Archdiocesan news

Archdiocesan news briefs

Creative Writing Contest

One hundred and forty six finalists attended the Respect Life Apostolate’s 2018 eighth-grade Creative Writing Contest on April 18 at the Cardinal Rigali Center in Shrewsbury. In all, the apostolate received 1,058 entries representing 61 Catholic schools, PSR programs and home schools. Students were asked to “explain why living the virtue of chastity protects us from abortion and blesses us with true holiness, health and happiness.” Six winners were each presented with a $2,000 scholarship. They are: Emmeline Roseberry (St. Margaret of Scotland), Meghan Meehan (St. Dominic Savio), Olivia Knobbe (St. Joseph, Josephville), Leah Anderson (St. Joseph, Imperial), John Paul Vlahutin (Holy Trinity) and Carlotta Croak (Holy Infant).

There also were eight honorable mention winners, each of whom received a $500 cash award: Alexander Rodriguez (Our Lady of the Presentation), Amy Lien Stukenholtz (Sacred Heart, Valley Park), Eric Piening (St. Monica), Matilda Killeen (St. Margaret of Scotland), Gabriel Chase Lancia (Our Lady of Providence), Hannah Lifka (St. Joseph, Imperial), Hannah King (Queen of All Saints) and Hope Dery (St. Joseph, Cottleville).

Aquinas honorees

Aquinas Institute of Theology will confer honorary degrees on Archbishop Robert J. Carlson and Sister Barbara A. Moore, CSJ, at the school’s 2018 commencement ceremony. Archbishop Carlson, a native of Minneapolis, was ordained to the priesthood in 1970 for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He was installed as Archbishop of St. Louis on June 10, 2009. His passion for education, vocations, youth ministry and priestly formation have contributed to the growth and vitality of all the dioceses he has served. Sister Barbara entered the St. Louis Province of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1955. The first African-American woman to join the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, she participated in the historic voting rights march in Selma, Ala. She served in Kansas City, Mo., at St. Joseph Hospital, Avila University as dean of the nursing school and at Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center. She spent three years as project director of Kansas City Healthy Start, a comprehensive empowerment program to reduce infant mortality by serving pregnant women, infants and families in areas of highest incidence at 10 sites in Kansas and Missouri. The baccalaureate Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 11, and the commencement ceremony is that evening, both at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church on the campus of St. Louis University.

Upcoming events

Next Chapter

The Office of Mission and Identity at St. Louis University will again sponsor the “Next Chapter” program for people who are approaching retirement, or have recently retired. The fall 2018 program is now taking applications, with three information sessions upcoming: Wednesday, April 25; Monday, May 21; and Tuesday, June 5. The meetings will begin at 7 p.m. and will be in the Loyola Room at Jesuit Hall at 6301 Lindell Blvd. For information or registration, contact Tom Auffenberg at Thomas.auffenberg@slu.edu

Centering prayer retreat

Contemplative Outreach of St. Louis will host a retreat — “Resting in One’s Center Where God Dwells” — Friday, April 27, to Sunday, April 29, at Mercy Conference and Retreat Center in Frontenac. Father John Mark Ettensohn, OMI, will direct the retreat, which will explore the rhythm of life — a time of life-quickening action (the inhale) and a time of rest (the exhale) — and the critical role of exhale to be balance one’s life and to truly and deeply rest in one’s center where God dwells. The cost is $150, which includes private room, private bath and meals. For registration, visit www.centeringprayerstl.org or or call (314) 918-8288.

St. Gianna Culture of Life Relay

LIFE Runners have partnered with St. Gianna Church in Wentzville and St. Mary of Victories Church Downtown to hold the first St. Gianna Culture of Life Relay on Saturday, April 28. The event includes a 44-mile race on foot and prayer relay. The day will begin at St. Gianna with Rosary at 7:30 a.m. and Mass at 8. While LIFE Runners take to the pavement, prayer relays will take place at both churches. Both churches will begin an hourly Rosary for the duration of the foot relay. St. Mary of Victories will have a blessing for expectant mothers after the 10 a.m. Mass. The prayer relay will conclude with Benediction at St. Mary of Victories, followed by a reception. The foot relay begins on the Busch Greenway Trail at The Howell Trailhead on Highway 94 at 7:30 a.m. There will also be an hour of prayer by LIFE Runners on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood on Forest Park Avenue at 3 p.m., the Hour of Mercy. For more information, visit stgiannacultureofliferelay.weebly.com.

Women’s Chorus

The Missouri Women’s Chorus, directed by Scott Schoonover, will perform a concert, “For All the Saints,” at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 29, at St. Gabriel the Archangel Church, 6303 Nottingham Ave. in south St. Louis. The concert will feature music composed for the prayers of well-known female saints.