MADISON — On Friday, April 11, 13-year-old Bridget Thompson and her family will be leaving for London as the seventh grader from St. Dennis School in Madison gets ready to take part in the World Championships of Irish Dance.
Bridget earned her spot in the championships at the 2013 Mid-America Oireachtas (pronounced “oh-rock-toose”) competition in Grand Rapids, Mich., this past December. She placed 15th out of more than 130 girls.
MADISON — Our Lady of Hope Clinic and the Women’s Care Center are partnering to hold “A Celebration of Life” with a benefit dinner for both organizations to be held on Saturday, May 10, at the Alliant Energy Center.
Members of the community are welcome to attend. The benefit will begin with cocktails at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and a program detailing how both organizations have worked to build a culture of life in Dane County.
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Dr. Carolyn Woo |
MADISON — Inspired by Pope Francis’ emphasis on charity and social justice, the Diocese of Madison’s Office of Evangelization and Catechesis has initiated several activities.
One is the sponsorship of two courses on Catholic Social Doctrine taught by Dr. Constance Nielsen throughout the year in different locations.
Another is a special event welcoming Dr. Carolyn Woo of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to be the guest lecturer at this spring’s St. Thérèse Lecture.
Dr. Woo will address the topic “The One-Handed Gospel: You Did It for Me” (taken from the words of Blessed Mother Teresa)” on Friday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Bishop O’Connor Center, 702 S. High Point Rd.
Dr. Woo assumed the position of CEO and president of CRS in January of 2012. CRS was founded in 1943 by the Catholic bishops of the United States to serve World War II survivors in Europe. Since then, it has expanded in size to reach more than 100 million people in nearly 100 countries on five continents.
Representing CRS, Dr. Woo was featured in Foreign Policy (May/June, 2013) as one of the 500 most powerful people on the planet and one of only 33 in the category of “a force for good.”
MADISON — In August of this year, Lumen House will open its doors to residents in the downtown area near the UW-Madison campus.
The Lumen House project allows Catholic students actively involved in the ministries of St. Paul’s University Catholic Center or the Cathedral Parish to pay rent at a reduced rate. It also offers a $100 a month, per person, rent scholarship to students actively involved with St. Paul’s.
MADISON — The Diocese of Madison Catholic Committee on Scouting (DMCCS) is now in the process of selecting Scouts to represent the diocese on the 2015 St. George Trek.
DMCCS has sent five Scouts on the St. George Trek annually since 2009 and is looking for two candidates to be a part of the Trek, which will take place between July 8 and 23 of 2015.
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| New Edgewood College president Scott Flanagan is introduced to the school on Tuesday, March 25, in the school’s Sr. Nona McGreal Room, named for a past school president. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash) |
MADISON — While Scott Flanagan’s job title will soon be changing, his face is familiar to Edgewood College.
On Tuesday, March 25, Flanagan, the college’s current executive vice president, was named the seventh president of the college. Flanagan has also served as Edgewood’s director of admissions, director of athletics, and other roles.
At a press conference in the school’s McGreal Room — named for school president Sr. Nona McGreal, who served in the 1950s and 1960s — Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees Gary Schaefer formally introduced Flanagan.
MADISON — Three and a half years ago, Madison area youth ministers were looking for a project that would engage their parishes in action befitting the Lenten season.
Several parishes banded together with the Catholic Multicultural Center, Kids Against Hunger, as well as the organization 6:8 Making Service Personal, and made a plan.
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| The original Dead Theologians Society (DTS) chapter in Ireland is pictured above. Several of the girls are now pursuing a religious vocation and the others are active in leading the DTS chapter. Also pictured are Eddie Cotter, third from left, and his son, Rory, right, who recently helped lead a Confirmation retreat in Ireland with the Antrim DTS Chapter. (Contributed photo) |
BLACK EARTH — In the fifth century, St. Patrick travelled throughout Ireland, where he established small communities of people of the Catholic faith which eventually spread across the country.
Today a Catholic apostolate is following the blueprint of St. Patrick in spreading the faith, not only in Ireland, but in the United States and other countries.
It is the Dead Theologians Society (DTS), a Catholic apostolate for high school teens and college-aged young adults. DTS has its headquarters in the Diocese of Madison in Black Earth.
As we prepare to observe St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, it is appropriate to reflect on how DTS uses a similar approach to St. Patrick, said Eddie Cotter, co-founder and executive director of DTS.
“Our DTS efforts in Ireland (as well as here in the U.S. and other countries) really do follow the blueprint of St. Patrick, who traveled many miles establishing and strengthening small faith communities that produced disciples who converted an island and a race of people,” said Cotter.
Of DTS, he said, “It isn’t flashy, but it is real, and thank God it is truly effective! Young people in DTS are literally following in the footsteps of the saints. They are spreading the Gospel by their lives wherever they are.”
To help support this apostolate, an evening of Irish music, food, and fun will be held on Saturday, March 15, at the Bishop O’Connor Center in Madison with proceeds to help sponsor the work of DTS in poorer parishes in the U.S. and Ireland.
MADISON — St. Bernard Parish, 2450 Atwood Ave., will offer a Lenten afternoon of reflection on Sunday, March 16, beginning at 4 p.m.
The format of the afternoon will be similar to that of Lessons and Carols, which is popular during the seasons of Advent and Christmas.
MADISON — On February 26, Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Madison on behalf of Vigil for Life, Madison (a Pro-Life Wisconsin affiliate) and 10 other “free-speakers” who engage in a variety of leafleting, education, and sign display activities on campus and around Madison.
The suit seeks an emergency injunction against the new law, sponsored by NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin and passed unanimously by the Madison Common Council on February 25.
