Featured Stories | June 15, 2026
“Thank you to our SCJs, our associates, our alumni, our former SCJs, and friends of the Priests of the Sacred Heart for your courageous witness. You are all a vital gift to our Dehonian family.”
-Fr. Vien Nguyen at the Mass for the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Click here to read his full homily.
On June 12, the main chapel at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology was packed for the celebration of Feast of the Sacred Heart. This year the feast-day Mass took on special meaning as it was held just hours after the US Bishops consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary.
Music at SHSST was led by Crosswood Music Ministry, directed by Terry Piontkowski. Our readers were long-time friends of the community: Grace Elliot and Mary Worley. Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, provincial superior of the US Province, was the main celebrant. He was joined at the altar by over a dozen SCJ priests as well as Dcn. Long Nguyen, SCJ, who was recently approved for priesthood ordination (it is scheduled for August 15 in Houston).
During the Mass, several people made their commitments as Dehonian Associates. They included Mary Donahue, who lives in Cape Cod and came to know the Priests of the Sacred Heart while on a pilgrimage in Rome; Mary Lestina, Pastoral Associate at St. Dominic’s Parish in Brookfield, WI; Jean-Paul Yafali, now living in Seattle but with connections with the Priests of the Sacred Heart going back to his youth in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Vicki Johnson, an ECS instructor at SHSST; Caitlin Lewis, who works is the academic department of the seminary; Deacon Emmanuel Eklou from the Diocese of Joliet, who is also a member of the French Catholic community in Chicago; and Beata Moberg, from Illinois, who is currently studying the works of Fr. Dehon. David Wild, province director of facilities, and Dr. Selom Assignon, part of the French Catholic community in Chicago, will make their commitments at a later date.
Renewing their commitments were Monica Misey, Edell Schaefer, Pam Milczarski and Jenny Drzewiecki. The Associates are pictured at the top of the page, making their commitments before Fr. Vien and the assembly.
Other Dehonian Associates made commitments (or renewals) in Mississippi and Texas.
“Thank you to our SCJs, our associates, our alumni, our former SCJs, and friends of the Priests of the Sacred Heart for your courageous witness,” said Fr. Vien. “You are all a vital gift to our Dehonian family.”
Click here to read Fr. Vien’s full homily.
Sr. Ramona talks about the ministry of the Dehonian pastoral team in rural South Dakota
The love of the Sacred Heart in action
Prior to the liturgy, Fr. Floribert Bulo Dhelo, SCJ, Sr. Ramona Pandan, MCM and Sr. Grecely Tangcogo, MCM, gave a presentation about Dehonian ministry on the reservations in South Dakota. Lower Brule, SD, is the birthplace of the Dehonian presence in the United States and just as when Fr. Matthias Fohrman, SCJ, first celebrated Mass there over 100 years ago, it continues to be one of the most economically challenged areas of the country. Job opportunities are minimal, “and so is the people’s sense of hope,” said Fr. Floribert. “Despair and the lack of hope are some of our greatest challenges on the reservations.” For many, drugs and alcohol seem to be the only way out of the despair.
For members of the Lower Brule Pastoral Team, theirs is a ministry of presence, of being with people and building trust. It means living Fr. Dehon’s call to “get out of the sacristies!”
“The church is not just a building,” said Sr. Grecely. “We bring the church to the people in their homes. Our mission is inspired by spiritual and corporal works of mercy. We feed people not just so that they can have food, but so that they can have the spiritual nourishment that happens when people come together.”
Sr. Ramona talked about constantly offering “seeds of hope.” Sometimes those seeds seem to stay hidden unground –– you plan for a class or meeting at the church and are met by only an empty room. “But then there are the seeds that grow, the people who come to the AA meetings, the people who bring their grandchildren to be baptized, the people who talk to us about their lives. This is what we pray for, that the seeds that we scatter may grow.”
“We try to give hope,” said Sr. Grecely. “They say ‘Sister, we need you here, Father, we need you here.’ And with that, we know that we are where we should be. We love these people and I love this mission. It is challenging, but it is where I should be.”
CLICK HERE to view photos from the celebration.
