A Rosary procession and Mass of the Virgin Mary honoring the 216th anniversary of the first Catholic Mass in Ohio will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Mass site, 5000 Stage Coach Road N.W., Somerset.
The Mass will be celebrated by Father Andre-Joseph LaCasse, OP, pastor of Somerset Holy Trinity-St. Joseph Church. Participants are asked to bring lawn chairs.
After Mass, the diocesan Catholic Record Society will discuss plans to update the site and to revise the illustrated history of the diocese written in 2001 by society member Don Schlegel. There also will be information on plans to begin the canonization process for Bishop Edward Fenwick, OP, celebrant of the first Mass at Somerset, founder of the Dominican order in Ohio and first bishop of Cincinnati.
The event will be in conjunction with a national Rosary pilgrimage sponsored on that day by the Dominican Fathers at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
Catholic museum sponsoring programs, golf tournament
The Museum of Catholic Art and History will be sponsoring an “ask the priest” program, a talk on exorcism and a golf tournament in the next several weeks.
The question-and-answer event will take place Friday, Sept. 13 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the museum, 212 E. Broad St. People with questions they’d like a priest to answer about the Catholic Church are invited to email their questions to the museum at [email protected] or drop them off at the museum by Wednesday, Sept. 11. The questions will be made anonymous and placed in a basket, then drawn at random during the event.
There is a $25 cost per person for the program. The reservation deadline is Sept. 11.
Bishop Earl Fernandes will speak on “The Kingdom of God Prevails: Exorcism and Healing in the Church” from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 at St. Joseph Cathedral, 212 E. Broad St., across the street from the museum. There is no charge for the talk.
The museum’s inaugural golf outing will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8 at the Golf Club of Dublin, 5805 Eiterman Road, Dublin. The fee of $200 per golfer or $800 per foursome includes a cart, food and golf fees. Sponsorship opportunities are available.
Tee times will be sent out the week before the event. To register, go to [email protected]. Payment by credit card or check may be made in advance or on the day of the event.
St. Timothy will host Sept. 11 Blue Mass
The diocese’s annual Blue Mass for first responders will be celebrated at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11 at Columbus St. Timothy Church, 1088 Thomas Lane, and hosted by Knights of Columbus Council 14345 of the parish. Father Leo Connolly, longtime chaplain of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, will be the celebrant and homilist.
The Mass is an opportunity to honor and pray for all active, retired and deceased police, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel and to remember the 2,973 people who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. All active and retired police, fire and emergency medical services workers invited.
Spiritual companion training coming to diocese
Addiction comes in many forms. But whatever form it takes, addiction can be devastating to individuals and their families. The Diocese of Columbus is joining an initiative titled iTHIRST that aims to help parishes and communities provide support resources for individuals and families impacted by various addictions.
Bishop Earl Fernandes has approved the iTHIRST certification program, which will train lay people, priests, religious, and deacons to offer spiritual support to those impacted by addiction, ensuring they do not have to face their struggles alone.
Anyone interested in learning more about becoming a spiritual companion through the iTHIRST program should contact Katy Wyatt at [email protected].
Seton adds 5 p.m. Sunday Mass
Pickerington St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, 600 Hill Road N., is adding a 5 p.m. Sunday Mass to its weekly schedule, beginning Sept. 8, in response to continued growth in the number of people joining the parish.
Its Seton Parish Youth (SPY) Mass will continue on the second Sunday of the month at 5 p.m.
Record society to meet Sept. 22
The quarterly meeting of the Catholic Record Society will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22 in the first-floor meeting room of the Catholic Center, 197 E. Gay St., Columbus.
Ample parking will be available in the St. Joseph Cathedral lot next to the Catholic Center and a ramp leads from ground level to the door. Doors will open at 1:30. After a presentation and a short break, there will be a business meeting that should conclude before 4 p.m.
For more information on the meeting topic, call Mark Gideon at (614) 312-8026.
Friends of the Poor Walk set for Sept. 28 at DeSales
The diocesan St. Vincent de Paul Society’s annual Friends of the Poor Walk will be on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Columbus St. Francis DeSales High School, 4212 Karl Road, Columbus. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.
All proceeds raised will go to each walker’s local St. Vincent de Paul conference to serve the needy in its area. Donations may be made by cash, check or credit card. The link for credit card donations is https://events.idonate.com/fopwalk-diocesan.columbus.
For more information, call (614) 221-3554.
Serra Club sponsors vocations essay contest
The Columbus Serra Club is sponsoring its second annual essay contest for eight-grade boys on the question of whether God may be calling them to the priesthood.
Writers of the essays judged to be best will be awarded $1,000 tuition assistance grants to a diocesan Catholic high school for the 2025-2026 school year. The essays must be 500 words or less.
Announcements about the contest have been made in diocesan Catholic schools. Eighth-grade Catholic boys not attending a diocesan school may text (614) 558-0806 or email [email protected] to receive a QR code with instructions, Students will have October and November to write their essays.
The Serra Club is requesting assistance, especially from people with education experience, in processing and evaluating the essays. If you are interested in assisting, email or text the address or phone number listed above.
Shepherd’s Corner announces fall schedule
The Shepherd’s Corner Ecology Center, 987 N. Waggoner Road, Blacklick, an outreach of the Dominican Sisters of Peace, is sponsoring several events this fall. The sisters invite others to join them in experiencing the joys and responsibilities of caring for land, life and spirit, inspiring others to become shepherds of creation in their own corners of the world.
Registration is required for all programs. To register, call (614) 866-4302 or visit www.shepherdscorner.org/calendar.
Labyrinth walks are scheduled monthly through December. Dates and topics are: Thursday, Sept. 19, “For Everything There Is a Season”; Wednesday, Oct. 30, “End of Harvest, Triumph of Light”; Thursday, Nov. 21, “Embracing the Gratitude Within and Without”; Friday, Dec, 20, “Preparation and Celebration.” Each program runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and has a suggested donation of $5.
Learning and education programs for homeschooled children and their parents are scheduled on the third Wednesday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon for middle-schoolers and 1 to 3 p.m. for elementary students. The cost is $5.
Workshops on “Foraging for Jams and Jellies: Creating Jam With Invasives” will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20 and Friday, Nov. 15. Classes are $10 each.
The sisters’ annual Shepherds Fest will be from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 and will give those in attendance a chance to walk the trails of one of eastern Franklin County’s few farms in an area surrounded by suburban housing and to meet and feed the farm’s sheep and other animals.
Adults and teens are invited to a twilight fall walk through the woods at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23. The cost is $5.
Donna Nesbitt will provide materials for an art workshop on “Psalms and the Creative Spirit” from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Oct. 29. The cost is $10.
A program on turning plant fibers into felt using the wet felting technique is set for Saturday, Nov. 9 from 1 to 3 p.m. with Gail Maraman. The cost is $20 and there is a maximum of 12 participants.
Joy Lawrence will lead a program on “Tea Making and Yoga to Warm the Soul” at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23. The cost is $20.
The site will be open from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 7 for a seasonal craft sale and walks along the trail and labyrinth.
Shepherd’s Corner is open to the public on most Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Exceptions are noted on the farm’s website, www.shepherdscorner.org. Rather than asking for a donation of $2 per visitor on public days as they have in the past, the sisters request that visitors bring shelf- stable food that will be donated to the food pantries receiving produce from the farm. The site also is open on demand to small groups.
Franciscan University opens new building
Franciscan University opened its new Christ the Teacher Academic Hall and Pope St. Paul VI Conference Center on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
The 110,000-square-foot facility is the first academic hall to be built at the institution in more than 20 years and is the largest building on campus. It was built in response to consistent annual enrollment increases, the recent addition of academic programs and the necessity for a dedicated conference space. It includes two wings: one for engineering, business, and nursing students and the other for spiritual and educational conferences.
The building is the centerpiece of Franciscan’s Rebuild My Church Capital Campaign, which has surpassed its $110 million goal. The university is still inviting campaign gifts through Tuesday, Dec. 10 to close out its financial needs for Christ the Teacher Hall, Christ the King Chapel renovations and a Washington, D.C., initiative.
Program on digital technology in church music planned
A program on “Digital Technology for the Church Musician” will be presented at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14 in Sunbury St. John Neumann Church, 9633 State Route 37 East, by parish music director Rich Krehnovi in conjunction with the Columbus chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Krehnovi will showcase the parish’s digital organ and demonstrate how to use electronic tablets for accompanying the Mass, highlighting streaming capabilities and the use of digital hymn boards. He also will demonstrate methods of loading PDFs, marking up scores, and hands-free page turns. Organists in attendance will have a chance to practice on the instrument.
Krehnovi is a student of Dr. Jason Keefer, director and professor of sacred music at the Pontifical College Josephinum and founder and director of the Sacred Music Institute of America. There is no charge for the program and non-musicians are welcome to attend.
