in Jenkintown, 

Pennsylvania. 

PHOTO 

CHRIS STRONG 

In 1911 the sisters established 

a community in Philadelphia, 

Pennsylvania, at the invitation 

of the Ukrainian Catholic archbishop 

to care for children and 

orphans as millions of Ukrainians 

immigrated to America. Catholic 

Extension has supported the 

Ukrainian Catholic Church in the 

United States for nearly 45 years. 

And, since the war started, Catholic 

Extension has funded their 

efforts to help people in Ukraine 

as well as in our own country 

through ministries like those of 

the sisters. 

Just as they are busy on the 

frontlines in Ukraine, the sisters 

have also been helping Ukrainian 

refugee families as they get settled 

in the United States. Since 

the war started, they have served 

approximately 800 families 

through the Good Samaritan 

Food Pantry in Philadelphia and 

hundreds more through the St. 

Basil Support Ministry at their 

U.S. motherhouse in Jenkintown, 

Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia 

where many of the displaced 

Ukrainians now live. The 

sisters provide food, clothing and 

furniture multiple days a week. 

They have even sought out ways 

to find refugees housing and help 

pay their rent during their difficult 

first months in America. 

The generosity of the sisters 

has inspired many refugees to 

get involved themselves at these 

distribution centers. Diana Kaday 

had just finished her master’s 

degree in accounting a month before 

the war started. She then had 

to evacuate to Germany before 

coming to the United States in the 

fall of 2022. The sisters helped 

her procure kitchen supplies for 

her small studio apartment. The 

sisters’ kindness helped Kaday 

realize that she too could help 

her fellow Ukrainians. She is now 

a regular volunteer alongside the 

sisters. 

“The sisters give hope to everyone 

they encounter,” Kaday said. 

“They give help. They give everything 

they have.” 

“When the Ukrainian refugees 

started coming here, they were 

saying, ‘Sister, can I help you?’” 

recalled Basilian Sister Teodora 

Kopsky, a native Ukrainian who 

now works in the United States. 

“Those volunteers are my blessing. 

Because helping people, you 

cannot do by yourself.” 

PERSEVERING WITH 

COURAGEOUS SPIRITS 

The Sisters of the Order of St. 

Basil the Great are true heroes 

around the world. They risk their 

lives and give their all to refugees 

as they begin an unfamiliar life in 

a new country. 

As this war lingers on, the 

sisters’ presence will not waver. 

They will carry on as a powerful 

example of courage and selflessness 

to all whom they serve. 

Sister Teodora summed it up 

well: “My love to God and to people 

is what gives me strength.”

28 INSPIRE 



A baby 

sleeps 

under a 

caretaker’s 

watch while 

her mother 

studies. 

Girls in crisis 

pregnancies 

as young as 11 

years old find 

support at St. 

María Eufrasia 

Home in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. 

The home’s motto, “One person 

is worth more than the whole 

world,” is written prominently 

in Spanish above a mural of a 

pregnant girl in the middle of 

its central courtyard. The staff 

lives these words every day. 

The girls come with unimaginable 

backstories. Their pregnancies 

have resulted from assault, 

abuse, coercion and even 

forced prostitution in some 

cases. What these 

girls share in common 

is that they 

all independently 

decided to see 

their pregnancies 

through before arriving 

at St. María 

Eufrasia, where 

they receive help 

to pursue that 

goal. They are referred 

to the home 

by the Puerto Rican 

government’s 

social services. 

Once there, they live in a secure 

environment, surrounded 

by support staff 24 hours a day. 

More importantly, the girls can 

get away from the violence and 

betrayal they have been unjustly 

subjected to in their short lives. 

EDUCATED AND ENCOURAGED 

The residence, which sits 

on top of a hill with a sea view, 

elicits a certain sense of calm in 

The mural at St. María Eufrasia Home says “One person is worth more 

than the whole world.” 

ST. MARÍA EUFRASIA HOME | 

DIOCESE OF ARECIBO, PUERTO RICO 

Abused, pregnant 

teens heal and prosper 

at this loving center 

the chaos these girls are escaping. 

It houses up to 15 girls and 

their babies at a time. Each 

room is furnished with a bed 

and crib and has its own private 

bath. The girls learn the skills 

of motherhood in a supervised 

and communal environment. 

The current facility was built 

with support from Catholic 

Extension in 2001. Since the 

early days of St. María Eufrasia’s 

founding in the mid-1980s, over 

1,000 pregnant girls under the 

age of 18 have been helped. 

The girls need assistance 

not only with their own ongoing 

emotional and educational 

development, but also 

with caring for the babies they 

have decided to bring into this 

world. Psychological counseling, 

health services, tutoring, career 

support and up to two years of 

housing are all part of what they 

receive at St. María Eufrasia. 

Founded by the Sisters of 

the Good Shepherd, the home 

is named after their mother 

foundress, St. Mary Euphrasia. 

Sisters Socorro Contreras and 

Marta Villalobos continue to live 

on-site among the girls and their 

babies. For the past two years, 

Raquel González, a lay woman, 

has led the home. She has been 

an employee for eight years. 

A full-time social worker also 

works at the home. 

In addition to the dedicated 

staff, several volunteers care for 

the babies while the girls go to 

school and receive tutoring and 

counseling. These 

caretakers attend to 

the babies with the 

same love, smiles 

and tenderness one 

would expect from 

an aunt or grandmother. 

SURROUNDED BY LOVE 

There are many success stories 

to celebrate at St. María 

Eufrasia. Currently, one resident 

is preparing to attend university 

this year, with dreams 

of being a physician’s assistant. 

Many other former residents 

are gainfully employed, 

live on their own and are in 

healthy relationships. 

Some of the people responsible 

for abusing the girls 

have been convicted of their 

BELOW (From left to right) Diocesan representative Mariluna Román 

Rodríguez embraces the home’s staff: Sisters of the Good Shepherd 

Socorro Contreras, Cristina Calderón and Marta Villalobos. 


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crimes and are thankfully 

behind bars. 

Meanwhile, the babies 

spend their first years of 

life surrounded by love. 

As they blissfully snooze 

in their cribs under the 

watchful eyes of caretakers, 

their young mothers 

are hard at work on their 

personal and educational 

goals in the hopes of eventually 

providing for them. 

Arecibo is a very poor diocese. 

Most of its buildings are 

still damaged from Hurricane 

Maria in 2017, and collections 

have plummeted since 

the pandemic. Yet even a poor 

diocese with few resources is 

making a powerful statement 

by operating a ministry like St. 

María Eufrasia, which signals to 

the rest of society that no matter 

the cost, it is essential to 

care for the least among us.

30 INSPIRE 



MARÍA-CRUZ GRAY | DIOCESE OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 

María-Cruz Gray stands with her son, Father 

Christopher Gray, on the day of his ordination 

to the priesthood in 2013. 

An estimated 70 

percent of the 

Catholic population 

in the Diocese 

of Salt Lake 

City, Utah, is Hispanic—a 

250 percent increase over 

the past 30 years. The increase is 

especially notable in a diocese that 

encompasses the entire state of 

Utah, nearly 85,000 square miles, 

where Catholics are a small minority 

compared to members of the 

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 

Saints, which is the state’s predominant 

faith community. 

More than just riding a demo- 

Why do 200,000 

Hispanic Catholics 

in Utah know 

this woman? 


Lumen 

Christi 

AWARD 

FINALIST 

graphic wave, the growth of this diocese’s 

Hispanic Catholic population 

can be largely attributed to the 

tireless efforts of one leader in particular. 

During her 24 years as director 

of Hispanic ministry in the Catholic 

Church in Utah, María-Cruz 

Gray has left no community of the 

state untouched, no matter how 

small or remote. The result is that 

she has become a visible manifestation 

of the Church’s presence 

and care to 200,000 Hispanic 

Catholics. 

But the key to Gray’s success 

was to make her ministry more 

than the mission of one woman. 

Everywhere she has gone in Utah, 

she has empowered a new generation 

of leaders for the Church, finding 

new difference makers in the 

most far-flung communities. 

EMPOWERING LAY LEADERS 

In her efforts to identify committed 

lay leaders across the state, 

Gray made sure that she went not 

only to the metro areas but also to 

places where Catholics are largely 

a minority and where people work 

difficult, laborious jobs in agriculture 

or mining. Many of the Catholic 

missions in these communities 

don’t have resident priests, adding 

urgency to finding committed lay 

leaders to ensure that the Church 

remains strong. 

Gray has been instrumental in 

the formation of 116 Hispanic lay 

ecclesiastical ministers through the 

diocese’s EMAUS program. Many 

of them come from the outlying 

communities of the state. The program’s 

four-year intensive curriculum 

forms leaders in human, spiritual, 

intellectual and pastoral areas. 

Gray guides these EMAUS groups so 

that these leaders can become active 

ministers themselves in religious 

education or respond to the 

pastoral and human needs of their 

communities. 

Over 24 years of ministry, María-Cruz Gray 

has touched the lives of 200,000 Hispanic 

Catholics in Utah. 

“She has spearheaded several 

very significant programs that are 

illustrative of her service to the 

Church, providing pastoral outreach 

to the families of workers on 

the farms and ranchos. She has organized 

a group of ‘missionaries’ 

in the city who still provide food, 

clothing and personal supplies 

once a month to day laborers,” said 

Bishop Oscar Solis of the Diocese 

of Salt Lake City. “Her indefatigable 

spirit, vision and good works have 

benefited the diocese as a whole 

and, in particular, the Latinos.” 

Gray sets a tremendous example 

for the new leaders she is identifying 

across Utah on how to always 

lead with compassion and 

energy. As a result, her diocese is 

stronger and its faith communities 

are more vibrant. 

A FAMILY CALLED TO SERVE 

Gray’s encouragement and 

example of service have even 

spread within her own family. She 

is immensely proud of her son, 

Father Christopher Gray, who was 

ordained to the priesthood in 2013 

and is now pastor of St. Mary’s 

Catholic Church in Park City, Utah. 

Father Gray admires just how 

many people across Utah simply 

know his mother, not to mention 

the impact she has had on them 

in growing their Catholic faith and 

becoming leaders for the Church. 

When she was recognized by the 

Spanish-language cable TV station 

KUTH Univision 32 for her 

humanitarian efforts in 2022, Father 

Gray said, “Mom helps people. 

All throughout our diocese I run 

into people who say, excitedly, that 

they know my mom. She takes the 

time to listen to everyone, to show 

warmth and interest, and to help 

them if she can.” 

Gray’s late husband, Forrest, was 

a deacon for the Diocese of Salt 

Lake City, serving from 2004 until 

his death in January 2020. 

“We are one Church, professing 

one faith in one Lord, and we have 

one mission—to proclaim the Gospel 

or the good news of salvation to 

all people,” said Gray. 

She is not just committed to 

proclaiming the good news to the 

poor in spirit but also to the poor 

and downtrodden of society. Over 

the years she has worked with the 

government and other agencies to 

coordinate relief efforts and organize 

food drives to help those in 

need. 

“On top of all she does in terms 

of teaching and ministering, her 

personal service to the poor is 

quiet and as hidden as is possible, 

but consistent and generous 

over all the years she has served in 

leadership for the diocese,” added 

Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar 

general for the diocese. “She is a 

true modern-day saint without the 

halo.” 

Amid all that she has accomplished, 

Gray remains humble, 

but she cannot help from being 

visible and known to the hundreds 

of thousands of people she has 

touched in Utah over nearly a quarter-century 

of ministry.

32 INSPIRE 


“And he began to send them out two by two...” – Mark 6:7 


IGNITE Making a difference 

PARISH PARTNERSHIPS 34 | VOCATION 36 | LUMEN CHRISTI NOMINEES 40 

Donors in the Two by Two Giving Society—leaders who give at least 

one $1,000 gift each year—walk in companionship and solidarity 

with poor Catholic faith communities. 

This esteemed group helps Catholic Extension recognize and support 

the hidden heroes lifting up the Church on the margins of society. 

Contact Kate Grogan, Development Coordinator, at 312-795-6046 or 

kgrogan@catholicextension.org for more information. 

Carrie Taylor, 

communications 

director at Christ 

the Redeemer 

Catholic Church in 

Houston, Texas, 

visits Central 

Washington’s 

cherry fields on a 


immersion trip. 

See Parish Partnerships, 

page 34. 

catholicextension.org/twobytwo

34 

IGNITE 

Parish partnerships 


Houston parish supports education 

for children of migrant farmworkers 

Father Jesús Mariscal welcomes (from 

left to right) Carol Hall, Carrie Taylor and 

Megan Dillingham, staff at Christ the 

Redeemer Catholic Church in Houston, 

Texas, to the agricultural fields of the 

Diocese of Yakima, Washington. 

Christ the Redeemer 

Catholic Church helps 

mobile literacy program 

in Washington state 

On a summer day in 

Monitor, Washington, 

children pour into a 

tent and are greeted 

by volunteers. They 

are getting ready for 

another day of learning and having 

fun with their friends while their 

parents head to the fields to pick 

cherries, pears and those famous 

Washington apples. They are the 

children of the thousands of workers 

that travel to Washington’s central 

valley each year to cultivate 

and harvest the summer crops that 

will be sold across the country. 

And for these children, while 

their parents are away from sunup 

to sundown, a tent in their camp is 

their summer school. 

Catholic Extension proudly supports 

the Literacy Wagon program, 

run by the Diocese of Yakima. The 

program addresses the need for 

summer learning and activities for 

the children of the workers. Run 

by a team of seminarians from the 

diocese, volunteers, librarians and 

local teachers, the Literacy Wagon 

brings books, education in 

reading and writing, and activities 

to migrant camps across 

the state. 

The program was launched 

in 2017, with seed funding 

from Saints Faith, Hope and 

Charity Parish in Winnetka, 

Illinois. Today, a parish from 

the Lone Star State has stepped 

in to ensure that this innovative 

program continues. 

Catholic Extension’s Parish Partnership program 

With a compelling list of urgent projects to support our Church, Catholic 

Extension has created a turnkey fundraising program that is easily adapted 

for any parish and provides materials and guidance. Please contact Natalie 

Donatello at ndonatello@catholicextension.org for more information. 

Father Sean Horrigan (far back) was inspired 

by the work of the Catholic Church in Central 

Washington and urged his parish to support 

the Literacy Wagon program during Lent. 

ners at Mass just days before Lent. 

Ordained in 2019, Father Mariscal 

has a strong connection to the Central 

Washington farmworkers. His 

father first came to Washington to 

pick fruit, and after he passed away, 

Father Mariscal worked alongside 

his mother and siblings in the fields 

as a family. 

His mother knew he’d be a 

priest one day. As a seminarian 

and now as a priest, he has always 

stayed connected to the laborers 

in the fields. He has helped 

launch many migrant ministries 

over the years, including the Literacy 

Wagon. 

“Every kid has a right to dream 

regardless of where this child is 

from, and that’s what we try to 

do in this migrant camp,” Father 

Mariscal told Christ the Redeemer 

parishioners. “It’s not the most 

fancy summer camp like you may 

Children read and play at the Literacy Wagon, 

a ministry of the Diocese of Yakima, Washington, 

while their parents pick crops. 

Empowering children to dream 

After personally witnessing 

the impact of the Literacy Wagon 

in the summer of 2022 during 

an immersion trip for pastors 

organized by Catholic Extension, 

Father Sean Horrigan, pastor of 

Christ the Redeemer Catholic 

Church in Houston, Texas, urged 

his congregation to support the 

program for their 2023 Lenten 

almsgiving campaign. 

“The children I met there are 

just lovely kids, and their parents 

are working hard in the hot 

sun. When I was there it was 108 

degrees,” Father Horrigan recalled. 

To drive home the importance 

of supporting the Literacy Wagon, 

Father Horrigan invited Father 

Jesús Mariscal from the Diocese 

of Yakima to speak to parishiohave 

here, but it’s a beautiful environment 

that we try to provide for 

these children so they can dare 

to dream, so they can continue to 

learn, so they can continue to grow 

in their imagination and be inspired 

to be doctors, engineers or whatever 

they want to be.” 

Through their time together, not 

only do the children 

advance in reading, but 

also they learn to be 

family to each other. 

The impact of 

partnership 

Parishioners at 

Christ the Redeemer 

went on to raise tens 

of thousands of dollars 

to support the Literacy 

Wagon program and migrant ministry. 

The money raised will help 

the diocese continue these vital 

ministries for years to come. 

In June 2023 three Christ the 

Redeemer parishioners and staff 

members traveled with Catholic 

Extension to Central Washington 

so they could witness the impact 

of their almsgiving. 

They celebrated Mass, presided 

by Diocese of Yakima Bishop 

Joseph Tyson, with the migrant 

families at a camp. They went to 

the cherry fields where the workers 

pick crops in the intense summer 

heat, and they visited a Literacy 

Wagon site where those workers’ 

children learn, grow in faith and 

form new friendships each day. 

“It was incredible to see our parish 

rally around the Literacy Wagon 

and all of the other programs that 

Catholic Extension continues to 

support here,” said Megan Dillingham, 

director of development and 

stewardship at Christ the Redeemer. 

“I couldn’t be prouder to be part of 

this community and everything we 

were able to do. Now to be able to 

come and see it for ourselves, it’s 

been incredible. I can’t wait to get 

back and tell the parishioners what 

we’ve seen and all of the good work 

that’s being done here.” 

Parish partnerships like this not 

only make an enormous difference 

in the lives of the poor, but they 

also help transform the donor parish. 

“We are a people of mission. It 

is what we are called to do: go out 

and experience God and those communities 

outside of our own,” said 

Carrie Taylor, director of communications 

at Christ the Redeemer. 

“When we deprive ourselves of that, 

when we don’t go out of the bubbles 

that we have, we deprive ourselves 

of experiencing the rich complexity 

of our faith and of God, who reveals 

himself to us through others, especially 

those who do not walk the 

same path as us.”

36 

IGNITE 

Feature Story 


Catholic Extension program 

leads Latino 

young adults 

to lives of 

service 

Growing up, Cindy 

Rodríguez never 

imagined becoming 

a religious sister. 

She was born to Mexican 

immigrant parents 

in Beaumont, Texas. The religious 

part of her life was simply 

to attend Mass and “be good,” she 

said. 

She went to college and studied 

for a career in civil engineering 

at Lamar University. But her life 

plans changed after an unexpected 

experience. 

Two years ago, while in her 

A LEAP 

OF FAITH 

early 20s, she attended Catholic 

Extension’s Encuentro y Misión 

(Encounter and Mission) program, 

which was created with support 

from the Henry Luce Foundation. 

Through this program, Rodríguez 

saw the power of the Catholic 

Church’s work among the poor. 

She saw the difference a life of 

service could make, and she saw 

up close what religious sisters do. 

Something changed inside of her 

after participating in the program. 

The immersive theological 

program shows young people 

like Rodríguez the beauty of the 

Engineering 

graduate 

embarks 

on path to 

religious life 

Catholic faith and how it can be 

put into practice for the benefit of 

society. Students first take a theology 

course at the Mexican American 

Catholic College, then attend a 

weeklong immersion experience 

in one of Extension’s dioceses, 

where they work alongside 

Catholic leaders and fellow young 

people in service of the poor. 

The program intends to reach 

Latino young adults. About half 

of U.S. Catholics ages 14 to 29 are 

Hispanic, according to data from 

ENAVE, a group of national Hispanic/Latino 

Catholic organizations 

that led the 2018 V Encuentro 

initiative. This generation of 

young people promises to be a 

source of leadership for the entire 

Catholic Church. 

While the main goal of Catholic 

Extension’s program is to encourage 

new leaders for the Catholic 

Church, the outcome we did not 

anticipate was that some participants 

would immediately gravitate 

toward priesthood or religious 

life following the program. Since 

the program’s launch in 2020, five 

of the nearly 90 participants have 

started a process of discerning 

priesthood or religious life. 

Likewise, other participants 

remain active in different 

Cindy Rodríguez and ministries in the Church. 

her fellow postulants More than 30 dioceses from 

are forming spiritually at coast to coast have had 

the motherhouse of the young people participate in 

Missionary Servants of the 

the program to date. Participants 

remain in touch and 

Divine Spirit in Colombia. 

gather together even after 

the program concludes to create a 

supportive network. 

Cindy Rodríguez takes a 

theology course at Mexican 

American Catholic College 

through Catholic Extension’s 

Encuentro y Misión program. 

Young adults from across 

the country reunite to 

reflect on the Encuentro 

y Misión program. 

Learning what it means to serve 

Rodríguez had attended a 

retreat in college that sparked a 

“closer relationship with God,” 

she said. Around that time the 

coordinator of Hispanic ministry 

in the Diocese of Beaumont 

invited her to Catholic Extension’s 

Encuentro y Misión program. 

After some initial hesitancy, she 

joined the program in the summer 

of 2021, which began with a theology 

course at the Mexican American 

Catholic College in San Antonio, 

Texas. 

“It was concrete material I 

could apply to my formation as a

38 

IGNITE 

Feature Story 


leader in my parish,” she said. The 

coursework equipped her with 

skills to connect youth to their 

faith back at her home parish, 

Cristo Rey Church in Beaumont. 

Following her course in theology, 

Rodríguez attended a 

hands-on immersion experience 

that Catholic Extension organized, 

which opened her eyes to life as 

a religious sister for the first time. 

She went to the Diocese of Kalamazoo, 

Michigan, and witnessed the 

work of missionary sisters serving 

migrant farmworkers and their 

families through Catholic Extension’s 

U.S.-Latin American Sisters 

Exchange Program. Rodríguez 

was immediately impressed by 

the way the sisters interacted with 

the families. They laughed, danced 

and sang songs. They labored in 

the fields alongside the workers. 

Sister María Eugenia Gómez 

of the Missionary Servants of the 

Divine Spirit is one of the sisters 

that Rodríguez met. 

“What intrigued me the most 

was that she was a charismatic 

nun,” Rodríguez said. “I was kind 

of thrown aback. Initially there 

was no intention of me looking 

into the congregation.” 

The Missionary Servants of 

the Divine Spirit was founded in 

Colombia but now serves in nine 

Poor faith communities 

Catholic Extension’s support for 

need your help. 

ongoing ministries in this Native 

American parish represents a 

true blessing for a community in a 

desperately poor area. 

Donate today. 

Scan code or 

text “Extension” 

to 50155 to make 

a gift 

catholicextension.org/give 

Cindy Rodríguez sings 

with the children of 

migrant farmworkers as 

part of the Encuentro 

y Misión program 

immersion experience. 

countries—including the United 

States. The congregation’s charism 

is to serve the poor who live on the 

margins, using joy as its primary 

tool to bring people closer to the 

Church. 

That summer, Rodríguez could 

feel the joy that Sister María Eugenia 

brought to the workers as they 

picked blueberries and other seasonal 

crops. Rodríguez saw how 

the sisters lovingly interacted with 

the children of the farmworkers 

living in rustic camps by offering 

outdoor games, arts and crafts, and 

catechesis. The sisters’ methods of 

evangelization intrigued her. 

“It wasn’t only preaching to 

[the families] and telling them the 

story. It was them living the story,” 

she said. 

Rodríguez headed back home 

to Texas with her horizons broadened 

and her heart full. She spoke 

with Sister María Eugenia roughly 

every month while completing 

her final year at Lamar University, 

still discerning her future. She had 

planned on pursuing a master’s 

degree after graduation. Something 

didn’t feel right though. She 

couldn’t see herself living a regular 

life and career anymore. 

Taking the leap into religious life 

That summer after graduation, 

Sister María Eugenia invited 

Rodríguez to experience life at 

the motherhouse near the city of 

La Ceja in northwest Colombia. 

Meeting the sisters and community 

helped Rodríguez in her discernment, 

but she still went back 

home undecided. After reflecting 

on the relationships in her life 

and the eye-opening experience 

through Catholic Extension’s program, 

she moved to Colombia and 

entered the Missionary Servants of 

the Divine Spirit as a postulant. 

“It was just like a leap of faith,” 

she said. “It has all been a plan of 

God.” 

She is learning from the other 

Sister María Eugenia 

Gómez, MSDE, harvests 

crops alongside migrant 

farmworkers as part 

of her ministry in the 

Diocese of Kalamazoo, 

Michigan. 

postulants in the motherhouse 

who all come from different walks 

of life and countries, including 

Ecuador and Chile. 

“Apart from growing spiritually, 

it’s also another country. So, it’s 

trying to learn the culture, trying 

to live among people who don’t 

know the same customs as I do,” 

she said. 

The young postulants grow in 

faith, complete chores and play 

sports together. 

Rodríguez knows that discernment 

is a long road. “My goal is to 

continue this process of interior 

healing and spiritual liberation and 

to grow in relationship with the 

Lord, as one would grow in relationship 

with a friend,” she said. 

Reflecting on Catholic 

Extension’s program that changed 

the course of her life, Rodríguez 

said, “Sometimes we don’t know 

that we need something until 

we’re actually receiving the 

medicine for it.”

40 

IGNITE 

Lumen Christi Nominees 


Celebrating our 

Lumen Christi Award nominees 

FR. TED SKALSKY 

DODGE CITY, KANSAS 

MSGR. ANTOINE BAKH 

LADY OF LEBANON EPARCHY 

FR. ASADUR MINASIAN 

LADY OF NAREG EPARCHY 

BRS. D. SEFCIK AND D. ROBERT 

ST. JOSAPHAT EPARCHY 


Lumen 

Christi 

AWARD 

Catholic Extension’s seven Lumen Christi Award finalists 

were selected from an inspiring group of 41 nominees 

who each uniquely radiate and reveal the light of Christ 

present in the communities where they serve. 

Here we highlight the accomplishments and good works of 

the other 34 nominees whose diverse ministries are leading 

people closer to God and transforming communities across the 

country. 

Their passion, sacrifice and unshakable faith showcase the 

enormous impact of the Catholic Church across the country. 

At 80 years old, Father 

Skalsky remains active in 

ministry and finds ways to help 

people every day. In 2020 he 

established a community 

program to lift people out 

of poverty. 

Msgr. Bakh founded St. John 

Maron Parish 33 years ago, 

building it from the ground 

up to the vibrant community 

it is today. He always pays 

special attention to those 

who have “fallen through 

the cracks.” 

When a young priest tragically 

passed away, Father Minasian 

said “yes” to his bishop’s 

request to become a priest 

in the Armenian Catholic 

community, which has just 

nine parishes across the 

country. 

For 30 years these two religious 

brothers of the Holy Spirit 

have helped bring those 

who are suffering closer to 

God. They visit the sick and 

dying, listen and pray with and 

on behalf of others. 

TIMOTHY HELFRICH 

BAKER, OREGON 

CHRISTINA GREEN 

BEAUMONT, TEXAS 

PATRICIA HOGREBE 

BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS 

ANNE AYOOB 

ST. MARON EPARCHY 

BEN COLWELL 

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 

DCN. BENEDICT SEITZ 

FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA 

TERESA TSOSIE 

GALLUP, N. MEXICO | ARIZONA 

Despite his busy schedule as 

a lawyer, Helfrich commits 

himself fully to helping his 

community. He serves on 

parish committees, volunteers 

at the food pantry, organizes 

bilingual Masses, and plays 

music at church gatherings. 

For 20 years, Green has served 

as the director of a Catholic 

ministry for the elderly, 

homeless and disabled. 

Leading 125 volunteers, 

she provides hundreds of 

thousands of meals, as well as 

clothing and other assistance. 

As executive director of the 

St. Vincent de Paul Society, 

Hogrebe is a beacon of hope 

to the poor and hungry in East 

St. Louis. She offers life-saving 

services and helps those 

seeking her aid get back on 

their feet. 

After retirement, Ayoob gave 

herself fully to her Pennsylvania 

faith community. She manages 

bookkeeping and countless 

parish activities. She was an 

anchor when the parish 

moved to a new church and 

welcomed a new pastor. 

As director for the diocese’s 

Office of Faith and Family 

Formation, Colwell has 

engaged a growing number 

of faithful across all age 

groups and ethnicities, including 

remote Native Alaskan 

villages. 

A retired Air Force veteran, 

Deacon Seitz developed a 

ministry for men to form 

them in faith and service 

to their families, parishes 

and community. Over the 

past three years, 36 men have 

completed the program. 

A lay leader of Navajo and 

Mexican decent, Tsosie is inspiring 

confidence and faith 

among young Native American 

Catholics. She helps 

them understand that their 

voice, talents and experiences 

are valuable in the Church. 

SR. M. WITRAGO LARA, MNJS 

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI 

KEITH PETTYJOHN 

BOISE, IDAHO 

SR. PAT MURPHY, CSJ 

CROOKSTON, MINNESOTA 

FR. RUDOLPH JUÁREZ 

DAVENPORT, IOWA 

JULICE CURRY 

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 

SR. M. LISA RENFER, RSM, DO 

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE 

SR. JOYCE BATES, SND 

LAREDO, TEXAS 

FR. V. JANKOWSKI, OFM CONV. 

LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO 

For two decades Sister Marivel 

has provided counseling, 

religious education, assistance 

and hope for Hispanic 

immigrants striving for a better 

life. She ministers late into 

the night and even opens 

her home to those in need. 

Pettyjohn founded Salt & Light 

Radio to help Catholics feel 

connected, informed and 

passionate about their faith. 

His work reaches 140,000 

people, especially the 

growing Hispanic population, 

rural communities and even 

prisoners. 

Sister Pat’s decades of religious 

education work has strengthened 

Catholic schools and 

formation programs. She 

oversaw a high school and 10 

elementary schools, including 

the Extension-supported 

St. Mary’s Mission for the Ojibwe 

people. 

For over 40 years, Father 

Juárez has advocated for 

social justice and served 

the poor. As the first Spanish-speaking 

priest in the 

diocese, he has been a 

bridge between Hispanic 

and Anglo communities. 

For 30 years Curry has 

clothed, fed and aided people 

through the Sacred Heart/St. 

Joseph St. Vincent de Paul 

Society. As president, she 

touches the lives of over 

12,500 residents annually. 

Sister Mary Lisa is the medical 

doctor behind the wheel of 

a mobile health clinic that 

travels to impoverished communities 

in Appalachia. Her 

team of health care professionals 

and volunteers will 

serve over 1,500 patients 

this year. 

Sister Joyce established a 

home to house the large 

number of volunteers who 

help La Frontera, a migrant 

shelter in this border city. The 

lodging enabled the shelter 

to serve 40,000 asylum 

seekers last year. 

Franciscan Fr. Jankowski 

recently celebrated 70 years 

of religious life. He is beloved 

as pastor of Our Lady of 

Guadalupe Parish in the 

Tortugas Pueblo. He raises 

about 30 chickens and gives 

their eggs to his parishioners.

42 

IGNITE 

Lumen Christi Nominees 


KIRSTEN THORSTAD 

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY 

LAURA AWAKIM 

LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 

SR. PEGGY SZELJACK 

LUBBOCK, TEXAS 

MARTIN JOHNSON 

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 

BLUETTE PUCHNER 

SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN 

From the Lumen Christi Award judges 

Within 18 months, two 

devastating floods hit eastern 

Kentucky. As a newly arrived 

parish life director, Thorstad 

coordinated relief efforts to 

distribute 12,000 pounds 

of food to 750 families and 

provide emergency shelter. 

Awakim welcomes the stranger 

by providing legal assistance 

at a Catholic immigration 

center. For over 20 years, her 

knowledge and heart have 

offered a safe landing for 

immigrants seeking their 

new home in Arkansas. 

Sister Peggy sparks a deep 

love and understanding of God 

among people of all ages 

across 61 parishes in the 

diocese. She spearheaded 

a successful diocesan-wide 

family faith formation program 

in the wake of the pandemic. 

Johnson coordinates 50 volunteers, 

inventory, communications 

and more at St. Mary’s 

Soup Kitchen. Last year he 

helped the organization 

provide 93,600 meals and 

18,000 clothing items to 

those in need. 

Puchner is a mentor and 

guardian for at-risk Ojibwe 

children. A respected 

presence in the community, 

she helps them graduate high 

school, ensures healthy home 

environments and helps them 

know that they are loved. 

ACH YEAR, Catholic Extension invites our Two by Two donors to 

E 

serve as Lumen Christi Award judges and provide feedback on 

who they think is deserving of the award. This year, over 200 

people accepted the invitation to participate. Below is a small 

selection of responses from the judges praising this year’s nominees. 

See page 32 to see how you can become a judge. 

ON MARTIN JOHNSON | DIOCESE OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 

Like St. Paul and Mary Magdalene, Martin had a complete conversion and 

decided to serve the Lord and His people. He was not asked or called upon, 

but decided to turn his life around 180 degrees and help those who were less 

fortunate, even though he himself was one of the less fortunate. 

He is carrying out some of the corporal works of mercy to feed the hungry and 

clothe the naked. —John Holecek 

LEE EILERS 

MOBILE, ALABAMA 

SARAH GILLIS 

NEW ULM, MINNESOTA 

DR. CAROLE BROWN 

RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA 

STELLA CHOI 

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 

LUCAS MILES 

TYLER, TEXAS 

ON SISTER JOYCE BATES, SND | DIOCESE OF LAREDO, TEXAS 

We sometimes forget the people who make possible the hands, feet and 

desire of volunteers. Sister Joyce invested her talents to assure the most was 

achieved with those who cared enough to volunteer. 

She is an unsung hero, altering her life because of great need. 

—Carolyn Murphy 

Eilers leads the diocese’s 

home repair ministry for elderly 

and disabled homeowners. 

He builds wheelchair ramps, 

fixes roofs, paints and more 

for these grateful residents. In 

2022 he supervised over 50 

repair projects. 

Gillis advocates for the 

miracle of new life and 

well-being of families at a 

pregnancy services center. 

Her strong faith and gentle 

demeanor have allowed the 

center to expand its services. 

As director of the Extension-supported 

Sioux Spiritual 

Center, Dr. Brown provides 

a sacred space for Lakota 

faithful, who comprise about 

27% of the diocese’s Catholic 

population, to celebrate their 

faith and Native culture. 

Choi unites Korean young 

adults in prayer and catechesis 

to involve them 

in the parish community. 

She is serving as a voice for 

her community during the 

Church’s synodal process. 

At 19 years old, Miles invites 

people to the Catholic 

Church simply by openly 

talking about his faith. He 

draws this strength from his 

home parish, St. Theresa, 

where he has led youth ministry 

programs. 

ON KIRSTEN THORSTAD | DIOCESE OF LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY 

What is truly inspirational about Kirsten’s story is how quickly and completely 

she adopted her mission as parish life director. In response to record-breaking 

flooding, Kirsten stepped up to help obtain the basic necessities of 

clothing, housing and furniture for those whose homes were destroyed. 

Kirsten’s accomplishments personify the mission of Catholic Extension. She 

has worked with people in the poorest regions of Kentucky not only to build but 

also to re-build Catholic communities. 

Kirsten appears to be a person who does not just talks the talk but also walks 

the walk. That is to say, she is a person who gets the job done under any situation. 

—William Sabo 

FR. JOSHUA WERTH 

SALINA, KANSAS 

STEVEN WOODBURY 

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO 

EILEEN FASOLA 

STEUBENVILLE, OHIO 

SR. WANDA BILLION 

STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA 

FABIOLA TORRES 

YAKIMA, WASHINGTON 

ON LEE EILERS | DIOCESE OF MOBILE, ALABAMA 

Mr. Eilers displays a profound commitment to using his skills and talents to 

benefit others. A person’s home is so very important to his or her quality of life, 

and an inability to do needed repairs oneself is demoralizing. Mr. Eilers lifts 

that burden from the people he serves and restores their homes to comfortable, 

welcoming living spaces. 

For me, the story of the young man needing a ramp for his wheelchair exemplified 

the life-changing impact of the service Mr. Eilers provides. —Jacky Walther 

Father Werth overcame a 

troubled past and now shows 

prison inmates God’s love 

and forgiveness. He administers 

the sacraments and 

personally counsels detainees. 

He has baptized 56 

prisoners and confirmed 71. 

For 45 years Woodbury has 

used his musical talents to 

bring his community closer to 

God. He teaches liturgical 

music classes, directs worship 

music at Mass and has 

established several choirs. 

Fasola started the Miracle 

of Life Support Group in 

2001 in a church basement 

to care for new mothers in 

need. Many are released from 

the hospital with nothing. She 

provides diapers, clothing and 

more for hundreds every year. 

Sister Wanda accompanies 

deacon candidates and 

their wives through the sixyear 

process of diaconate 

formation. She is a beloved 

guiding light for these future 

church leaders. 

A child of agricultural laborers, 

17-year-old Torres rolled up 

her sleeves to raise $20,000 

towards a new church 

building for her parish, Our 

Lady of the Assumption. It 

will accommodate the growing 

faith community. 

ON DR. CAROLE BROWN | DIOCESE OF RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA 

Dr. Carole Brown welcomes the Lakota Sioux with open hearts and arms to a 

Church to which they bring many gifts. The need to create the space between 

heaven and earth is timely, insightful, and prophetic. 

Her focus on bringing the Native American Lakota Sioux peoples and 

the Catholic Church together, literally, is perhaps a foreshadowing of the many 

other places and peoples who yearn to be part of the People of God. 

—Carol Zinn, SSJ

150 South Wacker Drive, Suite 2000 

Chicago, IL 60606 

Support poor Catholic 

faith communities with your 

A religious sister helps students in Monitor, WA. 

DONOR-ADVISED FUND 

Give to Catholic Extension 

from your Donor-Advised Fund. 

Log into your Donor-Advised 

Fund account today and 

recommend a grant to the 

Catholic Church Extension 

Society of the United States 

of America, 

EIN 36-6000520. 

Your generous gift will 

○ Make a dramatic difference 

for poor Catholic faith 

communities without 

jeopardizing your savings or 

taking a loss on your assets. 

○ Have a meaningful impact on 

our nation’s most vulnerable 

populations. 

WANT TO LEARN ABOUT 

DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS? 

Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) are accounts 

permanently designated for charitable 

purposes. They are an easy and effective way 

to make a tax-wise philanthropic impact. 

DAFs give you the flexibility to 

○ contribute cash, appreciated stock, 

and/or complex assets 

○ receive an immediate tax deduction 

○ invest your contributions tax-free 

○ recommend grants whenever you’re ready

Extension magazine - Fall 2023

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