A Look At Diocesan News Highlights
JANUARY
• All 28 schools in the Diocese of Evansville spend Catholic Schools Week celebrating “Faith, Knowledge and Service.” This is the fortieth year for Catholic Schools Week.
• Hundreds of pilgrims from the Diocese of Evansville are in Washington, D.C., for the 2014 March for Life. Because of dangerously cold temperatures, they do not attend the march, however they remain committed to being pro-life.
• Sheila Barclay is named design editor of The Message.
FEBRUARY
Over 200 Confirmation candidates from across the diocese attend the 2014 Confirmation Spectacular.
MARCH
• Bishop Thompson celebrates the RCIA Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion March 9 at St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville. As he opens the ceremony, he explains the significance of the event and of the Lenten season.
“God continually calls his people back to a life lived fully with him through his Son Jesus Christ,” he said. “We gather here today first of all to continue our thanks and praise of God at the start of this Lenten season, and to also recognize and affirm those in our midst who are looking to respond to the longing for God found deep in their own hearts. May our prayers to almighty God today and throughout Lent help bring the good work that He has begun in them to fulfillment.”
Bishop Thompson tells more than 150 catechumens and candidates from across the diocese that the Catholic Church welcomes and accepts them lovingly – as they are.
“We receive you as you are,” he said. “We’re not asking you to be perfect. We celebrate who and what we are, but are always striving to do more to embrace our faith.”
• Eucharistic adoration is the centerpiece of the Source Summit weekend at Reitz Memorial High School in Evansville. • Hundreds attend the annual Rogation Day Mass March 20 at St. Anthony Church in St. Anthony to pray for protection against storms, pestilence and destruction.
• Father Robert Deig dies March 28.
• Bishop Thompson names Sharon Burns the director of Hispanic Ministry for the diocese. She continues her responsibilities as director of Catholic Charities.
• Darin Knight is named principal at Mater Dei High School in Evansville for the 2014-2015 school year. He had served as the school’s dean of students and assistant principal.
APRIL
• Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger celebrates his silver anniversary of ordination and installation as the Fourth Bishop of the diocese with a Mass at the cathedral on April 11.
• Youth from around the diocese are awarded the Maria Goretti Youth Distinction on April 13 at the cathedral. They are chosen by their parishes based on the life, mission and ministry they provide to their family, parish, school and community.
• Eleven Catholic schools in the diocese are named “Four Star Schools” by the Indiana Department of Education for their students’ combined performances on ISTEP and ECA exams, and for the schools’ rankings in the national “No Child Left Behind” statute’s Adequate Yearly Progress ratings.
They include Corpus Christi, Evansville; Good Shepherd, Evansville; Holy Cross, Fort Branch; Mater Dei, Evansville; Precious Blood, Jasper; Reitz Memorial, Evansville; Resurrection, Evansville; St. John, Newburgh; St. Wendel, St. Wendel; St. Benedict, Evansville, and St. Joseph, Princeton.
MAY
• S. Todd Brock is named the executive director of the Catholic Foundation of Southwestern Indiana.
• About 150 people – including leaders from a variety of faith traditions – gather May 1 on the Evansville riverfront for a Day of Prayer service.
• Holy Rosary Parish in Evansville announces a capital fund drive with an expected goal of between $5,000,000 and $6,000,000.
• Three-hundred-eighty seniors receive their 2014 high school diplomas in the four Catholic high schools operated by parishes in the Diocese of Evansville.
JUNE
• Benedictine Father Gregory Chamberlin, pastor emeritus at St. Benedictine Cathedral in Evansville, dies June 10 at St. Meinrad Archabbey.
• Benedictine Sisters Karen Durliat, Mary Judy Fleig and Joan Scheller are thanked for their service to the diocese’s Hispanic community during a June 5 luncheon held in their honor at the Catholic Center in Evansville.
• The Message captures two writing awards at the 2014 Catholic Press Association meeting.
Greg Eckerle is the communications manager for the Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand. His feature on Benedictine Sister Jenny Miller and her work with hospice patients earns first place in the Best Personality Profile category.
Mary Ann Hughes is the managing editor at The Message. Her feature on Meschac Gervais, a USI student shaped by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, garners second place in the Best Feature Story category.
JULY
Eight new parishes come to life in the Diocese of Evansville on July 1 as the first phase of the Diocesan Strategic Plan begins to take effect. Two of the new parishes receive new names.
• Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Evansville is created by the merger of Christ the King Parish with Holy Spirit Parish. Sts. Mary and John the Apostle Parish, also in Evansville, is created by the merger of St. Mary Parish and St. John the Apostle Parish.
Other new parishes coming to life July 1 include:
• St. Peter Parish in Montgomery, created by the merger of All Saints Parish in Cannelburg and St. Peter.
• St. Martin I Parish in Chrisney, created by the merger of St. John Chrysostom Parish in New Boston and St. Martin I.
• St. Francis Xavier Parish in Poseyville, created by the merger of Holy Angels Parish in New Harmony and St. Francis Xavier. St. Wendel Parish in St. Wendel will link with the new St. Francis Xavier Parish – continuing a link that had been in place between the two parishes.
• St. Boniface Parish in Evansville, created by the merger of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr Parish; Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish; and St. Boniface.
• St. Clement Parish in Boonville, created by the merger of St. Rupert Parish in Red Brush and St. Clement.
• St. John the Evangelist Parish in Loogootee, created by the merger of St. Martin Parish in Whitfield; St. Mary Parish in Shoals; St. Joseph Parish in Bramble, and St. John.
• Three Spencer County parishes also link beginning on July 1, including St. Joseph Parish in Dale; Mary, Help of Christians Parish in Mariah Hill; and St. Nicholas Parish in Santa Claus. These parishes are scheduled to merge July 1, 2015 with the new name of St. Francis of Assisi.
AUGUST
• More than 450 administrators, teachers and staff from the diocese’s 28 Catholic schools travel to Resurrection Parish on Aug. 4 for a true family gathering.
“The theme for the Catholic school year here is ‘A Family of Families’ … ‘Una Familia de Familias’ … and we have all sorts of families,” Bishop Thompson said. “The presbyterate – all of our priests – is a family. Clerics – our priests and deacons – represent a family.
“Our parishes are families, and our schools are families. And all these families make up one family – the Church; and a greater family – the family of God.”
The bishop notes that every family is called to be holy, and he talks about the Holy Family. “Without Christ at the center, He, Mary and Joseph would not be the Holy Family. And since all families are called to be holy, Christ must be at our center.”
• The men studying for the priesthood for the diocese are joined by Bishop Thompson during an August retreat at Sarto Retreat House in Evansville.
SEPTEMBER
• The Message begins its forty-fifth year of publication with its first issue in September. Father Joseph Ziliak, the first editor, writes, “Any changes in The Message over 45 years? Oh my, yes.”
• Precious Blood Parish in Jasper celebrates its sixtieth anniversary with a Mass and a dinner.
• Donna Gish, a long-time member of the diocesan Office of Catechesis, is honored during a retirement luncheon Sept. 3.
• A crowd of over 1,000 attend an outdoor Mass and dedication ceremony for the multimillion dollar campus expansion project at Reitz Memorial High School in Evansville.
Bishop Thompson talks about the beauty of the new facilities, which include the Browning Stone Circle; the German-American Message Center; the Robert H. Kent Athletic Center; the Koch Family Circle; the Mehringer Family Walkway; the Orthopaedic Associates/Progressive Health Scoreboard; the Traylor Family Stadium; and the Witting Parking Lot.
• The announcement is made on Sept. 25 that Holy Trinity School will open in the fall of 2015 to serve all of Dubois County. Three current schools – Precious Blood and Holy Family, both in Jasper, and St. Mary in Ireland – will form the foundation of the new school.
• On Sept. 26, Bishop Thompson announced the establishment of six new parishes and an oratory over the next two years as the result of mergers than involve 15 existing parishes. Mergers will take effect between April 27, 2015, and July 1, 2016.
• Deacon Lancaster Dow dies Sept. 30.
OCTOBER
• Father James Rogers dies Oct. 1.
• Father Adolph Egloff dies Oct. 2.
• More than 350 alumni, families and friends pack Mater Dei High School’s gymnasium on Oct. 4 for the school’s 65th Anniversary BASH – Building A Scholastic Heritage. During the event, school President Timothy A. Dickel announces that Mater Dei has exceeded its $4.6 million goal for the Full of Grace: Excellence for Tomorrow Capital Campaign – three months early.
• Hundreds of married couples attend the Golden Jubilee Celebration on Oct. 5 at Good Shepherd Parish in Evansville. “We gather here today to celebrate marriage and what you have shared,” Bishop Thompson said. “Not just what you have shared with your spouse, but wit your family, your grandchildren, your parish community.”
• A diocesan Respect Life celebration is held Oct. 9 at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Haubstadt. Bishop Thompson concelebrates Mass with Bishop Timothy Doherty of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana. Bishop Thompson notes that the theme for 2014 Respect Life Month is “Each of Us is a Masterpiece of God’s Creation.”
• Members of the Canon Law Society of America elect Mary Gen Blittschau to a three-year term as secretary. In that role, she will serve as a member of the CLSA Board of Governors.
She is a judge and assistant to the judicial vicar in the diocesan Tribunal.
• Sally Sternberg is named principal of Holy Trinity School in Jasper which will open in the fall of 2015. Michelle Brandle is named assistant principal.
• Bishop Thompson lauds the newest members of the Bruté Society during an induction ceremony at the cathedral, telling them, “The Bruté Society honors your stewardship.”
NOVEMBER
• Indiana’s State Board of Education releases statewide A-F Accountability scores, reflecting standardized assessment of the 2013-2014 school year. Of the 28 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Evansville, 22 schools earned A’s, and an additional 6 schools earned B’s.
“This is outstanding,” said Daryl Hagan, diocesan superintendent of schools. “Congratulations to all 28 Catholic schools, who continue to demonstrate that a faith-based education centered in the Person of Jesus Christ equates to a strong academic performance.”
• Wisdom Days are held in three locations in the Diocese of Evansville, and attended by hundreds of people.
Each day includes a meal and several speakers offering topics of special interest to senior citizens. The bishop speaks at all three events.
• Bishop Thompson opens the Year for Consecrated Life with Mass Nov. 23 at the cathedral. He welcomes men and women religious serving the Diocese of Evansville, noting, “We have so much to celebrate as a result of your service.”
DECEMBER
• Judy Neff, long-time diocesan chancellor, retires in December. Michael Roesch is named the new vice-chancellor. Diocesan Chief Opewrating Officer Tim McGuire will assume additional responsibilities as Chancellor on Jan. 1, 2015.
• Gayle Spalding, secretary and eccliastical notary in the diocesan Tribunal office, also retires.
• Hispanics celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12 in parishes throughout the diocese.
• By the end of 2014, the diocese is being served by five missionary priests including Father Crispine Adongo, a priest from Kenya serving in the Glenmary Home Missions; Father Sudhakar Bhastati, Father Anthony Govind and Father Simon Natha, Heralds of Good News; and Father Pascal Nduka from the Diocese of Issele-Uku in Nigeria.
