Seminary of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Dear Friend, 

I recently traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to meet with students at the University of Nebraska and other contacts I have known and have had the privilege to collaborate with over many years. It was very inspiring to be in the company of such faithful Catholics and I thought you would enjoy hearing about it.

While in Lincoln, I attended the Rite of Tonsure on October 21 at Our Lady of Guadalupe seminary of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. This order celebrates exclusively Holy Mass and administers the sacraments in the old Latin Rite. It was an impressive two-and-a-half-hour ceremony which took place in the seminary chapel. Beautiful chant and hymns sung by the clergy and seminarians embellished the sacred liturgy.

Rite of Tonsure

Seminary Chapel

Administered early in the second year of formation, the Rite of Tonsure is a beautiful and ancient ceremony that marks the entrance of a baptized and confirmed Christian into the clerical order. At one point in the ceremony, the seminarian ends life in civilian clothes followed by being invested with a cassock and surplice which is a sign of the dignity and honor of the clerical office, and of the need to wear it with modesty and reverence. This year the Fraternity in the United States received 11 new seminarians for the beginning of their priestly formation.

New seminarians processing

While in Lincoln, I also had the opportunity to visit the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Valpariso, an institution I have known since its establishment. One of these sisters is a family friend and has been a member of the order for over twenty years. The Carmel can be traced back to a sixteenth century Spanish Carmelite Monastery founded by Saint Teresa of Jesus. Two daughter monasteries were established in Mexico. In 1927, the Community established a Carmel in California and from there sisters established the Carmel in the Lincoln Diocese in 2001. The Carmelites live a cloistered life and devote their lives to prayer; hidden from the world, they strive to live a life with Christ and honor the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I had a wonderful visit with the mother superior and the family friend. It was very edifying to see such holy lives being lived for love of Our Lord in the world in which we live.

Chapel at the Carmel

On Monday October 23 I spent the day at the University of Nebraska with missionaries from the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) and students. Focus was founded to encourage young people to pursue truth and meaning in their lives and to invest in relationships with Jesus Christ and their fellow students. They have a presence on campuses across the country and overseas. It was very edifying to see such a Catholic presence on a state university campus.

In the afternoon, I met with the chaplains, directors, and students at the Newman Center to speak about St. Gianna Molla and other topics of the Catholic Faith. Throughout the afternoon students came and went. I brought several relics of St. Gianna which the students venerated.

Addressing directors and students at the Newman Center

The Newman Center is unique and has a church which is truly inspiring. The facility is an expansive complex with multiple auditoriums, classrooms, and offices all for the evangelization of young adults. Behind the main altar of the church, is a beautiful stained-glass window which is the largest of Catholic churches west of the Mississippi. A side chapel holds an extensive display of relics for veneration. Following afternoon Mass, I joined the university chaplains and nine Focus missionary at one of their centers for dinner and fellowship. It was truly a day to remember.

Newman Center Church

Newman Center side chapel

Entrance to Newman Center

Yours in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

Thomas McKenna

Founder and President

Catholic Action for Faith and Family

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