Pictured are volunteers who provided support at the 50th Anniversary Liturgy Oct. 19 at St. Patrick Parish in Iowa City.
By Dan Russo
Editor
Cheryl Schropp, event coordinator St. Patrick Parish in Iowa City, buzzed about the reception room after the 50th Anniversary Mass this past weekend with the pizazz of a high priced wedding planner. The self-described “party girl” was obviously in her element. She directed a group of dedicated volunteers who went about serving 36 couples from around the Davenport Diocese that have been married 50 years or more.
“I love a good party and the cause is good,” she said. “All the volunteers wanted to be here because they believe in the sacrament of marriage whether they are married or single.”
A mannequin donned a wedding dress at the front of the room. The tables were decorated as if for an actual wedding reception. A local grocery store had even allowed the parish to borrow a wedding demo cake that was placed on a table near refreshments and desserts. Watching Cheryl and her crew’s enthusiasm was a reminder of the reality that volunteers like these keep the Bride of Christ — our church, moving down the aisle. Where would the world be without people like these in our communities?
One notable thing about the Mass and the party that followed was the presence of children and grandchildren there to support the married couples marking a golden jubilee. Both Marianne Agnoli, marriage and family life coordinator for the Davenport Diocese, and Bishop Dennis Walsh made sure to mention the power of the heroic witness these couples provide to the young. Youth today are growing up at a time when many marriages don’t last and more people than ever are deciding not to get married at all.
“To the younger generations watching today: look upon these couples,” urged Bishop Walsh in his homily. “They are not just surviving; they are flourishing. They are showing us the roadmap to a lifetime of happiness, centered on Christ.”
The Gospel reading for the anniversary Mass included Jesus’ prayer for his followers: “That they may all be one just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may also be in us.”
The bishop talked about the Catholic belief that in the sacrament of marriage God takes two separate souls and makes them a “visible sign of that perfect, divine unity.”
Unity can seem to be in short supply these days, whether one looks at family life or other areas of society. Despite the undeniable presence of division and despair, reasons for hope are everywhere if you take the time to look around. In addition to being able to cover the 50th anniversary Mass Oct. 19, I personally found another cause for hope this week thanks to an effort at another local parish. Listed in The Messenger’s events section (and elsewhere) I read that Sacred Heart Cathedral is hosting the showing of a documentary about the first African American priest in United States history, Venerable Father Augustus Tolton.
The film will be shown in Sears Diocesan Hall on Oct. 23 at 6:30 p.m., according to organizers. The screening is sponsored by the Sacred Heart Cathedral-St. Martin de Porres Society and the Notre Dame Club of the Quad Cities. There will be a Q&A session immediately following the showing of the film with the Tolton Spirituality Center’s Interim Director, Valerie Jennings & Associate Director, Antoinette Taylor-Thomas. The listing got me curious so I read up on this possible future saint.
The former slave had Catholic parents who escaped slavery around the time of the Civil War and made sure to pass on their faith as best they could. The priest overcame many obstacles.
“The Catholic Church deplores a double slavery — that of the mind and that of the body,” said Father Tolton. “She endeavors to free us of both. I was a poor slave boy but the priests of the Church did not disdain me. It was through the influence of one of them that I became what I am tonight. I must now give praise to that son of the Emerald Isle, Father Peter McGirr, pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Quincy (Illinois), who promised me that I would be educated and who kept his word. It was the priests of the Church who taught me to pray and to forgive my persecutors… it was through the direction of a Sister of Notre Dame, Sister Herlinde, that I learned to interpret the Ten Commandments; and then I also beheld for the first time the glimmering light of truth and the majesty of the Church. In this Church we do not have to fight for our rights because we are black. She had colored saints — Augustine, Benedict the Moor, Monica. The Church is broad and liberal. She is the Church for our people.”
I read the quote above on a website by Father Justin Farr, a 30-year-old African American who converted to Catholicism. He was ordained in 2025 and is now a priest for the Diocese of Nashville. Father Farr drew inspiration from Father Tolton’s example of serving both Black and white Catholics in his parishes at a time when this was uncommon. At a time when racial tension in the country appears in the headlines, Fathers Tolton and Farr remind us that we have made a lot of progress in our nation, even if we aren’t a perfect union and that people of all backgrounds can be united through the love of Jesus.
(Dan Russo can be contacted at russo@davenportdiocese.org. )
