NWI Catholic Stories

Joe, Frankie and Gina Cascone celebrate Frankie's eighth-grade graduation two years ago. The Dyer family is headed to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis this summer and encouraging other parishioners at St. Joseph to join them for the five-day event. "The nation is coming to Indy ... to bring us more alive in our faith," said Joe Cascone. (Provided photo)
Local Catholics headed to once-in-a-lifetime Eucharistic event
Eucharistic Congress 2024
Pilgrims process in a 12-mile walk from Laporte to Walker, Minn., along the Paul Bunyan State Trail during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage May 20, 2024. (OSV News photo/Courtney Meyer)
Eucharistic Pilgrimage crossing diocese a must-go for some
Eucharistic Pilgrimage 2024
During Mass marking his 25th anniversary of priestly ordination, Bishop Robert J. McClory (right) joins other clergymen in applauding then-Deacon Zachary Glick (front, center) on the transitional deacon's final weeks before being ordained to the priesthood, on May 10 at the the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary. Glick, a native of Highland and alumnus of Our Lady of Grace school, completed studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
New priest ready to serve Diocese of Gary and U.S. Air Force
Transitional deacon Steven Caraher carries the Book of Gospels during Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary on May 19. Caraher, a native of Munster and St. Thomas More parish, completed seminary studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detoit and awaits ordination to the priesthood, set for June 1 at the cathedral. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
Varied summer assignments prepared new priest for ministry
Bobby Fredericksen speaks to about 70 people during the first evening of a six-week Young Adult Summer Speaker Series sponsored by the Diocese of Gary. The first event was May 22 at Northwoods Falls in St. John. (Lynda Hemmerling phtoto)
Speaker Series explores topics to deepen Catholic faith and share with others
Participants watch the "Am I Saved?" video during the third week of a seven-week Eucharistic Revival discussion series hosted by St. Thomas More in Munster. The series continues at the Weis Center from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Thursdays through June 13 and from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays through June 12. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)
Discussion series prepares faithful for Eucharistic Revival
Father Michael Yadron selects between two chasubles made and gifted to him by his late mother Helen (Bartkus) Yadron, in the sacristy at St. Thomas More church on May 21. The Munster pastor, who was ordained to the priesthood in 1983, said when he wears the original vestments he is reminded of the love and support his mom gave him. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
Chasubles and chalices remind priests of their connection to family
Jack Halton, 92, of Highland, is ready to fill more bags of groceries for food pantry clients at Catholic Charities Diocese of Gary, where he has been a volunteer for five years. Halton was recently named Volunteer of the Year by Catholic Charities USA. (Provided photo)
Senior volunteer tapped for national Catholic Charities award
Alana Jardenil, a Valparaiso resident and a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, interacts with first graders on May 14 at St. Paul Catholic School. During the visit, Jardenil shared details about the Indianapolis 500 car race and how she came to participate in the 500 Festival Princess Program. (Provided photo)
Graduate returns to share achievement with her alma mater 
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Diocese offers young adults opportunity to connect, grow in faith
Keynote speaker Father Frank DeSiano, a Eucharistic preacher named by the USCCB and the president of the Paulist Fathers, chats with parishioners during fellowship after the fitrst session of a three-day Eucharistic Mission at St. Paul in Valparaiso. Refreshments for the morning and evening programs each day were funded through a $2,500 CSA Excellence Award received by the parish for its oustanding participation in the Catholic Services Appeal last year. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)
New Catholic Services Appeal award helps parishes boost evangelization
St. Mary pastor Father Kevin Huber raises the monstrance as he leads benediction in June 2023. Father Huber and the congregation of the Crown Point parish will host "True Presence: A Night of Praise, Worship and Adoration" on Friday, May 31, as part of the Summer of Eucharistic Revival events within the Diocese of Gary. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
Diocese kicks off Eucharistic Congress with outdoor evening of praise and worship
One of eight silver roses that are traveling to Mexico this month was on display April 30 in the chapel at St. Michael the Archangel in Schererville. It is part of an international Silver Rose Prayer Service honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe and the sanctity of life, dating back to 1960. (Lynda J. Hemmerling photo)
The power of prayer and sanctity of life revealed through a single rose
Our Lady of Sorrows faithful and guests participate in a session of ACTS XXIX's The Rescue Project in Franciscan Hall at the Valparaiso parish in April. More than 60 people attended nine separate presentations over a three-week period, which focused on a Scripture- and catechism-based theology about redemption in today's times through Jesus Christ. (provided photo)
Rescue Project provides resources for parish to build future of faith
Several members of the St. James the Less in Highland bible study group gather after their May 2 meeting. In attendance were (back row) Thomas Taylor, Bill Sonaitis, Georgia Helfen, Alicia Montalvo, Art Zuhl, (front row) Stephen Schwegman, Mirthala Taylor, Cathy Bartczak, and Dorene Albright. (Lynda J. Hemmerling photo)
Parishioners of St. James the Less celebrate feast day and grow in relationship
Caption: Social Studies Teacher Clare Majchrowicz dresses up as St. Casimir school principal Matt Chico on May 1 in honor of School Principals' Day. The following week, many diocesan schools held special activities in celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, May 6-10. (Provided photo)
Schools take time to celebrate principals and teachers
Bishop Robert J. McClory presents a candle in remembrance of her child to Chris Petro of Chesterton, a parishioner at St. Patrick, during the Mass for Pregnancy and Infant Loss on May 5 at Queen of All Saints in Michigan City. Petro lost Baby Petro through miscarriage, and joined dozens of other parents at the annual liturgy on Bereaved Mother's Day. (Marlene A. Zloza photo).
Pain stems from love for families gathered at memorial Mass
Bishop Robert J. McClory (center) raises a communion plate as transitional Deacon Zachary Glick raises the chalice during the Eucharistic prayer at Mass in the Cathedral of the Holy Angels where the fifth Bishop of Gary joined invited family and friends and diocesan faithful to mark his 25th anniversary of priestly ordination, on May 10. Growing up in Royal Oak, Mich., Bishop McClory was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1999, after seminary studies, which followed his brief caree
Bishop gives thanks for his vocation and the love of God
Augustinian Father Tom McCarthy delivers an extended homily based on the day's Scripture readings and his parish mission entitled, "Our Restless Journey," to more than 100 faithful and guests at St. Joseph church in Dyer on April 24. Father McCarthy, who hails from the South Side of Chicago, is vocation director for the Augustinian’s Our Mother of Good Counsel Midwest Province and is the director of St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel in Chicago. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
Augustinian leads mission to keep St. Joseph parish on journey with Jesus
Luis Reyes, originally from Bucaramanga, Columbia, stands at Father Robert Ross’s first Mass at St. Stephen the Martyr, in Merrillville, in June of 2023, with Amy O'Donnell and her son, William O'Donnell, who is on the path to ordination for the priesthood in June 2026. Reyes has become like an adopted son and a brother to the O'Donnell family. (Provided photo)
Blessed Virgin Mary, Mothers are role models in helping young men discern for priesthood
International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima, formerly in the care of Blue Army custodian Eugene O'Brien, is kept holy reverence on display in the DeVault family's home. (Angela Hughes photo)
Catholics honor our Blessed Mother through May Crownings, personal devotion
Then-Monsignor Robert McClory spends a moment at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France in October 2019. (Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Detroit)
Joy of ministry work grew into deeper love for Jesus
Celebrating 25 years
Bishop Robert J. McClory blesses Mary and Jake Neary during a visit to Sacred Heart Church in LaPorte on March 5, 2020. (Bob Wellinski photo)
Shepherd continues to guide faithful as Bishop of Gary
Celebrating 25 Years
The Sacred Heart Major Seminary priestly ordination class of 1999 gathers with Cardinal Adam J. Maida (center) in Detroit. Then-Father Robert McClory stands at bottom, left. (Archdiocese of Detroit photo)
Friends, clergymen confident bishop would build on success
Celebrating 25 Years
Robert J. McClory (center) gathers with his parents Ann and James McClory after passing his bar exam at the Oakland County Circuit Court House in Pontiac, Mich., in 1991. (photo courtesy of Therese Norris)
Youngest brother’s priestly vocation came as no surprise to family
Celebrating 25 Years
Members of the St. Paul Respect Life group are seated at their table during the Lake County Right to Life’s annual fundraiser banquet at Avalon Manor Banquet Center in Merrillville on April 19. The event featured talks by local pro-life leaders and state politicians with the keynote presentation delivered by singer and inspirational speaker Jason Upton, who shared his “Divine Adoption Story.” (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
Lake County Right to Life hosts banquet focused on adoption
Happy to return to St. Clare's Kitchen on April 25 after a four-year hiatus from Holy Name of Jesus in Cedar Lake are dinner guests (from left) Carol Comstock, Patty Hegyi, Miriam Serini-Simmel, Frances Holtz and Joe Porter, all Cedar Lake residents who ate almost weekly at the church before the COVID-19 pandemic closed the soup kitchen for more than four years. It has now reopened on the second and fourth Thursday of every month, offering free meals and fellowship from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. in Sacred Heart Hal
St. Clare’s Kitchen back in business offering food and fellowship
Father Frank DeSiano, of Washinton, DC, president of the Paulist Fathers and one of the Eucharist preachers named by the USCCB, holds the Bible for Tina Pysh and Kristin Kantrowski to reverence during the first session of a three-day Eucharistic Mission hosted by St. Paul in Valparaiso on April 23. Morning and evening sessions were held with four speakers, folloiwed by fellowship. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)
Paulist evangelization leader leads faithful closer to Word of God
Father Rick Holy, director of Pro-Life Activities for the Diocese of Gary and pastor at St. Edward in Lowell, talks at an April 22 meeting about some of the resources available for parishes interested in starting a Walking with Moms in Need Ministry.. Lay leaders from seven parishes in various stages of development attended the semiannual meeting hosted by the diocese to disseminate infirmation and share ideas, including (at left) Dave Brown from St. Michael the Archangel in Schererville. (Marlene A. Zloza
Parish leaders meet to discuss ways to support mothers and babies
At Holy Family Parish's Sacred Heart campus in LaPorte, hosts of a marriage tribunal talk (left to right) diocesan staff member Milly Virus, Deacon Frank Zolvinski, and Father Brian Chadwick, diocesan judicial vicar, gather after the presentation on April 25. The main topic of discussion, annulments, were examined through the Catholic canonical lens, which allows a process for faithful or those seeking to join the Church remedy when relational bonds end and life moves forward. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
Vicar, canon lawyer shares insight into Catholic remedies for divorce
Franciscan Health’s Volunteer Advocates for Seniors and Incapacitated Adults (VASIA) swore in new volunteers Dr. Celeste McGill, LaFayetta Boone and Steven Bowling in March. (Provided photo)
Volunteer court-appointed guardians advocate for the elderly, incapacitated
Joanne Besich concentrates on her brush strokes as she paints a hummingbird on April 17 in Sacred Heart Hall at Holy Name of Jesus church in Cedar Lake. Part of the “Crafting with a Purpose” series, parish volunteers were happy to see more than 50 church members and guests attend the class featuring guidance for hands-on art projects. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
Holy Name parishioners, guests paint with purpose
Father Leo Gajardo and Father Charles Niblick anoint and bless people at St. Maria Goretti in Dyer during an April 18 Mass of Anointing. More than 100 parishioners, caregivers, families and friends attended. (Lynda J. Hemmerling photo)
People of faith receive blessings, renewed at Mass of Anointing 
Eighth graders of St. Mary in Griffith toured Captial Hill in Washington D.C. in April. Fundraisers including pancake breakfasts, bingo nights, pizza lunches and other donations helped to secure funds for the trip taken during Spring Break. (Provided photo)
Spring Break trip combines educational and spiritual components
Renee Scearce displays framed photographs taken by eighth graders entitled, "St. Michael Through Our Eyes." This item was one of dozens auctioned April 13 during the St. Michael the Archangel School fundraiser, Passport to Our Heritage." (Lynda J. Hemmerling photo)
Building community is key to annual Passport to Our Heritage’s successful fundraising
Audience members listen to a talk about estate law on April 10 at the Knights of Columbus Marquette council 3631 hall in Griffith. Gary Bonk, a Schererville-based lawyer, joined K of C product specialist Tim Wozniak delivering presentations hosted by K of C field agent Jim Cassoday as an educational seminar promoting financial security and long-term care funding options. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
Knights host estate planning and assisted care seminar
Pat Strange and Joni Zurad participate in chair yoga exercises led by vice president Sue Oczkowski (not pictured) during a Seniors of STM program at St. Thomas More in Munster on March 6. The group also learned about "Healthy Aging" from a registered dietitian. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)
Seniors learn about healthy foods and exercise for mind and body
Eve Duray, Sharon Przybylinski and Labors of Love Co-ordinator Betty Eaton gather supplies during a meeting of the Labors of Love ministry at St. Michael the Archangel in Schererville. (Provided photo)
Labors of Love ministry receives support through donations
Maggie Cobble (from left), active in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference at St. Paul in Valparaiso and a new parishioner at St. Mary of the Lake in Gary, discusses a video presentation by a Vincentian priest, Father Richard Benson, on institutional and structural racism as seen through a Vincentian lens, with Sue Adam, a parishioner at St. John the Baptist in Whiting, and Kathy Salinas, a Munster resident and parishioner at St. John the Evangelist in St. John. The women were among attendees at an
Workshop seeks to develop advocates for closing racial income gap
Auxiliary Bishop Peter L. Smith of Portland, Ore., raises the chalice as he celebrates Mass July 5, 2022, at St. Mary Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. In February 2024, Bishop Smith was appointed the new ecclesiastical assistant of CHARIS, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service, which was inaugurated by the Holy See on Pentecost in 2019. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
Catholic charismatic renewal creates 'church on fire' with God's love, says bishop
The Diocese of Gary, led by Bishop Robert J. McClory (center), welcomed more than 50 religious sisters from the Missionaries of Charity in Chicago, St. Louis, Peoria, Indianapolis and Detroit to St. Joseph the Worker in Gary to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for 25 Years of Ministry in Northwest Indiana by the Missionaries of Charity. Currently, the Gary congregation includes (standing in front of the bishop) Sister Christa, Sister Dominique, Sister Celine John, and Sister Maria Jyoti. (Marlene A. Zloza p
Mass celebrates 25-year ministry of Missionaries of Charity
Andrean High School, christened in 1959 by founding Bishop of Gary Andrew G. Grutka, is located at 5959 Broadway in Merrillville. Studies over the past eight years have culminated in the recommendation accepted by school leaders, the superintendent of Catholic schools and Bishop Robert J. McClory that the academic institution should remain on the present campus and commence improvements instead of proposed new construction elsewhere. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
Andrean family sets course for future at 5959 Broadway
Basilian Sister Lucia Murashko talks with volunteers Denys Kuprikov, left, and Ivan Smyglia, far right, in Zaporizhzhia in southeast Ukraine Feb. 7, 2023, where they planned to distribute humanitarian aid along the front in Russia's war against Ukraine. (OSV News photo/Konstantin Chernichkin, CNEWA)
Ukrainian nun: 'Tell all the world we suffer' as Russia ramps up attacks
Rose Carrillo and Hope Gonzalez assemble packages for veterans in Northwest Indiana in 2023. The St. John Bosco Altar and Rosary Society members put the care packages together every year in October. (Provided photo)
Altar and Rosary Society provides food, fun and funds at St. John Bosco
Maria Diaz instructs her daughter Mila, 2, to look toward the sun and see the beginning of the solar eclipse on April 8. The Diaz family was one of many families who took advantage of the invitation by Nativity of Our Savior School to watch the event together as a community on the school's grounds. (Erin Ciszczon photo)
Nativity hosts viewing party for school families
Bishop Robert J. McClory visits with Father Dennis Blaney during the Share Foundation’s 33rd annual spring luncheon at Halls of St. George, Schererville IN. (Bob Wellinski photo)
Father Dennis Blaney honored with prestigious Sagamore of the Wabash
Father Declan McNicholas, director of missionary discipleship and evangelization and director of the lay ecclesial ministry, reviews newly printed literature designed to promote the LEM program, at the Pastoral Center in Merrillville on March 26. The diocesan program is a multi-year educational initiative offered to develop deeper knowledge and inspire those involved with or pursuing various ministries in the local Church. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
Lay ecclesial ministry program offers English and Spanish classes 
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Workshop to explore impact of racism on the poor
Kristine Horan (second from right) attends Mass with her son, Mark (right), sister and sponsor, Melissa Clancy (left), and brother, Casey Rzechula alongside his fiancé and sponsor, Beverly, at the Cathedra of the Holy Angels for the Rite of Call to Continuing Conversion on Nov. 26, 2023. They are grateful to journey in faith together with Bishop Robert J. McClory behind them. (Provided photo)
Catechumen finds renewed faith through family
George Veenstra Jr. sits with his children George Veenstra III, 19, and Gianna Veenstra, 17, in the Cathedral of the Holy Angels, awaiting the Rite of Election on Feb. 18 in Gary. Veenstra, Jr., who entered the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil at St. Patrick church in Chesterton, endured with his family the loss of his wife and his children's mother, June Veenstra, who passed away in 2022 after a battle with cancer. He hopes to lead his children deeper into the faith and find peace in life. (Anthony D. A
After losing light of his life, man seeks light of Christ