Josh Mcgovern

As the small groups facilitator for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Gizella “Gizzy” Miko has noticed that when parishioners belong to small groups, they tend to feel that their parish community is like their own family.

After the high point of Christmas, when the lights and decorations come down, Bishop Michael Izen said there is a long list of reasons people might feel down. It can be even more difficult, he said, living in Minnesota with short days and long nights.

Following God’s guidance sometimes requires bold, faith-filled action. Rachel Hastreiter, native Minnesotan, took that bold action when she moved to California and dove into a new career as a photographer.

Visio divina is a form of prayer that involves meditating on religious art. Madison Larson, a grant coordinator for Epiphany Caring for Life pregnancy support center at Epiphany parish in Coon Rapids, uses this form of prayer to encounter God’s presence in the beauty of sacred images.

Aim Higher Foundation’s president, Ricky Austin, believes a Catholic education is a unique learning experience that can’t be found through other schooling. In fact, the St. Paul-based foundation he runs is dedicated to getting more children into Catholic elementary schools by offering $1,000 scholarships to qualifying students.

About 700 people, mostly high school students, march in a Eucharistic procession from St. Agnes School in St. Paul to the State Capitol Jan. 22 to support life and join the annual MCCL March for Life. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Sarah Kostick, a researcher at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, works to develop new apple varieties. This ability of research and knowledge, Kostick said, is a charism, or a gift given to the Lord’s people.

Catholic schools are important to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis 52 weeks a year, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said, but Catholic Schools Week shines a light on Catholic schools and the work staff members do.

Editor-in-chief of The Catholic Spirit, Joe Ruff, interviewed Maggee Hangge and Jason Adkins with the Minnesota Catholic Conference as the 94th legislative session began. Some takeaways included efforts to expand a nation-leading child tax credit and oppose online sports gambling, commercial surrogacy and physician-assisted suicide.

A month before his unexpected death in January 2024, Bennett Kotok, a former St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights student and athlete, comforted his mother, Susan, who’d lost her father in December 2023. Bennett told her, “Life is for the living.”