March 10, 2026 // Bishop

Faith Life Shines at Culver Academies

Scott Warden

Editor-In-Chief

On the morning of Sunday, March 1, early enough that the grass sparkled with dew and the waters of nearby Lake Maxinkuckee were still and silent, a group of students from Culver Academies gathered inside the school’s Memorial Chapel. The half-dozen or so girls were dressed in matching navy blazers with the school’s crest embroidered on them, while the three or four boys wore uniforms that resembled dress blues worn by those in the military – dark jackets affixed with various patches and medals, striped trousers, and polished black shoes.

Sitting in the front pews of the impressive Tudor-Gothic church that overlooks the lake, the students took rosaries from their pockets and started praying aloud. Meanwhile, the sanctuary in front of them buzzed in preparation, as Deacon Mike Madison, the school’s Catholic campus minister, helped directed traffic ahead of the morning’s big event: Bishop Rhoades’ first pastoral visit to Culver Academies, which serves hundreds of Catholic students.

A Ministry of Service

Despite hailing from Chicago, Deacon Madison knows Culver well. As a boy, he spent six summers at the academy’s seasonal camp. He felt such an affinity for the place that he longed to return, and so in 2004, he and his wife bought a lake house in Culver. She owned a civil engineering and land survey business, where he served as the vice president for business development. He was ordained to the permanent diaconate for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2012 and served at his home parish in the northwest suburb of Arlington Heights.

In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and made remote work necessary, Deacon Madison said he felt he had been “called on a mission” to use his diaconal ministry to serve at Culver Academies. “But when’s the right time? Well, COVID said, what are you waiting for?” he told Today’s Catholic.

Because Culver didn’t have a full-time ministry position available for him at the time, he began as a volunteer, spending Mondays, Tuesday, Thursdays, and Fridays working in Chicago and Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday ministering to the students at Culver.

“I look back and I’m not really sure how I did it,” Deacon Madison said. “But it put into motion some things that would come later.”

He got to know the students, he said, and they got to know him – partly because his uniform stood out on campus. Most deacons don’t regularly wear the roman collar – “I certainly didn’t,” Deacon Madison said – but, he added, “We’re a uniform school, so I wear a uniform.” That visibility made a difference as he began his ministry. “It didn’t matter whether you were Catholic or not, people know who Deacon Mike is. So, when it came time to interview for the job, I was already doing it.”

‘I Used to Be These Kids’

Father Stephen Felicichia was no stranger to academy life before Bishop Rhoades appointed him as pastor of St. Mary of the Lake Parish in Culver in 2023. After graduating from Bishop Luers High School in 2004, Felicichia was accepted at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 2008 as a second lieutenant, U.S. Army Field Artillery, and was stationed at Fort Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. He served two tours in Afghanistan and completed his five years of service, attaining the rank of captain.

“I understand these kids. I used to be these kids,” Father Felicichia told Today’s Catholic. “They’re younger than I was when I went to an academy, but the drive is still there all the same, the kind of trials and challenges that you would expect in such a challenging setting. And so, I know what they’re suffering, I know what their successes are, I know what their joys are, I know what they want. That allows me, I think, to communicate and bond with them more efficiently now. Obviously, they’d be the real judges of that, but I am really trying to use my experience for their benefit.”

As pastor of St. Mary, Father Felicichia plays a key role in the sacramental life of the Catholic students at Culver Academies, where he celebrates Mass on Sunday mornings at Memorial Chapel and hears confessions afterward. He also strives to spend time on campus outside of Mass, getting to know the students on a personal level.

“He’ll come here and have lunch with students,” Deacon Madison said. “When everybody sees him come in, they all migrate to him. He’s been over to bless rooms. He’ll hear confession when students need it outside of his usual time on Sundays. He’s been really available. It’s important to him because of his West Point experience, and I think he sees that here in the young cadets.”

Father Felicichia isn’t just ministering to students on campus; he’s trying to incorporate them into parish life at St. Mary of the Lake, which is located less than a mile from the school. After all, he said, the parish itself exists because of Culver Academies. In the late 1940s, the commandant of the cadets reached out to Bishop John Francis Noll, bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne, and asked him to send a priest to Culver to minister to the school’s Catholic cadets. He sent Father Joseph Lenk, and a parish was established in 1949.

“The church was built, and the cadets would actually march down to the parish every Sunday,” Father Felicichia said. “So, from the origin of the parish, the cadets were invited to be a part of parish life, and we’re trying to keep that bond strong and include them in all we do. And it’s growing. We’re trying to make ourselves more of a unified family.”

‘A Great Adventure’

With a majority of the pews inside Memorial Chapel full for his visit, Bishop Rhoades gave a nod to 12 Culver cadets either being baptized or to be received into full communion in the Church whom he had seen the previous weekend at the Rite of Election.

“I was so happy to see you at St. Pius X Church in Granger,” he said, adding, “you were off to the right of the transept, and I’m praying for all of you.”

Bishop Rhoades preached to the Culver Academies community on the first reading and the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Lent. The first reading, from the Book of Genesis, recalled when God called Abram (before his name was changed to Abraham) to leave his homeland for “a land that I will show you,” where God promised to “make of you a great nation, and I will bless you. … All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.”

Bishop Rhoades noted that when God called Abram, “He was living a comfortable life with his wife, Sarah. … And he believed in the word of the Lord, and he got up from his comfortable situation, left his homeland, and went into the land which became the land of Israel, which has brought so many blessings, because it was in that land that Jesus, the Son of God, became man. … The whole history of the Jewish people, beginning with Abraham, was leading up to that great moment. It’s the history of salvation, when God sent His Son as our Savior.”

We should all model Abram’s willingness to discern the will of God and act, regardless of our own comfort, Bishop Rhoades said.

“Think about how, in our lives, sometimes we can get very comfortable, and God may be calling us to something more,” Bishop Rhoades said. “But sometimes we’re turning in on ourselves, and we’re just thinking about our own comfort. But you know what? If we live our lives just being self-centered and really not listening to the Lord’s call, our lives are going be pretty boring. God is calling us, like he called Abraham, to an adventure. Our faith, our life as Christians, is truly an adventure.”

“Think about your own lives,” Bishop Rhoades continued. “It was an adventure probably to come here to Culver Academy. You were probably pretty comfortable back home. You had to leave your family. You had to leave your friends. Most of you probably didn’t know anybody here. And yet, you came. I hope it’s been a good experience. I hope that it’s helping you to grow. You’re making new friends. You’re learning new things.”

Bishop Rhoades noted that he experienced a similar adventure as he discerned his call to the priesthood, leaving college to attend St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, which, he said, “was a lot like Culver Academy. … There was so much discipline. It was like the West Point of seminaries. … But yet, you know what happened? It was a great experience.”

Bishop Rhoades told those attending Mass that after two years at St. Charles, his bishop sent him to study at the Pontifical North American College in Rome – another grand adventure.

“It was an amazing experience,” Bishop Rhoades said. “It was a great adventure. And when I was there, I went to the Holy Land and other places throughout the world. So sometimes, this is in God’s plan, God’s providence. Yeah, it would have been more comfortable to stay home. I wouldn’t have had to learn a new language, but sacrifice led to many blessings.”

Bishop Rhoades transitioned to speaking about the Gospel reading, which recounted the transfiguration of Jesus. The physical journey for Peter, James, and John to follow Christ up the mountain wasn’t an easy one, nor was the experience of the transfiguration itself, and afterward, when Christ told them that he would suffer and die.

But, Bishop Rhoades said, “I think having this glimpse of the transfigured Jesus gave them extra strength.” Jesus transfigured on the mountain, showing “the radiance of his glory,” Bishop Rhoades added. “That’s our destination. That’s what God has prepared for all of us.”

The Transfiguration, Bishop Rhoades said, “is teaching us something very important about the goal of our life. As Christians, we’re called to take up our cross and follow Jesus. That is the greatest adventure of my life, and I hope it is the greatest adventure of your life. It’s the most beautiful adventure, because it gives meaning and purpose to our lives, and it satisfies the deepest hungers of our human hearts.”

He concluded by saying that “the Lord gives us the Holy Spirit to help us in our journey. Lent is a time we purify and cleanse so that we can grow as Jesus’ disciples on our journey to heaven. … I hope that your Lenten journey will draw you ever closer to Jesus and that your life’s journey will be a truly great adventure, knowing where the finish line is.”

Following Mass, Bishop Rhoades ate brunch with student leaders, met with faculty and staff, and held a Q&A with students back in Memorial Chapel.

“I was impressed by the school and especially by the students, who were warm and welcoming,” Bishop Rhoades told Today’s Catholic. “They’re from a variety of backgrounds and different parts of the world, but it was clear they all really want to grow in their faith as Catholics. It was a wonderful experience.”

Leading Future Leaders

Father Felicichia and Deacon Madison both said it is a privilege to help guide the students at Culver Academies as they embark on their young faith journeys. The clergy said they continue to encounter young people who are dedicated to growing closer to Christ and His Church and eager to walk with their peers who are curious about the faith.

“The sharing that goes on with these students – that curiosity, that wanting to understand, particularly about Christ and about the Catholic Church – is special and unique,” said Deacon Madison, who works alongside not only the Catholic students on campus but with those of all faith traditions. He added that because the students at Culver live and study together, they are eager to understand the depths of one another’s faith lives. “How do we come back to understanding the real presence of the Eucharist? How do we understand the value of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the lives of the saints and guardian angels? They haven’t been taught that in many cases at all. So, they come here and they’re really feeding each other.”

There are boundaries to Deacon Madison’s job, including respecting each student’s faith tradition. For example, he can’t reach out directly to students and encourage them to convert to Catholicism. “But the students can,” he said. “And the power of invitation is important. Once they express an interest, we can talk; I can meet with them.”

He said much of the work he does is simply a “ministry of presence.”

“One of the things that helps my position is that I don’t give them a rank, I don’t give them a grade, I don’t tell them whether they made the team, and I don’t hand out discipline,” Deacon Madison said. “There aren’t too many people on campus that are as safe as me to talk to, and that’s been a blessing to me.”

Deacon Madison added that working with the students at Culver has been a highlight of his diaconal ministry.

“I wasn’t ready to retire,” he said. “I knew that being arounds kids this age could either kill me or they could keep me young, and that’s what they’re doing. I’m supposed to be feeding them; they’re feeding me.”

Father Felicichia said Culver Academies “is a fantastic place to practice your faith life, because it is very well supported by the institution itself, which is a beautiful thing to see,” he said. “The children here really practice their faith, and we’re making more and more converts. The cadets who practice are inviting their friends to come to Mass … and they do come. … Conversions are being made by the aid of these students who are not only just Catholic in name, but they’re actually living it very, very well.”

This intentionality and discipline in all aspects of the students’ lives doesn’t surprise Father Felicichia.

“These are driven young people who are ready to do great things and to learn and to grow,” he said. “You’re talking about future potential leaders of the world, and it’s a joy to see them as human beings and to let them know they’re seen. It keeps me young in a lot of ways. But I see the joy and the vibrancy of what a place like this is, which I live through myself. Daily, it reminds me of the good that is constantly being refined and harnessed and treasured and protected, and that’s one of the joys of my priesthood. I thank God every day that I can be a chaplain and minister to these kids and cadets.”

Scott Warden is editor-in-chief of Today’s Catholic. Email him at [email protected].