Sister Mariana Koonce, RSM, MD, was appointed director of Health Services for the Diocese of Knoxville in 2012, and she officially joined the diocese in October. In her position, she will lead the new diocesan ministry to provide health care to underserved areas across the diocese and the new St. …
Faculty, students set for Catholic Schools Week
Catholic Schools Week activities will kick off in all diocesan schools on Jan. 27 for a week that annually celebrates the key role Catholic schools play in providing Christian-based education for students. Catholic Schools Week, which began in 1974, is a joint project between the National Catholic Education Association and …
Priestly lesson: sabbatical shows the journey never ends for Christ’s pilgrims
Father David Boettner walks the faith on long sojourn toward greater spiritual understanding When Father David Boettner, pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral, returned to Knoxville Nov. 19 from a four-month sabbatical, parishioners and Sacred Heart Cathedral School students gave him a rousing welcome home. It was a fitting end to …
Diocesan pilgrimages to Ireland, Spain, Portugal set
By Margaret Hunt Two pilgrimages are being coordinated in 2013 for travelers from the Diocese of Knoxville. Father Charlie Burton, pastor of St. Jude Church in Chattanooga, and Father Michael Cummins, director of the diocesan vocations office and chaplain at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, will be the …
Four parishioners trained in Stephen Ministry
Four members of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Fairfield Glade were among 381 participants at a Stephen Series Leadership Training Course held recently in Pittsburgh. Deacon Keith Farber, Patty Johnson, Deacon Mark White, and Eileen White attended the one-week training event hosted by the St. Louis–based Stephen Ministries organization. …
Glade parishioners celebrate 50th anniversary
Patrick and Sara Tripiciano of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Fairfield Glade celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Sept. 1. They were married at Holy Trinity Church in Louisville, Ky., with Monsignor Charles Boldrich officiating. Their four children are Tricia Roh of Neenah, Wis.; Paula Kelly of Mooresville, N.C.; Laura …
Preskes mark 50th anniversary on Thanksgiving
Deacon Otto and Jo Ann (Koressel) Preske celebrated 50 years of marriage on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22. The Preskes were married Nov. 22, 1962, in a wedding officiated by Deacon Preske’s uncle, Father Bede Stocker, OSB, in Evansville, Ind. They have one son, Erik, and two grandchildren. The Preskes have …
Sacred Heart science teacher Amy Gilliland receives fellowship
Sacred Heart Cathedral School middle school science teacher Amy Gilliland has been selected for a fellowship program in the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) “New Science Teacher Academy.” Mrs. Gilliland is one of only 245 teachers across the nation to be accepted into the program. She will participate in a …
Knoxville TV station honors St. Joseph pre-K teacher
Pre-kindergarten teacher Kristi Hale of St. Joseph School was named a winner of WBIR-TV’s Educator of the Week honor. Her interview will air on the WBIR evening news Monday, Jan. 14. “It is a humbling honor to be recognized for the work I do for God and his children,” said …
Logan receives his Light of Christ award
Logan Qualey received his Light of Christ Scouting medal in a ceremony at the noon Mass on Oct. 28 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Chattanooga. On hand for the presentation were OLPH pastor Father Jim Vick, Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting vice chairman Bernard Coombes, and Elizabeth Qualey, …
St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation awards $625,000 in grants to organizations
By John Deinhart Just over a year into its existence, the St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation of East Tennessee already is making a dramatic impact. The foundation was formed in November 2011 to continue providing support for the ministry begun by the Sisters of Mercy with the opening of St. Mary’s …
Priest’s response after school shooting called powerful
Monsignor Robert Weiss of St. Rose of Lima Church had a ‘sacramental sense” of outreach RYE, N.Y.—The “sacramental sense” of a Catholic pastor’s outreach after the horrific violence that took place at a Connecticut elementary school “has brought the church to bear in the most intimate and powerful way,” said …
