November 4, 2025 // Diocese

Fatima House Residents Serve the Diocese and Beyond

Kasia Balsbaugh

On the edge of St. Mary’s Lake on the University of Notre Dame lies Our Lady of Fatima House, where a group of Holy Cross religious men live. Contrary to popular perception – even within the congregation itself – Fatima House is not just a priestly retirement home.

To explain the mission of Fatima House, Holy Cross Father Rick Gribble, house superior, told a story about Congregation of the Holy Cross founder Blessed Basil Moreau. When Father Moreau was sent to oversee a group called the Brothers of St. Joseph, he had the idea to gather a group of priests to work together with the brothers – a group he referred to as “auxiliary priests.”

“[Father Moreau’s] idea was that the priests would do whatever the local Church needed,” Father Gribble explained. “They would go out, and they would serve in parishes, they would help out in hospitals – whatever the local bishop needed, the auxiliary priests would do their best to meet that need.”

This is exactly what the priests in Fatima House do.

“We are not strictly a retirement home. … Rather, we seek very much to carry out the mission of Moreau as auxiliary priests to serve the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and beyond … using the best of our ability with the time and talent that we have,” Father Gribble said. (While all current residents are priests, Fatima House is also open to brothers in the congregation, Father Gribble added.)

Unlike many other Holy Cross religious on campus, the bulk of whose ministry is connected to Notre Dame, the priests of Fatima House minister outside campus boundaries. Local parishes and other organizations often contact Fatima House to find priests to fulfill different needs, such as holding parish retreats, celebrating Masses, or visiting hospitals to anoint the sick. Father Gribble has a bulletin board on which he posts requests that come in for members of the house to pick up.

In addition, many of the men in the house (besides the few whose medical situations prevent them from doing so) have more than one way they use their interests and talents for the local community. For instance, Father Bill Miscamble serves on the board of directors at St. Thomas More Academy and says all-school Mass there weekly, but he is also in demand for his expertise on American history.

There are a variety of other regular ministries the Fatima House residents engage in. Father Tom Zurcher helps with the Vincent de Paul Society. Father Jim Bracke serves breakfast to the homeless at a local Protestant parish every week. Two Fatima House priests drive all the way to Grand Rapids several times a week for Hispanic and immigration ministry. Two other Fatima House priests, when they are permitted, celebrate Mass in the local jail. And that’s just a few of the current apostolates served by those living at Fatima House.

A day in the life of the house superior can also vary widely. On a normal day, Father Gribble can find himself doing anything from dealing with water damage to figuring out health insurance issues to taking the house’s loaner car to get an oil change. But his most important role, he said, is overseeing the spiritual health of the residents.

“To make sure we pray well, encouraging people to be present, encouraging people to have spiritual directors,” Father Gribble said.

Another of Father Gribble’s goals for Fatima House is to encourage even more robust community life. With 16 residents this year in a house with a 25-person capacity, Father Gribble is aware that even a couple members traveling or not present at house events changes the dynamic quite a bit. He’s hoping more religious can move in next year and is also trying to introduce beneficial practices such as singing during morning prayer.

“One of the things I’ve really tried to do here is make us more of a community and not just a residence,” Father Gribble said.

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“The Lord calls at different times in our vocations, but I am certainly grateful to the Lord that He called me to do that – and that I said yes. Because it’s been a great life.”

Father Richard Gribble

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Father Gribble has been superior of Fatima House just since 2024. He spent most of his years as a Holy Cross priest teaching at the congregation-run Stonehill College near Boston. Before he entered the priesthood at age 36, he attended the United States Naval Academy and worked with submarines.

“The Lord calls at different times in our vocations, but I am certainly very grateful to the Lord each and every day that He called me to do that – and that I said yes,” Father Gribble said. “Because it’s been a great life.”

For one of their recent weekly community nights, where residents invite family and friends to Mass and dinner, Fatima House invited Bishop Rhoades to celebrate Mass. In his homily, Bishop Rhoades thanked the priests of Fatima House for their service to the Church, particularly during this special year of mission for the Congregation of the Holy Cross.

“I’m grateful to all of you for your perseverance to the holy mission of the congregation,” Bishop Rhoades said. “And what gave Father Moreau – and what gives us – the strength to persevere? Undoubtedly, it’s our firm faith in the Lord and our trust in His love.”

Bishop Rhoades reflected on the difficulties of living out the Christian life, pointing to the opposition Father Moreau faced both from his bishop and his own Holy Cross brothers.

“In our mission, too, we can encounter opposition and receive criticism, and at such times, Father Moreau teaches us, we must cling to the cross, our only hope,” Bishop Rhoades said.

Persevering through the trials is worthwhile, Bishop Rhoades said, noting: “The fidelity of Father Moreau to the Lord and mission, and the fidelity of Holy Cross priests and brothers through these past 185 years, has brought so many abundant fruits to the Church here in Indiana, in our diocese. I don’t know what I’d do without Holy Cross.”