St Bernard Catholic Church

09/02/2026

We've been hunting for original photos of our parish history at St. Bernard- particularly of the first location, originally standing where Chase bank is now on Washington Street, and the pastors who served our county during those years. Kathy Leafgreen had this beautiful photo of the church from her family photo albums and we were so excited to receive it! WOW!!! We are so grateful to have this image for our parish to remember the history of St. Bernard.

If your family has photos of the original church, inside and out, as well any of the parish life at the time, we would love to have a copy of them! Please send any photos in digital format to Annie Roach at the parish office, or if they are paper photos, we would appreciate the opportunity to scan the image in for our parish history archives. Thank you all for your help with our project!

09/02/2026

Please keep all of our seminarians in your prayers as they are discerning their vocational call to the priesthood! Thank you to our Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana vocations office for walking with these men on their journey to their seminary formation! We are looking forward to meeting them at Destination Jesus 2027 at Guerin Catholic High School!

And our deepest gratitude to all of our parishioners who contribute to the annual Catholic Ministries Appeal, which helps to provide the education for the men in seminary formation! Every single donation helps our diocese in priestly formation and the retirement of those who gave their lives in service to God as priests, and as members of religious orders.

09/01/2026

Late Registration opens today! Late Registration for Religious Education will be open from September 1-13th, 2026. The online registration form is open 24/7 during this period. https://www.stbernardcville.org/26-27-religious-education-registration

Reminder: Religious Education classes begin on September 13th, 2026 at 10:45 am. All catechists, students (Pre-K to 12th), AND parents will be meeting in the gym on the first day of classes. This day is a required attendance day for all RE families, as we gather together for our first day of the year in fellowship to kick off the year, introduce the catechists, and share all of the important information!

08/31/2026

Our hearts are full after our first Wabash College Newman Center Mass of the 2026-27 school year. We had 130 people in attendance at the opening Mass, as we kicked off the new academic year for Wabash students and the Tractarians who volunteer at St. Bernard. This has been a very busy week for the students, as they get settled into the routine of classes and activities. One of our favorite moments in August is seeing all of the faces we've missed over the summer, while welcoming those who are new.

We were also blessed to host a schola workshop on Sunday afternoon, taught by Lee Barlow with assistance from members of Viri Sancti Joseph Schola. After the workshop concluded, they provided the music for the Mass. The workshop was a wonderful opportunity to teach about the history of the Catholic Church and the sacred music that is deeply rooted into the liturgy. To quote St. Augustine: When you sing in the Mass, you are praying twice. Gregorian Chant brings peace and a reflective state of mind, helping to slow down our minds to be present and fully experiencing the beauty of the liturgy. It's such a fruit of our ministry to be able to enrich their Catholic education as they are growing in their knowledge during their college career at Wabash.

The liturgical year once again provided the Holy Spirit with the perfect Gospel to start the year off. Fr. Bower preached on the importance of taking up the cross to follow Christ- and reminded us all that we are called, just as the disciples were, to live as active evangelizers who are willing to make the hard choices and accept the suffering, as an act of love. God has blessed this ministry in abundance with servant hearts and examples of courage and fortitude. Thank you to the new cabinet members of the Newman Club this year for helping out with the Mass preparation. And to Quinn Sweeney (home parish- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton) and Jackson Gilbert (home parish- Our Lady of Mt. Carmel) for serving our first Mass of the year in the heat.

We are so grateful to have the joy of walking with all these men and sharing their college years with us! Please be sure to say hello to them when you see them at St. Bernard!

08/19/2026

We are grateful to share today that there will be opportunities at movie theaters in Lafayette, Brownsburg and surrounding areas of Indianapolis, to see the feature-length Catholic documentary, "American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story" about Blessed Stanley Rother, who was martyred for his Faith serving as a priest in Guatemala.

Showing dates are August 25th, 26th and 27th. Please consider purchasing tickets and going to a showing to support the film and evangelize for our Catholic Faith! Use the link below to purchase tickets:

https://www.rotherdoc.com/

08/18/2026

We have an awesome story to share today about two of our newest Catholics, Jack and Luke Lowe, who hosted a rosary making class at Gen Con Indianapolis 2026. We were very excited when they first shared about the idea they had- especially when the power of the rosary was fresh in our minds, after the personal witness that Jack shared with the parish about his first encounter with the rosary.

They had a great turnout- nearly every class was at capacity each day. How inspiring is it, that they were sharing the importance of prayer and teaching about the Catholic devotion to Mary, with people from all different faith backgrounds? And to talk with other Christians, answering questions to help others grow in understanding through peaceful conversation and encouragement? There was also a large number of Catholics in the classes, as well, who enjoyed the fellowship at the convention. Luke and Jack prayed the rosary at the end of the class with those who chose to participate- and several Catholics shared that they were going to start a rosary making class at their parishes!

Luke and Jack will be one of our scheduled guests at Religious Education this year, teaching our youth how to make their own rosary and lead us in prayer! The pathway of missionary discipleship is a daily decision to live for Christ and share His message with the world!

We are so excited to be blessed at St. Bernard with the newest members of the Catholic Church at our parish, and to see all of them living their new faith as missionary disciples- both in our parish, and out in the community. We can't help but look back at the journey of conversion- and offer thanks to God for the fruits of the OCIA program at St. Bernard, and the kindness and welcoming smiles of our parishioners when they meet new faces at Masses.

08/16/2026

As many of you know, severe storms and heavy rainfall have caused significant flooding across Indiana, including here in the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana. Many families across the diocese have been displaced, and several of our churches have sustained serious water damage.

For those who are able, we encourage you to support Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), the official relief agency of the U.S. Catholic Church. CCUSA is already working to provide critical assistance to families and communities affected by the storms across the Midwest, including those in our diocese.
To learn more or make a donation, please visit the Catholic Charities USA website.

https://online.catholiccharitiesusa.org/lt.php?x=4lZy~GE3InihD8.qyw9LUxVw3K2huNAgk-k3jHjIKaah6H37-0y7x.Jx2H4Rzk~w_x6uYnnKMnae7q360.xKVuNu

Above all, please pray for those affected by this week's storms—for those who have lost homes or property, for those facing uncertainty and hardship, and for all those working to help their neighbors recover.

08/13/2026

The Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana will host its annual Red Mass and Dinner on Monday, October 5, 2026, at 5:30 pm, at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, 17102 Spring Mill Rd., Westfield, IN 46074. Dinner is free, and attorneys may bring their spouse. Bishop Timothy L. Doherty will preside at Mass, and Marion County Superior Court Judge David Certo will deliver the dinner keynote. Attire is business casual. To attend, you must register online at https://dol-in.org/redmass no later than September 14, 2026.

08/12/2026

The Annual St. Bernard Parish Picnic is right around the corner! Save the Date for Sunday, August 23, 2026 at 1:15pm. We will have Mass at 9:30am in English, and Mass at 12:15pm will be bilingual, with the picnic immediately following.

Father Bower has called together a new committee for the picnic this year- chaired by Hollie Yarger (with help from her family). The committee has been working hard to plan a wonderful family day of faith, fun and fellowship, in honor of our parish patron, St. Bernard of Clairvaux! The word in the parking lot is that we will have a chance to dunk Father Bower in a dunk tank...so you all might want to practice your pitching! There will be an obstacle course bounce house, kickball, face painting, a custom created barn door photo backdrop with props (painted by Donna Wilson), talent show, live music and more!

St. Bernard will be providing pulled pork sandwiches and hotdogs. The committee is asking for donations from our parishioners to contribute to the pitch-in food table. If your last name begins with: A-L, please bring a casserole. M-Q, please bring a side. R-Z, please bring a dessert. Or you can bring all three! Please label your dishes, containers, and utensils so we can make sure to get them returned to you. This a great opportunity to share a family favorite recipe with the parish!

Volunteers are still needed to help the committee with the picnic- please sign up in the narthex this weekend for an available slot!

08/08/2026

Great moments from the softball game just have to be shared!
Thank you, Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana for this awesome YouTube short showcasing the dedicated priests and seminarians in our diocese coming together on the field!

Rain or shine - the game must go on! 🎉 Last Friday, July31, the 10t...