News & Events | February 23, 2026
Burning palms
In preparation for Ash Wednesday, Fr. Greg Schill, SCJ, and Srs. Yollie Nobabos, TMM, Clary Joy Palasan, TMM, Ramona Pandan, MCM and Grecely Tangcogo, MCM, held an annual palm burning last week with 4th and 5th graders at St. Joseph’s Indian School. It was an opportunity to teach the students about Ash Wednesday, Lent and Palm Sunday. Fr. Greg is pictured below, distributing ashes the next day. Joe Tyrell, Director of Mission Integration, is next to him.
March birthdays
Those celebrating birthdays in March include Fr. Joe Dean and Fr. Ziggy Morawiec on March 3, Fr. Jim Brackin on March 4, Fr. Joseph Mukuna on March 5, Fr. Terry Langley on March 12, Fr. Michael Wodarczyk on March 13, Fr. Pat Lloyd on March 17, Fr. Richard MacDonald and Fr. Vando Marques Gomes on March 18, Fr. Charles Brown on March 19, Fr. Frank Wittouck on March 23, and Fr. Jim Schroeder on March 30. Happy birthday!!
Reminder: the link to the Google Calendar for North America can be found at the bottom of each page on the US Province website. Click here to access the calendar directly. If you notice an error, or have a suggestion of an event to add, please click here.
The intersection of Catholic and Native American traditions
St. Joseph’s Indian School is already into its ninth season of “Hóčhoka”, an interview series published on the school’s YouTube channel. The most recent episode, released on February 16, featured an interview with Dr. Damian Costello, author of Black Elk: Colonialism and Lakota Catholicism. Dr. Costello is an educator and researcher who specializes in the intersection of Catholic theology, Indigenous spiritual traditions, and colonial history. The focus of the episode was on the Stations of the Cross and how it compares to the Native American tradition of the Sun Dance.
“People might look at the Stations of the Cross and wonder about the focus on the brutality, the suffering,” said Dr. Costello. “However, it is in the midst of that suffering – in the Sun Dance but also in the death and resurrection of Christ – that there is life. The dancers offer themselves for special intentions, but most importantly, they offer themselves so that people may live. And we know that is true about Jesus’ death and resurrection.”
Click here to view the episode; it runs about 15 minutes. Click here to view other episodes.
No April Fool!
The Provincial Treasurer’s Office reminds budget preparers that budgets are due to the office on April 1 – no April Fool’s joke! If you have questions, please contact a member of the finance staff: Kevin Stanke, Chris Lambert or Dcn. David Nagel, SCJ.
Keep in prayer
Gene Munn, a 1976 graduate of Divine Heart Seminary, has been diagnosed with stage four cancer in the lymph nodes. Please keep him in prayer.
Travels
Also, please keep Fr. Tom Cassidy, SCJ, in your prayers as he prepares to leave for Vietnam on Wednesday, where he will be until April 22. Fr. Tom will be based at the district’s Novitiate.
Please remember
+ Valentinus Teja Anthara, a member of the Indonesian Province, died on February 21. He was born in 1962, professed in 1983 and ordained to the priesthood in 1991.
+ Fr. Hadrianus Wardjito, also a member of the Indonesian Province, died on February 23. He was born in 1954, professed in 1979 and ordained in 1982.
Visit from Franklin Historical Society
On February 18 the Provincial Archives hosted the Franklin Historical Society for a visit. Members of the society brought bag lunches and filled the conference center for a presentation on the original Sacred Heart Monastery (located on the grounds of what is now Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake).
Monica Misey, director of Dehonian Associates, gave a brief overview of Fr. Leo John Dehon and the Priests of the Sacred Heart. Fr. Wayne Jenkins, SCJ, province archivist, spoke about the history of the SCJs coming to Wisconsin and the purchase of the Dominican Sisters’ convent that became the monastery. The Q&A session that followed was extensive, with many participants expressing surprise about connections and other information about the property. The Historical Society requested a follow-up tour of Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.
Colloquium reminder
On March 13, in commemoration of Fr. Leo John Dehon’s birth on March 14, 1843, the Dehon Study Center will host a colloquium titled “He Loved Us, I Have Loved You: The Heart of Christ, the Poor, and the Church Today.”
It will be held from 10:00-11:30 a.m. at the Provincial Offices (7373 S. Lovers Lane Rd., Franklin, WI 53132). Lunch will follow.
This event is open to SCJs, collaborators and the general public. To attend in person, click here to RSVP by February 26. The program will also be livestreamed at the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/8342363189?omn=89644639655
Meeting ID: 834 236 3189
“This colloquium will explore two significant texts: Dilexit Nos and Dilexi Te,” said Fr. Joseph Mukuna, SCJ, DSC director. “Dr. Megan Furman, PhD, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology will discuss ‘Who Is the Poor Other?’ Dr. James Stroud, STD, Assistant Professor of Moral Theology at SHSST will discuss ‘Holiness and the Poor.’ A panel discussion will follow, addressing how to move from contemplation (of the Heart of Jesus) to transformation, encouraging active participation and shared commitment to reshaping our relationships with the poor.”
Questions? Click here to contact Fr. Joseph.
Closing pic
Fr. David Szatkowski, SCJ, leads the Ash Wednesday service at Holy Family School in Holly Springs, MS.
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