Members of the Diocese of Superior’s Totus Tuus teams stand together. The two teams will be traveling throughout the diocese this summer, hosting parish programs for kids. (Submitted photo)
Team St. Therese
Matthew Halberg is returning for his second summer as a Totus Tuus missionary and his first summer as a team leader. He is looking forward to getting to meet more of the amazing families throughout our diocese. In his prayer life recently, he’s been reflecting on love and sacrifice, and how the two are inseparable. As St. Maximilian Kolbe said, “Without sacrifice, there is no love.” Matthew’s home parish is St. Joseph’s in Hayward, and he is currently studying mathematics and data science at South Dakota State University.
The fearless co-leader of Team St. Therese, Anna Rolli is “super pumped” to see new friends, meet new people, and serve in “the best diocese ever!” She participated in Totus Tuus when she was younger, and describes it as the beginning of her encounter with the intimate love that God has for her. She hopes to help provide similar opportunities for young people to encounter God’s love this summer. Her home parish is Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Medford, and she is transferring to UW-Eau Claire to study education for her second year of college.
Returning for his second summer as a missionary, Jacob Nollet hails from St. Anthony in Lake Nebagamon. After the joy and fulfillment he experienced last summer, he is excited to be a role model at the parishes he serves this year. A fun fact about Nollet is that he is confident enough to attempt to play chess blindfolded (whether he would win or not is a separate matter). He hopes to make John 15:5 his anthem this summer: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”
Neveah Nelson is excited to embark on an adventurous summer spending time with the Lord, her teammates, and all of the new people she will meet. She decided to serve as a missionary this summer not only to grow in her relationship with Christ, but also to share the love of Jesus as well. Love has been a central theme of her prayer recently, especially Christ’s command to “love one another as I have loved you.” In her free time, she enjoys playing golf and spending time outside. She recently graduated with an associate degree from NorthCentral Technical College in Wausau, and her home parish is Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Marathon.
Team Bl. Frassati
Coming from St. Joseph’s in Amery, Andrew Smith is the leader of Team Bl. Frassati. He is going into his second year of formation at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee. As a seminarian, he looks forward to becoming more familiar with the Diocese of Superior this summer, and hopes to help others get to know Jesus Christ on a more intimate and personal level. He wrestled throughout college, so if you want him to “never stop talking,” just bring up wrestling!
Esther Gagliardi sees Totus Tuus as the perfect way to offer her summer up to Jesus and let him take the lead. She is looking forward to making the children who attend feel known and loved not only by herself and her team, but the One who is Love. She loves to sing, dance, and perform with her older siblings, and is serving as the co-leader for Team Bl. Frassati. She is an Elementary Education major at UW-Madison, and her home parish is St. Patrick’s in Hudson.
Coming from outside the Diocese of Superior, Marcus Merta is excited to give of himself in a way that directly impacts Catholic youth. He loves mountain biking, and his dream is to ride extreme mountain bike for Redbull. His favorite saint is Pope St. John Paul II, and the need for true, self-sacrificing masculinity has been resonating in his prayer life recently. Marcus studies industrial maintenance and mechatronics at Chippewa Valley Technical College, and his home parish is St. Mary’s Big River in River Falls.
A self-proclaimed bookworm, Jane Busse’s dream is to have a library in her house someday. She has attended Totus Tuus many times in the past, and is excited to learn how to better share the Gospel and love others selflessly by serving as a missionary. In her spiritual life, she’s been coming to realize just how much she needs to trust God for everything. As the litany of trust says, “not knowing what tomorrow brings is an invitation to lean on You.” Her home parish is Our Lady of Lourdes in Dobie, and she recently finished her first year in the Administrative Coordinator Program at Northwood Technical College in Rice Lake.
