Dear friends in Christ, I hope you are having a blessed summer! It is a beautiful time of year, but as always, the weeks of sun and warm weather pass too quickly. One of the highlights of summer is our annual celebration of the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ—Corpus Christi—which recalls the beauty and grace of the Eucharist in our lives as Catholics.

Bishop John Folda has announced the official formation of the All Saints Catholic Schools Network, a strategic initiative poised to significantly enhance and strengthen Catholic education across the Grand Forks community. This pivotal development unifies Holy Family–St. Mary’s Catholic School and St. Michael’s Catholic School under a single, cohesive educational framework, with exciting plans for a future dedicated middle school.

On June 22nd, parishioners and guests celebrated the church’s 100th anniversary. Dedicated by Bishop O’Reilly in June of 1925, the parish has grown into a faithful and flourishing community.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected on May 8, 2025, as the 267th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.

There have been many books written theorizing what life on earth might look like after a nuclear apocalypse. But none intertwine the fears of a post atomic age America with a Catholic eschatology like A Canticle for Leibowitz, written by Walter M. Miller Jr., originally published in 1959.

In a moment that will be etched in the annals of Church history, students from the University of Mary’s Rome campus stood mere feet from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as white smoke signaled the election of the first American pope, Robert Francis Prevost—now Pope Leo XIV. The students, part of the university’s May-mester program, found themselves at the epicenter of a historic spiritual event, witnessing firsthand the announcement of the new pontiff.

I was conversing with a friend on the sidewalk that spring afternoon when, from the corner of my eye, I noticed a man near a pickup in the parking lot of the Moorhead abortion facility. “Just a sec,” I said, interrupting the discussion.

Shanley junior Henry Leibl (center) pours it on against competitors from St. Mary’s High School in Bismarck and Bishop Ryan High School in Minot at the Catholic Quadrangular meet on Apr. 11 in Fargo. The event was the first home track meet in the history of Shanley High School. The new Shanley track was completed and dedicated this spring, and fittingly the first schools to compete were all Catholic schools from North Dakota. (Photo by Father Kyle Metzger/Shanley High School)

The sun was shining brightly May 6 as yellow school buses pulled up to West Acres Cinema. Fargo Shanley High School students in khaki shorts, plaid skirts, and red sweaters filed off one by one.

The Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome is the oldest church dedicated to Our Lady. It dates back to 422 and is one of the four major basilicas in Rome. This basilica comes with a legend; a Roman patrician and his wife owned the land but had no heirs. The wife prayed to the Virgin Mary asking how to dispose of the property in her honor.

Sister Pauline (Margaret Mary) Egan went home to God May 8, at St. Catherine’s South. The daughter of John and Hannah O’Neill Egan, Sister Pauline was born Aug. 8, 1930, in Monagurra Townland, Co. Cork, Ireland.

Bishop John Folda blessed the new statue of Venerable Nano Nagle located at Holy Cross Cemetery North in Fargo on May 11.

Mike Hagstrom, President of St. John Paul II Catholic Schools, was honored on Friday, April 25, by his alma mater, Saint John’s University, at the annual “Saint John’s Day” festivities on the Collegeville, Minnesota campus.

In 1220 at the age of 38, St. Francis of Assisi returned to Italy from the Holy Land on fire with the Holy Spirit. While he had spent the last two years there on business and visiting the holy sites, he was especially inspired by the Way of the Cross in Jerusalem. These were 14 spots following the events of Jesus’ passion walking from the Praetorium in the city to his tomb outside the walls. Fourteen spots where Christians have been venerating events such since the beginning of Christendom

It started with a simple question, “Are you Polish?” Since my last name is “Jasinski,” you would think that the answer was obvious. However, I sensed that the woman who asked me the question was after something deeper. I answered that I was fourth generation Polish-American. I could not have guessed the next question, “Will you bless Easter baskets?”

My call to the diaconate wasn’t an interior movement of the Holy Spirit or a revelation in front of the Blessed Sacrament, it was a simple statement from my wife, Annette. It went something like this: “ever thought about becoming a deacon?” My reply went something like this: “not really until now.” So began my call to the deaconate and the radical change and overhaul of my life. Little did I know that God was going to take a pile of rubble and build an altar of sacrifice to our Lord.

The 69th Legislative Assembly of North Dakota concluded its work on May 3. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, every person in North Dakota owes a debt of gratitude to our citizen legislators who made countless sacrifices and worked very hard this session to pass laws in the best interests of our state.

Joseph Kern, a seminarian of the Fargo Diocese, gives a reflection on seminarian life.

I’m excited to share the news that the official first “shovel” has been put in the ground for the new priest’s residence home. On May 15, dignitaries gathered just south of the Pastoral Center in Fargo to officially break the ground for the new home.