On Oct. 17 Pope Benedict XVI will canonize Blessed Mary MacKillop, making her Australia's first saint, and Canadian Blessed André Bessette, who will be the first saint of the Holy Cross Brothers.

Mother Mary MacKillop

Mother Mary MacKillop, an Australian, founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1866 with the help of English priest Julian Tenison Woods. From the order's inception, the sisters, commonly known as the Josephites, lived among the people they served and provided education and support for the children and families living in remote rural and urban areas. This commitment to follow laborers and their families to isolated communities often without regular access to the sacraments was initially condemned by local church officials. MacKillop was briefly excommunicated but three years later the bishop who punished her recanted and she was exonerated.

MacKillop died in 1909 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

There are now about 1,000 Josephite sisters living and ministering throughout Australia and New Zealand, as well as Ireland, Peru, East Timor, Scotland, and Brazil.

Bl. André Bessette

Bessette spent his day greeting visitors to the novitiate and his evenings visiting the sick in the surrounding neighborhoods. He became known as a miracle-worker, which he ascribed to the healing power of Saint Joseph, and thousands began seeking his counsel and prayers. His devotion to Saint Joseph led him to start a campaign to build a shrine dedicated to the saint. Construction of the Oratory of St. Joseph began in 1924. Bessette died in 1937 and his remains are buried beneath the main chapel of the Oratory. It was reported that 1 million people filed past his coffin.

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Others to be made saints on Oct. 17 according to Catholic News Service:

-- Blessed Stanislaw Soltys Kazimierczyk (1433-1489), a Polish-born member of the Canons Regular of the Lateran, famous as a preacher and confessor.

-- Blessed Juana Josefa Cipitria Barriola of Spain (d. 1912), founded the Daughters of Jesus.

-- Blessed Giulia Salzano of Italy (d. 1929), founder of the Catechetical Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

-- Blessed Camilla Battista Varano (1448-1524), founder of several Poor Clare communities in Italy.

Sainthood was also approved for Stanislaw Soltys, a 15th-century Polish priest; Italian nuns Giulia Salzano and Battista Varano; and Spanish nun Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola.

Gathering reports from the National Religious Vocation Conference's February Newsletter, and Fides, the news agency for the Ponitifical Mission Society, the earthquake in Haiti has had a devasting effect on many religious communities even as many religious men and women are in the forefront of relief efforts. Here is what is being reported to date:

From the NRVC:

Sister Brigitte Pierre, D.C., a Haitian member of the Daughters of Charity was found dead January 17. Remaining members of the Daughters of Charity were unharmed, although their homes were destroyed, and they have been living in tents as they reach out to assist their neighbors. An international team of 8 Daughters of Charity has arrived to assist with the relief effort.

Sister Mary Finnick, G.N.S.H. of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart is a nurse and has been treating the injured at Matthew 25, a Port-au-Prince hospitality house she runs. She and a doctor have been using the dining room of the partially damaged house as an operating room.

Sister Judy Dohner, H.M., a Humility of Mary sister suffered broken ribs and a concussion. She lives with the Sisters of St. Antoine of Fondwa, a Haitian community that lost a novice sister and a 2-year-old orphan in her care, along with its convent. The community’s orphanage and school also were damaged, forcing

The funeral service for Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, outside the ruins of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l'Assomption, in Haiti on Jan. 23, 2010. Miot and many parishioners were killed when the cathedral collapsed during the earthquake Shawn Thew / EPA Read mor

members to sleep outdoors with the orphans.

The Marist Brothers report that since their works are far from Port-au-Prince, they withstood the earthquake without any serious damage.

Two seminarians of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales were killed; five others were seriously injured but expected to recover. Two of the community’s three houses were completely destroyed. The community’s three priests and seminarians are living out in the open.

The 11 Sisters of Providence serving in Haiti survived the earthquake, although their homes were damaged. The sisters are sleeping in the street but continue to serve the poor by caring for the injured in a make-shift clinic set up on the grounds of a demolished church. Meanwhile the international congregation of the Sisters of Providence has launched a fundraising campaign to help Haiti rebuild and has pledged that its sisters will remain for the long term.

Sister Odlinè Morcy, S.S.A. of the Sisters of St. Anne was killed and another sister was injured. The community also lost a dispensary, a school and two residences.

The Society of the Sacred Heart reports that the three R.S.C.J. sisters based in Port-au-Prince are safe, but their house was destroyed. They express gratitude to the Daughters of Mary who extended hospitality to Sister Josefa Corrada, R.S.C.J. after she escaped a building. The R.S.C.J.s will move to Verrettes, Haiti where the community offers educational programs.

At least five employees at the Viatorians’ principal building, Villa Manrèse, were killed when the building was destroyed. One Viatorian, Jean-Michelin Cadet, injured his leg when the Viatorian community house and parish church in Grand Goâve were destroyed. Several Viatorians have opted not to take refuge in the community’s intact house in Cazeau neighborhood near the airport but to remain in Grand Goâve and Villa Manrèse, ministering to the people as best they can. The Superior General of the Viatorians has launched an international fundraising campaign to help rebuild and continue its mission in Haiti.

The two Xaverian Brothers who run the Maison Fortuné Orphanage in Hinche, Haiti are safe. They are moving forward with plans to take in children from Port-au-Prince orphanages that have been destroyed. The Xavierian Brothers also sponsor Sant Zveryen, a house for young men attending college in Port-au-Prince. The house was damaged, but all nine student-residents survived.

The Sisters of Charity of St. Hyacinthe, Canada lost their convent and school in Haiti, but their 21 sisters are safe and living with other congregations.

From Fides:

The Missionaries of St. Jacques lost Port-au-Prince Archbishop Serge Miot.

The Montfort Missionaries lost nine seminarians and one priest.

The Congregation of Daughters of Wisdom lost three sisters. Three others are still trapped under the rubble.

Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Haiti have about 130 members. One seminarian was killed.

The Congregation of the Holy Ghost lost one seminarian.

The Christian Brothers (with 15 working in Haiti) reported no deaths or injuries. There was slight damage to its novitiate, which has been converted into a shelter for nuns who were left homeless.

None of the 41 Redemptorist fathers or brothers was killed; only one was wounded. However damage to their property estimated at $2 million.

The seven Dominican men religious also escaped unharmed. The Dominican Sisters of Charity of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin sustained one injured sister; one of their two homes was completely destroyed. One of the children of their school was killed.

The 49 Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary all survived.

The five Camillian seminarians escaped unharmed.

The Salesians reported about the collapse of a school that buried 200 students and the religious working there. The bodies of two Salesian seminarians have been found.

Jesuits reported little damage and no lives lost; only one priest was injured.

The Franciscans also reported that their 16 brothers are alive. However, an Argentinean priest of the order, who worked as a missionary in Haiti for the past two years, is among those who disappeared in the earthquake, his brother reported on a local television station.

According to the most recent statistics Haiti's capital was served by 277 priests, 387 men religious and 1,200 women religious.

The Oakland A's Grant Desme, a former second-round pick and one of Oakland's top outfield prospects, announced Friday morning that he is retiring from baseball to become a Norbertine priest at St. Michael's Abbey in Silverado, CA.

The slugging 23-year-old, who won Arizona Fall League MVP honors in 2009, said he knew he was likely done with baseball when he finished his stint in Arizona two months ago.

"I do love the game, but I have no regrets," Desme said in a media conference call reported by Danny Wild at MinorLeagueBaseball.com. "I called yesterday to inform [A's general manager Billy Beane] of my decision, knowing I'd be done with baseball for the rest of my life after that call. I was able to experience a great amount of peace because of it--it reconfirmed my decision. I think I'd detached myself from baseball a while ago."

Desme enjoyed a breakout season in '09, batting .288 with 31 home runs and 89 RBIs in 131 games between Class A Kane County and Class A Advanced Stockton. His 40 stolen bases made him minor league bBaseball's only 30-30 player in '09.

"Last year before the season, I had a really strong feel of calling and strong desire to follow it," said Desme, who began the season in the Midwest League. "I guess in a way I fought it. God blessed me, I had a better year than I could have ever imagined. It reconfirmed my desire even more. I wasn't at peace with where I was at, I felt I was called to more."

The outfielder said he'd been contemplating his career as a priest for over a year. A separated shoulder in 2008 limited him to just two games, but more important, it gave him time to reflect on his life and goals. "My injuries were the biggest blessings that God's ever given me," he said. "For my entire life, baseball's been my life. I've defined myself as a baseball player. When it was taken away, it was kind of an eye opener, a real shock. Either way, if I played in the big leagues and became a Hall of Famer, you never know when it's going to end. I started doing some soul searching about who I was, and this is where its led me."

The slugger visited St. Michael's Abbey of the Norbertine Fathers and Brothers in Silverado, Calif. following the AFL season, and that's where he'll begin what he hopes is a 10-year journey to becoming a Catholic priest.

"Grant Desme performed far beyond his experience during his six weeks in Arizona this fall," AFL director Steve Cobb said in November. "For a young man who has yet to face Double-A and Triple-A competition, his success against an array of the game's top prospects was remarkable."

Despite his success on the field, Desme said he never considered trying to stay in baseball while dedicating himself to his faith. "I wanted to give my life completely to God for love, for everything he has done for me," Desme said. "I'm very thankful for that. Something like this is very little in comparison to what he has done for me. "It's about 10 year process of studying, so in reality, this is kind of a comparison," he added. "It's like I'm re-entering the Minor Leagues."

Last night I heard Olivia Wilde, an actress from Artists for Peace and Justice, speak of Passionist Father Rick Frechette's

Passionist Father Rick Frechette, a medical doctor, at one of his clinics in Haiti prior to the recent devastating earthquake. Frechette had been in the U.S. visting his ailing mother, but returned to Haiti immediately following news of the disaster.

great work in Haiti, founding hospitals, free clinics, and schools. He has received the "Hollywood Humanitarian Award" for his untiring dedication to the people of Haiti.

Here is news from him posted January 15 on the Passionists' website:

Hello Friends,

After driving by night to Kennedy Airport January 12th, and flying to the Dominican Republic January 13th, Conan and I arrived to Haiti this morning in the helicopter of the President of the Dominican Republic. This ride was due to the reputation of NPH in the Dominican Republic, NPH Italy, a reputation enhanced in the DR by Andrea Bocelli not long ago.

Our first tasks were the medical evacuation of one of our American volunteers, the medical evacuation of one of our Cuban doctors and the evacuation of the body if one of our American visitors. The search still continues in the rubble for another missing American volunteer, Molly.

We also had 18 funerals today. One for John who works at our St Luke program. We miss John very much. He often stopped to at my door to tell me the milestone of his developing baby, which delighted him no end. John ran our computerized language lab. Another was for Johanne’s mother. Joanne is one of the Directors of the St Luke program. All the others were of unknown people who were sadly rotting by the wayside. Other sadnesses…the death of Immacula, our only physician assistant, who worked at our huge outpatient side of our hospital. The death of ALL but one of Joseph Ferdinand’s brothers and sisters, the death of the husband of Jacqueline Gautier as he was visiting a school which fell and all the students (all died), the death of our ex-pequeno Wilfrid Altisme who was in his 5th year of seminary for priesthood.

Other stories of deaths of people who are dear to us keep coming in. We spent the rest of the time managing the countless people with serious and severe wounds, coming to our hospital. We are doing our best for them, under trees and in the parking lot with ever diminishing supplies. We will work throughout the night and beyond. No stores are open, no banks are open. Diesel is running out. Will be out in two days if we don’t find a solution, which will mean no power at all. The hospital is without water since there is some broken line between the well and the water tower. Structural damages to the hospital seem superficial at first glance, but about half the outer perimeter walls have fallen. The old hospital in Petionville is in ruins, and teams of workers, led by Ferel, and been digging for Molly non-stop around the clock.

WE HAVE NO INTERNET. OUR PHONES DO NOT WORK. IF A CALL DOES GET THROUGH WE CAN’T HEAR OR BE HEARD. Robin has internet access through a satellite. I asked her to send this message for me, and to read my emails and answer them as best she can for now. Please continue to pray for us. We pray for you too.

Fr. Rick Frechette

The Passsionists have the following message on their website:

Please consider a donation to help Fr. Rick help the people of Haiti:

Passionist Missionaries Inc.
526 Monastery Place
Union City NJ 07087-3398
Tel: 888/806-6606
E-mail: DLisotta@cpprov.org

Donate on-line. The link for our Donate Now will redirect you to Caring Habits, Inc. (CHI), the credit card processing company for The Passionist Missionaries website.

A compilation of spirited food, drink, and travel

Wisconsin journalist Madeline Scherb recently published A Taste of Heaven: A Guide to Food and Drink Made by Monks and Nuns (Tarcher, 2009), part cookbook, part travel guide.

According to her Amazon biography, Scherb, a Catholic and member of St. Bernard Parish in Middleton, WI, first came up with the idea for A Taste of Heaven while completing a journalism fellowship in 2003. Financing her efforts with her personal savings, Scherb took six years to complete the book and traveled to more than a dozen abbeys in the United States and Europe.

She offers many insights into religious life, including this observation from her introduction:

Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned from the example of monks and nuns is that a life lived simply can be both rewarding and sustainable. Monks and nuns don't live to work, they live to pray. They work only as much as they need to, but they give it their best effort every day. They work whether they are young or old according to their abilities (an octogenarian nun was recently spotted making chocolates at Bonneval, while monks of a similar age staff the reception desk at Gethsemani).

Highlights from VISION Vocation Guide's first time attendance to the National Catholic Youth Conference--held last week in Kansas City, MO--included:

• Greeting enthusiastic young adults, teenagers, youth ministers, parents, chaperones among the 22,000-plus in attendance
• Watching teenagers bowl with the bishops using the Wii that VocationMatch.com sponsored
• Feeling the enthusiasm and spirit of the faith-filled crowd in and around Kansas City's Bartle Convention Center
• Eating at Lidia's restaurant--yum!

A few photos--sorry we couldn't provide more--we were glued to the booth!

Sisters at the National Youth Conference inKansas City

Franciscan Friars at their booth at NCYC

National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC) Board Member Augustinian Father Kevin DiPrinzio, NRVC Executive Director Holy Cross Brother Paul Bednarczyk, and NRVC Associate Director Sister of St. Joseph of Philadelphia Charlene Diorka

Talk radio host Stephanie Miller called to task by a Sister of St. Mary of Namur

Sister Carol Ann of the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur was quoted on the Stephanie Miller radio show today. Stephanie Miller, comedienne and progressive talk radio host, apparently claimed tongue-in-cheek on an earlier show that she was "beaten by the nuns" during her time at DeSales Catholic High School in Lockport, NY.

Sister Carol Ann wrote and begged to differ. Apparently, the academy was not staffed by the sisters when Stephanie attended. Oops! Stephanie acknowledged that she had fibbed--all for the sake of a laugh. She promised Sister Carol Ann she would say two Hail Marys. 

Good for Sister Carol Ann for taking the time to set the record straight about the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur. Good for Stephanie Miller for her on-air apology. We believe detention is in order, Stephanie.

Click here and type in Keywords "of Namur" or Code 348 to read the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur VISION listing.

Looking for a scary place to visit on Halloween or for a Day of the Dead celebration? How about the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo in Sicily featuring thousands of well-preserved corpses of the souls of the faithful departed.

Located below a Capuchin Monastery, the underground cemetery was dug in the late 16th century initially to house deceased monks. Later, the Capuchins, an order dedicated to service to the poor, opened the catacombs to the general populace and took in those who otherwise could not afford such a burial. According to recent AP story, some 8,000 mummies are stacked ceiling-high in the corridors of the catacombs, lying in open niches, or propped up in a standing position, many still dressed in their original clothes. Monks wearing dark frocks, priests in sacred vestments, aristocrats in their best Sunday dress, and the poor in rags as well as young children resting in their cribs were all buried in the catacombs.

Today, the mummies may give visitors the creeps or encourage sobering reflections on mortality, but in the cemetery's heyday they were a comforting presence for relatives and friends who could visit their loved ones, pray by their side, and care for the body.

You can find the Capuchin Catacombs at Piazza Cappuccini, 1, Palermo, Sicily. They're open daily, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Entrance fee is €1.50. More info at Sacred Destinations website.

For information of the Capuchin Franciscan Friars in the U.S., view their VISION listing by click here, and typing in keyword "Capuchin" or code 091.

All of us involved in vocation ministry lost a dear friend on Oct. 8 with the death of Margaret "Mickey" Paluch, chairman of the  board of the J.S. Paluch company and longtime promoter and supporter of Catholic church vocations. 

In 1985 she established the J.S. Paluch Company’s National Vocation Awareness Division, which supports vocation ministry in the church and underwrites an annual national vocations seminar. In 1991 Mickey established the Endowment for the Margaret and Chester Paluch Chair of Theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary/Mundelein Seminary, Mundelein, IL, in support of that effort.In 1995 she created the Paluch Family Foundation, which funds liturgy, stewardship, and vocation projects.

In recognition of her devotion to vocation ministry, the National Religious Vocation Conference(NRVC) presented its John Paul II Award to Mickey in 1987. In 1989 the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors (NCDVD) bestowed its Stewardship Award on Mickey and later established the Margaret A. Paluch Award in her honor. In 2007 Mickey received the Pope John Paul II Seminary Leadership Award from the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) Seminary Department in recognition of her distinguished service to Roman Catholic seminaries in the United States and Canada.

Pope Benedict XVI gave the Roman Catholic church five new saints on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, including Father Damien, born as Jozef De Veuster in 1840, a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium who cared for leprosy victims on the Hawaiian island of Molokai from 1873 to 1889, when the disease killed him. The other new saints are 19th-century Polish bishop Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski; Spanish faithful Francisco Coll y Guitart and Rafael Arniaz Baron, and Jeanne Jugan, a Frenchwoman described by Vatican Radio as an "authentic Mother Teresa ahead of her time." (Click here for full AP story featured on NPR).

For more information about Father Damien, read VISION's online listing for Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (code 230).

For Jeanne Jugan, go to the VISION listing for the Little Sisters of the Poor (code 041).

Sr. Jan Lane's reflection on her vocation as an Adorer of the Blood of Christ

In October, 17 years ago, five United States Adorers of the Blood of Christ were murdered in Liberia, West Africa by

Sr. Jan Lane, ASC

When I was 35, anyone looking at my life would have thought I was perfectly content with the direction my life was taking. I had earned a B.A. in Parks & Recreation Administration and completed 10 years of successful employment serving as Program Director of a large recreation facility in my hometown. I loved working with people of all ages and social-economic backgrounds in designing programs to meet their need for organized social and recreational activity. On my free time I enjoyed training and competing in various 10k runs, biathlons and triathlons, just to stay in shape. I was a home owner, loved my cat, and found pleasure in picking out my own new vehicles and recreational gear. I enjoyed a great circle of supportive friends, which included dating and even thoughts of marriage from time to time. Who would have thought that a call to Religious Life would enter the picture of my very active life? I didn't! At least, not until I started to pay closer attention to my prayer life and a deeper desire to search for God.

Part of my search included drawing closer to my parish community by getting involved with prayer groups, sponsoring RCIA candidates and teaching PSR classes. Another part of my search included attending retreats and "Come and See" weekends, which connected me with women religious. One particular retreat captured my heart and significantly changed the direction of my life forever. I met an Adorer of the Blood who had lived and served in Liberia, Africa for 17 years. She shared her personal experience as a missionary and the story about the five Adorers who had been martyred in 1992. I was struck by the radical witness of the Adorers in living fully their spirituality which is rooted in adoration of the Precious Blood of Christ. They seemed impelled to share their lives, talents and resources for the purpose of building up a community of people who had less then they had.  After that retreat, I knew I wanted to learn more about the Adorers and their mission to "bring about that beautiful order of things that the Son of God came to establish in His blood." For the first time in my life, I felt within me a desire to explore the possibility of a vocation to Religious Life.

Today I am a professed Sister with the Adorers of the Blood of Christ and I still love the opportunity of working with people from all walks of life. I have had a variety of ministry experiences including working with inner city after-school programs, hospital and hospice chaplaincy, pastoral training programs for laity, and vocation outreach for the Adorers. Even as a Sister, exercise remains important to me and I have a steady routine of early morning runs and evening swims at the YMCA. I still consider myself a seeker, one who searches for God in my daily encounters and activities. Prayer remains central to my spiritual growth. The difference now is I live in a supportive community of faith-filled women who share a common mission. Together, we draw from a rich spiritual heritage that gives depth and meaning to life both personally and communally.  Becoming an Adorer of the Blood of Christ has opened my life to a greater sense of purpose and direction, something that was that was missing at the age of 35. For those feeling the nudge to consider Religious Life as a vocation my advice is: "Go for it! Your life may change forever."

For more information about the Adorers of the Blood of Christ and the ASC presence in Liberia is available at www.adorers.org or contact S. Jan Lane, Vocation Director for the U.S. Region at lanej@adorers.org or 1-877-236-7377 ext. 1455

Father Leo Patalinghug, founder of Grace Before Meals, a ministry that encourages cooking and sharing meals together as  away to nurture faith, was challenged to a cookoff with celebrity chef Bobby Flay. The results of the showdown airs on the Food Network Challenge, Sept. 9 at 9 p.m. Eastern time.According to a Balitmore Sun article by Matthew Brown, Patalinghug, the director of pastoral field education at Mount St. Mary's Seminary, had been lured in front of the cameras for a supposed feature on his ministry. But he soon learned that it was a setup for an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay." Pataolinghug adopted a tone of mock outrage when the ruse was revealed: "Food Network, you lied to a priest!"

Patalinghug's website, Gracebeforemeals.com, on which he posts recipes and professionally produced webisodes, gets 10,000 hits daily; he is talking with PBS about airing a series. His self-published cookbook, "Grace Before Meals: Recipes for Family Life," has entered its second printing, and he is in talks with Random House to produce the third. All of it, he says, is an extension of his work as a priest. "I'm inviting people to the table," Patalinghug says. "I'm doing what Jesus did. Before he started teaching theologically, he fed them loaves and fishes. I don't want to separate people and only address their spirit." "People aren't going to read a long theological essay," he says. "But surely they can look at a five-minute passage while the water is boiling."

Grace Before Meals overview:

UPDATE from Gracebeforemeals.com: It's official - Father Leo Patalinghug defeated renowned chef Bobby Flay in a Fusion Fajita cook-off. The episode of “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” will be re-broadcast on September 20 at 11 p.m. EST and September 21 at 2 a.m. EST.

What does a movie centering on cooking have to do with vocation? Could be plenty. To my mind, Julie and Julia is not only a fun movie to watch, but it's something of a secular meditation on what we Catholics call a "vocation story." There is no prayer in this movie (at least none is portrayed). There is no discussion of "calling" or "discernment," yet at heart the movie is about two women who are in the process of discovering who they are, where they belong in the world and what it is that they love and are good at.

For people of faith, these foundational concerns are the building blocks of vocation. Who am I? What are my gifts? What am I passionate about? What stirs me? These all play into the pivotal question of "What is God calling me to?" After all, God calls us according to our gifts and our deepest desires.

Julia Child had a gift for cooking and for communicating her love of cooking to others. The blogger, Julie Powell, also had a passion for cooking and writing. In the movie, over the course of months and years, both women learn by trial and error about their individual gifts and passions. They both have failures and experience uncertainty. Yet, as they come to know and appreciate themselves better, their talents finally begin to bloom in a way that becomes noticed by others. Throughout the movie they share their talents with others, especially their husbands who enthusiastically devour the scrumptious goodies that flow from the kitchen. Many of this movie's luscious food scenes hint at the heavenly banquet.

Julie and Julia is a secular story. But Christians, too, can gain some insights about the importance of self-discovery in vocation and the wisdom of sharing our gifts with others.

Post submitted by Carol Schuck Scheiber, VISION's content editor

I was at the Paluch Seminar on Vocations this past week and met some young adults who had never met a religious sister until they were well in their teens or 20s—even though they had attended Catholic schools. It made me realize that many people may not know or see the value of nuns, sisters, brothers, and religious priests.

I'd love to hear from others on what they see as the value for themselves and for the church of having people choose religious life. For myself I would say that I have been inspired by the fact that priests, brothers, sisters have been at the forefront of every major social movement in the U.S.: child labor laws, civil rights, peace, social justice. They helped establish our extensive Catholic school and healtchcare systems. They are now leaders in the immigration and healthcare reform movements.

I do believe their witness and dedication to the church is essential to the life of the church. Please let me know what you think.

A Study on Recent Vocations was just published by the Center for the Applied Research in the Apostolate on behalf of the National Religious Vocation Conference (the group which holds the copyright for VISION Vocation Guide). The study shows an increase in ethnic diversity among new entrants and a desire for prayer, communal living, and Catholic identity, which correlates with the VISION VocationMatch.com annual trend surveys and reader statistics.

For full details of the study, click here.

Best practices gleaned from the study for attracting and retaining new members:

• Being Proactive about Vocations
• Creating a Culture of Vocations
• Vocation Director and/or Team
• Use of Media for Vocation Promotion
• Discernment Programs
• Targeting Age Groups

Parishes, religious educators, and families also play a role in promoting vocations. Let's hope the study spurs more vocation awareness among all Catholics.

You may have seen the news story about the group of Franciscan friars-in-training who along with two older

Friars at their journey's end.

They took no money-what people pressed on them they spent on food and gave the rest away-and made no plans to have a roof over their heads. Their destination was the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land near Catholic University in Washington, which for them had a symbolic meaning as the close of their trip.They have a website about their journey. Their journey echoed Jesus' command to the disciples he sent out ahead of him to "take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money-not even an extra tunic" (Luke 9:3). "Anything can happen when you live in the moment, one step at a time," said one of the older friars. "But to find that out, you have to be willing to take that one step."

Needless to say they attracted a lot of attention. "Dressed like we are in our habits," another said, "it's like a walking sign that says, 'Tell us your life's problems.' " And of problems they did hear: relationship-difficulty-afflicted commuters poured out their hearts; a woman who had recently kicked out her husband and daughter told them her troubles. They chatted with a group of intoxicated bikers. Others who had no idea who they were thought them to be on their way to a Star Wars convention. Some kids took them for Shaolin monks. At the Lincoln Memorial folks wanted their picture taken with them. On one occasion the local police wanted to know what they were up to.

Along the Lee Highway in Fairfax, Va. a woman and her three children picked them up in her minivan and took them out to eat at Chik-fil-A. "It was the oddest experience sitting there at Chik-fil-A with everyone staring at us," the woman said. "The high point was when the guy dressed up like a cow came out and gave us all high fives. He was in costume. They were in robes. A lot of people were wondering what was going on."

Their outdoor sleep locations included a trampoline next to a firehouse (one moved, they all moved); picnic tables behind a church; and five nights on the Appalachian Trail. Indoor locales were the home of a tattooed and toothless Native American healer (where they spent the night exchanging gospel/Native stories and double flute playing/Latin hymn chanting); a Trappistine abbey; Catholic churches; a Baptist church; a church deacon's basement; a police academy barracks; and several nights in the "homes of strangers."

Read the full story with photo gallery.

Papal Nuncio Archbishop Pietro Sambi

Sambi called upon the church in the United States “not to remain a prisoner of the sex scandal” nor “a prisoner to the crisis in religious life.” Sambi acknowledged that the sexual abuse crisis has taken a terrible toll, saying that in some quarters it has “deprived us of all credibility.” Likewise, he conceded that diminishing numbers have induced a crisis of confidence in some circles of religious life. Nonetheless, Sambi insisted that rebirth is possible through adopting the spirit of St. Paul, being “seized,” “grasped,” by the Gospel of Christ, and preaching that gospel relentlessly. “There is a Christian way of dealing with problems,” Sambi told the several hundred leaders of religious life. “It involves converting humiliation into strength by fidelity to our vocation and mission.”

Also on his blog, Allen had this to say about the papal nuncio:

Here’s a window onto Sambi’s personality: When I sat down next to him at the speaker’s table on Thursday morning, I asked how he was doing. “Better every day,” he said with a broad smile, adding. “We must be optimistic ... we are Christians, after all.” Sambi is the kind of guy who, just by being himself, puts a radiant human face on the church.

That seems to be a worthy aspiration for all Christians: Commitment to putting a radiant human face on the church.

During his visit to Italy in early July for the G8 summit, Japanese Prime Minsiter, Tara Aso, will have a speicial audience with Pope Benedict XVI. Although you may find it surprising that Japan has a Catholic prime minister--considering that Catholics are a tiny minority in Japan--1 million in a population of 127 million--Taro Aso is actually the third Catholic to become prime minister of Japan. But Aso is the only one of the three to meet the Pope. The other Catholic prime ministers were Hara Takashi (1918-1921) and Hosokowa Morihiro (1993-94).

In recent months the Vatican and Japan have strengthened ties. In mid March, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican’s foreign secretary, made a six-day visit to Japan as an official guest of Japanese Foreign Ministry. He was the first Vatican top diplomat to make an official visit to Japan in the 67-year history of established diplomatic relations between the two countries. More at Indian Catholic.

Saint John Vianney—patron of priests—is the subject of Vianney, a play that will begin a U.S. tour in August. Produced by Leonardo Defilippis, it tells the story of Vianney from his childhood during the French Revolution to his 40 years serving as the Curé, or parish priest, of the village of Ars in France. August 4, 2009 marks the 150th anniversary of Vianney's death.

“We were trying to do something to really connect monastics with students this year,” said Sister Molly Weyrens.

Click on the must-see video of Sister Eunice Antony and student Megan Priebe performing.

Lady Gaga, a 23-year-old singer/song-writer from Yonkers, NY, who is famed for her outrageous and revealing get-ups, doesn't think teachers at New York's Convent of the Sacred Heart Catholic school would be offended by the way she expresses herself, according to a Bang Media article recently posted online. "I haven't had any feedback from the nuns," says the young artist who was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. "But it's interesting because I think everyone assumes that because I went to such a religious school perhaps they don't appreciate what I'm doing now. But it is quite the opposite.

"I got a really solid education, in particular how to analyze art, how to make art. So if anything, my teachers are sort of nodding their heads and saying, 'She did a good job of using her artistic abilities to really create a new kind of pop.'"

Hmm...it would be interesting to hear from some Sacred Heart sisters just to confirm their thoughts on the matter. But in the meantime, it's nice to know Lady Gaga appreciates the education she received at their hands.

The U.S. Catholic bishops have posted their annual survey of the newly ordained. The 2009 survey, commissioned by the U.S. bishops and conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), had a response rate of approximately 70 percent of the 465 potential ordinands.They included 239 men being ordained for dioceses and 71 for religious orders. Among the survey's findings:

• The average age for the Class of 2009 is 36.
• One quarter of ordinands were born outside the United States, with the largest numbers coming from Mexico, Vietnam, Poland and the Philippines.
• Most ordinands have been Catholic since birth, although one in ten (10 percent) became Catholic later in life, on average at 21.
• Before entering the seminary, two in three ordinands completed college (65 percent), and one in five of those had a graduate degree (19 percent).
• Half of responding ordinands (51 percent) attended a Catholic elementary school, which is a slightly higher rate than that for all U.S. Catholic adults. Ordinands also are more likely than other U.S. Catholic adults to have attended a Catholic high school and are much more likely to have attended a Catholic college. .
• Whether or not they ever attended a Catholic elementary or high school, 57 percent (65 percent of diocesan ordinands and 54 percent of religious ordinands) participated in a religious education program in their parish.
• Ordinands have been active in parish ministries, with between about half and three-quarters indicating they served as an altar server, lector, and/or Eucharistic minister.
• About two-thirds of ordinands report having full-time work experience before entering the seminary, most often in education.
• Responding ordinands represent 112 dioceses/eparchies and 46 religious congregations.

The National Religious Vocation Conference hopes to work with the USCCB Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations on a similar project highlighting the newly professed men and women in religious institutes.

I stumbled upon this comment from an address given to vocation directors about the diversity in mission and ministries among religious communities, but it certainly has a wider application for all Catholics and Christians:

“The church exists today because of the contentiousness of Paul and the impetuousness of Peter. It exists today because of the gentleness of John and the passionate love of the Magdalen. It exists because of the diplomacy of Timothy and the generous hospitality of Lydia. It exists because of the capable leadership of Phoebe and the eloquent wisdom of Stephen. As the early church had them and their contributing gifts and charisms, today it has us. Saint Catherine of Siena wrote in her Dialogues that God said to her: ‘I could well have made human beings in such a way that they had everything, but I preferred to give gifts to different people, so that they would all need each other.’ ”

—Brother Paul Bednarcyk, C.S.C., from “Empowered by the Holy Spirit, let’s work together to build our future,” the 2009 Winter issue of Horizon.

The Vatican's official yearbook, the Annuario Pontificio, formally presented to Pope Benedict XVI on Feb. 28, shows a gradual increase in the number of Catholic priests worldwide. There are now more than 408,000 priests in the world (up from 405,178 in 2000), and more than 115,000 seminarians training for priestly ministry.

The number of priests has grown by over 20 percent in Africa and Asia and is holding steady in the Americas. Europe and Oceania experience a slight decline, the Vatican said.

An uptick in those interested in and entering religious life is noted in VocationMatch.com's annual surveys on vocation trends. Click here for more information on VISION's statistics and recent vocation surveys.

Cardinal Edward Egan, who is retiring as Archbishop of New York, said at a recent news conference that his “greatest sadness” was that the archdiocese did not produce more vocations to the priesthood, according to the New York Times. The diocesan seminary in Yonkers will graduate only three students this year to be ordained to the priesthood.

Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who will be installed as the new Cardinal and archbishop of New York on April 15, visited St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers recently and said that increasing vocations was his "first mandate." Asked his strategy, Dolan replied, “Happiness attracts.”

Cathleen Falsani, award-winning religion writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, says in a recent column that she greeted the news that the Vatican had introduced its own YouTube channel with happy anticipation because one of her all-time favorite online videos is of Pope John Paul II watching three Polish breakdancers performing at the Vatican. Falsani writes:

"Though struggling with the effect of Parkinson's disease, John Paul II is clearly enthralled by the dancers. He raises his hands in joyful approval, smiles and even attempts to clap in time with the hip-hop beat. 'Breakdancing for the pope,' as the video is called, never fails to lift my spirits."

"Alas," says a disappointed Falsani: "The Vatican's YouTube fare thus far is decidedly more, shall we say, austere. Each of the 30 videos posted on YouTube is a minute or two long, and most show Pope Benedict seated in a gold throne or behind a glass lectern reading from a script in Italian, Latin, French and English."

Falsani's advice: "These staid Vatican videos are vying for young people's attention with YouTube phenoms such as Spaghetti Cat, orange-clad Filipino inmates dancing to Michael Jackson's 'Thriller,' or that maddeningly memorable song, 'Chocolate Rain'? If the Vatican can loosen up a little bit and post video content with a bit more soul -- think more break dancing and less Latin chanting -- its efforts to bridge the digital divide to young Catholics could be a great success."

What's your advice? Send us your ideas for Vatican videos you'd like to see, or links to Catholic videos that haven't made it to the Vatican's YouTube channel.

Nun encounters are rare occurrences in the lives of most Americans. In the January issue of America, Sister Charlene Diorka, a Sister of St. Joseph of Philadelphia, describes how her chance meeting with a curious 20-year-old during a short plane flight, gave her the opportunity to reflect on her vocation and what it means to be a "real, live nun" in the 21st century. Here are the key things she says she learned over the past 25 years:

• A call always involves an invitation to freely come and see.
• A call is about God’s time. It involves waiting and tending to a process.
• A call is a journey of trust, and God is always with us.
• A call is a gift graciously given and full of grace.

For the full article click here.

The newly released movie Doubt, starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams, was written and directed by Pulitzer prize-winning author John Patrick Shanley. Shanley received his elementary education from the Sisters of Charity of New York at St. Anthony School in the Bronx. He based the character of the young Sister James on his first grade teacher, Sister of Charity Margaret McEntee, who was known as Sister Marita James when she first took her vows.

Shanley dedicated his play “to the many orders of Catholic nuns who devoted their lives to serving others in hospitals, schools and retirement homes. Though they have been much maligned and ridiculed, who among us has been so generous?”

Watch the CBS interview with the author and his inspiration.

Go to the Sisters of Charity of New York website for more information about their community and the sisters connection to Doubt.

"You haven't had real fun until you've had it in a convent," says Sister Virginie Fish, an Oblate Sisters of Providence, who along with the other members of her community, was featured in the December issue of Ebony magazine.

Sister Fish says of religious life, "It is a life of excitement, adventure, dedication. It is certainly not boring." But it does have its challenges.

When Fish joined the convent in 1946, there were more than 300 Oblate Sisters serving throughout the U.S. and in six foreign missions. The Oblate Sisters of Providence, the oldest U.S. religious community of women of African descent, now number 100 sisters and serve in 25 U.S. cities and Costa Rica.

Their primary focus has remained education and service to the poor. For more information about the Oblate Sisters of Providence go to oblatesisters.org.

For you political junkies wondering what to do once the election is over, or for all those preparing to settle into winter, you might consider making your way through the list of 45 “best films” chosen by the Vatican in 1995 in honor of the 100th anniversary of cinema. Although film buffs may argue with certain selections and omissions, overall it is an admirable compilation that shows a real appreciation for the art of movies and moviemaking.

In the months ahead I will offer some mini reviews and commentary as I delve into these film classics. I encourage you to offer your own reviews or comments. We can also begin to compile our own VISION list of Best Films that can include releases in the past decade as well.

As I look over the list, of the ones I’ve already viewed, I’d have to say Babette’s Feast and Stagecoach top my list. I was happily surprised to see It’s a Wonderful Life on the list—it probably is my favorite Frank Capra film although I do love Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It Happened One Night. But for all around entertaining Christmas films A Christmas Story is one I can and do watch over and over.

I look forward to your comments. Happy viewing!

The Vatican Best Films List (1885-1995)

Religion
Andrei Rublev * Andrei Tarkowsky (1969, USSR)
The Mission * Roland Joffé (1986, UK)
La passion de Jeanne d’Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc) *
Carl T. Dreyer (1928, France)
La vie et la passion de Jésus Christ (Life and Passion of Christ) * Ferdinand Zecca and Lucien Nonguet (1905, France) Identified on the Vatican film list as La Passion Pathé
Francesco, giullare di Dio (The Flowers of St. Francis / Francis, God’s Jester) * Roberto Rossellini (1950, Italy)
Il vangelo secondo Matteo (The Gospel According to Matthew) * Pier Paolo Pasolini (1964, France/Italy)
Thérèse * Alain Cavalier (1986, France)
Ordet (The Word) * Carl T. Dreyer (1955, Denmark)
Offret — Sacrificatio (The Sacrifice) * Andrei Tarkowsky (1986, Sweden/UK/France)
Francesco * Liliana Cavani (1989, Italy/Germany)
Ben-Hur [A Tale of the Christ] * William Wyler (1959, USA)
Babettes gæstebud (Babette’s Feast) * Gabriel Axel (1987, Denmark)
Nazarín * Luis Buñuel (1958, Mexico)
Monsieur Vincent * Maurice Cloche (1947, France)
A Man for All Seasons * Fred Zinnemann (1966, UK)

Values
Gandhi * Richard Attenborough (1982, UK/USA/India)
Intolerance * D. W. Griffith (1916, USA)
Dekalog (The Decalogue) * Krzysztof Kieslowski (1987, Poland)
Identified on the Vatican film list as Il Decalogo
Au Revoir, Les Enfants (Goodbye, Children) * Louis Malle (1987, France)
Dersu Uzala * Akira Kurosawa (1974, Japan)
L’albero degli zoccoli (The Tree of the Wooden Clogs) * Ermanno Olmi (1978, Italy/France)
Roma, città aperta (Open City) * Roberto Rossellini (1946, Italy)
Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries) * Ingmar Bergman (1957, Sweden)
Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal) * Ingmar Bergman (1957, Sweden)
Chariots of Fire * Hugh Hudson (1981, UK)
Ladri di biciclette (The Bicycle Thief) * Vittorio de Sica (1948, Italy)
It’s a Wonderful Life * Frank Capra (1946, USA)
Schindler’s List * Steven Spielberg (1993, USA)
On the Waterfront * Elia Kazan (1954, USA)
Biruma No Tategoto (The Burmese Harp) * Kon Ichikawa (1956, Japan)

Art
2001: A Space Odyssey * Stanley Kubrick (1968, UK/USA)
La Strada * Federico Fellini (1954, Italy)
Citizen Kane * Orson Welles (1941, USA)
Metropolis * Fritz Lang (1927, Germany)
Modern Times * Charlie Chaplin (1936, USA)
Napoléon * Abel Gance (1927, Italy)
8½ * Federico Fellini (1963, Italy)
La grande illusion (Grand Illusion) * Jean Renoir (1937, France)
Nosferatu * F. W. Murnau (1922, Germany)
Stagecoach * John Ford (1939, USA)
Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) * Luchino Visconti (1963, Italy/France)
Fantasia * (1940, USA)
The Wizard of Oz * Victor Fleming (1939, USA)
The Lavender Hill Mob * Charles Crichton (1951, UK)
Little Women * George Cukor (1933, USA)

What would you add?
Films released prior to 1995?
Films released after 1995?

After Italian media alerted the international media to the fact that a 106-year-old American sister living in Rome was voting for the first time since 1952 and that she was casting her ballot for Barack Obama, Sister Cecelia Gaudette of the Religious Sisters of Jesus and Mary became an instant celebrity. She now is hoping to recede from the limelight, and continue what she does best, quietly hoping and praying for peace and an end to the war in Iraq.

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE49C72F20081013?sp=true

I'm a long way away from the days when Sister Firmina would test us third graders on our weekly catechism, but I remember learning the four marks of the church from her. She would be proud that I got question #7 right on the "What's your Catholic IQ" quiz I came across in the current issue of Catechist, www.catechist.com. However, none of my high school and college New Testament professors will be pleased to learn that I missed #3. Better get back to my scripture studies!

Anyway hope you enjoy it. Let us know what stumped you and what you learned. Or better yet send us some of your questions, and we'll create our own Vision Catholic IQ quiz.

What's your Catholic IQ Quiz

Answer key

Holy folks need two miracles as part of the process of being declared a saint. Catholic missionary Blessed Father Damien de Veuster of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary recently had a second miracle associated with his cause approved by Pope Benedict, which clears the way for his canonization. 

The miracle is based on the testimony of Audrey Toguchi of Honolulu, who says she prayed at Damien's grave on the island of Molokai in Hawaii and was cured of a deadly cancer.

Toguchi's doctor, Y. M. Chang, says no one truly knows why some cancers disappear, "For the true believer or faithful, this is a miracle. For the true skeptic, this is a random or very unusual coincidence. For the doctor and scientist, we call it complete spontaneous regression of cancer."

The church is calling it a miracle, and Damien is expected to be canonized in 2009.

Catholic voters—47 million strong—are being wooed by Democrats and Republicans alike in the upcoming election cycle. “The trick,” says Amy Sullivan in a recent Time article, “is figuring out what Catholics want.”

That is no easy task. But here are the issues that should be of concern to Catholics as they weigh and measure the candidates, according to the United States Conference of Catholic bishops’ website www.faithfulcitizenship.org:

The Right to Life and the Dignity of the Human Person: Human life is sacred. Direct attacks on innocent human beings are never morally acceptable. Within our society, life is under direct attack from abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, and destruction of human embryos for research. These intrinsic evils must always be opposed. This teaching also compels us as Catholics to oppose genocide, torture, unjust war, and the use of the death penalty, as well as to pursue peace and help overcome poverty, racism, and other conditions that demean human life.

Call to Family, Community, and Participation: The family, based on marriage between a man and a woman, is the fundamental unit of society. This sanctuary for the creation and nurturing of children must not be redefined, undermined, or neglected. Supporting families should be a priority for economic and social policies. How our society is organized—in economics and politics, in law and public policy—affects the well-being of individuals and of society. Every person and association has a right and a duty to participate in shaping society to promote the well-being of individuals and the common good.

Rights and Responsibilities: Every human being has a right to life, the fundamental right that makes all other rights possible. Each of us has a right to religious freedom, which enables us to live and act in accord with our God-given dignity, as well as a right to access to those things required for human decency—food and shelter, education and employment, health care and housing. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities—to one another, to our families, and to the larger society.

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable: While the common good embraces all, those who are in greatest need deserve preferential concern. A moral test for society is how we treat the weakest among us—the unborn, those dealing with disabilities or terminal illness, the poor and marginalized.

Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers: The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Economic justice calls for decent work at fair, living wages, opportunities for legal status for immigrant workers, and the opportunity for all people to work together for the common good through their work, ownership, enterprise, investment, participation in unions, and other forms of economic activity.

Solidarity: We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. Our Catholic commitment to solidarity requires that we pursue justice, eliminate racism, end human trafficking, protect human rights, seek peace, and avoid the use of force except as a necessary last resort.

Caring for God’s Creation: Care for the earth is a duty of our Catholic faith. We all are called to be careful stewards of God’s creation and to ensure a safe and hospitable environment for vulnerable human beings now and in the future.

Responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation, the bishops tell us. So, above all, VOTE!

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