March 18, 2021 // Diocese

Around the Diocese: March 21, 2021

Todays Catholic

Development department opens at Saint Anne Communities

FORT WAYNE — Saint Anne Communities is a locally owned, nonprofit, Catholic organization. Since opening in 1967, it has served the elderly in the Fort Wayne area with an all-inclusive Senior Living Community including a rehabilitation gym, a nursing facility, Memory Care Unit and assisted and residential apartment living. It acquired an additional assisted living facility in Huntington and now serves the Our Lady of Victory Sisters and the Huntington area as well. 

Saint Anne Communities’ pastoral care team offers daily Catholic services as well as weekly Protestant services at both locations. Father Jack Overmyer serves as chaplain, while Sister Loretta and Sister Janet offer spiritual guidance and support. This support is in addition to a staff of over 300 employees who support residents with individual, one-on-one care in a Christ-centered environment.
With the additional expenses of aging infrastructure and an increase in the need for updates to equipment and facilities, Saint Anne Communities’ board of directors recognized the need to open its very own development department so that it could begin looking for opportunities to build up the organization through various funding initiatives.

Securing additional funds through a Planned Giving Program, grants through foundations, an Employee Engagement Fund as well as memorial giving will allow Saint Anne Communities to better serve its residents while maintaining low costs and staying competitive in the market of senior living communities. This new department opens the door for a future full of potential for the facility and its programs.

For more information on sponsoring Saint Anne Communities through a general donation, its Planned Giving Program, Employee Engagement Fund or memorial giving, visit www.sacfw.org or call the development department at 260-399-3232, ext. 3232. To donate, make checks payable to Saint Anne Communities and mail to 1900 Randallia Dr., Fort Wayne, IN 46805. 

Bring the Sisters of Providence a smile

SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. — As the coronavirus spread across the nation, many Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, hunkered down at the motherhouse.

The sisters created a unique coronavirus program, Care Of Valuable Individuals Daily, which identifies sisters who have served in certain communities, along with some fun facts about their interests. They have invited friends of all ages to brighten the sisters’ days by sending a note or simple greeting card.

Sisters Mary Ann Fox and Lois Ann Stoiber have ministered in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

Sister Mary Ann is a native of Fort Wayne.

She entered the congregation in 1956 and spent most of her life in ministry in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. She attended the Cathedral Grade School and St. Jude School before graduating from Central Catholic High School. 

She ministered as principal at St. John the Baptist School and both taught and served as assistant principal at Bishop Luers High School. Her favorite Scripture verses are those that refer to serving with love and gratitude. Her words of wisdom to others are, “It’s a wonderful life!”

Sister Lois Ann entered the congregation in 1946 and recalled that her favorite ministry was “working with profoundly and severely disabled children.” She ministered as a teacher for nine years at St. John the Baptist School, teaching primary students. 

Sister Lois Ann loves to read and watch sporting events. She is also an avid Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears and University of Notre Dame fan. Her words of wisdom are, “Joy is the echo of God within!”

Send mail addressed to each sister by name to 1 Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876. For more information about the Sisters of Providence, visit SistersofProvidence.org. For information on becoming a Sister of Providence, contact Sister Joni Luna at 812-535-2954.

Verso Ministries hosts Holy Week virtual pilgrimage 

SOUTH BEND — To mark the arrival of Easter, Catholic pilgrimage company Verso Ministries is hosting a Holy Week virtual pilgrimage March 28-April 4. Participants will receive free access to daily videos highlighting sites of the Holy Land where the events of Holy Week took place. The videos were produced by Verso pilgrimage partner Voice of Faith exclusively for this 2021 experience. Complimentary registration is available online at www.versoministries.com/holy-week. 

The pilgrimage will connect the events of Holy Week with the actual places where they occurred. Begin on Palm Sunday at the Mount of Olives, the place where Jesus made His entry into Jerusalem. Over the next six days, pilgrims will visit the village of Bethany, the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus agonized on the night of His arrest, the Upper Room that commemorates the Last Supper, and the Via Dolorosa — the modern-day path that remembers Jesus’ way to the cross. The pilgrimage will conclude on Easter Sunday at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, site of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. 

“Holy Week is such a special time in the Holy Land. To visit the very places of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection makes Biblical stories come alive,” said Verso founder and CEO John Paul Lichon. “Although we are unable to take pilgrims to the Holy Land in person this year, we are blessed to have the expertise, connections and technology that allow us to share this experience with far more people. For that, we are grateful,” he added. 

Those wishing to enter deeper into the mysteries of Holy Week may purchase an add-on VIP package. It includes a PDF download with daily Scripture readings, reflections, prayers and pilgrimage site facts to accompany each video. VIP pilgrims will also gain access to a private Facebook group and three virtual mini-retreat sessions that will serve as a time for shared prayer, contemplation of each day’s theme and small group discussions with fellow pilgrims. Cost of the VIP Holy Week pilgrimage package is $29 per family and can be reserved at www.versoministries.com/holy-week. 

Provided by Lois Widner
The seventh grade girls basketball team at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Fort Wayne won the Catholic Youth Organization basketball championship in February. They were congratulated by the school for winning the championship for the third year in a row.