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CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF EVANSVILLE VOLUME 22 NUMBER 15 December 13, 1991
St. Nicholas becomes newest parish in diocese
By PAUL R. LEINGANG
Message Editor
he, people of the St.
' '.Olas Worshipping com-
t. l.y are now members of
.' lCholas Church, the
i[! i est parish in the Diocese
,: 'Vansville The formal de-
) Was signed on Friday,
i I L ,'- the feast day of St.
il',', uelas, and publicly pro-
,',lrned in Santa Claus on
iday, Dec. 8 -- the Second
• ".uay,,_ of Advent.
: e:'-'h°'p-r Gerald A. Gettelfin-
. eacl the proclamation at a
[ c.elebrated in the Holi-
ei J. .ltlage Recreation Cen-
t.' lgorons aonlause from
,e aSsenlblv t"o'ilowed the
rOclarnati°n r Terence
SiSter May. storal
P, OSB is the a
Ltl ill: .' ' "' P
a Strator of the parish.
ff er Joseph Kitsch, pastor
)a ,aroy St. Joseph Church,
'01 s the pastoral modera-
i -ue parish has 121 fami-
lil ea_CC°rding to the 1992
, ,n yearbook.
hinl:Lord has done great
.... ,. tor us; we are filled
.l°Y," said sister Knapp,
Ullg from the
vel psalms. She
re'°rned the bishop and
lilellted the community to
!n-her remarks to the as-
ibly, Sister Knapp said,
welcome all of you who
)r la'et,.j°ined us as we cele-
?s significant moment
11
11 la: )lStory." Addressing
Srtop, she said, "We
VtJCo . "
me you in a special
way, Bishop Gettelfinger, as
you lead us in prayer for this
special event.
"We are aware that coming
to this time, we are reaping
the efforts of many persons
who are not able to be with
us. In our prayer, we remem-
ber those persons who are
such a vital part of our be-
coming a church.
"As we enter this second
week of Advent, we, as St.
Nicholas Community can
identify well with the refrain
of the psalm: 'The Lord has
done great things for us; we
are filled with joy.'"
Sister Knapp continued the
Advent theme. "As we reflect
on the moment, we can iden-
tify well with the Advent
spirit. We are at the entrance
of new beginnings: we are liv-
ing out Advent, waiting and
longing, to become an estab-
lished and recognized people
connected in a new way to
the total church."
Sister Knapp spoke about
entering a new relationship
with the total church and in
particular with the Diocese of
Evansville. She spoke about
the change being brought
about:
"As a comm'unity, we have
often gathered to renew our
baptismal commitment; to lis-
ten to the proclaimed Word;
to celebrate together our
hope, s and dreams; to
strengthen each other in our
efforts to grow as a bonded,
loving, caring and forgiving
people.
"After today, we will con-
tinue to gather but we shall
not be the same as we were
before. We have become a
new people, a new creation."
Sister Knapp spoke for the
community, "to pledge and
commit ourselves anew to all
that becoming a parish means
for us on our journey to the
kingdom."
Referring to plans for build-
ing a church, Sister KnalSp
noted that the community
See ST. NICHOLAS page 15
Bishop Gettelfinger presides at Mass at the newly established parish of St. Nicholas, [
Sunday. Dec. 8. Concelebrating with him are Fathers joseph Kirsch, Joseph Ziliak and |
John Lefller. Holding the bishop's miter is Bradley Meunier. Sister Mary Terence[
Knapp, O.S.B., is pastoral administrator of the parish. [
I II I I I III Im
Flu hits schools in diocese
By MARY ANN HUGHES
Message staff writer
Catholic schools in the Dio-
cese of Evansville were hit by
the influenza virus earlier
this week. Memorial High
Gordon Mann
School, Evansville, had 178
students, 27 percent of the
student enrollment, home
with the flu on Monday, ac-
cording to Gerry Adams,
principal.
Seventy students reported
absent at Rivet High School,
Vincennes, and 48 students
were absent on Monday at
Holy Redeemer School,
Evansville.
Also, on Monday, there
See FLU page 15
Evansville seminarian to be ordained deacon Dec. 14
By PAUL R. LEINGANG
Message Editor
Gordon Mann, who once pur-
sued a career in banking, said he
did not at first like the idea of
working with dying hospital pa-
tients. "But actually I found it to
be the best thing for me, affirming
my call to the priesthood."
Mann is quite clear in his de-
scription of what happened to
him during his pastoral training at
a hospital in Seattle. "I felt God's
presence daily," he said.
Mann, 32, is a native of
Evansville. He graduated from
Memorial High School in 1977
and then earned a degree in bust-
GORDON MANN hess administration from the Uni-
versity of Evansville.
I I
laalllsued as an accountant in Louisville, Ky., and in data processing at
.ade ffvansville and Chicago, Six years into his business career, Mann
beta,, _.urastic decision. In 1987, heentered a pre-theology program and
'_', ms studies for the oriesthood.
rl;a?!.Will be ordained'a deacon, in ceremonies at Mundelein Seminary
stttd-_mcago, on Saturday, Dec. 14. Mann is in his fourth year of theology
the s o at the seminary. Next summer he plans to be ordained a priest for
d AfterCeis°{Evansville"
ay, o. . s, Mann said he will work as a deacon on Friday; Satur-
firdu.nday and Monday each week. On the other days of the week he will
eerlt"..} s academic training and continue with his priestly training con-
! i'ung on learnin how to preside at Mass and the sacraments, i !:
"" recent tele o " Mann s eke about hs calhn to the
phone interview, p " " g>. '
I I I I I II II I I[ II I
priesthood.
"I have always thought of the priesthood, even in grade school at Christ
the King, he said. I thought of it as something I would want to do.
He also thought about marriage, he said, so he concluded that he was not
being called tot_he priesthood. He said he now realizes that his conclusion
was not true.
"While I was working, and earning good money instead of leaving me,
the desire for the priesthood became stronger," he said. "Even in the midst
of a good career." He said he came to realize that his career would not sat-
isfy his longing to be fulfilled.
His year of pre-theology was "a good transition" from six years in busi-
ness to going back to studying. "Itwas a bit of an adjustment," he acknowl-
edged,
While a seminarian, Mann has worked at St. Theresa Church, Evansville,
and at Sacred Hear.t Church, Vincennes. "Doing ministry has probably been
more beneficial to me than to those I ministered to," he said.
"The people (at both parishes) were great'. They affirmed my call. I loved
them," he said.
The most powerful experience of his priestly formation was the summer
he spent working in an oncology ward at a hospital in Seattle.
His pastoral training assignment which he did not expect to like at
all allowed him "to experience death daily with people." He found it a
challenge and a blessing. "You can't go through that ezperience every day
and not be affected by it," he said.
His work in the hospital helped himto come to grips more meaningfully
with the mystery of the death and resurrection, he said. "We experience
death and resurrection any time we face a change in life," he concluded.
Mann looks forward to being ordained a priest, probably in June. He said
he was anxious to "get back home to Evansville, where my roots are."
Mann is the son of Cal and Dee Mann of Evansville. He has three sisters
and three brothers. St. heresa Church, Evansville, is his home parish.
As for his expectation in the future, after his Ordination, he said he ex-
pects "to continue to grdw in my relationship with God," and '!to work
side-by-side with peopl6 in the parish where I will be assigned.'
I I I I I I '1111 1 I I
