Over 500 Catholic school and PSR students, adults accompanying them, missionaries and supporters attended the annual Mission Mass and awards presentation at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield on Oct. 13.
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki was the Mass celebrant, with eight priests concelebranting — Fathers Peter Harman (Cathedral), Christopher House (Auburn, Virden, Girard), Paul Habing (Katharine Drexel, Springfield), Jeffery Grant (Blessed Sacrament, Springfield), John Burnette, (Ss. James and Patrick, Decatur) and Maryknoll Fathers Jerry Wickenhauser (retired, Godfrey), Steve Judd (Cochabamba, Bolivia), and William Donnelly (Peoria).
This year, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers celebrate the 100th anniversary of their community, officially the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America. In honor of the anniversary, Vicki Compton, diocesan director of the Holy Childhood Association and the Propagation of the Faith, invited Maryknollers to participate in the Mission Mass.
"Our friends from Maryknoll have made our celebration richer by their presence," Compton said. "Father Jerry Wickenhauser is here. He lives back where it all began, in Godfrey, but made stops in the Philippines, Borneo and Brazil along the way.
"Annette Mandeville is back in Springfield after serving in El Salvador as a lay Maryknoll missioner. Nancy Tyrolt from Decatur is in El Salvador right now working with orphans and teens, but her father Frank is with us today.
"Also here from just across our diocesan border in Peoria is Father Bill Donnelly who is sharing the Good News these days through the comic books he writes and illustrates."
Father Judd, a member of the core committee for the Maryknoll Society's 100th Jubilee Celebration representing the Latin America Region, gave the homily at the Mission Mass.
Maryknoll co-sponsored an art contest held in conjunction with the Mission Mass gathering. Its national office also compiled the history of Maryknoll Missioners who came from the Springfield diocese, and their stories are posted on the diocesan webpage.
"See how some of these children who lived and prayed in our parishes and schools, just like you, and grew up to become Maryknoll missioners, travelling all over the world to serve God by serving his people," Compton told the students, before announcing this year's school and PSR top donors to the missions.
Winners are chosen based on per capita donations to the Holy Childhood. Association. Among Parish Schools of Religion the winners were: first place, St. Agnes, Hillsboro; second place, Sacred Heart, Virden; third place, St. James, Riverton; fourth place, St. Louis, Nokomis, and fifth place, Holy Family, Litchfield.
Award winners from Catholic schools were: first place, St. Mary School, Paris; second place, Cathedral School, Springfield; third place, St. John Neumann School, Maryville; fourth place, St. Mary School, Brussels, and fifth place, St. Mary School, Taylorville.