Serving Catholic schools

Saint Louis University’s Billiken Teacher Corps (BTC) is celebrating five years of serving local Catholic schools. Developed in 2014-2015 by the SLU School of Education, the two-year graduate program provides an opportunity for faith-driven college graduates to pursue a teaching career in under-resourced Catholic schools in the St. Louis area. Each year, BTC places approximately six to eight new graduate students as teachers in local Catholic schools. The program consists of service learning, graduate education, and personal and spiritual formation. They earn a master’s degree in teaching with full tuition remission from Saint Louis University, and live together with other BTC fellows in an intentional faith community in a former convent in St. Louis. Since the program’s conception in 2015, BTC has expanded and served in approximately 20 local schools. It added bi-weekly training from an urban education expert, Gaileen Hoenig, while Angela Moret will focus primarily on recruitment, deepening spirituality in the program, and supporting the first-year teachers.

Soccer stars

The St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame Week began with a memorial Mass Oct. 8 at Christ Prince of Peace Church in Manchester. The induction dinner and ceremony was to take place Oct. 11. The 2019 honorees are Vince Fassi, Dan Flynn,George Gansner, Ted Hantak, Ruth Harker, Bill McKeon, Matt McKeon, Tim Strange and Steve Sullivan. Other awardees are Jim Scott, Msgr. Jimmy Johnston Award; Pete Fusz, presendent of Lou Fusz Soccer Club, Bob Burnes Benchwarmer Award; Chris Kenny, Jimmy Dunn High School Coach of the Year; the 1979 SIU D-1 national champs, Msgr. Louis Meyer Team Award; Will Bruin and Alli Klug, Harry Keough Award; and Jackson Miller of John Burroughs High School, Jack Meuse of Fort Zumwalt West High School, Alli Palmatier of St. Dominic High School and Analiese Wilmsmeyer of Rosati-Kain High School. Bob Kehoe Future Star Honores.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Continuing Catholicism

The Saint Louis University Catholic Studies Centre’s “Continuing Catholicism” announces its fall 2019 series featuring Eleonore Stump, Henle Chair of Philosophy, and a reading of John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” The adult education series is held on five consecutive Wednesdays beginning Oct. 16 at Boileau Hall, 3838 West Pine Blvd. Sessions begin at 6 p.m. with a potluck dinner. Cost is a free-will offering of $175 which includes a copy of “Paradise Lost.” For information, contact Father David Meconi, SJ, at [email protected] or (314) 644-8445.

The Angels

The Daughters of St. Paul will host Father Fadi Auro, assistant professor of philosophy at Kenrick- Glennon Seminary, who will speak on “The Angels: Their Nature and Ministry,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, at Pauline Books & Media, 9804 Watson Road in Crestwood. His talk will be followed by refreshments. For information and to register, call (314) 965-3512.

Voter registration

Voter registration drives will be held at St. Cletus Parish, 2705 Zumbehl Road in St. Charles, one hour before and after 5 p.m. Mass on Saturday, Oct. 26, as well as both before and after 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., and 11:30 a.m. Masses on Sunday, Oct. 27. Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service, Social Justice in Action, also was to host voter registration drives at St. Charles Borromeo Parish, 601 N. Fourth St. in St. Charles, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 12 and 13. Voter registrants will need a current Missouri State I.D. or a utility bill with their name and address. For information, contact Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service at (636) 441-1302, ext. 350. Leave a message and your call will be returned.

Pray to stop violence

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson will lead an interfaith prayer service at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, on the football field at Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School to pray for an end to violence on our streets and healing in our community. For more information, call Marie Kenyon with the archdiocesan Peace and Justice Commission at (314) 792-7062.

Shrine’s 175 years

The Shrine of St. Joseph is celebrating its 175th anniversary at a Mass on Sunday, Oct. 27. The Mass to be celebrated by Archbishop Robert J. Carlson is at 11 a.m. the shrine, 1220 North 11th St. in St. Louis. The shrine holds weekly Sunday Mass as well as special Masses, devotions and events. Tours can be arranged by appointment. St. Joseph Parish was founded by the Jesuits in 1844 to serve a residential area of German immigrants and was run by the order for 123 years. The current Shrine of St. Joseph, which used the original church as the vestibule, was built in 1865. When the church was in decline and in danger of being razed in the 1970s, a lay group mobilized a grass-roots effort to restore the church. In October 1980, Archbishop John L. May entered a five-year renewable lease with the Friends of the Shrine of St. Joseph calling for the shrine to remain in use for Catholic services with liturgical control retained by the archdiocese. Ignatius Strecker’s cure of injury and illness, which occurred 156 years ago at the shrine, was accepted as a miracle for the canonization cause of St. Peter Claver. The main altar, called the Altar of Answered Prayers, was built in 1867 by grateful parishioners who credited the intercession of St. Joseph with sparing many lives during a cholera epidemic. For more information, visit www.shrineofstjoseph.org.

Christopher West coming to St. Louis

Best-selling author and Catholic speaker Christopher West, and Catholic musician Mike Mangione will visit St. Louis for an event, “Made for More,” from 7-9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, at St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Church in Oakville. West, who is known for his work on St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body,” and Mangione will address the questions, “Where do we come from and where are we going” which are decisive for understanding what it means to be human and how to orient our lives and our actions toward authentic fulfillment. The two will creatively weave together dynamic presentations with live music, movie clips, YouTube videos, and sacred art for an evening of beauty and reflection on the meaning of life, love and human destiny. Tickets are $25 per person and may be purchased online at corproject.com/stlouis. For more information, contact Katie Brennan at [email protected] or (314) 540-0397.

Vitae Foundation event

Candace Owens will offer insights about the abortion industry and how it targets African Americans during Vitae Foundation’s St. Charles Pro-Life Event on Thursday, Nov. 7, at the St. Charles Convention Center, 1 Convention Center Plaza, in St. Charles. Dinner and program begin at 7 p.m. In 2017, Owens launched a vlog series on YouTube, promoting conservatism to a black American audience. She hosts “The Candace Owens Show” on PragerU, and she has spoken at more than 50 universities and made more than 250 Fox News appearances the last year alone. The event raises funds to promote a culture of life and to help educate women facing unplanned pregnancies about local resources to assist them in making an informed decision. Reservations will be accepted at www.vitaefoundation.org/events or by calling (573) 634-4316. The registration fee is $50 per person. Seating is limited.

Evolution

The Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (ITEST) will host a webinar, “Is Evolution Catholic” on Friday, Nov. 15, from noon to 3 p.m. Dr. David Keys and Jesuit Father Earl Muller will present evidence that evolution is Catholic. A question-and-answer session will follow with registered participants. Register at www.faithscience.org/evolution. For more information, call (314) 706-1009 or email [email protected].

End-of-life issues

The Roman Catholic Foundation, in partnership with Catholic Charities of St. Louis, will present, “The Conversation: A Catholic Perspective on End-of-Life Issues,” from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at Incarnate Word Church in Chesterfield, 13416 Olive Blvd. The free seminar will include presentations on Catholic bioethics, Catholic funeral and cemetery planning, advance directives and estate planning and charitable gift planning. To register, visit rcfstl.org/the-conversation or call (314) 918-2892.