Priestly ordination for Deacon Nathan Budde will be May 30

By Suzanne Weiss | For On Mission

If you encountered Deacon Nathan Budde during his boyhood and told him that one day he would be delivering homilies to pews filled with congregants, he wouldn’t believe you.

“I’ve always been a very shy person,” he said. “I was always deathly afraid of talking in front of people. I didn’t have a lot of confidence.”

It took him nearly five years of prayer, practice, and encouragement to overcome this fear, said Deacon Budde, who will be ordained a priest on May 30 at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Green Bay.

This year Deacon Budde is completing his priestly formation at St. Francis de Sales Seminary and his theological studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Milwaukee.

The son of John and Jennifer Budde, Deacon Budde was born in Green Bay and raised in De Pere with four siblings. His home parish is St. Mary Parish in Ledgeview.

“I grew up in a pretty devout household where we prayed several times a day,” he said. “We always went to Sunday Mass. Being Catholic is a very integral part of our family life.”

As a small boy, he thought he might like to become a priest because he enjoyed studying the Bible and observing the priest during Mass, he said. 

When he was an elementary school student at Notre Dame of De Pere Catholic School, he couldn’t decide what he wanted to be when he grew up — a garbage truck driver, a construction worker or a priest. 

“It was always in the mix,” he said with a laugh.

Factors that nudged him toward his vocation included altar serving and participating in Conquest, a Catholic youth ministry program for boys, where he studied the Catholic virtues and the lives of the saints.

Fr. Daniel Schuster, his confirmation sponsor who currently serves as pastor at St. Mary Parish in Luxemburg and Holy Trinity Parish in Casco, was influential in Deacon Budde’s decision to become a priest. 

“I saw him as a role model,” Deacon Budde said. “He walked with me spiritually. He’s been a great source of encouragement to me. He was and is a very influential priest in my life.”

In 2017, Deacon Budde attended a youth group retreat at Camp Tekakwitha in Shawano, where Fr. Schuster led Eucharistic adoration.

“I did have a pretty clear encounter with Christ in adoration that was pivotal to this wrestling in my heart,” he said. “The Lord was speaking directly to my heart.”

The following year, he took part in a pilgrimage to California, led by Fr. Schuster. The group followed the footsteps of St. Junípero Serra, the patron saint of vocations, and visited 18 missions in six days, Deacon Budde said.

While the public speaking portion of his high school English class wasn’t a favorite, his experiences in high school at Notre Dame Academy deepened his faith. At the same time, he was pulled in different directions. 

“For a few years, there was this back and forth about accepting the call from God,” he said. “I was still running away from the call even though it was very clear. In high school, I wanted to be a fisheries biologist. I didn’t stop practicing my faith. I was still wrestling with what the Lord wanted me to do and what I wanted to do with my life.”

For a year, he attended St. Norbert College (SNC) in De Pere, where he studied subjects including biology and theology. 

He avoided getting involved with Catholic groups at SNC. Then, a friend who had a time conflict with a swim meet asked Deacon Budde to take his place at Eucharistic adoration. 

From then on, he started attending adoration every week.

“I read, prayed, sat in silence, told Jesus what I was feeling,” he said. “He worked on my heart … (I decided) okay, I want to give this seminary thing a shot.

Before attending seminary in the Milwaukee area, he spent three years at Immaculate Heart of Mary College Seminary on the campus of St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona and graduated in 2022 with a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy.

The seminary priests encouraged him and told him he had a lot to offer, he said. “Without even realizing it until I looked back, I became more comfortable each year speaking in front of people.”

His latest assignment has been a diaconal ministry at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Newton. He looks forward to his next appointment.

“I’ll be able to bring God’s mercy and his grace into people’s lives and help them to encounter Christ in the ways that priests have helped me encounter him,” Deacon Budde said.

“We’re very excited for him,” said his mother, Jennifer. “He has a love for the Lord … a peace about himself and this genuine interest to listen to what a person has to say. People seem to be very comfortable talking with him. That’s going to help him minister to people.”

Transitional diaconate ordination for Jacob Bovee will be May 17

By Suzanne Weiss | For On Mission

When his good friend died during high school, Jacob Bovee wavered in his faith. 

“I was asking all these questions,” he said. “Why are we here? What is the point of life? Why would God let this happen?” 

Bovee sought the answers to his questions in Scripture and prayer, and it wasn’t long before he found them.

“God put us here so that we can have a relationship with him,” he said. “Bad things happen, but they’re only temporary in the sense that (they’re) limited to this world and we have eternity to look forward to.” 

Now Bovee is finishing his theological studies at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in the Milwaukee area and preparing for his transitional diaconate ordination — his next step on the path to priesthood — on May 17 at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Green Bay.

He credits his family and the priests he’s encountered for his desire to enter the seminary.

Bovee was born in Columbus, Wisconsin, and grew up in Hortonville, just west of Appleton. His parents, Jon and Laura Bovee, raised him and his three siblings in the Catholic faith and tradition.

“We were going to Mass every Sunday,” Bovee said. “My parents were consistently growing in faith, especially as they taught us how to pray. I saw them grow more devout as I grew up.”

His father felt closest to God in the open air, he said. 

“My dad has always loved bringing us outdoors, and he would always talk about how God created the world, how he made all of these beautiful pieces of nature,” Bovee said.

“It rubbed off” on him, he said. “I often like to clear my mind and go to the woods for a nice, long walk and pray. It brings into perspective how amazing God’s design is. It’s fascinating to observe — and humbling.”

Bovee said he was inspired to follow his vocation as early as third grade by Fr. Mark Vander Steeg, who was pastor of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Greenville when Bovee attended elementary and junior high at the church school. 

“I looked up to him,” Bovee said. “There was something about him that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. He was cool, he knew what the point of living was, and I wanted to know what that was. I served for him at Mass with some regularity. That was my first experience with the priesthood and feeling a desire for it.”

Fr. Vander Steeg now serves the Diocese of Green Bay as vicar for priests and pastoral leaders.

At Hortonville High School, as Bovee went through a period of questioning his faith and looked for answers, “stubbornly, I left the Catechism to the last,” he said.

A pivotal point in his life came when his parents encouraged him to attend a Catholic retreat in St. Louis, Missouri. 

“My family had been good about keeping me on the straight and narrow path, as much as I resisted,” he said. 

The priests at the retreat opened the Gospel to him, he said. 

“Their explanations, coupled with the compassion they showed, made me believe in the faith, in what they were saying,” Bovee said. “It kindled a desire to do what they were doing for other people, to be like them. It was that and going to adoration when I was there.”

“I came to understand that at the heart of the priesthood is the compassion of Christ. They became priests because they wanted to love like Christ. They wanted to love people.”

Among the priests who influenced him was his uncle, Fr. Greg Ihm, who serves in the Diocese of Madison. 

The final decision to pursue the priesthood came late in his junior year of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he graduated in 2020 with a degree in humanistic studies and history.

“It took a while before I was able to say yes to God,” he said. “I was definitely discerning whether I ought to get married. I made a lot of good friends. I also grew in the discipline of prayer.”

Bovee would take late-night walks in the (university) arboretum, “praying, asking the Lord what I should do with my life,” he said. “It took about a year, cooking in my head, praying about it before I finally got up the courage to enter the seminary.”

Once he is ordained a transitional deacon, Bovee said he looks forward to being assigned a parish for the summer and performing baptisms, weddings and funerals.

That will be followed by one more year of seminary before his priestly ordination.

“We’re really excited to see the culmination of all the hard work he has put in,” said his mother, Laura Bovee. 

“Jacob has always had a heart for the marginalized, people on the outskirts of society,” she said. “I think this is a good place for him to be able to help people find God, discover their identity and discover their mission.” 

‘God turned on the light and changed my life forever’

By Jeff Kurowski | For On Mission

Photography by Scott Eastman 

GREEN BAY, WI — Jane Birr sees the Holy Spirit at work in her role at The Salvation Army Kroc Community Center in Green Bay. Birr, a health coach and fitness instructor, points to a time when she played the worship song “10,000 Reasons” in a class. Everyone in the room spontaneously joined in the chorus. 

“They were singing loudly together, ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul,’” she said. “It was beautiful,” Birr said.  

Having recently marked 11 years at the Kroc Center, Birr said that her mission as a health coach is to “come alongside many members to help them stop and figure out where they are, where they want to be and how to step-by-step get there in body, mind and spirit.”

In her role as a fitness instructor, she wants to “help members get the basics of aerobic fitness, strength and flexibility as well as (promote) social connection and fun.”  

Birr begins each class by sharing a Bible verse. She regularly plays Christian music and, following class, will pray for those who request prayer. 

“Each morning, I ask God to refill me with his Holy Spirit and let my roots grow down deep into his marvelous love until I am at last filled with Christ himself,” she said. “(I also ask him) to please lead me to who he wants me to touch that day for his glory.”

Birr’s service to members sometimes extends beyond the Kroc Center walls. She has assisted people with rides, shoveling, raking and cleaning out basements. Her husband of 26 years, Tim Birr, has joined her in this outreach. 

“A number of the people are older,” she said. “If anyone needs anything, we’re happy to help. We’ve gone to many homes.”

This year, Birr celebrated a milestone anniversary of her faith conversion. 

On Good Friday 1996 at St. Agnes Parish in Green Bay, “God turned on the light and changed my life forever,” Birr said. “Up to that point, I was screwing up my life with selfish and sinful choices.” 

“I was so full of pride that after attending some Bible studies and presentations during Lent, I went to confession and told the priest that I was starting to realize that, much to my horror, I was like the hypocritical Pharisees who thought they were so good and better than everyone else. He agreed.”

On that Good Friday, Birr felt her faith change during the veneration of the Cross.

“When I reached the Cross, all I could do was kneel with my head bowed low and place my hand on the wood, and say, ‘I am so, so sorry,’” she said. “I got up and came back to my seat and knew something just happened.”

Birr credits Catholic Charities at the Diocese of Green Bay for support when she was “messing life up in (her) 20s and early 30s,” she said. She attended counseling sessions with Mary Sherman, a mental health counselor who was on staff with Catholic Charities at the time. 

“She really helped me get my head on straight,” Birr said. “I’m forever grateful (to the diocese) and, therefore, will forever give to (the Bishop’s Appeal) through St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Armstrong Creek.”  

Birr attends Mass at the St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish when in the area at her family cottage. She serves as a lector during the week at the 4:30 p.m. Mass at St. Norbert Abbey in De Pere. Birr feels a connection to the abbey. Her late uncle was Norbertine Fr. Robert Hyde. 

“I remember being a little kid going there and all the priests filing in,” she said. “I just love the beauty and peace that I find there and focusing on what Jesus did for me at the Cross at Communion.”

Birr’s late parents, Bill and Alice Bodilly, served as faith models, she said.

“My mom taught me how to smile at people,” Birr said. “Jesus radiated out of my mom. She had a great relationship with Jesus.”

Birr also lives out her faith through service. A Lenten sacrifice 15 years ago fueled her to help people in Uganda. She gave up drinking Diet Coke from McDonald’s and Cousins Subs, donating the money she saved to Another Hope Children’s Ministry.

“We help raise funds for Bibles and water towers for those who have so little,” she said. “We now have 60 people on our team. We’ve built over 200 water towers and have distributed over 2,500 Bibles. People give so generously. God formed this team. I’m in awe of how God puts people together.”

Birr tried to replicate the experience of those she supports in Uganda. Tim joined her in walking two miles from their home to the East River in Green Bay to fill milk jugs with water and walk back.

“That was so hard,” she said. “(People in Uganda) have kids who do that not only before school, but also after school.”

Birr continues to draw on “God’s great strength” in service and through her work, she said. “My faith has continued to grow as I stumble forward into transforming from one degree to the next to be more like Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

She has expanded her role at the Kroc Center over the years. She also teaches archery, assists with Pickleball 101 and co-facilitates a Women’s Precept Bible Study.

Sharing her love of Scripture, Birr regularly selects Bible verses, which the marketing department prints for members and displays on the screens in the center. She said that her favorite Bible verse is Nehemiah 8:10 — “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”

“I want to go where God needs me,” Birr said. “I want to touch as many people as I can to get them healthy. I want to share Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God.” 

As a part of the national celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, the country’s bishops of the are preparing to consecrate the the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The nation will be consecrated on June 11, 2026, ahead of the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 12. The USCCB is offering resources and different prayers to prepare for the consecration.

Click THIS LINK to see a detailed letter from Bishop David Ricken and a resource page.

By Bishop Ricken | On Mission

Summer is approaching, which means road trips to the beach or vacation destinations. Travel always requires preparation. Have you ever gotten into the car for a long drive and realized, “Oh no, we need gas!” Not a great start to the trip. But whenever we undertake a road trip, we need fuel for the journey.

The journey of our spiritual life is similar. Through our Baptism and Confirmation, every single Catholic (and Christian) is called to a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to share him with others. But sometimes we try to undertake this journey without the “fuel” we need to make it happen. What is the fuel needed to foster an intimate relationship with Jesus and to have the power to go out and share him with others? Can’t I just do these things on my own?

There is a reason that the Holy Spirit is literally central in my recent pastoral invitation, “Sent on Mission: A Pastoral Invitation to Share Jesus with Others.” Without the Holy Spirit, Jesus may not be personal to you. Your faith may feel like a good idea or a helpful set of moral principles to follow, but our faith is meant to be based on our deep, intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who draws us to Christ and makes the Risen Lord real to us. Only he can enable us to truly believe that Jesus rose from the dead. 

Exhibit A: The Apostles. Please see Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2. Our early brothers in the faith, who walked with Jesus and witnessed his death and Resurrection before he ascended into heaven, surely had a lively, on-fire faith after these experiences! Well, not yet. Acts 2 shows them gathered together in the Upper Room, afraid and unsure of what was going to happen next. In the midst of their fear, the Holy Spirit arrives and turns their fear into faith, so much so that St. Peter begins proclaiming the Risen Christ to the people outside (the same ones he was just hiding from). 

We need the Holy Spirit to share Jesus with those we love. This Pentecost (May 24) and every Sunday, allow the Holy Spirit to enter your life and those places of your heart that doubt, fear or have been wounded. Let the Holy Spirit transform you, just like he did for the Apostles, so that you might have a deeper relationship with Jesus, believe without a doubt in the Resurrection of Christ and boldly go forth to share Jesus with your family, friends, co-workers and anyone the Lord calls you to. Pray the “Prayer to the Holy Spirit” each Sunday with your parish for this transformation to happen to you and your entire parish community. This is my prayer for us all this Pentecost and throughout these Share Jesus years. Let us pray together — 

Come Holy Spirit! Come!

ALLOUEZ, WI — After a few years of seminary, three young men took the next step in their priestly formation, called the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders, at St. Joseph Chapel at the offices of the Diocese of Green Bay this Tuesday, May 12, 2026.

The seminarians were Nicholas Klika, currently in formation at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minnesota, and Matthew Schumacher and Benedict Wood, both in formation at St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

They all traveled from seminary to declare, before Bishop David Ricken, their desire and resolve to dedicate their lives to God in priestly ministry and complete their preparation for that ministry. The rite is the first formal step toward the Sacrament of Holy Orders, as the candidates are sent forth to begin their theological studies. 

“It’s not a huge step, but it’s not a small step either,” said Fr. Mark Mleziva, vocation director for the Diocese of Green Bay.

Friends, family, fellow seminarians and their home parish priests gathered to support and celebrate the candidates. 

See more photos here: onmiss.io/candidacy 

2026 Catholic Charities Inspired to Act event hosts guest speaker Fr. Leo Patalinghug

GREEN BAY, WI — The 12th annual Inspired to Act event, held by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Green Bay, took place at Stadium View in Green Bay last Thursday, May 7, 2026.

The event included a social, a silent auction, an award presentation, and a talk and cooking demonstration given by Fr. Leo Patalinghug, who spoke about family and prepared a dessert live.

Fr. Patalinghug is a priest member of a community of consecrated life called Voluntas Dei, an award-winning chef, and the founder of Plating Grace, a ministry that brings families and communities closer together around meals.

See more photos here: onmiss.io/inspiredtoact2026 

Catholic Charities USA encouraged by pope amid challenges of service

VATICAN — Pope Leo XIV offered words of encouragement and gratitude to the leadership of Catholic Charities USA during a meeting at the Vatican on Monday, May 4, 2026.

Speaking to journalists after the papal audience, Kerry Alys Robinson, president of the organization — the American branch of Caritas Internationalis — said the pope expressed appreciation “that the work of Catholic Charities across all 50 states, the five U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia is a manifestation of Christ’s love for humankind and serves as a beacon of hope.”

She said that Pope Leo recognized the suffering endured by those assisted by Catholic Charities “is compounded and exacerbated by poverty.” The Holy Father, she added, also acknowledged the challenges faced by those engaged in charitable ministry and urged the delegation to remain steadfast in their service.

Read the full article from Vatican News here: onmiss.io/popeleocatholiccharities   

By Lyn Zahorik | For On Mission

The scriptural account this Sunday of Jesus’ Ascension, “He was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight,” seems to be lacking dazzle (Acts 1:9). Truly, couldn’t the apostles have taken better notes? Did Jesus rise like a butterfly, zig‑zagging on a warm breeze? Did he lift like a hot‑air balloon, steady and serene? Or was it more of a vanishing — like a jet‑stream star slipping into the bright sky before anyone can say, “Wait, what just happened?” 

If we’re honest, we’re the ones who would enjoy the special‑effects version. We want to know “how” he went up. Was there a shimmer? A glow? A whoosh? Did anyone’s hair blow back? But Matthew doesn’t bother with any of that; he focuses us on the heart of this Scripture — Jesus giving a command.

“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations … and behold, I am with you always” (Mt 28:18-20).

And that purpose is beautifully inconvenient. “Go.” Not “stay comfortable.” Not “admire the view.” Not “wait until you feel holy enough.” Go. Teach. Baptize. Love. Forgive. Lift up the ones who feel forgotten. Carry hope into places that have forgotten how to hope. The Ascension is not Jesus disappearing. It’s Jesus expanding, moving from one place to every place, from one moment in time to all time. He doesn’t leave us; he leaves us with purpose.

Then Ephesians steps in and adds a whole extra layer of sparkle. Paul prays that the “eyes of our hearts” finally focus so we can see the hope we’ve been called to. He reminds us that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated him “far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion” is the power now at work in us (Eph 1:21). What an affirmation. Because some days we don’t feel “far above” anything, yet Paul insists: Christ is the Head, and we are his Body (cf. Eph 1:22-23), meaning the Ascension is Jesus pulling humanity upward with him, saying, “Come on, you’re part of this too.”

So when we hear “Go, therefore,” it’s not Jesus saying, “Well, off you go — and don’t forget to pack a lunch.” It’s Jesus saying, “You already have the power you need — you just don’t realize it yet.”

There’s a line often quoted at funerals, but it belongs here too: “The best way to remember someone is by living the way they did.” The Ascension is Jesus saying exactly that — live as I lived. Love as I loved. Heal, welcome, bless, and forgive in ways that make people tilt their heads and say, “You remind me of him.”

So maybe we leave the special effects of Jesus’ Ascension to an upcoming episode of “The Chosen,” realizing that how Jesus ascended is not as important as what he left behind — the direction we are to follow. And he promises, “I am with you always.” Steady as breath, close as heartbeat, present in every act of love we dare to offer the world.

The readings for Sunday, May 17, can be found at The Ascension of the Lord | USCCB.

On Mission Media | In collaboration with the Diocese of Madison CGS

MADISON, WI — Catechists, assistants, and friends of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS), an organization which serves children ages 0-12 through hands-on catechesis, met for their annual gathering on March 7, 2026.

Born of a collaboration between the Catholic faith and the Montessori method in the mid-20th century, CGS serves children ages 0-12 through a hands-on, prayerful catechesis, allowing children to foster a relationship with God. The program can now be found in multiple parishes and schools in each diocese of Wisconsin. 

The purpose of the March 7 gathering was to pray, deepen understanding of the work, and be encouraged in the mission. The gathering was hosted in the Diocese of Madison at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Madison. The participants began with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Donald Hying and concelebrant Archbishop Emeritus of Kansas City, Kansas, Joseph F. Naumann.

After a chance to chat and connect, the participants listened to the keynote speaker, Dr. Geoffrey Ludvik, as he presented his research on the archeology of the Holy Lands. Dr. Ludvik expanded on the archaeological evidence for the life of Jesus of Nazareth, where he lived, and even how we know where he was born and buried. 

“My biggest takeaway from the state gathering is immense gratitude for the Wisconsin CGS community,” said Kate Hendrick, who serves as a level I catechist at St. Therese Parish and St. Pius X Parish in Appleton. “It is so helpful to learn from the experience of others and know that the challenges we face are things others have experienced. It is so encouraging to be in a room with so many other people who love our Lord and serve him through this work.”

Hendrick is working with the volunteers in her parish to offer CGS bilingually and ultimately in Spanish to meet the needs of their multicultural community.

Next year, the gathering will be hosted in the Diocese of Green Bay at St. Ignatius Catholic School in Kaukauna. Jenny Johns, who will lead the planning committee, has been a catechist for 10 years at St. John Paul II Classical School. 

Johns recalled how Carol Ricken, sister of Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay and then-headmaster of the school, Carol Ricken, invited her to receive CGS formation in 2016. 

“Unfortunately, when I was young, I was not formed well in the faith,” Johns said. “It has been an incredible gift for me to receive this formation, to open and enjoy his many gifts and then to share these gifts with the children. It has been one of the greatest joys of my life. The atrium is a place where the head and the heart meet.” 

You can find more information about CGS by visiting cgsusa.org.  

The first female director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Green Bay received the same award at this year’s Inspired to Act event but with a different name

By Rachel Kettner | For On Mission

GREEN BAY, WI — Ruth Bruha-Mettner always knew she wanted to be a social worker. But she never imagined her 40-plus-year career would have such a lasting impact on the lives of others.

Born and raised in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Bruha-Mettner volunteered at the local orphanage, run by Catholic Social Services, during her final year of college in her hometown.

“I worked with a lot of children at the orphanage there, and that just made me more interested in becoming a social worker because the children were separated completely from their parents,” she said. “I enjoyed the fact that I might be able to do something to help them.”

Following graduation and her time helping at the orphanage, Bruha-Mettner asked the Catholic Social Services office for a list of Catholic Charities offices outside of the La Crosse area.

“I wanted to stay in Wisconsin, but I didn’t want to stay in La Crosse, because I was always there,” she said. “They gave me a booklet, and I went home that night with the booklet, closed my eyes, opened it up, and it landed on Green Bay. It was the Lord’s message, I think. I contacted them, and they said they were just happening to look for a new worker.”

Bruha-Mettner moved to Green Bay in 1959 without looking back and stayed with Catholic Charities until her retirement in 1990. As a social worker, she worked with a variety of programs including adoption, marriage counseling, individual counseling and more. She took on various roles throughout the years, eventually becoming the first female executive director.

“It was just a wonderful, wonderful career to have,” she said. “I met a lot of wonderful people and a lot of troubled people. It was so good to know that you could maybe be an instrument of helping somebody. I enjoyed every minute of it.”

One person significantly impacted by Bruha-Mettner’s work was Ellen Mommaerts. 

Mommaerts, who was born nine years after Bruha-Mettner started her career in Green Bay, had been hearing about “Ms. Bruha” her entire life.

Mommaerts was given up for adoption as a newborn and was placed in several foster homes as an infant. She was even returned by prospective adoptive parents before finally being placed in her forever home with Serena and Louis Mommaerts when she was six months old.

“My entire growing up, (my adoptive parents) would talk about Ruth Bruha,” Mommaerts said. “She obviously had this big influence on my parents, and it just always intrigued me because she was a social worker, and I was contemplating being a social worker as I was getting into college. I thought she did a good job hooking me up with my parents. And if I had ever had the chance to meet her, my goal was just to thank her.”

Many years later, Mommaerts was working at the Norbertine Center for Spirituality and helping host a retreat that Bruha-Mettner just so happened to be attending. Curious if this could be the “Ruth” she had been hearing about for decades, she introduced herself.

“You wouldn’t happen to be Ruth Bruha, would you?” Mommaerts asked. After hearing an affirmative “yes,” she said, “Wow, I’ve always wanted to meet you because my parents talked about you all the time.”

Since their initial meeting, the two have caught up, with Mommaerts sharing her post-adoption journey.

At 18, Mommaerts petitioned the court to open her file so she could learn about her birth family. She went on to meet her birth mother and birth sister, both of whom she now has a relationship with. She met her birth father, but respected his wishes to discontinue any further relationship. She even set up a meeting for Bruha-Mettner to meet her birth mother and sister.

Mommaerts isn’t the only one to recognize the impact Bruha-Mettner has had on the lives of others. In 2025, while attending the 11th Annual Inspired to Act Gala hosted by Catholic Charities, Bruha-Mettner was the recipient of an inaugural award, originally called the Finding the Face of Jesus Award.

“We presented it last year for the first time to an individual who has helped shape Catholic Charities and who we are today, whether it’s been through past volunteerism, advocacy or donation,” said Karmen Lemke, the current executive director of Catholic Charities. “(Bruha Mettner) was the perfect person to receive that inaugural award because she was a trailblazer for Catholic Charities. She was the first female executive director. She was the first woman to, or the first director to, really help start shaping what true social work and case management was going to look like as it does today.”

This year’s Inspired to Act event took place on Thursday, May 7, at Stadium View in Green Bay.

“This is a wonderful gathering of the community to celebrate Catholic Charities,” Lemke said. “We call it a fundraiser, but it’s also a friendraiser. Goals are simply to gather the community in celebration, to create awareness for our mission and what we do, and the impact that we are having on individuals and families. And of course, it does raise important funds to fund our mission.”

The award Bruha Mettner received last year was given again, this time with a new name: The Ruth Bruha-Mettner Award. It is given to an individual for their dedication and loyalty to advancing the Catholic Charities vision and mission.

Bruha-Mettner said she was honored to receive the award and humbled by the change in name for future recipients. She loved her time with Catholic Charities and is grateful to witness the continued work it does in the lives of others.

“Some people work for years and don’t like their job at all,” she said. “I never was sorry that I was going to wake up tomorrow morning and go into the office. I looked forward to my work; I really did. I recommend people go into social work. It’s wonderful.”

“The social workers never get credit for the hard work that they do, and they’re just always kind of behind the scenes,” Mommaerts said. “I want to tell this incredible story of how this woman placed me in the right spot with the right people.”

Jason and Meghan credit the Walk to Mary with their answered prayers after years of infertility struggles

By William Van de Planque | On Mission

CHAMPION, WI — Nearly 10,000 pilgrims, with a record-breaking number of registrations, participated in the 2026 Walk to Mary, the annual 22-mile walking pilgrimage from The National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere to The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, on Saturday, May 2.

Many pilgrims walk to be drawn closer to Jesus through Mary’s intercession and unite their suffering with that of Jesus and Mary for specific prayer intentions. Some walk in thanksgiving for answered prayers.

A recent example of the latter is a married couple from Maryland, who completed a portion of the Walk to Mary this year in thanksgiving for answered prayers to conceive after years of struggling with infertility, though they did not originally register with that intention.

Before Jason and Meghan Sheehan, who met at the University of Maryland, got married in 2021, Meghan was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Her doctor told her that the diagnosis meant having children would be challenging and to consider other options. 

“When I told my then-fiancé, Jason, about the news as I was clutching my St. Thérèse of Lisieux medal, he was unfazed,” Meghan said. “He knew God had a plan and that it wasn’t for us or even for doctors to tell us what would happen in our fertility journey.”

Jason and Meghan got married on October 16, the feast day of St. Gerard Majella, the patron saint of expectant mothers. At the time of her diagnosis, Meghan was living with her parents and praying with them the Family Rosary Across America, a nightly program on Relevant Radio, co-hosted by Fr. Francis Hoffman, known as “Fr. Rocky,” the major Catholic radio network’s chairman and executive director. 

“That’s when Fr. Rocky, every night, started to plant a seed about the Walk to Mary,” Meghan said. “Over the years, it was something that would sound interesting, but it wasn’t a substantial plan I was ever going to have in the future.”

Fr. Rocky also often advertises the Walk to Mary pilgrimage on Relevant Radio using the tagline, “If you want a baby, don’t say maybe; come to the Walk to Mary.”

In 2023, after a couple of years of keeping up the practice of praying the nightly Rosary, Jason and Meghan decided to take concrete action in prayer and hope, and to participate in the Walk to Mary the next year.

“It became more tangible to us,” Meghan said. “We were done with saying, ‘Maybe.’” 

The couple began training for the physically demanding pilgrimage by going on long walks on the weekends. In May 2024, they traveled to Green Bay and walked the full 22 miles, praying multiple Rosaries along the way.

Meghan and Jason prayed not only for their own personal intentions, but also carried written prayer intentions from the members of their Bible study, an idea Meghan got from Fr. Rocky, she said.

Jason was struck by the number of other people walking alongside them.

“Overall, I thought it was a really great experience, just being surrounded by so many other people,” he said. “You don’t know all of their stories, but they’re all here for the same reason.”

The physical pain Meghan experienced during the walk drew her closer to Jesus, she said.

“In a way, Jason and I were able to pray, ‘Jesus, help us carry our cross to Golgotha,’” Meghan said. “That helped us truly unite ourselves to Our Lord’s suffering … and realize that this cross that we were carrying of infertility was something that he wasn’t ignoring. It was something that he cared about too.”

When the couple saw the Shrine for the first time, especially the statue of the Blessed Mother in the Apparition Oratory, they felt immense peace and consolation. When they returned home to Maryland, they brought that same peace back with them, they said.

“I felt that our prayers were heard,” Meghan said. “That was something I was entirely confident of.”

Knowing her prayers had been heard, she was still unsure whether they would be answered, saying, “That was something I still didn’t know and was wrestling with in my heart.”

Jason, on the other hand, was fully confident that their prayers for a child would be answered.

“I felt like I already knew that (God and Mary) heard us, and now the clock is ticking; it’s only a matter of time,” he said.

After about a year of continued prayer, in March 2025, Meghan and Jason began seeing doctors about medical intervention and, at the same time, began the nine-month Surrender Novena, which ended in December. 

They met with a secular provider who was covered through their insurance, but had a serious conversation with her, explaining to her that they were practicing Catholics and telling her that if she were to push “anything that deters from Church teaching, we will walk away,” Meghan said.

Meghan said that she knew that certain practices were deemed morally wrong by the Church, but she “didn’t understand the theological teaching behind it until I really delved deep into (Pope St. John Paul II’s) writings.”

The summer after their first Walk to Mary, Meghan asked a friend, with whom she is involved in a women’s Bible study, about the teaching of Pope St. John Paul II, “Theology of the Body,” and what she thought about Meghan leading the other women in a series on the saint’s writings on human sexuality. It was through that experience and extensive research that she learned a lot, she said.

From that time until December, Meghan took medication that would induce ovulation and went to the medical clinic for monthly testing that would provide information like the amount of hCG, often called the “pregnancy hormone,” that was present. The nurses would then tell Meghan whether or not that indicated pregnancy.

“We found that it was one failed cycle after another,” Meghan said. “I’d get the call from the nurse only for her to tell me, ‘I’m so sorry to tell you this, but you aren’t pregnant.’ After I was able to calm down, I (would) offer a prayer to God in suffering, but I will say Jason never wavered.”

“(As a part of) my personality, I feel like I’ve been a perpetual optimist for my whole life, really,” Jason said. “I like to try to see the best in people; I try to see the best in situations. In this process … for me, I knew it was just a matter of time. One of these months it would work.”

However filled with faith and hope Jason became, there was no doubt that he was suffering with Meghan.

“For me, it was hard seeing how Meghan was impacted every month,” Jason said.

After nearly a year of taking medication, praying the Rosary every night, and praying countless novenas to different saints, the couple decided in fall 2025 that if they found out Meghan was not pregnant after testing in December, they were going to take a break.

“That’s when we knew the Lord said, ‘Trust me; let me take control of this completely,’” Meghan said. “That’s what was on our hearts.”

Once again inspired by Fr. Rocky, the couple decided to give God a deadline. 

“As we were nearing the end of the year … we adjusted our prayer intention from ‘help us to conceive’ to ‘help us to conceive before the end of this year,’” Jason said.

Jason would often tell Meghan, after their time of prayer, that God has a sense of humor and would likely answer their prayers at the very end of their set timeline.

“I feel like that was part of that optimism,” Jason said. “It was kind of a joke, but then that’s what happened.”

On December 15, 2025, the anniversary of the day Jason proposed, Meghan got the call.

“Congratulations, you’re pregnant!” said the nurses from the medical clinic over the phone. The nurses said that it was a miracle that it worked that quickly, Jason said.

Jason and Meghan were already registered to complete the full 22 miles at this year’s Walk to Mary when they found out they were expecting, and they had to call in to ask if they could change their registration. 

When Pat Deprey, co-founder of the Walk to Mary, heard the news, he knew their story had to be shared.

The night before the 2026 Walk to Mary, on May 1, the Sheehans told their story at Relevant Radio’s “Evening of Prayer and Celebration.”

“The other thing the Lord has taught me in this time of waiting and suffering and carrying this cross was the importance of patience, the importance of trust, and knowing that his timing is better than anything we could ever conceive for our own selves,” Meghan said. 

“It’s always when you’re at the end of your rope that the Lord comes through to carry your cross the rest of the way to Calvary. While I was getting discouraged, Our Lord’s words kept replaying in my head, ‘Pray without ceasing.’”