Pastors and administrators

• Father Israel J. Rodriguez, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, is appointed pastor of St. Paul of the Cross Church, Atlanta.
• Father Dominic Tran is appointed administrator of Our Lady of La Vang Mission, Marietta.
• Father Cong Nguyen, administrator of St. Francis of Assisi Church, Blairsville, is appointed pastor.

Parochial vicars

• Father Abel Guerrero Orta is appointed parochial vicar at St. Andrew Church, Roswell.
• Father Jose Enrique Quintero, a priest in residence at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Atlanta, is appointed parochial vicar of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Special assignments

• Father Ben Thomsen is appointed to the faculty of Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans.

Varia

• Father Bradley Starr is appointed priest in residence at Emory University Catholic Campus Ministry Rectory.
• Father Carl Jean, chaplain to the Haitian Catholics of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, is appointed priest in residence at Our Lady of Lourdes Rectory, Atlanta.

The archbishop expresses his gratitude to the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (CP) in founding the parish of St. Paul of the Cross in 1954 and for faithfully providing pastoral care for more than 70 years. The archbishop thanks Father Patrick Daugherty, CP, and Father Luis Lopez Galarza, CP, for their lasting commitment to the parish.

This is an update from the first round of assignments published May 15 by The Georgia Bulletin. Read the full story here.

Blessed Trinity High School in Roswell honors Joshua Paul Gaus as the valedictorian. He is the son of Mary and the late James Gaus. He worships at St. Peter Chanel Church, Roswell. Gaus will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology. Blessed Trinity’s salutatorian is Kiersten Marie Preissler. She is the daughter of Susan and David Preissler. She is a parishioner of St. Ann Church, Marietta. Preissler will be enrolled at the University of Notre Dame. 

Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School names Allyson Rojas as the valedictorian. Rojas attends San Felipe de Jesus Mission in Forest Park. She is the daughter of Victor Rojas and Juana Badillo. Rojas will study chemistry at Brown University. Cristo Rey’s salutatorian is Christina Reh, who worships at Corpus Christi Church in Stone Mountain. Reh is the daughter of Nga Reh and Tee Moh. She will pursue a finance degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology. 

Holy Spirit Preparatory School in Atlanta recognizes Edward “Gage” Durham as its valedictorian. Durham is the son of Chris and Megan Durham. He will attend the University of Gloucestershire and plans to study business. Holy Spirit Prep’s salutatorian is Lauren Wilhelm. She is the daughter of Ryan and Kristina Wilhelm. Wilhelm is undecided on her college plans. 

Marist School in Atlanta celebrates Ava Marsh as the valedictorian. She is the daughter of Amanda Marsh and Howard Marsh. She attends Peachtree Presbyterian Church. Marsh will study finance and data science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Marist School salutatorian is Hunter Nguyen, a parishioner at St. Andrew Church. Nguyen’s parents are Kim Dao and Dr. Hai Nguyen. He plans to study electrical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. 

Donovan Catholic High School, Athens, honors Brisa Maria Jose Castro Aguirre as the valedictorian. She will attend the University of Georgia to study political science. Her parents are Manuel and Rocio Ponce, and they are parishioners at St. Joseph Church in Athens. Monsignor Donovan’s salutatorian is Morgan Walker, who will attend Auburn University with a double major in political science and history. Her mother is Dr. Ashli Walker. She is a parishioner at St. Joseph Church. The honorarian graduate is Alice Frances McNiff, who will be enrolled at Georgia College & State University to study biology. McNiff’s parents are Rob and Walker McNiff. They worship at St. Joseph Church. 

Notre Dame Academy in Duluth recognizes Wonji Lee as the valedictorian. She is the daughter of Jungwon bang and Dongkeun Lee. In the fall, Lee will be studying at Yale University. Notre Dame’s salutatorian is Casey Silcott, daughter of Vance Silcott and Vivia Hill-Silcott. They are parishioners at St. Benedict Church, Duluth. Silcott will attend the Purdue University Honors College. 

Pinecrest Academy in Cumming names Nick DiMarco as valedictorian. DiMarco worships at St. Brigid Church, Johns Creek. He is the son of John and Anne DiMarco. He will study computer science at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Pinecrest’s salutatorian is Evelyn Fuentes of St. Brendan the Navigator Church, Cumming. Her parents are José and Lana Fuentes. She will pursue a bachelor’s degree in saxophone performance at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. 

St. John Bosco Academy in Cumming honors Alexandra Faye Le-Jing Danilovich as valedictorian. Her parents are Bryan and Lilian Danilovich. She is a parishioner at St. Thomas More Church, Decatur. Danilovich will major in international business and Chinese at the University of Georgia. Mary Therese Miles is the salutatorian. She is the daughter of James and Patricia Miles. Holy Cross Church, Atlanta, is her home parish. Miles will be enrolled at Franciscan University of Steubenville to study biology. 

St. Mary’s Academy in Fayetteville celebrates its valedictorian, Adrian Sanchez. He is the son of Patricia Sanchez and Rodrigo Sanchez. They attend St. Joseph Catholic Church in Macon. He will study pre-med courses and philosophy at Yale University. St. Mary’s salutatorian is Ai Ha. She is the daughter of Kim-Uyen Tran. Ha’s home parish is Our Lady of Vietnam Church in Riverdale. She plans on attending either the University of Georgia or Emory University to study psychology on a pre-med track. 

St. Pius X High School in Atlanta recognizes Julianna Esper as this year’s valedictorian. Her parents are Christine and Gregory Esper. They worship at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation. Esper will be enrolled at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Cate Chandler is St. Pius X’s salutatorian. She is the daughter of Bonnie and Greg Chandler. They are parishioners at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta. Chandler will attend the University of Georgia Honors College. 

On May 30, Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., received the promises of obedience from Eric Baylot, Jacob Butz, Juno Lee and Sean Lee. He blessed their hands with sacred oils and ordained them priests of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.  

Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Church in Norcross overflowed with family, friends and well-wishers including visitors from out of state for the ordination. The Cathedral Choir of Christ the King, accompanied by the Atlanta Symphony Brass Quintet and Timpanist, filled the church with soaring organ music as scores of priests and deacons joined Bishops John N. Tran, Bernard E. Shlesinger III and Joel M. Konzen, SM, for the celebration.  

Called to serve 

In his homily, the archbishop said the men had been called to serve following an initiative first started by God. He said the priesthood is a ministry of humility, as the priests are entrusted with gifts none have earned.  

“You are not the origin of what happens at this altar,” said the archbishop. “You are the instrument.” 

Prayer is the foundation of their service as priests. It is vital to their ministry and without it, the efforts risk becoming fruitless. It is part of the “one integrated life” tying together prayer, obedience and celibacy, he said. 

Bishop John N. Tran, right, kisses newly ordained Father Eric Baylot’s consecrated hands during the priest ordination Mass at Holy Vietnamese Martyrs on May 30. Photo by Julianna Leopold

“A priest who does not pray cannot lead others to prayer,” said the archbishop. “A priest who neglects his own interior life has nothing to give.” 

The four are now part of a larger community linked to brother priests in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. He encouraged them to stay in touch, share life’s tragedies and joys and be concerned for each other.  

“The world does not need heroic Lone Rangers in clerical collars. It needs a fraternity of humble, prayerful and joyful men,” he said.  

Paths to the altar 

For the four, the ritual marked the end of years of discernment, studies, a year spent in parish and in the diaconate.  

Eric Baylot, 30, pursued his vocation after studying theater at the University of Georgia. He grew up in Norcross, worshipping at Mary Our Queen Church. Father Baylot is the son of Michael Baylot and Jeannine Baylot. He has three siblings. He said stepping out to follow his vocation began with “a lot of running amid fear” until he had “powerful prayer experiences” in eucharistic adoration.  

Jacob Butz, 31, left a position as an accountant. Raised in a family of five, Father Butz is the son of Kevin and Karen Butz. He grew up with his siblings in Woodstock. The family worshiped at St. Michael the Archangel Church. While attending Kennesaw State University, he worked as a summer missionary for Life Teen. He said while serving at this camp he first felt the desire from God to serve as a priest. 

Juno Lee, 33, fulfilled his military obligation in South Korea before taking on his childhood desire for the priesthood. He said it was “step by step” guidance by God, shaped by joyful witnesses of priests in Korea, where about 11 percent of the country is Catholic. Father Lee is the son of father Yoon-Su Lee and mother Yu-Kyung Hwang, who live in South Korea. He has two siblings. An encounter years ago confirmed his vocation. As he wrestled with whether to pursue attending seminary, a woman approached him after Mass, and not knowing his inner conflict, encouraged him to “keep your eyes forward and go.”  

Sean Lee, 27, entered seminary after high school. A native of Lilburn, he attended St. John Neumann Church. He grew up in a household led by his parents, Bill Lee and Christine Lee. He is one of three children, with two brothers. During the summer before his freshman year of high school, he attended the Steubenville Youth Conference, where he felt “a gentle nudge in my heart” to consider the priesthood. That feeling never left. After guidance from a close, respected priest, he applied to seminary after high school graduation. Shaped by that experience, Father Lee said he is “particularly passionate about accompanying teens and young people, helping them discover the Lord’s presence in the life of the Church and grow into a living, personal faith.” 

New priest Father Juno Lee gives communion for the first time after being ordained at Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Church on May 30. Photo by Julianna Leopold

First blessings 

Following the ordination, the crowd of well-wishers filled the parish hall to receive first blessings from the new priests. 

Marissa and Steven Couch stood in line to greet their longtime friend Father Juno Lee. Marissa knew him from her work with high school students at St. Brigid Church in Johns Creek. Steven was with him at St. Joseph Seminary College.  

Steven said his former classmate may seem shy, but he is an amazing person who puts others’ concerns at the forefront of his mind.  

“You feel like you’re the only person in the room,” he said.  

At the parish, Marissa saw Father Lee talk to high schoolers, first as an observer and then win their respect when he crushed them playing video games. He carries a lot of joy, and he will deeply “share in the joy of a lot of his parishioners,” she said.  

A group from St. John Neumann Church were on hand to watch their former parishioner, Father Sean Lee, become ordained. The Lilburn parish was hosting his first Mass, which they predicted would be filled beyond capacity.  

Jeffrey Newman, who is attending classes to become a permanent deacon, said one of Father Lee’s gifts is an ability to relate to everyone.  

“He knows how to talk to all of the different ages and bring Jesus to everyone in their appropriate place in life,” said Newman. 

Emily Snipes is the assistant principal at St. John Neumann Regional School in Lilburn. She has known Father Lee since he began altar serving before he was 10. Seeing him ordained felt like witnessing your own child being married, she said.  

The new priest has a vibrant faith that will inspire others, she said. 

“I would not be surprised if he has an impact on bringing more people to the priesthood or the religious life,” said Snipes.

“I’m worried about him driving alone,” my aunt said. 

“Oh, he’ll be fine,” I replied. 

But this did not stop her from positing a list of potential disasters that could unfold on the interstate. The son in question was in his sixties with two grown children of his own, but in my aunt’s eyes, he was still a little fellow running around the house in pajamas with footies. 

My aunt also fretted over her daughter, her grandchildren and great grandchildren—and yours truly. For example, when I was visiting her in Florida, she asked me to fetch a blanket from her bedroom closet. 

As I left the room to do so, she called out, “Be careful! Don’t pinch your fingers in the door.” At that moment, I was 3 years old again, hauling around my favorite stuffed dog.  

Truth be told, I inherited the worry gene myself. When I took my niece, the capable mom of three children, to the airport, I advised her: “Now don’t get lost!”  

For years, I had a worry tucked away in the back of my mind about the devastating loneliness I would endure, should my husband die before me, and in fact, he did. From that tragedy, I learned that sometimes our worst nightmares do come true, but God’s grace will guide us through them. 

I do not have offspring but commiserate with friends whose kids are struggling at school or acting up at home. Like my friends, I sometimes identify with Martha, the quintessential worrywart in the Gospels, who rushes around readying the house for her guest, who is none other than Jesus. 

She goes to Jesus and complains her sister isn’t helping, and he chides her gently, “Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.” 

She might have been surprised when he said her sister, Mary, had “chosen the better part.” After all, Mary was not engrossed in practical matters, but was sitting quietly with Jesus, listening to him.  

It is so easy to become “anxious and worried” when our daily lives are filled with overlapping trials, tribulations and temptations. I find solace in the words of Caryll Houselander, a 20th-century English Catholic mystic and author, who lived through the bombings in London during World War II.  

She wrote: “I was terrified, but I was also perfectly conscious of being held in God’s hands … and there was nothing more to worry about.”  

In a letter, a friend asked Houselander how to stop worrying, and she replied, “The more you say, ‘I must not worry,’ the more you will: I think it is better simply to offer the worrying to God.” 

We can ask God to transform our fretting into a prayer. Just as Jesus offered his suffering on the cross for the redemption of the world, we can give God our mental anguish to help others. 

On the cross, Jesus said, “Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Like him, we can pray, “God, into thy hands I place my friend, my child, my spouse, my neighbor.” 

These are big, loving hands, which shaped the skies, the seas and the stars. Hands that healed the lepers and the blind. Hands that are steering the ship of our lives.  

We can place in these capable hands our worries about our loved ones driving on the highway, getting frazzled when guests arrive and getting their fingers caught in the closet door. 

Juan Pablo Mora Duran, Chrystian Bis, Bryan Lee Roberts and William Charles Whitlow were ordained before family members, clergy, seminarians and parishioners from across the Archdiocese of Atlanta.  

In his homily, Archbishop Hartmayer spoke to the ordained men about the humility required in ministry.  

“I say this as someone who has stood where you are standing,” he said. “There is something sobering about this moment. Something that brings a man face to face with the distance between what he is and what he is being asked to do.”  

The archbishop reminded the men that their future ministry would depend not simply on talent, but on grace.  

“Each of you brings real gifts to this work,” he said. “But the work does not depend on your gifts alone. It depends on God’s grace.” 

Seminarian Juan Pablo Mora Duran walks out of the church as a deacon amid cheers from the congregation after years of study and discernment. Growing up in the Venezuelan countryside, Mora Duran said he first felt his call to the vocation when he was 6 years old. Photo by Julianna Leopold

Many wiped tears as the men lay prostrate before the altar during the Litany of the Saints, and applause filled the church as the men exited as deacons, taking the final step before being ordained as priests next year. 

The liturgy reflected the backgrounds and families of the new deacons. The first reading was proclaimed in Polish to honor Bis’ Polish heritage, while the second reading was proclaimed in Spanish as a nod to Mora Duran’s Venezuelan roots.  

Following the Mass, long lines formed as relatives and friends approached the newly ordained deacons for blessings.  

A childhood call 

Mora Duran, 34, was born in La Grita, Tachira State, Venezuela. He grew up first in the Venezuelan countryside in Rio del Paramo before moving into the city. He later became a cantor and member of apostolic groups at the Basilica del Espíritu Santo Shrine of Santo Cristo de La Grita, a major pilgrimage site in Venezuela. 

Mora Duran said he felt drawn to the vocation when he was only 6 years old and credited his personal experiences as moments that strengthened the call. After his father’s death in 2004, he served as an altar server at his local parish, Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles Church.  

After spending seven years in formation at the St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Palmira, Venezuela, Mora Duran stepped away from the seminary amid rising political tensions in the country.  

“In those moments, I have learned to be honest with the Lord, to listen and to trust him more deeply,” he said.  

He later moved to Colombia where he worked evangelizing youth through a Catholic foundation before eventually discerning a return to formation through the Archdiocese of Atlanta. As a seminarian at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, he shared that prayer before the Blessed Sacrament became central to his spiritual preparation for ordination.  

“Life at the seminary is excellent for me,” he said. “We live to learn more about Jesus Christ and his church while simultaneously experiencing and enjoying God’s love for us.” 

Mora Duran said he looked forward to accompanying people in their daily lives through preaching and sacramental ministry. This summer he will serve at Christ the Redeemer Church in Dawsonville.  

“While I know I can serve as a committed layperson, I feel called to bring God’s grace to others in a sacramental way,” he said. “I desire to be a disciple of Christ who radiates his love not only through my life, but especially through the celebration of the sacraments.” 

Ready to serve a growing community 

Bis, 27, was born in Fort Stewart to Polish parents and was later raised in Gainesville. He shared he discerned his vocation quietly over several years through prayer and Eucharistic adoration.  

“I stewed on it for years in private adoration and reading,” he said. “I decided by the end of college to try turning my life completely in the pursuit of this discernment through joining the seminarian program in Atlanta.” 

Deacon Chrystian Bis joyfully hugs one of the priests during the Kiss of Peace at the transitional diaconate ordination at St. Peter Chanel on May 23.

Bis attended the University of North Georgia and earned a degree in finance before entering the St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Florida. 

His brother, Albert Bis, described the ordination as an emotional and joyful moment for the family, who are parishioners of Prince of Peace Church in Flowery Branch.  

“I feel really overjoyed,” he said. “I’m very blessed that he’s gotten to this. We’ve done everything we can as a family to support him, so I feel very fortunate seeing him do this.” 

Bis described his vocational journey simply as “giving the Lord my trust and going for it.”  

Formation, he said, has taught him the importance of sacrifice and openness in ministry. 

“I learned that service requires a willingness to realize my shortcomings, and to be open to put aside my own desires and comfort to be the minister that the Lord wants me to be,” he said.  

Bis said he is excited to serve the growing Catholic population in Georgia, especially through the sacraments. He will serve at All Saints Church in Dunwoody this summer.  

“The faith is growing rapidly in Georgia,” he said. “Being able to be part of supporting that growth is exciting.” 

Surrounded by zeal for Christ 

Roberts, 30, originally from Boca Raton, Florida, described his vocation as “one of God’s mercy and zeal.”  

After living in Florida for much of his childhood, Roberts moved with his family to Georgia in 2009 and became active at St. Brigid Church in Johns Creek where he was confirmed and remained involved throughout high school. 

Roberts said his relationship with Christ deepened in college through confession and friendships with faithful Catholics.  

“The Lord drew me to himself in college through the sacrament of confession and through zealous followers of Christ,” he said. “As I learned how to pray and serve others in my college community, the Lord kept tugging my heart to serve him.” 

Francisco and Silvia Garduno, parishioners of St. Lawrence Church, kneel before Deacon Bryan Lee Roberts to receive one of his first blessings as an official deacon after the transitional diaconate ordination at St. Peter Chanel Church on May 23. Photo by Julianna Leopold

After graduating college, Roberts served for two years as a FOCUS missionary, accompanying and evangelizing college students. During that time, he said, the Lord confirmed his desire to become a priest.  

Roberts now studies at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. He said one of the most important lessons of formation has been understanding that ministry must flow from a relationship with Christ. 

“During time of formation, I have learned that service and ministry flow from our relationship with our Lord and always brings us back to our relationship with him.” 

Roberts will serve at St. Catherine Labouré Church in Jefferson this summer.  

A strong support system 

Whitlow, 29, a native of LaGrange and parishioner of St. Peter Church, said his vocation has been rooted in learning to listen to God.  

“The beauty of this is the realization that our path to holiness derives from listening to the Lord calling us,” he said.  

Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., smiles at Deacon William Charles Whitlow, left, in the sanctuary at the transitional diaconate ordination at St. Peter Chanel. Archbishop Hartmayer addressed the deacons in his homily, “There is something sobering about this moment. Something that brings a man face to face with the distance between what he is and what he is being asked to do.”

Every stage of life, including challenges and unexpected turns, he shared, became “conduits for grace,” that led him to the priesthood.  

Now studying at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Whitlow said an eight-day silent retreat before his pastoral year became one of the most important moments of spiritual preparation in his formation.  

“Those days and time spent pouring over sacred Scripture were tremendous as it allowed me to unlock the word of God in ways I hadn’t previously,” he said.  

Whitlow said he’s especially grateful to the people across the Archdiocese of Atlanta who supported him during formation. 

“The opportunities to serve on summer assignments, being present for events and receiving so much support over the years has been incredible,” he said. “In the moments of difficulties, it has been recalling the community in Atlanta and the vocation to serve them that has been the greatest support.”  

This summer, Whitlow will serve at Holy Spirit Church in Atlanta.  

The newly ordained transitional deacons left with encouragement as they prepare to serve the archdiocese and its parishioners as future priests. 

“When you open the breviary, you are joining your voice to every priest, deacon, religious and faith person praying at the same time across the world,” Archbishop Hartmayer said in his homily. “You are holding the Church before God in the hours when no one is watching.”

Once a newcomer to the independent Catholic school, with parents whose first language was not English, Seo relates to students who may not be able to lean on parents to help them with classwork. 

The rising senior, whose family heritage is Polish and Korean, brainstormed to create a tutoring program for those lower school students. She wanted to encourage students to turn to her and her friends, especially to guide those whose parents may struggle with speaking or reading English.  

“Notre Dame also has a lot of international students within their lower school, where parents don’t necessarily know the English language,” she said. “The upper school students are able to help with that.” 

Hanna Seo of Notre Dame Academy spends time with younger students after school to help them academically and socially. Seo saw a need to guide the students in the lower grades, particularly those whose parents might struggle with the English language. Photo Courtesy of Notre Dame Academy

She started Bridge by Knowledge as a small project with a handful of lower school students in the spring. In the weekly hour meetings, the young students work with tutors on the classwork where they struggle. Seo said she’s seen academic confidence develop as the students work through the problems.  

“It’s genuinely amazing to see how much they started liking math and English and how much fun they are having all working together,” she said.  

Teachers have seen self assurance grow in young people attending tutoring sessions.  

“Building confidence and enthusiasm around math is such an important first step, and I’m hopeful we’ll continue to see growth as they attend more consistently,” wrote third-grade teacher Kristen Harris in an email.  

With time during the summer to plan the next round of the program, around 18 students have enrolled for the fall already.  

Seo’s work and the service requirements at area Catholic schools seem to put the teenagers in a good position for future success. A recent national survey by Gallup found that community service is associated with confidence and community ties. The data show that young people who engage in service report greater career readiness. 

Building service into life 

Julie Pack, Notre Dame Academy’s service learning coordinator, believes it is key to foster joy in students around community service early and to repeat the experience, so students feel it’spart of their identity, not a box to check. Service starts as early as kindergarten for the 325 students here. Once they reach the upper school, Notre Dame’s requirement is four service projects per year. Each grade works with a nonprofit, taking students from the Atlanta Humane Society and an assisted living center to Rainbow Village, a temporary housing program for families in crisis.  

“We want it to be a part of who they are,” she said. “It’s what God’s called us to do, to love and to serve one another and to truly live the Gospel.” 

Area Catholic schools build service into student life. At St. Pius X High School, the Works of Mercy program asks students to give an hour a month from August to March.  

“When we go out into the world and participate in God’s love through serving others, we come to know the goodness found in each human just as Jesus showed us,” the school’s program states. At Blessed Trinity High School, students are encouraged to give 15 hours to projects serving those most vulnerable and in need, with campus ministry pointing students to the corporal works of mercy, including feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless and burying the dead. 

Asking some 3,000 young people, between 12-25, the Gallup survey found 52 percent said service had a positive impact on feeling prepared for a future career. The survey reported young people felt time aiding others builds confidence in practical skills. They were more likely to rate themselves highly in leadership, communication and teamwork. 

Avery Weaver took on a service project to help Donovan Catholic’s baseball team. He asked Athens businesses to support his project and raised more than $2,000. The project he organized improved the field’s dugouts, batting cage and installed a flagpole. Weaver led a group of five adults and three peers to complete the project. Photo Courtesy of Donovan Catholic

Nearly half of young people with service experience reported feeling confident they can achieve the kind of career they want, compared with one-third of those without service experience, according to the survey. Confidence is even higher among those with greater involvement in service. 

Greater involvement in aiding others is a goal at Athens’ Donovan Catholic High School.  

Theology teacher Lanchus Sexius works with the students so their faith commitment to service also translates into adulthood.  

“If they see a need, whether it’s in their family, in society, then they can fulfill that need. And that’s what service is about,” he said, about his hope for growing a service mindset after the students receive their diploma.  

He has built the program around projects for a semester, rooting them in the corporal works of mercy. The school first models service projects for students as teachers create the project and take students into the community. Starting in 10th grade, students create their own projects, generally one per semester. Students must choose the work, design a project around it, present it for approval, complete it and get verification. 

Sexius said he wants the projects to become meaningful and rooted in Catholic teaching for young people. 

For Seo, service can give young people a feeling of accomplishment because they know they helped someone who needed support, no matter how small the task. 

 “It’s like it feels like a big hug to a person,” she said. “That’s something that they need sometimes.” 

Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., celebrated the anniversary Mass. The celebration marked a milestone generations in the making, one rooted in the vision of Catholics who, in 1951, established a new parish on a hilltop in North Atlanta.

Seventy-five years later, the parish has grown from a fledgling community celebrating Mass in temporary spaces to one of the largest and most established Catholic communities in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

Through decades of change, including the transition from Marist leadership to archdiocesan priests last year, parishioners say the heart of OLA has remained the same.

“What makes this parish community unique is, without question, our people,” said Anne Stephens, parish communications director. “We take care of one another here.”

Founded on May 1, 1951, Our Lady of the Assumption was named mere months after Pope Pius XII formally declared the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Father Paul Burkort, SM, pastor of OLA, is photographed with some of the youngsters receiving first holy communion in November 1969. Photo Courtesy of OLA

Archbishop Gerald P. O’Hara of the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta purchased the original 10-acre tract of land for $50,000, envisioning a parish that would include a church and school for Atlanta’s growing Catholic population.

Before parish buildings were completed, parishioners gathered for Mass at the old Lawson General Hospital near Naval Air Station Atlanta and later in the auditorium of Jim Cherry Elementary School. By 1952, Masses were celebrated in the chapel of the newly opened school, staffed by the Sisters of Mercy.

The original church building opened in 1957 under the leadership of Msgr. Joseph Moylan, OLA’s founding pastor. The parish would later undergo renovations following the reforms by Vatican II liturgical directives before eventually constructing the current church building, dedicated in 2005 by then-Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory.

Stephens’ connection to OLA is deeply personal.

“I grew up here,” she said. “OLA has been woven into every part of my life.”

Stephens began serving as director of OLA’s youth ministry in 1998 before later taking on the role as the parish’s communications director.

Over nearly three decades working at the parish, she witnessed many of the milestones that shaped the community, including the construction of the current church, the opening of the preschool and the growth of Indonesian and Hispanic communities.

Gloria Bartolon and her husband Manuel Roblero of the Latino Community at Our Lady of the Assumption prepare to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption in August 2025. To serve its diverse community members, the parish offers Mass in Spanish and an Indonesian Mass on Sundays. Photo Courtesy of OLA

In 2000, the parish began offering Mass for Indonesian Catholics in the area. The community has become a “vibrant and integral part of parish life,” Stephens said.

After the closing of Our Lady of the Americas Mission in Doraville, OLA added a Sunday Spanish-language Mass in 2007.

“Over the years, the Latino community has brought life and energy to the parish through their deep and reverent faith, active involvement and spirit of celebration,” Stephens said.

The parish’s long history also includes decades of retreats, ministries and service organizations that parishioners say helped define the spirit of OLA. One of the most influential has been Christ Renews His Parish, a retreat program first held in 1980.

“Attendees of that weekend experience renewal in their personal lives that heals brokenness, strengthens faith, creates lifelong friendships and brings people into ministry,” Stephens said.

Stephens credits the retreat in changing her own life.

“I had been that person who snuck out the back door of the church after Mass each week to avoid having to socialize with anyone,” she said. “The weekend changed my life. Within a few months I was teaching seventh grade Sunday school.”

Parishioners take part in the program, Christ Renews His Parish, in 1982 at OLA. The weekend experience helped many heal and strengthen faith. Photo Courtesy of OLA

The retreat eventually led Stephens into parish ministry, where she spent years accompanying young people through confirmation retreats, youth programs and service opportunities. Today, she watches many of those former teens return to OLA as adults raising families of their own.

“One of the greatest joys of serving at OLA for so many years has been watching the young people I once knew in youth ministry return to the parish as adults,” she said. “It’s incredible, and a great blessing, to see these former kids of mine grow into strong, kind, faith-filled adults.”

Bringing people together

Faith being passed down to generations is something that defines OLA, parishioners say.

Stephanie Maddox joined the parish in 2009 with her husband, Nick Maddox. They are now raising their three children in the parish.

“Our church does not have a cry room, and the fact that children are welcome into Mass has shaped our family,” Maddox said. “OLA encourages children to come to Mass, to be part of the family and for the family to worship together.”

Maddox serves in several ministries, including the parish docent ministry, which offers tours of the church and shares the history behind its architecture and sacred artwork.

“My favorite tours are those where long-time parishioners join us,” she said. “They bring their stories from years past to the tour, making OLA’s history accessible and real.”

Some of her most meaningful memories at the parish center around her children’s sacraments, but also moments of grief. Maddox recalled the funeral Mass of a close friend who died from pancreatic cancer in 2022.

“Remembering the entire church filled with the community that rallied behind the family was truly touching,” she said. “It showed the power that God has in bringing people together.”

OLA continues to grow among young families. Father Daniel Ketter, who became pastor in July 2025 after the parish returned to the care of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, described the parish as “growing young.”

Nia Santoyo and Enrique Lopez with their children Grecia and Jessia enjoy time with Father Jim Duffy, SM, the last Marist pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Church. Diocesan priests returned to the Brookhaven parish in 2025 after years of service by the Marists. Photo Courtesy of OLA

“We have more and more young families and young adults joining our parish, which is a huge blessing and gives us confidence about our future and that of the Catholic Church in Atlanta.” Father Ketter said. “These young families and parishioners imbue the parish with a vitality that is palpable.”

He pointed specifically on the crowded 9:30 a.m. Sunday Mass, which is “crawling, literally, with little children.”

Father Ketter acknowledged that the transition from Marist leadership after nearly six decades brought uncertainty for some parishioners. The Society of Mary assumed pastoral care of OLA in 1965 and remained at the parish until June 2025.

“Some understandably have expressed the trepidation they have experienced over losing their beloved Marist fathers,” Father Ketter said. “It certainly helps that both Father Nick Le and I are Marist graduates and have ourselves been formed in the Marist spirit.”

For Father Ketter, “it’s a great honor to be the pastor of our parish as we mark this important milestone.”

As OLA looks toward its next chapter, parishioners say the parish’s greatest strength is its people, which is one that has sustained across the last 75 years.

Looking through decades of parish archives while prepping anniversary Mass materials, Stephens said she was moved by the photographs of parishioners who helped build the foundation of the community long before her time.

“They laid the foundation for the wonderful community that exists today,” she said.

Now, another generation continues the story.

“My hope is that we continue to grow in faith and love, serving God’s people and bringing his light and love into the world in all that we do,” Stephens said.

Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III

In listening to the other excellent speakers who presented that day, they reminded the graduates of the gift that they had received and how they had been given a firm faith and academic foundation to succeed in the future; they were challenged to give gratitude for the investment that their parents had made in their education and life lessons, and to the teachers who had accompanied them. All the speakers highlighted the importance of the students’ journey together and the friendships they had forged.   

In preparing my message for this event and after reflecting upon my own journey following high school, I was drawn toward a question: “What might Jesus say if he were there at the graduation?”  

It is not recorded in the Scriptures that he ever graduated from a program of learning. Of course, Jesus was very familiar with the Scriptures because he attended the synagogue. He was known as the carpenter’s son, so had learned a trade from St. Joseph. The Scriptures say that he was obedient to Mary and Joseph and that he grew in grew in wisdom and stature before God and men. Later, many would refer to him as Rabbi—teacher—as he spoke with authority unlike any other teacher.   

I consulted artificial intelligence with this question about what Jesus might say at a commencement ceremony. My search led me to see that he might say something like, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow” or “In the world you will have problems, but take courage, I have overcome the world.” Jesus might have said, “The greatest among you shall be your servant.”  Most of our journey in life is remembering such core truths. However, the last words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew now ring out more loudly to me, and I hope for them, “Behold, I am with you always until the end of the age.” 

Jesus never journeyed alone while on his earth. He did nothing alone; he did only what he saw his Father was doing. His food was to do the will of his Father. He and the Father were one. His life and mission were rooted in this. He spent himself in service of others, especially accompanying those who will dream of a hope-filled future, but who will face failure and suffering while discovering that they are blessed in their poverty. 

The future for all of us always begins with the presence of the Risen Christ and our personal relationship with him. Either we live a life hidden in Christ or a life lived around him. We never graduate from this challenge for we are reminded at the Eucharist to live through him, with him and in him, lest we live apart from him, separated from the vine that brings life into the branches and produces fruit.  

I don’t know if my words at the commencement will be remembered, however I pray that the grads will never forget that Jesus will get them much farther in life than they can ever imagine.

In the 82-page document, released May 25, the day after Pentecost, the pope also asked forgiveness for the Church’s long tolerance of slavery, and he declared that its “just war theory” was now outdated.

“Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated,” he wrote.

“Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness. The use of force, violence and weapons reflects a relational poverty that always has disastrous consequences for civilian populations,” the pope’s new document said.

The document, signed May 15, marked the 135th anniversary of his namesake’s landmark social encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” which reflected on society, the economy and politics, and ushered in what is now known as the “Social Doctrine of the Church.”

“When some objected that the Church should not waste energy on worldly matters, but instead focus on communicating the message of eternal life, Leo XIII responded with realism and wisdom, saying that the proclamation of the Gospel cannot overlook the concrete lives of people,” Pope Leo XIV wrote.

While his turn-of-the-last-century predecessor focused on the industrial revolution’s impact on the human being and society, Pope Leo looked at the consequences of the digital revolution in the 21st-century and how best to safeguard “the human person in the time of artificial intelligence.”

This is the cover of “Magnifica Humanitas: On the Care of the Human Person in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” the first encyclical of Pope Leo XIV, published May 25. OSV News illustration/Our Sunday Visitor

Pope Leo used nearly the first half of the document to outline the role and development of the church’s social teaching, and why and how it continues to be needed in a world facing both old and new challenges.

“Today, the Social Doctrine of the Church is a legacy of wisdom, where we find principles for thought, criteria for discernment and judgment, and concrete guidelines for action” to “clearly interpret the challenges of the present and identify appropriate ways for living out a clear Christian witness, with joy and in service to the world,” he wrote.

“It is not an inert set of concepts, but a living corpus of truth that safeguards and interprets humanity’s vocation to a full and just life. I therefore wish to add my own voice to this living tradition,” he added.

Listening to and engaging with the wider world, especially those active in the fields of science, technology, academia and politics, he wrote, is crucial to a process of “shared discernment” to identify and heal the spiritual and cultural roots of present-day problems rather than issuing reactive pronouncements or “risk letting the succession of emergencies dictate the direction of our path.”

While the Church is concerned with theological, “anthropological” and social questions, it is also “necessary to establish adequate regulatory tools capable of upholding justice and curbing the distorting effects of technological power,” the pope wrote.

“Nevertheless, the issue is not limited to regulation. As Pope Francis warned, we must realistically ask ourselves who holds this power today and how they use it,” he added.

“Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together,” he wrote. Every generation has the same duty of “guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted and fraternity is made possible.”

While the document was embedded “in a time of artificial intelligence,” it also included a wide gamut of ongoing, lingering ills such as: the exploitation of people and nature; war; the arms race; disrespect for human life; threats to democracy and the common good; discrimination against the poor and women; and new forms of slavery.

“Human trafficking must be recognized as a contemporary form of slavery and a grave violation of human dignity. Failing to respond firmly, or tolerating these practices in any way, is in some way to become complicit in today’s sins, which are akin to those of the past when slavery was being concealed and justified,” Pope Leo wrote.

While the Catholic Church constantly affirmed the dignity of every human being, he wrote, “neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery,” noting it wasn’t until the 19th century “that a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated, notably under Pope Leo XIII.”

“This development offers a clear example of the Church’s growth in understanding the perennial truths of Revelation that she safeguards,” he wrote, “even if it took eighteen centuries for its full incompatibility with slavery to be explicitly recognized.”

“This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached,” he wrote, and “for this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”

It is “a shared responsibility,” he wrote, of all members of the human family to come together and discern “Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as a people and as a human community?”

“The search for the truth in public life, education in the digital environment, the transformation of work, the fragility of families and new forms of slavery are not isolated phenomena,” he wrote. “Rather, they reflect a common underlying issue, namely that if technology becomes the ultimate criterion, the human person risks being reduced to data, a cog in a machine or a commodity.”

“If, however, technology is integrated with a wise perspective, it can become an instrument of growth, justice and fraternity,” he added.

Innovation can genuinely serve integral human development and integral ecology, Pope Leo wrote, “rather than becoming a source of exclusion and dominance.”

Referring often to St. Augustine’s teachings, Pope Leo clearly defined the two “cities” people today must choose to contribute to: either a worldly, selfish land dedicated to building a “Tower of Babel” or a Christian “civilization of love in the digital age.”

He decried today’s “culture of power” that was “normalizing” war, ballooning military arsenals, and fomenting fear and polarization; he reinforced the Vatican’s long-standing opposition to leaving the decision to use lethal force to AI or “to opaque or automated processes.”

The pope also condemned today’s “false realism,” calling it “truly irresponsible” to stoke resignation by pretending war is inevitable and peace and dialogue are “utopian or irrational positions that ignore the risks at stake.”

“In fact, peace is neither a naïve hope nor merely the absence of war; instead, it is always possible as the fruit of justice and charity,” he wrote.

Pope Leo underlined the need for everyone to take responsibility in building a better world by quoting the wizard Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings. The Return of the King.” “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.”

Pope Leo then proposed five paths toward daily and public responsibility: “the need to disarm words; building peace through justice; adopting the perspective of victims; cultivating a healthy realism; and reviving dialogue and multilateralism.”

Fundamentally, he added, what is needed is the Christian view of humanity and understanding of God’s plan for his creation.

“As a believer among believers, I invite everyone to contemplate, in the face of the Son of God, the grandeur of humanity that shines a light also on the era of AI,” he wrote. “In Christ, we are called to cooperate in the work of creation, rather than be disinterested observers of technological processes that limit our freedom and responsibility.”

“The dignity inscribed in each of us by the Holy Spirit can also be seen in our capacity to reflect critically, choose and love freely, and form authentic relationships,” Pope Leo wrote.

“No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil,” he wrote. “Even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history.”

(OSV News)–As the Revolutionary War drew to a close and the 13 former British colonies were being transformed into the United States, American Catholics faced an obvious, urgent challenge: to win the acceptance of their fellow Americans.

Catholics in the new country totaled only about 25,000, with the largest concentrations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Few were rich or influential. Instead, in many places Catholics were targets of contempt, suspicion and persecution. Attitudes and practices transferred to the new world from the European religious wars of the 17th century.

In such circumstances the choice of a leader for the Church in America was of crucial importance. John Carroll–first bishop, later first archbishop in the United States–was the right man in the right place at the right time for this onerous, highly sensitive job.

A member of a wealthy and respected Catholic family, with excellent contacts among America’s political and social elite, Archbishop Carroll proved notably adept at building bridges with the non-Catholic world in a career spanning more than three decades. “A gentleman of learning and abilities,” John Adams, who was to be second president of the United States, said of the young priest in 1776, the year of American independence.

Along with persuading Protestants that Catholics also had a place in America, John Carroll was to tackle the mammoth task of building the infrastructure of the Church from scratch. And in this, too, he proved remarkably successful.

He was born Jan. 8, 1735, at his parents’ plantation in southern Maryland, the fourth of seven children. His older brother, Daniel, was to be one of only five men who signed both the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution. His cousin and lifelong friend, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first U.S. senator from Maryland.

Following early studies in Maryland, young Carroll and his cousin Charles were sent to French Flanders to study at the Jesuits’ College of St. Omer, an institution established to accommodate the sons of well-to-do English-speaking Catholics who had no Catholic schools in their own countries.

In 1753, the 18-year-old entered the nearby Jesuit novitiate in preparation for becoming a priest of the Society of Jesus. He was ordained in 1771.

In the summer of 1773, Pope Clement XIV, under pressure from several Catholic monarchs with whom the Jesuits had tangled, issued a brief suppressing the Society.

Carroll was shocked but, having no other choice, accepted the papal decree. (In later life, he would display a marked preference–which he acknowledged–for ex-Jesuits like himself in filling clerical posts in his sprawling American diocese.) Returning home in 1774, he engaged in pastoral work near what is now Washington, and there established the colonies’ first Catholic parish.

In 1776, the Continental Congress, now in open conflict with the mother country, dispatched a mission to Canada to try to persuade the Canadians to join the struggle against Great Britain.

The members were Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and later justice of the Supreme Court, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Although not formally a member of the group, Father Carroll was asked–and agreed–to accompany it. A priest’s involvement, it was reasoned, would smooth the way with French Canadians.

The effort failed, but Father Carroll’s role strengthened his image among the movers and shakers of his day as a trustworthy and capable figure.

Pope Pius VI in 1784 appointed him ecclesiastical superior of the mission in the United States. (This was the same Pope Pius who in August 1799 was to die in France as a prisoner of the French Revolution. For his part, John Carroll, though a strong supporter of the American Revolution, was disgusted with the extremism and violence of this French version of regime change.)

Four years later, after Rome authorized the priests of the United States–then numbering little more than two dozen–to choose a bishop, the result was predictable: an overwhelming vote for Father Carroll. Pius VI approved the choice and named him first bishop in the United States on Nov. 6, 1789. His new Diocese of Baltimore encompassed the entire territory of all 13 states.

This way of choosing a bishop may seem unusual now, with selection by the pope the norm, but it was common enough in the late 18th century, when direct papal appointment of bishops was rare and local clergy commonly made the choice. Often, too, secular authorities controlled the process–a role the American government declined to play from the start.

In later years Bishop Carroll favored adopting a method like the one used in his selection as the standard for the United States, but in this he had no success. His approach to the question of choosing bishops reflected the balancing act he found necessary to play on this and all other matters–on one hand unshakable loyalty to the pope as the indispensable principle of unity in the Church; on the other the ever-present fear that too much involvement by Rome in local affairs “would draw on our religion a heavy imputation from the government under which we live.”

Similar sensitivity to the pastoral needs of the Catholic community he led can be seen in his support for a vernacular liturgy. Insistence on Latin, he remarked in 1787, may have made sense in response to “insulting and reproachful demands” for the vernacular by early Protestant reformers.

But now, he said, citing the twin problems of illiteracy and a shortage of liturgical books, “to continue the practice of the Latin liturgy … must be owing either to chimerical fears of innovation or to indolence and inattention.” It was another 200 years before Bishop Carroll’s argument prevailed.

Consistent with this attitude, he desired a native-born clergy for the Church in the United States. In 1789 he founded the school that was to become Georgetown University with the aim of training “subjects capable of becoming useful members of the ministry,” and two years later brought French Sulpicians to Baltimore to establish a seminary there.

Inevitably, though, in the Carroll years the small body of priests working in the United States was largely foreign born. Many were committed and effective, but some were eccentrics and troublemakers and a continuing thorn in their bishop’s side.

The same was true of the lay trustees who in a number of places owned the property of parishes and claimed the authority to hire and fire pastors. Archbishop Carroll dealt firmly with the situation, but trusteeism plagued his successors throughout much of the 19th century.

In 1808, recognizing the growth of the Church in the United States, Pope Pius VII created four new American dioceses: Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Bardstown, Ky. Baltimore became the metropolitan archdiocese, and Bishop John Carroll was elevated to archbishop. Two years earlier, in Baltimore, he had laid the cornerstone of the first cathedral in the United States–the Cathedral of the Assumption, today a basilica–with Benjamin Henry Latrobe, architect of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, as its designer.

Archbishop Carroll did not live to see its completion. He died in Baltimore Dec. 3, 1815, and is buried in his cathedral’s crypt. A quarter-century earlier, taking possession of the see, the new bishop lamented that it would no longer be enough for him to be merely “inoffensive in my conduct and regular in my manners.” Instead, he said, his job included not only caring for the faithful of his vast diocese, with “nothing in view but God and your salvation,” but also fostering “charity and forbearance” toward other churches while simultaneously avoiding the “fatal and prevailing indifference which views all religions as equally acceptable to God and salutary to men.”

He got the job done. At the time of his death, the Catholic Church in the United States was growing in numbers (close to 120,000), putting down institutional roots, and at peace with Protestant America.

What neither John Carroll nor anyone else knew or could have known was that the nation then stood on the brink of a vast immigrant influx that would soon bring explosive growth, plus new tensions, to American Catholicism.

This island is a place where you sense God’s presence everywhere. Not that you’ll be jogging down the road and encounter a cluster of angels brandishing trumpets, but the sunrises and sunsets are so dazzling they are like prayers. And the island sounds are a well-orchestrated symphony that opens with the first cheep in the morning and closes with the frog chorus at night. 

There’s also the triumphant call of Mama Osprey returning to her famished babies with a fish clutched firmly in her talons. There’s the whir of tiny wings that announces a hummingbird’s shy approach, and the guffaws of clapper rails, which seemed especially exuberant as we crept by in our boat, the Sea Moose.  

We were pleased to discover there is no stoplight anywhere in town, a nice reminder that this truly is a place of solitude. But we were surprised that during low tide, expanses of oozing, inky black mud were revealed. This is mud that will almost pull you under if you step into a hole. Mud that can ruin a boat trip if your vessel runs aground in it, which we experienced on our first voyage.  

“Sacred writings are bound in two volumes,” wrote St. Thomas Aquinas. Of course there is Scripture, but also the volume on nature, which this island has fattened up considerably. You can glimpse the divine artist in the myriad faces of the island creatures, whether they are showy ibises or modest doves.  

And let me not forget the magnificent frigatebirds, also called “hurricane birds” because they are sometimes swept from their usual locale by the high winds preceding storms. They are black with huge wingspans and large forked tails. According to mythology, they are born in the air and never land, soaring forever above the sea.  

In “Thoughts in Solitude,” Thomas Merton wrote, “The sky is my prayer, the birds are my prayer, the wind in the trees is my prayer.” It takes plenty of prayers to live on Cedar Key, since the closest hospital is 30 miles away, so in an emergency you have to trust the helicopter will get you to the hospital in time. Storms present another tremendous threat with three major hurricanes having battered the island within a 13-month span. 

We certainly prayed our way through rocky waves on our voyages around the island. Still, we ventured out eagerly each day, never knowing what creatures we might encounter. We met sea hares that get their names from their perky ears, a family of frisky otters and two friendly manatees that peered into our boat, as we were having lunch. On other trips, our boat was surrounded by dolphins, so close we could hear their powerful breaths.  

I often imagine myself back on the island again, assuming my role as first mate with Captain Jef at the helm. We are both wearing big straw hats and long-sleeved shirts to fend off the sun. A picnic basket sits nearby, packed with a fine lunch for later. 

In fact, I have not returned to the island since my captain died, but I thank God for how grace-filled my life once was. And I am immensely grateful that I can visit this island again whenever I want, through the sparkling lens of memory. 

Father Wise was born in Peoria, Illinois, to Roy and Mary Frances (Easterwood) Wise on Dec. 1, 1947. He attended St. Boniface Grade School in Lafayette, Indiana. He and his twin brother, Stephen, were altar servers at St. Boniface Catholic Church and assisted in the sacristy after school. Father Wise graduated from Central Catholic High School in Lafayette in 1965 and was a lifelong supporter of the school. He attended Saint Joseph’s College (Seminary) in Rensselaer, Indiana, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Theology. He also attended the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. 

Father Wise served as a religious brother with the Society of the Precious Blood prior to journeying to the priesthood. He served inner-city youth in Cleveland, Ohio, and worked with troubled children while living in Chicago.  

He was ordained a priest by Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan on Dec. 12, 1981, at the Cathedral of Christ the King. His service in the Archdiocese of Atlanta began as a parochial vicar at St. Pius X Church in Conyers. Father Wise also served as assistant pastor at St. Oliver Plunkett Church, Snellville; St. Philip Benizi Church, Jonesboro, and at Corpus Christi Church in Stone Mountain. 

Father Wise’s first pastorate was at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Decatur, from June 1987 to July 2002.  

During his time in Decatur, he took on the role as a foster father to three young men from Ethiopia, who were in danger of being conscripted into the communist army or grabbed by rebel forces in their homeland. With the permission of the archbishop at the time, he accepted what he felt was a call from God to help the family.  

Father Richard Paul Wise

He was first approached by the cousin of the young men on the steps of the church for help with their dire situation. Yamlak, Selam and Agegnehu Tsega, arrived in the United States as teenagers, went to St. Pius X High School in Atlanta, living first with a local family and later at the parish. All three graduated from Xavier University in New Orleans. All three achieved graduate degrees. They were exceptional youths, Father Wise said of them. Parish staffer Lily Turnipseed helped the priest in guiding the teens. 

He then served the community at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Blairsville as its pastor from July 2002 to July 2011. The parish grew greatly during that time, including construction of the parish hall. He dedicated the church’s library room to his mother, Mary Frances Wise.  

He was the pastor of Our Lady of the Mount Church in Lookout Mountain and administrator of St. Katherine Drexel in Trenton from 2011-2013. He retired in 2020 as administrator of St. Gerard Majella Church in Fort Oglethorpe and returned to Blairsville to continue his visits to the sick, to counsel prisoners, celebrate Mass and to help when called upon for weddings and funerals and wherever needed. 

Father Wise’s service to the archdiocese also included taking on the role of assistant director of vocations, and membership on the Priests’ Retirement Board, the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors. He spent 55 years in prison ministry. 

Upon his 25th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood, Father Wise told The Georgia Bulletin he was “overwhelmed with what the Lord has done in my life and through my life, the various gifts that people have received through the priesthood God has given me.” 

He said the priestly ministry brought him to every segment of society “from Death Row through parish life, to working in various cultures and various environments, to being able to speak not only with the movers and shakers, but the outcasts, working with drug-addicted people, the homeless and the poor … that whole gamut.” 

Two keys to his priesthood, he said, were prayer and a sense of humor. 

“You have to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus,” Father Wise said. “If you look at the faults and foibles of the Church, the scandals, the politics, you can lose heart. But if you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, you can handle all that. You learn to repent of your own sinfulness and inadequacies. The more you experience that (forgiveness), the more you are able to share that forgiveness with other people.” 

St. Pius X played a role in his spiritual life. Father Wise prayed at the saint’s tomb in Italy as a young man while discerning a vocation. Within a year, he felt drawn to becoming a priest. After coming to Atlanta, he learned that the archdiocese was under the patronage of St. Pius X and his first parish assignment was at the Conyers church named for the late pope. 

The priest penned his own reflection to be shared upon this death, calling the Catholic Church “a very large tent.”  

“We have many languages, cultures, races, and by the grace of God, we are One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church,” he wrote. “Serving in the Catholic Church has been the greatest gift that God has given me.” 

Father Wise is survived by his sisters Janet Wise and Susan Wise; nephew Joshua and his wife, Amanda, and their children Eloise, Benjamin and Harper; and sister-in-law Patti Whitney-Wise and niece, Lilly Whitney-Wise. He was predeceased by his parents and twin brother, Stephen Wise.  

A viewing will be Wednesday, May 27, from 9 to 11 a.m. at St. Francis Church, 3717 Hwy 515 E
Blairsville. The rite of reception and viewing will be from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28, at the Cathedral of Christ the King, 2699 Peachtree Rd, NE, Atlanta. Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III will preside.  

Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., will celebrate the funeral Mass on Friday, May 29, at 10 a.m., at the Cathedral of Christ the King. Burial will follow at Arlington Cemetery in Sandy Springs. 

The encyclical, the title of which is Latin for “Magnificent Humanity,” was signed by the pope on May 15, the 135th anniversary of “Rerum Novarum,” Pope Leo XIII’s foundational 1891 social encyclical on labor and capital written during the first Industrial Revolution.

In an unprecedented first, Pope Leo XIV will be present in person at the Vatican press conference to mark the publication of the social encyclical, along with a tech founder from one of the world’s fastest growing AI companies.

Christopher Olah, co-founder of the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, which developed the AI large language model (LLM) named Claude, will speak on a panel presenting the document at the Vatican’s Synod Hall on May 25 at 11:30 a.m. local time.

Also joining the panel will be Anna Rowlands, a British theologian specializing in Catholic social teaching who helped organize the Synod on Synodality, and Léocadie Lushombo, a professor of theological ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University. Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, will also take part in the press conference. Pope Leo XIV and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, will give speeches at the end of the press conference.

Pope Leo XIV has expressed interest in the issue of artificial intelligence and the dignity of work since the first week of his pontificate, telling the College of Cardinals days after his election in May 2025 that he took his papal name partly in honor of Pope Leo XIII, whose landmark encyclical “Rerum Novarum” has shaped the Church’s social teaching for more than a century.

“In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor,” Pope Leo XIV said two days after his election.

The first American pope and a former mathematics major, Pope Leo has returned to the subject of AI again and again in speeches, messages and interviews in his first year, leading Time magazine to include him on its 2025 list of the world’s most influential people in artificial intelligence, with the magazine describing him as a spiritual counterweight to Silicon Valley.

Pope Leo has addressed the issue of AI in venues ranging from a sports stadium packed with teenagers, whom he told to use AI “in such a way that if it disappeared tomorrow, you would still know how to think,” to a gathering of legislators from 68 countries, where he insisted that artificial intelligence is a tool meant to serve human beings, not replace them. The pope has also warned priests not to use chatbots to write their homilies and expressed concern for AI’s potential effect on children’s “intellectual and neurological development.”

The pope’s 2026 message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, published in January, has been his most robust document on AI and protecting human dignity to date. In the papal message, he underlined that “our faces and voices are unique, distinctive features of every person” that reveal “a person’s own unrepeatable identity” and that by “simulating human voices and faces, wisdom and knowledge, consciousness and responsibility, empathy and friendship,” AI systems “encroach upon the deepest level of communication, that of human relationships.”

Pope Leo also warned that AI systems “have increasingly taken control of the production of texts, music and videos,” putting “much of the human creative industry at risk of being dismantled and replaced with the label ‘Powered by AI,’ turning people into passive consumers of unthought thoughts and anonymous products without ownership or love.”

“The ability to access vast amounts of data and information should not be confused with the ability to derive meaning and value from it. The latter requires a willingness to confront the mystery and core questions of our existence,” Pope Leo said in a December speech to participants in an AI conference.

“It will therefore be essential to teach young people to use these tools with their own intelligence, ensuring that they open themselves to the search for truth.”

Richardson has served in the archdiocese since May 2012, first as archivist, then director and now as vice chancellor. In her current role, she manages records in all formats across the archdiocese through records reviews, retention schedules, disposition forms, litigation support and training classes. The office also maintains the permanent historical archives for the archdiocese. She will assist Chancellor Deacon Dennis Dorner. 

Richardson answered a few questions about her role by email. Some answers were lightly edited.  

Georgia Bulletin: What is an archivist? What drew you to this work in the Archdiocese of Atlanta?  

Richardson: An archivist is a trained professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves and provides access to historical materials. I found out about the archivist role at the archdiocese from a colleague at an internship. When I was in graduate school at the University of Michigan, I did a summer internship at The Coca-Cola Company corporate archives here in Atlanta, and one of the archivists at Coke was on the Archives Advisory Board for the Archdiocese. They knew I was looking for a new opportunity after having worked as an archives contractor at the Kraft Foods Corporate Archives in the Chicago suburbs for three years. I was ready for a new opportunity, so I applied for the job at the archdiocese and was offered the role after a few interviews.  

Georgia Bulletin: If you were creating an ‘essentials collection’ from the archives to tell the story of the archdiocese, what documents would you curate and why?   

Richardson: Sacramental Registers—Sacramental registers contain the vital records that document church life in the diocese. These document births, confirmations, marriages, deaths for parishioners across the diocese. It also includes the priests’ names who performed these sacraments, creating documentation of who was assigned where and when.  

Arch/bishops Correspondence—The correspondence collections for our bishops and archbishops contain incredible details of church business, parish life and their personal lives. It’s fascinating to see what opinions were shared or how decisions were made as well as who corresponded with whom.   

Board Minutes—I know it doesn’t sound exciting, but the minutes of various boards, committees and councils are actually quite fascinating. Not only do you get to see who served on what committees, but you also see the debates that led to various decisions throughout the diocese’s history. Many topics may be discussed for several years before the committee decides on a policy or on moving ahead with a new parish or school.  

The Georgia Bulletin—Our diocesan newspaper is invaluable when it comes to researching the history of the diocese, and the photo collections are also fantastic. It’s an excellent resource for anyone to use, especially now that the newspaper has been fully digitized.  

Georgia Bulletin: For parishioners who may not be familiar, what’s a vice chancellor? How will your role change?   

Richardson: I was specifically appointed as the Vice Chancellor for Archives and Records to be canonically responsible for managing the official records and archives of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. While I was already responsible for those things as the director, being appointed as vice chancellor makes it a canonical role in addition to an administrative one. I’ll have some additional duties related to corporate governance, such as acting as Assistant Corporate Secretary, and I’ll serve on a few more committees than I did previously, but for the most part my role as far as interactions with employees or the public will remain the same. The title change is more about solidifying the impactful role of the Office of Archives and Records and rewarding the incredible progress it has made over the last 15 years in becoming one of the premier diocesan archives and records programs in the United States.   

Georgia Bulletin: What’s something some people may be surprised to learn about you?  

Richardson: I’m actually in the archives. After then Archbishop Wilton Gregory left to serve in Washington, D.C., our volunteer Phil Mooney, the former head of the Coca-Cola Archives and my internship supervisor, was organizing Archbishop Gregory’s collection and discovered a thank you card written and drawn by an 9-year-old Angelique congratulating then Bishop Gregory on his appointment as Bishop of Belleville (Illinois), which is where I grew up. I have no memory of creating it, but my entire Catholic grade school class must have sent in cards as I found several from my classmates as well. Very cool to see Cardinal Gregory held on to them for more than 25 years! Fun fact: Bishop Gregory also performed my confirmation.  

Inside the school’s band room, trumpet players blasted sharp notes while drummers struck snares and cymbals. Feet tapped to the beat as eyes focused on sheet music.   

For Jeff Simpson, the Atlanta school’s music and band teacher for 26 years, the rehearsal reflected years of growth in a program that has become one of the school’s defining offerings.   

“There was no band room when I arrived,” he said.   

Instead, the music program operated out of a small classroom space where the school office now stands. At the time, students played recorders in third and fourth grade.   

The program was transformed after Patty Childs, former principal and current superintendent of schools for the archdiocese, secured a $1 million grant to designate band and music rooms, and expand access to instruments for students.   

“Since then, the whole atmosphere changed,” Simpson said.   

Today, dozens of student musicians play instruments ranging from saxophone and flute to electric guitar, keyboard and tambourine as part of the program.   

Students rehearse twice a week and regularly perform at school and community events, including an annual appearance at an Atlanta Hawks’ game at State Farm Arena. In February, 53 middle schoolers took part in the opening performance before the Hawks’ game. Simpson said it was the school’s sixth year to participate.   

“It’s a middle school privilege,” he said. “We get four minutes. It’s nerve-wracking, but it’s always an amazing time.”   

At this year’s game, students performed Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk,” which has become a favorite song among the band members.   

Eighth-grader Caroline Mouledous, who plays flute, said the program and its teacher encourage students to explore music beyond the classroom.   

“He listens to our song recommendations, and then we all get to learn new songs. It encourages us to go home and practice songs that we haven’t heard before,” she said about Simpson’s leadership.  

Eighth-grade student Sienna Lamarsh, who plays trumpet, said Simpson’s enthusiasm has helped students grow closer while improving as musicians.   

“It’s an amazing opportunity (to be in Simpson’s class) because as you get older, you get so much better,” she said. “It’s so fun being in here and hearing everyone play together.”   

Mouledous shared that band has helped students form tightknit friendships as well.   

“You make new friends here,” she said. “We create close bonds while learning to play an instrument together. It’s a fantastic experience.”   

About 100 students participate in the program, which lays a foundation for students to pursue band in high school. Several St. Jude alums have enjoyed continued success in music including Averie Bielski, country singer and songwriter in Nashville for Sony Music; and Zoe Leiner, a senior at St. Pius X High School. Leiner worked her way to the drum major role for the marching band there, and she plans to be part of her college marching band.  

Simpson said creating a positive environment is central to the program’s success. After strong rehearsals, students are rewarded with gummy bears—a classroom tradition students love.   

“That’s what I love about my job, that we love music,” Simpson said. “We pass that love on to the kids, but we also love God and Catholic faith. And so, we pass that onto them, too.”   

Simpson and fine arts faculty member Sabrina Lively encourage the students to participate in band, choir and theater, rather than limiting themselves to one discipline.   

“We really work out our schedules to make sure that kids can do multiple things,” Lively said. “Because the truth is, how do you pick a band instrument or a musical show? You shouldn’t. Not at this age.”   

Lively, who leads the middle school drama elective and choir program, said many of the band students typically act in leading roles due to their growth in confidence. In March, Mouledous performed in the play “Aladdin.”   

The mix of programs has helped students discover self-expression and creativity.   

“There’s so much joy that you can create in music,” Lively said. “And I think that is the best way to sum up really what our program is about.”   

After nearly three decades at St. Jude the Apostle School, Simpson said the program is ultimately about having fun and watching students discover joy through music.   

“I’m so blessed that I have these kids that are so inspired,” he said.   

Pastors and administrators

• Father Tri John-Bosco Nguyen is appointed rector and pastor of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Atlanta.
• Father Bryan Joseph Kuhr is appointed pastor of Our Lady of the Mountains Church, Jasper.
• Father Paul Matthew Nacey is appointed administrator of Sacred Heart Church, Milledgeville, and as chaplain to the campus Catholics of Georgia College and State University.
• Father Fabio Alvarez Posada is appointed administrator of Our Lady of the Americas Church, Lilburn.
• Father Luis Guillermo Cordoba Isaza, pastor of Our Lady of the Americas Church, Lilburn, is granted a temporary leave of absence.
• Father Juan Carlos Villota Viteri is appointed administrator of St. Paul Church, Cleveland.
• Father Michael A. Garcia, a priest to be incardinated in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, is appointed pastor of St. Joseph Church, Marietta.
• Msgr. Nestor Yulfo-Hoffman, a priest of the Archdiocese of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is appointed administrator of St. Michael Church, Gainesville.

Parochial vicars

• Reverend Mr. Jacob Christopher Butz, upon ordination to the priesthood, is appointed parochial vicar of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta.
• Reverend Mr. Sean Michael Lee, upon ordination to the priesthood, is appointed parochial vicar of Holy Spirit Church, Atlanta.
• Reverend Mr. Juno Jasper Lee, upon ordination to the priesthood, is appointed parochial vicar of St. Peter Chanel Church, Roswell.
• Reverend Mr. Eric Nathanial Baylot, upon ordination to the priesthood, is appointed parochial vicar of Prince of Peace Church, Flowery Branch.
• Father Pete Angus Coppola is appointed parochial vicar of St. Jude the Apostle Church, Sandy Springs.
• Father Ahn Tuan (Joseph) Nguyen is appointed parochial vicar of Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Church, Norcross.
• Father Luis Simon Gallardo, a priest of the Archdiocese of Morelia, Mexico, is appointed parochial vicar of Joseph Church, Dalton and St. Toribio Romo Mission, Chatsworth.
• Father Calixto Salvatierra Moreno is appointed parochial vicar of St. Francis of Assisi Church, Cartersville.
• Father Jaime David Rivera Cortijo is appointed parochial vicar of Good Shepherd Church, Cumming.
• Father Michael Karl Bremer is appointed parochial vicar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Carrollton, with assistance to campus Catholics at the University of West Georgia.
• Father Jorge Isaac Camas Molina, CJM, a priest of the Provincia Eudista Minuto de Dios, is appointed parochial vicar of Our Lady of the Americas Church, Lilburn.

Chaplains

• Father Timothy Michael Hepburn is appointed chaplain to the campus Catholics of Georgia Tech, Atlanta.
• Father Branson Hipp is appointed chaplain to the campus Catholics of Emory University, Emory/Oxford College and Agnes Scott College.
• Father Evan Michael Glowzinski is appointed full-time chaplain of Blessed Trinity High School, Roswell.

The archbishop expresses his gratitude to the following priests:

• Msgr. John P. Walsh, who retires as a senior priest after many years of faithful service in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
• Msgr. Albert Jowdy for his faithful service as administrator of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus following the death of Father John Howren, pastor of the basilica.
• Father Balappa Selvaraj, who retires as a senior priest after many years of faithful service in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
• Father John Boll, OP, for his many years of service in campus ministry.

Additional priest assignments will be announced at a later date.

The Kennesaw school holds the end-of-year event to kick off the summer season. Students come dressed in custom t-shirts representing their classroom and rotate between activity stations in the morning.

Children darted from station to station, with laughter ringing out as they called to their friends and chased shimmering bubbles drifting in the air.

At one table, youngsters sat patiently as volunteers painted bright swirls of color on their cheeks. Flowers, butterflies and unicorns decorated many of the girls’ faces, while the boys sported superheroes and sports-themed artwork.

Karen Pickens, preschool director, said the celebration was made possible through funds raised during the school’s annual Move-a-thon, a tumbling course event for students.

“The Spring Fling is just the most fun for our kids,” Pickens said. “I love seeing them so happy.”

Other stations had students spinning hula hoops for as long as they could, while nearby classmates sketched rainbows and stick figures in chalk on the ground.

A small train carried riders around the lot, while other youngsters jumped rope, lifted a parachute into the air and raced through inflatable obstacle courses with friendly competitions.

Families gathered on the sidelines and watched as the kids played. Members of the Knights of Columbus Council supported the celebration by grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, turning the event into a full community gathering.

The College of Ministers and Laity consist of three groups: the MLK Jr. Board of Preachers (clergy), the MLK Jr. Board of Sponsors (for lay leaders) and the MLK Jr. Collegium of Scholars.

Leah Creque-Harris, second from right, a Morehouse College faculty member and parishioner of Christ Our Hope Church, Lithonia, was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars. One of three Atlanta Catholics honored, she is shown with her daughter, Reva Harris of Atlanta; her sister, Dr. Halimena “Monte” Creque Williams of St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Rev. Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., founding dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel.

Father Desmond Drummer, the pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church, Atlanta, was inducted into MLK Jr. Board of Preachers. He is also a graduate of Morehouse College. Dr. Leah Creque and Dr. Monique Earl-Lewis were inducted into the MLK Jr. Collegium of Scholars. Both serve as faculty members at Morehouse College.

Dr. Creque is a member of Christ Our Hope Church in Lithonia, where she serves as a lector. In the past, she’s led the stewardship committee, been a choir member and served on the Altar Guild.

Dr. Earl-Lewis worships at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Atlanta.

 The Collegium of Scholars celebrates its members for their commitment to research, teaching, mentoring, and social responsibility in the spirit of Dr. King. This was the last class to be inducted under the founding dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr. He is retiring after serving 47 years as the dean.

“Go to the margins,” Archbishop Hartmayer said. “You know what it is like to come from a family that crosses borders, that speaks two languages, that carries the faith from one world to another. Many of the people you serve will carry those same stories. Meet them there. Franciscan poverty is not only material; it is a poverty that creates space for others to encounter God.”  

Principal concelebrants were Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv.; Vicar Provincial Friar Gary Johnson, OFM Conv.; Prefect of Formation Friar John Koziol, OFM Conv. and Blessed Sacrament Pastor Friar Vincent Rubino, OFM Conv. Rev. Mr. Michael Pray of the Diocese of Springfield served as deacon. Music was provided by members of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Burlington, North Carolina.   

“Ordained in the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose 800th anniversary of his transitus into heaven we commemorate this year, Friar Edgar embraces a priesthood rooted in humility, fraternity and joyful service, offering his life so that others may encounter the mercy and love of Christ,” Friar Heine said.  

The son of Maribel and Manuel Varela, Friar Edgar was born in Phoenix. He has four siblings: Yessenia, Erica, Sergio and German, and several nieces and nephews. Friar Edgar was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Loyola University in Chicago and earned Master of Divinity from The Catholic University of America. Friar Edgar served his diaconal ministry at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee, Massachusetts.  

“It is a great blessing for me to receive the ministry of priesthood,” Friar Varela said. “I receive this gift, not just for myself, but considering that it is for the Church. Through this ministry, I hope to bring Christ’s presence, love and mercy to all, and most especially to the forgotten, the exiled, and the outcasted. Please pray for me as I begin this wonderful ministry as a Franciscan friar-priest. Let us together pray for more vocations to religious life and priesthood. Peace and all good.”   

Conventual Franciscan Postulants Joshua Callada, Andrew Chamiec, Craig Chircop, Adan Orellana, Lourenz Salvador and Jacob Polinski were the servers for Friar Edgar’s ordination.  

“Be joyful,” Archbishop Hartmayer concluded. “Francis sang. He laughed. He called the sun his brother and the moon, his sister. The world already has enough grim religion. Give them joy. The joy of the resurrection. The joy of the Gospel. The joy of a man who has found the one thing necessary and given everything for it.” 

Bishop Joel M. Konzen, SM

The baseline understanding of leading something out of ourselves is that we have used our time, in school and elsewhere, to amass a certain store of knowledge and experience that is useful in the tasks we are asked to perform, but also useful in the mental exercises we undertake, chief among those being prayer. 

The challenge in an age of screen dependence, reflected in an average of seven hours a day for Americans looking at a phone or a computer, is how to maintain a vigorous interior life, fueled especially by meditation and contemplative prayer, with so much media input and so little call or time for spiritual output. One measure reveals that American spend about five minutes a day in prayer, for an average of 27 minutes a week on another scale. Good news: if you’re attending Mass and truly praying, you’ve already got that average beat. 

What do I mean by a vigorous interior spiritual life? I mean time spent in silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament or in a favorite prayer location where your mind can be allowed to concentrate on making a connection with God. I mean, too, time spent in organized prayer, such as the Liturgy of the Hours, in such a way as to invite prolonged meditation on the words and phrases and invocations that you are reciting. 

Growing up, I used to watch my aunt, who was mildly developmentally disabled, go through her evening prayers on numerous prayer cards that were stuffed into her hulking prayerbook. I can’t speak for the quality of her meditation on each, but I do know that she loved watching television, which she would not permit herself to do until she had finished her evening rosary and run through her well-used prayer cards. Having that kind of discipline is necessary for us today, when we have so many more electronic distractions vying for our attention. 

Although Lent is past, we can always benefit from a fast. Sister Nancy Usselmann, FSP, has written a slim volume entitled “Media Fasting: Six Weeks to Recharge in Christ.” In it, Sister Nancy doesn’t view our media options as objects of scorn but rather as something we need to use in a sensible proportion, just as we would with ice cream or dining in restaurants. With various social media streams in mind, the author proposes a range of possible fasts designed to return media use to a proportion that does not crowd out the life in Christ that we Catholics say we’re committed to. If you want to and can completely swear off the use of media that you have deemed a waste of time, you will no doubt rejoice at your newfound priorities. If you are only looking to inject some discipline into your media use, then design the means to keep in check your time on your phone and your other digital enticements. 

In his “Introduction to the Devout Life,” St. Francis de Sales writes, regarding ‘Pastimes and Recreations,’ “Above all … you must take particular care not to become absorbed in such amusements. No matter how innocent some kind of recreation may be, it is wrong to set heart and affections on it.”  

If we honestly assess our degree of dependence, we might have to conclude that a portion of our heart has been given over to our digital occupations that rightly belongs to God. Putting it back into the right order is urgent business.