September 12, 2025 // Diocese

Around the Diocese: September 14, 2025

Todays Catholic

Singing Is ‘a Community Activity’ at Our Lady of Good Hope in Fort Wayne

By Bethany Beebe

Two recent evenings of music at Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church in Fort Wayne filled the church with a joyful noise. The events, called “Sing to the Lord,” featured praise and worship music with encouraging direction on how to sing better from Ben Geier, the parish’s new director of sacred music. Two rounds of singing and fellowship were held on consecutive weeks – on Thursday, August 28, and on Thursday, September 4.

“Somehow in our modern thinking,” Geier said, “we’ve forgotten that God has given all of us a voice, and we are encouraged to praise Him unceasingly. I want singing to be a community activity and not only during liturgies. Praise nights, singing events, and socializing should be regular happenings in parish life. We’re building a culture that sees … [these] events … [as] normal and expected.”

Bethany Beebe
Ben Geier, right, the director of sacred music at Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church in Fort Wayne, guides members of the parish during an event called “Sing to the Lord” on Thursday, September 4.

Plans are in the works to have more such evenings, with various themes during different times of the year.

“These events can naturally lead to participation in the choir, but they can also be positive places for prayer and fellowship for its own sake” Geier said. “We have a wide range of participation from all ages and backgrounds at our events. The musical selections are carefully selected so there’s something for everyone.”

Those potential new choir members could be in one of the ensembles he envisions for the two Sunday Masses, a children’s choir of perhaps 40 participants, or one of the special choirs created for Christmas or Easter.

While the choirs are an important part of parish music, Geier stressed that active participation is for all.

“It shouldn’t just be the choir that does this,” he said. “Hopefully we are all joyful Catholics.”

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St. Patrick in Ligonier Marches in Marshmallow Parade

By Clare Hildebrandt

In the town of Ligonier, Labor Day weekend is traditionally marked by an iconic celebration of sweet treats: the Marshmallow Festival. Every September, residents join together to honor the town’s past, which included production of this sugary delicacy.

This year, members of St. Patrick Catholic Church entered a float in the parade.

Members of the St. Patrick Parish community hold a banner and flags during the Marshmallow Festival Parade in Ligonier on Labor Day weekend. – Photos provided by St. Patrick Church

Father Ryan Timossi, front row at right, pastor of St. Patrick Church in Ligonier, poses with members of the parish’s Matlachines de San Patrico, who recreate Indiginous dances.

Father Ryan Timossi, pastor of St. Patrick, told Today’s Catholic, “Parishioners handed out candy, ice pops, rosaries, and holy cards as the float made its way down the main streets of Ligonier,” he explained.

Father Timossi added: “The theme this year was Beach Bash, so we put Jesus in a boat with Mary looking on from the shore. It was a ‘Jesus, Fisher of Men’ theme. Lidia Valero and the Ruah group were in charge and won first place for best walking unit!”

“The front of our group was led by the Matlachines de San Patricio, a group of dancers who recreate the Indigenous dances from the time that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared in Mexico. We had a couple quinceañeras, as well as a good number of
parishioners who rode horseback at the end of our group.”

Clare Hildebrandt is a staff writer for Today’s Catholic.

Bishop Blesses New Roof at St. John the Baptist in South Bend

Scott Warden
“I’m just glad I didn’t fall,” Bishop Rhoades joked to a crowd after blessing the new roof at St. John the Baptist Church and School in South Bend on Thursday, September 4. “Climbing a ladder while wearing a cassock isn’t easy!” After attending a prayer service led by Bishop Rhoades in the parish church, students, staff, and members of the St. John the Baptist community gathered in the parking lot while Bishop Rhoades and the parish’s pastor, Father Augustine Onuoha, climbed up to the roof, where Bishop Rhoades said a blessing, sprinkled the roof with holy water, and greeted those looking on from below.