This weekend we are happy to
welcome to our parishes Father Linus Nangwele, a priest of the Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom in the African nation of Ghana. He comes to us as a part of the annual Mission Coop Program of our Diocese of La Crosse. The Donkorkrom Vicariate has 17,000 Catholics and is growing rapidly. There are 7 parishes with 98 mission stations. Serving the faithful are 12 priests, 7 religious sisters, and 110 catechists. Some of the needs of the Vicariate include finishing the construction of their Cathedral church, building schools and medical centers, and providing for the formation of their seminarians, catechists, and the lay faithful. Please pray for Father Nangwele and all the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Vicariate! If you wish to make a monetary donation, please use the special envelopes and make your check payable to your parish. Thank you for participating in the proclamation of the Gospel in Africa!
Next Sunday we rejoice with the parishioners of Sacred Heart Elmwood as they gather for a special Mass at 9:00 AM celebrating the parish centennial. It is an occasion to give thanks to God for the gift of faith given to those who have made up this faith community over the past century. It is also a time to beg God's continued blessings upon this "family of families" as Saint John Paul II so beautifully described what a parish is. All are welcome to participate in the Mass at church. Sales for the dinner have closed but at the village auditorium there will be games, snacks, auctions, and other fun throughout the day until 3:00 PM. At 2:00 PM cake will be served in honor of my 25
th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood.
Please note that the Mass schedule for next weekend is the same as always with a Saturday Vigil Mass at 8:00 PM at Elmwood and the 8:30 and 10:30 AM Masses at Boyceville and Spring Valley respectively. Father Larry Berger (who was my religion teacher at Marshfield Columbus Catholic High School in the 1970s!) will be celebrating the Sunday morning Masses as I celebrate the special 9:00 AM centennial Mass at Elmwood.
Speaking of my ordination anniversary, this weekend begins a marathon of celebrations over the next several weeks! I am so happy to be able to celebrate Mass this weekend at my home parish of the Sacred Heart in Marshfield. The Mass and the dinner to follow afford me the opportunity to thank God and the parishioners as well as my family and friends for their loving and prayerful support over these years. Of course, next Sunday the Elmwood parishioners are celebrating the 100
th anniversary of the parish and my 25
th with Mass and meal followed by cake. The weekend after that Saint Luke Parish is rejoicing with me at 25 years of priestly ministry at the 8:30 AM Mass followed by a potluck brunch. It?s a good thing I've lost 23 pounds since the beginning of May! That gives me "space" to do all this feasting in July!
July 22, 1989 seems so long ago! It has been an adventure insofar as I've been the Associate Rector of our Cathedral, Pastor of nine different parishes, Administrator of three parishes, Principal of two parochial grade schools, Scouting Chaplain for the Diocese, Associate Professor of Theology at a seminary, Director of Spiritual Formation in the Permanent Deacon Formation Program for our Diocese, member of the Diocesan Seminarian Admissions Board, a priest-mentor of the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity of the University of Saint Thomas, and now a Dean! The Diocese sure has gotten a good return on its investment in me! It has not always been an easy journey (what vocation in life is!), but I am so happy that the Lord has called me to be a priest.
I'm actually the
third generation of priests on the Burke side of my family (before me the Louis side never produced any priests or religious! I'm not sure what that means!). The first, Father Thomas O'Keefe, served faithfully for many years in Illinois. The second is my mother's youngest brother, Raymond, who is now the Cardinal Prefect of the Supreme Apostolic Signatura in the Vatican. So the priesthood was not something foreign at all as I was growing up.
My family created a home with an atmosphere of faith and love wherein I was able to hear the Lord's call to the Priesthood. My dad, mom, brother, and now my dad's second wife, as well as all the relatives, have always been a source of encouragement enabling me to persevere in answering "yes" to the Lord's call. I am indebted to my Pastor at Sacred Heart in Marshfield, the late Father Peter Leketas, who was the first to ask me to consider the Priesthood. Likewise, the unambiguous example of religious life of one of my teachers at Columbus High School, the late Sister Miranda Buesseler, SSND, inspired me to enter the seminary. Of all my seminary classmates, one stands above the rest, Monsignor Bert Diaz of the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, who has remained a dear friend for nearly 30 years. Through eight years in the seminary and now these 25 years of priestly ministry countless people have generously supported me with their prayers, sacrifices, and acts of kindness. To all of them I owe the deepest debt of gratitude.
My Grandma Louis was a saintly woman. She was convinced that her youngest son, Charley (my dad!), would become a priest. After my father and mother were married my Grandma Louis good-naturedly teased my mom that she had stolen her priest!
My Grandma Louis died in 1972 and so from her place in Heaven she saw that she only had to wait a generation to get her priest, her grandson Kevin!
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Saint Luke, pray for us!
Very Rev. Kevin C. Louis, STL