Northwest Indiana Catholic

Northwest Indiana Catholic The Northwest Indiana Catholic is the official news of the Catholic Diocese of Gary.

Holy Spirit in Winfield hosted a Vacation Bible School June 18-20. Volunteer Fay Iorio and a group of parishioners desig...
06/23/2026

Holy Spirit in Winfield hosted a Vacation Bible School June 18-20. Volunteer Fay Iorio and a group of parishioners designed and conducted the summer camp for 17 youngsters. The theme was “Jesus Loves Me,” and included lessons on the Stations of the Cross, Pentecost and the vestments worn by priests and deacons, presented by Father Thomas Mischler, pastor, and lay ecclesial ministry student Mitchell Bolda. (Marlene A. Zloza photos)

CAMPUS RECOVERYAndrean family shows solidarity after tornado strikes school BY ANTHONY D. ALONZONorthwest Indiana Cathol...
06/22/2026

CAMPUS RECOVERY
Andrean family shows solidarity after tornado strikes school

BY ANTHONY D. ALONZO
Northwest Indiana Catholic correspondent

MERRILLVILLE – After enduring a direct hit from a tornadic storm, Andrean High School’s campus was transformed into a scene filled with toppled trees and broken glass. In the hours that followed, a wave of prayerful support materialized and has buoyed the 59ers family.

Part of a powerful storm front that passed through Northwest Indiana on the evening of June 11, the tornado that traveled westward over Broadway left Andrean’s most important qualities intact, according to Principal Jaycob Knazur.

“Our staff, our programming, our curriculum, our goals will still be there,” said Knazur, who has been at the helm of the Diocese of Gary school since 2019. “Our mission and our faith endure.

“Andrean took a hit in terms of its physical campus, but it did not take a hit in terms of its resolve and ambition for the future,” he added.

On June 11, dozens of severe weather watches and warnings were issued for Indiana and Illinois by the National Weather Service, whose personnel later surveyed and categorized the tornado that passed through the school grounds as EF2, or an event that produced the third-highest wind speed on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

Knazur had been monitoring the weather developments on Chicago TV news channels from his Cedar Lake home. WGN-TV was among outlets that broadcast footage showing power lines strewn across Broadway. As the camera panned to the school grounds, the Home of the 59ers was shown missing a large part of its roof.

“The news mentioned 61st and Broadway and my initial thought was, ‘Oh, my, Andrean isn’t going to make it through,’” said Knazur, of the school located in an area where thousands of residents also lost electrical power for days. “And then we started to get calls from people who live close by who said (the school) took a pretty bad hit.”

To view the full article and other local stories, visit https://dcgary.org/NWIC. More photos can be viewed at https://www.flickr.com/photos/dioceseofgary/albums/

DEDICATED TO THE SACRED HEARTDiocese hosts outdoor procession and service to share the love of Jesus ChristBY MARLENE A....
06/22/2026

DEDICATED TO THE SACRED HEART
Diocese hosts outdoor procession and service to share the love of Jesus Christ

BY MARLENE A. ZLOZA
NWIC correspondent

CROWN POINT – Beginning with Eucharistic Adoration at St. Matthias, continuing with a prayerful two-mile procession, and concluding with a joyful dedication service and fellowship, the Diocese of Gary joined the entire United States in consecrating itself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the sunny summer afternoon of June 12.

“It was incredible. The Catholic faith is alive in Northwest Indiana!” exclaimed a joyous Bishop Robert J. McClory as he left the stage at Bulldog Park to greet the hundreds of faithful from Lake, Porter, Starke and LaPorte counties who gathered to give witness to their faith.

That followed a June 11 observance as the bishops of the United States consecrated the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during a special Mass in Orlando, Fla.

"We love Jesus,” said Kris Vetroczky, of Chesterton, as she and her husband, John Vetroczky, awaited the procession. “We walked in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage from Portage to Chesterton in 2024, so we knew we could make this prayerful walk.” She added that she is praying “that Jesus will take center stage more in this crazy world that we are living in. I am praying for Christin unity and that we prioritize what is important.”

John Vetroczky added, “We learned that this dedication had never been done before in the United States, and since it is the event of our lifetime, we wanted to participate. At the ordination Mass just last week, the bishop called us to attend, and in light of all the trivial things we do, we wanted to do something meaningful.”

To view the full article and other local stories, visit https://dcgary.org/NWIC. More photos can be viewed at https://www.flickr.com/photos/dioceseofgary/albums/

TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTEDMarquette valedictorian leaves classmates and audience silenced and teary-eyed BY DEACON BOB WEL...
06/18/2026

TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED
Marquette valedictorian leaves classmates and audience silenced and teary-eyed

BY DEACON BOB WELLINSKI
NWIC correspondent

MICHIGAN CITY – Marquette Catholic High School senior Aleksandar Pecoski delivered on a promise that his valedictorian speech wouldn’t be “just another cliché graduation speech.” His speech left many teary-eyed or fighting back the tears during the school’s commencement ceremony on June 10.

“This day is about more than just the diploma…it's really about the journey it took to get here,” Pecoski began. “I'm about to share something I wouldn't normally share with any of you about my journey – how it was nothing I had planned and what I learned. One of the scariest moments in my life.”

He shared how early in his senior year of high school he received a call from his parents stating his sister, Angela, was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital for a medical emergency. Upon arriving at the hospital, Pecoski recalled seeing tears in his mom’s eyes and learned of his sister’s condition; it was then he broke down.

To view the full article and other local stories, visit https://dcgary.org/NWIC.

THE POVERTY OF LONELINESSMissionaries spend summer finding Christ in CityBY ERIN CISZCZONNorthwest Indiana CatholicGARY ...
06/17/2026

THE POVERTY OF LONELINESS
Missionaries spend summer finding Christ in City

BY ERIN CISZCZON
Northwest Indiana Catholic

GARY – For the past three weeks, a group of young missionaries has made the Diocese of Gary their home. Each day, they walked the streets of Gary and Michigan City, looking to encounter the homeless who may need a little kindness and conversation with someone who gets to know them by name.

For the fifth year in a row, members of Christ in the City, some considered year-of-service missionaries and others serving for only the summer, spent time in Northwest Indiana. Near the end of their mission to the region, they hosted a “Lunch in the Parking Lot” event. On June 9 at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels, they invited their new homeless friends in the area to share a meal. They also invited faithful from around the diocese to learn more about Christ in the City and participate in the lunch.

Missionary Grace Mahaney, originally of Sioux City, Iowa, admits that whenever she would bring up to people that she was going to Gary, they would share their apprehension. She would get a lot of responses like, “It's a dangerous town,” and “You don't want to go there.” However, Mahaney stated she has been moved by how wrong people's impressions of the city have been, as she felt very welcomed there.

“I have met really, really incredible people who have so much life to share and so much that they've been able to offer me just through kindness, and welcoming me into the community,” she said.

To view the full article and other local stories, visit https://dcgary.org/NWIC.

SUMMER GAZEBO REFLECTIONSBook explains how the four cardinal virtues can lead to ‘The Art of Living’BY MARLENE A. ZLOZAN...
06/16/2026

SUMMER GAZEBO REFLECTIONS
Book explains how the four cardinal virtues can lead to ‘The Art of Living’

BY MARLENE A. ZLOZA
NWIC correspondent

HEBRON – Following the four cardinal virtues can lead to “the freedom to love,” but only if Catholics remember from their catechism studies what those virtues are and embrace them.

That’s the message from theologian and author Edward Sri in his book “The Art of Living,” the featured topic for Summer Gazebo Reflections at St. Helen, which kicked off on June 8 and continues biweekly through Aug. 31.

Facilitator Laura Roeske introduced the book and offered a silver lining for the rainy weather that sent the study group indoors for its first session. “Since we are inside, we can watch the beginning of the video by Dr. Sri that explains the book,” Roeske told the 30 participants as they introduced themselves and shared snacks.
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“The cardinal virtues – prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice – are so important, so fundamental to the art of living,” said Sri, a Munster native who was a featured speaker at the Emmaus Missionary Discipleship Conference hosted by the Diocese of Gary last summer and the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in 2024, in the video.

To view the full article and other local stories, visit https://dcgary.org/NWIC.

TRUSTING IN JESUSNewly-ordained priest and deacon called to embrace Christ’s Eucharistic HeartBY MARLENE A. ZLOZANWIC co...
06/13/2026

TRUSTING IN JESUS
Newly-ordained priest and deacon called to embrace Christ’s Eucharistic Heart

BY MARLENE A. ZLOZA
NWIC correspondent

“I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.” – 2 Timothy 1: 6-7

GARY – On the eve of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the Diocese of Gary joyfully welcomed the ordination of William O’Donnell to the priesthood and Nicholas Emsing to the transitional diaconate with a Eucharistic heart.

“We get to receive and consume the very fire of God in his body and blood, the spirit in Your bread, the fire in Your blood,” said Bishop Robert J. McClory in his homily at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels. “He sends us forth, renews us, to be joyful missionaries on his behalf. What a joyful, joyful occasion we come for today.”

“Our Lord is calling all of us to his Eucharistic Heart,” noted the bishop in explaining the impact of continuous Eucharistic Adoration in a parish he formerly served as pastor. “So many wonderful things can happen,” he said, of a young non-believer who came into the church. “He came to realize that he was not just in a room, but saw the invitation the Lord was giving to him, and it led to his baptism.

“We are called to be signs of the times … it is no coincidence that we are called on this vigil of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi, the bishop said. Addressing the ordinands, he added, “The heart of Jesus calls to you, pray you will always have that emblazoned on your brain.”

To view the full article and other local stories, visit https://dcgary.org/NWIC. More photos can be viewed at https://www.flickr.com/photos/dioceseofgary/albums/

WORKPLACE ENTHRONEMENT Franciscan Health enthrones itself in Sacred Heart of Jesus, blesses new paintingBY ERIN CISZCZON...
06/12/2026

WORKPLACE ENTHRONEMENT
Franciscan Health enthrones itself in Sacred Heart of Jesus, blesses new painting

BY ERIN CISZCZON
Northwest Indiana Catholic

“Humility draws God down to you. Confidence exalts you … and brings you nearer to His Sacred Heart.” – Blessed Maria Theresia Bonzel

CROWN POINT – Administration and staff at Franciscan Health Crown Point formally invited God, the Father, and His Son Jesus to watch over their life, including their life at work, during an enthronement prayer service conducted on June 3 in the hospital chapel.

Sister Petra Nielsen, OSF, vice president of mission integration, explained that it is common for Franciscan Health to conduct a Sacred Heart Workplace Enthronement in its hospitals in Northern Indiana.

“It’s putting it under the protection of the Heart of Christ, His protection,” she said. “It’s acknowledging that He's the true leader of our health system and that He has us in His merciful, sacred heart.”

As the healthcare network was devoting many of its other hospitals to the Sacred Heart, the new Crown Point location remained under construction. It was in the midst of transitioning from its former downtown location to its new location along I-65, so personnel decided to wait.

When the United States bishops announced they were consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sister Petra said it served as a reminder. The hospital felt it was a suitable time to conduct the workplace enthronement of its building and staff.

To view the full article and other local stories, visit https://dcgary.org/NWIC

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