Memorial Mass celebrates life of young Catholic woman found dead in Iowa

BROOKLYN, Iowa  -- A mural of a grizzly bear breaking through a brick wall calls attention to visitors in the BGM High School gym. It seemed a fitting metaphor for the unstoppable spirit of Mollie Tibbetts, whose life was celebrated during a memorial Mass Aug. 26 in the gym. The 20-year college student, described as a bright light in this farming community of 1,500 people, was abducted and killed in July while jogging just outside of Brooklyn. Her disappearance led to a monthlong search that drew national attention and hundreds of volunteers determined to bring the young college student home. Farm worker Christhian Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder. He entered the U.S. illegally seven years ago, a fact that further fueled the immigration debate dividing the nation. But it was Tibbetts' ability to bring out the best in others that brought 1,500 people to the memorial Mass, with Bishop Thomas R. Zinkula of Davenport, Iowa, presiding and five priests concelebrating. Adults and youths, Catholics, and non-Catholics, sang in the choir. A section of seats was reserved for the Class of 2017, Mollie's class. Hugs were exchanged generously in that section and elsewhere in the packed gym.

Catholic art teacher looks to God for calmness at Miss America pageant

MAGNOLIA, Del.  -- Wonder Woman may have helped Joanna Wicks advance to the Miss America pageant, but the reigning Miss Delaware will rely on a higher power to help her stay calm during the competition. Wicks, 24, speed-painted Wonder Woman as her talent when she won the Miss Delaware title in June. She planned to paint the fictional superhero during her 90-second talent act in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Drawing Wonder Woman seemed a perfect fit not only for Wicks, who teaches art at St. Thomas More Academy in Magnolia, but for the competition as well. "The Miss America organization (is) about empowering women and seeing women as strong individuals," Wicks told The Dialog, newspaper of the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware. "Thematically, Wonder Woman fits right in. She's just awesome." But Wonder Woman won't help Wicks beyond the talent segment during 12 days of appearances, rehearsals and competition, which was to end Sept. 9. Instead, Wicks will turn to God and her faith to "help calm me down (when) it gets really hectic."

New York professor nabs grant for book on Catholics touched by 9/11

WASHINGTON  -- A religion professor from New York is one of 22 recipients of a federal $60,000 grant for scholars and writers that will allow her to study and write about Catholic families affected by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York City. Julie Byrne, associate professor of religion at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, was named as one of the National Endowment for the Humanities' Public Scholars Aug. 8, allowing her to delve into how the event affected Catholic communities whose members worked in New York City, but had moved to live in its suburbs and how that first generation of white-collar workers vanished in one day. "I was hoping there would be a way to tell these stories" and give voice to the 9/11 experience for a wide swatch of Catholic communities affected by the attacks, said Byrne in an Aug. 22 telephone interview with Catholic News Service. Catholic communities in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut suffered great losses, not just of white-collar employees at financial firms at the World Trade Center towers, but of first responders who helped during the tragedy, she said. 

Shrine rector shares spiritual side of recent brush with death

DES PLAINES, Ill.  -- When someone survives a brush with death, such as a plane crash, and has stood at the precipice between this world and the next, they often ask, "Why did I survive?" or "What is waiting for me after I die?" Father Esequiel Sanchez, rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, addressed questions about life and death in his homily during his first Mass at the shrine Aug. 12 following the crash of an Aeromexico flight July 31 in Durango, Mexico. He and the other 103 people aboard survived the accident. The plane crashed almost immediately after takeoff. About 15 of his family members and friends who were in Mexico to celebrate his 50th birthday also were on the plane. Father Sanchez sustained multiple fractures in his arm and required surgery. Journalists from around the world covered the story and focused on Sanchez's experience in particular. He recently met with Chicago Catholic, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago, to share the spiritual implications of surviving a brush with death and the impact it has had on him and the other survivors. The priest said he believes it was a miracle from God that everyone survived. Father Sanchez took private flying lessons years ago and understands the science behind what happened