‘I learned from him to simply be Jesus’

When Archbishop-elect Mark S. Rivituso visited the St. James Parish food pantry in Potosi this summer, he didn’t just give a blessing and leave.

“He loaded cars for two hours with food bags, spoke with clients and prayed with our St. Vincent de Paul staff,” said Becky Howell, a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. James who volunteers with the food pantry.

The food pantry serves about 150 families in less than two hours during its monthly food giveaway, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for visiting, she said. But Archbishop-elect Rivituso made the most of his time with each person who came, cheerfully greeting them and chatting as he put food in their cars.

“He just had a big smile, was very easy to talk to, very interested in what was going on — really an outstanding example of the Vincentian spirit and leadership that we have in the Catholic Church,” Howell said.

These stories of Archbishop-elect Rivituso repeat again and again in food pantries, pregnancy resource centers, prisons, schools, convents and more throughout the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

In his eight years as auxiliary bishop, Archbishop-elect Rivituso dedicated himself to the people of the archdiocese, spending time getting to know each person who crossed his path and particularly seeking out people in need and the ministries that serve them.

Deacon Richard Renard served alongside Archbishop-elect Rivituso in jail and prison ministry for the past several years. Archbishop-elect Rivituso was his ministry supervisor but also his partner in mission, accompanying him on regular visits to the St. Louis County Justice Center as well as prisons, including Potosi Correctional Center.

“I learned from him to simply be Jesus,” Deacon Renard said. “Don’t judge others, which we don’t, and just listen to them, especially prisoners — listen to where they are in life and try to assure them of Jesus’ unconditional love, mercy and forgiveness.”

In the jails and prisons, Archbishop-elect Rivituso celebrated Mass, heard confessions and performed baptisms and confirmations. But mostly, he made time to just sit and talk with anyone who wanted to, Deacon Renard said.

“He’s a good listener — he doesn’t speak hardly at all, but he listens. (He asks) ‘How are you doing? How’s your family without you? Do you think you’re going to be getting out soon?’” he said. “All personal questions, and they love him. They just love him.”

Archbishop-elect Rivituso has been involved in consecrated life in the archdiocese, too, celebrating Mass and making pastoral visits to men’s and women’s religious communities. Soon after becoming auxiliary bishop, he offered to celebrate Mass at the Monastery of St. Clare, Mother Mary Elizabeth, OSC, said.

“He said he likes to do early morning Masses, so he offered anytime we needed somebody for early morning, we could grab him,” she said. “We’ve taken advantage of that a few times!”

Archbishop-elect Rivituso has been a great source of information on what is happening in the archdiocese, always willing to catch their cloistered community up on the latest news and make sure they have “the correct scoop,” she said. If they need him, he’s quick to rearrange his schedule to make it happen as soon as possible.

“He’s more than willing to come out and answer questions and even to help with different questions with religious life, as things come up in the monastery, or different canonical questions,” she said. “He’s a canon lawyer, so he knows the ins and outs of things a lot better than we would.”

He was most recently at the monastery in early August to celebrate one night of the St. Clare novena, and the sisters congratulated him on his appointment as archbishop. Always looking to pass along good cheer to others, he turned it into a gift for the community, Mother Mary Elizabeth said.

“One of his favorite things to do is to give everybody a free day when he comes out,” she said. “Apparently, that’s an old tradition for when a bishop comes in religious life, that he can grant a free pass for extra talking or whatever it is that day. This time around, he said he’s going to give us three free days…he said, ‘Well, you know, I’m an archbishop-elect, so I should come up with a third day for you.’”

Mary Varni, director of the archdiocesan Respect Life Apostolate, started working in the apostolate in August 2017, just a few months after Archbishop-elect Rivituso was ordained to the episcopacy.

“From the moment I stepped on campus, he has impressed me with his warmth and his pastor’s heart and his love of every single person, just from all aspects of Catholic social teaching — his concern for the unborn and mothers, those wounded by abortion, is equal to that of his care of those incarcerated, those who are on death row, those who are unemployed or underemployed,” Varni said.

Archbishop-elect Rivituso asked Varni for a list of pregnancy resource centers and pro-life social service agencies that benefit from the archdiocesan LifeLine Coalition fund, then set about making pastoral visits to all of them. He was a frequent participant in Respect Life Apostolate events, including parish leader meetings last fall during the effort to oppose Missouri’s Amendment 3.

After the Amendment 3 campaign was over, Bishop Rivituso asked if they had any signs they could distribute to raise awareness of the resources for mothers and families. The signs, which include a QR code and a number to call to access resources, are now available throughout the archdiocese. He has also supported the apostolate as it has expanded its abortion healing ministry, including encouraging them to include eucharistic adoration in every weekend and day retreat offered, Varni said.

Under Bishop Rivituso’s leadership, the Respect Life Apostolate has also started working more closely with the Office of Peace and Justice and the Office of Racial Harmony, thinking of new and creative ways to collaborate to serve those in need, Varni said.

“He’ll get us working together on a big project or event and maybe some other things where normally politics or the culture will divide left and right and try to label (us),” she said. “He brings people together to work on common projects and just says, ‘Hey, we’re all Catholic. We all care about the common good. We all care about life. We all care about human dignity. What are some ways that we can break down those barriers and bring people together?’”

Over the past several months, he helped bring together the Immigration Task Force and the Respect Life Apostolate, who recently hosted a workshop for pregnancy care center directors on how to more intentionally walk with pregnant mothers who are also immigrants or refugees.

“We’re able to help pregnancy resource centers in the area be aware of the multiple needs and unique situations that these particular mothers are facing, and how we as a Church and we as a pro-life community can best serve them and not only encourage them to choose life, but help sustain that life,” Varni said.

As bishop, he is responsible for so much and pulled in so many different directions — despite that, Archbishop-elect Rivituso never failed to make the person in front of him feel valuable and cared for, Varni said.

“I feel like I will look back in 20 or 30 years and I will think, ‘I worked under a future saint.’”