By Kevin Cullen
The Catholic Moment

Holy rites, new construction, special honors and volunteer activities combined to make 2009 a year to remember across the 9,832 square miles that form the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana.

Here’s a month-by-month sampler of some of the events of the year, all taken from the pages of The Catholic Moment.

January

• Friends remember Father Victor Schott, who died in Muncie at age 85. After retirement, he often helped out at the Madonna Shoppe in Muncie. He had a special devotion to the Blessed Mother, and made at least a dozen trips to Fatima.

• The Lafayette Serra Club, the first Serra Club chartered in the diocese, marks its 50th year of encouragement and prayer for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

• Sister Alice Mary Kennedy, 90, dies in Watertown, N.Y. She was the last surviving foundress of the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood Monastery in Lafayette. The cloistered contemplative mon-astery opened in 1955 and closed in 2006. Sister Alice Mary Kennedy was buried in Lafayette.

• St. Charles Borromeo School, Peru, will close at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. The school, founded 172 years ago, is the oldest in the diocese. The 2008-2009 enrollment was 52 students in grades pre-school through six.

• Bishop William L. Higi urges Catholics to send postcards to federal lawmakers, asking them to block passage of the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) or any similar bill that would create a “fundamental right” to abortion. President Obama supports FOCA. A set of three postcards was included in the Jan. 25, 2009, edition of The Catholic Moment.

February

• The 13th biennial Fruitful Harvest campaign has reached its $7.2 million goal, just three months after its kickoff in October 2008. It provides 55 percent of diocesan operating funds, plus funds to fulfill obligations to the national and Universal Church. Fruitful Harvest was begun in 1984.

• Hundreds of protesters from across the diocese participate in the 36th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. The march is designed to express opposition to two 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decisions that legalized abortion on demand, throughout all nine months of pregnancy.

• The new, $5 million Marie Canine Cancer Center opens on the campus of St. Clare Medical Center, Crawfordsville. It was named after Marie Canine, who died of uterine cancer in 1998 at age 62. Her husband, Jack, provided major funding for the 8,900-square-foot facility.

• Five parishes are named the Local Church’s first “Stewardship Parishes of Distinction.” They are Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parishes, both of Carmel; St. Louis de Montfort, Fishers; St. Thomas Aquinas, West Lafayette, and St. Mary, Anderson.

• Approximately 850 high-school students from 33 parishes, plus youth from Illinois, Michigan and Kentucky, participate in the Destination Jesus retreat at St. Theodore Guerin High School, Noblesville. The event was launched in 1985 with 50 teens who met at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Carmel.   

March

• The Monastery of the Poor Clares in Kokomo marks the 50th anniversary of its founding. Seven Poor Clares founded the cloistered monastery on March 6, 1959. Sister M. Bernadette is the last surviving foundress.

• Some 210 catechumens from 36 parishes, plus catechists, priests, sponsors, family and friends, attend the Rite of Election at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Lafayette. The catechumens will be baptized, confirmed and receive their first Communion at Easter.

• A Call to Continuing Conversion attracts 321 candidates from 32 parishes to the cathedral in Lafayette. The candidates have been baptized in a church other than the Catholic Church, and are converting to Catholicism.

• A second annual retreat for middle-school youth, called “Cool 2B Catholic,” is held at St. Mary Church, Alexandria. It drew 55 students from 11 parishes. The event lasted more than six hours and included song, dance, prayer, speakers and a Mass.

• Alveda King, niece of slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., speaks at Purdue University during “Pro-Life Week.” She said that abortion is a crime against humanity, like slavery, racism and genocide.

• An addition to the John XXIII Retreat Center is dedicated in Hartford City. The handicap-accessible wing includes a large conference room, offices, a spiritual direction room, a full bath and a half bath.

April

• Chris Stefanick, author and director of youth, young adult and campus ministry for the Archdiocese of Denver, is keynote speaker at “The Call” retreat. The annual event, held at St. Joan of Arc Church, Kokomo, attracted 120 teens from seven parishes.

• The Church of the Blessed Sacrament, West Lafayette, hosts Archbishop Celestino Migliore, papal nuncio and the Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations. He presided at two Masses, concelebrated a third, and spoke to middle-school and high-school students.

• The annual Chrism Mass attracts a standing-room-only crowd to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Lafayette. Bishop William L. Higi blessed the sacred oils that will be used in sacramental rites throughout the year.

• Father Leroy Kinnaman, pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Tipton, participates in the Richard Petty Racing Experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was a Christmas gift for the longtime racing fan from family members and parishioners.

May

• Parishioner Helen Marack compiles highlights gleaned from a 50-year collection of parish bulletins at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, West Lafayette. She has been a member there since 1962.

• Thanks to benefactor Allan Bir, the chapel at St. Theodore Guerin High School, Noblesville, is complete. Bishop Higi blessed the new statue of St. Joseph the Worker and named the sacred space the St. Joseph Chapel.

• The 2009 graduating class at Saint Joseph’s College, Rensselaer, totals 179. Bishop Higi delivered the commencement address, and told the graduates that they were “equipped to be leaders” because their education blended intelligence, faith and values.

• St. John Vianney Parish, Fishers, breaks ground for a 10,643-square-foot youth center that will serve as a temporary church. Future plans call for a 1,500-seat church, a parish school and other buildings. The parish was established in 2005.

• St. Bernard School, Crawfordsville, will close at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. Enrollment was 118 in grades pre-school through fifth.

• The third annual Indiana Holy Family Catholic Conference is held in Kokomo. Approximately 625 people attended and more than 300 volunteers helped organize the event. The theme was “Building the Domestic Church through God, Family and Love.”

• Forty-nine seniors graduate at Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School’s 2009 commencement.  Senior class president Caroline Eberle addressed her classmates and Bishop Higi received an honorary diploma.

• Bishop Higi celebrates a double jubilee — he was ordained a priest 50 years ago, and installed as bishop 25 years ago. More than 400 people joined 27 fellow priests and two former classmates at the jubilee Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Lafayette.

June

• Father Christopher Shocklee is ordained to the priesthood. The 28-year-old is a native of San Antonio, Texas. Four seminarians are ordained to the transitional diaconate: Adam Mauman, Mark Walter, David Huemmer and Andrew DeKeyser.

• St. Theodore Guerin High School marks its third commencement, graduating 100. The school was dedicated in August 2004 and this year’s graduates nearly doubled the total number of alumni.

• F. Dennis Riegelnegg will become president of Saint Joseph’s College, Rensselaer. He will succeed retiring president Ernest Mills on July 1. Riegelnegg has been vice president of student development and community development at St. Francis University, Loretto, Pa.

• Central Catholic wins the Class A state baseball championship, defeating Vincennes Rivet 14-1 in Indianapolis. It was the Knights’ third baseball championship in six years.

• St. Peter Church, Winamac, celebrates its 150th birthday. The parish, founded in 1859, marked the occasion with a dinner dance, a reception in the former parish school, and a mass celebrated by Bishop Higi. Former pastors, teachers and students returned to visit and look at historical displays.

July

• A bell tower crucifix is dedicated at Our Lady of Grace, Noblesville. The 6-foot-tall, 350 pound bronze corpus was newly mounted on the tower. The $22,000 figure was created by Huberto Maestras, of San Luis, Colo., and funded with private donations.

• Approximately 2,500 people turn out for the annual Italian Festival at St. Maria Goretti Parish in Westfield. The event began in 1997 when St. Maria Goretti was still a mission of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Carmel. That year, 900 people showed up and the cooks ran out of tomato sauce.

August

• The Local Church begins its year-long celebration of the Year for Priests. A special Mass was celebrated in the auditorium of Hamilton Southeastern High School, Fishers, attended by more than 300.

• A $10 million capital campaign is under way at St. Theodore Guerin High School to build a second academic wing, boost tuition assistance, add parking and fund the use of five portable classrooms that will ease the school’s space crunch this fall. Plans call for enrollment to be capped at 800.

• Father Charles Remaklus dies in Hartford City at age 88. He was ordained in 1947 and served in Lafayette, Logansport, Kewanna, Monterey, Attica, Alexandria and Winchester. He retired in 1985.

• More than 110 catechists from 26 parishes attend the 2009 diocesan catechetical conference at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Lafayette. The day included Mass, six breakout sessions and discussions on leadership.

September

• A 106-year-old wooden cross is returned to St. Augustine School, Rensselaer. It adorned the front of the old parish school from 1903 until 1954. Parishioner Tony Nagel saved it for 55 years and decided to provide it for display at the present school.

• A Eucharistic mission draws hundreds to St. Joan of Arc Church, Kokomo. Vinny Flynn, founder of MercySong Ministries and a regular on EWTN, spoke and performed.

• The Frassati Society of Young Adult Catholics holds its 13th annual conference at the cathedral in Lafayette. The weekend event included speakers, a Eucharistic procession, reconciliation, adoration, Mass, prayer and fellowship. 

• The tabernacle is stolen from the adoration chapel at St. Francis of Assisi Church on the Ball State University campus in Muncie. Nothing else was taken and nothing was vandalized. The tabernacle contained consecrated hosts and the lunette that holds the large consecrated host in a monstrance.

• J-Fest 2009 attracts approximately 200 teenagers to St. Louis de Montfort Church, Fishers. The three-day event included dancing, singing and worship. Youth came from across the Lafayette diocese and from one parish in Indianapolis.

• At a celebration honoring marriage, 45 couples receive personal blessings from Bishop Higi and renew their marriage vows. The event, held in the cathedral in Lafayette, was coordinated by the Pastoral Office for Worship and RCIA.

• St. Joseph Church, Delphi, marks its sesquicentennial. More than 200 people share memories, visit with friends and enjoy an anniversary meal. The parish was formed in 1859 and the present church was completed in 1861. Next to it is the little brick building that housed the parish school from 1863 until 1970.

October

• The seventh annual Central Indiana Churches for Haiti Conference is held at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception. More than 100 volunteers attend to discuss their mission, exchange ideas and hear lectures by experts. One of the guest speakers is Gabriel Bien-Amie, Haiti’s former minister of education. He is considering a presidential bid in his homeland.

• Several parishes of our Local Church pray the rosary in public places during the annual “Public Square Rosary Crusade,” a project of America Needs Fatima. They asked Our Lady to help the nation achieve peace and unity. Rosaries were said in 4,300 cities nationwide, including Lafayette, Alexandria and Anderson.

• St. Lawrence Parish and the cathedral parish in Lafayette team up to dedicate a visitors’ site in honor of the Year for Priests. Father Dan Gartland, pastor of both parishes, blessed the site in the entryway to the cathedral’s Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Displays and literature encourage religious vocations.

November

• The Carmel Deanery’s Serra Club is rechartered to encourage and pray for religious vocations. The club began in 1995, but was inactive for approximately three years. A special Mass, celebrated by Bishop Higi and concelebrated by several priests of the Local Church, was held at St. Alphonsus Church, Zionsville.

• Diocesan Teacher Day is held at St. Maria Goretti School, Westfield. The biennial event, which attracted approximately 400 educators, included more than two dozen sessions that focused on everything from suicide prevention to nutrition. The keynote speaker was Sarah Wannemuehler, a principal and expert on school law. 

• St. Charles Borromeo Church, Peru, is honored as a “parish of distinction in catechetical formation.” The award recognizes the parish’s work to train religious education teachers.

• Saint Joseph’s College, Rensselaer, receives a $10 million gift from a donor who chose to remain anonymous. It is the largest gift in the 120-year history of the college. It can be used for scholarships and general college expenses.

• West Lafayette’s Church of the Blessed Sacrament celebrates its first “Blue Mass” in honor of police, firefighters and other emergency personnel. It was organized by Knights of Columbus Council 8056. Approximately 400 people attended, including approximately 25 in uniform.

• Some 239 teens and chaperones from the diocese attend the biennial National Catholic Youth Conference in Kansas City, Mo. More than 21,000 people attended the event, the largest Catholic youth event in the United States. Guest speakers, workshops and performers touched on the theme “Christ Reigns.”

• The first building on the St. John Vianney campus in Fishers is dedicated. The building seats 400. A 1,500-seat church will be built later. A parish school is also part of the master plan.

• Central Catholic completes an undefeated season by capturing the 2009 Class A state football championship with a 52-0 victory over Fountain Central High School.

December

• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is the keynote speaker at the annual Tippecanoe County Right to Life “Celebration of Life Banquet,” held at Purdue University in West Lafayette. The 2008 Republican presidential candidate said that a constitutional amendment is needed to protect life from conception to natural death.

• The new, $420,000 St. Joseph Chapel is dedicated at Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School, Lafayette. Many renovations and improvements are under way at the school. A $5.7 million capital campaign was launched in January.

• The Knights of the Holy Temple, a fraternity of senior altar servers, marks its 10th anniversary of service to the diocese and local communities. It began its service at St. Joan of Arc Church, Kokomo, at midnight Mass on Christmas, 1999. The Knights now serve seven parishes.