STILLWATER

St. Croix Catholic School

Dominican principal

Sister Mary Juliana, of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecelia Congregation of Nashville, Tenn., will assume principal leadership, July 1, of St. Croix Catholic School in Stillwater. Sister Mary Juliana comes to SCCS with a dozen years’ experience in teaching and administration to lead the school.

Dominican leadership will distinguish SCCS from Catholic educational options, not only in the Twin Cities area, but in the state. St. Croix Catholic School is the first and only school in Minnesota to receive the Dominicans. This growing religious order is known for its teachers, and they are highly sought after by Catholic schools throughout the country, according to a news release about the new principal. The sisters complement the experienced teaching staff currently in place.

MENDOTA HEIGHTS

Visitation School

400 years new

“At Visitation School in Mendota Heights, our good news is old news: the 400th anniversary of our founding order, the Visitation Sisters of Holy Mary, and the way they continue to energize the school by infusing their Salesian charism. This year, a record number of alumnae have made donations, which means more financial grants so a Visitation education can be accessible for many students. They will follow in the footsteps of Karrah O’Daniel ‘06, a talented opera singer who is holding a benefit concert at Visitation . . . to help rebuild Haiti. Meanwhile, her former classmate, Alice Stoddart, is counseling homeless teens in New Jersey.” wrote Helen Wilkie.

“More than ever, we at Visitation are exercising the call of our founder St. Francis de Sales to ‘be who you are and be that well.’”

SOUTH ST. PAUL

St. John Vianney School

Living the Gospel

“Hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the school are the Catholic social teachings. But those bold, colorful signs are not just decorations, they are signs for living the Gospel at St. John Vianney School in South St. Paul. That is Good News! It is clear when you see the students with their elderly friends, either visiting at the Cerenity Care Center or after Mass with their grand buddies. Much patience, kindness and enjoyment is shown to the pre-schoolers as the older students assist them with their lunch. The children collected Pennies for Patients and food for the food shelf. It’s truly Good News for the recipients of the delicious homemade soup delivered to our shut-ins. Cutting up vegetables and enclosing a decorated card is a long-time tradition.

“Caring for God’s Creation by cleaning up the street, packing waste-free lunches, reducing, recycling and emailing our weekly communications! Classrooms recycle food waste with worms and students hosted a Waste Reduction Fair for the community to learn new ways to care for the earth,” wrote a school representative.

MINNEAPOLIS

Annunciation, Visitation, OLP

Parishes for peace

“Violence is best defined as that act of forgetting or ignoring who we are: brothers and sisters of one another, each one of us a child of God” (John Dear, SJ).

“Parishioners from Annunciation, Our Lady of Peace and Visitation faith communities in Minneapolis gathered together this past year to study Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service/JustFaith Ministries’ module ‘Engaging Our Conflicts: An Exploration of Nonviolent Peacemaking.’ In an effort to understand how violence impacts our daily lives, members engaged in role-playing events and thought exercises focused on nonviolent peacemaking strategies,” wrote Steve Osthus.

“We have scheduled a public event to celebrate what we’ve learned. Monday, Sept. 12, our three parishes will become a host ‘church’ for the ‘Every Church a Peace Church’ organization at the Annunciation Church location, 509 W. 54th St. The peace vigil begins at 6 p.m., potluck supper at 6:30 p.m. and speaker at 7 p.m. For more information, call  (612) 926-7959.”