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Mission News
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Mass in Honor of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen - December 9th |
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Please join us for a Mass in honor of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Servant of God, on Wednesday, December 9th at 11:45 a.m. in the St. Vincent de Paul Chapel of the Cardinal Rigali Center. Mass will be celebrated by Msgr. David Ratermann, former missionary in Bolivia and former Archdiocesan Director of the Propagation of the Faith.
Archbishop Sheen's Cause for Canonization
 To mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Servant of God, the Archbishop Sheen Foundation has embarked on a worldwide project that is bringing Catholics together, united in prayer for our beloved Archbishop.
The highlight of the anniversary celebration is a Mass on December 9th celebrated in New York City at St. Patrick’s Cathedral – the very Cathedral where Archbishop Sheen preached so many powerful sermons and where he is laid to rest. But the New York Mass is only one of hundreds of Masses celebrated on December 9th around the country and around the world in memory of the death of Archbishop Sheen, and to pray for his cause for canonization.
Masses are being offered on December 9th in Australia, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, India, Lebanon, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, South Africa, Brazil and Argentina. There are also Masses scheduled in the U.S. in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Louisiana, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Colorado.
Who Was Archbishop Sheen?
 Fulton John Sheen (May 8, 1895-December 9, 1979) was an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio. He was born in El Paso, Illinois and grew up in Peoria, Illinois.
Ordained a priest in 1919, Sheen quickly became a renowned theologian, earning the Cardinal Mercier Prize for International Philosophy in 1923. In 1950, he became the National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, supervising 129 diocesan directors throughout the country. He held this position until 1966.
 For 20 years, Sheen hosted the night-time radio program The Catholic Hour (1930-1950) before moving to television and presenting Life Is Worth Living (1951-1957). His final presenting role was on the syndicated The Fulton Sheen Program (1961-1968). For this work, Sheen won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality. Starting in 2009, his shows were being re-broadcast on EWTN.
Archbishop Sheen’s cause for canonization for sainthood was officially opened in 2002. He is now referred to as a Servant of God.
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Daily Worldmissionnaires Recruitment Dinner Wrapup |
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 A Daily Worldmissionnaires Recruitment Dinner was held on November 4, 2009 at Pietro’s Restaurant in South St. Louis. Current DW members were invited to the dinner, along with guests that were willing to learn more about the Daily Worldmissionnaires and were open to the idea of becoming a member. There were 21 guests in attendance and 12 new members were recruited from the dinner!
Learn more...
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Annual Appeal for the Society of St. Peter Apostle |
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 The annual appeal for the Society of St. Peter Apostle takes place in November. The goal of the Society of St. Peter Apostle is to invite individuals to support the education of candidates for the Catholic priesthood in the developing world, and to support the formation of men and women candidates for the religious life in the missions. Click here to learn more about how your prayers and sacrifices can help!
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Mission Office Receives Chili Cookoff Proceeds |
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 The Cardinal Rigali Center hosted its annual Chili Cookoff on October 30, 2009 and graciously donated all proceeds (over $240) to the Mission Office! Archdiocesan employees dressed down and dressed in costume, and several employees entered their favorite chilis, which were judged and awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes.
We will be directing the Chili Cookoff donation to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. While we, the local Mission Office, do not make the determination of how funds in the general solidarity fund are spent, we do know that a donation of approximately $240 would be enough to provide a bicycle for a missionary in Kenya, to be able to reach remote villages that would otherwise remain inaccessible by foot because of the distance. When national directors of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith meet in Rome, they decide how to make allocations such as this for missionaries in 1,100 mission dioceses worldwide!
Thanks to all of our fellow employees who attended the Chili Cookoff!
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St. Louis Review: "A Vibrant Church in China" |
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 Special thanks to Rebecca Venegoni Tower, photographer for the St. Louis Review, for this wonderful article which appears in the "Living Our Faith" section of the October 23, 2009 edition!
BEIJING — The Catholic faith is alive and flourishing in the Diocese of Beijing. That is the message the people of the North Church, Beitang in Chinese, want to convey and is evident upon a visit there. I attended Mass in the church and spoke with the pastor, Father Peter Liu Yongbin, and associate, Father Sun, during a recent visit to China’s capital city.
My husband, Brian, and I were visiting our son, Jason, daughter-in-law, Christina, and new baby granddaughter, Mayfair Gina. Jason is working in Beijing as the Northeast Asia representative for the American Friends Service Committee, a humanitarian organization started by the Quakers in the 1940s. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and helped me obtain the interview with the priests and parishioners of Beitang. He also served as translator.
Read more...
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John F. Kennedy Catholic High School Student Wins 2nd Place in “Got Good News” Essay Contest |
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 Earlier this year, a student from John F. Kennedy Catholic High School was announced as a winner in a national essay contest sponsored by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Kearney, now a senior, won 2nd place in the “Got Good News” national essay contest for writing about her mission trip to Honduras. Her essay was just one of thousands submitted by high school students from across the country.
Learn more about Kearney's service and the awards...
Kearney was featured in the November 6, 2009 edition of the St. Louis Review. Click here to read the article. (Must have a subscription.)
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St. Gianna Parish Prays for Mission Priests in Bolivia During October - World Mission Month |
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 During this month of October, parishioners at St. Gianna Parish are praying for missionary priests around the world, including our three St. Louis priests serving in Bolivia through the Latin America Apostolate – Bishop Morgan Casey, Fr. Patrick Hayden, and Fr. Jim Michler. Focusing on the missions during October has been just one effort to celebrate the Year for Priests.
Parishioners are offering prayers for the missionaries, “as well as writing them letters of encouragement and thanksgiving for serving as missionary priests, bringing the Eucharist and the sacraments to all the world,” said Mary Romine, a St. Gianna Parish parishioner. Fr. Timothy Elliot, pastor of St. Gianna Parish, said that parishioners have appreciated seeing “all the areas where priests serve the Church throughout the world.”
Parishioners at St. Gianna Parish have already celebrated the Year for Priests by collecting items for priest-chaplains and the people they serve during the month of July, and praying for and sending letters to seminarians during the month of September. They plan to celebrate the lives of other priests in the coming months, including those that are deceased, retired, in teaching ministries, and in religious orders.
Special thanks to Fr. Timothy Elliot and the entire St. Gianna Parish community for remembering and praying for our priests in Bolivia during October, World Mission Month!
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October 2009: World Mission Sunday Mass Celebrated at Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis |
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 On October 18, 2009, Most Reverend Robert Hermann, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis, celebrated the World Mission Sunday Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. The 10:00 a.m. Mass was the official Archdiocesan celebration of World Mission Sunday.
Learn more and view photos...
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World Mission Sunday Held On October 18, 2009 |
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 In 1926, Pope Pius XI established an annual collection for the missionary work of the Church worldwide called “World Mission Sunday.” World Mission Sunday, organized by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church's missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice.
Learn more about World Mission Sunday...
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St. Louis Review: "United in Mission" |
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 Special thanks to Jennifer Brinker, staff writer for the St. Louis Review, for this wonderful article which appears in the October 16, 2009 edition!
If the original Apostles had not been missionary in their works, the Church would never have spread its presence around the world, said Msgr. Francis X. Blood.
“Becoming missionary is an essential dimension to being a Catholic,” said the director of the Pontifical Mission Societies for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. “We’re all missionary by baptism, but until we begin to share our faith in some way with others, we have not become what we’re being called to be by the Holy Spirit.”
This weekend, Catholics around the world will celebrate World Mission Sunday. The annual collection, to be taken up at parishes around the archdiocese, will benefit approximately 1,100 missionary territories around the world. Funding is administered by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of four Pontifical Mission Societies which seeks to foster a “spirit of universal mission, to inform Catholics of the life and the needs of the Catholic Church in the missions, and to encourage prayer and financial help for those mission churches.”
Read more...
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Archdiocese of St. Louis: Mission Office
20 Archbishop May Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63119 • missions@archstl.org
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