News briefs for Nov. 1, 20183 min read

Barron man serving with NET Ministries
Nick Prill, 22, is serving as co-leader for National Evangelization Teams Ministries Team 9, offering retreats for youth across the central and Midwestern United States.

Prill graduated from Barron High School in 2014 and from the University of St. Thomas in 2018 with a mechanical engineering degree.

According to Prill’s mother, Mary Prill, attendance at Fellowship of Christian Athletes summer camps and involvement with St. Thomas’ Campus Ministry were both influential in his decision to pursue NET.

She added, “We were overwhelmed and very appreciative of all the support (financial, prayers, kind words, etc.) we’ve received from our cluster and diocesan family.”

Capital Campaign at La Crosse shrine
Answering Mary’s Call is a capital campaign for the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse. To continue the mission of the Shrine, the campaign will fund an endowment to begin the first phase of its expansion, the construction of the Saint Juan Diego Retreat House.

The retreat house, with 38 rooms planned, will allow pilgrims to stay onsite and offer opportunities for extended retreats and conferences. The two-story, 19,925 square foot structure carries an estimated cost of $6 million.

The second phase consists of construction for the Marian Catechist Apostolate, headquartered at the Shrine.

The apostolate forms and nurtures catechists. Plans for a 50,325 square foot connected to the retreat house include housing for the archives of Fr. John Hardon, S.J., and support materials for catechists.

The campaign’s website, answeringmaryscall.org, reports that the goal of $13 million is 93 percent complete, with 12.1 million having been raised through online donations, planned gifts and gifts of stock.

Seminary makes video
“Heartbeat of my Soul,” a short film that premiered at the St. Francis de Sales Annual Seminary Dinner, includes glimpses of Diocese of Superior newly ordained Fr. Rich Rhinehart and seminarian Dan Tracy. More than 1,000 people attended the Sept. 28 event to celebrate and support the priesthood. The video may be viewed as sfs.edu.

Free talk, retreat at St. Scholastica
An internationally known theologian will give a free talk at The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, and host a two-day workshop on campus.

Ilia Delio, OSF, of Villanova University, will address the topic of “The Chaotic Path to Wholeness: Catholicity and the Logic of Love,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in Mitchell Auditorium on the St. Scholastica campus. The talk is free and open to the public.
Delio, a Franciscan Sister of Washington, D.C., will focus on how humans yearn for wholeness and unity, yet the way forward is not exclusive, symmetrical, or orderly.

She holds the Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Christian Theology at Villanova University and has authored 18 books, including “Care for Creation,” which won two Catholic Press Association Book Awards. She lectures internationally in the areas of science, religion and culture with a focus on evolution and the Christian faith. She is the general editor for the series Catholicity in an Evolving Universe and the online website Omega Center.

Her presentation is part of St. Scholastica’s Braegelman Program in Catholic Studies Lecture Series.

Meanwhile, St. Scholastica Monastery will host Delio for “Nature is Alive: Ecology and the Quest for Super Intelligence,” a two-day retreat exploring the religious connections to the artificial intelligence and ecological movements. These two concepts were born in the same decade but have grown at vastly different rates. Within a wider framework of cosmic evolution through the lens of Teilhard de Chardin, a French Jesuit priest, philosopher and scientist, Delio will examine the question: Where is God and what is the role of religion in this trajectory? In presentations by Delio interspersed with music by Twin Ports singer-songwriter Sara Thomsen, attendees will gain a new awareness about nature and the ability of nature to become something new.

The retreat takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, and from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, in Somers Lounge on the St. Scholastica campus. The $75 cost to attend both days includes refreshments and lunch. To register or for more information, visit www.retreatduluth.org or call 218-723-6536.