Sarah White was born in Augusta on June 12, 1931, to Frank M. and Mary (Dorr) White. Sister Sally celebrated her 75th anniversary as a Grey Nun of the Sacred Heart in 2024.   

Growing up in Atlanta, sister attended Christ the King School and graduated from Christ the King High School in 1949. She received a Bachelor of Science in English from D’Youville College, Buffalo, New York in 1957, a Master of Education in Administration from the University of Georgia (1968) and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University, New Orleans (1988). She held teaching certification in New York and Georgia and was a certified chaplain in the National Association of Catholic Chaplains.   

Sister Sally influenced the lives of countless young people and adults over the years of her ministry. She taught for four years at Holy Angels School in Buffalo and for 20 years in Atlanta, at Christ the King, St. Pius X High School and St. Jude the Apostle School, where she served as the first principal.  

Later she began ministry as a chaplain at St. Joseph Hospital of Atlanta (1988-2009), where she had a special care for patients and families dealing with cancer. Her ministry within the congregation included elected membership on the administrative board (1971-75); and as initial formation director and vocation director (1978-80). 

Students, parents, faculty members, colleagues, patients and staff experienced the warmth of her Southern hospitality as well as her passion for fairness and respect for every person. Her commitment to contemplative prayer was strong, and she taught everyone never to lose hope in God’s ability to bring light into dark times. Greeting almost everyone as “Darlin’” with her inimitable Georgia draw, she witnessed in classroom, office, chapel and hospital room to God’s love. 

Sister is predeceased by her parents, her sister, Dr. Dorothy Sherrer, and her brothers Dr. William (Bill) and Dr. Francis (Frank) White. She is survived by her religious congregation, and by many devoted nieces and nephews. 

The visitation will be at 9:30 a.m., a sharing of memories at 10 a.m. and funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 13 in the Medical Mission Chapel, 8400 Pine Rd, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Donations in her memory may be made to the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, 928 Jaymor Rd., Suite C-120, Southampton, PA 18966 or at www.greynun.org. Arrangements by Beck-Givnish Funeral Homes.  

An Atlanta memorial Mass for Sister Sally will be at St. Jude the Apostle Church, 7171 Glenridge Drive, Sandy Springs, on Thursday, May 21 at 10 a.m. with a reception to follow. 

“Peace be with you all,” the newly elected Pope Leo said.

Peace would become perhaps the most visible theme of his first year, as war flared in the Middle East and Pope Leo became a persistent and sometimes lone voice of moral authority for restraint and dialogue. But the eight-minute speech that followed also contained many of the other major themes of his early pontificate: a vision of “a united Church,” theological rootedness in St. Augustine, the pope’s missionary heart and a prioritization of God above all else.

One year on, the first words with which Pope Leo chose to introduce himself to the world merit a close reading.

‘God loves you all and evil will not prevail’

Not only was “peace” the very first word of Pope Leo’s pontificate, but it was one of the most used words in his first speech. He highlighted “the peace of the Risen Christ” that “comes from God, God who loves us all unconditionally.”

“Peace,” however, was not Pope Leo’s only most frequently used key word that day. That distinction belongs to “God” and other references to the Trinity. “The world needs his light,” he said of Jesus.

Pointing the world to God is a priority that Pope Leo has since felt compelled to clarify to journalists who sought to frame his papacy in political terms. His primary focus, he said, is not politics, but God, the source of peace. “The message of the Church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers,” he emphasized to journalists traveling with him in April.

From the loggia May 8, 2025, he told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square that “God loves us, God loves you all, and evil will not prevail.”

“Christ goes before us. The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as the bridge that can lead us to God and his love,” Pope Leo added.

Over the year that followed, Pope Leo put significant effort into elevating the signs of faith–he offered more than 65 public Masses, carried the Eucharist in procession through the streets of Rome on the feast of Corpus Christi, and then carried the cross for two key events: first through a crowd of 1 million young people during the Jubilee of Hope, and then through the darkness of night for all 14 Stations of the Cross on Good Friday in the Colosseum.

Pope Leo XIV carries the Jubilee Cross as he walks to the altar before the start of a prayer vigil with young people gathered in Tor Vergata in Rome Aug. 2, 2025, during the Jubilee of Youth. Pope Leo carried the cross himself April 3 through all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum on the first Good Friday of his pontificate. CNS photo/Lola Gomez

He also leaned into personal acts of devotion. The pope noted in his first speech that he had been elected on the feast of Our Lady of Pompeii, and he invited everyone to pray a Hail Mary with him. His first year included several papal pilgrimages, from Genazzano, Italy, where he prayed before Our Lady of Good Counsel, to the ancient site of Hippo Regius in Algeria, where St. Augustine once served as bishop.

Pope Leo has now chosen to mark the anniversary of his election with a pilgrimage to the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii, where he will offer yet another public papal Mass.

‘A united Church’

From the loggia, Pope Leo outlined his vision for the Church in a cascade of descriptive phrases: “a missionary Church,” “a Church that builds bridges,” “a synodal Church,” “a Church that always seeks peace,” “a faithful Church of Jesus Christ.” But the very first descriptor he used to articulate his vision for the Church was “a united Church.”

At Pope Leo’s inauguration Mass, he went on to say, “Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.”

Twelve months on, it is clear Church unity has continued to be a key goal for the first American pope. Pope Leo has gone conspicuously out of his way to avoid isolating many theological or political factions within Catholicism. He has moved slowly in his handling of the Roman Curia, choosing not to rapidly overturn his predecessor’s key prefect appointments or signature decisions. And he has cited not only his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis, but he has also frequently quoted Popes Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II.

The results of Pope Leo’s prudence, at least by one measure, appear to have landed. According to recent polling, Pope Leo has emerged as one of the most popular Americans in the world. His focus on Church unity has also extended to ecumenical outreach from praying with the King of England in the Sistine Chapel to standing side by side with Orthodox leaders marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

‘A disarmed peace and a disarming peace’

Pope Leo defined the “peace of the Risen Christ” that first spring evening as “a disarmed peace and a disarming peace, humble and persevering.” The phrase captures both the content of what would go on to be some of Pope Leo’s strongest statements, such as “lay down your weapons” as the pope’s home country launched a war in Iran, as well as the pope’s style of communicating his peace message, “humble and persevering.”

But even before the Iran war began, Pope Leo prayed publicly for peace at nearly every Sunday Angelus or Regina Caeli address throughout the year: for “an authentic, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine, for relief from “a dire humanitarian situation in Gaza,” and for an end to violence in Myanmar, Nigeria, Haiti and many other parts of the world, frequently invoking Mary under her title Queen of Peace.

The theme reached its most concrete expression during his apostolic journey to Africa, where Pope Leo presided over a peace meeting in Bamenda, Cameroon, a region scarred by ongoing conflict, and where, on the papal plane, he pointedly responded to harsh words from U.S. President Donald Trump by saying “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

A ‘son of St. Augustine,’ a missionary at heart

Two aspects of Pope Leo’s personal identity emerged unmistakably in that first speech. When he finally spoke of himself, about halfway through his address, he did not begin with his nationality or other biographical information. He identified himself with his religious order and spirituality as “a son of St. Augustine,” an Augustinian friar who had given decades of his life to missionary work in Latin America.

“‘For you I am a bishop, with you I am a Christian,'” he said, quoting St. Augustine directly in the first of many such citations of the fifth-century doctor of the Church frequently woven into his speeches and writings throughout the year, from invoking the “City of God” in a meeting with an African dictator to addressing young Catholics in Chicago via video message.

His missionary identity has shone in his first year through his linguistic range, delivering speeches, homilies and Masses in Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese, in addition to his native English, and offering greetings in Arabic and even Kimbundu, a language spoken in Angola. His very first speech gave a preview of this as well when the pope broke into Spanish to offer a warm greeting to the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, where he had served both as a missionary and as a bishop.

What the first speech did not reveal

Not everything was foretold on the loggia.

Pope Leo spoke in Italian, then Spanish, but notably offered no word of English, and no acknowledgment of his American roots. That reticence was reflected, in part, throughout his first year, in which he did not visit the United States, did not meet the American president, and appeared, at first, to be deliberately careful about wading into American domestic politics until the U.S. president criticized him by name.

American Catholics, for their part, were not so restrained in their enthusiasm–sending him Chicago pizza, custom White Sox jerseys and pumpkin pie. And as the year went on, Pope Leo appeared to begin to recognize the singular reach that comes with being the first native-born English speaking pope in the 21st century: a statement in English outside Castel Gandolfo or aboard the papal plane can land on every major news outlet around the world within the hour.

Pope Leo’s first speech notably omitted any reference to technology, artificial intelligence or Catholic social teaching, an interest that he revealed later in his first week when he explained why he had chosen the papal name Leo as a reference to Pope Leo XIII, the pope who addressed the upheavals of industrial capitalism in the landmark social encyclical “Rerum Novarum.”

The first encyclical from Pope Leo XIV, addressing artificial intelligence ethics, is now widely anticipated as the defining document of the start of the second year of his pontificate.

(OSV News)–In many ways, Father Michael J. McGivney was just one more of that band of hardworking Irish American priests who spent themselves building up the church in America in the latter years of the 19th century. But in one truly extraordinary respect, he was unique: Before he was 30, Father McGivney had founded what was to become the largest Catholic men’s organization in the world: the Knights of Columbus.

That happened, largely unnoticed, in early February 1882 in New Haven, Connecticut, in the basement of St. Mary’s Church. The young curate had assembled 80 Catholic laymen–Irish Americans like himself–who voted to launch the new group. No one, least of all Father McGivney, suspected that 144 years later the Knights of Columbus would grow to be an international body of around 2 million Catholic men and a powerful force for good.

“Father McGivney is too modest to assume to himself any honor,” one of his lay associates later said. “But if this Order succeeds … the honor as its founder will be his.” History seconds that judgment.

The parish priest’s contribution to the United States was recently highlighted when St. Mary–where Father McGivney’s remains are interred–was chosen to host the May 18 Pentecost Vigil Mass that served as the launch for the eastern route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.

However, Father McGivney’s achievement is best appreciated in the context of 19th century Catholic immigration to the United States, including especially the newcomers’ sometimes desperate struggle to survive and flourish in the face of nativist hostility. The collision of these two powerful forces–immigration and anti-Catholicism–was central to much that happened in American Catholicism in those years.

In 1820, the Catholic population of the United States numbered only a modest 120,000. Then the great explosion began. Over the half-century that followed, 2.7 million Catholic immigrants poured into the country. By 1900, there were 12 million American Catholics–a hundred-fold increase.

Not all of the immigrants came from Ireland, but many did. Their numbers rose rapidly–52,000 in the 1820s, 171,000 in the 1830s, 656,000 in the decade that followed, more than a million in the 1850s. The first of the Irish were relatively well-off and mostly Protestant. But by mid-century, with Ireland in the grip of famine and dire poverty, the newcomers were overwhelmingly Catholic and poor.

They struggled to put down roots, and in time they succeeded. In a sermon in 1871 Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore, the Irish American leader of the U.S. bishops, hailed the Irish diaspora as an expression of God’s plan that the Irish play an important role in “the establishment and prosperity of the greatest Republic in the world.”

In 1834, an Ursuline convent outside Boston was burned to the ground by an angry mob. In the years that followed, anti-Catholic, anti-Irish violence flared in other cities. Launching a new anti-Catholic group in 1842, Protestant ministers summed up widely-held sentiments in declaring Catholic principles to be “subversive of civil and religious liberty.” When priests like Michael McGivney sought to promote the interests of their church and their people, they had their work cut out.

Father McGivney was born Aug. 12, 1852, in Waterbury, Connecticut, the oldest of 13 children of an immigrant couple named Patrick and Mary Lynch McGivney. Six of his brothers and sisters died in infancy or childhood. His father worked in a Waterbury brass mill.

A quick learner, young Michael felt an early attraction to the priesthood and prepared for the seminary. Following studies at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, he was ordained in December 1877 by Archbishop (later Cardinal) Gibbons. His first assignment was at St. Mary’s in New Haven.

There he became convinced that a benevolent organization for Catholic men was required as a means of providing their families with financial support in times of need while also keeping the men themselves out of the clutches of anti-Catholic secret societies. The priest and his lay associates explored various options, including establishing a local branch of some already existing group. Eventually, though, they decided to launch a brand new organization–a “cooperative benefit order” to be called the Knights of Columbus.

The choice of that name was significant. “Columbus” was a response to bigots who sought to deny Catholics a place in America–a verbal reminder that it was a Catholic, Christopher Columbus, who had discovered America in the first place. “Knights” was an affirmation of members’ chivalrous loyalty to the church in the face of anti-Catholic, anti-Irish sentiment.

The young priest accepted the office of secretary in the new group, though later he took the less time-consuming post of supreme chaplain. In his book “Faith and Fraternalism: The History of the Knights of Columbus,” church historian Christopher J. Kauffman notes in the early days the Knights’ leaders “confronted severe criticism, experienced deep disillusionment and seriously doubted the value of their efforts.” He credits the group’s survival to Father McGivney’s “persistence and optimism.”

Two years after the founding, Father McGivney was named pastor of St. Thomas Church in Thomaston, Connecticut. Responsibility for a second parish also came with the job. Working alone, he carried a backbreaking pastoral load while managing to stay active in defending and promoting the Knights. Never physically robust, in January 1890 he contracted pneumonia. His health declined during the following months, and on Aug. 14 he died. He was only 38. His funeral and the burial in his hometown of Waterbury were major public events.

The process that could one day lead the church to recognize Father McGivney as a saint formally opened in 1996. In 2020, he was beatified at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hartford, Connecticut, after the Vatican confirmed a healing miracle through his intercession.

And little short of miraculous has been the growth of the Knights of Columbus itself. Overwhelmingly Irish in the early days, the 2 million Knights today are an ethnically and racially diverse body, with members in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, the Caribbean, Central America and lately Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania.

Meanwhile, their material success fuels an impressive program of charity and good works. At the national and international levels, the group gives away millions of dollars every year, including several million annually to the pope and the Holy See. At all levels, the Knights of Columbus is a major source of financial and human support for countless good causes.

From the start, patriotism has been a major part of the K of C program. In fact, it’s the special theme of the group’s Fourth Degree–those men with berets and swords who are a highly visible presence at numerous church events. According to Kauffman, this emphasis on patriotism is a reminder that the group in its early days “provided first- and second-generation immigrants a ‘rite of passage’ into American society” and is “a classic instance of a minority’s drive to assimilate.”

Undoubtedly true. Yet in recent years people familiar with the group have sensed a change, with fidelity to Catholic beliefs and values increasingly causing the Knights of Columbus to take a countercultural stance toward secular culture. This is especially true on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage, where their strongly held commitment to human life makes the Knights an important part of the pro-life movement and their support for traditional marriage places them in opposition to other versions.

It seems likely Father McGivney would have expected no less of his Knights.

Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., has announced that the diocesan consecration for the Archdiocese of Atlanta will be at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, June 12 at 7 p.m. Due to limited space at the basilica, the archbishop encourages pastors and chaplains to celebrate the consecration at their local parish churches and chapels. The basilica is at 353 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus grew from the revelations of the Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century. During the second revelation, he instructed Margaret Mary to receive Communion on every first Friday for nine consecutive months, as well as to prostrate herself before the Blessed Sacrament for one hour during the night between Thursday and Friday each week. Upon the third revelation, the Lord proclaimed his desire for the institution of a feast to his Most Sacred Heart, which would bring the devotion into the Church’s common and universal practice.

Nearly two centuries later, Pope Pius IX instituted the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1865, to be observed on the second Friday after Trinity Sunday (which is also the Friday immediately following the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus in the United States).

“This anniversary and consecration will be a great opportunity to promote the beautiful devotion to the Sacred Heart and to encourage the laity to offer their lives in service to God and their country,” said Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty, in a reflection on the anniversary.

The “Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus” for this occasion makes reparation for the offenses against human dignity that have taken place in the nation: “May our hearts be united to yours, so that our families and communities enjoy peace and happiness; may broken relationships be reconciled, injustices repaired, and the wounds of our land be healed. May your holy Catholic Church serve as a sign, pointing all people to your infinite love. O Desire of Nations and Center of History, we ask you to bless these United States of America.” 

Kerry Alys Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, spoke after the papal audience about Catholic Charities’ Gospel-driven mission, its emergency food response amid disruptions to federal food stamp programs, and the new “People of Hope” initiative currently traveling the country.

She said the encounter with Pope Leo XIV left the delegation “deeply moved and confirmed in our commitment to serve poor and vulnerable people of all backgrounds … to bring merciful love and aid to people who need it the most, wherever they are suffering.”

In Pope Leo’s speech to the organization’s board of directors and senior staff, the pope encouraged their work to “seek to find solutions to inhumane situations, to alleviate the suffering of individuals and families, and to relieve the burden of those who are weighed down by hardship and strife.”

The pope also acknowledged the difficulties inherent in charitable work, from securing sufficient resources to combating discouragement, and urged them not to lose heart.

“I am fully aware that the Catholic Charities agencies in the United States of America are by no means immune from these challenges,” the pope said. “Yet it is precisely when we are confronted with such obstacles that we must learn to hear Jesus’ voice saying to us once again, ‘I am with you always!'”

The papal audience comes at a moment when “many Americans are struggling to make ends meet,” Robinson said, describing how donors to Catholic Charities stepped up to fill in the gap following disruptions to federal nutrition programs.

When funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP and commonly referred to as food stamps, was disrupted during the 43-day shutdown of the federal government in 2025, Catholic Charities USA launched an emergency fundraising appeal.

SNAP, which serves approximately 42 million Americans, provides food-purchasing assistance to low- and no-income individuals and families.

Catholic Charities was ultimately able to provide 2.5 million pounds of food to families facing hunger, distributing 100% of donated funds directly to local Catholic agencies and food distribution partners serving those in need.

“When Americans are made aware of the names and the faces of hungry people, they want to help,” Robinson said.

She noted that the organization has seen a rise in private giving as donors become more aware of hardship at the local level, “We’re seeing an increase in anxiety around just the basics.”

“Catholic Charities USA is the official disaster response agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S. and the third largest in the country, second only to the Red Cross and Salvation Army, but the only one without a congressional mandate to serve as such,” she said.

“When there is a flood or a wildfire or a hurricane, I just see people rushing in to help,” she added. “I see the goodness that is common to all of us, and the desire to be part of a solution, to kind of be bridge builders, to be people of mercy and hope–and that covers the full theological and political spectrum.”

Neighbors helping neighbors

Founded in 1910, Catholic Charities USA serves as the national membership organization for 169 independent Catholic Charities agencies operating across the United States and five territories. Collectively, those agencies serve more than 16 million people annually, regardless of their religious background.

Robinson, who has led the organization for two and a half years, spoke of the spiritual dimension of serving the poor and its challenges. “That work, while deeply meaningful, is hard because you are bearing witness to human suffering every day, and there never seems to be enough resources to meet the plight of poor families and communities,” she said.

“We know that in our 115 year history, whenever there is any kind of a dramatic change or upheaval, it is the poor who suffer disproportionately, and we see an increase in the demand for the services that we offer, basic things like food, shelter, job training,” she said.

Robinson recalled a moving story shared with her by a Catholic Charities worker in the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey, in which a man approached a staffer years after his mother had brought him to a safe shelter as a child. “‘It was the first time that I could sleep through the night and knew that I was safe,'” he told her, adding that because of the help he had received, he had broken a five-generation cycle of family violence.

“Now I am married and I am a father,” he told her. “And for the first time … in five generations, because of your help… the violence in our family has been broken.”

Robinson reflected, “It seems like you’re making a difference in one day for one family, but it can lead to ending this cycle of violence and poverty.”

During the audience, Robinson presented Pope Leo with a bound edition of “People of Hope: Faith-Filled Stories of Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” a book filled with stories of people Catholic Charities serves, drawn from the organization’s new traveling museum of the same name.

The museum, housed in a retrofitted semi-truck and made possible by a nearly $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., features 42 first-person video testimonials from Catholic Charities staff and volunteers across the country. It began a three-year national tour in March and is expected to visit more than 150 communities across the U.S.

The book was offered as a gesture of gratitude to Pope Leo, who in a letter to the Catholic Charities network last fall called its members “agents of hope.”

“I have never seen such unity in the Catholic Church. And I’ve worked for the Catholic Church since I was 14,” Robinson said. “This is a moment in the United States where we feel enormously supported by Catholic bishops for all of the work we do. And I think that they are speaking increasingly with a unified voice, reminding all Catholics and people of goodwill about the Gospel mandate to be merciful, that you cannot separate authentic Christian life from care for and love of the poor.”

The papal audience took place as Catholic Charities USA board began a series of meetings in Rome, including with Caritas Internationalis, the worldwide federation of Catholic social service organizations of which Catholic Charities USA is a member.

Pope Leo entrusted the organization to intercession of Mary Immaculate, patroness of the United States, and imparted his apostolic blessing to all of Catholic Charities 169 agencies across the country.

“Your work with the less fortunate continues to provide a privileged opportunity to share the joy of the Resurrection, and I thank you for this sincere witness of faith,” Pope Leo said.

As early voting in the primary for the 2026 midterm elections began, Georgia’s bishops released a statement May 5 to promote mindful participation in the political process.

In the message, the bishops remind all that the November election will shape Georgia’s future for years to come.

“Our participation in political life as Catholics is not just encouraged—it is, as the U.S. Bishops remind us in ‘Forming Consciences for Faith Citizenship,’ a moral obligation of our faith when directed toward the common good,” the bishops wrote. “Moreover, this call to participation is at the very core of our existence as human beings. It is founded in our creation in the image and likeness of God, who is himself in relationship with all living beings, and developed through our faithfulness to Jesus’ commandment to ‘love one another as I love you.'”

The bishops emphasized that the obligation must be carried out with “intention and forethought.”

“It is not the role of the Church, or any of its ministers, to tell the faithful how they should vote. Rather, it is through our formation in the Church’s teachings and careful examination of the issues and candidates that we can rely on our individual consciences to make what we believe to be the best, most responsible decisions in the voting booth,” said the bishops.

According to the Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study of 2023-34, 73 percent of U.S. Catholics said they were registered to vote. The study also indicated that 9 percent of Catholics were not registered to vote, with 4 percent “not sure” and 5 percent not answering the question, or were non citizens.

The statement was released through the Georgia Catholic Conference and is published in full on its website. It is also available in Spanish. Under the direction of the bishops, the conference promotes public policy positions related to state governmental programs, legislation and policies that affect the common good and interest of the Church.

The Georgia Catholic Conference provides resources and teaching materials for voters at https://georgiacc.org. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offers the faithful “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” (en Español), its teaching document on the political responsibility of Catholics. The document represents the bishops’ guidance for Catholics in the exercise of their rights and duties as participants in democracy.

Father Jose Kochuparampil, the pastor at St. Mary, Mother of God Church in Jackson, was on that waitlist, until Nov. 20, 2025, when 38-year-old Noah Zell walked into his office and changed everything.    

Noah and wife, Rachael, along with their two daughters, Willow, 13, and Elora, 7, had a homemade card for their priest. The message on it was lifesaving, and began: “Dear Father Jose, I am humbled to offer my kidney to you, following Christ’s example of self-sacrifice.” 

Father Jose, who is rarely short of words, found only two at that moment.  

“I couldn’t believe what I was reading,” he said. “It took more than a minute to collect myself and speak. And, when I did, all I could say was, ‘Thank you.’” 

For six years Father Jose had only negative reports from his nephrologist, but now the news was good. 

The pastor self-administered nightly peritoneal dialysis for two years and three months following a confirmation of polycystic kidney disease. That in-home, self-administered treatment required sterile fluids to be electronically pumped into his abdomen, through a permanently placed port.  

The liquid then absorbed waste that an otherwise healthy kidney would filter from the bloodstream. The fluid was then pumped out of the abdomen and into a sterile storage bag for disposal. Before and after dialysis, everything had to be properly cleaned and sanitized to prevent an infection that could be deadly.  

“It is not easy,” said Father Jose. “And sleeping through all of it is impossible.”  

Many treatment patients grow increasingly depressed, especially understanding that the average transplant donation wait time is three to five years, but Father Jose said his faith never wavered. 

“I regularly prayed Psalm 23. The words gave me comfort,” he said. 

Father Jose knew better than to become impatient, having learned that even being placed on the transplant waitlist would be a long and somewhat complicated process–including months of tests and ultimately a medical board review to determine if his body was a qualified transplant candidate.  

That “thumbs up” came on Dec. 20, 2024, and the waiting began.  

Finding a donor 

A representative from the National Kidney Registry encouraged Father Jose to put various internet platforms to work in “spreading the word,” but he was hesitant.  

It was only after encouragement by parishioners who knew about his condition that the priest realized that donors were not likely to find him unless he took some initiative to find them.  

Atlanta’s 11 Alive journalist, Savannah Levins, volunteered to put her social media skills to work by applying a National Kidney Registry link to a posting that told the priest’s story. The page was posted on multiple platforms. It included a link that encouraged site-visitors to “click to learn more.”  

It worked.  

Within weeks of launching the campaign, thousands of people saw the postings. Hundreds clicked the link, and 26 began the donor registration process.  

Of the prospective donors, six were parishioners. There were several Knights of Columbus, who knew Father Jose through his service as the group’s state chaplain. Others may have come from the bulletin postings at diocesan parishes, who had taken a cue from an archdiocesan communique.  

One who stepped forward was Noah Zell, who along with wife, Rachael, had only months earlier received first holy Communion and confirmation via St. Mary’s OCIA program.  

Explaining how he initially heard about Father Jose’s situation, Noah said, “It was really by accident.” 

“I was looking at the posts on a friend’s Facebook when I saw a link to a web page for a Catholic who needed a kidney transplant,” explained Rachael. “I linked to it and saw that the priest was Father Jose. We couldn’t believe it.”  

The Zells regularly attend Mass and read the parish bulletin but never heard anything about their priest’s situation. 

“He just never said anything about it,” said Rachael. 

The family, and most parishioners, didn’t know about it, because their pastor resisted using his position or pulpit to promote his need.  

“After finding the posting,” Noah said, “I asked Rachael what she thought about my logging in just to see what it was all about.”  

“I had initial hesitation on all of it,” Rachael said, “mostly with ‘what if’ questions relating to the girls. But I prayed about it, and I finally agreed: ‘Let’s do it and see what happens.’” 

Noah and Rachael Zell show off a Superman shirt included in a gift package from St. Mary parishioners—two days after the surgery he underwent in December 2025 to give his kidney to the parish priest. Photo Courtesy of Zell Family

It was a long shot; the odds of two unrelated people being a perfect kidney match are roughly one in 100,000 (National Kidney Registry).  

So, Noah took a page from Father Jose’s playbook. The family would keep their decision quiet unless Noah’s kidney turned out to be an ideal match.  

With their choice made, the Zells had a family meeting to talk about what they were about to do and why. There were a few questions, but everyone was on board with the plan without a lot of conversation. 

Noah did remember one interesting conversation when explaining organ donation to his daughters.  

“No, God didn’t give us extra body parts, but he did give us the opportunity to share the parts that we have,” he told them. 

When asked, after the transplant, what she thought of her father’s decision, daughter Willow responded, “I think it was really cool what he did for Father Jose.”    

“Initially, things moved slowly, with administrative forms and a couple of interviews to ensure that I was not being coerced or pressured in any way to apply,” he said.  

“We thought that was kind of funny,” Noah said, “based on how quiet Father Jose had kept things.”  

From there Rachael says the process was like a “whirlwind.”  

Noah said that once the paperwork was out of the way, they immediately began a set of medical examinations that evaluated his overall health.  

“Most important to the doctors was my heart health and assurance of the absence of hypertension,” he said. “All was good there, so we then moved onto a lot of lab work designed to determine how effectively my kidneys were functioning—even injecting dyes into my bloodstream to see how well the kidneys filtered them out.” 

Over the course of the evaluation, blood was drawn and tested about 10 times.  

There were also tests to evaluate how well Noah’s internal tissue matched Father Jose’s. Those tests provided acceptance or rejection probability indicators.  

Many prospective donors were excluded for various reasons along the way, but not Noah. 

And in mid-November he received an email from the case worker at Piedmont. The medical evaluation team had met and made the final determination: Noah was green-lighted for the donation as soon as it could be planned.  

On Nov. 12, 2025, Father Jose received a call from a social worker at Piedmont Hospital.  

Father Jose remembers the conversation well, “She said, ‘Congratulations; we have a matching donor for you.’” He remembers the caller being very calm and discussing the next steps in the process. He learned that the procedure would take place in three weeks’ time.  

This was significant news in two major ways. First, it provided certainty that the kidney would be coming from a live donor. If it had been from a deceased donor, then the tenor of the phone call would have been strikingly different.  

The caller would have told the priest to grab his already-packed suitcase and get to the hospital as soon as physically possible—knowing that the organ’s condition would rapidly decline until successfully transplanted.  

Secondly, and having done his research, the 67-year-old Father Jose knew the Kidney Registry’s statistics: The average viability of a kidney from a deceased donor is 8-15 years, compared to 20-40 years for one from a living donor.  

The rush of emotions was almost overwhelming.  

He remembers having so many questions, but asking only one: “Can you tell me who the donor is?” 

The social worker said she could not. This information would remain confidential—unless the donor chose to personally contact the recipient. 

Things moved fast from there. There were a lot of details to attend to, including assurance that Noah’s employer would approve the necessary time off. His manager told him that they were supportive, a point illustrated by a significant donation to St. Mary by the company’s president and CEO—in recognition of Noah and his family.  

Transplant day 

Final plans were made, and on Dec. 5, both Noah and Father Jose were admitted as patients at Piedmont Atlanta.  

By that time, Noah says he had complete confidence in all things associated with the transplant. He said, he essentially made a deal with God to enter the evaluation process and embrace the outcome—whatever it would be. He said that once God “chose him” as the donor, he found immediate peace with it.  

After several hours of waiting in the pre-op area, he was told that doctors were ready for the laparoscopic removal of one of Noah’s healthy kidneys.  

The procedure and post-op lasted about six hours, and by 10 p.m. both Noah and Rachael were resting comfortably in his hospital room, with one priority left—a phone call to Willow and Elora who were staying with their grandmother. Willow answered on the first ring, and everyone was given assurance that all was well.  

For Father Jose, there was an 11 a.m. arrival time and a five-hour wait.  

At 3:45 p.m., a nurse came into the pre-op area and announced, “It’s time.” 

“I remember being nervous. But that anxiety disappeared just before I was rolled into the operating room, when one of the attending nurses knelt beside me and began praying for me. He then asked for a blessing from me. It was a powerful moment and one that gave me great peace,” Father Jose recalled.  

Father Jose Kochuparampil gives a thumbs up during his recovery from kidney transplant surgery. The priest, who had polycystic kidney disease, self-administered nightly peritoneal dialysis for more than two years leading up to the transplant. Photo Courtesy of St. Mary, Mother of God Church

“My next memory,” Father said, “was waking up in a recovery area and hearing that it was 8:45 p.m. A nurse told me that everything went well, for both me and Noah.” 

Hospital stays for both men were very brief. Noah was released the day after the transplant, and Father Jose checked out two days later.  

“I asked about the sort of home nursing care I would be receiving,” Father Jose recalls, “and the doctor told me that it would be unnecessary. He said, ‘you will be back to normal in no time.’” 

“No time” proved to be only a couple of days of bedrest and three months of isolated recovery. Parishioners made provisions for home-delivered meals throughout that time, and by the end of March, their pastor was as healthy as he had been in decades.  

Noah’s recovery time was not nearly as long, but there were adventures along the way, like when, after two days of recuperation, he decided that he ought to help with some household tasks by vacuuming, while Rachael was at the grocery store.  

“The only problem with that plan,” Rachael said, “was that the girls told on him.”  

Though he insisted that he was not in any real pain, “Nurse Rachael” ordered him back to bed, where he was unhappily, but comfortably stationed for the rest of the week.  

By week two, Noah was working remotely, and back to the office after only three weeks. By week six, he had settled into his pre-surgery routine, with only slight modifications to his diet. He says that, if anything, he feels better now than before the transplant, with a better eye on taking care of himself. He recently joined a gym and says he is more cognizant of what he eats, though he says that Burger King Whoppers are not going away anytime soon.   

“When I look back on all of it,” Noah said, “I’m not sure that it was even my decision. It was almost as if God told me that he had a plan, and that I had a role in it. All I did was say yes.”  

On April 6, Father Jose returned to the altar. At most weekday Masses, homilies are not preached, but on this day, spoken words seemed appropriate. 

The pastor stepped behind the ambo and adjusted the microphone. He looked down at his printed comments and began to speak. Emotions took the place of words. A memory was spoken, then a pause. Another few words, and another pause.  

He had prepared himself for the moment, with provisions to clear his eyes. The attending parishioners made no such preparations. The sanctuary was silent.  

When he finished speaking, Father Jose looked up from his notes and smiled broadly. It was as if to silently say, “I’m home.”

A third-party vendor was chosen to digitize The Georgia Bulletin’s back issues in batches. The full run of the paper’s issues in the archives was in the form of bound volumes, which would have been cumbersome to scan and would potentially obscure text where the pages met the binding. The newspapers were therefore carefully cut out of their binding so they could be imaged on a flat surface. Batch by batch, the papers were boxed up and shipped off to the vendor for digitization. Once the vendor completed the scanning, the physical papers were shipped back, and the digital copies were provided either on external hard drives or through file-sharing software.  

The next step in the process was providing access to the digitized copies. Two different free online resources were selected, each catering to a different audience. One is the Georgia Historic Newspapers project of the Digital Library of Georgia, and the other is the Catholic News Archive from Atla. Researchers with a local focus would likely find issues on Georgia Historic Newspapers, while those with a Catholic focus would be better served by the Catholic News Archive. Having issues accessible in both places benefits a deeper pool of researchers. 

The May 26, 1983 edition of The Georgia Bulletin, including features on the Legion of Mary and Birthright, is among the numerous issues available online for researchers and casual history buffs through a digitization project undertaken by the Office of Archives and Records.

But serious researchers are not the only ones who might find value in these issues. Casual users interested in the history of their parish or the career of a beloved priest are encouraged to check these issues out. Even just browsing through back issues at random can reveal interesting or entertaining articles. If you have ever wondered what the Catholic perspective of movies like “The Exorcist” (“It is another installment in our growing collection of expertise—not on the sacred—but on the wicked and profane,” Jan. 24, 1974) or “Crocodile Dundee” (“True love conquers and the legend of the Crocodile Man is preserved,” Oct. 2, 1986), this resource is for you. 

Currently, the Catholic News Archive has issues available from 1963 to 2003, while Georgia Historic Newspapers has 1963 to 1990 (with more to come). We invite anyone interested to explore at their leisure. 

As Mother’s Day approaches, I imagine my mom coming to visit me from Heaven. I see her sitting in the dining room, young and beautiful, wearing that same suit and the spray of orchids. In the kitchen, I am whipping up a batch of pancakes and brewing a big pot of coffee.  

I ask how this visit is possible, and she smiles mysteriously. “All I can say is we have been given a whole day together.” Eager to fill her in on my life, I tell her I’m a widow now, but I was married to my best friend for 33 years. I describe his amazing cooking skills and the boating adventures we had in Florida. She seems to know how much I miss him.  

I show her the books I’ve written and some newspaper clippings of my columns. She was the kind of mom who preserved my stories from the high school newspaper and marveled at my poetry. Now she turns each book over in her hands like a jewel.  

Later in the day, we go to Mass together, and during the Sign of Peace, we hug tightly and I feel tears of joy on my face. Once we’re back home, I start getting a little frantic, because there’s so much to show her and the clock won’t stop ticking.  

Still, she assures me she doesn’t need to see my wedding album, because she was there that day. Nor do I have to haul out photos of my sister’s grandchildren, because they are her great delight in Heaven.  

Over lunch, questions crowd my mind. “Is Daddy in Heaven with you, and are your brothers and sisters there?”  

“Those things, honey, are secrets,” she replies. “People in Heaven completely accept God’s will, so even if some family members are not there, we don’t suffer because of that.” 

And then the big question: “What is Heaven like?”  

She glances out the window at the dogwood trees in full regalia and the irises showing off their fancy faces. She points at the sparrows and cardinals taking turns in the birdbath, while a white cloud inches through the sky like a ship at sea.  

“It’s like that, only much better!”  

“Time is running out,” I say after lunch, “and we still haven’t done the most important thing.”  

Of course, she knows what I mean. She sits on the couch and lets me snuggle next to her, with my head against her chest, just like in the old days. I whisper the secrets of my heart, the things no one else could understand, and she comforts me.  

I find myself holding her ever more tightly, as the sun begins setting. “How I wish you could stay with me forever, Mommy. Is there any chance God might let you stay another day?”  

She smooths back the hair from my brow and kisses my forehead. “I will always be with you, as close as a prayer.”  

In moments, I fall asleep in her arms, and when I wake up, she is gone. Of course, I wonder if it all has been just a dream, but when I go into my bedroom, I have my answer. On the dresser, beside the photo of the two of us, I see a single, pure white orchid. 

Editor’s Note: “Sent to Serve: Profiles of religious life in Atlanta” is a regular series of The Georgia Bulletin and looks at the charisms and work of the religious order priests and sisters serving in the archdiocese.

KENNESAW—Sister Maria Fidelis Gray, OP, was in second grade when she knew she wanted to be like her teacher, Sister Mary Immaculate. Now, she’s living her calling to be a Catholic sister and teacher with her own second-grade students at St. Catherine of Siena School in Kennesaw. 

Sister Maria Fidelis is one of three sisters from the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation who teach at St. Catherine of Siena, bringing a joyful enthusiasm for learning and Jesus to the young students and parish school community. 

“We can educate the whole child,” said middle school religion teacher Sister Mary Martin. “We are forming our students not just academically but as a whole person so that in the end, they can get to heaven and be the saints that God has called them to be.” 

The Dominican Sisters, a teaching order of about 300 sisters from Nashville, Tennessee, were founded in 1860 and currently teach more than 15,000 students from preschool through college. They have missions, usually of three to four sisters each, in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. St. Catherine is the only Georgia school where they teach. 

“As Dominicans, study is a really important part of our life—not just studying to be smart but studying deeply the Scriptures and truths of the faith so that we can really know the Lord,” said Sister Mary Martin. “That overflows into our apostolic work that we share the joy of the Gospel with those we encounter in the school and classroom every day.”

Sister Maria Fidelis Gray, OP, teaches her second-grade class the main events of the Resurrection story during the Easter season at St. Catherine of Siena School. She is one of three sisters from the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation who teach there. Photo by Julianna Leopold

Sister Mary Martin encountered Dominican friars while a college student at Catholic University which furthered her discernment to religious life. St. Dominic founded the Dominican order that was both contemplative and had monastic practices like praying the Divine Office, and apostolic like going out into the world to preach and teach, she said.  

The order’s history in Atlanta 

Former Atlanta Archbishop John F. Donoghue and Father Jim Harrison, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church from 1997 to 2005, were instrumental in bringing the Nashville Dominicans there in 2004. The following year, Sister Maria Fidelis was one of the first teachers when a new school building opened to house the growing school. She left after three years and returned in 2021. 

“I am very pleased to learn that the Dominican Sisters of Nashville, a very respected and admired community of teaching sisters, are coming to the Archdiocese of Atlanta. We were hoping and praying for many years they would come,” Archbishop Donoghue said in April 2004 when it was announced that the sisters would join St. Catherine of Siena. 

The parish and school community has always had a great openness to the witness and teaching of the sisters, said Sister Maria Fidelis, who prepares second graders for the sacraments of reconciliation and first holy Communion. 

“The school families love religious and having the sisters at their school,” she said, adding that Father Neil Dhabliwala, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church, is highly supportive of their mission, too.  

“They are always so welcoming and happy to see us,” she said about the community members. 

Sister Mary Martin, one of three Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia serving at St. Catherine of Siena School in Kennesaw, holds a poster of St. John Paul ll with the words, “Live Wojtytan.” She said that the presence of the Nashville Dominicans at the school helps foster discernment of religious vocations in the students. Photo by Julianna Leopold

The sisters live in a house near St. Catherine that was converted by the archdiocese to a convent with a chapel. They wear white habits and follow a daily schedule of prayer, study, eating in silence, and community time like gardening or taking walks. They wake up at 5 a.m. for meditation and praying the Divine Office and attend Mass at 6:45 a.m. before the school day begins. There is time for prayer in the afternoon hours as well. 

While teaching and living at St. Catherine, the sisters stay connected to the motherhouse in Nashville by making periodic visits including Christmas, community days in August and the profession of vows for new sisters. They also share prayer intentions through a newsletter. 

Sister Mary Martin said that the presence of the Nashville Dominicans at the Cobb school helps foster discernment of religious vocations in the students. There are a few students who have considered consecrated life, she said. 

“As we’re inviting them to follow Christ, they know that it’s possible to give your life to God and that’s one way that it could look,” she said. “They also see that we’re human. We tie our shoes, we make mistakes, and we go to the grocery store. They see that holiness is possible for everyone.” 

Sister Evelyn Rose, a third-grade teacher at St. Catherine’s, wanted to be an Army officer when she was in a college ROTC program. Through prayer, she heard God calling her not to serve an earthly kingdom, but his heavenly kingdom. Some friends encouraged her to meet the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia who at the time had a mission house in her hometown of Phoenix. She had not considered teaching before discovering the Nashville Dominicans. 

“I was very struck by how each sister was themselves. We may wear the same thing, but we have different gifts. I felt a freedom in that,” she said.  

The students in Sister Evelyn Rose’s class walk through the door “on fire for their faith,” she said. Her students have received their sacraments in second grade, and she gets the privilege of nurturing them as they continue living a sacramental life, she said. 

About the Congregation

Learn about the 150-year history of the St. Cecilia Congregation and its apostolate. 

The sisters will have a retreat, Nov. 5-8, for young women discerning vocations—an opportunity to explore the charism of the Nashville Dominicans. 

Sister Joan McCann, OP

Born on Aug. 16, 1940, to Cecilia (Rowley) and Robert McCann in Chicago, Joan McCann professed vows with the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa in 1961 and received the religious name Sister Ternan. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Edgewood College, Madison, Wisconsin; a Master of Education in the teaching of mathematics from Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago; and a Master of Education in education management and supervision from Loyola College-Maryland, Baltimore.    

Sister Joan’s ministry was dedicated to education, administration, and consultancy. She taught at Sacred Heart School, Washington, D.C.; St. Mary School and St. Joseph School, Freeport, Illinois; St. Dennis School, Madison; St. Mary School, Evanston, Illinois; SS. Faith, Hope, and Charity School, Winnetka, Illinois; and St. Rose of Lima School, Baltimore, where she also served as principal. 

She then served in the Archdiocesan Office of Education as assistant superintendent in Atlanta. In 1988, Sister Joan and Sister Mary-beth Beres, an Adrian Dominican Sister, founded Leadership Systems, a nonprofit consulting ministry serving religious congregations, social service organizations and schools. Following that ministry, Sister Joan served the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation as vicaress provincial of the Southern Province. She then moved to Clarkston and was vicar for consecrated life for the Archdiocese of Atlanta.  

Sister Joan retired in 2010 and volunteered in the Oak Lawn, Illinois, area until 2024 when she moved to Stair Crest, a senior living community in Muskego, Wisconsin, where she resided with more than 90 of her Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. In addition to the many ways Sister Joan ministered to others, she was a Master Gardener with a deep appreciation of beauty, and she loved to cook. 

Sister Joan was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, James McCann. She is survived by three sisters, Marjorie Kayser, Alice McCann and Nancy Tegtmeyer, and her Dominican Sisters.  

A wake and remembering service will be Saturday, May 16, at 9:15 a.m. in Siena Chapel at the Siena Center followed by a funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home of Racine is handling arrangements.   

Memorials may be made to the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, 585 County Road Z, Sinsinawa, WI., or given online at www.sinsinawa.org/donate.    

“Those big eyes, they were just looking, and they were all gray,” said Sister Norma. “Their hair was gray. Their skin was gray. Their clothing was gray from the mud when they crossed the (Rio Grande). And they were all crying.” 

A judge had given her access to the overflowing detention center filled with young people, but she had to persuade law enforcement officials to allow her into a cell to pray. 

Together, she led the youngsters jammed into the space in prayer: “God help us.”  

After wading into the cell, Sister Norma said she left grounded in her conviction not to stay silent in defending the lives of immigrants.  

“We must take every day, do our part, every single one of us. It’s the power of God, the force of God that moves us forward, that gives us the courage, even when we’re afraid,” she said. 

Sister Norma Pimentel was once dubbed Pope Francis’ favorite religious sister after he acknowledged her humanitarian work in a 2015 virtual audience.  

The sister was the St. Catherine of Siena Lecture speaker at the Aquinas Center for Theology at Emory University on April 14, where she challenged believers to stand with the marginalized. Some 130 attended the lecture, while more than 60 viewers watched it online. 

In addition to her talk, Sister Norma also spent time with university students, sharing lunch with students from Candler School of Theology’s Catholic Studies program, the Aquinas Center Fellows and La Mesa Academy for Theological Studies. 

“What do we stand for? This is my question to you,” she said. “Are you willing to speak up and do your part? All of us, so that we can truly live out the Gospel values that call us to welcome the stranger.” 

A member of the Missionaries of Jesus since 1978, Sister Norma Pimentel has served as the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley (CCRGV) for close to 20 years. She was named one of TIME magazine’s 2026 Women of the Year. 

Grounded in Franciscan spirituality, she starts every morning with an hour of silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Growing up on both sides of the Texas and Mexican border, she began working with refugees in 1980s.  

About a decade ago, facing an influx of immigrants, Sister Norma established a welcoming center—The Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen—for those in need of rest. The peak year was 2019 when thousands came through the doors. By 2024, the center had welcomed more than half a million families and immigrants, who had been released from federal custody. The CCRGVsaid the work required daily coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the city and local community volunteers. 

Amid recent federal funding cuts and fewer asylum seekers, Sister Norma and the organizations pivoted to support the elderly, food insecure and unhoused populations in the area. 

In her hour-long talk at the Atlanta university, Sister Norma shared the story of a visiting businesswoman strongly opposed to the center’s work. But the sister invited the woman to meet the families and children sheltering there. After hearing their life’s story, the woman turned to her and said, “I am 100% in favor of what you’re doing.” 

For Sister Norma, the lesson is the power of the “culture of encounter.” When people get close to see a human face, their heartschange, she said. 

“That’s what changes everything. Something happens in us,” she said. “We encounter God in the process of finding ourselves close to somebody that really needs our help, and a transformation happens.” 

Sister Norma Pimentel said she simply is living Gospel values, not trying to debate with others. She said her focus is doing the work, not letting negativity turn her aside. It is fruitless to waste energy hating people because in the end that “hatred, more than hurting (them), is hurting you.”   

Officials enforcing the law, such as Border Patrol agents and others, are people working in difficult situations, overwhelmed by the situation and required by law to act, which can lead to suffering, she said.  

However, she said all must be reminded of the humanity of migrants and families. People walking with Jesus, said Sister Norma,must “continue being yourself and being good” so officials acting harshly see a better way.   

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” garnered not only a Best Picture Oscar for Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz, but also awards for Best Actor (Jack Nicholson, in a career-defining performance), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher), Best Screenplay (Lawrence Hausen and Bo Goldman), and Best Director (Milos Forman). The film holds a deserved spot on the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry and is one of Roger Ebert’s Great Films. 

Actor Jack Nicholson, star of the 1975 movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” is pictured in a 2007 photo in Hollywood. OSV News photo/Fred Prouser, Reuters

It may also surprise viewers that all three of these movies were conceived and adapted by people of strong faith. Frank Capra was a Sicilian immigrant to the United States, and a devout Catholic. Jonathan Demme was an Episcopal pacifist. Ken Kesey was raised Catholic and adhered to Christianity as well as principles of Zen Buddhism his entire life. Michael Douglas is a practicing Jew. And Milos Forman was a Protestant Christian of Jewish heritage from Czechoslovakia, whose mother and father were both killed in Nazi concentration camps. 

Of all three films, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” remains the most compelling in its complex treatment of illness and redemption. 

Ken Kesey published the novel in 1962. Based in large part upon his own experience with government LSD experiments and work in mental hospitals, the book resonated with young people in the early 1960s who were just beginning to question rigid social and political structures in the Civil Rights and Vietnam era. Kirk Douglas wanted to adapt the novel into film almost as soon as the book was published, but it would take 13 years until his son Michael would finally be able to make the film. 

The film adheres closely to Kesey’s plot structure, except for the decision to present the film not from Chief Bromden’s point of view, but more from the perspective of Randle Patrick McMurphy, or Mac. R.P. McMurphy is a habitual criminal who is currently serving a sentence at a work farm. To get out of hard labor, Mac tries to fake insanity. He is sent to a mental hospital for observation. While there, he is thrust into a bitter rivalry with a head nurse named Ratched. As they struggle for control of a male ward that houses both voluntary and committed patients, Mac serves as a redeemer for the men even as his conflict with Ratched deepens. Ratched subjects Mac to electroshock therapy and following a raucous and tragic night on the ward, she is complicit in having him lobotomized. Chief Bromden, however, takes Mac’s spirit from his wracked body and escapes, using a seemingly immovable water fixture to break triumphantly out of the asylum. 

Throughout the development process (the film was preceded by a stage adaptation), numerous directors and actors were considered for the project. Yet the movie’s direction ultimately was given to the Czech filmmaker Milos Forman. Had the film not been assigned to the political exile Forman, the movie would not be what it became, nor would its legacy endure for more than half a century. 

To fully understand the adaptation from novel into film, one must know the context of the Czech New Wave in filmmaking, a short-lived movement from roughly 1963-1968. Its end came following the famous “Prague Spring” of 1968, when political reformers in Czechoslovakia were misled into believing they could have a peaceful transformation of government. Instead, in August of 1968, the Soviet military intervened, and the film movement ended as many of its directors were forced into exile or prevented from working. 

The Czech New Wave is unique among the political cinemas of the 1960s because of its style, a style that is marked by humor, satire, and innuendo to subvert the aims of those in power. Though the films were often made by highly trained and skilled directors, they were small in scale. They feature on-location shooting and amateur actors and frequently use absurdity to subvert power and make political figures look foolish. In their attitude, “if you can’t outsmart them, outdumb them,” the Czech directors brilliantly undermined the oppressive establishment. Among these talented young directors was Milos Forman, who was adamant that “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was indeed a “Czech film.” 

Because of his background in a subversive cinema, Forman was able to translate Kesey’s novel into a film that remains striking in both form and content. Kesey’s style is marked by highly realistic settings and a sacramental sensibility that formed a Catholic imagination not unlike that of Flannery O’Connor. 

The realism in the film was achieved largely through on-location shooting in the Oregon State Hospital for the mentally ill. So realistic is the film that the actual hospital director convincingly plays the role of Dr. Spivey. Archaic treatments such as electroshock therapy and lobotomy further add to hyper-realism.   

A film of constant movement 

The sacramental and spiritual aspects are handled both explicitly and symbolically. It’s impossible to miss, for example, the link between medication time and the Eucharist that Forman depicts early in the film. The water tank and the tub room are associated with Baptism and healing waters not unlike the Pool of Siloam or Lourdes. The sacrament of penance, or confession, is frequently referenced. The comedic fishing trip depicts the essential humanity of the patients while also revealing them as symbolic apostles and McMurphy as a Messianic figure. 

Throughout, the film vacillates between shock and calm, chaos and control and movement and sedation. Extreme close-ups frame the characters as unique individuals even in an environment that tries to stifle their personal dignity and identity. These shots are also agonizing to watch, as they depict human beings at their most vulnerable. When Forman frames his wide shots, there is always action in the foreground and background. The film has a sense of constant movement, almost anervous quality, that perfectly suits its setting. 

As the film progresses, the characters develop into ever more realized and compelling people. Cheswick begins learning how to assert himself. Harding develops greater self-esteem. Billy seems to be maturing into a young man. The Chief reveals his great secret, that he is not deaf and mute, but has succeeded in fooling the entire hospital establishment. And McMurphy, who initially cared only about himself, finds that he is a natural leader, teacher and motivator. He even has empathy. Hediscovers that he is also able to give and receive love. 

That the development of all these men is tragically crushed by the institution is the horrible reality the film can’t ignore. That during their destruction is also a hope for redemptive grace is the larger truth Kesey, Douglas and Forman all believe. 

When Nurse Ratched forbids the men to watch the 1963 World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees, McMurphy brilliantly uses his imagination to conjure the games so that the men on the ward believe. This device serves to underscore the film’s belief that there is a presence in absence, that what we don’t see is often more compelling than what we do. It also legitimizes the most important moment in the film. 

Following his lobotomy, Mac is essentially dead. His mind is gone. He will never really experience life again. When Chief Bromden, who has been planning an escape with Mac, says “I’m not going without you Mac. I wouldn’t leave you this way. You’re coming with me,” he literally believes that he is freeing Mac’s soul, that he is taking Mac’s spirit on the next phase of their journey toward freedom. 

As a Native American, Chief Bromden’s spirituality is deeply connected to the concept of the soul. This is why his suffocation of Mac should not be seen as a mercy killing; rather, in the Chief’s perspective, it is his obligation to care for his friend’s soul. 

In short, the Chief believes he is a participant in the action of Grace. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is a film that recognizes the mystery of Grace, though like O’Connor’s Grace it comes in startling and even shocking ways.  

The movie also affirms that in the chaos and lunacy of the modern world, there is always hope for insight and deliverance. In a dehumanizing and authoritarian society, the individual always matters, and his service to the greater good is essential. We are here to recognize not only our baseness, but our potential. These are grand themes for a Hollywood movie, but they work in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” because they are articulated by artists who understand the importance of belief. 

Bishop John N. Tran

Every so often, someone asks me what I enjoy most about serving as a bishop. I usually answer: the privilege of administering the sacrament of confirmation in parishes and on college campuses. This April alone, I have the joy of celebrating 11 confirmation Masses. Before each one, I meet with the candidates to thank them for that privilege. 

As you may recall, confirmation—together with baptism and the Eucharist—constitutes the “sacraments of Christian initiation” and completes baptismal grace. Through confirmation, we are more perfectly bound to the Church and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, enabling us to be true witnesses of Jesus Christ in our families, schools, workplaces and the world. 

In this issue of The Georgia Bulletin, we read how the Nashville Dominicans who teach at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School in Kennesaw, are living out Christ’s command to be his witnesses to our children and the wider community. Their example brings to mind two people I have known personally who embody that same missionary spirit: my aunt and Msgr. Francis Phuong Pham. 

My aunt left Vietnam as a teenager to serve as a missionary in Laos, where she spent more than 70 years in religious life. I met her only twice. The first was shortly before the fall of Saigon in 1975, when our family urged her to remain in Vietnam as we prepared to flee. Instead, she returned to Laos. The second was during her visit to the United States in 1993. Once again, she was encouraged to stay. Once again, she chose to return to Laos, honoring her promise to her Mother Superior. She died in November 2024, and, sadly, no family members were able to attend her funeral. 

I believe my aunt truly took Christ’s command to be his witness to heart, living it with quiet fidelity in her final years and unwavering commitment throughout her life. 

Msgr. Francis Phuong Pham, a beloved retired priest, now lives across the street from Our Lady of Vietnam Church in Riverdale. I first heard of him from fellow priests while I was in New Orleans, but I did not meet him until my move to Atlanta in 2023. 

I later learned that he came to the United States before the fall of Saigon in 1975. His bishop, Joseph An Le of the Diocese of Xuan Loc in Vietnam, had sent him to study education with the intention that he would return to serve as superintendent of schools. However, after earning a Master’s in Education, the fall of Saigon made it impossible for him to continue his studies or return home. 

In God’s providence, while serving as a hospital chaplain, Msgr. Francis met Father Richard Morrow, pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Hapeville. Through this connection, he was introduced to Archbishop Thomas Donnellan, who in 1976 appointed him parochial vicar with Father Morrow and entrusted him with leading the Vietnamese apostolate in the archdiocese. 

From its beginnings in 1976 until 2016, Msgr. Francis labored tirelessly to preserve the faith, culture and identity of Vietnamese Catholics in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. By surrendering his own plans and trusting in God’s will, he ultimately found himself exactly where he was most needed—servingthe Church and the Vietnamese Catholic community in Atlanta. Msgr. Francis continues to embody the generous missionary spirit that has defined his life and ministry.  

On April 29, he celebrated the 60th anniversary of his priestly ordination. To mark this milestone, Bishop John Ngan Do, ordinary of the Diocese of Xuan Loc, Vietnam, will be present, and I will have the privilege of representing Archbishop Hartmayer, Bishop Konzen and Bishop Shlesinger at the Mass at Our Lady of Vietnam. 

My hope is that, as you read these three accounts of missionary discipleship, you will be encouraged to reexamine Christ’s call for you to be a true witness—a reexamination not only for the newly confirmed, but for each of us. May we be filled with the courage to proclaim the Good News to all people, especially the wounded and forgotten, everywhere and at all times. 

“We are grateful the lives of the President, those who protect him, and everyone in attendance last night were spared from serious harm,” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement April 26.

“Let us all pray for our elected leaders and public officials that they may receive God’s blessings,” he said. “Because human life is a precious gift, there is no room for violence of any kind in our society.”

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and several Cabinet members were whisked out of the annual dinner with the White House press corps April 25, after a man rushed toward the main ballroom where the event was held and briefly exchanged gunfire with law enforcement.

According to The Associated Press, witnesses at the Washington Hilton heard about five to eight gunshots. Law enforcement told AP the suspect opened fire before Secret Service agents subdued him. One Secret Service officer was hospitalized after the alleged gunman shot at his bullet-proof vest but was released the next morning, according to the agency.

Attendees — largely hundreds of journalists who cover the White House — took shelter under tables, with some providing moment-by-moment updates to their various outlets amid the confusion.

More details emerged in two evening press briefings held shortly after the ballroom had been cleared, with Trump speaking to reporters at the White House, flanked by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and FBI Director Kash Patel.

During the briefing, Trump said the Secret Service officer injured in the attack had been shot from a very close distance.

A separate briefing was subsequently held at the hotel, where Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, Jeffrey Carroll, interim police chief of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department, and federal law enforcement updated the media.

Bowser and Carroll said the suspect appeared to be a lone actor, with Carroll noting the individual had charged a Secret Service checkpoint outside the ballroom, “armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives,” before being “intercepted” by Secret Service agents.

Carroll also confirmed that “law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the individual,” although the suspect “was not struck.”

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, who was in attendance at the dinner, told media during the briefing that the suspect had so far been charged with two counts–using a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

The suspect was scheduled to be arraigned in federal District Court on April 27, and Pirro said there will be “many more charges based upon the information that we are learning in this very fluid situation.”

Media reports have identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, a video game developer and teacher from the Los Angeles suburb of Torrence, California, who recently won a “teacher of the month” award.

After being evacuated, Trump posted on his platform Truth Social that “the shooter has been apprehended,” and that he had “recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON.'”

He commended the Secret Service and law enforcement for acting “quickly and bravely.”

Trump and the White House Correspondents’ Association had initially wanted to continue with the program, but deferred to law enforcement’s judgement to cancel the event and evacuate. The event is expected to be rescheduled within 30 days.

Tom Bateman, a State Department correspondent for BBC News, reported that one Secret Service agent described the ballroom as a “crime scene” while ordering attendees to vacate it.

The White House Correspondents’ Association was founded in 1914, with its first dinner hosted in 1921. The association, which counts close to 900 members from almost 300 outlets, works to ensure robust journalistic coverage of the White House.

Shortly after the incident, Bishop David J. Bonnar of Youngstown, Ohio, released a statement deploring the attack and calling for prayer.

“The United States is built on freedom and respect for all. There is no room for violence that
endangers the life of any human being,” said Bishop Bonnar.

“Moreover,” he said, “the issue of gun violence must be addressed. Violence is never the answer.”

Bishop Bonnar added, “We all must look deeper into the human heart to build each other up rather than tear each other down. We pray for peace in moments of disagreement and discord.”

“As we celebrate our 250th birthday may we live as a nation under God with liberty and justice for all,” said Bishop Bonnar, who concluded with a prayer of petition: “For the healing of divisions in our country, that we might always strive to be one nation, under God, and that hatred and violence will be cast out from every heart in our land and throughout the world, let us pray to the Lord.”

Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, a member of the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission, posted a message on the X social media platform April 26, expressing his gratitude that the president and his entourage were unhurt.

“May I raise my voice against the viciousness and tribalism that are so prevalent on the internet and that contribute mightily to the violence we see in our political culture,” he said. “Can we please remember that it is possible to disagree with a politician’s ideas without demonizing and de-humanizing him? Jesus commended us to love our enemies, and that includes our ideological opponents.”

Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia told OSV News, “It is deeply disturbing that the culture and expression of violence continues to spread in our culture, country, and globally.”

He said the attack “only contributes to an anxiety that is ascendant” in the nation.

“We Eastern Catholics–who endure in Ukraine, in the Middle East, in India and elsewhere political violence–strongly condemn what happened in Washington,” and “call all people to a personal and communal stance of peace,” said the archbishop.

“Pope Leo, by his personal example of serenity and moral clarity, and by his prophetic words, has given us a contemporary encouragement to live the life of Jesus,” he said, adding, “Let us say again and again, peace be with you.”

Rob DeFrancesco, executive director of the Catholic Media Association, told OSV News the organization was “deeply unsettled by the attack.”

“We are grateful to the brave men and women who stopped the assailant. We are also mindful that journalists today, including our own members, often work in environments where their profession puts them in danger,” he said.

“Our mission is to share the truth in love,” said DeFrancesco. “That mission requires a society where reporters can seek the truth without the threat of violence.”

The pope flew northwest from Luanda, Angola, crossing central Africa before landing on the island of Malabo, which served as the country’s capital until January. Crowds lined the streets from the airport to the presidential palace, waving Vatican flags and cheering as Pope Leo passed in the popemobile. Many wore yellow hats bearing his image, while women in brightly colored dresses emblazoned with his image danced and sang.

At the airport, Pope Leo was welcomed by a military band and President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled the oil-rich Central African nation since seizing power in a 1979 coup and is widely regarded as one of the world’s most authoritarian leaders.

Speaking in Spanish at the presidential palace, with Obiang seated beside him, Pope Leo delivered a pointed appeal for justice and ethical governance in a country long criticized for corruption and human rights abuses.

“In a world wounded by arrogance, people hunger and thirst for justice,” the pope said, telling the authorities that the Church can help to form “free and responsible consciences.”

Pope Leo began his speech by recalling words spoken by St. John Paul II during his 1982 visit to the country, emphasizing the enduring need for “authentic liberty, justice, respect and promotion of the rights of every person.”

“These are words that remain timely and that challenge anyone entrusted with public responsibility,” Pope Leo added.

Turning to St. Augustine, the pope reflected on the contrast between two “cities” described in St. Augustine’s classic work “The City of God”: one built on love of God and neighbor, the other on self-interest and the pursuit of power.

The “city of God” is characterized by love, especially for the poor, Pope Leo said. “The earthly city … is centered upon the proud love of self, on the lust for power and worldly glory that leads to destruction.”

He urged leaders and citizens alike to discern “which city they wish to serve.”

The pope also made a reference to the government’s effort to move the country’s capital from Malabo to the mainland city of Ciudad de la Paz, meaning “City of Peace.”

“You have chosen to give it a name that seems to echo the biblical city of Jerusalem,” he said. “May such a decision prompt every person to ask themselves which city they wish to serve.”

Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony that gained independence in 1968, is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest oil producers. Despite its high per capita income, much of the population lives in poverty, with wealth concentrated among elites.

A child embraces Pope Leo XIV as he greets people after arriving in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, April 21, to begin his apostolic visit to the African nation. OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media

In his speech, Pope Leo warned against economic systems that exclude the poor, echoing his predecessor Pope Francis and his criticism that “such an economy kills.” He added that global conflicts are increasingly driven by the exploitation of natural resources “with no regard for international law or the self-determination of peoples.”

“The destiny of humanity risks being tragically compromised without a change of direction,” Pope Leo said. “God does not want this.”

After the meeting, Pope Leo stopped briefly at Malabo’s cathedral for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Built in 1897 during Spanish colonial rule, the cathedral is dedicated to St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

Later, the pope inaugurated a new campus named in his honor of the National University of Equatorial Guinea. Students gathered under palm trees singing and cheering his name in Spanish as he arrived at the modern university facility.

“I am aware that such a decision goes beyond the person being honored,” Pope Leo said, referring to the naming of the campus. “It reflects the values that we all want to pass on to others.”

He entrusted the academic community to the protection of the Virgin Mary and prayed that the institution would form young people in truth and human dignity.

In the afternoon, Pope Leo visited the Jean-Pierre Olie Psychiatric Hospital, a modern facility aimed at transforming mental health care in a country where stigma has long surrounded mental illness.

“A truly great society is not one that hides its weaknesses, but one that surrounds them with love,” the pope said, praising efforts to care for the vulnerable. “A facility such as this … can become a sign of the civilization of love.” Roughly 75% of Equatorial Guinea’s population of about 1.6 million is Catholic, making it one of Africa’s most Catholic countries. The visit marks only the second papal trip to the nation, following St. John Paul’s visit more than four decades ago.

The papal visit coincides with the 170th anniversary of evangelization in the country. Pope Leo is scheduled to travel April 22 to the country’s mainland region, where he will visit a prison in Bata and pray at a memorial to victims of a 2021 military base explosion that killed more than 100 people. A papal Mass in Mongomo at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, the second largest Catholic church in Africa, is expected to draw 100,000 Catholics.

(OSV News)–Flannery O’Connor was not an evangelist. She was an artist, one of the most gifted American fiction writers of the 20th century. But a profoundly Catholic theological vision informs her art, giving her stories resonance and depth that sound deep–and sometimes deeply disturbing–spiritual chords.

Explaining why she often wrote about grotesque characters in bizarre situations, O’Connor remarked that in an age of disbelief like this one, “You have to make your vision apparent by shock–to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.”

Another time she said, “All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it.” Then, with her characteristic mixture of ruefulness and realism, she added, “But most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless, brutal, etc.”

Today, more than six decades after her death, that sort of reaction to O’Connor’s fiction is more and more giving way to the realization that these are richly imagined analogies of faith flung in the face of skeptical secularism by a master storyteller.

Writing in the New York Review of Books, author Joyce Carol Oates cited O’Connor’s “unshakable absolutist faith” as the foundation of her creative work. Faith, said Oates, provided O’Connor with “a rationale with which to mock both her secular and bigoted Christian contemporaries in a succession of brilliantly orchestrated short stories that read like parables of human folly confronted by mortality.”

The only child of a real estate agent named Edward F. O’Connor and Regina Cline O’Connor, Mary Flannery O’Connor was born March 25, 1925, in Savannah. Her great-grandparents were Irish immigrants, and the family had remained staunchly Catholic, members of a religious minority in the Protestant Bible Belt. As a child, Mary Flannery attended parochial schools until her father’s failing health forced a move to the Cline family home in Milledgeville. There she attended Peabody High School, drawing cartoons and writing for the school paper.

In 1942, she entered Georgia State College for Women, located near her home. It was then she began to use the name Flannery O’Connor on school assignments. She graduated with a degree in social science.

In 1946, she was accepted by the prestigious Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa and went there to study journalism. While there, she met important writers like Robert Penn Warren and John Crowe Ransom, began writing fiction and started attending daily Mass. After Iowa, she spent time at an artists’ colony near Saratoga, New York, writing and socializing with other writers and attending Mass with the domestic staff.

A pair of gloves, a cross and book that belonged to Flannery O’Connor sit on her desk at the family home in Milledgeville. Photo by Julianna Leopold

Taken ill in 1950 while traveling home for Christmas, she was diagnosed with lupus, the inflammatory connective tissue disease that had also killed her father. She moved home for good and lived with her mother, settling into a routine of writing, tending her collection of peacocks and other exotic birds, exchanging letters with a growing number of correspondents, going to church with her mother, now and then lecturing on college campuses, and battling lupus.

Her illness she viewed with cool courage touched by humor. “I had a blood transfusion Tuesday,” she wrote a friend not long before her death, “so I am feeling sommut better and for the last two days I have worked one hour each day and my my I do like to work. I et up that one hour like it was filet mignon.”

Her first novel, “Wise Blood,” appeared in 1952 and received respectful but sometimes puzzled reviews. The story, she later told one of her correspondents, is about a “Protestant saint,” Hazel Motes by name, “written from the point of view of a Catholic.” Her second novel, “The Violent Bear It Away,” about a reluctant teenage prophet named Tarwater, came out in 1960.

In between, she produced a slow but steady stream of short fiction. The stories were collected in two volumes, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” (1952) and the posthumously published “Everything That Rises Must Converge” (1965).

The unraveling of hypocrisy is a favorite theme with O’Connor, and a story called “Revelation” is a particularly striking example of that. Mrs. Turpin, a middle-aged farm woman possessing sublime self-satisfaction and a keen eye for the faults of those she considers her inferiors, gets the shock of her life when a crazed girl in a doctor’s office throws a book at her, tries to choke her and tells her, “Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog.”

It’s the start of Mrs. Turpin’s conversion. That evening, as she stands beside her hog pen, the conversion comes to completion in the vision of a “vast horde of souls” mounting to heaven.

Leading the way are many of those she’s always looked down on. Bringing up the rear are some like herself. “They were marching behind the others with great dignity, accountable as they had always been for good order and common sense and respectable behavior. … Yet she could see by their shocked and altered faces that even their virtues were being burned away.”

Mrs. Turpin walks slowly back to the house. The crickets are loud in the woods, “but what she heard were the voices of the souls climbing upward into the starry field and shouting hallelujah.”

Beyond mere hypocrisy, O’Connor sometimes confronts monstrous evil that might best be described as demonic. In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” an escaped killer called the Misfit slaughters a family whose grandmother confronts him at the end.

“No pleasure but meanness,” he snarls at her.

“She saw the man’s face twisted close to her own as if he were going to cry and she murmured, ‘Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children.’ She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest.”

“She would of been a good woman,” he tells his companions, “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.”

O’Connor rejected the stereotyped explanation that she wrote as she did because that was how writers of the so-called Southern Gothic school wrote.

“My own feeling is that writers who see by the light of their Christian faith will have, in these times, the sharpest eyes for the grotesque, for the perverse, and for the unacceptable. … The novelist with Christian concerns will find in modern life distortions which are repugnant to him, and his problem will be to make these appear as distortions to an audience which is used to seeing them as natural; and he may well be forced to take ever more violent means to get this vision across to this hostile audience.”

In 1960, the Dominican Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer, a religious order founded by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s daughter, Rose, that operated a cancer home in Atlanta, approached O’Connor with a request to write a book about a girl with a disfiguring facial tumor whom the sisters had sheltered until her death at the age of 12. The sisters were deeply impressed by her courage and good spirits and wanted the world to know about her.

O’Connor told them they should write the book themselves, but she negotiated its publication and wrote the introduction.

The volume appeared in 1961 as “A Memoir of Mary Anne.” Reflecting its author’s own experience, her introduction is an extraordinary testimony of faith.

“One of the tendencies of our age is to use the suffering of children to discredit the goodness of God,” she wrote, “and once you have discredited his goodness, you are done with him.” In earlier times, people viewed unmerited suffering with “the blind, prophetical, unsentimental eye of acceptance, which is to say, of faith.” But now “we govern by tenderness”–tenderness divorced from its source in Christ–which “ends in forced labor camps and in the fumes of the gas chamber.” Today, perhaps, she would add abortion to that list.

O’Connor died of kidney failure brought on by lupus shortly after midnight Aug. 3, 1964. Her volume “The Complete Stories” received the National Book Award for Fiction in 1972.

Frankly, the remark was the greatest compliment of my life. People have spoken words of praise for my columns and my books, but no one has ever connected me with children. This fellow’s remark made me think about what really matters in our lives. It’s tempting to believe people will stand beside our graves and talk about how great we were at our jobs or what an astonishing game of golf we played. These are fine accomplishments, but what folks tend to remember are the more ineffable moments. 

One of the most poignant prayers ever uttered came from the “good thief” crucified next to Jesus: “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus assured him, “This day you will be with me in paradise,” and this man went down in history as someone granted mercy at the last moment. The thief’s prayer echoes what exists in our hearts, a desire that the Lord will never forget us in our suffering.  

The man helping me down the stairs was referring to the two girls, who, along with their Mom, sit next to me during liturgy. Sometimes I encourage them to sing and read the prayers, and they give me the joy of glimpsing the world through a child’s eyes. When the big wooden cross was placed before the altar on Good Friday, the youngest one stood motionless, staring at it. During a 10-year memorial service for my husband, these girls snuggled against me, as the choir intoned “May his memory be eternal.”  

“You can’t take it with you,” is absolutely true when it comes to fat bank accounts and glittering gold, which will ultimately dwindle to words in a will. The real question is not about what we take, but the memories we leave. St. John of the Cross wrote, “At the evening of our lives we will be judged on our love. Learn to love as God desires to be loved and abandon your own ways of acting.” We are called to a love that is selfless and merciful. We are called to create shining moments for others.  

My late husband shaped lasting memories for our godson by drawing pictures with him every Sunday after Mass. I will always remember my Uncle Johnny, who showed me how to scoop strawberries from the jam jar. I recall how my father asked for extra forks when he ordered dessert in a restaurant, because his wife and daughters were always dieting, but they wanted a taste, nonetheless.  

Sometimes we might take a moment to reflect on how we will be remembered. As for me, I would be honored if folks thought of me as a woman who helped with the children at church. A woman who did not have her own children but loved the little ones of others. I cannot think of a more beautiful epitaph.  

The narrow streets of Assisi overflow with visitors, priests, nuns and seekers of every stripe. The town is packed with churches, chapels, convents, and monasteries—many hidden in plain sight. 

Known as the Seraphic City, Assisi is filled with angels, too. In frescoes, sculptures, mosaics, bathrooms, porticos, piazzas, on mugs and menus—so ubiquitous that you stop noticing them.  

Lauretta Hannon

Could that be why we don’t see angels in real life—because they’re so much a part of the everyday scenery they become invisible? Or maybe it’s because they act through people and situations rather than appearing to us in a supernatural way. It’s a mystery, isn’t it? 

As I joined in on a church service, the fellow in front of me caught my eye—because, well, he was built like a heavy-duty freezer. Short, stout, and with a neck any pro wrestler would covet. Black bushy hair covered him like a gorilla suit. 

Something about him was not fully human. I scrutinized his outfit for clues as to who or what he was. In addition to a simple short-sleeved button-down shirt, he wore a brand-spanking-new pair of Rustler jeans. Size 46×32, Regular Straight Leg. I know this because the tags and stickers were still on the back of the jeans and trailing down his right leg. 

As I studied him, something made me ponder: could he be one of those angels hidden in plain sight? What if the Rustler tags are their secret symbols, or a code they use to identify each other? 

Maybe he’s here to expedite delivery of our cries and supplications. To fly them true north to a God who is Love itself. I did hear a rustling. But it could have been the jeans rubbing together.  

Either way, maybe, just maybe—in the rarefied air of Assisi—I worshipped alongside a flesh-and-blood angel.

This is an opportunity to celebrate the excitement of the World Cup with sticker designs from Catholic artists in Georgia.  

The winning sticker design will be used by the archdiocese to welcome visitors to Atlanta for the World Cup in June. The design will be featured in The Georgia Bulletin along with the artist.  

All contest rules are available on the online submission form at tinyurl.com/5a65kuvm. The contest is for young adults, ages 18 and older. All design submissions are due on Friday, April 24.