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	News Briefs: New hospital seeks community input JANESVILLE -- SSM Health Care of Wisconsin (SSMHC/WI) announced the launch of an informational Web site for its new Janesville Hospital Campus. The site, www.newjanesvillehospital.com, contains the latest information on the development along with maps, fact sheets, health news headlines, and a contact page where site visitors can sign up to receive e-mail alerts and mail when new information is available. In addition, keeping promises made during the initial press conference in April, SSMHC/WI is featuring a special Web poll that will allow visitors the opportunity to weigh in on a name for the new facility. "We told the community we would seek input on a name for our hospital and now we're looking forward to hearing what they have to say," said Mary Starmann-Harrison, regional president and CEO of SSMHC/WI. SSMHC/WI announced the construction of the 50-bed hospital and physician office complex in April. It, along with health care partner Dean, plan to open the facilities in 2010. Infant foster home in Rock County sought ROCK COUNTY -- Catholic Charities, Inc.-Diocese of Madison is currently seeking to license a new infant foster care home in Rock County. Contact Trish Grant at 608-833-4800, ext. 109, or trish.grant@tds.net Deadline to inquire is July 31. Birth Parent Support Group to meet MADISON -- A Birth Parent Support Group will meet Tuesday, July 8, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at 5 Odana Ct. Sponsors are Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services. This ongoing support group, held the second Tuesday of every month for people who have placed their child/ren for adoption, is free, safe, and confidential. For registration, contact Alice at 608-270-6635 or apearson@lsswis.org or Trish at 608-833-4800, ext. 109, or trish.grant@tds.net Book discussion weekly at St. Paul's MADISON -- Parishioners from any parish are welcome to meet to discuss What is the Point of Being Christian by Timothy Radcliffe, OP, in St. Paul University Catholic Center's library from 12 noon to 1 p.m. biweekly on Tuesdays. The group is open to agenda items and welcomes (ir)regular participation. Contact Alfonso Morales at morales1@wisc.edu for more information. The next meeting will be Tuesday, July 8, at 12 noon. St. Cecilia's modifies plans WISCONSIN DELLS -- The last thing St. Cecilia parishioners want to say is "there is no room for you here." St. Cecilia Church can accommodate 400 parishioners and guests at each of their three liturgies. During the summer, St. Cecilia's offers three additional Masses to accommodate up to 700 parishioners and visitors who won't fit in the church. The additional liturgies take place in the Summer Chapel, which is across the street from the church in the Parish Center gym. That is why the parish has been working on building plans for a larger worship facility. Since the raffle drawing in March, St. Cecilia's Millennium Team has changed directions and is proposing a more familiar and less expensive design concept. The proposed plan will repair and expand the existing building. The expansion will allow seating for 1,000 people. Wisconsin Dells is known for serving its visitors well. Parishioners want to be sure that St. Cecilia's presents an environment welcoming all to worship. Pastor Msgr. Felix Oehrlein said, "This expansion will provide the space needed and maintain a sense of familiarity for our parishioners and visitors who have grown to appreciate our atmosphere when attending our liturgies." St. Cecilia Parish is gearing up for a capital campaign that will raise funds for its worship facility expansion project. If you would like to participate in the fund drive or have questions, contact Donna Momot at 608-254-8381, ext. 118. Nominate someone for a profile Do you know a person to nominate for a profile? This could be someone in a paid or volunteer position in the Catholic Church. It could be someone working outside the Church who lives his or her faith in ordinary or extraordinary ways in daily life. Send nominations with information about the nominee to: Catholic Herald, 702 S. High Point Rd., Madison, WI 53719, or e-mail info@madisoncatholicherald.org

Building hope
for serving the poor

MADISON -- Paving the way toward a future of better helping more of the poor and those in need in Dane County, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul officially broke ground at the site of its new Food Pantry and Service Center recently.

"Poverty in Madison and Dane County is real," said Ralph Middlecamp, executive director of the society's District Council of Madison. "The need we are working to meet is growing. The larger, better equipped center we are building will serve our clients more efficiently, more effectively, more compassionately, and with due respect for their dignity and privacy."

The new long-term home of Dane County's busiest food pantry will be built on a cleared lot on the Fish Hatchery Rd. side of the current building, where the groundbreaking took place June 25. The 24,000-square-foot building will include a food distribution area, a reception area, a waiting room, private interview rooms, offices, basement space for storage and future growth, warehouse space, and loading docks.

The building will replace the interim food pantry, opened in 2005 after the move from the Williamson St. site. The 4,000-square-foot blue building, converted from a former automotive radiator repair shop, has over the years served many clients - between 60 and 120 families each day, five days a week, Middlecamp estimated.

And with the general increase in the numbers of people coming to the pantry and with a larger and better-resourced pantry to meet that need, said Ernie Stetenfeld, director of community relations for the society's Madison council, those numbers may rise. As well, since the economic downturn, the society has been seeing "more need in more people," he said.

"In Dane County, a prosperous community, our poverty is above the national average; one out of 10 people live below the federal poverty line," Stetenfeld said. "That very prosperity that draws people who do well also draws people who have economic struggles."

The new pantry will help to meet that growing need in a way that continues its Catholic mission.

"First, it's a means for our volunteers to come here to live out the gospel of their Catholic faith," Middlecamp said. "And, as Christians, regardless of their religious affiliation, we see it as a mission to respect the dignity of the people who come here. We try to do it with dignity, with care, but also with efficiency."

The "Help Build Hope" campaign has raised nearly $3 million in cash and pledges toward the $4 million goal for the building of the new pantry. To donate or for more information, contact the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at 608-442-9878, ext. 1, or go to www.svdpmadison.org

All Saints opens assisted
living community

MADISON -- Catholic Charities, Inc., Diocese of Madison, announces the opening of All Saints Assisted Living and Memory Care.

	Open House What: All Saints Assisted Living and Memory Care Where: 8210 Highview Dr.,     Madison When:   • Saturday July 12     1 to 4:30 p.m.   • Sunday, July 13     12 noon to 4 p.m. More Info: Call 608-243-8800     or visit www.elderspan.com

The first residents are expected to move in July 15. This brand new residence will be located at 8210 Highview Dr., in a West Side senior community known as the All Saints Neighborhood, near the intersection of Watts Rd. and Cty. Hwy. M.

All Saints Assisted Living and Memory Care will be a state licensed Community Based Residential Facility (CBRF) with two separate but physically connected communities for seniors with different care needs: a 40-unit assisted living residence and an 18-unit memory care residence. The addition of this facility completes the "aging in place" concept promoted by Catholic Charities and the All Saints Neighborhood.

Residents of the new building will enjoy spacious studio-style apartments, beautiful common areas, a prayer room, and outdoor gardens and sitting areas. Social activities, 24-hour care staff and registered nurse availability, and one of the highest staff-to-resident ratios in Wisconsin assisted living will also be provided to maximize residents' quality of life.

The All Saints Neighborhood is affiliated with Catholic Charities, the "faith in action" agency of the Diocese of Madison that provides services to individuals and families throughout southern Wisconsin.

Carla Durst has been named as administrator for the Assisted Living and Memory Care residence soon to open on the campus. Durst, a registered nurse from New Glarus, has extensive experience in geriatric nursing and long term care, including serving as director of resident care at Ingle Living Communities in Mt. Horeb for the past nine years.

For more information regarding All Saints, contact ElderSpan Management at 608-243-8800 or visit www.elderspan.com

Sisters plan new assisted living center in Footville

FOOTVILLE -- Ground was broken May 20 at the site of the future St. Elizabeth Manor Assisted Living Community here in a ceremony that also included a blessing from Bishop Robert C. Morlino.

This development is a way of saying to our seniors, "you are not a burden; you are a treasure," the bishop said.

The 70-unit assisted living center is expected to be the first in a large mixed-use development in this small town about 10 miles west of Janesville. The $4.5 million center is scheduled to open in November and will be operated by the Connecticut-based Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church, who also operate the St. Elizabeth Nursing Home in Janesville.

Hawks Manor, a group of investors, will develop the project, and Naatz Construction, LLC., will be the general contractors.

Present with the bishop for the groundbreaking were Mother Marie Julie Saegart, administrator of the St. Elizabeth Nursing Home; Mother Anthony Lemire, superior general of the congregation of Sisters of Charity; Tom Naatz of Naatz Construction; Richard Rosinski, director of operations for the development company Hawks Circle; David Baehr, a member of Hawks Manor; and Gary Selck, the president of the village of Footville.

Aspects of the new assisted living community include:

• Focus on faith: the new facility will include a lower-level convent for the Sisters and a chapel for residents. While the facility will be Catholic-based, people of any faith are welcome and may use the chapel.
  
  
• Social activities: current plans include a large activity room and dining hall, with a full activity calendar, Wi-Fi, and even a Nintendo Wii game system.
  
  
• Comfortable living: units feature large bathrooms and storage, and several will have private kitchens.
  
  
• Future development: An independent living facility, with three buildings of 45 units each, is planned for construction later this year, and both a commercial strip mall and a residential subdivision are expected to be built nearby.

The care at the St. Elizabeth Nursing Home, Janesville, is not expected to be changed with this new development.

Special traveling icon visits Madison

MADISON -- An Our Lady of Charity traveling icon made a visit to Schoenstatt Heights recently as part of a national and statewide pilgrimage, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus (KC).

The icon, a representation of a Cuban statue, was honored with a prayer service led by the four chaplains of KC councils in Madison.

Msgr. Michael Hippee, chaplain of KC Council 9082 and pastor of St. Bernard Parish, gave the homily at the service, describing Mary as one who helped change the world.

Dedication to Christ

"In a cold cave in Nazareth, Mary cradled her newborn son in her loving arms, changing our lives forever," he remarked. As Christ grew, and redeemed the world's sins 33 years later, "Mary completed the journey with her son, cradling his broken body one last time."

This dedication to Christ is an example for the world, Monsignor Hippee said. "We are called to welcome the Jesus of Charity as she did," adding that there is a responsibility for the entire Catholic Church to be active in establishing social justice, and not simply "Sunday prayer."

"If we put on the life of Jesus, we will make decisions for the good of others. We, through our acts of charity, can affect a segment of the world," he said.

After the prayer service, Fr. Rupert Dorn led a rosary procession through the Schoenstatt grounds. A Fourth-Degree honor guard brought the icon to its resting place in the Shrine of the Mother Thrice Admirable.

Virgin of Charity

The devotion to Our Lady of Charity dates back to a 17th century discovery in Cuba. A popular story tells of three young men, sailing on the bay near the modern city of El Cobre. One day, they spotted a white bundle floating towards them: a statue of Mary on board which stated, "I am the Virgin of Charity."

The icon in Madison is a painting of the original statue holding the Christ Child and blessing the world. Below, the three young men battle the seas that led them to the miraculous statue. Above the Virgin Mary is a Latin inscription meaning "The Mother of Charity walked on the stormy seas."

Since the original discovery of the statue of Mary, devotion to Our Lady of Charity has spread from Cuba to the United States and beyond. Mel Fite, faithful navigator and president of the Bishop O'Connor Fourth Degree Assembly, says this image of Mary is especially important for the KCs.

"Our first principle of the Knights of Columbus is charity, and this is Our Lady of Charity," he said. "Also, the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI was Deus Caritas Est, about charity."

Traveling icon

The icon is one of three in Wisconsin, with many more traveling around the United States since last summer, when the program debuted at the national KC convention in Nashville. This particular icon will stay in the diocese until August, visiting each of the KC districts.

The hope is that the presence of the icon will inspire increased charity and devotion to Mary. Our Lady of Charity "is not as well known as other Marys, such as Fatima or Lourdes, but still important for charity," Fite said.