Year in review: 2023 brought changes to diocese, increase in seminarians

The year 2023 was a time of transition for the Diocese of Columbus as recommendations made through the diocese’s Real Presence Real Future initiative began being put into effect. It was also a year in which the diocese ordained one new priest, experienced a marked increase in seminarians studying for the priesthood and welcomed more religious orders to serve the faithful.

Father PeterClaver Kasasa Kiviiri was ordained a priest of the diocese on May 27 at Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral. It was the first ordination of a priest for the diocese in two years and Bishop Earl Fernandes’ first time as bishop ordaining a priest.

Father Kiviiri, 43, came to the United States from Uganda in 2006 to study for the priesthood, left the seminary for several years and resumed his studies in 2019 after meeting with Bishop Frederick Campbell at the 2019 Columbus Catholic Men’s Conference.

The bishop ordained Deacons Tyler Carter, Jason Fox, Michael Haemmerle and David Johnstone to the diaconate on May 5 at Westerville St. Paul Church and Deacon Daniel Colby on Nov. 10 at the cathedral. He hopes to ordain them all as priests this coming May. 

Father William Hahn, diocesan vocations director, said 16 men from the diocese, the largest group in many years, began studying for the priesthood this fall at either the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus or Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati. 

The Catholic Church recently restructured its program for the formation of seminarians into four stages, adding one to three years to the process. As a result, the diocese sent eight of the 16 seminarians to Cincinnati. It was the first time in years that diocesan first-year seminarians were sent somewhere other than the Josephinum.

The diocese now has 37 seminarians, with five scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood in May 2024 and another three in May 2025.  

The diocese welcomed members of two religious orders of priests and two orders of sisters to serve in its 23 counties this year. The priests are the Capuchin Franciscans, who served in the diocese in previous years, and the Pallottine Fathers from India. 

The sisters belong to the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (FIHM) from Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, India, and the Apostolic Sisters of St. John.

Members of 14 orders of priests and 23 orders of sisters are stationed in the diocese. The order priests have pastoral responsibility for several diocesan parishes where Columbus diocesan priests had been stationed, and this has helped significantly in easing the priest shortage. The sisters are serving as teachers, nurses and in many other positions in parishes and hospitals.

The pro-life cause in Ohio suffered a major setback when a state constitutional amendment permitting unrestricted abortion statewide was approved by voters Nov. 7. In a statement following the vote, the state’s bishops said it was “a tragic day for women, children and families in Ohio.”

“Despite the obstacles this amendment presents, the Catholic Church in Ohio will continue to work for policies that defend the most vulnerable, strengthen the child-parent relationship and support women in need,” they said.

Bishop Fernandes issued a statement this month announcing creation of a Respect Life Office that “will be dedicated to helping build the culture of life in a sustainable and lasting way, including through formational conferences for pro-life leaders and health-care workers.”

The statement also encouraged all parishes to have Holy Hours, “especially on the Thursday before (the) First Friday (of the month) or on the First Friday itself in reparation for sins against human life and dignity, praying also for the building of a civilization of love.”

He also urged a return to the traditional discipline of abstaining from meat on Fridays as another form of reparation and prayer and said the diocese would be organizing a pilgrimage to the March for Life in Washington in January and making additional efforts to encourage the formation of young people as missionaries for the culture of life.

The most noticeable changes in the diocese were the closings of several parishes, announced through the year in documents titled “decrees of suppression” by Bishop Earl Fernandes and approved by the diocesan presbyterial council. Reasons for the closings were demographic changes; declines in parish registration, Mass attendance and offertory revenue; and a shortage of priests.

The first of these changes was announced in April and took effect July 1. They involved the closing of Columbus St. Ladislas and Corpus Christi churches, with their parishioners being absorbed into Columbus St. Mary, Mother of God Church, and the closing of Columbus Holy Cross Church, with parishioners being absorbed into Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral. 

A new parish, Columbus Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of the New Evangelization Church, was created Sept. 1 to embrace members of Columbus Holy Name Church and Parroquia Santa Cruz, a parish primarily for Spanish-speaking Catholics, both of which were suppressed. The new parish’s worship site is the former Holy Name Church, as it had been for the two suppressed parishes.

Columbus St. Anthony Church was suppressed effective Oct. 20, with parishioners being absorbed into Columbus St. Elizabeth Church. Effective Nov. 5, Glenmont Sts. Peter and Paul Church was absorbed into Millersburg St. Peter Church, and Newcomerstown St. Francis de Sales Church was absorbed into Coshocton Sacred Heart Church, followed on Nov. 30 by Columbus St. Philip Church being absorbed into Columbus Holy Spirit Church. 

Effective Dec. 31, the previous four-church Perry County Consortium of Parishes will be reduced to two churches as Corning St. Bernard Church is absorbed into Junction City St. Patrick Church and Crooksville Church of the Atonement into New Lexington St. Rose Church. 

Effective April 30, Lancaster St. Mark Church will be absorbed into that city’s Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption, and both Bremen St. Mary and Sugar Grove St. Joseph churches will be absorbed into Lancaster St. Bernadette Church.

More such changes are anticipated in the coming year. Several other parishes have become part of the pastorate of one priest as part of the initiative, with many of them having formed transition teams to discuss how they will restructure, using one of four draft models proposed by the initiative.

As another part of the restructuring, effective July 1, parishes became part of one of 10 deaneries or vicariates. This replaced a structure of three regional vicariates with one similar to the way parishes were organized for most of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

On July 26 at the New Albany Church of the Resurrection, Dr. Diane LeMay became one of several consecrated virgins in the diocese. These women support themselves by earning a living and are responsible for praying for their diocese and the clergy. 

LeMay, a pediatrician for more than a quarter-century, will meet with Bishop Fernandes at least once a year to determine how she can best serve the diocese. 

The Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, better known as the Stella Niagara Franciscans, who have ministered in the diocese since 1875, ended their communal presence in the diocese with the closing in September of St. Leo Convent on Columbus’ south side. Two sisters had been living there. Individual Stella Niagara sisters remain in the diocese at various residences.

The cloistered Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Rosary, who had moved from Buffalo, New York to the former Sts. Peter and Paul Retreat Center in Heath in 2020, disbanded and transferred to other cloistered Dominican monasteries. The 14 sisters decided the challenges they faced were too great to build a monastery and continue as an autonomous community.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital opened a school-based health center in February in the former convent for St. Mary School in Columbus’ German Village neighborhood. The 5,000-square-foot center will provide medical, vision, hearing and behavioral health care with staffing from the hospital for the school’s 400-plus students and all other children in the neighborhood.

The former convent also is the new location for the Dominican Learning Center, operated by the Dominican Sisters of Peace to serve adult learners.

Columbus St. Charles Preparatory School celebrated its 100th anniversary in September by blessing a central plaza, an Our Lady of Lourdes grotto and a convocation center that includes a 2,000-seat arena. The celebration also included an anniversary Mass celebrated by Bishop Fernandes and 11 diocesan priests and the presentation  of a time capsule.

A rebuilt and expanded Bishop Griffin Resource Center was opened Aug. 14 on the campus that includes Columbus Christ the King Church and All Saints Elementary School. The original center was opened in 2007 by the St. Vincent de Paul Society and was demolished to make way for the new building, which serves families in need in a variety of ways. 

The 11,600-square-foot building includes a Mid-Ohio Market – a pantry operated in partnership with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective that provides free food in a supermarket-style setting.

The Lancaster Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption, which was dedicated as a basilica in 2021, received its insignia as a basilica at a Mass celebrated by the bishop Aug. 14, the Vigil of the Feast of the Assumption. The insignia, which traditionally accompanied the pope in processions, are an umbrella-like canopy and a small gold bell on a wooden frame mounted on a pole.

The life-size outdoor Nativity scene that had been at the State Auto Insurance building at 518 E. Broad St. has been moved three blocks up the street to St. Joseph Cathedral, where it now will be a part of holiday decorations.

The 80-piece set was donated by the insurance company, now part of Liberty Mutual, to the Museum of Catholic Art and History across the street from the cathedral. The company also provided $250,000 to maintain what has become a beloved community Christmas tradition. 

Changes in the structure of diocesan offices included Deacon Frank Iannarino being appointed as director of ministry and life for the permanent diaconate and Deacon Steve Petrill as director of diaconal formation, effective May 1. They had held titles of director and associate director of the diaconate office, respectively.

Father Paul Keller, OP, was appointed as director of the diocesan Office of Divine Worship. He had been interim director since Bishop Fernandes reinstituted the office in late 2022. Father Keller is a sacramental theologian, has served in seminary and parish life and is assigned to St. Patrick Priory in Columbus.

Father David Arroyo, CR, was appointed as vicar for Hispanic ministry in the diocese. He replaces Father David Schalk, who was appointed pastor of Powell St. Joan of Arc and Columbus St. Peter churches, where Father Arroyo is parochial vicar.

At the diocesan evangelization office, Dr. Marlon De La Torre became senior director of evangelization and Father Adam Streitenberger moved from that position to vicar for evangelization.  

Marty Raines retired on Oct. 31 as director of the Diocesan Recreation Association after more than 15 years. She was succeeded by Ryan Aiello. In addition, the association’s name was changed to the Catholic Youth Organization, as it was known for many years in the past.

Other longtime diocesan employees who retired in 2023 included cemeteries director Rich Finn, who served the diocese for 42 years, and assistant school superintendent Kitty Quinn, who was employed by the Office of Catholic Schools for 34 years after spending 14 years in Iowa and two years in Massachusetts as a teacher.

Brian Hickey was appointed at the beginning of the year as executive director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, replacing Jerry Freewalt, who resigned from the position in December 2022 to return to his former post as director of the diocesan Office for Social Concerns. Hickey had been the state conference’s associate director for social concerns since December 2021.

Kelley Henderson, former executive director of Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, became president and chief executive officer of Catholic Social Services in October, replacing Rachel Lustig, who now has the same position with Lutheran Social Services of Columbus.

Father Steven Beseau was appointed to a second three-year term as rector and president of the Josephinum. The priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, came to the Josephinum in 2021 and will continue to lead the seminary through June 2027.

Rick Jeric, former diocesan development director and executive director of the Women’s Care Center of Columbus, became vice president for advancement at the Josephinum, where he had been serving as senior director for major gifts since late 2022.

More than 5,000 people venerated a relic of St. Jude the Apostle that was displayed at Westerville St. Paul Church, the Columbus St. Thomas More Newman Center and the New Albany Church of the Resurrection on Oct. 30 and 31 and Nov. 1.

St. Gabriel Catholic Radio expanded its reach to areas of southeast Ohio with the opening of a third station in Athens on Nov. 1, All Saints Day. Its programs now can be heard on AM 820 in Columbus, FM 88.7 in Portsmouth and FM 106.7 in Athens.

The Catholic Men’s Luncheon Club selected Dr. Eric Yang of Columbus St. Peter Church as its Catholic Man of the Year. Yang is an adjunct professor of biology at the Josephinum, a district deputy for the Knights of Columbus and is actively involved in the diocesan Catholic Men’s Ministry, the Filipino Catholic community and ministries in his parish.

The Diocesan Council of Catholic Women presented its inaugural St. Mother Teresa recognition awards to 30 women from 21 parishes on Nov. 5. These succeed the council’s former Catholic Woman of the Year and Catholic Young Woman of the Year awards, which last were presented in 2016.

Retired Msgr. James Walter was honored in April by Pope Francis, who awarded him the title of monsignor, a designation recognizing long and dedicated service to the Church and its people.  He has been a priest for 61 years and retired in July 2022 as pastor of Sugar Grove St. Joseph Church. 

He also served at several other diocesan parishes, was a teacher at Columbus Bishop Watterson and St. Francis DeSales high schools and was a hospital chaplain. He was the first diocesan priest to be designated a monsignor since 1999.

Father Ronald J. Aubry, 67, died on Dec. 28, 2022, after The Catholic Times’ 2022 year-end issue had gone to press. He served as pastor of Millersburg St. Peter and Glenmont Sts. Peter and Paul churches for 24 of his 41 years as a priest – from 1991 to 2011 and from 2018 until his retirement in 2022. He also was pastor of Zoar Holy Trinity Church.

As of press time for this issue of the newspaper, no diocesan priest had died in 2023.

Father Clarence E. Williams, Jr., CPPS, 73, pastor of Columbus St. James the Less Church from 2012-2018, died on Saturday, July 8. 

He had been a priest of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood for 44 years and was known nationwide for his efforts on behalf of racial equality.  

He ministered in the Archdiocese of Detroit for more than 25 years and from 2007-2010 was director of racial equality and diversity for Catholic Charities USA in Washington. 

Father Ciaran Fergus, OP, 91, died at the Mohun Health Care Center in Columbus on Sept. 2. He spent most of his 58 years as a Dominican friar in college ministry at eight schools and taught at two other colleges.

Deacon Ronald H. Fondriest, 91, died Sept. 18. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1979, spending all his 44 years as a deacon serving his home parish of Dover St. Joseph. He retired from active ministry in 2010 but continued to help the people of his parish and Tuscarawas County wherever needed.

Deacon Paul Deshaies, 75, died Oct. 11. He was ordained in 2001 and served at Lancaster St. Bernadette Church, as a prison chaplain in Lancaster and in Latino ministry at Columbus St. Agnes Church, retiring from active ministry in 2017 and continuing as a part-time prison chaplain until 2020.

Religious sisters who died in late 2022 and 2023 and had served in or were natives of the Diocese of Columbus, or who were living in the diocese at the time of their deaths, were: Sister Michaeleen Henderson, OP, 91, Dec. 22, 2022; Sister Mary Justin Fadden, OP, 95, Dec. 26, 2002; Sister Cathleen Ryan, OP, 94, Feb. 23; Sister M. Colette Rhoney, OSF, 91, March 6; Sister Ruth Hamel, OP, 63, March 27; Sister Agnes Imelda Frohnapfel, OP, 100, July 1; Sister Mary Carolina “Lina” Hess, SNDdeN, 92, July 4; Sister Patricia Mitchell, OSF, 90, July 18; Sister Jeanne Marie Suerth, SNDdeN, 89, July 24; Sister Margaret Scullin, OP, 97, July 28; Sister Eleanor Colgan, SNDdeN, 93, Aug. 11; Sister Mauryeen O’Brien, OP, 92, Aug. 22; Sister Kathleen Andrews, OP, 86, Aug. 31; Sister M. Barbara Holtzinger, OSF, 101, Sept. 25; Sister Arleen Kisiel, OP, 75, Oct. 6; Sister Lorraine Marie Torres, OP, 90, Nov. 20; Sister Jacqueline Baum, OP, 89, Nov. 20 and Sister John Marie Charniga, OP, 88, Dec. 16.