News & Events | January 26, 2026
Sacred Heart Shrine dedicated at SMoT
A Shrine to the Sacred Heart, dedicated to Fr. Leo John Dehon, was blessed on Jan. 24, 2026, following the 4 p.m. Mass at St. Martin of Tours in Franklin, WI. Located in the narthex of the church, the shrine was sponsored in memory of Kathy Ingrilli, a St. Martin of Tours’ parishioner who died in 2025. Her family also sponsored a dinner following the blessing.
Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, was originally scheduled to celebrate the Mass and blessing. However, a broken pipe that flooded Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake created a quick change in plans. Fr. Vien spent the evening pushing a wet-vac, helping to mop up the water.
Fr. Mark Mastin, SCJ, superior of Sacred Heart Monastery, stepped in to do the blessing. Several other SCJ priests, brothers and seminarians were also a part of the celebration.
Click here to view photos from the Mass and dedication.
Among those concelebrating Mass at St. Martin of Tours were Fr. Stephen Huffstetter (center), Fr. Mark Mastin (SHM superior), Fr. Andrzej Sudol (SMoT pastor) and Fr. Rodrigo Bento, an SCJ ESL student from Brazil
Prayers for those impacted by the weather
As noted above, SCJs at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake suffered a broken water pipe due to Wisconsin’s arctic temps. Several SCJs have been displaced by the water damage, but thankfully, clean-up is going well.
Weekend Masses were cancelled in Mississippi due to icy roads, and storms closed Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston, as well as our schools in Mississippi.
Please keep all those impacted by the weather in your prayers.
Coffee and Conversations
Fr. Tom Cassidy, SCJ, was the speaker at this month’s “Coffee and Conversations” at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake. It is an opportunity for SCJs to share a bit about themselves – and Dehonian ministries – with lay residents at SHML.
During his 63 years of religious life Fr. Tom has been a teacher, a school administrator (including two terms as rector of Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology), provincial superior of the US Province and a general councilor in Rome (for 12 years!). He has also been a great supporter of Dehonian missions, especially in Asia. In just a few weeks he will leave for an extended stay in Vietnam where he will be a support to our student communities there.
With a great love of learning – especially about cultures other than his own (his roots are in the Midwest) – he said that he enjoys trying the foods of the countries that he visits.
“Except food that is LOOKING AT ME,” he said as he shared stories of some of his more unusual meals, including one that featured a fish that appeared to be staring him in the eye.
“That’s where I draw the line. Anything looking at me I do not eat!”
Please remember
+ Fr. Fraziano Vendramin, a member of the North Italian Province, died on January 25. He was born in 1935, professed in 1952 and was ordained in 1961
Youth retreat at SHSST
The Priests of the Sacred Heart are collaborating with the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network/Apostleship of Prayer and Brew City Catholic to host a retreat for young adults at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology on March 28. The Apostleship of Prayer is headquartered in Wisconsin and is relaunching its national retreat program.
Br. Duane Lemke, SCJ and Fr. Rafael Querobin, SCJ, will open the retreat. Grace Mazza Urbanski, Assistant National Director of the Apostleship of Prayer and Monica Misey, Director of Dehonian Associates, are coordinating the event.
Organizers are seeking priests to hear confessions during the retreat. If you are able to help, please contact Monica as soon as possible: 414-427-4267 or mmisey@dehoniansusa.org.
Two more LEAD retreats
Due to the success of the LEAD program, two additional LEAD retreats are planned: April 20-22 and May 27-29, 2026. Both retreats will be held at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. Email invitations will soon be sent to apostolate leaders to nominate participants; those interested in attending should talk to their manager soon. It is hoped that the May dates will work well for teachers.
Expenses are covered by the Office of Dehonian Associates. Also, if an SCJ pastor would like to send a parish employee, the office has a budget for five parish participants in either the April or May retreats. If interested, contact Monica Misey as soon as possible: mmisey@dehoniansusa.org.
As a reminder, the LEAD program provides leadership formation grounded in the life, writings and charism of Fr. Dehon. “Everyone is a leader in some context, why not lead with the heart, as Fr. Dehon did?’ said Monica. LEAD is a five-year series of retreats, the first-year concentrates on self-leadership. Participation each year is optional.
Save the date! All participants who attended year one in 2025 or 2026 will be invited to year 2, October 12-14, 2026, at St. Joseph’s Indian School in South Dakota.
Archbishop offers resources on immigration
Fr. Joseph Thien Dinh, SCJ, province director of JPR, shares a document from Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee that offers “pastoral resources, guidance, and practical recommendations to support our ongoing preparations regarding the difficult and unfolding issues across our nation related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” said Fr. Joseph.
Click here to access the document.
“The JPR office shares this resource to foster solidarity, compassion, and prayerful support, emphasizing our call to embody Christ’s mercy and peace, particularly for the vulnerable,” added Fr. Joseph. “As Dehonians and collaborators, we strive to live out our charism of love and care in ministry.”
A chilly National Catholic Schools Week
As noted above, students at many of our Dehonian schools in the US Province are starting Catholic Schools Week at home today. Icy roads, snow and arctic temps have shut down much of Mississippi and Texas. However, at St. Joseph’s Indian School our students live on-campus, so it’s just another day walking between the buildings during a cold and windy South Dakota winter.
The theme of Catholic Schools Week for 2023–2026 is “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community.” According to the CSW website, the “CSW logo symbolizes the united community of Catholic schools – not a building or an institution, but people of faith serving God and others. No Catholic school can fulfill its educational role alone. As a community, Catholic schools are nourished and stimulated by the centrality of the word of Christ expressed through knowledge, service, scripture and sacramental tradition.”
Please keep our students and their teachers in your prayers.
Notes on the French School of Spirituality
Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, recently suggested that Fr. Jim Schroeder, SCJ, compile his notes and other support materials on the French School of Spirituality to make them more widely available. They have recently been printed in a booklet titled The French School of Spirituality and John of the Heart of Jesus, OCJ / Father Leo Dehon, SCJ.
Fr. Jim says he first became interested in the French School of Spirituality –– a significant influence on the founder’s own spirituality –– in 1985 when on sabbatical to learn more about Fr. Leo Dehon and our charism, and to follow some courses for theological renewal.
At his first meeting with a theologian of spirituality and president of the Sorbonne University for directed reading, he mentioned Father Dehon, and the professor immediately said, “Oh, Leo Dehon from St. Quentin: You must read about the French School,” and sent him to buy a small paperback, Berulle et l’Ecole francaise by Paul Cochois. Fr. Jim wrote, “What an eye-opening experience, because the book described in detail almost all the basic ideas of Fr. Dehon’s spirituality.”
Thus started Fr. Jim’s life-long interest in studying the French School of Spirituality and how it was experienced by Fr. Leo John Dehon. For many years various novice masters asked Fr. Jim to give classes on the topic to SCJ novices.
The booklet contains the class notes and is being sent to SCJs in North America during the next two weeks. If you have questions about it, please contact Fr. Jim at jjsscj@sbcglobal.net.
Click here to access a PDF of the booklet. If you want more copies, please contact Corrie Wurster at the Provincialate Offices.
Bem-vindos!
Three new students from Brazil entered the ECS program last week. They are Fr. Rodrigo Bento, SCJ, Frater Alexandre Semkiv Caetano, SCJ, and a diocesan priest, Fr. Tecio Andrade.
Fr. Rodrigo is preparing to begin studies in Rome this summer, Fr. Tecio is finishing his doctorate in Rome, and Fra. Alexandre preparing for an SCJ mission in Asia. They are pictured above with the residential director of the ECS program, Br. Andy Gancarczyk, SCJ.
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